What.
What.
No. Seriously, what. I... have nothing. This has got to be the most ridiculous plot twist in the series. Lelouch, how did you not notice that Jeremiah Gottwald was one of the guards assigned to your mother? Jeremiah, how the f*** did you not know that Lelouch was the same Lelouch that you protected?
COME ON! Jeremiah Gottwald was set up to be a great recurring villain! He was personally humiliated by Lelouch several times, and his personal vendetta could have carried this for several episodes! And now he's revealed to have been an ally all along? Or that he should have been? Shame on you, Code Geass. Shame on your for wasting such a great plot point with this stupid plot twist. F*** you sideways with a rusty shovel.
And now he's dead. Whatever. You ruined him anyways.
Guess he's not dead. Whatever. You ruined him anyways.
Shirley and Rolo continue their pissing match of who loves Lelouch the most. Shirley wants to help Lelouch. However, she mentions Nunally, which causes Rolo to active his Geass. Another falling mask.
Lelouch finds Shirley laid out on the floor. She's been shot.
Oh. This is not good.
Shirley reveals that she felt the whole world is spying on her. Shirley giving off a helluva dying speech. Lelouch tries to Geass her into living. "I order you not to die!" I don't think that'll work. Shirley talks about how she's keep falling in love with him over and over no matter how many times she's "reborn." What an odd thing to say, really. Pretty sure this is it for you, honey. You ain't coming back again.
And then she dies. And Lelouch is overcome with grief. And it's almost as if what I wanted to happen in season 1 has finally happened. Hooray, I guess.
OK, other than how completely awful the Jeremiah Gottwald Plot Twist was, this was a very good episode. A good action sequence towards the beginning, good character interaction that didn't require ridiculous filler crap like the student council, and a very good ending, especially with Shirley's final words. Shirley's death was a pretty good moment, though not as good as Euphemia's (mainly because Euphy's had more weight to it due to the events leading up to it). And I like that Rolo finally crossed that moral event horizon and did something that Lelouch will never forgive him for. I can't wait to see how they confront each other. I am actually a little sad to see Shirley go, even though I stated that I felt her death in season 1 would have made sense. But I'm glad the character actually got a pretty dignified death, all things considered. And I love the added weight this should put on Lelouch going forward, and I wonder how this will affect how he treats C2 and Kallen moving forward.
And I'll be honest, I still love Jeremiah Gottwald, even if they ruined him. Hopefully he sticks around and does more Jeremiah Gottwaldy things.
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TheRock ~ Death By Misadventure, Not Suicide
"Would've liked to see that." - Ayuyu on my boner