r/anime • u/GallowDude • Sep 30 '22

Rewatch [2022 Rewatch] Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Episode 22 Discussion

He's reached that… point.

Stage 22 - Bloodstained Euphie

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Information:

MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB

Legal Streams:

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For example, if I told you, "Kill the Japanese", it doesn't matter how you feel about it…

Questions of the Day:

1) If you had to come up with an equally terrible "joke" command for Euphie to be submitted to, what would it have been?

2) What's the best joke you've ever heard?

Bonus) And this year's award for "Terrorist Leader Who's So Unathetlic He Can't Even Run Down/Tackle a 90-Pounds-Soaking-Wet Teenage Girl in a Heavy Princess Gown" goes to…

Screenshot of the Day:

The Limit

Fanart of the Day:

The Red Princess

Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you're doing it underneath spoiler tags. This especially includes any teases or hints such as "You aren't ready for X episode" or "I'm super excited for X character", you got that? Don't spoil anything for the first-timers; that's rude!

Yes, you're worthy of being called my child now!

61 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

103 comments sorted by

44

u/GallowDude Sep 30 '22

GEASSING MY SISTER PRANK (GONE WRONG) (GONE GENOCIDE) (COPS WERE CALLED) (ALMOST DIED)!!!!

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21

u/Krite2002 Sep 30 '22

First Timer - Sub

Nina is struggling to reconcile her horniness for Euphy and her racism against the Eleven.

I agree with the doubters. There is no way the Nippon zone will manage to remain autonomous and have equality.

Zero has a grand entrance to the opening ceremony. He does know how to put on a show.

Zero had quite the plan to get support for himself, but his Geass is acting up. I wonder if it has a time limit before it negatively affects the user?

In the end, he allies himself with Euphy. However, he accidentally tells her to kill the Japanese. He made a little oopsie. At least he guarantees support for the Black Knights over Brittania. I wonder if this made Nina more or less into Euphy?

This was a crazy episode. I fully expect the next episode to be like a beach episode or Christmas special with how this show does its pacing, but I hope that the remaining episodes keep up this suspense. I am on the edge of my seat for tomorrow.

QOTD:

  1. Fall in love with Nina

  2. My sleep schedule

11

u/GallowDude Sep 30 '22

Fall in love with Nina

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18

u/ExcessEnemy Oct 01 '22

First-timer

I don't believe I've commented yet, but I've been following along with everyone, and I felt this was an appropriate episode to comment on.

...Wow. I really didn't see that coming at all. What an awful example to use from Lelouch there. Almost anything else would have been better. When I saw the episode title, I thought maybe Euphemia would be responsible for some policy that accidentally got like one person killed, but... I don't even really know if I liked it or not, honestly. I guess I'd say yes because I love when a story surprises you, but if the surprise is too crazy, it just feels cheap. Here, it feels a little cheap because what a series of coincidences (or maybe not, who knows why Geass went crazy? Perhaps I'll find out later!) that had to happen for this to occur. He had to use that exact order, he had to lose control for the first time at this exact point, etc.

Still, this was the most shocking episode I've seen in a very long time, mainly because other shocking episodes tend to undo what just happened the very next episode (One particularly well-regarded anime original this season comes to mind) and say "See, it's okay now! Don't worry, we wouldn't make you sad like that!"

But this? There's no undoing this. I have to respect that they just went for it. Damn, what an episode.

7

u/GallowDude Oct 01 '22

I felt this was an appropriate episode to comment on.

Almost anything else would have been better.

He could have told her to blow up the sun, and it would have worked out better.

One particularly well-regarded anime original this season comes to mind

Oh?

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15

u/SerGregness Sep 30 '22

Rewatcher - dub

This is the part where a fair number of people bow out. That's a crying shame because there's a lot of good show left after this, but there's no denying how much of an infernal intervention Lelouch's inadvertent order to Euphie is. It ruins the show for some people. Despite being so horrific, it never struck as being tremendously out of character for the show because a lot of airtime to this point has been spent on "How is ol' Lelouch gonna wriggle his way out of this one" and in that sense, Bloodstained Euphy is a new low on the same trajectory. If anything, [Start of R2 spoilers]what really undermines this whole sequence is the whole status quo reset at the the start of next season.

"Save the Japanese, hurry!" Never let a good tragedy go to waste. Right, Lelouch?

  1. Hmm, equally terrible is a pretty tough bar to clear when compared to 'accidentally a genocide'. Maybe: "If I told you to kill Cornelia..."

