I always thought that it made sense his geass "broke" at this exact moment.... C.C says that the geass is a reflection of what is inside of someone's heart and if you think about it, when Lelouch got his geass he had only one thing in mind "destroy Britannia" BUT when he shakes hands with Euphie, he chooses to "work with Britannia". In other words, Lelouch is betraying his geass (and his heart) at this moment. Also Charles had a full geass but he could still deactivate it at will which means it's possible to keep control of it even at its full power and Charles (as far as we know) always worked to accomplish his goal, he never stopped unlike Lelouch. Maybe to keep control of your geass you must stay 100% focused on your goal and if you have doubts or change your mind the geass overpowers (or curses) you. Moreover, the word "geass" comes from "geas" and it's quite intersting to read about it: "In Irish mythology: A geas can be compared with a curse or, paradoxically, a gift. If someone under a geas violates the associated taboo, the infractor will suffer dishonor or even death. On the other hand, the observing of one's geas is believed to bring power" So if you betray your "geas" bad things happen... I think people forget that the geass is a magical/mystical thing, it's not the same as a gun that misfires at the worst possible moment for example.

Fun fact: "Euphemia" = "Ευφημία" in greek which literally translates to "good reputation" Exactly the opposite of what happens to her after the incident

"I will give you the power of a king. But you will walk a path of solitude." He broke the deal right there with Euphy.

"I love Code Geass despite its flaws" *lists the 2nd OP* Me: laughter

I never had a problem with this scene. His "joke" was reflective of his darker humor, and is absolutely the most outrageous order he could have thought to give a person like Euphemia. Coincidences happen in real life and sometimes it's at the worst time. The series didn't pull this on it's viewers an absurd amount of times, and I think it earned the moment. It would have made for quite the dull ending if something didn't change, and I think the show is better for it.

When I first watched this scene back in early 2015, I was absolutely shocked by how a simple joke could be interpreted as an actual command for Lelouch's Geass to activate inside Euphemia and the consequences it created. Seeing the sweet and innocent Euphemia go on a rampage because of the Geass command was very heartbreaking for me, especially when Lelouch, out of complete guilt, decided to end it all an episode later by shooting Euphemia on the spot.

I would like to add that when Lelouch lost control of the Geass, he was specifically thinking about a hypothetical Geass command - that makes it much more likely that he would lose control and trigger it at that moment.

Lol I never even realised this scene was hated by some. It's literally one of, if not my favourite moment in the show.

That scene where she's firing a machine gun was kinda funny looking It's definitely gif worthy

The bit about "looking into her eyes at just that moment" doesn't seem like an example of contrived timing to me. Looking into a person's eyes while talking is polite and he didn't know his geass was about to randomly activate.

This was the only episode where I didn't click next the second the ed ended, and also the only episode that forced me to think about life for five minutes. Truly the most shocking scene in code geass.

This is always the hardest part of the show for me to watch, I understand the criticism against but for me it always felt like it had been built up to and hinted at (especially on rewatches) but its such a challenge to watch just because of how likable Euphy was, she wanted nothing more than for everyone to be happy and to be able to freely spend time with Lelouch and Nunnaly let that is taken away from her... This is probably one of the best tragedies in anime, I cant help but spend so much time wondering just what things would have been like if it worked out and how happier their lives may have been. By far the saddest part being how history will remember Euphemia as the exact opposite of what she was, being a evil genocidal lunatic rather than the kind and gentle person she was.

This scene needed to be defended? I thought it was absolutely brilliant. Horrifying, but horrifying in its brilliance. It probably helps that I was goofing on the series in general, yet still undeniably enjoying aspects of it, so my bar of standards might not be super high. But man, what a moment. What a moment to turn the head, a series-defining one.

Lelouch is warned prior to this scene that his geass is getting stronger and that he may lose control if he’s not careful but he almost seems to brush it off. This moment comes as a rude and horrific awakening born entirely of Lelouch’s negligence. I honestly didn’t know this scene was so criticized because for years I always thought it was absolutely brilliant.

Seeing Kallens ass every fight in the Guren was my favorite part of the show, truly a masterpiece.

I beleive that Lelouch's order wasn't random, but one of the many possible solutions he had thought about and discarded.

