I found the scene of Lelouch battling Cornelia's troops and then getting a call, saying "But I thought the cat festival meeting was scheduled for tomorrow" way too funny. The blend of this show's seriousness and regular teenage drama makes for some pretty great comedy.
All of the princes and princesses are Lelouch and Nunnally’s half-siblings, all sharing the same father. This includes Clovis, Euphemia and Cornelia. Lelouch and Nunnaly share the same mother, so they’re full siblings. Their mother, Marianne, was also the official empress, despite being a commoner originally.
The scary part about Cornelia is that not only is she good at strategy, she's ALSO not afraid to go out on the front lines and get her hands dirty. She has both fronts covered
I'll be honest, she's actually not *that* great a strategist, and she mostly relies on overwhelming technology and numbers throughout most of season 1. When I first watched this episode, I didn't think that she was smart, I thought that Lelouch was incredibly dumb for falling for such an obvious trap that even I saw it coming from the moment she ordered her men to recreate the Shinjuku massacre just to draw out Zero ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@@AStrangeWindmill And then their father is the one telling Lelouch he's not a true king despite never ever giving a damn about his army and their battles himself Cx
@@Regless0000 Well it both is and isn't actually lol. Basically enlisted personnel which is what honorary Britannians would be has 9 ranks, and there is a gap set of ranks between enlisted and officer called warrant officer. In our world at least you could be one without having to climb many ranks because they are usually specialized, but they do outrank all enlisted despite not requiring you go through all enlisted ranks first. In the US and Britain most warrant officers in the army are stuff like pilots or engineers so it fits Suzaku's role.
As smart as Lelouch is, when you are up against an enemy that is much stronger than you and you rely mostly on strategy, one wrong move can cost you everything. And an enemy like Cornelia is is pretty much the worst card you can be dealt. Last time we were shown that Cornelia is a very capable fighter, and now we also see she's a great strategist.
I'll be honest, she's actually not *that* great a strategist, and she mostly relies on overwhelming technology and numbers throughout most of season 1. When I first watched this episode, I didn't think that she was smart, I thought that Lelouch was incredibly dumb for falling for such an obvious trap that even I saw it coming from the moment she ordered her men to recreate the Shinjuku massacre just to draw out Zero ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
There's something about Cecile's riceball that goes over a lot of people's heads since they're not Japanese. The joke is that she's horrible at making food and putting blueberry jam into the riceball is a terrible idea. Cecile making food is a running gag that is often goes unappreciated because not a lot of attention is called to it.
Lelouch has MANY siblings. I don't think its brought up in the show, but Nunally is VERY far down the line of succession. Like an absurd amount. The Emperor is basically Zues. He doesn't like to keep his pants on.
the racism in this show just breaks me every single time, it sparks really traumatic memories from the time when I was under military occupation living in guatemala. This show is so fucking good I cannot get over it and how heavy the themes are and how relatable they are to real life. Brittannia reminds me of old USA in some ways, eager to conquer.
I love how Lelouch has internalised what his father said to him. It may suck for him personally but it makes for a compelling character and builds an interesting dynamic between Lelouch and Charles.
Lelouch and Cornelia are half-siblings iirc. Cornelia was one of his father's Mistress's children I believe. Lelouch and Nunally are full blooded siblings from the former Empress Marianne.
Code Geass is my favorite piece of entertainment of all time, and I really love your reactions and insights! I'm glad you're reacting to Code Geass, and glad I found your videos. Can't wait for all the episodes :D
Ah yes Where the show truly hooked me With Light his failures were always covered up by another victory and thus he never truly learned from what he had done Lelouch, however fails miserably here by focusing too much on the battlefield like a chessboard and has to learn from what he did That's something animes on intelligent protagonists rarely does and was an amazing change of pace for me personally
Lelouch is constantly losing and coming back stronger for it. When Lancelot bested his strategy, he realized he needed "the human element". When Cornelia bested his strategies here, he realized he needed an actual organization to win. He couldn't simply roll in and win with whatever random people were present. They needed to be committed to his cause.
and then you get comment sections filled with dimwits talking crap about Lelouch smh being a gary stu. CG gets bonus points for Lelouch also having an ideal upbringing and not just being a genius.
There's some details this episode presents about the Ashford family that doesn't get much attention but I always thought it was a nice background detail. The Ashford family (the people that run the school, including the student council president) know Lelouch and Nunally are royalty. The Ashford's were allies with their mother, but after she was murdered their status plummeted and the only thing they have left is the school. Which is why Milly is talking about an arranged marriage.
The Ashford family they said is going to fall down is the family of the student council president. Lelouch and Nunnuly stay in a home funded by their family
This episode provides a lot of information on various characters. Mainly about Lelouch and we start by addressing his past. Lelouch was damaged by the death of his mother, but his father ended up breaking him. On the one hand, the murder of his mother is for Lelouch a trauma about the loss, as a consequence of not having been able to handle the event and mourn with the appropriate tools. On the other hand, Lelouch has his first big childish disappointment in him because his father isn't the all-powerful figure he's supposed to be, but that's not the worst part. Worst of all, Charles cynically justifies his inaction and disdain for Britannia's ideology (Social Darwinism), leading Lelouch to question and refute it and form an opposing belief system. It is due to the Britannian ideology that Lelouch subconsciously views vulnerability as weakness (a bad thing). Hence, it is difficult for him to ask for help, to show and have contact with his emotions, to trust others, he is defensive (being vulnerable). He has to be self-sufficient because otherwise he's "dead" (in the Audio Dramas it's even more noticeable because the emotional wound is fresh, Lelouch is particularly nasty to Suzaku and Milly because of it). Basically, little Lelouch internalized this thought: "My father is not powerful and he believes that I'm incapable of surviving without him; he does not define me; I will prove to him that I am alive without him; I will become strong; I will be independent; my sister will not cast in lack of my father because she will have me; I will protect her; I will not fail her as my father did". I hope Patreon members have asked Kenny and Montana what they thought of this flashback. In this flashback also lies the explanation of why Lelouch's Geass is about control: he wanted to have control over his and his sister's lives when Charles unjustly exiles them. He wants power because he feels powerless right now. Britannia's upbringing, especially living as a prince, also explains Lelouch's worst flaw: his arrogance. Something that had already been seen diluted in previous chapters, but here it is more evident since it is a bad decision to fall into Cornelia's trap and Lelouch knows it and, even so, he runs the risk because he is sure of defeating her. Underestimating his sister's tactical capabilities and her experience caused him to suffer a humiliating but deserved defeat. Unlike Light who is a pathological narcissist, Lelouch's arrogance is a human failing and therefore a tragic flaw. However, Lelouch is capable of expressing genuine and unconditional kindness and we know this from Shirley's story. She wasn't interested in Lelouch until she saw that he selflessly helped an old couple. That is, until she saw that Lelouch was a good person (there was something else deep inside). The moment when Lelouch pressures CC to commit suicide so that she will let him go to the meeting with Cornelia reminded me of Suzaku telling Lloyd that he would rather be executed than live in a world full of lies. They both choose death, rather than live in an unfair world that opposes their beliefs (Lelouch, in particular, was sick with patronizing a system he hates; hence, he is grateful to CC for giving him the power to change the world). Lelouch and Suzaku are so committed to their ideals that they live and die for them. Not to be overlooked, CC expressed empathy for Lelouch's words. It seems that she understands what it is to live by inertia. And last but not least, no one takes into account that Kallen was about to kill Shirley to protect her identity as a rebel or a terrorist, on Lelouch's terms (just like she planned to do to him in episode 3, by the way). It is a detail that is part of the narrative arc that this wonderful girl has.
