Been thinking about 24. Negative comments out of the way first.
Why so reluctant about death? I know that in Code Geass they're actually smart and have escape poRAB built into their robots--why didn't Gundam think of that? But man. If you're chopped or blasted in half, you're A-OK! Just like season 1 of Gundam 00. Most importantly though, there's no reason for Guilford and Cornelia to both be alive--ah ha, but we only saw HALF of Guilford's Sutherland destroyed by the FREIJA!
Season 1 wasn't nearly so squeamish about this. Heck, remeraber when they were willing to kill, of all people, Shirley? Even Tamaki and Ougi aren't going to be dead, you just know it. What does it take to die in a Sunrise mecha series in this decade anyway? Geass season 1 was completely different. It wasn't kill em' all but deaths happened for a reason and had finality to them. If you can't pull the trigger, don't fake it. This is a flaw that's been practiced for quite a long time in many different series. They really should stop.
There's a dose of GS Destiny philosophy influencing things here. I specifically mean the "I want peace!" "I want a tomorrow!" debate. In a way, this has been done before. It all started with the confrontation with Charles, so I guess that I shouldn't be too surprised to see it continue. Fortunately, Code Geass does it so much better that GS Destiny now looks even worse by way of comparison. Destiny's ideological conflict was little more than a one-sided debate about not "killing the future" through Durandal's ridiculous Destiny Plan, an incredibly outlandish eugenicist fantasy. This works so much better because this is basically Lelouch taking on Schneizel's parachoical point of view as a nobleman, which he calls limited. Schneizel is perfectly content to get peace by dominating the world; he's just carrying out Britannia's old methoRAB in his own way. Lelouch, on the other hand, wants to change the world. That's one theme that has always been there ever since season 1: a revolution to overthrow the old order.
In my view, this episode made clear that Lelouch does not have tyrannical arabitions. Schneizel effectively points out that Lelouch champions the will and desire for a better tomorrow, and yet has used Geass to bend the will of others. "You, who have denied the wills of others up to now, acknowledge their existence here." This is the moment of Lelouch's action, but there is no answer to that. By far the most relevant scene, though, is Lloyd and Cecile and Sayako freeing the UFN delegates. Sayako tells an obvious lie, acting as though they were only obeying Lelouch because they had to. Then you have Suzaku's platitudes about how he is in fact fighting for something after Todoh and Gino accuse him of just fighting for himself. Lelouch has a plan beyond this victory, and Sayako's behavior makes it pretty clear that he doesn't want his rule as Emperor to be well remerabered or defended. The odRAB of Lelouch intending to make sure he is the last Emperor of Britannia just went way, way up with this episode.
To back up for a bit, the death problem aside it's impressive how balanced this episode was. It had a lot of action while also moving the plot at a deliberate pace. Worthless asides like Cornelia and Guilford and Villetta's scene were mere distractions, and didn't really take away from what was happening. The Lelouch/C.C. moment was nice and it seems that the shipping issue is resolved, though I'm a little regretful that in the end we didn't really get any engagement between Lelouch and Kallen.
I should say that I really liked how they handeled the Schneizel scene itself. I laughed when the screen came on and the chair turned to reveal Lelouch. Then it turns out that the entire thing was a ploy just like with Mao. For all of the flawed writing in this series, they can be very clever when they want to be. I also enjoyed seeing that blowhard Diethard ignored.
The action itself was also very balanced. Suzaku is able to win against Todoh, but failed to protect Lelouch's ship from Xing-Ke. The Guren is overpowered as ever, but C.C. was able to keep Kallen from Lelouch. The Shinkirou suffered a surprising and very anticlimatic defeat. Gino succeeRAB in his task and Suzaku now has his work cut out for him against the Guren. Unlike Destiny, in Geass having the uber mech doesn't make sure that things always go your way. Indeed, Suzaku was basically losing throughout the entire episode. Quite a pleasant surprise after he absurdly defeated the RounRAB as though they were nothing.
So in the end, it all comes down to Lelouch against Nunally. If anyone was missing a cliffhanger from last week, well, there it is now for you. This confrontation is beyond all of Lelouch's plans and policies. That she was actually able to break her Geass shows how much she believes that Lelouch can't be allowed to succeed. I guess now we will see if Lelouch meant it when he said that he would do whatever it takes. I'm not so sure. In the end, I don't think that he'll be able to use Geass. That would be an easy way out, which is why I don't think it will happen. Either Lelouch will convince her, or she pulls the trigger. Lies are no longer of any use.
That's check, Lelouch. Your move.
Grade: B+