I think you made a lot of great points but what bothered me was the dialogue leading up to the moment. The "kill all of the Japanese" seems like it's out of nowhere. I think you tried to address this issue by saying that Lelouch was simply flaunting his power to describe that he won, but it doesn't explain why he chose such a phrase. I love you're re-imagining of the scene but I think if you tweak the dialogue to also fit the phrase people would have been much less upset. I'm not an author so I won't even try to characterize or add personality but something along these lines: Euphy: I don't think you could have made me kill you, I don't think I could kill anyone its against my nature Lelouch: Your nature doesn't play into it, my power allows me to force people to commit atrocities that you couldn't imagine (sad resigned regretful) Euphy: What do you mean? Lelouch: I could tell you to throw everything away, to ruin everything you stand for and what you've tried to achieve here. (turns and looks her in the eye) I could tell you to kill every Japanese person here and you would do it without-- And then it would play out from there. The way it's presented in the show the phrase itself just seems so shoehorned in and I think thats what generates discomfort for most viewers.

"The soft reset to keep the school setting" I actully like the school part of the show. It gave the show the balance between darker and lighter aspects I like so much. One episode is about winning a battle in china, the next episode is just having fun at the school with the shenanigans of the student councel president and that ninja lady and the next episode is about cyborg orange. Its just nice to have some lighthearded fun in between all that dramatic stuff.

*This was the moment when I knew that the shit is bout to go down and it was so heart-breaking to watch it and in the end, what tragic end Euphemia met. The writer just had to give us this heart-wrenching moment after that bitter-sweer reconciliation on Lelouch & Euphemia.*

I hated lelouch for this, but later on forgiven him after that masterpiece ending. Hes one of my all time favorite anime characters, along with ichigo and number 1 troll king Aizen taichoooo

HOW DARE YOU REMIND ME OF THIS SCENE RIGHT WHEN MY HEART HAS JUST GOT OVER EUPHY'S PASSING 8 YEARS AFTER SEEING IT

It’s a tragedy, that was the most tragic thing that could happen

The timing is convenient, but not THAT convenient, there're way more convenient scenes in CG. And it's such an iconic and cruel plot twist that it compensates the convenience by a large margin. Any writer would be tempted to do it.

What I really hate about this moment is actually exactly how Shakespearean it is. The moment everything starts going well in a tragedy is the moment it becomes predictable. You don't know what will go wrong, but you know it's the most frustrating gutpunch the author could think of and the entire cast will suffer for the sins of the protagonist. I think a diablo ex machina can work to humble a character when things are looking up but victory is not quite apparent. But the moment a series like Code Geass starts going too well, a groaning starts building up inside me as I just wait for everything to come crashing down.

I quite like the Euphemia moment from an artistic perspective. To me its a representation of just how dangerous and unfair the Geass can be, how one wrong move could be tragic and how using the Geass is a "cheat" method and almost evil in nature, its a curse. No matter how good Lelouch's plan is, every time he uses the Geass he is doing something against nature and destroying peoples lives, this is a reminder of that. In the first season people started seeing Zero as a great guy, not knowing about the darkness in his power, but from this point on they come to understand that the miracles that Zero creates arent like "works of god" but more like "works of a demon".

I always thought that it activated at that point because it was subconsciously aligned with what he wanted, and ended up giving him exactly what he needed in order to continue with his goals. So even though it activated against his will, it still granted his original wish, albeit with way more collateral damage.

I loved Euphemia's moment! I didn't know it had criticism >_

"Amped up to 11 because of the Euphemia moment." I see what you did there.

One thing I always took from this scene is Lelouch's Nature to Rebel against his Father. Even though he surrendered to Eufi, he is still the same person who wanted revenge against Britannia over the liberation of Japan, and so the timing of his Geass activing was always, to me anyway, Lelouch's subconcious activating his Geass because he secretly wanted to keep on fighting. As for the Contact Lens, yeah I have absoultely no idea why that played out the way that it did. Other than what I said, I agree completly.

Excuse me, sir, the term is "Euphiecaust"

Take that, BestGuyEver. Great video, couldn't have put it better myself. I think your suspenseful direction of the scene would alleviate a lot of the criticism this scene gets.

I never questioned this scene, but it still broke my heart beyond any expectations because she is my absolute favourite character of all time. Her kindness, her sincerity. They're just amazing. I watched the next two last episodes (of season 1 IIRC) feeling completely empty and detached. Rest in peace, Euphemia. But this series was a masterpiece, and the second season 2. Especially that ending.

Generally, people only call twists clever when they can point out the associated foreshadowing. And they call them cheap when they miss the foreshadowing, or if there's no foreshadowing in the first place. That's why I like your idea to go for suspense instead of shock. Just change C2s foreshadowing to something more explicit and urgent ("Not again! He's become like Mao!") I had no idea people felt the timing was contrived. They do everything they can to justify it naturally. (Literally hours of time for a window, here. His uncontrolled geass would have no effect until the first moment he gives an explicit command, without wearing his helmet. Zero would absolutely order her around, but Lelouch wouldn't. Not at that point.)