A small addition, Cornelia also has structure, organization, and a committed chain of command. Her soldiers followed her orders without question. Lelouch's random assortment of terrorists weren't fully committed and refused his orders when they decided his orders were a death sentence. This is truly what lost the battle for Lelouch. His "pieces" weren't loyal and didn't follow his orders. This is why he decides to build "A people, a nation". To overcome this flaw. Lelouch learns from every defeat.
Yep, except while Suzaku was dead serious, Lelouch was telling a bold faced lie.😂 Ain't no way man was willing to blow his brains out and hurt Nunnally further. Always surprised C2 doesn't even try to call his bluff.
@@colt1903 Was he really lying? It is certain that he knew that he was not going to shoot himself because CC needs him and, therefore, she would end up giving in to his demands. But Lelouch has a willingness to die. That is his philosophy. Those who are willing to die should have the power to kill.
@@saltyk9869 I do not see how your contribution refutes my words. I see it from a big picture and you see the details. But both are correct. Lelouch could learn that he needed a loyal organization from here, but he couldn't see that his ego got him into a problem that if it wasn't for CC he would be doomed and that flaw will lead to many more.
reviewing this series after several years through this, now with a far more developed understanding of politics and philosophy, Lelouch's ideology is sooo interesting and I'm a huge fan of how they portray it. I definitely interpret his fixation on "destroying the enemy" as opposed to "liberating those who are oppressed", as a pro-active measure against what he diagnosed as the core issue with the world, and I'd agree with him. Whether or not his own emotions are capable of connecting with this fellow fighters is an important aspect but his morals stay quite "just" I would argue. Certainly not perfect but he wishes to destroy something that is causing harm, which can be a dangerous mindset, and can easily fall into reactionary thought, but in this framing, where it is strictly about the oppression of freedom and the suffering that is caused by this entity, which is not really up for debate (if anything it's "is this state of the world good or not", and most who care about human well-being would also say that it is not) it is a proactive reaction towards an ultimate "evil" His personal way of connecting with it is also clearly influenced by his very clearly depressive and disillusioned mindset and cares to achieve a world which is better for the majority of people, free from oppression. A utilitarian good. (Particularly whether or not this fits the idea of Rule Utilitarianism or Act Utilitarianism i think is an interesting thing to discuss) Super interesting and deep character which is very fun to analyze! Personally I find him way more interesting than Light since Light's larger world view is built on a fundamental ignorance of the world and is just the exploration of an ignorant, disconnected, psychopathic individual with power to achieve a world in which he can control it. Not to say it's simple or bad, but certainly is less interesting and less engaging to me personally. Great video as per usual, this series is really bringing me back and making me realize how much better this show is than i remember EDIT: i know this is already a big text wall but man theres so much to talk about, especially after your guys' discussion, i want to add that I'd say it's extremely human to feel the way Lelouch does, and rely on this outside ability to achieve the only thing he cares about essentially.
The fact that one of the most important moments in the entire series was shown this episode, just a 2 second scene, and that no one paid it any attention, is fucking crazy
This is one of those episodes that has a lot of background information, mainly about the Ashfords. In the flashback on of the nobles mentions that the Ashfords are finished now that Marianne is gone. And later on we see Milley talking about an arranged marriage and restoring the Ashford family. Basically the Ashfords were once commoners and friends with Lelouch's mother. When She became high ranked nobility she took the Ashfords with them. When she died they basically became commoners again although they were able to keep their wealth. Kinda makes sense that they're the ones taking care of Marianne's kids now huh. Also the end question catching about how Lelouch actually believes he is like the dead, exactly like his father said is a good catch. In Lelouch's mind things are like that due to his father. In his father's mind things are like that because of human nature.
So, I really love that Lelouch loses here. It isn't exactly vital to the plot, but it makes the show so much better overall. First, it's a good thing that Lelouch straight up loses. It's not a case of there being someone else was to blame, unfair variables he could not have possibly have foreseen (the Lancelot), or where he loses the battle but comes out on top overall (like when he assassinated Clovis). He lost badly. Lelouch made mistakes, barely escaped, and it was his own fault. This shows that Lelouch CAN lose. This is a good thing because it adds actual stakes to any future conflicts. Lelouch coming out on top is not a guarantee. If Lelouch was always guranteed to win, then the audience will have very little reason to be invested. But because Lelouch can be beaten we feel that he is actually struggling against a difficult difficult enemy, despite how smart he is. It also gives Lelouch a place to grow from. It would be boring if Lelouch never grew and showing his shortcomings (like relying on a force that was not loyal to him in this battle, taking a very unnecessary risk, and being supremely arrogant) so that he can improve. As CC said, if Lelouch wants to win, he needs to set up conditions that he can win in. Lelouch's mistake was going into an unfair situation and being completely confident of victory. This is a lesson he will soon take to heart. It also makes Cornelia and all the Britannians into much greater threats. Before this, Britannia had been a bit of a joke, being outwitted very easily. But Cornelia shows that she is smart and strong enough to be a threat. Victories don't mean much to the audience if they feel easy and this makes Brittania feel a lot harder to beat. It also establishes that Lelouch is not the only smart and competent person, which would be boring.
