What an Idiot!/Anime and Manga/Code Geass

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
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  • Code Geass R2 has quite a few points.
    • Shortly before the second battle of Tokyo, Suzaku gets between Lelouch and his goal of rescuing Nunnally.
      You'd Expect: Lelouch to remember that he once put a "Live" Geass on Suzaku and order Kallen to merely disable the Lancelot rather than destroy it.
      Instead: After Suzaku refuses to submit, he orders Kallen to kill Suzaku, which she was just about to do anyway. Thanks to the "Live" command, Suzaku takes the quickest way to survival and nukes the Tokyo settlement, supposedly killing Nunally. Nice Job Breaking It Anti-Hero.
    • Earlier, Suzaku had promised to Lelouch to keep Nunally safe from that battle as long as the latter kept his vow to bring world peace. Furthermore, Suzaku should have also backed Lelouch and the Black Knights in battle, since their victory would result in the liberation of Japan with the least amount of casualties. However, Schneizel and Kanon pull a trap on Lelouch and frame Suzaku for setting him up. So:
      You'd Expect: Suzaku to prove his loyalty to Lelouch and Japan by standing by and helping to protect Nunnally.
      Instead: Our "hero" dives into the battle, thus placing the liberation of Japan and team Lelouch's attempt to reach Nunally in serious jeopardy. And then, he deploys himself with the FLEIJA bomb in tow, which he has the gall to carry into battle, rather than playing defense on behalf of Lelouch, Nunally and Japan. To be fair, Suzaku is a great pilot and isn't horribly outmatched yet, but Jeremiah still manages to catch him. Anyway, then Kallen comes in and absolutely destroys Luciano, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that her new Knightmare just decided the entire battle. Against the recommendations of everyone, he decides to pick a fight with her. He then spends the next two minutes using the same ineffective attack over and over like it will suddenly work better. He is being yelled at to retreat and ignores it. Kallen literally doesn't even fight back. Of course, when he's put on the ropes when Kallen gets serious, Suzaku decides to stay and die, which is even dumber than Lelouch's order to kill him because Suzaku knows exactly what kind of insane and out-of-character stunts the command can make him pull off when it's triggered. And that's exactly what happens: he nukes the Tokyo settlement. This results in the death of millions, including, seemingly at first, the one he swore to Lelouch to protect, which does not better Lelouch's opinion of him. Nice job, dumbass: Achievement Unlocked: 35 Million Casualties.
    • Even earlier than that, Shirley, just after Lelouch had risked his life to save her from falling off the edge of a building, is found dead in a puddle of blood in a smoking building just minutes later. Her death is ruled as suicide, but even so....
      You'd Expect: Suzaku to absolve Lelouch of causing Shirley's death, taking the earlier heroic near-sacrifice, and a lack of opportunity for a Geassing into account.
      Instead: Suzaku blames Lelouch for Shirley's death, and never realizes, or certainly not before it was too late, that Lelouch didn't Geass Shirley into suicide, which makes no sense to begin with. Accusive ass. Thank you for causing us God knows how much trouble. Really, it was Rolo, working on his own buggy, although thoughtless, agenda, who killed Shirley.
    • And then, The Black Knights are led by another Britannian prince and Ohgi's Britannian agent of a girlfriend to believe that Lelouch Geassed them into loyalty. Because of this, the Black Knights revolt, using Kallen to draw him out for a public execution. Lelouch just laughs at the Black Knights' gullibility - not that the Black Knights are wrong, but as if they are right, in order to let Kallen go free - which prompts the BKs to try to kill him. Rolo busts in with Shinkiro to save him.
      You'd Expect: The BKs to realize that Lelouch does have his morals and give him a fair trial for his actions. After all, for instance, even if he did Geass them, their attempt at mutiny would prove his Geass wasn't inviolable. In addition, that he did not use Kallen as a human shield would usually be considered strange, if the BKs weren't willing to kill her so they he couldn't. At the very least, they could have engineered events so that Kallen would go free.
      Instead: They don't, and instead chase him and Rolo down, resulting in Rolo's death and the Knights leaving Lelouch for dead. All of this is for an under the table deal to liberate Japan, giving the middle finger to the entire UFN in the process. Congratulations. You have just pushed our Byronic Hero to his ultimate breaking point, and now have a seemingly despotic Emperor Lelouch for it.
    • On the same subject, Ohgi's Britannian agent of a secret girlfriend, Villetta, is among those to testify against Lelouch.
      You'd Expect: Ohgi to get a slap on the wrist at the very least for secretly harboring a Britannian agent, since that was one of the charges raised against Lelouch. After all, Villetta caused, among other things, Ohgi to let his guard down during the Black Rebellion, leading to further destabilization within the ranks of the Black Knights watching over Ashford (which also arguably resulted in V. V. being able to sneak in and abduct Nunnally, causing Lelouch in turn to take a costly detour from the Rebellion), and him to accept a death threat from her, leading to an assassination attempt.
      Instead: This is overlooked too easily, and Villetta even joins the Black Knights. The two even get married ever after, with Ohgi becoming Prime Minister, making them both Karma Houdinis.
    • Remember that potential What an Idiot! moment mentioned above? Well, now it warrants mention given the thought. The Black Knights had been told about Geass, and it being a form of hypnotism, which especially has the stereotype of working more effectively on weak-minded people. They think they have been Geassed, which shows signs of still being effective for extended periods of time.
