... hoookay. I will try to answer this in parts. Man, you write a lot! But I love it!
The "not really wanting him dead" is me trying to cover up for Sunrise's "let's rush Lelouch over here wait no over here wait no over here" following Turn 14. But yes, Lelouch didn't really have another opportunity to go for Rolo. Which is what made the whole sending Rolo after Nunnally so hard to buy since from what we saw, he should have fully known how dangerous and unstable Rolo could be. You don't send people you hate to protect your beloved sister. The logic is fail, especially for a master tactician. Then again, Lelouch logic can enter fail levels when it involves Nunnally.
But yes, the whole thing makes me wonder whether someone else was originally supposed to kill Shirley. I don't think Rolo was originally supposed to be part of the storyline, and an interview from one of the production books indicates things in the second season had to be seriously reconfigured when the creators learned they lost their usual time slot. It leaves a lot up in the air as to how much of what we get is their true vision and how much is plot holes that result from this change-up.
As for Rolo, they say you always hurt the ones you love. Selfish love is a common theme in Geass really. Lelouch is incredibly selfish when it comes to those he loves. Geassing Suzaku to live was pretty damn selfish. Wanting to make an ideal world for Nunnally without ever considering her desires also selfish.
But I do agree that Sunrise really dropped the ball as to acknowledging Shirley in any way beyond a plot point, which I really hate because Shirley was amazing in Turn 13.
I understand the Knights' anger at Zero for using them. I understand their fear of Geass and their confusion about the massacres and the general weirdness of what happened with FREIA. But how quickly they forget that Zero did save them from execution. He went through a lot of trouble for it. Zero did give them what they wanted; they were working toward a true independence from Britannia. He gave them allies. He gave them a government. And while I don't expect most of the Knights to allow one to cancel out the other, I would think the leader of the team, Zero's second in command would have a bit more perspective. I don't know what they could have done with Ougi instead. But I thought this just made his character look... bad.
I now want fanfic of the Britannians as a traveling theater group, thank you.
I make no guesses on Anya as the Nunnally thing still makes me sad. :(
I love that Zero is maskless now. I love that he's going to have to be Lelouch and that Lelouch Lamperouge is arguably nonexistent at this point. Though as I pointed out above, he's not exactly Lelouch vi Britannia either. Who knows what he is? Suzaku is in the same boat. He surely can no longer be a Knight of Britannia but he's not exactly Kururugi Suzaku either. Identity crisis major.
I don't want Lelouch to take his Knights back if the circumstances go that way (not sure how yet), but I know he will because he's Lelouch and that's what he does.
Re: Yes that might be for the best. XD
The "not really wanting him dead" is me trying to cover up for Sunrise's "let's rush Lelouch over here wait no over here wait no over here" following Turn 14. But yes, Lelouch didn't really have another opportunity to go for Rolo. Which is what made the whole sending Rolo after Nunnally so hard to buy since from what we saw, he should have fully known how dangerous and unstable Rolo could be. You don't send people you hate to protect your beloved sister. The logic is fail, especially for a master tactician. Then again, Lelouch logic can enter fail levels when it involves Nunnally.
But yes, the whole thing makes me wonder whether someone else was originally supposed to kill Shirley. I don't think Rolo was originally supposed to be part of the storyline, and an interview from one of the production books indicates things in the second season had to be seriously reconfigured when the creators learned they lost their usual time slot. It leaves a lot up in the air as to how much of what we get is their true vision and how much is plot holes that result from this change-up.
As for Rolo, they say you always hurt the ones you love. Selfish love is a common theme in Geass really. Lelouch is incredibly selfish when it comes to those he loves. Geassing Suzaku to live was pretty damn selfish. Wanting to make an ideal world for Nunnally without ever considering her desires also selfish.
But I do agree that Sunrise really dropped the ball as to acknowledging Shirley in any way beyond a plot point, which I really hate because Shirley was amazing in Turn 13.
I understand the Knights' anger at Zero for using them. I understand their fear of Geass and their confusion about the massacres and the general weirdness of what happened with FREIA. But how quickly they forget that Zero did save them from execution. He went through a lot of trouble for it. Zero did give them what they wanted; they were working toward a true independence from Britannia. He gave them allies. He gave them a government. And while I don't expect most of the Knights to allow one to cancel out the other, I would think the leader of the team, Zero's second in command would have a bit more perspective. I don't know what they could have done with Ougi instead. But I thought this just made his character look... bad.
I now want fanfic of the Britannians as a traveling theater group, thank you.
I make no guesses on Anya as the Nunnally thing still makes me sad. :(
I love that Zero is maskless now. I love that he's going to have to be Lelouch and that Lelouch Lamperouge is arguably nonexistent at this point. Though as I pointed out above, he's not exactly Lelouch vi Britannia either. Who knows what he is? Suzaku is in the same boat. He surely can no longer be a Knight of Britannia but he's not exactly Kururugi Suzaku either. Identity crisis major.
I don't want Lelouch to take his Knights back if the circumstances go that way (not sure how yet), but I know he will because he's Lelouch and that's what he does.