The following post first appeared on my old blog: Chibi no Nothing

A while back I wrote about how I wasn’t too pleased with the fact that Code Geass was going to be more than one season. Then briefly after Euphie became the Murder Princess I wavered in my opinion.

Then Euphie died. I returned to normal.

After watching episode 24 and 25 where are we? Do we know more about Lelouch? Not really. Lelouch’s motive and actions have not changed much over the course of the first season. Of course, one can always say that he has become a tad bit more evil. Let’s face it, Lelouch is a “bad guy.” It’s just that we have a natural tendency to side with the lesser of two evils, and Britannia just doesn’t seem to have any redeeming qualities aside from cute princesses who like to go on murderous geass infused rampages.

How about Suzaku? Sure he murdered his dad, but he seems to only really feel bad about it in conveniently short periods of crippling emotional turmoil.

To be fair, Lelouch and Suzaku do get some flashbacks of childhood moments.

How about C.C? C.C. is perfect, and I’ll kick anyone who says otherwise. Actually, C.C. seems to get a good dose of development. It’s all character development in the form of her personality. We get very little, if any, historical context. This is unlike the history we are show with Lelouch and Suzaku. We don’t know exactly what she is, where she has been, what she is doing, why she had green hair, what’s with the pizza, what is that thing she wears it looks like a straight-jacket, I used to have some of those trick hand-cuffs that magicians use, and–oh yeah–pepperonis is yummy.

What about everyone else? Not very much, that’s what. Code Geass is full of mostly static characters. That’s not to say that they are uninteresting or uni-dimensional. It’s saying that the story wasn’t a progression. It’s as if the pieces were set in place and the game started while we watched. There was little setup. We were only told what was needed in order for us to understand why the characters were acting a certain way. Also, it provided a means to understand what was guiding their actions. For me this creates a detachment between my feelings towards the characters and the plot they are embroiled in.

Perhaps that is what was intentionally the intention of the ones that intended to deny us an extension of emotional context for the characters. There is a big difference between seeing the emotional reaction of a character and understanding that reaction. It takes time for an audience to develop an intimacy with the characters. This is time the Code Geass has had and still has. That time that was had, has been wasted. Wasted on what? Explosions, that’s what.

I like explosions too, though.

Okay, I’d better stop it here. Let’s just say that I still think they could have wrapped it up in one season. Now, we all have to wait.

This type of waiting is like sitting in a dark room. The night sky, illuminated by the hollow moon. She sits across the expanse waiting for that sound. She is waiting for a message. Waiting for sweet words from that which she holds dear. The hours are upon her, but she dares not sleep. Wait. . .was that a ring.

[ see? What the hell is going on here? Damn cliffhangers!!!!! ]

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“grok” – google it.

edit: 12:21 – made some corrections, nothing special

There is a reoccurring theme in the Code Geass series. It’s Lelouch and the game of chess. We see Lelouch playing chess in the first episode of the first season as an early display of his intelligence. Lelouch playing chess comes up sporadically throughout the season, but a similar chess scene to that in season 1 episode 1 is shown at the start of the second season, reaffirming that the game is not to be over looked.

The most resounding play with this coupling is during battles. The Black Knights are incapable of fighting strategically without orders from their “king” piece Zero. The show goes out of its way to show Lelouch as the chess master moving both soldiers and the pieces of revolution. In this manner Lelouch is seen by his Black Knights and the Elevens (Japanese) as the leader that will free the them from oppression.

However, the viewer has a fuller picture of what’s happening in the background. We know that in reality the goals of the revolutionaries and Lelouch are very different. Lelouch is very much motivated by revenge and providing a future for Nunnally, while the Black Knights are interested in freedom from Britannia.

Here is where we come to one of the problems with revolution. Often the revolutionaries have their own motives for revolution; those motives being different and often divergent from those they claim to represent. The Founding Fathers of the United States draped their work in the ideals of The Enlightenment, with talk of freedom and equality, but still allowed slavery and voting rights for only a few select citizens. Leaders such as Mao, Mugabe, Obiang, and Hitler amongst many others have often come to power carrying the banner of revolution. As a particularly relevant side note, the French. Even if the revolutionary at first works for the people, human nature and power will inevitably corrupt them, but it is important to note that not all revolutions are violent or swift.

In general we can separate the differing factions of political or social controlling entities into two parties, the opposition and the conservative. The conservative party is defined as the group that has effective control of the society. The opposition party often places itself as truly representing the people best interests. History has shown us that eventually the opposition will become the conservative and the conservative will become the opposition.  When a party takes control, their goal will invariably shift from their original stated goals to simply staying in power, hence the need for revolution.

A conservative candidate who should present himself to his electors by declaring to them that he did not regard them as capable of playing an active part in influencing the destinies of the country, and should tell them that for this reason they ought to be deprived of the suffrage, would be a man of incomparable sincerity, but politically insane.

- Robert Michels in Political Parties

In 1911, Robert Michels a German sociologist wrote Political Parties. The work is most noted for introducing the “iron law of oligarchy.” The book focused on the power structures of political groups and how invariably they lead to a concentration of power into a select elite who hold the majority of influence.

…is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society (whether distinguished by wealth, family, military powers or spiritual hegemony). The word oligarchy is translated into “rule by few.” Compare with autocracy (rule by one person) and democracy (rule by the majority).

- Oligarchy article on Wikipedia

Michels argued that this phenomenon could not be helped, owing to it being an inherent trait of organization and human nature. People naturally seek out a leader, and an organization is simply more efficient if decisions can be make by proxy.  It is the fault of human’s inherent instinctive urge to follow, to group, and to lead.

Lelouch’s rebellion, in a way, had already failed before it started. They are already ruled by Zero. No matter the outcome, the Japanese/Elevens will be ruled by some elite group of bureaucrats or aristocrats. To many people choosing their overlords by not revolting is possibly the only real freedom they have in choosing the course of their society. The point here is that the vast majority of the people are simply a tool utilized by the elite in their quest for power. The people’s concerns are only the concerns of those in power when necessary (e.g. Lelouch forming the Black Knights).

This is not a pessimistic assertion. If anything, it is an optimistic and pragmatic view. What this means is that in no society, at any time, through out the world will you find a perfect freedom. There are no free rides in this game. The oligarchy at the top of society would see itself as the chess master. The only way for the people to disturb their strategy is to change the game. Freedom is a work in progress, it always will be, and revolution a necessity.

Viva la Revolucion!

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• Michels, Robert. Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy. Trans by Eden Paul. Hearst’s International Library Co. 1915.