Code Geass Episode 5: Discussion!

[gods-debris.livejournal.com]

Episode 5: 皇女と魔女
The Imperial Princess and the Witch










We begin by seeing Cornelia taking control of Area 18 with her army. For whatever reason I always somewhat felt that Lelouch had some sort of a similarity with her. Well, at least for this episode they were both introduced with a fiery entrance (at least Zero was shown to the public that way in the last episode). Cornelia has decided to take control of Area 11 and avenge the death of her brother, Clovis. Her goal? To find Zero!

Lelouch returns home to see a familiar face of someone whom he thought died via bullet to the brain. I guess I'd be a little surprised too. I mean, he did watch her die in front of him. There was a bullet in her head, after all. She survived and there's not even a scar to show she was ever shot. At any rate, it's nice to see that Nunnally and C.C. are getting along pleasantly—except she's under the assumption that Lelouch is marrying her. I gotta say, though, I didn't get the feeling that Nunnally really believed the breaking of that cup was legit. Unfortunately for Lelouch he doesn't get to have a lot of his questions answered by the mysterious C.C..

In other news poor Jeremiah has lost his leadership due to the whole "orange" incident. No one trusts him after he let Zero escape and even attacked his own men claiming they were disobeying his orders. For those wondering what "orange" meant, Lelouch claims it was just a casual remark that some people will want to know the meaning of and others will begin to analyze what it does mean. Suspicion. Luckily for Suzaku, due to the whole ordeal they acquitted that there was not enough evidence to charge him with the murder of Clovis, so he was found innocent! Other than that other terrorist groups are making a ruckus because of the whole Zero thing, thinking it's time to revolt; even the Japanese that Toudou is a part of wants to act now, but Toudou seems to be very patient and he wants to wait and not get caught up in the whole Zero thing.

Anyways, is it just me or is this entire anime built on lies? When Suzaku meets Euphemia for the first time one of the first thing she says to him is a lie. She's being chased by bad people? Moreover she lies about who she is—well she omits the fact that she's the princess Euphemia and just tells Suzaku that she's Eufie. However, I get that she did that so she could see who he was on a different level. For example when Suzaku stepped in when some Britannian soldiers were creating a ruckus with an Eleven. He took a lot of heat from the Britannians. Later he stepped in when there was a coup d'état against Jeremiah, which later caused Euphemia to step in and stop the fight using her royal power. Maybe it was a test for Suzaku because she knew who he was when they met, I believe. Either way, Lloyd knew the entire time, that bastard!

I gotta hand it to Lelouch, though. He put Geass on a girl to test how long Geass stays on a given person for. Every day at the same time she goes to the same spot and carves in the wall the same image. Even C.C. is impressed.

Suzaku is attending Ashford Academy! :D

Next time: 奪われた仮面
The Stolen Mask

P.S. I will be deleting previous image batches from my flickr account within the next week, save for this one.

Comments

[nayami.livejournal.com]

I love that almost everyone in Geass is a lying liar who lies.

Also, I can't remember if anything comes of the wall or the wall-girl. :|a

Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[nayami.livejournal.com]

- I still lol at the idea of Knightmares with capes, even if they are pretty damn badassed. Cornelia's entrance is still amazing.
- I love Lelouch's expression on realizing Nunnally is with C.C. The rest of his freakout while Nunnally worries about his relationship with C.C. is also priceless.
- I just love Lelouch's relationship with C.C., especially the way he keeps trying to emphasize he's only doing thing in his interest. Him picking up her fallen clothes is so OCD.
- I adore Euphie. I forgot how soft her voice is and how gentle and sincere she is. This brings back my Euphie/Lulu shipping hardcore. Her wanting to know the real side of Area 11, her uncertainty over how to eat civilian food and looking to Suzaku for advice, her wanting to stop the fighting and her general wish to know more about the people she is about to claim authority over. Euphie. ;;
- Interesting the way Suzaku explains what happened to his father. "My father had to die in the war." Had to die, Suzaku? I thought you regreted that action.
- I actually find the fact that Suzaku spends this entire episodes with his eyes hidden quite interesting, aside from the obvious necessity. It hides the viewer from his primary way of expressing emotions: his eyes, although we still get his adorable Suzaku grins. The greatest example of these is when Suzaku is trying to figure out why Euphie is lying to him about running away and his reactions to the Britannians mad-mouthing the Japanese. Man, those kids are assholes. It's a good thing we have the Ashford Student Council to counter the perception of all Britannians being jerks. The glasses also serve a nice role during the Lelouch/Suzaku dual monologue. I love this because it's presented as one whole piece to show how the boys very much view the situation and its consequences in the same light; it is only the methods of correcting that situation that stand between them. Lelouch has his answer through destruction, while Suzaku is not quite sure what can be done but wants to choose the path of least death. Very nice.
- Lelouch stalking Suzaku over Google.
- Kallen FINALLY bringing up the phone thing. Way to wait on that one, Kallen. Also, nice confusion for poor Shirley again.
- C.C. is always hot in Lelouch's clothes. Possibly because Lelouch is drastically skinny and is practically a girl anyway.
- Cecile and Lloyd stalking Suzaku lol. Also, Suzaku coercing Lloyd into letting him use the Lancelot by appealing to what he know Lloyd loves. Suzaku can be pretty perceptive when he wants to be. Even though he only wanted to get involved in that fight to kill himself. orz
- The scene where both the Japanese and the Britannians denounce Suzaku, the Japanese for stopping them from beating up the Britannians and the Britannians for Suzaku not interfering earlier. Boy just can't get cut a break. It does a good job of showing how much of an outsider Suzaku really is, as he prefers. It also shows his wish to stop all fighting by BASICALLY DOING WHAT LELOUCH SAYS. Suzaku ends the fight by overpowering Tamaki, just as Lelouch quips that the fighting will stop when someone wins. Tricksy parallel that. Also, great that he loses his glasses in this scene, effectively stripping his emotions bare so the viewer can see how much his place in life pains him.
- SLAP!
- So many coups in the Britannian military. Charles' influence of pitting everyone against each other reaches far. I do love how Villetta defends her lord though. Too bad her outfit is as out of place as the Knightmare capes.
- Aww, Suzaku's honor.
- I love the way Cornelia handles the pathetic fawning the Area 11 officials do.
- Guess you can stop Googling Suzaku now, Lelouch.
- Also, I always wonder whether Suzaku's saving of Jeremiah ever had any ultimate effect on their relationship once both Jeremiah and Suzaku became Lelouch's knights. I love any fic that mentions this relationship. There should be more Jeremiah/Suzaku that's not S1 rape.
- Does anyone but me look at the ED for this season and wonder whether Naoto and Ougi would make good slash fodder? There should also be fic for this.

