The final stretch of Code Geass season two was one twist after another.
Episodes twenty and twenty-one were a perfect example. Lelouch's mother, Marianne, awakened from within the Knight of the Round Anya and restored C.C.'s memories. The two of them then went together to seek out the Emperor, Charles zi Britannia, who was also Lelouch's father.
As it happened, Lelouch had gone to confront Emperor Charles at the same time, intending to take them both out in the realm of C.
Marianne's sudden appearance in the world of C left Lelouch completely stunned. Then the truth of that day came to light. It turned out she and the Emperor had been working together all along.
The one who had ordered the assassination of Marianne was not any prince or princess of the Empire. It was V.V., the Emperor's older brother and the head of the Geass Order.
Marianne herself possessed a Geass.
Her power allowed her consciousness to transfer between people's hearts, but it only activated at the moment of her physical death.
When she was killed, the young Anya happened to be present, so Marianne slipped inside her.
Whenever her consciousness surfaced, she could communicate directly with C.C. through their shared connection. All those earlier scenes of C.C. seemingly talking to herself were actually conversations with Marianne.
As for why Lelouch and Nunnally were sent to Area Eleven, it was because they were Marianne's children and she was trying to protect them.
Nunnally's blindness had nothing to do with trauma or psychological shock. It was caused directly by Emperor Charles's Geass, a fabricated piece of evidence designed to keep the truth out of reach and deceive V.V.
Alongside the truth, Marianne and Emperor Charles's shared wish was finally spoken aloud: to build a world without lies.
Lelouch rejected that wish entirely and forced the world of C to stop. In the end, Emperor Charles and Marianne were swallowed by it.
By the close of episode twenty-one, Lelouch had seized the throne of the Empire, compelling its people to submit to him by force. Suzaku became his right hand, granted the title Knight of Zero.
In episode twenty-two, Emperor Lelouch began tearing the Britannian Empire apart and rebuilding it from the ground up, though many still refused to accept his rule.
After Suzaku defeated the four Knights of the Round who came to challenge him, Lelouch announced without warning that he intended to join the United Federation of Nations.
Under the Federation's rules, membership required a vote.
The vote was to be held at the place where Lelouch once studied, Ashford Academy.
Joining the Federation was never the real plan. What Lelouch actually wanted was to gather every leading figure of the United Federation in one place and take them all hostage.
The operation went off without a hitch.
But no sooner had it succeeded than everything fell apart.
Former Second Prince Schneizel launched a Fleija missile and reduced the Imperial capital to nothing.
Then came the biggest twist of all: Nunnally was not dead.
Not only was she alive, she had learned Lelouch's identity as Zero and had now truly become his enemy.
In episode twenty-three, Schneizel and the Black Knights joined forces and launched a full-scale assault against the Imperial forces under Lelouch's command. The battle was fierce and swung back and forth with neither side giving an inch.
But in episode twenty-four, Lelouch slipped into Schneizel's base alongside Suzaku and C.C., outwitted Schneizel, and successfully used his Geass on him, bringing Schneizel permanently under his control.
Finally, Lelouch tracked down Nunnally, who was holding the Fleija controller and had been misled by Schneizel.
What caught him off guard was that Nunnally had broken through Charles's Geass by sheer force of will. Her sight had returned.
Lelouch told Nunnally to hand the controller over to him.
Nunnally refused and asked him point-blank whether he was going to use Geass on her too.
From episode twenty through twenty-four, the show delivered one stunning moment after another, with the plot twisting at every turn and barely giving viewers time to breathe. It was compelling in a way that made stopping impossible.
Every episode that aired set off a wave of discussion online:
"Lelouch is the coolest protagonist I've ever seen. Nothing comes close."
"That scene where he walks calmly between two lines of Knightmare Frames while saying 'go ahead and try to stop me, if someone out there can overcome my despair,' it was just genuinely cool."
"All hail Lelouch!"
"This show keeps putting me through the wringer, but I physically cannot stop watching. I'm starting to wonder if I've been hit with Geass myself."
"By the way, what does Zero Requiem actually mean?"
"No idea."
"Can't wait to see how it ends."
Episode twenty-five was the finale of Code Geass, set to air on December 21st.
That morning, once the finished episode had been handed off, everyone at Starfall let out a long, collective breath and melted into their chairs like they had completely lost the ability to hold themselves upright.
Yuta was the notable exception.
Rather than staying in his office, he headed out, wandered through the floor for a bit, and made his way over to the production coordinator area.
Whether he had anything specific to say or not, going to the production coordinators was always the right move. They were the ones who liaised with every department, so anything passed through them would reach the whole staff without fail.
With the anime wrapped up, the coordinators did not scramble to sit up straight when Yuta appeared. They just gave him a casual greeting.
Rika was the one who asked something extra. "Are you here to announce the holidays, President?"
"What do you think?"
"When are we off? New Year's is just around the corner. Can't you just roll it all together and give us proper time to rest at home?"
"There's a wrap party tonight. Shouldn't that be your first concern?"
"What's there to care about? We've had plenty of those by now, and they're all basically the same every time."
Yuta's mouth twitched slightly.
He took a few steps toward Rika, but before he got close, she immediately went on high alert, throwing both hands over her head to cover it.
"I've figured out your whole playbook, President. You're not getting me again."
"I'm not trying to get you."
"Really?"
"Really! Put your hands down, will you? You're making me look like some kind of villain."
"Nope, nope. You're a liar, President. You lie all the time. I'm not falling for it!"
Rika kept her hands firmly over her head and showed no sign of relaxing.
Yuta sighed.
From across the room, Raiga spoke up. "Is there something you needed from us, President?"
"I wanted to go over the holiday schedule with everyone, and I also want to organize an outing for all of Starfall," Yuta replied.
"An outing?" Raiga looked puzzled.
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