Better yet. Cornelia had a handicap. None of her most elite fought. Not herself, Gilford, or Dalton took the field. They all led the battle from the rear. Her aces remained in reserve.
I'll be honest, Cornelia isn't actually *that* great a strategist, and she mostly relies on overwhelming technology and numbers throughout most of season 1. When I first watched this episode, I didn't think that she was smart, I thought that Lelouch was incredibly dumb for falling for such an obvious trap that even I saw it coming from the moment she ordered her men to recreate the Shinjuku massacre just to draw out Zero ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But this episode does set up a lot of stakes as you've said, as well as a trend that becomes central to the character arcs Lelouch will go through over the two seasons: he plans for almost every scenario, he gets arrogant and drops his guard, and then he panics big time when the one scenario he didn't expect ends up happening 👌 Best part is, this happens both in serious and dramatic moments like the battles he fights as Zero and in more mundane or comical moments, like when he has a mini panic attack after failing to geass Kallen a second time before Shirley gives him an excuse to run away ^^
The idea of a superpower that is clueless about military deception and disruption would really seem absurd. In WW2 there were all kinds of tricks like the inflatable vehicles or planting false intelligence that would throw off their deployments.
@@usul573 That's actually a pretty clever writing trick. Once you've seen Cornelia and her men in action, and you compare them to Clovis and Bartley, you come to realise that it made sense to give command of a colony that's already been pacified to a person that's all charisma and no military expertise, while keeping those who excel in the latter working on establishing more colonies. It was a bait and switch both for Lelouch and the audience, as a way to lure both into a false sense of security before raising the stakes by promptly pulling the rug from under us, and forcing Lelouch to reevaluate his plans, leading to even higher stakes once he does establish his army, and even more so once he starts creating nations plural ^^
@@Megalomaniac_Trans_Lesbian Yeah I mean Clovis probably had no business giving actual commands like that. Should have just delegated that to military officers. Of course a poor chain of command and royalty with their heads in the clouds have caused tons of problems in the past.
It's been a long time since I've seen this show, but I believe every Prince and Princess of Britainia has the same father, The Emperor. Their mothers were either an Empress or a mistress. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong🤷♀️
That is correct. I would just like to point out that Marianne, Lelouch and Nunally's mother, was the fifth wife of Emperor Charles and the official Empress, despite being born a commoner.
Pretty sure what Lelouch was referring to when he said he considered himself dead before he met CC, is that he felt he had no power to fulfill his only purpose in life, which is to destroy Britannia and creatre a world where his sister can be safe. And when he said he'd rather die than go back to that, what he meant is that he finally has the power now to fulfill his purpose, and if CC would prevent him from fighting against his Britannia to save his life, then he prefers death in that case. When CC first came to the school and they talked, he told her that he had already planned to take out Britannia. Also in the first episode when Rivalz asked Lelouch if he was not going to join in for the moment in silence for the fallen soldiers, he eventually said he's realized that the world cannot be changed no matter how hard you try. Combine those and you have the full picture :)
Lelouch excels at strategy. Cornelia excels at tactics. In the end, Cornelia was handicapped as she didn't use her "best pieces". Herself, Dalton, and Gilford were the strongest fighters on the field if they had engaged. That being said, Lelouch clearly underestimated her and thought he could win using random people. But this is the difference between 100 people versus 10 trained soldiers. The soldier have discipline. The people did not. And that was what Lelouch was lacking more than anything.
I always imagine, they made the VAs record their Geass moment at the very beginning. Like: Their first ever line in the studio is the Geass moment, when they have no idea how it came to that, so that they can be as real and authentic as possible. 😂 Imagine the process while recording all the other lines, when they find out, how it had come to their first line in studio. 😂
One of the best things about all the characters of Code Geass and Lelouch in particular is their complex morality and thought process. It's a show of varying shades of grey. Very little is entirely good or evil.
How is a saying goes? Something like: "If i never saw light - i would be able to endure darkness forever". So when Lelouch was threatened by CC and refuse to comply i can perfectly understand it (and yeah, it's mb not a good mindset overall, but it's kinda represent his circumstances: he is desperate) Also: What are your thoughts on Yagami Light and Lelouch vi Britania comparison for now? I mean - Light was never truly suffer a loss until the very end, while Lelouch already been stomped by reality several times.
Yeah the history of the world is huge too. Basically it was similar to our timeline until the 1500’s. Basically Queen Elizabeth had a children which is from where the Britanian royal family descends. The American Revolution failed due to Benjamin Franklin of all people trading in for an earldom. The French Revolution happened and Napoleon Invaded England and the royal family fled to America which is where Britannia is. After Napoleon the European countries became the EU. Britannia Expanded to more areas. And China became a world power as well. And now the worlds basically split in 3z
Its weird that first tought that came to your mind about "youre unable to use geass" was "oh its probably works only for britanians" and not for example "source of power cannot use that power". Also. Scene in getto. I almost sure than in not dub version it was -But we didnt do anything. -EXACTLY! You dont do anything to raise your social status. Becose it was about britain nationalism. Not terrorism.
Lelouch i believe loses because he was approaching this from the perspective of chess both sides are equal. But when he loses he then realized that nope thing's are anything but equal.
Lelouch: "I have to defeat Cornelia and crush Britannia, but oh no, I forgot today was the school cat festival!" This show in a nutshell. The juxtaposition of drama and sitcom is extremely jarring Lol but I still love it though
for anyone wondering, yes discord still exist but we are just less motivated to comment etc, this channel seems to be accepting our series code geass now, so we are happy to leave it. ~ALL HAIL LELOUCH
This series loves to have small cutaways to other characters doing seemingly mundane things. And yet that "I divided it" scene with Nina is one of the single most important moments in the entire series. It leads to major consequences that affects the fate of the entire world. And no, this is not a joke. I'm not trolling. It's not hyperbole. It's literally one of the most important events in the show.