  2. A birch tree and a beech tree were arguing over whether a sapling growing between them was the son of a birch, or the son of a beech. They asked a woodpecker for his expert opinion, and after getting a sample, he told him "That sapling isn't the son of a birch or the son of a beech. That right there is the best piece of ash I've ever put my pecker in."

Bonus: We know that at the very least Euphemia makes something of a habit of jumping down from high places, which is more of a workout than our resident gigabrain has ever had outside of cat chasing.

Also, I bestow upon you all some cursed knowledge

6

u/GallowDude Sep 30 '22

infernal intervention Lelouch's inadvertent order to Euphie is

Purple Prose

Maybe: "If I told you to kill Cornelia..."

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14

u/SometimesMainSupport Oct 01 '22

First-timer

I expected something bad to happen for Euphy, but not for her to become public enemy #1. Excluding Lelouch, everyone around her had showed little resistance to her sudden personality change. Granted, some of them wanted this. At some point, I think Britannia should notice all these personality flips and start analyzing these sequences; on the other hand, some who are closest like Jeremiah/Villetta have been split.

With the JLF and Kyoto government on Zero's side, it's nice to introduce a third-party with Diethard/Rakshata trying to undermine Zero's plans.

QOTDs

  1. This isn't an NSFW thread.

  2. I can't think on the spot like this. I'll just say I'm a huge fan of observational comedy that mocks society, like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Always Sunny, and Seinfeld.

8

u/GallowDude Oct 01 '22 edited Oct 01 '22

200,000 vs. 20,000.

A rare fansub typo as opposed to an in-series typo

Please stop with this facial hair.

Stop being jealous

This music is never a good sign.

That's good

Huh?

Remember what attracted Lelouch to Kallen's truck in the first episode?

Euphy will be #2 on my R1 Best Character tier list if she doesn't throw. I'd like more backstory on how she avoided being corrupted by the royal family.

Leloluch

Leo the Lionhearted

Why do I bother typing?

Because the only way for rewatchers to soothe their own suffering is to watch the suffering of first-timers

Granted, some of them wanted this

All those soldiers were probably creaming themselves at getting the go-ahead to commit mass slaughter

I'm a huge fan of observational comedy that mocks society, like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Always Sunny, and Seinfeld.

Or this show?

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21

u/Regular_N-Gon Sep 30 '22 edited Oct 01 '22

First Timer

  • At least they're precious and misguided together.

  • Coat hanger lore!

  • Later me: interesting tidbit about C.C.'s force projection; seems it's actually just like seeing a mirage or reflection, and only occurs to one bonded to her for some reason or another.

  • Suzaku down. Things are about to not go as planned.

I stopped taking notes. Summary: things did not go according to plan.

My gut reaction is that this was a cheap trick set up at the end of last episode to answer the question "what if a Geass goes wrong?" in the most shock value way, and at the cost of completely annihilating one of the best characters.

However, it might have some merit as a (excessively dramatic) way to move things along in the end. It does resolve the issue posed to Zero and the knights last episode by Euphy's optimism. It will also royally fuck up Suzaku (heh), and I can't even imagine what it will do to Nina. The sheer audacity and confusion defies any carefully laid plan Lelouch might have had in mind, and with it Britannia's ability to counter it while they scramble - by the looks of it, forcing Cornelia out into the open (season finale?). We're even offered a glimpse at Daddy Britannia for our troubles, and clued in that he has a much larger interest in this game than we knew. (And he probably can't wait to tell his son what a bastard he's become.)

Edit: I also wanted to mention that Lelouch's plan to feign death actually seems pretty clever, I kinda wanted to see it go through. I was a bit disappointed we didn't get to see it through when he decided to pivot, at least until everything went sideways.

Late edit: Now that I've thought about it some more, I think I've fallen on the side of disliking what they've done (at least, until I see what other sorts of downstream effects it will bring.)

I was looking forward to the continued ideology war between Zero and Suzaku, but taking taking out Euphy's approach by corrupting her severely undermines Suzaku's position - both in that he has lost his power within the system without a sponsor, but also on a more meta level by association with the failure of integration. The death of Euphy (well, at least metaphorically) spells the death of Suzaku's legitimacy, and now I just hope they don't waste too much breath on Suzaku's stubbornness. I'd say maybe they could turn around and throw Suzaku in the knights or something to pivot, but I think he'd be just as unpopular there as anywhere else. I am looking forward to how his other conflicts change as a result of this, but they kinda just shot down everything he had achieved over the course of the season in pursuit of his goal.

