Regardless whether or not Lelouch is dead, I think the impact of the Zero Requiem's orchestration comes through it's symbolism. The manner of which Lelouch chose to die left such a powerful impression that it would essentially cement the shift towards the tomorrow he
wished for. Although he used his Geass recklessly to accomplish that
wish, his humility was apparent in that he knew that the path he chose inevitably would have to end with his death in order for that wish to be truly realized the way he wanted it to.
It would be the
execution of his death that would determine
how his wish was realized.
By relinquishing his association with Zero and bestowing it upon the believed-to-be-dead and hax Suzaku, he basically immortalizes the legend of Zero as a hero on behalf of the free world while ensuring that the path to peace does not necessarily lead to anarchy (I believe that Zero is the essential figure that glues together the reestablishment of order and peace in the free world).
His apparently ironic position as the authoritative ruler over all the world would end with his death at the hands of his own invention. I think the symbolism behind that message would have been apparent to almost everyone who would be involved with the future, thus punctuating the culmination of the end of Imperial Britannia (being further symbolized by Lelouch sliding down the Britannian flag with his blood making that old symbol of oppression virtually unrecognizable.)
So Lelouch's wish for a better tomorrow devoid of war and oppression was achieved through the breaking of his own vessel filled to the brim of the world's sins and lies in a way that the "old order" of imperialism and fear would be completely erased with his loss. "Zero" lives on as a legendary hero and an engine for change, the last link on the chain of truly Imperial Britannia is broken, and the world is free from fearing the unstoppable and unfair power of the geass.
I can't judge whether or not Lelouch was truly justified or had truly atoned by the end of the series, but I still believe the impact of the Zero Requiem succeeded in its goal. That's enough for me to harbor some admiration towards Lelouch's final act of sacrifice. I would not necessarily compare him to Christ himself, but I will "dare" to say that it can be called an inverse of Christ's actions (I won't say anti-Christ because it's the exact opposite in all aspects) in a way, forgiving the sins of everyone else by overshadowing it with his own before making the final sacrifice of death, thus giving the appearance that all sin was destroyed in the process. Ideally, it can't be true, but I think the symbolism behind his death make it so that everyone still living at such a turbulent time believed in it enough to actually work to contribute for the better tomorrow without sin.
The above is reinforced by Kallen's revelation that the energy that was once spent on war and conquest did actually shift to human development.
It was a shaky road over the past few episodes, and but I think that the ending tied most loose ends.
Granted, there were a lot of unresolved issues (Nunnally opening her eyes, for example) but I will forgive those involved with the writing and directing of Code Geass in that their true intentions for Code Geass were not actually realized because of the deadlines forced upon them, from what I know and understand.
I was pleasantly surprised in the execution of the end of Code Geass, therefore I will rate this episode a 10. Although the end is tragic in a sense, there is also an extremely great sense of hope for the world of Code Geass weaved. It's probably the most artistic tragic and bittersweet end I've seen by an anime of this caliber for a while, and I hope that this all explains my generous rating well enough.
