When Lelouch Stopped Using Geass

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Video Concept by: Zero
Script Written by: Amy Summer
Script Edited and Performed by: Zero
Video Edited by: Filz

[@RamyDhia]

It's really fascinating, the journey is not from "using Geass carelessly --> using Geass carefully" but rather "using Geass carefully --> embracing that you can't escape Geass' curse and might as well use its full potential to achieve your ultimate goal. And it really makes sense for a man of Lelouch intelligence (of course he knows the weight of Geass early on and approach it carefully)

[@FireVixen164]

In my mind, killing Euphemia was the moment he went from aiming to survive his goals to aiming to die with them. He accepted that he is now part of the problem, and plays the cards that opens to him

[@CoreVin975]

It’s interesting to see people constantly bash on Lelouch for ordering Euphemia to do what she did, and yet simultaneously completely forget the fact that the soldiers who carried out her orders weren’t geassed. That and they literally saw one of their highest in command Darleton get shot by her. On the one hand I’m questioning why at least some of them didn’t oppose her order due to this. And on the other part of me feels that they used Euphemia as an excuse to carry out a desire they may have been holding in for so long due to their Racial prejudice or even hatred of the Japanese. Therefore Darleton being shot was not enough to stop them. So while you can say that what Lelouch did to Euphemia was wrong, you can’t also say he was entirely responsible for what took place.

[@code.c.]

Zero is a paragon of an unwavering leader that can never exhibit hesitation. Perhaps if there was more work to be done with the Black Knights between Stages 13 and 20, Lelouch would have taken the things he was supposed to learn at Yokosuka to heart and stopped hesitating altogether, as we see him do eventually in Turns 20 and 24. But during these Stages, we see much more of Lelouch than we do of Zero. And with the guilt of everything with Shirley reigning high, he can't bring himself to move past his guilt. Perhaps it is only after Turn 13, when he learns that Shirley would have joined the Black Knights to stand by his side, if ever given the chance, is Lelouch given the chance to internalize after everything that follows; that the only way to atone for his steps backward is by making more steps forward. Only then does Lelouch himself truly become the leader that Zero had always pretended to be.

[@ninebrains4769]

My personal reading of Lelouch’ morality regarding the usage of Geass is hard to describe, but it’s something along the line of making others only cross red lines they have shown a willingness to cross already. Lelouch just changes the targets. Like he wouldn’t make a civilian kill a bystander but a soldier willing to kill someone else might as well kill themselves in Lelouch’ eyes. That’s how I explain why he doesn’t just go “from now on follow all my commands from now on!” in my headcanon. (Pls note that I’m not saying he sticks to his moral principles perfectly, but that’s what I believe his ethical values would consider fine)

[@lenleon3699]

It’s also because a broad command like that also means that he has to tell the person how they will live 24/7. He can’t waste THAT much time dictating every single pawn’s actions. So he chooses commands that allow him to use them to the most, and if they are enemy soldiers he just disposes of them afterwards (as they are an enemy). This is the entire reason why he never goes for the option of using Geass on his Knights, since a soldier that WANTS to serve him is a better piece than a brain dead doll.

[@ninebrains4769]

@@lenleon3699 he could have easily gone the route he went with Guilford, and make it so that the Geass only activates when he wants to.

[@lenleon3699]

@@ninebrains4769 Didn’t he preprogram him some specific commands for that to work? I honestly need to remind myself of that part.

[@ninebrains4769]

@@lenleon3699 every time he took a certain pose he would mistake him for Cornelia. Which serves my interpretation in another way, because he didn’t forbid Guilford to stop being loyal to Cornelia, but considered his willingness to obey her as a willingness to follow nonsense orders already by his own will as long as they come from Cornelia, hence he didn’t make Guilford cross a red line that his own conscience didn’t ignore prior to getting geassed. “From now on do what I say every time I tell you to do something” would have worked without them stopping to act on their own the rest of the time.

[@agroed]

An interesting dynamic between Lelouch and Light is that Light became fully immersed in the Death Note. Even while thinking it would cost him his soul, he still did everything in his power to kill as many evil people as possible before Ryuk even showed up, whereas Lelouch was hesitant for the longest time, and it almost cost him everything.

