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Episode 7: コーネリアを撃て
Attack Cornelia!
Oh man, the opening to this one...I've always been impressed with it, and thought it actually would've been a good way to start the series. I was showing Geass to some people and they weren't really interested in much before this; this was the first scene where they actually paid attention and found it moving. A big part of its brilliance is its economical storytelling; it says so much about Charles, about Lelouch, about the nobility, about what happened and what was to come, all in the span of maybe two minutes.
For the sake of completeness, I will summarize: Lelouch, at the age of nine, walks in to see his father. We hear the nobility whispering amongst themselves but see them as still, the picture of reverence. Lelouch calls out his father and asks him why he didn't protect his mother or go to see Nunnally in the hospital. Emperor Charles zi Britannia doesn't care much for that, and tells Lelouch that as long as he relies on Charles for what he needs to live then he is dead. Charles then banishes Lelouch and Nunnally to Japan.
We start into the episode itself with Cornelia promoting Suzaku because she seems to think that he may have an ulterior motive for being a part of ASEEC, and she would prefer to win without the Numbers' help. We also get a brief glimpse of her motivation through Euphie, who recalls Cornelia saying that only those who serve in the military have the right to rule.
Cecile gives Suzaku a pep talk on the value of friendship and then it's over to Ashford, where Shirley confronts Kallen about her "relationship" with Lelouch, which at this point has been entirely built up in Shirley's mind. We then see Milly being pressured into an arranged marriage by her mother.
Cornelia is planning an attack and notices that the conditions are similar to those in Shinjuku. She decides she's going to use this to lure out Zero...I think we can already tell - certainly with the whole of this episode taken into account - that she's leaps and bounds beyond Clovis strategy-wise. Then...
C.C.: Don't do it, it's a trap
Lelouch: I know, but I'll win anyway
C.C.: *gun* You're not going anywhere
Lelouch: *gun to own head* Yes I am, now move (this scene is actually a fascinating look into Lelouch's mind. We see how Charles' words and outlook have really affected Lelouch; despite rejecting the idea that the weak should be abandoned, he never challenged the idea that living a normal life is the same as being dead. Although he only thinks that way about himself, it seems...he never begrudges anybody else for living a normal life, and indeed seems to encourage that for them. Highlight for spoilers: You see it in the way he regards Kallen and her mother, how he thinks of Nunnally and Suzaku and Shirley, etc. On top of this, he even argues with C.C. in R2 15 when she tells him that simply existing/avoiding death is not the same as living...which is the whole reason she understands when Lelouch said he felt dead in the first place.)
Welp, walking right into a trap doesn't work out so well. Oh sure it was okay at the beginning but he was waaaaay too cocky about it, and Cornelia is actually competent. He never even considered that she'd have it all planned out, and he ends up badly beaten and then cornered.
Interspersed with this is our first good look at Shirley's feelings for Lelouch. After getting frustrated by the exchange with Kallen, she ends up confiding in Suzaku about how she initially thought Lelouch was a slacker and a jerk but, upon seeing him casually stand up for somebody else, she decided that she liked him and wanted to be closer to him. Suzaku offers to call Lelouch but when Shirley tries to wrest the phone away from him they topple over together. (This leads to a sort of Shirley/Suzaku-ish moment, which never goes anywhere, but is cute)
Anyway, C.C. came to the rescue, dressing up as Zero and saving Lelouch's behind. It seems to be somewhat of her own volition but (highlight for spoilers)I think we find out between the later episodes and sound episodes that Marianne plays some part in having C.C. look after Lelouch.
Lelouch asserts that the conditions were unfair (*snerk*) and C.C. points out that he should be setting the conditions, not letting his enemy do so. Lelouch thus decides that he needs an army of his own in order to compete, and vows to found one.
Final note: In the preview for the next episode, Lelouch considers Suzaku first as a potential ally in starting his army, before deciding it's impossible because Suzaku is a Britannian soldier. There's an emphasis at this point that Lelouch sees Suzaku as a friend first and not at all as an enemy...of course, this is bound to change.
Next time: 黒の騎士団
The Black Knights
Attack Cornelia!
Oh man, the opening to this one...I've always been impressed with it, and thought it actually would've been a good way to start the series. I was showing Geass to some people and they weren't really interested in much before this; this was the first scene where they actually paid attention and found it moving. A big part of its brilliance is its economical storytelling; it says so much about Charles, about Lelouch, about the nobility, about what happened and what was to come, all in the span of maybe two minutes.
For the sake of completeness, I will summarize: Lelouch, at the age of nine, walks in to see his father. We hear the nobility whispering amongst themselves but see them as still, the picture of reverence. Lelouch calls out his father and asks him why he didn't protect his mother or go to see Nunnally in the hospital. Emperor Charles zi Britannia doesn't care much for that, and tells Lelouch that as long as he relies on Charles for what he needs to live then he is dead. Charles then banishes Lelouch and Nunnally to Japan.