This scene was the most important scene of code geass because for lelouch this was the moment because of which he knew he could not go back he knew he was going to have to spill more blood and betray more people if he needed to win

If there's one complaint I have in this series, it's the poor execution of Jeremiah which could've been mediated by foreshadowing.

I didn't even know people hated this scene. I loved the entirety of it and it was one of my all time favorite scenes

I really like the idea that Lelouch's contract with C.C. prevents him from ever truly attaining happiness alongside others. If the show actually made that a core part of the narrative I think a lot of the show's problems would be solved. It wouldn't be too hard to show this effect just enough to be noticeable yet still subtle either. Imagine them showing this to us with things like: Nunnaly coming down with a cold on the day he makes the contract. It would give the show an opportunity to show us how much Lelouch cares about her, while also foreshadowing that this is the end of the simple kinds of happiness that he took for granted. Shirley getting the news that here father died (as a result of Lelouch's actions) just as she tried to get him to go on a date was already so close to this. They could have tweaked it by making Lelouch actually interested in the date despite his other commitments. This would have made clear the feelings for Shirley that he does a little too good of a job hiding in addition to again showing that any happiness he attains through other people is doomed thanks to his curse of solitude. If the show does a good enough job of this, then anyone who picks up on it will then be in suspense at all times, waiting for his chances of normal happiness to be dashed by supernatural levels of coincidence. You could even *slightly* improve the soft-reset with this theme as well if you have that be a catalyst for him overcoming Charles's Geass. Even if it's a lie, the life he lives while under the Geass is happy. Even something as simple as him remembering "The power of the king will condemn you to a life of solitude" before breaking his father's Geass would thematically change the whole scene. Even if it's based on lies, his curse for happiness with others to be forever out of his reach wouldn't allow him to be living a normal, happy, school life.

I've never had an issue with this scene to be frankly honest. The scene as you mentioned is the point of no return for Zero and S1 as a whole. The Special Zone represents the allure of a false victory, settling for the half-measure because it's easy and comfortable rather than continuing down the path of war that Lelouch set out for himself. It makes sense that at the moment where Zero is tempted to give up his convictions, that his curse would force him onwards, and it feels wholly intentional. I will say that I don't agree with the idea that the writers had written themselves into a corner here, as it kind of implies that this moment wasn't intended, or that there was some mistake or oversight that they had to try and write their way out of. Euphemia was always set up to be essentially the Brittania aligned version of Nunnally, a representation of a pure, innocent, wide-eyed girl who deserved none of the hatred the world forced upon her, and was an instrumental emotional crutch for many of the Brittanian characters. Killing her here, and in the way that it did was some fantastic knife-twisting for the Audience, and continues the general theme that Code Geass has about the casualties of war. The losses that Lelouch suffers over the course of the series gradually grow closer and closer to him, starting faintly when he incidentally causes Shirley's father to die, to the more personal but less permanent moment of Shirley losing her memories, and then to the loss of a loved one that Lelouch has a direct hand in killing with Euphemia. As to the timing, I never really found that to be an issue. We see dramatic timing used in a lot of media, and since this scene did have set up, especially since this comes pretty hot off the heels of the Mao incident, which is literally all about the dangers of losing your control of Geass and how it pushes people away from you, it works out pretty well. Sure, as in your example you could have changed the framing to make it more dramatic, but the angle they used kind of increases the shock value since it's portrayed exactly as it's meant, as a throw-away line that has dramatic consequences. The wording may be on the nose, but it represents the exact opposite of everything Euphemia stands for, and is literally the exact opposite of everything she's trying to do at the exact moment when they're discussing his power. After all, what more ridiculous command could you give to a woman establishing a safe haven to reinstate an oppressed people's autonomy than telling her to kill the people she just gathered to save? Honestly, I really like this scene, it's tragic, it's dramatic, and it leads perfectly into the end of S1. And let's be honest, the real issue in Code Geass has nothing to do with Euphemia's death and everything to do with the reset at the beginning of S2, Which I would say IS an example of the writers pushing themselves into a corner, because Lelouch's rebellion had grown too quickly and instead of carrying on the rebellion past the point of no return in light of the Euphemia incident, instead they chose to soft-reset the story so they could use the school setting for more light hearted hijinx. So much of what makes S2 so contrived is having to deal with the reset, and not only is it just a massive blue-balling for the audience after Lelouch and Suzaku's confrontation, but we don't even get to see the resolution of that moment until after we've had to deal with Lelouch retreading the beginning of the series, but with Rolo instead of Rival next to him.