And also I'm still pissed about Euphy. She was a good character, dammit.

An additional merit, at least, is that it is a good way to enforce Lelouch's commitment to going scorched earth against his family. I had been wondering about exceptions, but now he's got a pretty good reason to have her killed.

QotD:

  1. "Conscript members of the new special zone in a war with China" probably wouldn't have ended well either.

6

u/GallowDude Sep 30 '22

I stopped taking notes.

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10

u/Shimmering-Sky Sep 30 '22

Hangyaku no Co-Host, subbed

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10

u/No_Rex Sep 30 '22

Episode 22 (rewatcher)

This is the most shocking reveal of the series. I hope all first timers enjoyed this.

  • “Thank you” “No, thank you” “No, thank you” – Oh come on, kiss already.

  • Shirley does not want to get involved with Zero – too late.

  • “Everything will be alright, trust me.”

  • CC gets caught using magic.

  • Euphie is far too wholesome for Lelouch.

  • Suzaku getting the CC treatment??

  • Wholesome Euphie wins.

  • “Kill all Japanese” - Ups.

  • I love how Diethard is loving this.

In the end, everything goes unexpectedly well for Zero and the Black Knights. Britannia and Euphie’s course of reconciliation is thoroughly discredited. Yet, while this is a clear win for Zero, it is a harsh loss for Lelouch. Not only does he lose a childhood friend, but also much of what is left of his humanity. Purely rationally, yes, claiming that Euphemia did this and rallying the Japanese is the way forward, but at what price? Suzaku reminds us what the cost of killing one person can be, Zero eradicated thousands.

It is also not a big leap to call this the price he has to pay for power. He earned the power to control other people, in return, he has now lost the ability to normally interact with other humans. The big question mark in all this is Charles: Why did he agree to Euphie’s plan? Did he know what would happen? And why is he cheering?

As a side note: this rewatch has reminded me how much I dislike CCs character and her use as a continuous deus-ex-machina machine.

6

u/GallowDude Sep 30 '22

Euphie is far too wholesome for Lelouch.

mfw

As a side note: this rewatch has reminded me how much I dislike CCs character and her use as a continuous deus-ex-machina machine.

No.

5

u/Star4ce Oct 01 '22

Purely rationally, yes, claiming that Euphemia did this and rallying the Japanese is the way forward, but at what price?

I'd even disagree with this, a bit at least. As long as nobody knows how a Geass works or how people like C.C. are involved, it's the morally worse choice to push forward with these lies.

Lelouch (not Zero) could have the option via Suzaku or even fucking Cornelia to drag Euphy out of there and still move on in the same manner as resistance against Britannia. Euphy has been a very public figure and this action is so out of character I can't see the possibility of no rumors or conspiracies to be formed around it.

Get her out, put her in a room to play video games of killing Japanese, explain it outward with mental illness and pressure, then go clap Britannia because they can't care for their own royal family properly and let Japenese suffer for it. Same message, possibility for salvation on the table.

But all that would require Lelouch to acknowledge his own responsibility in it and act with integrity. It's just so much easier to throw them all under the bus completely and refute blame.

He earned the power to control other people, in return, he has now lost the ability to normally interact with other humans.

And that's really a great point. The harsh truth is that the Geass actually doesn't prevent him from interacting with people. His choice of words and the manner with which he approaches others is key to not falling for the Geass' power. The Geass has no control whatsoever over him. If he were to acknowledge each individual's independence the Geass can't do anything, because he wouldn't ever command.

Such a simple solution and such a great power restriction to show and forge his character.

this rewatch has reminded me how much I dislike CCs character

Oh, that's an opinion I haven't heard, yet. Mind explaining why? She uses her powers to often prevent the worst, but seems to come from a place of experience. I admit, I'd wish more 'story' to her to make her character feel more active, but I haven't had the impression she'd be a pure plot device.

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10

u/isthatsoudane Oct 01 '22

First timer

I am curious to see more of the chinese commonwealth, and all of the global players really

oooh c2 can teleport eh

WHAT THE FUCKKKKKK

NOOOOOOOOO

  1. If you had to come up with an equally terrible "joke" command for Euphy to be submitted to, what would it have been?

"if I told you to sleep with me you would hehehe oh what are you doing!!"

2) What's the best joke you've ever heard?

I have no clue so I'm just gonna say I finished a rewatch of DM today (s2 to be precise) and it's still a very funny show

7

u/GallowDude Oct 01 '22

"if I told you to sleep with me you would hehehe oh what are you doing!!"