We start into the episode itself with Cornelia promoting Suzaku because she seems to think that he may have an ulterior motive for being a part of ASEEC, and she would prefer to win without the Numbers' help. We also get a brief glimpse of her motivation through Euphie, who recalls Cornelia saying that only those who serve in the military have the right to rule.
Cecile gives Suzaku a pep talk on the value of friendship and then it's over to Ashford, where Shirley confronts Kallen about her "relationship" with Lelouch, which at this point has been entirely built up in Shirley's mind. We then see Milly being pressured into an arranged marriage by her mother.
Cornelia is planning an attack and notices that the conditions are similar to those in Shinjuku. She decides she's going to use this to lure out Zero...I think we can already tell - certainly with the whole of this episode taken into account - that she's leaps and bounds beyond Clovis strategy-wise. Then...
C.C.: Don't do it, it's a trap
Lelouch: I know, but I'll win anyway
C.C.: *gun* You're not going anywhere
Lelouch: *gun to own head* Yes I am, now move (this scene is actually a fascinating look into Lelouch's mind. We see how Charles' words and outlook have really affected Lelouch; despite rejecting the idea that the weak should be abandoned, he never challenged the idea that living a normal life is the same as being dead. Although he only thinks that way about himself, it seems...he never begrudges anybody else for living a normal life, and indeed seems to encourage that for them. Highlight for spoilers: You see it in the way he regards Kallen and her mother, how he thinks of Nunnally and Suzaku and Shirley, etc. On top of this, he even argues with C.C. in R2 15 when she tells him that simply existing/avoiding death is not the same as living...which is the whole reason she understands when Lelouch said he felt dead in the first place.)
Welp, walking right into a trap doesn't work out so well. Oh sure it was okay at the beginning but he was waaaaay too cocky about it, and Cornelia is actually competent. He never even considered that she'd have it all planned out, and he ends up badly beaten and then cornered.
Interspersed with this is our first good look at Shirley's feelings for Lelouch. After getting frustrated by the exchange with Kallen, she ends up confiding in Suzaku about how she initially thought Lelouch was a slacker and a jerk but, upon seeing him casually stand up for somebody else, she decided that she liked him and wanted to be closer to him. Suzaku offers to call Lelouch but when Shirley tries to wrest the phone away from him they topple over together. (This leads to a sort of Shirley/Suzaku-ish moment, which never goes anywhere, but is cute)
Anyway, C.C. came to the rescue, dressing up as Zero and saving Lelouch's behind. It seems to be somewhat of her own volition but (highlight for spoilers)I think we find out between the later episodes and sound episodes that Marianne plays some part in having C.C. look after Lelouch.
Lelouch asserts that the conditions were unfair (*snerk*) and C.C. points out that he should be setting the conditions, not letting his enemy do so. Lelouch thus decides that he needs an army of his own in order to compete, and vows to found one.
Final note: In the preview for the next episode, Lelouch considers Suzaku first as a potential ally in starting his army, before deciding it's impossible because Suzaku is a Britannian soldier. There's an emphasis at this point that Lelouch sees Suzaku as a friend first and not at all as an enemy...of course, this is bound to change.
Next time: 黒の騎士団
The Black Knights
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spoilers at the end
I did not know that about "nemesis." Interesting. I, too, pegged Lelouch for a hubris arc early because I initially thought of him as similar to Light Yagami, who uh...yeah, had a bit of a problem with hubris. (Still, I can't blame him for not being genre aware just because he's well-read. He doesn't know he's in a work of fiction.)
I liked seeing Lelouch when he was beaten. Not in a schadenfreude sort of way (if I haven't made it ridiculously apparent by this point, I have a lot of affection for the boy) but in more of a "hey he's human too" sort of way. It's great to see him be all on top of the world and GAR and everything, but it's far more emotionally moving to see him struggling (although some of the diabolus ex machina stuff takes it way too far, as sometimes I want to see him succeed dammit).
And yeah, Charles really fucked him up with that whole "you are dead" speech. I think Zero Requiem was partially necessary because even after building a peaceful world I don't know that Lelouch could've happily settled into a normal life. It's really sad.
Re: spoilers at the end
And then comes the end of R1. Hubris and nemesis.
But yeah, I find failure humanises Lelouch; not always in a flattering way, as this episode demonstrates, but it makes him real in a way that the Do No Wrong Gary Stu guy doesn't.
I think it's really telling that, despite how Ashford is later on played as his haven, the time he was so happy, right now he talks about how desperately he wants to escape it. All he wants is to be happy with Nunnally, and yet when she's around he spends half his time brushing her off... I don't think Lelouch could be satisfied living with stability.
Re: spoilers at the end
This is an amazingly good point. This sort of thing is the reason why (despite quite liking the pairing) I don't think Lelouch/Shirley would ever work out in the long-term: she's too normal.
There may also be an element of "he who fights monsters" in there somewhere: Lelouch finds it harder to live normally when he spends a lot of his time doing crazy freedom fighter stuff.
Re: spoilers at the end
And it takes him losing them to really realise how important they were.