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[kiraya.livejournal.com]

I still lol at the idea of Knightmares with capes, even if they are pretty damn badassed.

I know! It just seems like such a risk -- one more thing for the enemy to grab hold of.

Cornelia's entrance is still amazing.

YES. I will freely confess to being a huge Cornelia fangirl, and the way she's so take-charge and confident is a big part of that.

Interesting the way Suzaku explains what happened to his father. "My father had to die in the war." Had to die, Suzaku? I thought you regreted that action.

My theory is he's either completely blacked out that event in a case of selective amnesia, or he's been lying to himself about it for so long that he's starting to believe the lies. Look at how shocked he is when it's revealed later on.

I love your point about Suzaku and his glasses. I didn't even think anything about them except how unflattering they were.

Does anyone but me look at the ED for this season and wonder whether Naoto and Ougi would make good slash fodder? There should also be fic for this.

I'm sure there probably is somewhere, and that there'd be more if Ougi were as pretty as the majority of the major characters. Oh, and if Naoto weren't dead.

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[nayami.livejournal.com]

Maybe Cornelia's soldiers are so BADASSED nobody would dare try to pull that move. XD

It's probably the latter part, about him lying to himself so long that he's starting to believe the lies, except for when they're SHOVED INTO HIS FACE. Also, I love Suzaku and his ridic glasses in their own dorky way.

Oh come now, death never deters fanfic writers.

[kiraya.livejournal.com]

...after last week's creepy ending it sure is pretty amusing to see Nunnally and C.C. have gotten all buddy-buddy right away.

Geass has allowed Lelouch to "drastically advance" his schedule, huh? I have to wonder what his revenge-plans would have been without it... I'm sure the
money he wins off chess gambling plays a major role.

...I'd completely forgotten the Guren was mentioned this early.

I love pausing on screens of text to get a closer look at them. While it's a little odd that Suzaku himself is the only result for "suzaku" (unless they censor non-Britannian cultural references?), the English in the first result is rather well done. Though lol at the gibberish links.

...actually in the open magazines in that scene, they mistakenly refer to Suzaku as both a private and a warrant officer. And romanize his name as "Kululugi," which while understandable still makes me lol. And the text repeats on both pages in both publications. And "challenger to the imperial court"? How the hell would anybody know that at this point? Or are we supposed to take it as mere sensationalizing? ...And I'm sorry, but I can't help finding "Eleven" a bit of a ridiculous title for a news magazine (but props to them for correct usage of "viceregal"; there's an SAT word for ya).

Oh Euphie. ♥ I love how she comes across naive and innocent, but really has a pretty damn good grasp on things. And her optimism. Wibble.

Suzaku's pronoun of choice for his outing with Euphie: "boku."

On the topic of lies, I will confess I like that nearly every character does it. Makes for a delightfully complex shades of grey thing -- all the arguments over who's "right" are then pretty pointless, no?

I like that Viletta is smart enough to figure things out, or at least start in the right direction for it.

...is that building at the beginning of the Shinjuku scene the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building? It'd make sense, but... very X-ish. It throws me off.

Suzaku's pronoun of choice while dealing with Tamaki and company: "jibun."

God, Suzaku, the people you rescued are such ingrates. Go Euphie! (And again Suzaku's all shocked people are actually looking out for him. Poor boy.)

...I do love Lloyd's bizarre sense of humor. "Too bad you were acquitted! You have to work for me again now."

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[kiraya.livejournal.com]

Oh come now, death never deters fanfic writers.