"the second op" lmao

I've seen a number of these video essays tackling so many different controversial moments in anime and film and television, but I think this is truly the first one where I agree with almost every last thing the author says. Bravo, well done.

I love this scene. It reinforces the curse of Geass Lelouch underestimated, and shows Lelouch the true price of his Geass. The entire show had foreshadowed this happening so many times, from Euphy’s introduction with the theme that plays during her into, to the many times CiCi advises him to be cautious of overusing the power of Geass, on top of the episode with Mao in it.

Lelouch: i can make people obey me Euphemia: youre so silly Lelouch: hahaha if i said to you 'kill all japanese', you would do it *geass activates* Lelouch and Euphemia: oh

Man I was worried about how I'd feel here but you did a knock out job. Fair well-researched defense, looking for themes and lack of inconsistencies in-there-of, considering alternatives, and proposing other less-brought-up critiques being the more prescient issues. My mind's not fully changed but I'm a lot more relaxed on the issue given this reading. I still feel like the characters have no agency in the twist. Unlike Romeo, Lelouche is a prodigy strategist so the fact that the one thing that does him in being a 1 in a million chance feels like a betrayal; his biggest weakness was never the writers just being one step ahead of him so why make it feel that way? This ain't No Game No Life, in Code Geass being a genius mastermind means only ever having to deal in 1 in a hundred chance possibilities (any more and you'd be outplayed due to over-thinking or risk overwhelming the viewer with sequences of planning that go beyond believability).

I would leave as is. The writers got the emotion they wanted, out of me.

I have always hated the euphemia moment... and that's why I like it. I was only 14-15 when I watch code geass as it was airing week to week. And I had never actually experienced a true diablo ex machina or literary catastrophe before. Sure I had read other tragedies but had always been spoiled on them. So this was my first real moment of tragic shock. And until this point code geass had been mostly a great thrill ride with great drama but mostly low consequences . But for me this moment it the ultimate "shit just got real"moment. There is no going back there is no fixing it and everyone is hurtling toward even more murder. so I also think the reset of season two also makes it weak and is one of the many reasons season 2 is weaker to me. Except the ending! But I think playing for suspense would give the moment more longevity. I kinda wish they had done it that way. Great video!

As heartbreaking as the Euphy moment was, this was the moment we all knew the series wasn't messing around. That we were going to be on a heartbreaking, but masterful ride for the rest of the series.

I’ve legit been on a code geass analysis video binge, thanks mate!

Well, this is actually one of the few heartbreaking moments in code geass, especially when lelouch was forced to end everything, to the girl he first fall in love with

This is a bit long, but I thought I should share my personal thoughts on this scene. See when I first saw the scene, I loved it- I was confused when I talked to people about it and heard how it was hated. I've always felt that the implications made about Geass was that its loneliness was fatalistic, unavoidable by nature, and as such I always assumed that it activated because it was fated to prevent him from breaching that loneliness (I also always felt that the comment was completely in character for Lelouch, who was once again struck down for his arrogance). After all, bad luck or coincidence are often the causers of the greatest tragedy, and the amount of people who have lost down to sheer bad luck, both in history and fiction, are innumerable. And this only further coincides with how Geass is explained in R2, (although again, I feel it has been implied plenty of times throughout R1, both in regards to what happens to Mao, C.C's immortality, and how the Geass is described by C.C). I'd also just like to add that the allergy so many people have to coincidence (particularly good coincidence more so than bad) is a bad thing for fiction, as it can be more than just getting the author out of a written corner, but can be a greater reflection of life, and a better examination of its principles (which is what good fiction is supposed to do). Luck has its whims and not everything can be predicted. If we can't see how people deal with terrible luck, or how smart people can plan to negate the bad opportunities and wait out the good ones, then it's not a very good reflection of life, now is it?

still cant believe they did my girl Euphy so dirty, rip, I was more upset about her death than Shirley who was just blindly in love

i think what might be your most interesting point is the Geass being a 'curse'. Beyond simply being something that *can* cause misery to the owner, what if it's something more than that? something that has a mind of its own, *choosing* to cause misery to its owner at the worst possible time? the fact that it's a power that has the ability to effectively 'take over' a person, this isn't a shot in the dark even with just the basic knowledge from Season 1. this converts the scene and timing from 'plot convenience' to something far more sinister. an inherent incomprehensible evil in the Geass power itself that's never overtly stated yet is very clearly shown.

