2010-06-12, 15:50 | Link #2041 | ||
Hold it! Objection! Pal!
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Spain
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"Rolo demonstrates an incredible amount of strength just by choosing to side with Lelouch after Turn 4. You might think that of course, he's doing it for his own good, but in real life, when presented with two options, one riskier than the other but which also offers the possibility of a better result, people will still usually take the easiest and most comfortable choice. By betraying the Cult and putting his faith in trusting Lelouch's words, he knows he is from then on both in danger of being discovered and finished by VV (as he states during Turn 8) AND of being abandoned by Lelouch, but he still prefers to take the risk rather than go on with a lifestyle that would also have meant many more murder victims, actually. It would have been a much less insecure option to just continue doing missions and allow others to decide his fate, but he is able to realize (even though nobody has taught him to use his own mind to judge what's going on around him. Or now that I think about it, perhaps Lelouch did during their year together; after all, during Turn 1 Lelouch mentions how he doesn't want to have to follow somebody else's orders, and describes that the ones on top take all decisions in an ironic manner) that he has the right to be in control of his own life, and that he is going to fight as much as is needed to finally gain the freedom and happiness any human deserves. Indeed, in this process, he doesn't take Shirley's or Nunnally's well-being into consideration, but how do you expect him to take others into consideration when nobody's ever taken him into consideration before and he has always been exploited and had his rights as a human negated (VV blatantly calls him "defective merchandise")? Nobody is willing to help or even understand Rolo on his quest for freedom and happiness (and Lelouch clearly willingly ignores Rolo's need for affection [I say willingly because he must have been aware of it to come up with a plan that involved simply promising him a future and which he took for granted would result in Rolo immediately switching sides]), so how could he trust or even value others when from his experience, he's arrived to the conclusion that they will try to prevent him from acquiring happiness? It is impressive enough that he is capable of valuing that Lelouch treated him kindly and that he's usually a pretty calm guy; he could have turned into a crazy person who just destroyed everything around him out of desperation, and he doesn't do that. The effort he puts to keep clinging to hope despite the isolation and frustration that he must also endure is more than enough of a meaningful quality, for me, at least. As somebody who believes conformity is one of the most dangerous threats to society (like Ionesco, I am sure many unfortunate historical events caused by humans do not take place because the majority will profit from them, but rather because the majority do not care about complaining about them), I greatly admire the courage and will power of individuals who do fight against an unfair treatment, and pursue their self-fulfillment. I think valuing oneself is the first step into learning to fight for the rights of others too, and Rolo is a character who could tell, on his own, that he had the right to give his own life a meaning and strive for happiness, and who never gave up on this conviction. He isn't just a pitiable character, he's also a very, very strong boy . Just look at his marks, "above average", and he's never been to school before! He's the type to give his all in trying to do things the best way possible, and even though he made mistakes that brought a lot of pain to other people, I would not say he truly held bad intentions or that his aspirations were incorrect." Speaking of his energy to try his best, there was also some magazine out there which stated he worked very hard at home doing the cleaning. Lol well... since he's a dust-cloth it should not be so hard... xD More auto-quoting, sorry, it's just too long to paraphrase...: "That's the thing, that despite having been forced to kill countless times since he was 6 years old, something which would have probably been enough for anyone to turn completely unemotional and hopeless about the meaning of being alive, he still shows that his true nature is that of an extremely sensitive boy who is moved by each small gesture of kindness that he receives. He isn't just possessive of Lelouch ala Tamama, he feels incredibly grateful to him and is always worried about doing his best to prove himself worthy of his affection; he constantly offered him his support after Lelouch promised he would still consider Rolo his brother, he doesn't just take it for granted that he deserves to own Lelouch. But that's why he's likewise really scared of losing him, especially since Lelouch was disrespectful enough to show too many signs that he actually only cared about Nunnally right in front of Rolo. [<- I talked about these here... Whoa, I'm truly lazy to write today] Of course it was wrong for Rolo to kill Shirley, but you can't just minimize the reasons behind this act and regard his character as a mere ruthless paranoid murderer: he spends the whole series desperately struggling to find his right place and longing for that love he was given for an ephemeral single year which he can't just forget and abandon so easily. The way he talks about Lelouch proving himself so capable of contemplating his own feelings is heart-breaking for some of us (with lines such as "did I long for a smile this much?", "I didn't want to lose... you, the first family I had ever had", "thank you, brother, for giving me, who was empty, the light", "my brother is the kindest in the world", "I thought that as long as the two of us would stay together forever that would mean the eternal happiness", and so on, and every single word from the lyrics of Boku wa, tori ni naru. Sure this is all really cheesy, but for someone who's been raised as an assassin to manage to sound cheesy, you really feel the state of melancholy he must be going through, and all the pain he's holding back), and that in spite of having always being ordered what to do he is able to choose the least comfortable path of starting to make his own decisions shows that he had a really strong desire to break free from that identity as a tool that others had forced onto him." I will be happy if I manage to make somebody acknowledge Rolo's personality as something more than mere fujoshi material. His determined monologue before he dies is proof enough to show that his character represents an exceptional strength to pursue the minimum happiness any individual deserves and that he's not in the show just to create "kyaaahgay!!" reactions. Once again, copying from my own blog: "I was thinking that his final act is a perfect unification of his internal conflict (his desire to break free clashing with a tool-complex, which makes him unable to take the idea that he needs to be useful in order to be appreciated out of his mind) because on the one hand he takes his own decision and disobeys Lelouch, even giving preference to his own speech (=feelings) over whatever Lelouch might have been