[@nahte123456]

So I don't think Lelouch's regards to Geass changed but his general motivation. Lelouch was always pretty careful with it even at the start, discounting the girl that had to mark the wall, which depending on the order might have a failsafe and even if not 1 fuck up is understandable, but again discounting that he always had a goal in mind and didn't tried to take people's will fully. His use of Geass slows down after Shirley's dad dies, when after her doubts himself. It's not his relationship to Geass changing, but how determined he is to do anything possible for his goals. Not until Euphemia. Because he did NOT agree with the SAZ, when she first proposed it Lelouch literally thought "I've already considered this", before she even did this Lelouch had already pieced this whole thing out and figured that it "would not work". Ultimately the reason Lelouch agreed to work with her was personal, he personally could not attack Euphemia over her good intentions no matter how ill-thought out they were. And after it all went to hell, when he felt he NEEDED to keep going, his use of Geass got more liberal again. Culminating in the Zero Requiem, where his motivation was at it's pinnacle, he basically spams the Geass at anyone and everyone. Also I will point out that I am very much convinced that V.V. was involved with Lelouch's Geass going wild. After V.V. sent Lelouch to Kamine Island, and we know he did because C.C. mocks him for it asking why he also sent Kallen there, Lelouch next tried to use his Geass on that noble that was beating up an Eleven. The Noble was mad about the SAZ and Lelouch walks over and starts monologuing about his it feels godly to look down on others, activating his Geass only to flinch and stop as if in pain. And then when his Geass just goes out of control C.C. clearly doesn't know what's going on. She thinks things like "it's to soon", she actually got out of the Gawain to ask Suzaku "are you the one" before getting cut off implying she thinks he's doing something, and then later when she asks Lelouch why he did this and he reveals his Geass is permeant she thinks "so that's what happened". All of which makes no sense because C.C. HAS to know what Geass going rogue feels like, from herself and Mao at MINIMUM, and there's no way there hasn't been others. But that big rant was I think this ties into Lelouch's motivation. V.V. wanted to hurt Lelouch, strike him when he was at his lowest, but in turn that was what Lelouch used to drive himself forward. Basically a microcosm of their whole relationship, V.V. trying to hurt Lelouch for his mother or just cause he's in the way and Lelouch instead being driven by that.

[@kanekiwhite7827]

Nice take ngl

[@yousif7847]

​@kanekiwhite7827 Indeed I must say

[@chuuyaism1653]

KATO CODE GEASS VIDEO????? AFTER SO LONG????? it's 3 AM but goddamn am i gonna watch it

[@lightspaceman5064]

Damn it PurpleEyes! I can’t watch this footage without hearing your stupid beautiful voice. This interesting, serious video and all I can hear is “Why are you buying clothes at the soup store.”

[@swiff]

YOUR MORAL COMPASS IS A ROULETTE WHEEL

[@anna.owo.]

Thank you for giving us code Geass content, i don't find many people speaking about this masterpiece anymore.

[@takatotakasui8307]

9:59 These insights are why we come to the Kato channel. Very detailed observation which logically follows from the show but was never directly stated

[@NeroPiroman]

the power itself stayed the same he just got better at using it

[@benjaminmelgaard7575]

i don't think geass like lelouches can really grow in strength like he can make you do anything from the start can't really go further then that however i think he does worry more about it as time progresses and then later fully saying fuck it

[@AzureRoxe]

We're actively told multiple times that his geass grows in power, which is why it eventually gets turned on by itself and he needs to wear the contacts. He's even told that, eventually, even the contacts won't work.

[@titanemp]

I recently rewatched the series. The evolution, or encroachment of geass with Lelouch always seemed to come at specific points. When he let his guard down with Euphy. Or when he confronted his parents and rejected their world. Also was it just because of animation reasons or did lelouch’s geass in that last movie look different. And maybe more orange.

[@Human_01]

This is easily one of the best and most positively impactful animating and story that I have ever witnessed! 👏✨

[@tammydreamwriter2877]

I think that while Lelouch’s use of geass on Eumphemia was an accident- he had no choice but to make the best of the situation since he couldn’t stop her actions due to it, after that geass was the nuclear method of last resort.

[@Kooljupiter]

Thanks for coming through wit the Top Tier Code Geass content as usual

[@BreezeyArrow6031]

Brilliant, just makes you really appreciate the greatest anime of all time 💖

[@DammnDeejay]

I really enjoy your videos on Lelouch. No matter what they are. They’re so deep and introspective. I like to listen to them via Bluetooth at work as well🙏

[@LG-bs1rs]

Great video analysis I loved it

[@kakarrot6381]

amazing video..never thought of it like this

[@zeehero7280]

Also note the wording of the geass he used on Suzaku. Simply "Live" Lelouch cared more about saving his friend in that moment than himself.

[@shoo_sleezy]

waited for this

[@enxman7697]

Great Analysis

[@invidatauro8922]

Hey Kato! I have an analysis for you. Ready? You want to know why Lelouch's Geass went crazy? It's because Lelouch broke his promise. Think about it. Lelouch swore to destroy Britannia. His Geass manifested as a way for him to regain the control he felt he lost as a result of Britannia and it would allow him to destroy it. Then, in his moments with Euphie, he gave in and agreed to work with her for the SAZ. This broke something inside of Lelouch. It either destroyed some of his willpower (because he realized his efforts were going to be, in some way, for naught) or it literally broke his contract, and in legend when on broke their Geas, they would suffer for it. And that breaking of his promise, his wish, to destroy his homeland, caused him to finally lose control over his power. And his power made DAMN sure he would suffer for it. Because it is because of Euphie's death by his Geass that the Zero Requiem became necessary. There was no ending to this story after Euphie that didn't end in Lelouch's death. That is the curse of Geass. Once you've broken your word, your goal, it will destroy you. It will isolate you. It will make you less than you were despite the power.

