Code Geass R2 — Episode 10
Zero and the Black Knights make off with the Empress, but their escape is blocked by Xingke. I am of the opinion that the writers for the series are secretly taking a long break in Hawaii and the current story arc is actually being written by the office janitor.
Summary
Seriously… What does the hair do?
Zero backstabs Xingke and kidnaps the Empress. His cunning plan is to create a new federation of states of which the new Japan is to be a member. He has the backing of the Indians and he believes that Mongolia will be supportive of the move.
Just why the heck does that yellow blob thing wear a hat?
Unfortunately, before Zero can make his getaway, Xingke shows up in his brand new Shenhu (Divine Tiger) Knightmare Frame and proceeds to massacre Indian-made Akatsukis, resulting in much death and destruction. He manages to capture Kallen and defeat Zero with superior strategy. Considering Zero’s jarring drop in IQ in recent episodes, it’s not too difficult.
This looks nothing like a tiger
Outwitted by Xingke in battle, Lelouch escapes to Tiandi Bashiba Ling (天帝八十八陵), a fictional resting ground for dead emporers, where he has set up a stronghold to hold out against the Chinese and Britannia forces that are coming for him.
Evil(er) clone?
Also, Lelouch has the power to teleport. o_o
Thoughts
The writers seem to believe that 合衆国 (a translation unique to United States) and 連邦 (federation) are different things. Zero says that he wants to set up a 中華合衆国 (literally a Chinese United States) to which the Empress replies, “But we are a federation (連邦)…” Zero then makes the absurd statement that the federal system is outdated.
She’s annoying
This shows a blatant lack of understanding on the writers’ part. The United States is a federation and the term 合衆国 was created simply because America likes to have a unique name. The political system itself is essentially the same thing: a federation.
Moving on.
The build-up in this episode is essentially non-existent. Just like how Xingke’s coup d’état was planned, revealed and crushed in just one episode, Zero’s escape plan is over in a flash. It lacks suspense and impact.
Brilliant tactic: drive straight
Lelouch’s plans are supposed to involve a series of seemingly unrelated preparations during which the audience is left to wonder what his actual strategy is going to be. The final unveiling is supposed to make every small element click together in a satisfying manner, until something unexpected crops up and much drama ensues. Recently, the writers have decided to forego the clever part and just jump straight to the drama.
It’s hard to deal with the fact that your classmate is a terrorist
And a final note… According to a forum post on a Chinese forum, Tiandi Bashiba Ling is an allusion to Ming Shi San Ling. Since they don’t look anything like each other, I’m not sure where that comes from. I wonder what the Chinese nationalists feel about what’s been shown in Code Geass thus far.
Screencaps
Kinky
Dopey, Grumpy, Doc, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Happy
Seppuku
It’s not China if there’s no panda…
Get a hair cut you hippie
Seriously disturbing
No one notices C.C. thanks to the brilliant disguise
Speaking of teleporting: David Copperfield’s Portal illusion.
June 16th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_Dynasty_Tombs
[Edit] I see you’ve edited.
June 16th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I’m pretty sure Xingke is ill. He was already coughing blood in a previous episode.
And I’ve heard ***spoilers*** that the Lelouch back at the academy is actually Sayoko. Yes, I know. Suspension of disbelief…sinking…
Anyhow, I hope the story progression and overall plot improves soon. It’s barely halfway into the season, after all.
June 16th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
DarkMirage:
“So Xingke isn’t ill, it’s just the Knightmare. That said, do people actually vomit blood due to high g-force?”
Actually he was shown coughing blood in a previous episode. I think it was in episode 8, when he was on a plane or something like that.
June 16th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Apparently, the hair is for defensive purposes. Check 19:06 of episode 10. Toudou used one of the braids to block Shen Hu’s sword. >.<
By the way, aren’t you guys criticizing this episode a bit too much? While it is true that the United States of America essentially utilizes a federation system, keep in mind that (1) U.S.A. does not exist; (2) Zero intended to create an united axis of power in which China is an integrated part of; (3) Rather than changing the fact that China is currently a union comprising a number of partially self-governing states, Zero intends to change China’s leadership; (4)If one interprets the current corrupted Chinese government system as a “system” and Zero’s government as a separate “system”, perhaps that would make better sense. A change of leadership may bring radical change to a country’s overall system.
The so called Zero’s “dumbed down” tactic that you guys are criticizing is appropriate for the situation. It was meant to be real time combat tactic without (much) beforehand preparation. Anything more complex than that will send the audience flaming the writer for creating a strategy so complex that it is logic defective considering that Zero had no time for preparation considering that he originally was not planning to make a last stand here.
Shen Hu is capable of reaching high level velocity, no need to flame on the fact that he caught up with the Black Knights easily. It’s obvious that Xingke is going to be dead before this show ends, probably due to a suicide attack once he realizes that he is out of time. Pity. The guy is presumably plagued by an incurable disease. That inevitable fate of his is gonna make a certain loli cry.