An interesting and sad detail is that this episode isn't the first time Lelouch has espoused some variant of his Father's view of Lelouch himself. Going back to the end of episode 1 and listening to Lelouch's monologue, you can tell that, on some minor level, Lelouch does perhaps genuinely share his father's perspective of Lelouch himself to a degree. That he has been "dead from the moment he was born" and he was merely "living the lie of living".
At the beginning when lulu sit halfnaked on the bed, you can see the CC lying behind him. Just a small easteregg showing what is going on behind the scenes ;)
While Cornelia is certainly closer to evil here than we've seen her before and she had some awful things done, you could still argue that effectively dealing with the situation will cause less harm in the long run... If she'd fallen for those ploys, more of her soldiers could have been at risk... She wasn't attempting to be cruel or sadistic... She didn't necessarily enjoy killing people, even if she also didn't care if they died... It was all about strategy and warfare... Personally, I'm not sure I'd call it evil... But it's certainly not the nicest way of doing things lol. Also, while Lelouche did get cocky and lose, it wasn't 100% his fault... In the very least they might have lasted longer if they had listened to him... But yeah, as it stands, Cornelia did technically kick his butt...
I think people infantilize Lelouch too much just because he uses game terms, while yes he is somewhat detached... he literally point blank murdered is half brother Clovis.
why are you guys still asking about lelouch relationship with other prince and princes? it's literally the emperor has a lot of wives or mistress so from that point you should known that emperor has many children from different women A.K.A polygamy. even lulu himself explain he is 17th in line for the throne which mean he is 17th child of emperor. polygamy is not that rare today and was very common in the past. you know a lot of men died during war in the past.
Kind of a waste that he doesn’t use geass on a bunch of office workers or minor nobles to transfer small amounts of money to him gradually thus making him rich without doing anything. Instead he focuses on revenge
Fun fact: In an interview for PASH! magazine, Goro Taniguchi (one of the creators and the director of Code Geass) said that they saved the romance for the second season because they wanted to establish Lelouch's motivations and goals and set up his rebellion in the first season before moving on to other things, so let's focus on epic mecha battles and Lelouch's crazy strategies (anyway, romance is secondary in this show; it's just that the fans give it more attention than it deserves). ((((Although it seems that Lelouch has several love interests, in reality, according to the supplementary and official material of the series, there are only two love interests, the supposed third was discarded and there is a fourth that is hardly taken into account due to her scarce possibilities)))).
I'm not sure which is which in your comment, but do keep in mind that he and Nunnally are canonically in love with each other. Same with Euphy. Gotta love royal families Cx
@@saltyk9869 No. Actually, there are only two love interests confirmed by the secondary material and neither represents a path (that's a fallacy invented by a group of shippers who deliberately ignores the development of two relationships). I would not consider this a spoiler either since we found out right here that Shirley is in love with Lelouch and I do not give more details about it.
![FILMMAKER REACTS: METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE | [ALL CUTSCENES!!]](/img/n.gif)
Episodes 7, 8, 9, & 10 of Code Geass are all posted to Patreon now!
HTTPS://Patreon.com/LettsReact
Lelouch: “So you’re going to shoot me huh? Well the only person who shoots me is ME! Good luck trying to shoot me, WHEN I’M ALREADY DEAD!”
CC: "You are a whole new level of stupid"
DONT TOUCH MY STUFF!!!!
Code ment !!!!
@@firefly5677 Lelouch: Ah but who is stupider? The one trying to kill himself? Or the person trying to kill the person trying to kill himself?
@@RhyperiorRangerThat line gets even funnier when you know what goes down at the end of season 2 Cx
I found the scene of Lelouch battling Cornelia's troops and then getting a call, saying "But I thought the cat festival meeting was scheduled for tomorrow" way too funny. The blend of this show's seriousness and regular teenage drama makes for some pretty great comedy.
And then there's his last ever call with Rivalz in S2E19... Cx
All of the princes and princesses are Lelouch and Nunnally’s half-siblings, all sharing the same father. This includes Clovis, Euphemia and Cornelia. Lelouch and Nunnaly share the same mother, so they’re full siblings. Their mother, Marianne, was also the official empress, despite being a commoner originally.
The scary part about Cornelia is that not only is she good at strategy, she's ALSO not afraid to go out on the front lines and get her hands dirty. She has both fronts covered
I'll be honest, she's actually not *that* great a strategist, and she mostly relies on overwhelming technology and numbers throughout most of season 1. When I first watched this episode, I didn't think that she was smart, I thought that Lelouch was incredibly dumb for falling for such an obvious trap that even I saw it coming from the moment she ordered her men to recreate the Shinjuku massacre just to draw out Zero ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
A king leads from the front.
@@AStrangeWindmill And then their father is the one telling Lelouch he's not a true king despite never ever giving a damn about his army and their battles himself Cx
"The pilot is an 11."
Kenny: Oh Cornelia is going to hate that.
Cornelia: Promote that man.
😂😂
Promote him 8 ranks! xD
@@In-The-Zone Damn. I did not know it was eight ranks. I swear I learn something new every reaction I watch.
@@Regless0000 Well it both is and isn't actually lol. Basically enlisted personnel which is what honorary Britannians would be has 9 ranks, and there is a gap set of ranks between enlisted and officer called warrant officer. In our world at least you could be one without having to climb many ranks because they are usually specialized, but they do outrank all enlisted despite not requiring you go through all enlisted ranks first.
In the US and Britain most warrant officers in the army are stuff like pilots or engineers so it fits Suzaku's role.
As smart as Lelouch is, when you are up against an enemy that is much stronger than you and you rely mostly on strategy, one wrong move can cost you everything. And an enemy like Cornelia is is pretty much the worst card you can be dealt. Last time we were shown that Cornelia is a very capable fighter, and now we also see she's a great strategist.