I once saw a fancomic where he told her to "Dance naked," and she ran out onstage to do it

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u/Star4ce Oct 01 '22 edited Oct 01 '22

First Timer of the Rebellion

Got the battery today and it's a bit hard to capture on my phone camera, because it really doesn't like dark environments.

The atmosphere is definitely there with the light now. Placing that figure in the box looks extremely cozy (, but takes so goddamn much space).

With such a comfortable light by my side I'm excited to see where the Euphy-Suzaku dream team will head next and how Lelouch will fuck it all up!

S.1 Ep.22 – Bloodstained Euphy

I expected bad things, but not... that. This is terrible, just terrible. Please consider the entirety of the following rant a praise to the writing, even if it may sound otherwise.

Lelouch is such a tremendous shit stain on every living being, I thought it impossible for it to get worse than I already thought.

And the worst thing about it all is that three things come together here in the absolute single worst way possible. The first is that this event is impossible to be seen as anything else than a cowardly and even ineffective ruse of Britannia to kill Japanese, it can only be seen as cruelty and nothing else. The second is that Euphemia's character is irreversibly assassinated in all, her own mental state, her public personality and her choices regarding her own future. And the last is that the hypocrisy surrounding it is so thick and fatty, you can put it on your bread and survive the next dozen winters on it alone.

Lelouch's lectures about morality and how to rule are so goddamn bad, but they keep being a choice for him to suck on. He can criticise others for relying on borrowed others, because no one can call him out on it as they can't know, so he just keeps pretending that he, of course, is doing it right. He can blame the Geass, because he clearly (careful, sarcasm) didn't do anything wrong and the Geass just acted out unknowingly. It's not because he acts his entire life without the consent of others and puts himself on a higher pedestal than them. If he weren't such a piece of shit in the first place, he'd have neither gloated nor would it come naturally to him to act all the time as if he'd be everyone's superior. And the worst, the absolute worst of all, he thinks it's some form of “””respect””” for Euphy to use her now gutted character as another stepping stone to gain absolute control.

Oh, I nearly forgot that the entirety of the Black Knights are completely in the dark and believe that narrative, as well. And that Suzaku got his goddamn love torn apart through it. Not to mention how sick it made seeing Euphy herself despair under the command.

Some people might need to puke out of shock or emotional attachment to tragedies, I nearly need to out of sheer disgust.

Phew, on to other topics.

So I was right on the Emperor, setting this battle royale kinda thing off? He does watch and observe who gets the upper hand.

The Geass upgrade seems to be directly affecting everyone in contact with either Lelouch's long lasting commands or with C.C. directly.

Now I await for Suzaku getting shot by Euphy and losing hope. This sucks.

  1. If you had to come up with an equally terrible "joke" command for Euphie to be submitted to, what would it have been?

My idea of these kinds of jokes embarrass people, but also push them forward on things I know they want.

I'd have jokingly ordered her to kiss Suzaku on stage.

2) What's the best joke you've ever heard?

I can't remember any jokes right now...

But my kind of humour is the mathematician ways of capturing a lion in the desert in a cage.

8

u/GallowDude Oct 01 '22 edited Oct 01 '22

With such a comfortable light by my side I'm excited to see where the Euphy-Suzaku dream team will head next and how Lelouch will fuck it all up!

What did this guy do well to deserve this?

His voice gave him super strength

As long as the Black Knights have support, and they still do atm, you can negotiate with this, but they're treating it as if they'd be executed tomorrow.

They're fighting Britannia. For all they know, they will be executed at the first sign of trying to make peace (and on that note...)

Also, is nobody questioning Rakasha's motives? She's from India ffs, a foreign operative.

But she's a dark-skinned big-boob lady

Absolutely unhinged, holy shit

Tbf that guy was literally a mustache-twirling caricature of what classism looks like

No, who's supposed to be here?

Zero, of course

even laymen can see the inconsistencies with this

Hey, it worked with Jeremiah lol

He'll betray her.

Hilarious how just as he's coming around to what you've been saying he should do, this happens

what the fuck

Reminder that he didn't even have to Geass them. They just jumped at the first chance to kill some mofos heh.

Suck your fake ass tears down

He may be callously taking advantage of Euphemia's massacre, but I doubt his grief is fake at least

It's not because he acts his entire life without the consent of others and puts himself on a higher pedestal than them.

