Recap: The Taste of Humiliation

Previously on Code Geass R2: the Emperor has somehow survived the attempt on his life, CC has lost all her memory, the characters further lose ability to make coherent decisions and I further lose ability to care about any of this! Man, I missed that running gag! Now that I have that out of the way, let's open up "The Taste of Humiliation!"

As Lelouch goes to meet Suzaku, I am glad to say that awful theme song isn't playing this time!

Unfortunately, we are given a truly atrocious mecha battle with Waldstein in its stead. Honestly, it's like playing Zone of the Enders on light speed.

Worse, Princess Kaguya has the gall to claim that "this is the decisive battle." Not with eight episodes left it isn't. Also, apparently the meeting place for Lelouch and Suzaku is where they first met. Seriously, this is the most compelling this anime gets, and they still find a way to screw it up.

They cut back and forth between their meeting, Area 11 and more of that pompous ass Sir Bradley. Would it have killed them develop the characters they already had instead of cramming in more than Super Smash Brothers Ultimate? At least that game looks more fun than this mess.

Of course, Schneizel has an ulterior motive, as per freaking usual; as Lelouch meets with Suzaku. Can you imagine what this anime would have been like if they went with their original idea of being a conflict between a commander and master? We may never know for sure, but it might have been more interesting than this.

CC is also admiring a bandage on her ring finger, still suffering from amnesia. Oh fuck off.

As for Suzaku being understandably livid about the death of Shirley and Euphemia, I can't really elaborate further; knowing what comes next.

While Kallen is still wearing the incredibly-revealing dress, Waldstein attacks Xingke in the "Excalibur." Honestly? I'm more enthralled by the tale of Sir Robin than this slog.

After Suzaku rejects Lelouch’s apology, he asks why he gave him the Geass to “live on.” Good question, and the first one in this episode that actually makes sense. Unfortunately, this just results in some blanket statements about the first season and more faux philosophy nonsense rather than any compelling storytelling. Since the remaster is being licensed, I hope it’s not as big a slog as this.

Of course, all of this was pretense to bait Zero into a trap. Admiral Ackbar says hi.

Moreover, one of the officers has the gall to claim the war is over. Not with 7.5 more episodes ahead, it isn’t. Seriously, fuck all you guys in the ear hole.


Can we please stop cutting to Kallen in the cocktail dress? It’s not adding anything else to the story, and the T&A is having the opposite of the intended effect.

Back at the battle, Sir Bradley is attempting a suicide attack! Stop. Please. Think of the children.

Of course, Suzaku is displeased at what happened; and Lelouch rejects a plea deal from Schneizel. Do you even care what’s going on? The writers obviously don’t, and neither do I. They should have spent less time on retreads and plot twists and more on developing consistent characters and a coherent story. If I am so disinterested in this 17th betrayal, how the Hell am I supposed to trust anything else in this arc?

Oh God, it’s this part: not only has Lelouch factored Guilford into his plan for escape, but Schneizel also forged incriminating evidence against Zero. Heaven forbid a story thread unfold logically instead  of going through more twists than a game of Twister!

So, we close on Zero going to confront Schneizel at Area 11, and as Suzaku makes his own preparations, there’s a half-hearted line that outright explains how illogical the previous half hour was. (Sighs) Seventeen episodes down, only eight more to go; thankfully.


Even though I am on the homestretch of my coverage of Code Geass R2, it doesn't change the fact that "The Taste of Humiliation" is a foul-tasting hot mess of an episode. It's like they tried to cram a whole season's worth of material into this episode alone; and the mecha battles do little to compensate for how the narrative cohesion of the series has seemingly gone out the window.

Whatever the case may be with the remaster, I honestly hope the series can help undo the damage caused with the executive meddling of the series. Sorry if I come off as more cynical than usual, but this month marks the third anniversary of my friend David's passing. Still, knowing what lies ahead for this anime; finishing my work on it is one of my goals before retirement later this year. The next episode hopefully will be done before I go see my father later this month, as well as a surprise or two that I've been wanting to do for a while. That's all for now. Bang.