I'll be honest, she's actually not *that* great a strategist, and she mostly relies on overwhelming technology and numbers throughout most of season 1. When I first watched this episode, I didn't think that she was smart, I thought that Lelouch was incredibly dumb for falling for such an obvious trap that even I saw it coming from the moment she ordered her men to recreate the Shinjuku massacre just to draw out Zero ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
There's something about Cecile's riceball that goes over a lot of people's heads since they're not Japanese. The joke is that she's horrible at making food and putting blueberry jam into the riceball is a terrible idea. Cecile making food is a running gag that is often goes unappreciated because not a lot of attention is called to it.
I noticed it on my first viewing, but c'mon, blueberry jam riceballs are a great idea ^^
“These donuts are great! Jelly filled are my favorite! Nothing beats a jelly-filled donut!”
@@trentonbuchert7342 I knew someone would bring that one back sooner or later XD
@@trentonbuchert7342 Took me so long to get that reference to the pokemon dub about rice ball being called jelly donut XD
I love all the little moments where Kallen immediately resorts to the knife as the solution.
I love how early they establish that Lelouch isn't just always OP. That he can be outmaneuvered just like anyone else, it's just harder to do so.
Lelouch has MANY siblings. I don't think its brought up in the show, but Nunally is VERY far down the line of succession. Like an absurd amount. The Emperor is basically Zues. He doesn't like to keep his pants on.
Her actual number is brought up in the show.
Yeah it was something nutty like 87th in line to the throne. Lol
the racism in this show just breaks me every single time, it sparks really traumatic memories from the time when I was under military occupation living in guatemala. This show is so fucking good I cannot get over it and how heavy the themes are and how relatable they are to real life. Brittannia reminds me of old USA in some ways, eager to conquer.
4:18
Kenny: Is that where he talked to Clovis? What _is_ it?
Lloyd: It's a 7th generation Knightmare Frame
I love how Lelouch has internalised what his father said to him. It may suck for him personally but it makes for a compelling character and builds an interesting dynamic between Lelouch and Charles.
Lelouch and Cornelia are half-siblings iirc. Cornelia was one of his father's Mistress's children I believe.
Lelouch and Nunally are full blooded siblings from the former Empress Marianne.
Cornelia's mother is also a former empress ....the emperor has lots of empress....maybe some of them died too ...or divorced 😅🤣
Code Geass is my favorite piece of entertainment of all time, and I really love your reactions and insights! I'm glad you're reacting to Code Geass, and glad I found your videos. Can't wait for all the episodes :D
Ah yes
Where the show truly hooked me
With Light his failures were always covered up by another victory and thus he never truly learned from what he had done
Lelouch, however fails miserably here by focusing too much on the battlefield like a chessboard and has to learn from what he did
That's something animes on intelligent protagonists rarely does and was an amazing change of pace for me personally
Lelouch is constantly losing and coming back stronger for it. When Lancelot bested his strategy, he realized he needed "the human element". When Cornelia bested his strategies here, he realized he needed an actual organization to win. He couldn't simply roll in and win with whatever random people were present. They needed to be committed to his cause.
and then you get comment sections filled with dimwits talking crap about Lelouch smh being a gary stu. CG gets bonus points for Lelouch also having an ideal upbringing and not just being a genius.
The fact that Lelouch learns from his losses makes him more enjoyable than Light
@@HollowedKnight66 how does that make him more enjoyable, almost every generic character learns from their losses
@@lilg6615 Light does not learn from his mistakes and his god complex affects his ability to make an effective plan
There's some details this episode presents about the Ashford family that doesn't get much attention but I always thought it was a nice background detail. The Ashford family (the people that run the school, including the student council president) know Lelouch and Nunally are royalty. The Ashford's were allies with their mother, but after she was murdered their status plummeted and the only thing they have left is the school. Which is why Milly is talking about an arranged marriage.
The Ashford family they said is going to fall down is the family of the student council president. Lelouch and Nunnuly stay in a home funded by their family
This episode provides a lot of information on various characters. Mainly about Lelouch and we start by addressing his past. Lelouch was damaged by the death of his mother, but his father ended up breaking him. On the one hand, the murder of his mother is for Lelouch a trauma about the loss, as a consequence of not having been able to handle the event and mourn with the appropriate tools. On the other hand, Lelouch has his first big childish disappointment in him because his father isn't the all-powerful figure he's supposed to be, but that's not the worst part.
Worst of all, Charles cynically justifies his inaction and disdain for Britannia's ideology (Social Darwinism), leading Lelouch to question and refute it and form an opposing belief system. It is due to the Britannian ideology that Lelouch subconsciously views vulnerability as weakness (a bad thing). Hence, it is difficult for him to ask for help, to show and have contact with his emotions, to trust others, he is defensive (being vulnerable). He has to be self-sufficient because otherwise he's "dead" (in the Audio Dramas it's even more noticeable because the emotional wound is fresh, Lelouch is particularly nasty to Suzaku and Milly because of it). Basically, little Lelouch internalized this thought: "My father is not powerful and he believes that I'm incapable of surviving without him; he does not define me; I will prove to him that I am alive without him; I will become strong; I will be independent; my sister will not cast in lack of my father because she will have me; I will protect her; I will not fail her as my father did". I hope Patreon members have asked Kenny and Montana what they thought of this flashback.
In this flashback also lies the explanation of why Lelouch's Geass is about control: he wanted to have control over his and his sister's lives when Charles unjustly exiles them. He wants power because he feels powerless right now.
Britannia's upbringing, especially living as a prince, also explains Lelouch's worst flaw: his arrogance. Something that had already been seen diluted in previous chapters, but here it is more evident since it is a bad decision to fall into Cornelia's trap and Lelouch knows it and, even so, he runs the risk because he is sure of defeating her. Underestimating his sister's tactical capabilities and her experience caused him to suffer a humiliating but deserved defeat. Unlike Light who is a pathological narcissist, Lelouch's arrogance is a human failing and therefore a tragic flaw. However, Lelouch is capable of expressing genuine and unconditional kindness and we know this from Shirley's story. She wasn't interested in Lelouch until she saw that he selflessly helped an old couple. That is, until she saw that Lelouch was a good person (there was something else deep inside).