I wasn’t surprised by the Euphemia moment, seemed like a natural form of dramatic irony in a very Shakespearean tragedy-esque setup to the anime. Even the inclusion of Britania and royalty are meant to bring to mind the dramatic elements of their old plays

Your alternate scenario isn't bad. I think it might have helped some folks. For me, the series is based on melodrama as a genre, so the use of such devices is to be expected. We may criticize it, but the way the story was organized is fully compatible with that type of resolution. As for the contact lenses from S2, I think they used them because of the time slot change. Without that, maybe he could have ended up with an eyepatch or wearing the Zero mask full time. Regarding your next video, I like the Akito films myself, but viewers should keep in mind they are very, very different in terms of intentions and execution. The staff was new and didn't work on the TV show, so they had other priorities and methods of storytelling. It does have a couple of interesting connections to the original show, but in many ways they're an acquired taste.

In regards to your thought experiment, this is exactly what its like when you re watch the show, your heart the music and instantly remember what is about to happen, it makes the tragedy that much more painful. One of the reasons I liked this show more whenever I rewatch it

The only reason I didn’t question this moment when I was watching it and rewatching it is because of what C.C. says geass is. According to her it’s a reflection of the user so no matter how deep down his desire to be the hero of Japan is its still there and his geass would reflect that. Plus she also says it will isolate him so his geass stopping him from being with the people he loves makes sense to me. I do agree that his geass becoming permanent should have had more effects and should have been another odd stacked against him when trying to rebuild the black knights in season 2. Even though code geass has some flaws I think most of them can be looked past because of how good the show is and I know most people still love the series flaws and all

Great analysis! I think the contact lense is how the Euphemia thing effects Lelouch. He learns (even with the memory wipe) that he has to be more careful and take precautions against his Geass.

I loved this scene feeling the shock and horror with Lelouch. Even knowing that there is a second season after this episode, I was actually convinced that Lelouch Euphemia, and Suzaku could finally work together in the future as something would have to ruin Euphemia's plan for peace. So, I did not expect anything to happen. When he activated his Geass without knowing it and saying something that was merely a dark boasting comment to Euphemia, I was thinking: "Funny! At least, he doesn't need to do--Wait! Why are Euphemia's eyes glowing with a red tint?!" The moment perfectly allowed be to experience the moment the same as Lelouch, but feeling adamantly guilty knowing that we somewhat desired for this to happen. I have watched the entire show beginning to end and loved the entire experience and including the teasing extra seeing at the end of the show's finale. In addition, this show is basically a modern Shakespeare without the bloated rambling dialogue and the usage of bizarre metaphors and sayings of the Middle Ages.

Yeah, I agree the contact lens does feel like a cop out. It totally comes across as something "in character" for Lelouch to "figure out" but yeah

In regards to the Dioblos Ex Machina; life falls apart much easier than everything coming together. This scene was great. Terrible but great.

Euphie is my favorite character in the show... I was so sad when this happened.

i love your code geass videos

Code Geass is my fav anime of all time and I love when people talk about it. Thank you for making this amazing video!

Most heart breaking moments in anime. My first waifu ever.

the saddest part to me is the fact is that this was never ment to happen by pure accident lelouch didn't even want to command her it was a unintentional command that he didn't foresee with his power getting out of control. Even sadder to me is that later when suzaku asks lelouch about her he gets told a partial truth given that yes he was responsible for it but that he never explains that he lost control of his geass and simply leaves suzaku with the fact that she died as if he ment it to happen.

Code geass will always be my favorite anime and this scene never really bothered me but ether way great video.

I remember I was utterly stunned at that moment. I *felt* the horror and shock and utter contempt that Lelouch would have presumably felt at that moment.

biggest 'bruh' moment in anime history

So happy to see current content about this show! A great take on a scene that I admittedly didn't like when I first watched it

To be fair, I see the caracther development for Lelouch in other way, when he kill Euphemia it was the first step to cut down every relation with the royal Britannian family, except Nunally off course, I know he kill Clovis without a doubt, but as he said when he killed Euphy, it was his first love; that moment I see it as a no return for Lelouch previous and future actions, before that he could have just step aside without mayor consequences, but when that hapenned his pride is hurt, he lost to himself, to his own power. I know the timing is kinda off, but the foreshadowing of the Geass losing control where very easy to find. But this arc with Euphemia, is one of the best in the series, for the first time we see Lelouch not knowing what to do, being "defeated" by someone he doesn't even considered to be a threat in first place, and the way it torn apart many character lifes for that one only moment is just brilliant. When I recomended the series to a fiend she stopped right in this point, and we have a conversation about it, she said that the "why" of her death was out a nowhere. Really enjoyed the video!

