Recap: Assassin From the Past

So, the Infinity War was excellent. Without spoiling anything, you should definitely go see it; since I personally can't wait for Avengers 4 next year.

Now that I have that out of the way, (sighs), it's time for my next Code Geass R2 recap. I hope to have my tech problems solved soon. Nevertheless, let's open up "Assassin from the Past."

Again, at least there’s no flashback introdump, but there’s still loads of clunky exposition and unnecessary fan service. Can we just get to the plot? I don’t need or care about these swimsuit scenes!

Not even going to touch Villetta’s line to Shirley either, since this episode has her regain the memories of the past as we get some very blatant symbolism about masks. Well, somebody saw Eyes Wide Shut.

The whole cold open was actually a dream sequence. Real subtle, fellas. Also, there’s a new theme song. I hate it.

More incoherent action as the Black Knights have apparently captured more enemy strongholds. I don't even know what all just ensued, since they've yet again crammed a whole episode worth of material into just one minute of screen time. I really want this fixed in the remaster.

Lelouch then blows off his homework to go to Ikebukuro. Note to self: work more on my screenwriting assignment and watch more of Durarara x2.

As Shirley takes a train ride, it's nice to know she's as confused as I am about Nunnally being the new viceroy. This is getting out of hand. Now there are two of them!

While Lelouch takes control of two train engineers, Suzaku meets Shirley on the platform; while dressed as a stalker. This just keeps getting better, doesn't it?

Jeremiah ends up killing two spies dispatched to find Suzaku, much to Villetta's confusion and my irritation. To this day, I never shared fans' enthusiasm for him; and I consider his "resurrection" one of the dumbest things about this anime; and that's saying something.

Disregarding how uncomfortable Jeremiah and Sayoko's duel is given recent events, it's an absurd moment in an already nonsensical story. It's not that you can't make it work: I can suspend disbelief for a God of thunder chatting with a wisecracking raccoon and a talking teenage tree, after all.

As for this whole thing about "killing God," it does make me want to reread His Dark Materials for the BBC reboot. Still, VV being involved raises numerous questions that won't be answered here. Honestly, the Architect in The Matrix Reloaded made more sense than him!

Seriously, not only is VV able to brush off a knife in the head like Deadpool, but Villetta tells Jeremiah where Lelouch is after he wounds Sayoko and Rolo! We're barely halfway through this thing, folks.


Between Shirley regaining her memory and at least two other people trying to kill Lelouch, I feel like I binge watched the bulk of Battlestar Galactica Reimagined in the last 10 minutes. I've seen better editing in my reruns of Sealab 2021.

Again with the masks? That symbolism didn't work in the start of this episode, and it's not working now.

So, Shirley, after realizing the truth; tries to jump off the building; but is caught by Lelouch, who in turn is caught by Suzaku. Not quite as over-the-top as the Netflix Death Note climax, but it still comes off as quite overblown for what should be a much more straightforward story.

She continues to piece things together as she's dangling above the passing trains. Once again, I guess a bridge would have been too obvious.

As Jeremiah is going after them all, it's nice to know everyone else is as confused as I am. Lelouch then suggests there's no better place for Shirley to be than in Suzaku's hands. My ass! She couldn't BE in worse hands! Knowing what's going to happen next, she's about as safe with him as a rooster in a KFC! 

Buckle up, fellas; because when Jeremiah incapacitates the guards and Lelouch uses a chess piece to somehow fill the area with smoke, things only get worse from here in the second half of this episode and this anime.

Then, while everyone else is evacuated from the area; Shirley decides to slip through the police barricades, which allows Jeremiah to find her. Once again, I guess a fridge would have been too on the nose.

After Lelouch compliments "Orange" on his redesign, he presses his chess piece again and uses the train to disable the "Sakuradite" in Jeremiah's mechanical parts. Honestly? Does this chess piece also dispense shark repellent spray? That's the kind of nonsense I would expect right about now, to be frank.

It's actually a "Gefjun Disturber," which I shall instead refer to by its true purpose: Deus ex Machina. Even worse, Lelouch apparently wants to use the system to "bring Tokyo to a halt!" That's one of the dumbest things in this season; especially given the episode I looked at before this one.

As Jeremiah and Lelouch speak, Shirley demands to know the truth about Rolo and Lelouch while she's armed. Now I've finally gotten to this episode; and what's about to happen is one of the most contrived plot threads I've seen in this anime, and that's saying something.

So, yet again, we just end up repeating information that we already know about the first season; only it's not really implemented in a unique or interesting way as Jeremiah and Lelouch argue. Even as Jeremiah pledges his loyalty, the anime outright dodges more questions being raised about VV! I once again refer you to the infamous Voodoo Shark.

Now, we come to Shirley's death; with her mortal wound not even being shown committed onscreen. There may have been many characters I wanted to see die in this anime, but she wasn't among them. Still, even though the circumstances of her death are still needlessly contrived, this is one of the few moments of R2 that I felt actually left a genuine emotional impact on the narrative and its characters.

That's how the episode ends: with Lelouch trying and failing to keep Shirley alive in her final moments. Even though I was really not a big fan of them retconning the ambiguous ending of the first season; this is one of the few things I could see being kept for the remaster.

"Assassin from the Past" is the definition of an unlucky 13th episode. For all the contrived plotting and inconsistent characterization in the episode, the final act is one of the few times that I had a genuine emotional connection to what was going on. This is what I was hoping more with R2, and I certainly hope that the remaster and R3 can improve from here.

I will begin my experiments not long after this, and I hope they turn out well. For now: if you have seen the Infinity War, great. If not, please do so as soon as you can, since it's definitely worth it. See you space cowboy.