The moment when Lelouch pressures CC to commit suicide so that she will let him go to the meeting with Cornelia reminded me of Suzaku telling Lloyd that he would rather be executed than live in a world full of lies. They both choose death, rather than live in an unfair world that opposes their beliefs (Lelouch, in particular, was sick with patronizing a system he hates; hence, he is grateful to CC for giving him the power to change the world). Lelouch and Suzaku are so committed to their ideals that they live and die for them. Not to be overlooked, CC expressed empathy for Lelouch's words. It seems that she understands what it is to live by inertia.
And last but not least, no one takes into account that Kallen was about to kill Shirley to protect her identity as a rebel or a terrorist, on Lelouch's terms (just like she planned to do to him in episode 3, by the way). It is a detail that is part of the narrative arc that this wonderful girl has.
A small addition, Cornelia also has structure, organization, and a committed chain of command. Her soldiers followed her orders without question. Lelouch's random assortment of terrorists weren't fully committed and refused his orders when they decided his orders were a death sentence. This is truly what lost the battle for Lelouch. His "pieces" weren't loyal and didn't follow his orders. This is why he decides to build "A people, a nation". To overcome this flaw. Lelouch learns from every defeat.
@@saltyk9869 But the lesson does not necessarily stick...
Yep, except while Suzaku was dead serious, Lelouch was telling a bold faced lie.😂 Ain't no way man was willing to blow his brains out and hurt Nunnally further. Always surprised C2 doesn't even try to call his bluff.
@@colt1903 Was he really lying? It is certain that he knew that he was not going to shoot himself because CC needs him and, therefore, she would end up giving in to his demands. But Lelouch has a willingness to die. That is his philosophy. Those who are willing to die should have the power to kill.
@@saltyk9869 I do not see how your contribution refutes my words. I see it from a big picture and you see the details. But both are correct. Lelouch could learn that he needed a loyal organization from here, but he couldn't see that his ego got him into a problem that if it wasn't for CC he would be doomed and that flaw will lead to many more.
reviewing this series after several years through this, now with a far more developed understanding of politics and philosophy, Lelouch's ideology is sooo interesting and I'm a huge fan of how they portray it. I definitely interpret his fixation on "destroying the enemy" as opposed to "liberating those who are oppressed", as a pro-active measure against what he diagnosed as the core issue with the world, and I'd agree with him. Whether or not his own emotions are capable of connecting with this fellow fighters is an important aspect but his morals stay quite "just" I would argue.
Certainly not perfect but he wishes to destroy something that is causing harm, which can be a dangerous mindset, and can easily fall into reactionary thought, but in this framing, where it is strictly about the oppression of freedom and the suffering that is caused by this entity, which is not really up for debate (if anything it's "is this state of the world good or not", and most who care about human well-being would also say that it is not) it is a proactive reaction towards an ultimate "evil"
His personal way of connecting with it is also clearly influenced by his very clearly depressive and disillusioned mindset and cares to achieve a world which is better for the majority of people, free from oppression. A utilitarian good. (Particularly whether or not this fits the idea of Rule Utilitarianism or Act Utilitarianism i think is an interesting thing to discuss)
Super interesting and deep character which is very fun to analyze!
Personally I find him way more interesting than Light since Light's larger world view is built on a fundamental ignorance of the world and is just the exploration of an ignorant, disconnected, psychopathic individual with power to achieve a world in which he can control it. Not to say it's simple or bad, but certainly is less interesting and less engaging to me personally.
Great video as per usual, this series is really bringing me back and making me realize how much better this show is than i remember
EDIT: i know this is already a big text wall but man theres so much to talk about, especially after your guys' discussion, i want to add that I'd say it's extremely human to feel the way Lelouch does, and rely on this outside ability to achieve the only thing he cares about essentially.
Lmao! Watching peoples reaction to the emperor is always a good chuckle.
Like how much do you want him to be an a**hole?
Author: Absolutely yes 🥸
🤣
The fact that one of the most important moments in the entire series was shown this episode, just a 2 second scene, and that no one paid it any attention, is fucking crazy
Love that you guys made the comparison between the royal family with the family in Succession. That is such a great show
This is one of those episodes that has a lot of background information, mainly about the Ashfords. In the flashback on of the nobles mentions that the Ashfords are finished now that Marianne is gone. And later on we see Milley talking about an arranged marriage and restoring the Ashford family. Basically the Ashfords were once commoners and friends with Lelouch's mother. When She became high ranked nobility she took the Ashfords with them. When she died they basically became commoners again although they were able to keep their wealth. Kinda makes sense that they're the ones taking care of Marianne's kids now huh.
Also the end question catching about how Lelouch actually believes he is like the dead, exactly like his father said is a good catch. In Lelouch's mind things are like that due to his father. In his father's mind things are like that because of human nature.
So, I really love that Lelouch loses here. It isn't exactly vital to the plot, but it makes the show so much better overall.
First, it's a good thing that Lelouch straight up loses. It's not a case of there being someone else was to blame, unfair variables he could not have possibly have foreseen (the Lancelot), or where he loses the battle but comes out on top overall (like when he assassinated Clovis). He lost badly. Lelouch made mistakes, barely escaped, and it was his own fault. This shows that Lelouch CAN lose.
This is a good thing because it adds actual stakes to any future conflicts. Lelouch coming out on top is not a guarantee. If Lelouch was always guranteed to win, then the audience will have very little reason to be invested. But because Lelouch can be beaten we feel that he is actually struggling against a difficult difficult enemy, despite how smart he is. It also gives Lelouch a place to grow from. It would be boring if Lelouch never grew and showing his shortcomings (like relying on a force that was not loyal to him in this battle, taking a very unnecessary risk, and being supremely arrogant) so that he can improve.
As CC said, if Lelouch wants to win, he needs to set up conditions that he can win in. Lelouch's mistake was going into an unfair situation and being completely confident of victory. This is a lesson he will soon take to heart.