Really great video, and the thought experiment totally works for me. It's much easier to have Lelouch unaware that his geass is permanent, but let the audience and CC know while we wait for him to give an inadvertent command. The timing is what I think most people have a problem with in this scene

Pride, may be the greatest of all sins but damn it if you didn't cry for Euphie from the beginning of that moment up to her death than you are a heartless person ; ;

My dude.... This has got to be one of the most in-depth analyses of this show. I've watched the anime quite a bit all those years ago, and I'm pretty confident with my knowledge of the show, but in this video, you made some points I had never even thought about. Absolutely amazing content. This is gold right here. Subbed! Will be watching more of your other videos!

This is quite long, as a warning! Ironically, I was just discussing this in a Code Geass fanpage on Facebook earlier today. Here is a revised version of my comment on the Facebook post: "As someone who adores Euphie (and cosplays her) I would have loved to see her not die! But I understand the reason why she had to. It was the episode that cemented both Lelouch and Suzaku's goals. If she hadn't died, all of the people who previously died would have died for nothing because Lelouch would never have finished the Zero Requiem. He would have focused on the Specially Administrative Zone and, yes, Japan would be a safer place for the Japanese, but it wouldn't bring about the world peace we know happened after his death." Added thoughts not posted on Facebook: This scene has special meaning to me. I've watched Code Geass so many times I cannot count. It is my favorite anime of all time and I honestly consider it fate that I watched it (tried to get into it so many times, couldn't get past the first couple episodes, sat down to watch it one day and the first episode starts with "the date was August 10 in the year 2010" and I looked at my watch and it was August 10, 2010, so I knew it was fate and that I needed to watch it and now, almost 10 years later, it is still my favorite). However, the first time I watched the series, I absolutely despised Euphemia. I actually laughed when this scene happened and when she died. I thought she was just too perfect and too good for this tragic anime. But after watching it a couple more times, I started to realize she actually had a point, and so I tolerated her and her "goodness." After a few more watches, I completely fell in love with her. She legitimately just wants to be with the people she loves (Suzaku, Lelouch, Nunnally) and is willing to sacrifice so much for that (giving up her claim to the throne, though she says it's not anything she'd miss, she would then struggle to see Cornelia, also she'd be sacrificing her public image, as shown by people gossiping about why she is forming the Zone and them saying "isn't it clear? She's fallen in love with an Eleven (Suzaku)"). Seeing this purely innocent and good character as a direct contrast to Lelouch's borderline evil character makes this scene all the more meaningful. She is made to be just as evil, if not more so, than Lelouch, all because of an ill-timed joke of sorts. Geass, this power that has cursed Lelouch, forces him to live a life of solitude. He will never be able to be happy with others, to live a life with them. And so, when he accidentally uses it on Euphemia, he is also cursing her to that fate. Even if he hadn't shot her and she had lived, she wouldn't be able to live in Japan anymore. She would have to be isolated from almost everyone, along with media and other connections to the outside world, so to not trigger the order. However, she is shot and she does die. But I think it is incredibly meaningful that the order starts to take over as she is dying and speaking with Suzaku. She is able to fight past it and spend her last moments with the person she loves. She overcame the curse on her deathbed so she wouldn't be alone. This could also reference the ending of R2, where Lelouch isn't alone in the end and is able to speak with Suzaku one last time. Sorry for the long comment! I just have strong feelings about Code Geass and Euphemia!

Originally i always felt that Charles and V.V. always had a hand in Lelouch"s Geass going wild, considering they have access to countless Geass artifacts and the Geass Order, I always thought they learned to control other peoples individual Geass and when Lelouch made that joke, Charles and V.V. made their move evidence with Charles laughing at Euphie being Geass'd

This moment needed defending? Its a personal favorite,moment in anime I thought it was foreshadowed well enough. It was a soul crushing moment back when you didn't even know if there would be a season two. I don't think I'd call anything perfect but this is damn near a perfect anime to me the action suspense the mind games that are played balanced out with great light hearted episodes an fan service that lightens up the mood. Granted there are few flaws but this scene was glorious at how fast it plummeted everything into absolute chaos and would continue to be a haunting reminder of lelouhes greatest mistake,even if accidental, until the end of the show

I love the point you make about what genre code geass is or at least where it draws inspiration. As a Shakespearean drama this moment fits perfectly in line with the rest of the plot if looked through this lens

Both Code Geass seasons are the finest entratainment anime can offer. Loved it and love to rewatch it every 2-3 years. Absolutely fantastic!