Then why isn't Lulu/Euphie more popular? :(

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[nayami.livejournal.com]

Because the world hates us and wants us to be miserable. :(

[nayami.livejournal.com]

...after last week's creepy ending it sure is pretty amusing to see Nunnally and C.C. have gotten all buddy-buddy right away.

Seriously, what exactly did C.C. tell her? And why isn't Sayoko here to intervene in RANDOM STRANGER hanging around Nunnally? Fail ninja meido, fail.

Geass has allowed Lelouch to "drastically advance" his schedule, huh? I have to wonder what his revenge-plans would have been without it... I'm sure the
money he wins off chess gambling plays a major role.

LOL. That would be priceless. This reminds me I forgot to mention Lelouch's hand-eye motions here. With him covering the non-geass eye when talking about how the Geass has given him power to move forward and then switching to cover the geass eye when saying that he still would have made his attempt with it. Just a clever animation thing here, aside from me simply adoring the coolness of the pose. It's one of my favorites.

...I'd completely forgotten the Guren was mentioned this early.

Me too!

[ichinichinemasu.livejournal.com]

Just some quick random things:

-I forgot how much I love pretty much...all of the major characters in S1. Cornelia and Euphie--best sisters ever?!? I love them both so much. Cornelia for her kick-ass cutting the crap, and Euphie for her softness and idealism. They have a kind of duality going.
-Although I do love that Euphie isn't afraid to slap someone. And I love how surprised Suzaku is that someone is standing up for him. While we're talking about Euphie and Suzaku, I love the ending line of "I lost someone dear to me too." Nice parallels.
-Lelouch and Suzaku double-narrating reminds me of that scene in R2 where they meet again. They seem to think the same way a lot of the time, in spite of having different ways of doing things.

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[ichinichinemasu.livejournal.com]

Cornelia's entrance is still amazing.
YES. I have a total girl-crush on her.


Interesting the way Suzaku explains what happened to his father. "My father had to die in the war." Had to die, Suzaku? I thought you regreted that action.
I think it's just because he's gotten so used to lying to EVERYONE, even himself, about it.


...I like the hidden eye thing! That's an awesome observation.


It does a good job of showing how much of an outsider Suzaku really is, as he prefers.
Yes :(

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[nayami.livejournal.com]

Hee, girl-crush. Me too. /o\

And Suzaku needs a hug. :(

[nayami.livejournal.com]

Oooh good point about the parallel with the double-narrating via thoughts during their R2 reunion in Ashford. I completely forgot about that.

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

Am I the only person who genuinely doesn't understand that ship?

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[nayami.livejournal.com]

I love it because it's so messed-up yet beautiful and even has canon support to boot, but I can get if it's not everyone's cup of tea. Personally, I'm a trio lover. Sex for all!

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[kiraya.livejournal.com]

Some days I feel like the only person who doesn't understand, oh, Lelouch/C.C., so ymmv I guess. Subtext is weird that way.

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

It's more that I don't actually see their interactions as shippy in the slightest. (My reaction to that one line was basically, "Where the hell did that come from?")

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

Lelouch/C.C. is an odd ship for me because I like the way they interact more than any other pseudo-love interests of Lelouch, but I am not sure if I'd still like it if they were explicitly romantic. I just want more of their vaguely UST-filled snark and bitching.

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[kiraya.livejournal.com]

I love the snarking and bitching, but I don't really see the UST in it at all. Unless C.C. playing it up as one more way to mock the virgin boy counts.

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[nayami.livejournal.com]

From when they were children. There's lots of evidence to support her crushing on him from childhood. And I think there's enough that, were things slightly different, they could have connected fully again. Euphie, after all, is the first person to make the Zero connection, aside from Suzaku.

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

The relationship chart I saw once actually implied it was the other way round - Lelouch crushed on Euphie as kids, but it was only that way.

But anyway, I can only really see it as a childhood past-tense thing. Beyond that, it just does not compute for me.

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[nayami.livejournal.com]

So weird. Since Nunnally talks about her and Euphie vying for Lelouch's hand in marriage when they were younger. That's why she asks Euphie when they're together how she feels about him and how she feels about Suzaku? Nunnally is quite jealous of Euphie and Lelouch.

But I can understand your stance on it. I just enjoy taking it further and having my bizarre Lelouch/Suzaku/Euphie trinity. It fits well with my Lelouch/Suzaku/CC trinity.

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

That's why she asks Euphie when they're together how she feels about him and how she feels about Suzaku?

Well, given the next time she and Lelouch speak it's talking about how close Euphie and Suzaku are now, I can guess how that conversation went.

I could deal with that triangle better if I'd ever seen a single bit of writing that dealt with the Suzaku side of it well. Which I haven't, for the record, they always seem to push him aside.

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[nayami.livejournal.com]

Which triangle?

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

The Euphie one.

Re: Random thoughts and some SPOILERS

[nayami.livejournal.com]

That's awfully distressing. It should be all of them. :( Ah, one day I will find someone who's willing to RP it, and then I will make sure it's the most fucked-up triangle in the world. o/