b’awww ;A;

This is srsly formal post about Stage 25, although I know that Rakuen has covered the basics.

Lulu faces off against Nunnally, who presents him a conundrum: She won’t give him the key to Damocles, so will he Geass her for it? As Kallen and Suzaku prepare for their elite showdown, elsewhere we’re assured that Toudou and Nagisa are still alive. (That’s nice…)

I will become the symbol of…

…oh no you don’t.

Nunnally says that Damocles will become a symbol of hate, something that everyone can use so that they can look forward to tomorrow. At that (very symbolically, I might add), Lulu decides to Geass his imouto and obtain the key of Damocles from her.

Did you just pull a Spiral King, Jeremiah?

During this time Jeremiah pulls the ever epic leap out of an exploding mech only to leap out of an exploding mech to point his sword at Anya. I thought I’d mention it since /a/ won’t shut up about it.

Knightmare martial arts!

Kallen and Suzaku fight on relatively even grounds, eventually resorting to hand-to-hand combat with their mechs. It ends when Suzaku destroys Guren’s head and sensors, but Kallen has jammed Guren’s arm into Lancelot’s torso. Guren falls from Damocles to be caught by Tristan, and Lancelot explodes.

Is it just me or is that wheelchair hanging a bit too precariously?

Receiving the key from Nunnally, Lulu thanks her and tells her that he loves her. When the Geass wears off, he resumes a cold expression, walking away. Nunnally gives chase, but is thrown from her wheelchair when she reaches the stairs, cursing at Lulu’s back.

Cryptic as always.

C.C. chats with Kaguya, saying something about Kaguya understand Lulu’s true nature. (This little tidbit is important for something I’ll say later. Maybe.)

I still love you Lulu, even when you’re evil. Deliciously evil, that is.

Kannon appearance!

Just then, a FLEIA explodes, and Lulu broadcasts to the world his big stick policy. (What did he fire that FLEIA at, anyhow?) All Hail Lelouch!

That’s a lot of titles.

Hacker.

Not the gaudy purple sword…!

Two months later, having gained control of the world, Lulu has a grand parade in Japan, leading key members of the Order of Black Knights to their execution. There is a general feeling of animosity among the crowd, however. A gasp goes up as a lone figure blocks the way, none other than that of Zero. Rushing towards the convoy, Zero dodges bullets and Jeremiah, knocks Lulu’s gun away, and brandishes…a gaudy purple sword.

Explanation time! Zero Re;quiem all along was Lulu’s plan to focus the world’s hate upon himself, then have Suzaku become Zero and kill him.

(I was trying to lower the amount of screencaps, but heck, this is episode 25. CAPSPAM!)

I think I may have this one backwards.

With that, Suzaku stabs Lulu, who then slides down to Nunnally. Touching her brother’s hand, Nunnally realizes what Lulu has done to secure a better future, and cries. Cornelia, Viletta, Guilford, and the few remaining uncaptured Black Knights break out from their hiding place to free the prisoners.

Post timeskip is narrated by Kallen, and it’s pretty clear that she understands that Lulu sacrificed himself. She says that most of the hatred and crimes were pushed onto him, but with his death people were able to move forward.

As Sojourner pointed out, Jeremiah orange farmer is not a new concept…

Ougi is now Prime Minister, married to Viletta who is visibly pregnant, Suzaku is still Zero, and Nunnally is (probably) the leader of Britannia. Jeremiah and Anya now work on an orange farm (OH_U, Sunrise) although Sayoko is nowhere to be seen. (Much to the ;A; of some people.)

C.C. is shown riding on the back of a hay cart, with the connection I’m sure everyone made…

Thoughts:

First off, Lulu is dead. Refer to this post for details.
With that in mind, he sure passed on as a savior, didn’t he? Lololbiblical reference. Cue bad shoop:

A few things, though.
- I’m pretty sure Lulu’s final decision to Geass Nunnally was that he did NOT want her to shoulder the burden he had already intended to with Zero Re;quiem.
- It’s debatable whether or not Kaguya guessed Lulu’s true intentions, based on her talk with C.C. If she did, that’s really deep, considering the almost complete lack of information she had to go on.

- Kallen knows, or at least has a really good idea of, Lulu’s sacrifice. She mentions that Damocles probably wouldn’t have worked because its harder to focus on a system rather than a name. Ah, here’s the cap:

…I almost felt a pang of sadness for Schneizel, now that he has to live as Zerozaku’s slave for the rest of his live. Almost.

I’m sure I don’t need to fan over Lulu anymore than I already have to let everyone know that I’m very, very sad that my beloved Lulu died. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some merchandise to purchase and turn my room into a Lulu shrine.

It was a fun ride, Sunrise.

PS. Don’t forget the Kannon’s hat fanfic before you go. (It’s very, very racy.)