Ep 4. Religion

Serial Experiments Lain season 1 episode 4 titled "Religion" delves into Lain's confusion regarding her entity and the use of religion to explain things beyond human comprehension. Lain is still struggling to come to terms with her existence and identity in the real world. She is even more confused as she starts receiving phone calls from an unknown person claiming to be her, stating that she lives in the Wired.

The episode starts with a funeral Lain and her family are attending, an interesting event where we see Lain's grandparents who seem to be tech-wary and belong to the old school of thought, which is entirely different from Lain's way of thinking later in the show. Lain is still trying to make sense of the world around her and how much she belongs, which is a recurring theme throughout the series.

One of Lain's schoolmates, Alice, tries to explain religion to Lain. She tells her that a deity is a mysterious entity created by humans that cannot be explained rationally or scientifically. After the explanation, Lain is interested, and she wants to know more. She gets fascinated with religion and the concept of God that she starts questioning her own being and existence.

The next scenes show Lain visiting her teacher, who also happens to be a priest. She is curious about the idea of God and wants to learn more about the interpretation of religion. Her teacher explains that God is an entity that created the universe and everything in it, which seems to intrigue Lain even further. The priest tells Lain that different interpretations exist regarding the concept of God, with some people taking it literally and others seeing it as a metaphor. The conversation sparks a desire in Lain to find the real truth behind existence.

Later in the episode, Lain receives phone calls from a girl claiming to be herself and telling her that she lives in the Wired. This is where we start to see how religion and reality become intertwined with the digital world. Lain is disturbed by the possibility that she may not be who she thinks she is and that she might be living in a digital world. She keeps questioning her sanity and viewers start to realize how deep Lain's emotional and psychological issues are.

As the episode progresses, we see how Lain starts to reject the real world. She gets more and more disconnected with reality and starts finding refuge in the Wired. Her experiences in the Wired, combined with her contemplations of religion, start to make her feel like she does not belong in the real world.

The episode ends with Lain getting an email from herself, which tells her that she has to choose between the Wired and the real world. The email leaves her completely confused and unsure of what to do next. The viewer begins to develop an idea that Lain is struggling to make sense of her identity, leaving them in a state of suspense of what's to come.

To conclude, "Religion" provides an in-depth exploration of one of the significant themes of Serial Experiments Lain - Lain's search for identity and where she belongs in the world. The episode focuses on religion and the idea of God and how it relates to Lain's existence. It also hints at the complexity of the relationship between faith and technology. The episode ends with a cliffhanger that leaves the viewer anxious to see how the story unfolds.