[azul120]

Originally Posted by Xander

There is some Diabolus ex Machina at certain points, especially in R2, but Lelouch himself acknowledged right from the beginning of the show that many of his methods weren't morally correct even if the ends were supposed to be. This was actually shown, not just unilaterally told to the audience, in plenty of both direct and indirect ways, so speaking of a purely Informed Wrongness on his part can come dangerously close to whitewashing him.

Even if certain circumstances were initially triggered by Diabolus ex Machina, Lelouch usually still made a personal choice that affected the ensuing consequences. Britannia itself might be the greater evil, for obvious reasons, but Zero being the lesser one does not necessarily make him right from every angle. Lelouch realized this and knew that his record wasn't going to be getting any cleaner in the long run. While it wasn't Lelouch's preferred outcome, he did understand his own death was a possible price to pay in the process as a result of his sins, long before he became a broken man near the ending. In fact, that wasn't the only time he fell into despair and/or attempted to hurt or kill himself.

Schneizel manipulated the Black Knights into not even giving him a fair trial, which is understandably aggravating, but just because they fell for the half-truths or lies and underhanded tricks of someone worse does not mean Lelouch could never be considered wrong if they had, in fact, held a proper inquiry and examined his conduct in detail. The actual chain of events that led to his death wasn't perfect nor inevitable, but it can't be said that everything happened to him in a vacuum either.

I never said Lelouch was perfect. While he acknowledged he was doing a lot of damage, he also suffered a disproportionate case of blowback. Not to mention that his so called atonement-by-death plan actually caused MORE damage than his rebellion did, and the latter at least compensated by helping other nations to the point they now had their own governing body in the UFN by Turn 16. Had he only been able to continue along that same path, he could atone by living on as a protector of justice post-war.