Recap: Power of Passion

Hey everyone. It took a while to determine what I wanted to do next, so I’ve decided to just close out this month with another episode of Code Geass R2. This might be a bit of a rush compared to other things I’ve done this month, but I’ve been occupied with schoolwork and I want to get that finished first. So, let’s open up “Power of Passion.”

Picking up from the last episode, I am once again pleased that this is one of the few episodes that doesn’t begin with an introdump or endless heavy-handed exposition!

One of the bystanders outside says that they “don’t understand what goes on with the Chinese federation.” That makes two of us. Also, I’m not going to make much of the symbolism of Shirley being given a handkerchief by someone disguised as Lelouch. There’ll be another time to address that, knowing what lies ahead.

Of course, Rolo is onto his “brother,” saying that “he’s acting too nice” as they go into an underground lair, complete with a bookcase entrance like an old episode of Scooby-Doo. If you’re wondering about all the quotation marks, I’ll get to that in a moment. What I want to know is, where’s the caveman?

It turns out that “Lelouch” is actually their maid Sayoko in disguise, furthering the Scooby-Doo jokes! I would have thought it was Old Man Dithers, the creepy candy store owner!

It would have been mine if it hadn't been for those meddling kids!

So yeah, the Black Knights are still in a stalemate with the Chinese federation, with Schneizel and the Knights of Round joining the battle and the fanservice returning with a vengeance. (Sighs) This is gonna be a total clusterfuck, isn’t it?

Also their plan is to basically destroy the mausoleum they’re hiding out, knowing the Empress would die in the process. Well, there goes more of the conflict of the last few episodes I covered down the drain.

In the span of less than a minute, we get another mecha battle between Xingke, one of the Knights of Round AND another coup by the High Eunuchs! Called it!

Zero even has an escape plan ready in case of a defeat, and Kallen has been bound to a table in a scene that I’m not going to show you. Not just because of Google’s standards, but because I personally find this intended fan service less titillating than even Fifty Shades; and that’s a criticism I don’t make lightly. 

At the five-minute mark, the battle is one of the least coherent ones in the series so far, with few characters saying anything of substance that I haven’t heard in previous episodes. It’s just a mishmash of quips and political hogwash, so not really a stretch these days.

Unaware she’s no longer of any value to the Federation (trust me, it’s stupid), the Empress just runs out onto the battlefield! Why do I get the feeling if she weren’t royalty, she’d throw rocks at beehives for fun?

It gets even dumber when Xingke defends the Empress in the Shen Hu! Congratulations, you found a way to make the last episode even more pointless than it already was.

Zero has apparently taken command of the Gawain Knightmare frame and its “Druid system,” and now I’ve totally lost it. Why do I even bother sometimes?

It’s also been reformatted into the “Shinikiro,” and its special move is essentially a downgrade of the battle at the waterfall in the first season and a ripoff of the “death blossom” from The Last Starfighter. We even get a reprise of the “strategy/tactics” thing from the last episode. Well, at least it’s not repeated eightfold like the “public/communal pool” thing.

Also, to further my comment about the 2017 setting being only slightly as shitty as the actual year was; the Shanghai rebellion scenes are definitely much more uncomfortable given numerous high-profile incidents that took place in real life.

Realizing that the revolt has cost the High Eunuchs their support, the enemy retreats just as reinforcements arrive; and Xingke finally kills those obnoxious caricatures. 

Yet, Kallen is taken prisoner; and we then get another scene with Jeremiah being “enhanced” in the presence of VV. I REALLY hope this plot thread is reworked for the remaster, since it raises numerous questions that the story doesn’t even attempt to answer, to say nothing of the other ones already on the table.

So, in order to annul the political marriage completely; it’s suggested that the Empress elope with someone from Japan. Look, if I don’t care which Kardashian is getting married; I sure as Hell don’t care who marries her, or for what reason. It’s just an excuse for the dialogue to further degrade into old sitcom clichés. 

On that note, Zero gets a call from Shirley about what Milly has planned for her graduation. … We’ll talk about that one in February, since it’s the halfway point of the series and it’s part of what I have planned that month. I still don’t think the scene of her changing into her swimsuit in the locker room was all that necessary. If she’s using a mobile, why couldn’t she make that call anywhere? For that matter, why does Lelouch have his phone on him? Why wouldn’t he just give it to Sayoko to complete the facade? Maybe not in my top 10 reasons this anime disappointed me, but still.

Honestly? Between asking Shirley to help break someone up, Tamaki acting like a dumbass, and Shirley fumbling with her socks in the locker room, this episode feels less like a follow-up to what the first season laid out and more like an old episode of Three’s Company! Some of you might have to Google that one, folks. 

The scene goes on with talking about passion, getting a glimpse of Shirley’s delicates and Zero somehow almost forgetting he’s doing all this for Nunally. Jor-El, Arceus, Bowser, this makes no sense.

Sayoko, disguised as Lelouch is able to dissuade Shirley’s suspicions and hide the bookcase entry by suddenly making a move on her in the library. … No comment there, just this music. 

With more fan service from CC, we close on Lelouch returning to the mainland via a submarine, somehow. (Sighs) Eleven episodes down, 14 more to go.

“Power of Passion” may have been marginally better than the last episode, but it still has many of the same problems. The animation quality is marred by incoherent editing, and the story and characterization further compound the problems with R2. Despite all the talk about passion and love in this episode, this whole story feels like it was made in a vacuum. This is also a shorter recap than I hoped to have out, but I’m still glad I got out something. So, check back with me in February for what I have planned next, and it’s all going to be related in some way. Later.