Episodes 11-12 – Code Geass: Rhodes Recaptured

last three episodes Recaptured Luo Ze It took me on an emotional journey. Episode 10, “Purple Surf,” irritated me with its terrible plot and ideas. “Destructive Force” left me almost numb; Nolan rescued Katherine, and then Ash, who stood motionless on his Fulbright, firing lasers from his hands, knees, and face. There’s some controversy about the Loki robot and the Situmpe Wall, but that’s okay. Now, as Breaking Dawn airs, I find myself feeling… brooding. Even calm.

“Breaking Dawn” picks up from the end of “Destroying Force”, with Ash falling towards the Earth, unable to save himself from despair and trauma in the face of Noland’s overwhelming power. Even if he could theoretically fight back, he would find himself unable to do so when faced with the ruthless figure of his father. Sakuya saves him, and when they reach a safe place, the two talk, real This may be the first time for them to have a conversation as Sakuya Sumeragi and Ash Phoenix. They reflect on what got them to this point, their goals and how to move forward. Finally, Ash asks Sakuya to give him a new Geass so that he can protect her. She hesitates, realizing what it means to overwrite someone else’s wishes and how invasive it is, but he insists. Finally, she relents and orders him to act as her knight and defeat Noland at all costs.

When I watched, my first reaction was to joke about how these two were getting into a D/s lifestyle arrangement, but in retrospect, it was pretty clever character writing. Ash was so hurt by Noland that he couldn’t stand up to him. Even though he has the ability to fight and react, his adoptive father puts too much psychological pressure on him, causing him to freeze every time. Sakuya’s Geass will cover this mental hurdle, allowing him to defeat his adoptive father in battle and find peace.

The two of them moved on, joining forces with Apollo and Artemis to defeat Nolan and his Lokis, preventing humanity from turning into a blood-red mist. Frankly, the fight scene that follows is pretty awesome. Foulbout doesn’t move much; it tends to stay in one place and fire lasers from its limbs. To compensate for this, the camera follows their highly dynamic movements as they dodge the beam, occasionally switching to cockpit vibrations to emphasize the physical strain this puts on Sakuya and give a sense of how difficult it is. The two expressed their observations of Fulbutt’s abilities in succinct sentences. Eventually, they break through and Ash impales Fulbright with both of Apollo’s swords, echoing Nico’s murder. Nolan is dead and the Loki are no longer a threat.

It should have been a moment of triumph, but then Ash realized: after all the energy they’d just expended, there was no way they could safely return to the surface. He became disoriented from the Artemis and plummeted to Earth again, this time having achieved his goal. His breaths shudder as he says his final goodbyes, the camera holding steady as the Apollo grows smaller and smaller until it bursts in a flash of light. Finally, Sakuya howled. Grieving for the man she once considered her enemy, for the man she deceived and controlled, for the man who forgave her and who, for too short a time, was the only person she could truly rely on. This was a man she might have fallen in love with in a different life.

From here, the action begins. Kaguya gives a speech, describing humanity’s efforts to recover from the destruction caused by Loki, and Hokkaido’s designation as an autonomous region. Nora runs an orphanage and fulfills her dream of protecting white children, now with Catherine’s help. Seven Shining Stars disbanded. Haruka is spending time with her dad. Sakuya left her voice changer and flowers on two graves in the field. Finally, before giving her first speech as Queen of Hokkaido, she looked at herself in the mirror and used Geass to silence herself, sealing away the power forever.

It’s a better series finale: tight and focused, finding an emotional thrust to contextualize and inform the action. It works almost as a standalone, a short story about love blooming on the battlefield and then being cut short.

I complained about this Roze. recaptured It’s too short a time to do everything it wants to do. The show wants to take a maximalist approach when it simply doesn’t have enough time, resulting in the show randomly jumping between half-baked subplots. It needs to be at least twice as long so that all the plot beats have room to breathe and the story gets all the proper connective tissue so that the pathos feels earned and not cheap. I stand by this.

However, there is an alternative: a lite version, similar to what we get here. Nothing mattered to Sakura or Catherine. Haruka’s arc was an afterthought at best. Politics are immature and irrelevant. If we had twelve episodes, four movies, about Sakuya and Ash coping with their trauma and sticky situations, with seven shining stars as supporting characters, it would be a very different and better show. rather than imitating Rebellious Lelouchechoing it in a way that only invites unflattering comparisons, could be its own thing, quieter and less dramatic but memorable in its own right.

But that’s not the show we see. instead, Roze. recaptured is an example of mediocrity and too much thought, destined to be forgotten by all but the most ardent of fans Rebel Ruth.

Episode 11 Rating:

Episode 12 Rating:

Code Geass: Rhodes Recaptured It’s currently streaming on Hulu and Disney+, depending on your region.

insert_ip_tracking exists once