It also makes Cornelia and all the Britannians into much greater threats. Before this, Britannia had been a bit of a joke, being outwitted very easily. But Cornelia shows that she is smart and strong enough to be a threat. Victories don't mean much to the audience if they feel easy and this makes Brittania feel a lot harder to beat. It also establishes that Lelouch is not the only smart and competent person, which would be boring.
Better yet. Cornelia had a handicap. None of her most elite fought. Not herself, Gilford, or Dalton took the field. They all led the battle from the rear. Her aces remained in reserve.
I'll be honest, Cornelia isn't actually *that* great a strategist, and she mostly relies on overwhelming technology and numbers throughout most of season 1. When I first watched this episode, I didn't think that she was smart, I thought that Lelouch was incredibly dumb for falling for such an obvious trap that even I saw it coming from the moment she ordered her men to recreate the Shinjuku massacre just to draw out Zero ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But this episode does set up a lot of stakes as you've said, as well as a trend that becomes central to the character arcs Lelouch will go through over the two seasons: he plans for almost every scenario, he gets arrogant and drops his guard, and then he panics big time when the one scenario he didn't expect ends up happening 👌
Best part is, this happens both in serious and dramatic moments like the battles he fights as Zero and in more mundane or comical moments, like when he has a mini panic attack after failing to geass Kallen a second time before Shirley gives him an excuse to run away ^^
The idea of a superpower that is clueless about military deception and disruption would really seem absurd. In WW2 there were all kinds of tricks like the inflatable vehicles or planting false intelligence that would throw off their deployments.
@@usul573 That's actually a pretty clever writing trick. Once you've seen Cornelia and her men in action, and you compare them to Clovis and Bartley, you come to realise that it made sense to give command of a colony that's already been pacified to a person that's all charisma and no military expertise, while keeping those who excel in the latter working on establishing more colonies. It was a bait and switch both for Lelouch and the audience, as a way to lure both into a false sense of security before raising the stakes by promptly pulling the rug from under us, and forcing Lelouch to reevaluate his plans, leading to even higher stakes once he does establish his army, and even more so once he starts creating nations plural ^^
@@Megalomaniac_Trans_Lesbian Yeah I mean Clovis probably had no business giving actual commands like that. Should have just delegated that to military officers. Of course a poor chain of command and royalty with their heads in the clouds have caused tons of problems in the past.
It's been a long time since I've seen this show, but I believe every Prince and Princess of Britainia has the same father, The Emperor. Their mothers were either an Empress or a mistress. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong🤷♀️
That is correct. I would just like to point out that Marianne, Lelouch and Nunally's mother, was the fifth wife of Emperor Charles and the official Empress, despite being born a commoner.
Pretty sure what Lelouch was referring to when he said he considered himself dead before he met CC, is that he felt he had no power to fulfill his only purpose in life, which is to destroy Britannia and creatre a world where his sister can be safe. And when he said he'd rather die than go back to that, what he meant is that he finally has the power now to fulfill his purpose, and if CC would prevent him from fighting against his Britannia to save his life, then he prefers death in that case.
When CC first came to the school and they talked, he told her that he had already planned to take out Britannia. Also in the first episode when Rivalz asked Lelouch if he was not going to join in for the moment in silence for the fallen soldiers, he eventually said he's realized that the world cannot be changed no matter how hard you try. Combine those and you have the full picture :)
Lelouch excels at strategy. Cornelia excels at tactics.
In the end, Cornelia was handicapped as she didn't use her "best pieces". Herself, Dalton, and Gilford were the strongest fighters on the field if they had engaged. That being said, Lelouch clearly underestimated her and thought he could win using random people. But this is the difference between 100 people versus 10 trained soldiers. The soldier have discipline. The people did not. And that was what Lelouch was lacking more than anything.
Thursdays are the best days because Code Geass reactions! :D
I always imagine, they made the VAs record their Geass moment at the very beginning. Like: Their first ever line in the studio is the Geass moment, when they have no idea how it came to that, so that they can be as real and authentic as possible. 😂
Imagine the process while recording all the other lines, when they find out, how it had come to their first line in studio. 😂
One of the best things about all the characters of Code Geass and Lelouch in particular is their complex morality and thought process. It's a show of varying shades of grey. Very little is entirely good or evil.
Yes Lelouch is related to everyone in the royal family The King has a lot of kids like a lot
Just a tip about pronunciation of CC´s name. It is written as CC, and pronounced as "C2".
didn’t expect that hieperdepiep hoera 😂😂 sounds so good 😭
reaction to nunnaly blind and paralyzed: 😐
reaction to nunnaly arranged marriage: 😱
reaction to nunnaly being called weak: 🤬
All the princes and princesses (including Lelouch and Nunnally) are siblings. The emperor has multiple wives so the heirs are all related paternally.
Every episode Cornelia only keeps getting cooler I swear
So Montana is the female version of Mario was the "let's go! Woo hoo!" :p
How is a saying goes? Something like: "If i never saw light - i would be able to endure darkness forever". So when Lelouch was threatened by CC and refuse to comply i can perfectly understand it (and yeah, it's mb not a good mindset overall, but it's kinda represent his circumstances: he is desperate)
Also: What are your thoughts on Yagami Light and Lelouch vi Britania comparison for now? I mean - Light was never truly suffer a loss until the very end, while Lelouch already been stomped by reality several times.
Light suffered a major loss in literally episode 2
WAIT WAIT she knows Dutch? I love this channel now.
Yeah the history of the world is huge too. Basically it was similar to our timeline until the 1500’s. Basically Queen Elizabeth had a children which is from where the Britanian royal family descends. The American Revolution failed due to Benjamin Franklin of all people trading in for an earldom. The French Revolution happened and Napoleon Invaded England and the royal family fled to America which is where Britannia is. After Napoleon the European countries became the EU. Britannia Expanded to more areas. And China became a world power as well. And now the worlds basically split in 3z
Its weird that first tought that came to your mind about "youre unable to use geass" was "oh its probably works only for britanians" and not for example "source of power cannot use that power".
Also. Scene in getto. I almost sure than in not dub version it was -But we didnt do anything. -EXACTLY! You dont do anything to raise your social status.
Becose it was about britain nationalism. Not terrorism.
