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(Axel , Roxas , Xion) + (+Saix)

Counting down from this episode, the next four are pretty much Suzaku-focused. What sets this specific episode apart is its narrative. There are four characters who are in conflict between their duty and their hearts. Let's start with everyone's favorite:

Lelouch: At first, he assumed that his duty aligned with his heart since he believed that he had found the knight protector for his sister in his best friend, Suzaku, whom he always wanted to have on his team. Besides, he thought that this wouldn't interfere with his other duty of getting rid of the White Knight. But it turned out that his best friend was his worst enemy on the battlefield, the pilot of the Lancelot. At the moment, Lelouch is pressured to make a decision: either eliminate once and for all the only obstacle that prevents him from taking the definitive victory against Britannia or spare his life. Lelouch, apparently, doesn't choose anything as the reinforcements arrive, but even doing nothing is a decision and this reaffirms to us that there are people that Lelouch isn't willing to sacrifice, something we already saw with Shirley in episode 14 (if Light Yagami If he were in his situation, he would have killed his best friend without hesitation because, for him, his ego, his goal of being the God of the New World, is more important; for Lelouch, his loved ones are equally or more important than his revenge and his goal of creating a new world). In the end, Lelouch can only laugh at the irony because he is forced to choose duty. He must continue on the path of blood, even if he must destroy his loved ones and his humanity. This is the litmus test to become the demon that can destroy Britannia. And the thing is that he will try to honor both his duty and his heart, as seen in the next episode, which will turn out badly, because Suzaku is a problem for Lelouch's plans and Suzaku doesn't want to join Zero.

Suzaku: Britannia through Cornelia tests Suzaku's loyalty once again by forcing him to execute the man who once mentored him, Tohdoh. Thus, Suzaku finds himself torn between his principles (and the respect he feels for his sensei) and his duty as a soldier in the service of the empire. But, just as happened in episode 13 with the Japanese Liberation Front, Zero takes that decision-making power away from Suzaku because he intervenes and he persists in his idealism. In any case, Suzaku always opts for his moral code. He didn't shoot at the Japanese Liberation Front like the rest of the soldiers or kill Tohdoh, although he could have done so.

Tohdoh: He is willing to end his life because the person he had sworn allegiance to, General Katase, has died. In other words, Tohdoh is someone who puts his duty first. But then Zero appears and gives him a reason to keep fighting by assuring him that he can fulfill his heart's desire: free Japan. Now Tohdoh takes on a new duty to the Japanese. At first glance, he is the character who came out the best… Until you stop to think that Tohdoh is collaborating with the murderer of the man he served.

Euphemia: the princess must choose her new knight protector. The thing is that she feels coerced into doing what British society and her royal duty expect of her. In fact, a slight parallel is drawn here with the choice of the picture that it is to win. Surely she thought that the artist who had a mixed genetic heritage and who painted a house deserved the prize, but she couldn't declare him the winner, but rather the nobleman who painted the Emperor in one of his speeches because the Britannians, especially the nobles , they are better than everyone else, including the colonists. I don't think it's a coincidence that both paintings are placed next to each other. Euphemia literally had to choose between Britannia's traditional values or her own liberal values, in which merit was more important than title. This is the subtext of the scene in the museum. Ironically, Britannia's hypocrisy and racism push her to choose Suzaku, an honorary Britannian, as her knight justifying himself on his talent and skill (that is, merit) and this marks the turning point of her narrative arc, which will lead to taking a more active role. So, she tries to reconcile duty with what she considers right in her heart.

Episode 20 of Code Geass proposes a similar game of dynamics in the sense that there are several characters who are conflicted with something particular, but we will talk about that when I write the post. I want to see if this post gets enough love to be able to talk about secondary characters and the narrative of the series.

One of the most frequent comments I found while browsing when I entered this fandom and it bothered me greatly was that Shirley's death was useless, which reflected a lack of understanding of the series and the character of Shirley and her relationship with Lelouch and Suzaku. So today I'll explain what the effects of Shirley's murder were.

Broadly speaking, Shirley's murder serves as a catalyst between the first and second half of the second season. Likewise, Shirley's sad murder resonates with the main theme of the series and influences the narrative arcs of Lelouch and Suzaku.

1. Shirley's death was what pushed Lelouch to change his plans for the Geass Cult. Instead of controlling the orphans who had been turned into Geass users, Lelouch decided to destroy the Geass Cult by decimating the children and scientists who participated in the project by organizing a clandestine operation with the Black Knights.

1.1. This operation will later become one of the reasons why the Black Knights will betray Lelouch. It's information that is leaked to Asahina, a member of the Four Holy Swords, and reaches through him Tohdoh, who, together with Ohgi, were the ones who convinced the rest of the Black Knights that they were angry with Zero for abandoning them in the middle of the takeove of the Tokyo Settlement. So the massacre of the Geass Cult influenced the betrayal of Tohdoh, one of the pillars in the Order of the Black Knights and most loyal to their leader.