I always believed that this scene was one of the strongest scenes in Code Geass simply for showing the depths of Lelouch's pride and ego. He HAS to be the man, that was his main concern here. His original plan was to geass Euphemia into shooting him and becoming an enemy of the Black Knights, thus painting him as the "true messiah" of Japan, after all. Him accepting Euphemia's "peace" is much like how he accepted he couldn't change anything before acquiring the Geass. It goes entirely against his core desire at this point in the series, and he's still seething as he remarks to Euphy about how he could have won. Remember: Lelouch never really set out for the greater good, he was only lashing out at and taking some control back from a world that denied him his choice to live as anything more than a mediocre human. Euphemia once again took away his choice in deciding his own fate, which deeply bothers him and DIRECTLY leads to this tragedy.

I generally never had a problem with the scene in theory its just in practice it kinda flops from a writing standpoint. the dialog leading up to it doesn't feel natural, kinda corny, and kinda contrived, even for code geass.. it kinda gives me the impression this was a scene and outcome the writers had planned on having, but weren't exactly sure how to get there or pull it off. idea being how some writers have a bunch of points of interest or beats in a story outlined before they actually start writing, and then have to string them all together. the writing gives me the impression they got 95% of the way there and then couldn't come up with a natural lead in conversation to the command. when i first watched it i picked up something was going on only because the dialog started to take me out of it, i stopped feeling like i was watching two characters, and more watching one of those ai that can't quite act or talk like a human... if that makes sense

I did think the timing window was a bit ridiculous but I enjoyed the moment for the emotional response it gave me, and I think if it was edited to be the way you suggested in a sort of ticking time bomb of suspense, I would have LOVED it.

Ever since reading Bobduh's thoughts on Code Geass in his "Top shows addendum," I have yet to find a sequence of words that so completely conveys the show. He stated that, "Code Geass is dumb fun that is so confident in its own madness that you have to laugh along. It’s probably the best example of a tradition recently upheld by JoJo, where a show can be good, bad, and so bad it’s good all at the same time - its narrative is ludicrous and characters absurd, but it’s so sincere and so good at being entertaining that it sells you on everything by sheer force of personality. Popcorn is an art form, and Geass is a master of its craft - it does everything larger than life, and weaves a convoluted thriller/drama with such a sense of scale and fun that it’s impossible not to get carried along. The glorious, unapologetic summer blockbuster of the anime world." I love, Code Geass, flaws and all. It was one of the first times an anime REALLY gripped me. AoT and Death Note were series I watched at the start of my dive into the medium. I thought they were great and still do, but Code Geass is special. Great video.

It's not like that moment came out of nowhere, there were hints that it was going to happen eventually, and as you said, story telling full of contrivances to make it engaging. I had no problem with the Euphemia moment and thought that the shock it gave was the highlight of the first season.

I really love this anime and will defend it to the death against anyone but when people usually bring up this moment as being way too "convenient" / stupid for the story I can't really argue with them if they feel that way. I just didn't mind it. Yes, they kinda wrote themselves into a cornee with the special zone (a problem they managed a bit better in season 2 with the China stuff I would say) and that was about the only way the story could have continued interestingly. I personally liked the moment because Lelouch is being beaten by his own confidence yet again, as he before stated that he wouldn't lose control of his geass. But of course the command he gave Euphy was extremely unlucky and 'convenient' in that moment to lead to the finale. Even though the moment itself may be done a little weak from a writing perspective the moments that follow are just great in my opinion. Suzaku's and the Black Knights' reactions are all superb (Lelouch's as well) and I just love the speech Lelouch gives to the elevens in the next episode when the rebellion starts. It's also the only moment in the show when we see Schneizel being really surprised and horrified by anything that's happening even though he plans some even worse stuff later on, even though admittedly they maybe weren't yet sure at this point where to go with his character.

I don't think the timing was all that bad. I'd probably have to rewatch the scene but from what I recall and from what you're showing here, they do a pretty good job hiding his right eye for a good amount of time in that scene. It could have "activated" well before he turned to make the actual command, so long as they didn't show the activated eye (and he hasn't made any other commands while looking at her.) Further more, I don't think him turning to Euffie as he said it was at _all_ a contrivance, he's giving her an example of his power, giving someone a command that they must obey. Obviously he had no intentions of activating it, but in said example it seems natural he'd look them in the eye as he gave his fake command in part of the explanation for how it works.

This scene really grasped my interest in the show, I needed to see more. I loved it, tbh. Chilling how Euphie committed a massacre against her own will. all because Lelouch was saying something he knew Euphie would never do, and in turn accidentally forcing her to do that exact thing was WILD. felt so bad for him.

I'm looking forward to hear your thoughts on season 2! I always assumed they had the Euphemia moment at the end of season 1 because they hadn't planned for the show to get to a second season, so it was their last-minute "Hey let's have a season 2" plot tweak.