The entire "dead to me" speech.. that is exactly how some of my family are.
Lelouch i believe loses because he was approaching this from the perspective of chess both sides are equal. But when he loses he then realized that nope thing's are anything but equal.
C2’s wish probably be peace of pizza
Lelouch: "I have to defeat Cornelia and crush Britannia, but oh no, I forgot today was the school cat festival!"
This show in a nutshell. The juxtaposition of drama and sitcom is extremely jarring Lol but I still love it though
Great episode got some goosebumps in some the scenes can't wait for more
24:50 You write it C.C. and read it as C2. Not the other way around.
for anyone wondering, yes discord still exist but we are just less motivated to comment etc, this channel seems to be accepting our series code geass now, so we are happy to leave it.
~ALL HAIL LELOUCH
This series loves to have small cutaways to other characters doing seemingly mundane things. And yet that "I divided it" scene with Nina is one of the single most important moments in the entire series. It leads to major consequences that affects the fate of the entire world. And no, this is not a joke. I'm not trolling. It's not hyperbole. It's literally one of the most important events in the show.
Delightful reaction as always ❤🤎❤💚💙🧡
Guys please do 2 episodes per week 🥺
I mean, they're running multiple series right now already. They've gotta have time for their lives outside UA-cam too
@@CelticRot Still going to be a whole year before we finish R2 XD
Am I the only one who thinks Lelouch has been hugely misunderstood even by his own fans?
6:31 Cat Screech
it's even more interesting when you remember that cornelia and lelouch are siblings
12:45 calls himself dead like his father did
If you're playing a Chess match and your pieces don't listen to you. Is that really your fault?
Havent seen alot of video's of you guys but didnt know your wife was Dutch. A nice suprise since im dutch myself 😅
I wonder what their reaction will be to table-san 😂
An interesting and sad detail is that this episode isn't the first time Lelouch has espoused some variant of his Father's view of Lelouch himself. Going back to the end of episode 1 and listening to Lelouch's monologue, you can tell that, on some minor level, Lelouch does perhaps genuinely share his father's perspective of Lelouch himself to a degree. That he has been "dead from the moment he was born" and he was merely "living the lie of living".
How far ahead is the patreon? If it's 4 episodes then it's not really worth it.. can definitely wait
Ep 10
I always called her CC instead of C2 cause that’s how they say it in the sub
At the beginning when lulu sit halfnaked on the bed, you can see the CC lying behind him. Just a small easteregg showing what is going on behind the scenes ;)
While Cornelia is certainly closer to evil here than we've seen her before and she had some awful things done, you could still argue that effectively dealing with the situation will cause less harm in the long run... If she'd fallen for those ploys, more of her soldiers could have been at risk... She wasn't attempting to be cruel or sadistic... She didn't necessarily enjoy killing people, even if she also didn't care if they died... It was all about strategy and warfare... Personally, I'm not sure I'd call it evil... But it's certainly not the nicest way of doing things lol.
Also, while Lelouche did get cocky and lose, it wasn't 100% his fault... In the very least they might have lasted longer if they had listened to him... But yeah, as it stands, Cornelia did technically kick his butt...
Hieperdepiep! didnt know she knew/was dutch.
Next episode going to be great 👌
I think people infantilize Lelouch too much just because he uses game terms, while yes he is somewhat detached... he literally point blank murdered is half brother Clovis.
Thats not true the one thing Lelouch didnt plan was the fact that his own troops would disobey him and surrender instead of fight under his command
The false emperor was a great Father's.....than the anathema....
why are you guys still asking about lelouch relationship with other prince and princes?
it's literally the emperor has a lot of wives or mistress so from that point you should known that emperor has many children from different women A.K.A polygamy.
even lulu himself explain he is 17th in line for the throne which mean he is 17th child of emperor.
polygamy is not that rare today and was very common in the past. you know a lot of men died during war in the past.
Ngl yall should start a podcast
hey is there anything on when the last aot reaction will be up?
CC, my beloved 🥺
Cant wait!
oh damn i didn't know she whas dutch ^^
People do wear masks in front of others how do you feel about that. Like putting an act up front saying thing you don't really mean.
Good stuff
Recommend Samurai champloo, if you guys like lofi hip-hop or just chilling anime 😌😌💯💯
ye
Id say that C two sound better than sisi.
Neee ze is Nederlands 😂😂
Hype
Issa movie after the show
You guys look pregnant
How
Day 1 of asking to watch kipo
Who the F besides the US translation calls her C2 instead of C.C.
Everyone who watched the US translation? There's a sizable dub fanbase
Oh my lord.
I'm about to drop 20$ to tell you to stop saying SEE SEE. Dude its See Two.
Jesus man. You're a professional... Get a GRIP....
Kind of a waste that he doesn’t use geass on a bunch of office workers or minor nobles to transfer small amounts of money to him gradually thus making him rich without doing anything. Instead he focuses on revenge
Honestly i know Lelouch technically lost but i feel like he really only lost cause his soldiers were cowards and stopped listening
Fun fact: In an interview for PASH! magazine, Goro Taniguchi (one of the creators and the director of Code Geass) said that they saved the romance for the second season because they wanted to establish Lelouch's motivations and goals and set up his rebellion in the first season before moving on to other things, so let's focus on epic mecha battles and Lelouch's crazy strategies (anyway, romance is secondary in this show; it's just that the fans give it more attention than it deserves).
((((Although it seems that Lelouch has several love interests, in reality, according to the supplementary and official material of the series, there are only two love interests, the supposed third was discarded and there is a fourth that is hardly taken into account due to her scarce possibilities)))).
I always viewed Lelouch as having three. Each representing a potential path he could take. But that is getting sort of spoilery to go into now.
I'm not sure which is which in your comment, but do keep in mind that he and Nunnally are canonically in love with each other. Same with Euphy. Gotta love royal families Cx
@@saltyk9869 No. Actually, there are only two love interests confirmed by the secondary material and neither represents a path (that's a fallacy invented by a group of shippers who deliberately ignores the development of two relationships). I would not consider this a spoiler either since we found out right here that Shirley is in love with Lelouch and I do not give more details about it.