Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture ‒ Episode 9

Last week, I predicted Ash would shoot the restraints off of Sakuya, they’d escape, and everything would be peachy-keen between the two, if a bit awkward. I was weary of being let down repeatedly, too wary to hope for anything better but an immediate release of tension. Naturally, this week’s episode does an excellent job of keeping the tension up as Ash stares in confusion at Sakuya, reflecting on his jumbled memories of Nichol and her posing as Rozé. He fires a shot into the floor of her cell and walks away.

Things actually look bad for Sakuya for once! She’s going to have a hard time thinking her way out of this one as Scissorman gloats, killing the next set of prisoners one at a time. He even calls her out when she tries to stall by offering to tell him the secret of her Geass. He doesn’t care about that; he wants experimental data for his research. Ash comes crashing in when all looks lost, knocking off Scissorman’s anti-Geass helmet. But then, when Sakuya tries to Geass him herself, he roars out, catching her off-guard and shooting himself in the head.

Although it’s a thrilling scene, and Urbaniak turns in a fantastic performance as usual, it feels a bit off that someone as ruthless and coldly analytical as he is would commit suicide rather than kill Sakuya. One could perhaps argue that he didn’t want to kill a valuable research subject, but I doubt he’d consider that there was anyone capable of carrying out his research in his place. After all, there are other Geass users, but only one of him. Regardless, the show just lost its best character. Goodnight, rotten prince. You were the only one keeping me sane.

With the Eastern Dawn Army and Northern Wolves eliminated and the Seven Shining Stars driven from their base, Neo-Britannian leadership decides now is the time to initiate peace talks, with Narah acting as their representative. The episode deals with this with a defter hand than I’m used to from the show, with a great deal of awareness of just how much to show. The United Federation of Nations wants to avoid any stipulations that favor Neo-Britannia and eject them from Hokkaido entirely; Britannia forces through many of their own conditions by citing… anti-Britannian sentiment? Once again, that doesn’t seem entirely plausible, as countries that pull this usually have allies with interests in maintaining their dominion, as world events currently go to show. However, I appreciate the recognition that “crafting a narrative” can be a powerful tool for getting one’s way during negotiations, regardless of the actual balance of power. Still, the show resists the urge to linger in long table talks, instead skipping forward to Gino (hi, Gino!) and Cordelia discussing how they’ve stalled out.

One interesting crumb: Norland was a Knight of the Round. I’m half-tempted to go back to some old episodes and see if there are any characters that resemble him.

Meanwhile, Sakuya is traumatized after what she went through while imprisoned. She’s despondent and depressed, unable to function as a strategist even in this desperate moment. With peace talks happening, the Seven Shining Stars are frozen in place lest they look like aggressors, but they still need to have a plan going forward. Isao yells at Sakuya for her inability to come up with a strategy, but it doesn’t help. What does help? When Sakuya walks out of the tent and sees some people crying at a grave, which snaps her out of her funk instantly.

I sigh because the pacing just doesn’t allow for any time to work through her feelings in any meaningful way. Is she scared of getting captured again? Guilty about what she’s done to Ash and the prisoners who died for her? Haunted by the feeling of being captive? Depressed and numb because part of her brain turned off due to trauma? Hopeless at the overwhelming force of the Neo-Britannians? There’s no examination of what’s going through her head, no sense of what’s driving this emotional response. Her quick recovery at the sight of a crying family doesn’t seem appropriate to the context either; it’s not like she lost sight of the suffering and sadness of the Japanese people. She’s been surrounded by it this whole time. But the narrative needs her to move on, so move on, she shall.

Within the seat of power, Sakura continues to try to build relationships that allow her to push through policies to help the Japanese people. In her naivete, she expresses optimism that peace talks could bring about favorable change, but Walther has his doubts. Catherine has had enough of her attempts to be more than a figurehead and, in her frustration, pulls a gun on her. Sakura treats her to a lecture about how strength through violence is a lonely strength, thinking of Sakuya as she talks of “true strength.” Catherine whispers that if they’re not strong, they die.

Although Sakura’s speech was pure nonsense, the look into Catherine’s character is great. The flashback about Ash’s backstory has recontextualized a lot about the Einberns and what conditions were like for them in the early stages of Neo-Britannia’s rise. Even without knowing the details, we can extrapolate what life must have been like for Catherine after the death of her parents. For her, only the strong survive; to show weakness is to risk being disposed of. Catherine may be fast and agile, but she’s also small and lacks physical strength. Did she have to fight to prove herself, even more than someone like Ash, who was taller and older? She’s a survivor, more than anything else, and deserves the same compassion as any child soldier.

Just as things look like they may improve, with Cornelia convincing Kaguya (hi Kaguya!) to return to the United Federation of Nations to lead the peace talks, horrifying machines emerge from the sea, making landfall in cities all over the world. Props to the mechanical designers for making something truly freaky! They’re shaped more like viruses than anything else, with a threatening black-and-red color scheme and crawling, insect-like legs and whirring undercarriages that give them an alien, uncanny appearance.

We’re in the home stretch now – three-quarters of the way through, the next episode marks the start of the final movie. Let’s see if this narrative is salvageable for all its missteps.

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Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture is currently streaming on Hulu and Disney+, depending on your region.