      You'd Expect: BKs: Wait a minute, Zero AKA Lelouch Vi Britannia. How can we be able to try to mutiny against you when you had a princess who appointed a Japanese man as her personal knight through all that prejudice massacre Japanese people. Something is off.
      Instead: BKs: Die, monster! You don't belong in this world! Open fire and kill the girl we used as bait under premise of being Geassed for questioning us, boys!
      Result: The What an Idiot! moment 2 entries above, its own results and all.
    • Then there's Rolo's Big Damn Heroes moment: he is right there in a Knightmare and has a Geass power capable of stopping the senses of anybody in range, however temporary. He is quite okay with overusing his Geass to save Lelouch, whose life is threatened because of everybody else in the room except for Kallen, but cares too little for anybody else to not think twice of killing them, demonstrated not just by the fact that he kills random pilots in the following scenes but that his assassin history and instincts in any other case would compel him to kill at the slightest provocation, as has been lampshaded earlier on a few times by other characters.
      You'd Expect: Rolo to use the Knightmare and his Geass power to wipe those people (the BKs) off the face of the Earth already.
      Instead: Rolo just bolts for the exit. With Schneizel and Kanon being allowed to live, they get to report Lelouch escaping; this leads to making sure Rolo has to lose his life to ensure Lelouch's safety. And with them and the Black Knights still alive, Lelouch has to fight through them later on. All in the name of Lelouch fighting against the world just like Shirley said. Or maybe he could let Lelouch into the cockpit (which he did do well before dying), then escape into the water, of which few Knightmares possess the ability. To be fair to that alternative, though there was an explicit scene where he scraps a ton of amphibious Portmans.
    • Lelouch and Suzaku join forces for the first time and take over the Britannian empire, but they know that Schneizel still has his Damocles and that he plans to use it nuke the world into submission, and that they need to stop it at any cost. So Lelouch contacts the only other super power on earth, the "UFN", which is controlled by people he helped put in power, and who's army he helped build and used to command, and invites their leaders for a peace conference, which they agree to.
      You'd Expect: Lelouch to try and rebuild his alliance with his former followers by providing them proof that he did not use Geass on them (he can easily do that, since It Only Works Once), tell them the truth about who he is and why he fights and unite together against Schneizel and the Damocles which threatens them all. That way, Schneizel would be facing all the armies of the entire world.
      Or at the very least, have made a secret pact then went as per canon, until someone like Xingke could meet with Schneizel and assassinate him.
      Instead: Lelouch uses the peace conference as bait to lure the UFN leaders into a trap and then take them all hostage, he then sends his army in and conquers the whole of Japan, thus insuring that he has to fight The Black Knights and Schneizel at the same time.
    • Which leads me to the next one. Lelouch and Suzaku actually had at least a good month before Schneizel got Damocles up in the air, FLEIJAs and all.
      You'd expect: Them to hunt him down, and/or put him under close watch to keep him from putting his big Kill Sat into action unmitigated. One FLEIJA was bad enough. Plus, he already had the Avalon in the first season. Why give the opportunity to do worse?
      Instead: He just waits around for Schneizel to emerge on his own, with even worse than predicted results. Hello, Contractual Genre Blindness.
    • Nunnally has the ability to tell lies by holding a person's palm. She did this to Suzaku and Alicia in R2.
      You'd expect: Her to do the same with Schneizel, her brother who she hasn't seen in years. She sees her own blood brother, Lelouch, as a person who has lied to her, so why should Schneizel, let alone anyone, period, be an exception?
      Instead: She takes Schneizel's words at face value, which results in her turning against Lelouch, and nuking Pendragon, which she has been falsely informed has been evacuated.
    • And even R1 is not immune, and even has a moment in the second episode, from Lelouch himself no less: Lelouch has just Geassed Villetta for her Knightmare. Not five minutes ago he had Geassed a bunch of Britannian soldiers to kill themselves. He could kill her a few different ways and be done with it. At few if any points in the entire series does Lelouch care for What Measure Is a Mook?, and he even kills named soldiers.
      You'd expect: Lelouch to kill her. One less piece of Britannian scum to deal with, not to mention covering up how he got the Knightmare.
      Instead: He just ignores her and leaves. Villetta ends up being a factor in much of his troubles later on.
      • And speaking of Villetta... so, Lelouch wakes up and realises, with his typical genius barring situations like this, that two people have seen him unmasked, thus uncovering his true identity, and that one has shot the other.
        You'd Expect: That Lelouch would immediately search the area for the shot party, on the basis that they're unlikely to have gotten far with a gunshot wound, just in case they're still alive. Which, as it happens, they are.
        Instead: Lelouch just goes home, devoting all his time and effort towards finding the shooter rather than the shootee (despite the fact that the shooter almost certainly has some sympathy or affection for him, having protected his identity and not revealed it yet), letting the badly wounded but still very much alive Villetta be discovered by Ohgi instead. Admittedly she has Laser-Guided Amnesia when she first recovers, but nevertheless...
        Result: This event ultimately sets in motion a chain of events that not only help to doom the First Black Rebellion by causing chaos in the Black Knights' headquarters, aiding V.V. in his abduction of Nunnally, but later on led to the Black Knights betraying Zero and driving him over the Despair Event Horizon. Yeah.