I can see why people would dislike that scene, but i've never felt like it was particularly complaint worthy from a storytelling point of view (appart from euphie's character being destroyed. but kinda like people disliking when a character they're fond of gets killed off). Coincidence is a fine storytelling tool that, as many, is not bad if not overused. I do agree with the complaints about tha aftermath of the scene though.. it should've changed lelouch in a lot of ways. Make him better after recovering too. I think the idea of him having to be carefull with his words and eye contact would be very interesting as a constant reminder of the tragedy that his gift/curse brought about. Maybe self-reflecting could make him more cautious and less pridefull

I had no idea people didn't like this moment, imo this is one of the best scenes in the whole show.

The scene could've made more sense: 1- Lelouch activates his Geass in preparation to brainwash Euphemia, but he changes his mind and supposedly turns it off, then he gives in to her plan. 2- Euphemia starts talking friendly with Lelouch, he only replies with small words like "I see" "you win" "that's like you", he doesn't say anything that sounds like an order, during their chat Euphemia says something like "I was afraid that the Japanese people would turn down my plan and side with you to fight me". 3- Lelouch jokingly says "It's not like they would've caused you much trouble with Suzaku on your side, if you're scared of the Japanese just kill all of them". 4- Good job, Euphemia is now brainwashed and wants to kill all of them. *Charles zi Britannia laughing hysterically*

I'm just happy that content creators still talk about the greatest anime ever.

It never occurred to me that people hated this episode. I always remembered it as the moment the anime dropped a major plot dedication move. They did not revive her, that drives the point home. I remember the first time seeing it and literally processing the huge turn the show took contrary to where I thought it was going. Very good in my opinion

Also tragedies like the euphemia incident helped develop lelouch's character. it's when he knew he had to be dedicated to becoming a monster to change the world, no matter how much it hurt him and others, to achieve results by any means neccesary.

People hated this scene? I just do not understand. This was the defining moment that pushed Lelouch to go 140% toward his ambition. This was the moment where, he could no longer go back. He had to keep going otherwise his loved one's deaths would have been in vain. Lelouch painted himself as a villain to justify killing people, in order to obtain his idea of world peace.

18:37 I just watched all 2 seasons code geass last week for the first time, and maybe because I binged it all back to back this moment was exactly that for me. When C2 said “he’s reached that point?” I went “Oh, he just had his Mao moment, it’s permanent” and that whole scene I was waiting for him to accidentally tell her to do something, but I was also watching the dub, so I wasn’t reading the subtitles to see what he would say, and it was suspenseful, because I still hoped that he might just not screw it all up. It was an amazingly tragic scene for me, and it only made my love the show grow. Edit: The reason I haven’t watched anything aside from these 2 seasons is because nothing else is technically “canon” as they are all AU’s, so I don’t feel like bothering with possibly tainting the original story if it isn’t even canon.

The problem I see with this moment is that his Geass glitches out *only* for this. After the season is over... This uncontrollable Geass matter is no longer a problem, either.

Honestly this is one of my favorite scenes in Code Geass and part of why I love it so much to this day. Euphie was a tragic hero who because of Geass sadly went down as a monster while Lelouch, as cynical and sarcastic as he was unfortunately made the greatest mistake of his life which not only brought crisis and hell to his life but was a character made event that drove the plot forward and rose the stakes of the show

That was the moment Code Geass turned from an amazing story to an absolute masterpiece.

Despite how much Euphy deserved to stay alive and have a happy life with Suzaku, I wouldn't change this moment because of its critical importance in the series, the simple fact of changing it, would change R2 at its entirety. It would be interesting to see a fanfic where she survived/wasn't "Geassed", but it would be just that, a "What if".

When I saw the scene the first time my thoughts were pretty simple. I thought it was a great scene and smart writing but I was angered in a way I don’t think I ever have been by a story. But in the way I think they wanted you to be angry. Princess Euphy (along with Nunnally) had a 100% pure heart and she wanted to change the world for the better. So her death to me not only hurt and angered me, but the way Lelouch tried to use it to his advantage made me start to see him as an egotistical villain more than an anti hero. It made me want Suzaku to kill him in the final scene of season 1.

I really like the "ticking time bomb" restructuring of this scene. Sometimes the viewer should know more than the characters does. If we knew that his Geass never turned off, but Lelouch goes about as normal, we would realise that Lelouchs _hasnt_ realised its still on. From then on there would be a lot of suspense because we would worry that he accidentally commands Euphemia to do someting he didnt mean to order her to do before he can realise that he cant turn off his Geass anymore.