Last week, I predicted that Ash would shoot Sakuya’s shackles off, they would escape, and things would be great between the two of them, if a little awkward. I was tired of being disappointed over and over again, and too cautious to hope for anything better than an immediate détente. Of course, this week’s episode does a great job of maintaining the suspense as Ash stares at Sakuya in confusion, reflecting on his confused memories of Nichol and her role as Rozé. He fires a shot at the floor of her cell and walks away.

Things are looking bad for Sakuya for once! She’ll have a hard time thinking of a way out of this situation, as Scissorman boasts and kills the next group of prisoners one by one. He even tells her to buy time by offering to tell him the secret of her Geass. He’s not interested in that; he wants experimental data for his research. Ash rushes in when all seems lost and knocks Scissorman’s anti-Geass helmet off his head. But then, when Sakuya tries to cast Geass on him himself, he yells, surprising her and shooting himself in the head.

While it’s a thrilling scene and Urbaniak delivers a fantastic performance as always, it feels a bit odd that someone as ruthless and cold and analytical as he is would rather commit suicide than kill Sakuya. One could perhaps argue that he didn’t want to kill a valuable research subject, but I doubt he would have considered that there was someone capable of doing his research in his place. After all, there are other Geass users, but only one of his. Whatever the case, the show just lost its best character. Goodnight, corrupt prince. You were the only one who kept me sane.

With the Eastern Dawn Army and Northern Wolves eliminated and the Seven Shining Stars expelled from their base, the Neobritannian leadership decides that now is the time to begin peace talks, with Narah acting as their representative. The episode handles this more deftly than I’m used to from the series, and is very aware of how much to show. The UN wants to avoid any terms that favor Neobritannia and expel them from Hokkaido entirely; Britannia enforces many of its own terms by… citing anti-Britannian sentiments? Again, that doesn’t seem entirely plausible, as countries that pull this off usually have allies with an interest in maintaining their rule, as current world events show. However, I appreciate the recognition that “creating a narrative” can be a powerful tool to get one’s way in negotiations, regardless of the actual balance of power. Still, the show resists the temptation to dwell on long dinner table conversations and instead jumps ahead to Gino (Hello, Gino!) and Cordelia discussing how they got stuck.

One interesting fact: Norland was a Knight of the Round. I’m half tempted to rewatch some old episodes and see if there are any characters that resemble him.

Meanwhile, Sakuya is traumatized after what she went through during her imprisonment. She is despondent and depressed, unable to act as a strategist even in this desperate moment. During the peace talks, the Seven Shining Stars are frozen so they don’t look like attackers, but they still need a plan for the future. Isao yells at Sakuya for not being able to come up with a strategy, but it doesn’t help. What helps? When Sakuya walks out of the tent and sees some people crying at a grave, it immediately snaps her out of her depression.

I sigh because the pacing just doesn’t allow time to process her emotions in any meaningful way. Is she afraid of being captured again? Does she feel guilty about what she did to Ash and the prisoners who died for her? Haunted by the feeling of being trapped? Depressed and numb because part of her brain has shut down due to trauma? Hopeless in the face of the overwhelming power of the Neo-Britannians? There’s no exploration of what’s going on in her head, no sense of what triggers this emotional response. Her quick recovery at the sight of a crying family doesn’t seem to fit the context either; it’s not like she’s lost sight of the suffering and grief of the Japanese people. She’s been surrounded by it the whole time. But the narrative demands that she keep going, so let her keep going.

Within the position of power, Sakura continues to try to build relationships that will allow her to push through policies for the benefit of the Japanese people. In her naivety, she expresses her optimism that peace talks could bring positive changes, but Walter has his doubts. Catherine is fed up with her attempts to be more than a figurehead and in her frustration pulls a gun on her. Sakura lectures her about how strength through violence is a lonely strength, and thinks of Sakuya when she talks about “true strength.” Catherine whispers that if they are not strong, they will die.

Although Sakura’s speech was utter nonsense, the insight into Catherine’s character is great. The flashback to Ash’s backstory recontextualized a lot about the Einberns and the conditions for them in the early stages of Neo-Britannia’s rise. Even without knowing the specifics, we can imagine what life must have been like for Catherine after her parents died. For her, only the strong survive; showing weakness means risking being disposed of. Catherine may be fast and agile, but she’s also small and lacks physical strength. Did she have to fight to prove herself, even more than someone like Ash, who was bigger and older? She’s a survivor above all else, and deserves the same compassion as any child soldier.

Just when things seem to be looking up after Cornelia convinces Kaguya (hello, Kaguya!) to return to the United Federation of Nations to lead the peace talks, terrifying machines start emerging from the sea and landing in cities around the world. Kudos to the machine designers for making this really creepy! They’re shaped more like viruses than anything else, with a menacing black and red color scheme and crawling, insect-like legs and whirring undercarriages that give them an alien, sinister appearance.

We’re now at the home stretch – three quarters of the way through, the next episode marks the beginning of the final film. Let’s see if this narrative, despite all its missteps, can still be salvaged.

Evaluation:

Code Geass: Rozé the Reconquest is currently streaming on Hulu and Disney+ depending on your region.