Lots of people are complaining about Code Geass’s cliffhangers, yet you want even more momentum/build up for a 25 episode series. My opinion? No thanks! Between momentum/build up or actual advancement of the overall plot, I’d rather pick the latter. There are only 15 episodes left and I want every single minutes spend for the best of reasons. Besides, what was episode 9 for if the director had no intention of building up momentum?
Artemis:
Drop it if you don’t like it. Personally, I have difficulty drawing the Death Note/Code Geass connection. How are the two even similar? The Kallen moment separated Lelouch from Light Yagami completely. Aren’t you simply getting influenced by what “other” people think instead of your own thoughts?
June 16th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Wow, that river plan was ingenious. I mean, the Chinese troops weren’t affected at all, while the OotBK was totally crushed and STILL a whole bunch of them survived. Thank god I switched my brain on only after the episode^^
June 16th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
dukethegold
Individual actions may make sense if you explain them within the context of the story. But you overlook the fact that the story itself is arbitrary and therefore the situations, which the characters find themselves in and which they are forced to react to, are entirely dependant on the creativity of the writers.
It’s not good enough for the characters’ actions to “make sense” in the context of the story, because the plot itself is problematic. If a good novel were simply a series of actions that are automatically pre-determined by actions that precede them, then writer creativity would be entirely superfluous. Not to mention the fact that the actual quality of the presentation is not yet accounted for.
In episode 9 and 10, the set-up so far has been contrived and uninspired at best, a clear departure from the character-driven storytelling of the first season.
washawa:
Oh right I totally forgot about that.
Labbes:
Not as ingenious as Zero ordering his main cannons to fire and clear out the entire map only after he has lured his opponents into a false sense of security by allowing them to wipe out a good portion of his ground troops.
I guess firing those cannons must cost a lot more than a bunch of Knightmare Frames, or something.
June 16th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Nah Xingke has got a heart problem and everytime he thinks of his loli empress he coughs up blood due to his heart beating faster.
Seriously, the soft toys C.C likes reminds me of Skippy peanut butter.
June 16th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
1.) Xing-Ke is sick as can be proven when Zero reflects on his strategic and tactical skills (comparing his gifts to both himself and Suzakus talents) and Xing-Ke’s subordinate responds (with amazing timing considering none of them are apparently talking to any of the others) that the heavens have given him a little amount of time.
Zero: Has heavens given him both gifts?
Xing-Ke’s subordinate: They have decided not to give him “time”, however…
2.) Just because his strategy was “simple” does not mean it was not the most effective available, we don’t know the terrain or any other circumstances. And based on how how well it went at first, it’s clear that if Xing-Ke hadn’t been used by the Chinese leaders Zero probably would have succeeded in his escape.
3.) The United States is only a Federalism insofar as we have a Federal government, who essentially strong arms the state governments in many areas (for example, most drug, traffic (besides interstate, that actually is controlled by federal), and educational laws are decided by the state governments, but the federal government threatens (defacto) to withhold funds and grants if they do not meat their requirements (like funding for roads).
In fact the united states isn’t even a democracy (in actuality only Athens ever possessed such a system). But because we poses a representative system, it’s actually a Republic (like Rome). True Democracy would be each eligible voter having a direct vote on all matters, instead of voting for senators and representatives (and the president) and them deciding the laws and policies for us.
June 16th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
LilBinary:
1) Makes sense. I figured she was referring to the fact that Xingke’s plan was foiled so early, but I guess it’s the terminal illness.
2) The story decides all of that. The writers created a crappy set-up and the resulting battle was yawn-inducing. And of course, Zero could have fired his overpowered main cannons first before ordering his troops to charge, but I guess that makes too much sense?
3) Republics and federations aren’t exclusive. USA is officially a federal republic. The Russian Federation is a federal republic. The Federal Republic of Germany is, obviously, a federal republic.
My point is that the term “United States” does not refer to a political system that is any different from the one implied by the term “federation”. The Chinese Federation is a federal republic. A United States of China would still be a federal republic.
Also, I would argue that the modern usage of the term “democracy” covers both direct and representative democracy, which would include most republics. That is the definition to which the majority of English speakers adhere.
June 16th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
DarkMirage:
“So Xingke isn’t ill, it’s just the Knightmare. That said, do people actually vomit blood due to high g-force?”
not sure, it is known that high g-forces can cause damage to ones internal organs, and can actually be fatal in some cases, blood from the mouth is a trope used in TV/film/comics/etc to symbolise internal damage to ones body, particularly the heart and/or lungs.
here’s what wikipedia has to say on G-forces
Human tolerance to g-force
Human tolerances depend on the magnitude of the g-force, the length of time it is applied, the direction it acts, the location of application, and the posture of the body.
The human body is flexible and deformable, particularly the softer tissues. A hard slap on the face may impose hundreds of g locally but not produce any real damage; a constant 16 g for a minute, however, may be deadly. When vibration is experienced, relatively low peak g levels can be severely damaging if they are at the resonance frequency of organs and connective tissues.
To some degree, g-tolerance can be trainable, and there is also considerable variation in innate ability between individuals. In addition, some illnesses, particularly cardiovascular problems, reduce g-tolerance.