[@BrandonTaylor-jf5je]

Thank you kindly

[@kiankier7330]

Kato could you maybe at some point do a talk on how Prinesses massacre or/and Shirley's death affected Lelouch or as I would call it, how it broke him

[@bitfrosteseigeheim5605]

This is episode is good example of When Great Powers comes with great responsibilities and "consequences".

[@adraxer1365]

AWW The Eufiasco

[@jamen3328]

Excelent Video deserves way more views! I think Lelouch improved his Geass prowess and Geass grew more powerful even overwhelming him like you mentioned. Reminds me of itachi's sharingan!

[@KatoBeyond]

Thanks for commenting, be sure to share it around!

[@rustyshackleford1062]

Lelouch morality with geass can be framed by some of the first, and last words he's ever monologued "the only ones who should kill are those prepared to be killed" he's a fascinating paradox of a man who is a champion of free will who also has a power that completely usurps and disproves the concept of free will with it's very existence which puts him into some very interesting conundrums. He was fine with manipulating Euphye when he thought she was just another of his royal siblings playing politics, she was part of the game, another prince/princess vying for personal power up until he learns she gave up all prospects of further power in order to establish her autonomous zone partially for his sake, he surrenders to her because his morality can no longer justify manipulating her, the same screwed morality that lets him command 3 dozen people to off themselves without skipping a beat because they were soldiers, they chose to live by the sword so they can die by it, that's how he justified himself up until Euphemia's massacre. Then post massacre he slowly came to let go of his morality and accept that the truth was his crimes were so great, so outside of the realm of the human experience that they cannot be justified, that even if he wins he'd still be apart of the magical god king system that his father set up, that his rebellion was ultimately just trading one oppression for another and that he was too separated from humanity to actually succeed in the first place and began instead trying to atone through martyrdom and instead chooses to embrace his paradoxical role as one who actively robs others of their free will in order to champion the concept of free will and tear down all the restrictions that the powerful would place upon others. People like to hyper criticize Suzaku for adapting his ideals after the geass forces him to contradict them at the cost of thousands of lives but Lelouch is corrupted just as much if not moreso but tends to get a pass.

[@KatoBeyond]

Great comment! I think Lelouch and Suzaku both learned from one another. Suzaku just had to change more than Lelouch did. In Stage 5, we see that Lelouch had already thought further ahead than Suzaku so I consider this consistent

[@Boredofmostofit]

I'm a bit surprised to not find gilford here... the command to see lelouch as Cornelia has literally no impact on his personality, in a way it's the least invasive and absolut effect to be caused while still using the geass to achive his goals.

[@KatoBeyond]

Maybe he got the idea in hindsight from the showdown with Suzaku in the Lancelot. If he had said "See me as Euphemia when I take this pose" then, it would have been perfect

[@Boredofmostofit]

@@KatoBeyond I'm not sure. Maybe its just my impression, but the reluctance to use the geass on suzaku in the first place and the "live" command seemed to me as if lelouch didn't want to win with a "cheat" so to speak. After all the only proof that he deserved victory in the long term would be if he bested his enemys and convinced his allies by his skills and virtues. But that's really more of a guess... And it's nice to see the effort you put in your works, including answering the comments. Not everybody does that. Thank you for that. 👍

[@KatoBeyond]

@@Boredofmostofit Hey, thanks for taking the time to leave such thoughtful comments. The way I see it, Lelouch gave the "live" command as sort of a reflexive smack in the face to Suzaku. I think it was something he wanted to take back the second he did it.

[@Boredofmostofit]

@@KatoBeyond Thanks. Coming from you, it's quite the veritable compliment.

[@pirateking56128]

I'm sure I'm a nerd for this, but technically this power should be pronounced more like "Gesh" considering it's likely based on the celtic version of a sworn oath to either do or not do something.

[@coolestgyever531]

"NNNNNEEEEEERRRRRD!" (but thanks for the insight. ^_^)

[@lenleon3699]

Celt words are such a mess to pronounce sometimes.

[@pirateking56128]

@@lenleon3699 Tends to happen when you have 5 different ways to pronounce a word, everyone violently disagrees with how the others pronounce it, and that is just in ireland alone. Thankfully, I studied phonetics and have a(albeit old) Celtic to English Dictionary :D. A little google search on wikitionary and I can find how the word would sound in the original language.

