Code Geass: Bloodstained Euphie
May. 13th, 2018 12:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackOK, right, yes, that episode where the fairly significant turn from the previous episode is amplified a lot. Many feelings.
Spoilers (this may still be interesting if you haven't watched the show at all, but probably don't read if you're mid-way through the first season)
Wow. In fact, when I first saw it, the massacre wasn't so much sad as just bizarre, it felt tacked on, like the plot had been interrupted by lots of people randomly being killed by an asteroid impact or something. And I wanted to process that before moving on to the second season.
I think a lot of that is that it isn't what I WANTED to happen, and I'd let my hopes influence the indications I actually saw.
Lelouch genuinely cares about people. When he saves the boy from the Britannian nobleman and his bodyguard, he relishes the opportunity to play hero, but he genuinely cares about the boy, and is genuinely angry at the man. He is distraught at the massacre.
However, I was too ready to say, "look, he's good really". Rather, he's fixated on overthrowing the empire and being a hero, both reasonable goals in themselves, but he overlooks the benefits of the specially-administered Nipon because it's not what he wants underneath.
He does, indeed, come close many times to turning away from his hubris, but significantly, keeps rejecting the opportunities, which should make me less surprised when he rejects one when it might be too late.
What particularly bugged me is that it seemed that the command he gave Euphie was almost pure chance, that he'd rejected his plan, and then something even worse happened just by chance, not because he lost his temper or was careless. Which isn't unrealistic -- he's been playing with the fire of rebellion A LOT, you expect it to go badly sooner or later. But didn't seem to fit.
But then I thought about it more, and read some other people's opinions, and it's true that what he actually orders Euphie to do does fulfil his goals *really* well, so presumably he'd been thinking that inside, but not articulated it, and then it bubbled out when he was speaking.
Asides
Similarly, it seemed to me there were few downsides in letting the specially administered zone happen, but keeping the Black Knights underground and enforcing the zone's neutrality the first time Britannia inevitably reneged on it. Euphie's idealism and Lelouch's ruthlessness together brought them this far, and even without any common ground between them the same combination could keep working, a politically acceptable offering of maintaining the zone, and a hidden fist threatening retribution for violations.
However, I think the implication is that to make it happen, enough of the resistance groups need to give up... something specific? That it requires trust in advance to work. Even though there aren't really specifics.
More asides
We see some more things about CC's role. A connection to Suzaku. Something about skulls. Something invisibility. Don't tell me, I'll wait and find out what's important later, if anything :)
BTW, why DOES Lelouch trust Diethard? When I first saw it, I assumed he was a double agent and Lelouch was letting it play out, but I don't think any of that actually happened?
Spoilers (this may still be interesting if you haven't watched the show at all, but probably don't read if you're mid-way through the first season)
Wow. In fact, when I first saw it, the massacre wasn't so much sad as just bizarre, it felt tacked on, like the plot had been interrupted by lots of people randomly being killed by an asteroid impact or something. And I wanted to process that before moving on to the second season.
I think a lot of that is that it isn't what I WANTED to happen, and I'd let my hopes influence the indications I actually saw.
Lelouch genuinely cares about people. When he saves the boy from the Britannian nobleman and his bodyguard, he relishes the opportunity to play hero, but he genuinely cares about the boy, and is genuinely angry at the man. He is distraught at the massacre.
However, I was too ready to say, "look, he's good really". Rather, he's fixated on overthrowing the empire and being a hero, both reasonable goals in themselves, but he overlooks the benefits of the specially-administered Nipon because it's not what he wants underneath.
He does, indeed, come close many times to turning away from his hubris, but significantly, keeps rejecting the opportunities, which should make me less surprised when he rejects one when it might be too late.
What particularly bugged me is that it seemed that the command he gave Euphie was almost pure chance, that he'd rejected his plan, and then something even worse happened just by chance, not because he lost his temper or was careless. Which isn't unrealistic -- he's been playing with the fire of rebellion A LOT, you expect it to go badly sooner or later. But didn't seem to fit.
But then I thought about it more, and read some other people's opinions, and it's true that what he actually orders Euphie to do does fulfil his goals *really* well, so presumably he'd been thinking that inside, but not articulated it, and then it bubbled out when he was speaking.
Asides
Similarly, it seemed to me there were few downsides in letting the specially administered zone happen, but keeping the Black Knights underground and enforcing the zone's neutrality the first time Britannia inevitably reneged on it. Euphie's idealism and Lelouch's ruthlessness together brought them this far, and even without any common ground between them the same combination could keep working, a politically acceptable offering of maintaining the zone, and a hidden fist threatening retribution for violations.
However, I think the implication is that to make it happen, enough of the resistance groups need to give up... something specific? That it requires trust in advance to work. Even though there aren't really specifics.
More asides
We see some more things about CC's role. A connection to Suzaku. Something about skulls. Something invisibility. Don't tell me, I'll wait and find out what's important later, if anything :)
BTW, why DOES Lelouch trust Diethard? When I first saw it, I assumed he was a double agent and Lelouch was letting it play out, but I don't think any of that actually happened?