Vertical axis g-force
Aircraft, in particular, exert g-force along the axis aligned with the spine. This causes significant variation in blood pressure along the length of the subject’s body, which limits the maximum g-forces that can be tolerated.
In aircraft, g-forces are often towards the feet, which forces blood away from the head; this causes problems with the eyes and brain in particular. As g-forces increase brownout/greyout can occur, where the vision loses hue. If g-force is increased further tunnel vision will appear, and then at still higher g, loss of vision, while consciousness is maintained. This is termed “blacking out”. Beyond this point loss of consciousness will occur, sometimes known as “g-loc” (”loc” stands for “loss of consciousness”). While tolerance varies, a typical person can handle about 5 g (49m/s²) before g-loc’ing, but through the combination of special g-suits and efforts to strain muscles—both of which act to force blood back into the brain—modern pilots can typically handle 9 g (88 m/s²) sustained (for a period of time) or more (see High-G training).
Resistance to “negative” or upward gees, which drive blood to the head, is much lower. This limit is typically in the −2 to −3 g (−20 m/s² to −30 m/s²) range. The subject’s vision turns red, referred to as a red out. This is probably because capillaries in the eyes swell or burst under the increased blood pressure.
Humans can survive up to about 20 to 35 g instantaneously (for a very short period of time). Any exposure to around 100 g or more, even if momentary, is likely to be lethal, although the record is 179 g. It has also been said that the height of a person can be shortened if high g-force is sustained for a continuous amount of time.
Horizontal axis g-force
The human body is considerably better at surviving g-forces that are perpendicular to the spine. In general when the g-force pushes the body backwards (colloquially known as “eyeballs in”) a much higher tolerance is shown than when g-force is pushing the body forwards (”eyeballs out”) since blood vessels in the retina appear more sensitive in the latter direction.
Early experiments showed that untrained humans were able to tolerate 17 g eyeballs-in (compared to 12 g eyeballs-out) for several minutes without loss of consciousness or apparent long-term harm.
June 16th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I agree on all points, it is because the writers decreed it to be so, but they also know whats happening later, and I try to think of anything unexplained in the best possible light
And as far as republics, federations, and democracies - agreed, a republic is a FORM OF democracy because voting is involved, I was just trying to point out, as others have, that just because the Chinese Federation calls themselves a federation, doesn’t actually mean they are a federation, to further exemplify that point… the actual china today calls themselves a republic, but anyone who knows anything of modern china knows that it is far from a republic (thank god for Hong-Kong or they would be complete liars, so i guess their coming around)
but as dukethegold put it, changing it from its current form of government into another form of government that could be called a federation doesn’t mean its the same form of government (most noticeably the obvious corruption w/ the Eunich (sp?) Generals in the Chinese Federations current form)
and to dukethegold, I believe concerning his coughing of blood is to an illness, this is not the first episode where he has done it, and I believe once he even did it while sitting in a luxury jet with his subordinate (and she didn’t cough up blood) and every time he does he says something to the effect of “Just a little more time”…
June 16th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Something I forgot earlier, after watching the episode at 4AM. How did Zero actually escape? Weren’t the Knights of the Round deployed, or at least ready for deployment, before they made the getaway into the mountain or am I messing up times in my head. Zino’s knightmare with the whole “turning into a plane” capability should surely be able to catch up to what Zero’s land…fortress…thing.
The fact that Zero didn’t consider the river and mud as a possible weapon against him, or one to be used by him, completely reverses his ingenius ploy in using the gas at the bottom of the sea to foam up all of Britannia’s ships. Both battles took place after Nunnally was all “Z’omg Zero sucks. Suzaku <3 <3 <3″, but for some reason Zero’s tactical skills have been removed on the move over to China.
And when are we going to see Todo do some tactics? He’s meant to be this guy who pulled off a miracle victory defeating knightmares with none of his own, yet for some reason Lelouch is the only one giving orders. Todo’s a former general for God’s sake. How did no one else consider the river? Not C.C., no Todo, no one.
June 16th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
@Amnestic, actually Lelouch did consider the river. That is why he reduced the amount of water in the lake. However, what he didn’t know was that the land they were fighting on was unstable and collapses easily.
June 16th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
“@Amnestic, actually Lelouch did consider the river. That is why he reduced the amount of water in the lake. However, what he didn’t know was that the land they were fighting on was unstable and collapses easily.”
But if he considered the river, why not consider that water+dirt=mud. Knightmares are heavy to begin with, having even a bit of water would cause them to sink, and Lelouch should have, and in my eyes would have, considered this. This is the guy pegged in the show as an 18 year old guy who is one of the best tacticians and most intelligent and cunning people in the entire world, and yet he didn’t predict his knightmares getting sunk into the mud as a possibility?
June 16th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
In the Code Geass universe, Federation is pretty much exclusive.
The major difference between CF and USJ? What Zero propose is to put people who have balls to helm the important post rather than some chao ah gua who keep leeching off the country.