1.2. Additionally, the Black Knights' attack on the Geass Cult resulted in the death of V.V. and attracted the Emperor who took the code from V.V. and then attempted to initiate the Ragnarök Connection in episode 15, but C.C. prevented this by sealing her code and suppressing her memories. Something that will influence Lelouch's isolation. Also, in the massacre of the Geass Cult, Lelouch captured Cornelia, which will be important in the future.

2. Shirley's death was what pushed Suzaku over the edge and motivated him to coerce Kallen through refrain to get confirmation that Zero was behind her murder. About to do so, Suzaku realized that he was about to become completely corrupted and begins to rethink his beliefs and methods for the first time. It's because of this incident with Kallen that Suzaku is willing to reunite with Lelouch and team up with him, even if it means abandoning Britannia. But, well, Schneizel ambushes the two former friends and makes Lelouch believe that Suzaku betrayed him once again. Consequently, Lelouch is determined to kill Suzaku in revenge, but it turns out badly due to the cursed order he gave him long ago and which causes the total annihilation of the Tokyo Settlement, something that will mark a turning point in Suzaku's narrative arc and It will also affect Lelouch...

3. Shirley's death was a turning point in Lelouch and Rolo's relationship. It was a relationship in which love and hate were quite balanced, but, after this event, Lelouch leaned towards hate. I'll talk more about this point in my analysis of Rolo's motivations for killing Shirley, so that's all I'll say for now. I'll add that, if Mao made him realize that Geass can corrupt the user and Euphemia's death made Lelouch realize that Geass is an evil power, Shirley's death made Lelouch realize that Geass will condemn him to isolation (damn, Lelouch saw a lot of red flags and kept going; I don't know whether to call it idiocy or determination). At the same time, he realized how terrible the power of Geass is in the hands of a child and became terrified that all Geass users were like Rolo, which is why he thinks it is better to eradicate the Geass Cult and not control them.

4. Shirley's death is linked to the main theme of the series (will) and, in a certain way, influenced the epiphany that Lelouch will have in the final stretch of the series. Rolo didn't get into a vehicle, he drove to Shirley's house and got out to shoot her. No. Shirley was murdered, following her will. She abandoned the security force that was guarding her because she wanted to offer her help to Lelouch. To paraphrase Lelouch's words to Schneizel in the series' penultimate episode, people are actively seeking happiness, and for Shirley, her happiness was with Lelouch. Even though Lelouch erases her memory over and over again to protect her, Shirley will always do what her will dictates, and that includes falling in love with him again. Shirley's firm resolve, added to that of other characters, is what teaches Lelouch to value human beings' will and constant pursuit of happiness.

In short, Shirley's death is what leads to most of the events that occur in the second part of R2. Without that, the Zero Requiem doesn't even take place. For all this, it is ridiculous that the alternate universe continues with the same events as the canonical universe, but, well, nothing makes sense in the alternate universe (hence it is complete garbage and I'll maintain this statement until the last day of my existence.)

Having said that. If anyone still wants to be angry about Shirley's death, they have to change their focus on her. The point isn't that Shirley's murder adds nothing to the plot (we already saw that it isn't true); but this seems to show that Shirley is a "woman in refrigerator." This is a term coined by Gail Simone to refer to female characters who face disproportionate harm, which will serve as a plot device to motivate male characters. The term was used to talk about situations in Western comics, but can be extrapolated to other media. Is Shirley a "woman in refrigerator"? I would say yes, but I think that term should be applied when there are female characters who have great potential and the authors don't exploit it, but rather prefer to reduce them to a motivation for the current male hero. And Shirley is not Kallen (an action heroine and Knightmare pilot, whose talent and skill can change the flow of a battle), she is not C.C. (an Immortal Witch who knows all the secrets of Geass and is clandestinely working with our protagonist's worst enemy for her own interests), she is not Euphemia (a princess in the Holy Empire of Britannia who can challenge the status quo and change the system from the inside), she is not Nina (a prodigy in science, capable of creating a weapon of mass destruction). She's only Shirley. An innocent civilian trapped in a bloody war. She cannot contribute more than she can, so let's not ask for pears from the elm.

"I’ve seen it over and over. The people who struggle against sadness, those who seek the future. How they all carry on wishing for happiness. Human nature is why I chose Geass and to wear a mask."

Schneizel and Lelouch's conversation in episode 24 of R2 is one of the most important passages in Code Geass because it reflects the precious evolution of Lelouch, as well as expresses the ideals and meaning of the Zero Requiem: the power of the will, the nature human and the future.

Lelouch rejects both the Ragnarök Connection and The Damocles not only because imposing peace is an evil act by transgressing the will of humanity, but because Charles and Schneizel intended to impose an eternal peace and an eternal peace implies the stagnation of the world and, as Lelouch explains, a life without change is nothing more than an accumulation of experiences. C.C. is the best example of this.

The Zero Requiem precisely embraces that ideal of Lelouch and ensures the progress of humanity, in what way? To begin with, Lelouch realized that the world had fallen into a state where fighting each other was the immediate response to disputes. If you revisit the final episode and pay attention, you will notice that in the first half of the episode all the characters explain why they are fighting and, by extension, why there is still war in the world. As long as there is a reason to fight, people will inevitably clash. That's why Lelouch takes that reason away from them by becoming a greater evil than the one before him.

