Oh here it comes...

[inksmears]

Okay. So. I'm a little behind everyone else, but I just finished watching episode 21 of R2. And... well...



I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, so stop now if you positively love everything about episode 21 and Code Geass. Okay? Okay.

So. I didn't like this episode. I didn't hate it but I definitely didn't like it. And I'm just kind of wondering if I'm alone in the "Eeehhhh." feeling after seeing this episode. Don't get me wrong, I love plot twists. But now they seem really... forced. Or like the writers pulled it out of their ass at the very last second because they realized they have a few more episodes left to explain everything.

I dunno. Maybe I got my hopes too high for season two or was expecting something entirely different. But the last few episodes have, at least to me, been kind of disappointing. The series seems to be going in a bad direction and/or trying to hard. I feel like it's trying less for story and depth and more for just pure mind fuckery. And while mind fuckery is cool, a series like Code Geass needs to be about something more than trying to give your audience a heart attack every episode. You know?

Anyone... some things that kinda got to me. Firstly, Marianne's death. I dunno about you, but I waited for a long time to find out the explanation to that one. And all we got was a brief explanation that was basically "lol Geass powerz". I was hoping for a little... more to it, I guess. I did like, however, the turn around at how Marianne was such a horrible mother. That was a neat twist at least. But her death, or lackthereof, was really lame. And then her "second death" at Lelouch caused was even lamer.

Secondly, Charles. After being the enemy for season one and almost the entire story of season 2, he's suddenly crusading for a world without lies and V.V. was the real bad guy? While I appreciated he didn't end up being a typical villain, his character ended up being lame considering all the build up we got for him. It's just that I hoped he would've played a bigger role in the series' end. Of course, we can launch into theories that he isn't really dead, but humor me.

Lastly, Schneizel. Okay, seriously. WTF Schneizel. Out of no where.

I love series with unexpected twists, but after awhile, there only needs to be so many before the series sticks with and follows through with said twists. And I feel Code Geass has kind of forgotten that. Comments? Thoughts? Flames? Spinzaku? Mainly just wondering if I'm alone in this feeling. Either way, I won't stop loving the series. I just want a good ending for something I enjoy so much.



I also have a question for you guys. Code Geass R2 OSTs. There are two of them coming out I believe? Does anyone happen to know the release dates for them? I'd appreciate it!

Comments

[fluffyfledgling.livejournal.com]

The thing is, what you're saying seems to apply a lot more to R2 than it should for the first season. Was season one even half as entertaining as what the recent episodes have been like? Sure, they might have been out-there in their way, but there was definitely a more cohesive plot and it had a clear, if unknown direction.

[powercorrupts.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's true. The first season had the allure of mystique - it didn't have to have a countdown to a final destination the way R2 does. Fans held it to a different standard, knowing that it had a whole season to get it's shit together. Also, the first season had a huge advantage over R2 - it had only had to change it's target audience once. By R2, the show had been changed so significantly that targeting the audience the first season attempted to was impossible.

Yes, the first season was more on-track than R2, but it was also not the same sort of uber-serious show that Gundam 00 is. It never was. That's a large part of my point, I think - Geass never held itself with the sort of serious dignity that some of Sunrise's other series have. Even though it's degraded further in R2, that doesn't mean it started out with a great deal of seriousness. Lest we forget, the dumb kitty episodes and comic relief terrorism began in the first season.

I found the first season entertaining, really. I find R2 entertaining. I don't see them as entirely different ventures, either. Rarely do the first and second seasons of a show feel like the exact same material - things change as the show progresses.