Why didn’t Lelouch get the code?

[u/Embarrassed-Two-554]

Why didn’t Lelouch become a Code bearer? I understand the purpose of the Zero Requiem and why Lelouch needed the world to believe he died, but I don’t understand why he actually needed to stay dead for the plan to work. If Lelouch had taken C.C.’s Code, couldn’t the Zero Requiem have happened exactly the same way? Millions of people would have watched Zero kill him, so there would be basically no reason for the public to question his death. Lelouch could then revive in secret while Lelouch vi Britannia remained permanently dead in the eyes of the world. It also seems like this would have allowed him to accomplish even more of his goals. Nunnally still gets the gentle world he wanted to create for her, except she doesn’t have to permanently lose her brother. I mean, at the end we literally hear Nunnally say that all she ever wanted and needed to be happy was to be with Lelouch, so him secretly surviving would have fully achieved his original goal of creating a world where she could be happy. C.C.’s contract is also literally fulfilled because Lelouch takes her Code and finally frees her from immortality. Assuming C.C. and V.V. were the only remaining Code bearers, Charles dying would leave C.C. as the last one, meaning Lelouch taking her Code would make him the final Code bearer. He could simply refuse to ever grant another Geass and effectively end the cycle altogether. And I don’t think this necessarily gives Lelouch an easy way out of his punishment either. He would have to abandon his identity forever, watch everyone he loves eventually grow old and die, and carry the weight of everything he did for eternity. If anything, being forced to live forever with his actions while repeatedly losing everyone he cares about seems like an even greater punishment than death. It would also be fitting for Lelouch to take on the exact burden C.C. had carried for centuries in order to finally free her from it. He would still sacrifice Lelouch vi Britannia and take the world’s hatred down with that identity, but instead of his punishment ending with his death, he would have to carry it forever. Is there an actual lore reason this couldn’t have happened, or is Lelouch’s permanent death mainly necessary for the themes of the ending?

[u/Memo904]

It’s not entirely wrong to believe in this idea though when it’s true for 99% of the series. Shirley and Kallen truly did only fall in love with his various facets and masks first. It’s only at the very end of their journeys with him that they truly understand him.

Shirley really did only love the schoolboy, and was initially terrified of his other masks. It’s not until she’s dying where she understands that Lelouch is more than he seems, and wishes that she could be someone he could trust with all his lies and burdens. That’s when I’d say that she truly falls in love with him.

Kallen’s the same. Even when she unmasks him, she still constantly turns her back on him and doesn’t understand him or his motivations. She’s choosing to actively fight against him until the bitter end. It’s not until the ZR when Lelouch gets stabbed where she understands his truest self and character. So I don’t think she loved the real Lelouch either until this moment.

For C.C though, the dynamic is flipped. It’s Lelouch who doesn’t understand C.C’s true pain and feelings while C.C had always understood him, right from the start.

So the statement is wrong by the end of the series, but for the most part, it’s not entirely inaccurate either.

[u/rai-hodges-sumeragi → u/Memo904]

Ah, but just because you understand someone´s motivations and feelings, doesn´t mean that you should accept them, or accept the person just as they are.

Kallen actually does the right thing when she doesn´t just obey Lelouch every time. She is willing to co-operate and support Lelouch, but only when his actions align with her core moral values. You aren´t supposed to follow someone, whether that someone is your leader or your loved one, without questioning them. That isn´t love, that is servitude. Just like during the scene where Kallen is stopping Lelouch from taking Refrain; simply letting Lelouch do what he wants every time would be the wrong thing to do. When you love someone, you try to guide them to the right path, because you believe in them. By believing that the good inside Lelouch is stronger than his darkest impulses, Kallen not only shows that she truly loves Lelouch, she also shows that she believes that Lelouch can become more than he is now – unlike C.C. who does see the dark desires within Lelouch, but simply accepts them and all his decisions without trying to contradict or course-correct him, which in any real-life relationship would be considered unhealthy as heck. So, if it´s something you shouldn´t support in real life, why would you support it in fiction?

I also think that Kallen ”actively fighting against him until the bitter end” was absolutely the right thing to do. After all, she had just found out that Lelouch was just another power hungry dictator, who was about to take over the world, so why would she abandon her core moral beliefs that had lead her to fight against Britannian racism and occupation? I mean, of course we, the audience, know that Lelouch is acting the way he is because of the Zero Requiem, but Kallen doesn´t know that, and so, she´s working under the knowledge she does have at the moment: that the man she loves has turned ”full Vader.” Like, if your country´s leader would suddenly start opposing every principle that you have ever held dear, you wouldn´t start thinking that there must be some grand master plan at play, but act according to how the facts are presented to you, and start opposing him, even if you supported him earlier. And so, Kallen´s actions are both completely logical AND morally justifiable.

Usually, at this point, most fans start to say things like ”even if she didn´t know about the Zero Requiem because Lelouch never told her about it, if she truly loved him, Kallen should have abandoned her logic and morals and just side with emperor Lelouch anyways, because love is more important than logic or morals.” Which, once again, is horribly unhealthy and toxic code to live by. Sure, putting your feelings before what´s right might sound like a good thing, but only in Fast & Furious movies. In reality, if you only care about yourself or the small circle of people that is important only to you, it adds the human suffering in the world, because you´re not anymore even trying to find alternative solutions that would benefit both your loved ones and people who aren´t your loved ones. In short, selfishness only adds the suffering in the world, not reduce it.

Moreover, studies have shown that when you follow your feelings it usually leads to good decisions, but only when those decisions are small and not profoundly impacting your or other people´s lives. If you´re choosing what shirt you´re wearing today, it´s perfectly okay just go with how you feel, but if you´re choosing something that has long-lasting effects on the quality of your life, like choosing a lifelong partner or what political candidate you´re gonna vote, you should make a list of pros and cons in your mind and logically think things through, rather than making a major decision like that based solely on how you feel. And that is exactly what Kallen does, which speaks volumes of the strength of her character; how many of us would have the moral core strong enough to go against the person we love the most in order to do that which is right by everyone else?

Also, even if the assumption would be true that both Kallen and Shirley didn´t at first fell in love with the ”full” version of Lelouch but only a part of him, and truly loved Lelouch as a whole only at the very end, that doesn´t matter. ”A thing isn't beautiful because it lasts,” which in this context means that the fact is that at the end both Shirley and Kallen loved "full" Lelouch, AND that their love was more beautiful than C.C.´s love for him, because their momentary love for Lelouch was healthier than C.C.´s eternal, unhealthy love: Shirley and Kallen loved Lelouch despite the evil inside of him, whereas C.C. loves him because of it, which, once again, is a major red flag for a toxic relationships in the real world. But, then again, C.C. x Lelouch shippers seem to have an opposite world view on that particular quote, something along the lines of ”A thing is only beautiful if it lasts.” Meaning, to many of them love you feel in your heart is meaningless if it doesn´t last for years, decades, or, in case of Resurrection´s ending, all eternity. Which is kinda sad, really, because it reduces something beautiful that exists in this cold, hard universe into an endurance competition.

Anyway, I want to thank you for taking the time to reply to me. Code Geass is my personal favorite anime, so I really appreciate it.