He manages to unite the nations of the world against a common enemy, demilitarizes them by allying under the flag of the UFN and immediately unleashes a war so fierce that it would wear down the entire world in every aspect. In this way, global politics would be reset and humanity would decide of its own will to change. That nuance is truly significant as it implies that the Zero Requiem doesn0t technically bring peace, rather, it establishes all the conditions for peace to be the best option. Therefore, peace in Zero Requiem is a choice of humanity (and not the will that someone else wants to impose).

Despite everything, there is a strong possibility that after the Zero Requiem was completed, the UFN disintegrated and all nations returned to fighting against each other. In fact, Lelouch is aware that the Zero Requiem itself is no guarantee of absolute peace and it is certain that another war will occur in the distant future. Hence Schneizel says that "the future may be worse than the present." However, just as there are people who will start war for their interests, there will be people who will defend peace and, even if Lelouch dies, the people who will stay behind him (Suzaku, Kallen, Nunnally, etc.), just as those who come after them will preserve the peace he helped bring, because, in Lelouch's words, "people will continue to seek happiness."

Something I had never noticed until I recently revisited episode 24 of R2 is that when Lelouch states: "I’ve seen it over and over. The people who struggle against sadness, those who seek the future. How they all carry on wishing for happiness. Human nature is why I chose Geass and to wear a mask" we have a quick succession of multiple flashbacks in which we see certain key moments and various characters. They all acted according to their will and sought happiness in their own way, even if it led them to an unfortunate destiny (as in the cases of Mao, Euphemia, Rolo and Shirley) or a happy destiny (as in the cases of Tianzi, Xingke and Milly). Each and every one of these characters taught Lelouch the value of the power of will and that it is in human nature to pursue happiness. I find it surprising since even minor characters like Mao and Kallen's mother shaped this ideology of Lelouch. But it makes sense if you carefully study the motivations behind the actions of these characters in their brief, although shocking, passage through the work. These characters in one way or another are connected to the main themes of this series: will and the future.

The Zero Requiem is based on Lelouch's philosophy that all people need a future and the future in Code Geass is translated as "purpose." However, the future takes on a special connotation, especially in this conversation with Schneizel, since it also means "hope." That is, hope that even if things are not good today, they can change for the better later. Zero himself is the perfect example. He embodies both Lelouch's purpose to make the world a better place and the hope that the world can be better one day. In the end, Zero establishes himself as a symbol of this hope and gives meaning to the fight. The murder of the Demon Emperor at the hands of Zero represents that "we must never stop fighting for a better tomorrow, even if the present is gloomy."

The message that Code Geass conveys is that "it is preferable to have a temporary peace than an eternal peace since it is a real peace, honoring human will and nature."

The world is condemned to fall into conflict again and again, but sooner or later it will find a way out as it will never stop changing. This is how humanity moves forward and that is Lelouch's wish. For all this, the Zero Requiem is a love letter to humanity.

PS: Well, this is another post about the Zero Requiem. It hasn't been long since I last talked about the famous Zero Requiem. You must be tired of this topic by now. I'm too. Much more than you, in fact. Writing these long analyzes exhausts me mentally, although it may not seem like it. Honestly, today I just wanted to talk to you about the flashbacks. Hence the image that heads this publication is a collage with most of the flashbacks that the conversation presents. But I didn't think you could understand how these characters contributed to Lelouch's narrative arc and how the learning he gained from them became the backbone of the Zero Requiem, if I didn't explain to you what the ideals of the Zero Requiem were.

Also, I wanted to redeem myself for a post I made months ago. There I tried to explain to you what the ideological confrontation was between Lelouch, Schneizel and Charles based on the color symbology of the final montage with the close-ups that they give us of these characters from the fifth opening (I will leave the link here, in case you would like to read it). At the time, I thought it turned out well. Nevertheless, now, looking back on it, I think I didn't explain Lelouch's part well and since I made some notes on the conversation between Lelouch and Schneizel when I revisited the episode, I decided to re-explain just focusing on Lelouch and this conversation (so if you noticed I recycled words and sentences from that post, that's why).

I may also talk again in the future about the similarities of Schneizel's and Charles's plans since I think that old post I mentioned wasn't clear either, although I'll do so in the distant future. I fear I'm repeating myself. I hate having things repeated to me and me repeating things to others, however, it is necessary on certain occasions. Don't worry.

I think I'll soon upload an old review I posted on my Facebook page comparing Lelouch, Suzaku, and Kallen to their Knightmares. I had fun writing it and I think it's a good analysis. Well, maybe I'm rushing. Lately I'm hating everything I've written in the past that once made me feel proud and satisfied. Maybe it will happen to me with this post I just made. It's nonsense. I'm too hard on myself. I know. But I can't help it and my rational side doesn't console me. Lelouch's tragic flaw may be pride, mine are procrastination, insecurity, overthinking and lack of will. I'm no good as an anime heroine. How sad! I have failed all anime protagonists who are armed with a strong will. Forgive me, Lelouch. I don't deserve you :'(