Sunday, 6 July 2008

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 - Episode 13

Last weeks instalment of Code Geass R2 finally gave us a glimpse of some of the power bestowed upon Jeremiah, a power which had an instantly large impact as Shirley was caught up in his 'Geass canceller'. With her memories restored, as her knowledge that Lelouch is Zero and the murderer of her father, will she turn against him?


Of course, all of this was just a warm-up for the main act, and Jeremiah soon turns his attentions to hunting down Lelouch, where upon he also reveals the full extent of his powers - Indeed, it turns out that he's been turned into some kind of Terminator wannabe, which makes it impossible for Sayako and Rolo combined to defeat him thanks to his combat abilities together with his Geass cancelling 'special power'.

From here on in, this episode of Code Geass R2 has more twists and turns than a Slinky, with so many changes in allegiance that at times its hard to keep up. Of course, this is coupled with the kind of deus ex machina that is typical for this show, that swings things well and truly back in Lelouch's favour - But at what cost? Have your tissues at the ready is all I'll say...

While this series is one that really requires an utter suspension of both disbelief and logic to be enjoyed to its fullest, there were a few things that didn't feel right about this episode (and yes, there will be spoilers here, so if you don't want to know the results, look away now.....). For starters, given what seems to be Jeremiah's very quick and easy mutiny to join Lelouch's battle, why on Earth would the Emporer, V.V. or whoever decided it have made him so powerful? Surely they must have known or at least had an inkling of his feelings and not wanted to risk turning him over to their opposition? Then there's Lelouch's defeat of Jeremiah, which suggests that he already knew both that he was coming and that he was basically a cyborg - Quite simply, this makes no sense at all.

That aside though, and trying my hardest to forgive those rather large plot holes, I'm left once again anticipating the next episode, albeit in a state of mourning for Shirley, who really hasn't deserved anything that's happened to her throughout both series of Code Geass - It seems like the scriptwriters really have it in for her. Anyway, with Jeremiah fighting for Zero and Cornelia's intentions still unclear, there's still plenty to look forward to as the show progresses. Let's just hope they can get it back on the rails of making a modicum more sense. Oh, and in closing, I had to have a bit of a giggle at the image below - Does Lelouch play Top Trumps with his staff when he isn't rebelling against Britannia?

3 comments:

  1. " For starters, given what seems to be Jeremiah's very quick and easy mutiny to join Lelouch's battle, why on Earth would the Emporer, V.V. or whoever decided it have made him so powerful?"

    He's only powerful in terms of physical strength and in canceling Geass effects (not the actual power). If necessary, they might have countermeasures prepared or could just pull the plug, so to speak.

    " Surely they must have known or at least had an inkling of his feelings and not wanted to risk turning him over to their opposition?"

    See above, but we'll see how long this defection lasts.

    "Then there's Lelouch's defeat of Jeremiah, which suggests that he already knew both that he was coming and that he was basically a cyborg - Quite simply, this makes no sense at all."

    Actually, you see him testing Jeremiah briefly by having some Geassed individuals shoot at him, plus the Rollo had quite explicitly contacted him on the phone, telling him he was coming, was a Geass assassin and probably any other relevant detail.

    The other convenient bit, but not exactly out of noewhere, is that Lelouch was installing something on the train, even before Shierly even came up, which just happened to come in handy when Jeremiah came out, as the episode also made clear earlier on. Coincidence, but not out of thin air.

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  2. and Jeremiah's dedication to Marianne was revealed in picture dramas 4 during season one so its not entirely surprising to people who have seen the side material. Which is sad considering that code geass uses so has so much side materials( sound dram episodes, picture dram episode, and all its novels) beside the anime that explains many things.

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