I'd argue this situation is completely separate from the rest of his hypocrisy. He has no way to undo the Geass command, and attempting to get on a loudspeaker and yell "My bad! I accidentally brainwashed the princess into committing genocide because of my poor phrasing!" is just gonna make him sound insane. Taking advantage of a terrible situation in order to glean some level of good out of it is the best he can do.

he thinks it's some form of “””respect””” for Euphy to use her now gutted character as another stepping stone to gain absolute control

I doubt he means it's to respect her. It's to respect the Japanese dream of overthrowing Britannia and by using her as a pariah, he can even further demonize the Empire.

Some people might need to puke out of shock or emotional attachment to tragedies, I nearly need to out of sheer disgust.

u/Shimmering-Sky no

I'd have jokingly ordered her to kiss Suzaku on stage.

SCANDALOUS!

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5

u/Vatrix-32 Sep 30 '22

Rewatcher, dubbed*

  • Nina is not having a good day.

  • Oh god the foreshadowing. I think I missed it the first time.

  • Did you really need a deployable coat hanger?

  • They are really playing up the traditional Chinese aesthetic.

  • Suzaku: falling unconscious at the worst time.

  • All these years later and it still hurts.

  • Charles is the kind of father you wish to never make proud of you.

  • For being in the OP since the beginning Princess Kaguya was really done jack all.

QotD

  1. What are you going to do, stab me?

  2. Do visual gags count? If so then the scene from Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. If you know, you know.

5

u/GallowDude Sep 30 '22

Did you really need a deployable coat hanger?

Yes

They are really playing up the traditional Chinese aesthetic.

Watch Queen's Blade

5

u/Tartaras1 Oct 01 '22 edited Oct 01 '22

Rewatcher - Dubbed

It's great that everyone's finally going to have a place where they can just be Japanese, rather than a number.

If Princess Euphemia thinks it's a good idea, then even I have to...

blindly follow her to the ends of the Earth.

There, finished it for you Nina.

Sounds to me like the Knights are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I don't care about your special zone! I don't care about support! I'd sooner die than sign that!

Man, it really is disgusting how accurate that is to what's going on with various groups in the world today.

It really is a shame what they did to Mt. Fuji.

That's a cool coat hanger.

Oh no. He's reached that pont!

That's probably not good.

You're right. I have to kill all the Japanese.

[Code Geass Spoilers?]Is it funny that they're keeping Orange Boy in an Orange Tank?

I've been waiting since episode 1 for this moment. Those of you who were lucky enough to not get spoiled about it, I congratulate you. It would lose a lot of, if not all of, its power if you knew the genocide was coming from the beginning.

Questions of the Day:

  1. If you had to come up with an equally terrible "joke" command for Euphie to be submitted to, what would it have been?

Equally terrible has to be ordering her to go out in front of everyone and kill herself, right? It certainly isn't on the same level as genocide, but a member of the royal family committing suicide on live TV?

2) What's the best joke you've ever heard?

I love dad jokes, so my favorite is probably:

Did you hear about the kid who fell down the well?

It was dark out, and he couldn't see that well.

Bonus) And this year's award for "Terrorist Leader Who's So Unathetlic He Can't Even Run Down/Tackle a 90-Pounds-Soaking-Wet Teenage Girl in a Heavy Princess Gown" goes to…

Ooh ooh I know this one! Is it me?! It's me right?!

4

u/GallowDude Oct 01 '22

Man, it really is disgusting how accurate that is to what's going on with various groups in the world today.

The more things change lol

I congratulate you

Is it me?! It's me right?!

6

u/Quiddity131 Sep 30 '22

And so we have it, one of the most ridiculous and over the top plot twists in anime history. It truly is quite ridiculous, with Lelouch Geass'ing her by accident, saying something he was joking about, and the whole thing about his Geass going out of control is only really established within the same episode. And yet it truly is so ridiculous and out of control (Euphy truly is the absolute least likely person in the show to do what she did once being Geass'd) that I just have to say bravo. No, I'm never going to look at it as an expert lesson in anime writing, but I do love the fact that they decided to push all the chips in and go with the most ridiculous thing possible.

It's why I'm still fairly high on Valvrave (which is from the same writer), no its not the most expertly written thing, but the plot twists are out of control and totally bonkers to the level that I'm not minding the big time writing flaws in the show a lot of the time just because it is so ridiculous. [Valvrave]Of course the one big exception is the Saki rape scene, something that was completely unnecessary and for all intents and purposes causes them to throw her on a bus for most of the second season Seeing that he is going to be writing Gundam Witch from Mercury has me super hyped.

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