[@theanonymouschicken169]

You mean people don’t pronounce it as Gay-ass? 👀

[@pirateking56128]

@@theanonymouschicken169 I mean say whatever you want I can't stop you XD

[@sherazali-zk8jj]

best anime ever for me

[@wuba5456]

euphy my beloved

[@HollowedKnight66]

If Lelouch knew that Shirley’s dad was part of Code-R I don’t think he would feel guilty about it

[@sebastianyu5383]

Ultimately to achieve his goals he should’ve accepted the special zone immediately. Euphemia being genuine wouldn’t be an obstacle because she’d be schemed against and undermined by Britannia and other Britannian nobility. The special zone either would not touch the second class political and economic status of the numbers, or if it did, be undermined. Number discrimination is the world policy of the empire. If the zone is allowed to be enacted it shows every occupied population in the world that rebellion wins concessions. Even outright killing euphemia be easier for the empire than to tolerate this; although most likely replacing her was viceroy or taking away enough of the powers of the area 11 viceroy. Zero could simply wait for them to undermine, replace, or kill her while redirecting the black knights to operations like the police refrain raid, and working to expose corruption and events like shinjuku until morale in the knights recovers on its own, or this plays out.

[@KatoBeyond]

I think this is along the lines of what he meant when he said that he would amend his plans to include the Special Zone, instead of not allowing it to be created in the first place.

[@rob2540]

amazing

[@Flamingcloud083]

I don't think revenge and confronting the Emperor were really his ultimate goal like you are focusing on... Mostly just something that needs to happen by the way for his real goal.

[@BigHeadClan]

Ehh not sure his reluctance to use his Geass on Schnizel is correct. He absolutely learned some restraint with Geass after seeing how it could run rampant from Mao and the cost it can have on people close to him long term. At this point Lelouche was still hunting for the killer of his mother and wanted to save his single use on him to confirm what he knew. He was also in a heavily unfavourable situation at that time and it made little sense to risk a confrontation in that moment.

[@Xanegoh]

Honestly, the only thing I would've changed about Code Geass was Charles' goals. Instead of wanting to 'kill god', (make all of mankind equal and truthful by destroying god, the collective consciousness of humanity, and uniting every being as one mind incapable of deceit) his goal should have been to eradicate geass. He had witnessed and experienced just how awful geass was. It's just that actually destroying geass required a great quantity of psychic energy. Which is why he started the war; all the mass deaths fueling the Thought Elevator. It's just that Lelouch had also acquired Geass of his own an sought to use it to unite the world. However, his method had become to assume the role of absolute villain that everyone would unite against. Really, though, I wish they would have dialed back the mecha stuff a bit. Code Geass started off as a political intrigue anime with some giant-fighting-robots thrown in every so often. However, in the second half of the show, the mecha quickly became more prominent with the political stuff becoming little more than window dressing.

[@THE.Troublesome]

I still never understood why he didn’t Geass all the black knights to be loyal. It’s the most efficient way to achieve what he wants.

[@alexanderringler5747]

There is a reason, why Lelouch used Geass on CC. He was already planning on how to defeat Mao and with his command he learnt, that CC isn't affected on Geass. Later he implied to Mao, that he had Sex with CC. Lelouch could do that only by knowing, that Geass won't work for sure.

[@SapphireLibra3]

My prediction, I feel like it was both. His Geass evolved over time, but so too did the ways he used it. Let's see if I'm right.

[@The_Ozone]

Who’s the lady in the thumbnail

[@MasterScar]

Euphy

[@blursedd]

A kind hearted innocent woman

[@THE.Troublesome]

Come to think of it, this was due to writing. If he always used it, then he would have easily won and the show would have ended. So plot.

[@dietrichrache1975]

The completely avoidable tragedy of Euphemia. It hurts.

[@vicmacarra]

Code Geass 🏩💌

[@michistig9761]

first

[@user-mx4is4fx3c]

How people think Code Geass is clever written let alone a masterpiece when it probably has the stupidest scene in all of anime is beyond me. And that doesn't even cover all the whack choices in R2.

[@juanalderete3937]

Code geass sucks tbh

[@Jarino507]

What do you accomplish by posting this? Why did you go out of your way to watch this video?

[@juanalderete3937]

@@Jarino507 honestly bro I just want to start a discussion with code geass fans as they are rare this days because I just finished the series and can't find the "peak fiction" everyone were talking about

[@Jarino507]

@@juanalderete3937 That's perfectly fair, however I think saying "X sucks" with no context on a video full of people who like X probably isn't the best way to start said conversation...

[@juanalderete3937]

@@Jarino507 well I did try the more civil way in other videos but no result soooo.... here we are

[@suncanny1418]

Ok