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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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The massacre that Clovis orders is shown in great detail; Japanese people are brutally shot on camera, over and over. You hear a baby cry and then be silenced by gunfire. Even the poor treatment of honorary Britannians is shown. The whole thing just leaves a really bad taste in your mouth. With Cornelia, even though at the beginning the massacre is the killing of a group of innocents, the rest of the scene focuses on military battles rather than wanton slaughter of civilians. (I also don't know that she killed as many people as Clovis; it might have been just enough to lure out Lelouch, but I don't know that the exact number of dead really makes it better or worse anyway.)
Now the one possible meaningful difference that I can see is motivation. Cornelia is making a calculated military move to lure out a dangerous terrorist (which works, and most likely would've led to his capture and/or death had C.C. not intervened). Clovis is throwing a tantrum and covering his tracks because he thinks daddy might disown him if he finds out Clovis' secret.
They're still both tragic losses of life, and in both cases the lives of Japanese people are considered simply expendable by the royal siblings in question. I'm not saying it was okay for Cornelia to do what she did. But as I see it considerations of morality in Code Geass tend to include motivation and situational constraints as well as actions.