asking for at the time; and yet, on the other hand, that choice which he makes with his own will power is none other than giving up his life and chance to find happiness in exchange for helping somebody towards whom he feels a little too grateful not to be a sign of an evident lack of self-esteem. Ultimately, he only acquires his self-fulfillment through sacrificing himself for someone else, whom he considers superior to his very own existence." What I mean by copying this is that his character development is not that simple, and in my opinion the writers did an incredible job capturing Rolo's inner struggle through subtle details, gestures and choices of words on his part. And about deluding himself until the end, the words "indeed, maybe I was being used by Niisan" show that he was in fact conscious and could accept that Lelouch had been using him as a reality. His intense fear for the idea of Nunnally's return makes it way too evident that he knows he's being lied to. Rolo goes into a gradual evolution from first getting to know and become attached to an affectionate Lelouch, then hesitating over his need to finish the mission and kill him, afterwards fearing that Lelouch might be lying to him and thus showing his distrust, to finally concluding that it is staying by Lelouch’s side that he prefers and convincing himself that although it is apparent that Lelouch does not care about him the way he used to anymore, he may still have the possibility of getting that Lelouch back. But he does not go through this last stage simply filling himself with delusions; he’s consciously aware that his hope is too frail, and because of it he needs to constantly prove that he’s right in order to -attempt to- convince himself, by stating how they’re brothers and that their relationship is oh-so-strong in front of others (but not Lelouch, as he might deny it and Rolo’s precisely avoiding to have to hear this truth) all the time: like in his interactions with Sayoko or when he indirectly -very directly actually xD- claims that he’s the one Zero trusts the most when talking to Asahina or when he goes on the defensive every instance someone seems to be suggesting the contrary (Villetta in ep14). Even though it’s clearly not a correct nor a fair assumption, Rolo does have a bit of a basis to believe that he can make Lelouch happier than Nunnally could, or that Lelouch loves him more than he loves his friends, because he truly has known a Lelouch who always wore a façade in front of his friends but showed his true smile only in front of Rolo, and, by comparison, it’s not false that Lelouch suffers more and is much less calm after he regains his memories and has to take the role of Zero and be concerned about Nunnally. So I perceive his final pretending that Lelouch's previous hatred confession had meant nothing to him and that he hadn't believed a word, instead of as simple delusion, as both a final request for some kind words and a bit of attention from the brother he loves and also as a gesture of kindness towards Lelouch, making it clear that he doesn't want him to feel guilty over the mean things he said to him before. Seriously, Rolo's exhausted expression combined with his broken voice as he talks to Lelouch for the last time just scream gentleness to me... There is also the monologue that came with Complete Best, in which he regrets not having realized before that Lelouch was to help everybody just as he (Lelouch) had helped him (Rolo). I'd say this means he did understand at the end that he should not have been so possessive, and I'm also convinced that had Lelouch assured Rolo that he should stay with him and Nunnally too as a family from the very beginning, he would not have developed that possessiveness (which only stems from his fear of being replaced by her) in the first place. xD Nah... Rolo is the type to long for touching hands more than doing hardcore stuff. |
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2010-06-12, 20:38 | Link #2044 |
The Dark Empress
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Battleship Hyperion
Age: 33
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I also say hell no....I mean nay to ShiRolo too
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2010-06-13, 05:02 | Link #2045 |
Hold it! Objection! Pal!
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Spain
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Also, if anyone's interested (since then again this is the Rolo thread and although discussions about his contribution as a character are interesting, I do guess his fans have the right to talk without having to defend why they like him constantly ) I once wrote a list of evidence that Rolo is important to Lelouch xD no, not in the shippy way. I know there are a lot of people around here too that believe Lelouch never regarded Rolo as more than a pawn, and that in the end all that changed was that he felt a little moved by his sacrifice. Well, there's actually a lot of proof that Rolo's existence was way more special to Lelouch than that, and as some magazine recently wrote, "before long, something like a bond was born between them" ... It's on my blog so I do allow myself to sound a little bit more fangirly, sorry!
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2010-06-13, 21:04 | Link #2046 | |
The Dark Empress
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Battleship Hyperion
Age: 33
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Last edited by Roloko vi Britannia; 2010-06-13 at 21:52. |
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2010-06-15, 06:08 | Link #2048 | |
Hold it! Objection! Pal!
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Spain
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Quote:
This is just my take on an explanation as to why he continued resorting to killing despite Lelouch's words, by no means am I trying to defend Rolo's murderous actions. Having said that, Lelouch himself forgets about pretending that he wants to protect Rolo from danger when he actually wants to put his assassination skills into service himself. He makes Rolo point a gun to Villetta, asks him to cooperate with the slaughter of the Geass Cult, and then has him killing again in order to retrieve Nunnally. Seeing how Lelouch's "don't behave like that" petitions are so sporadic and there's a contradiction between them and the way he in practice makes Rolo behave, he could hardly sound convincing enough to Rolo... Last edited by aya_kari; 2010-06-15 at 12:37. |
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2010-10-26, 11:55 | Link #2053 |
The Dark Empress
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Battleship Hyperion
Age: 33
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I was thinking maybe it could be possible for Rolo and Nunnally to be fraternal twins cause they do look similar and all. Maybe Charles and VV took Rolo away to the geass cult for experimenting after Rolo was born??
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2011-01-21, 04:38 | Link #2054 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
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In my opinion, Rolo was probably a reflection of what Lelouch's relationship with Nunnally might have been if she were not crippled due to V.V.'s treachery towards her mother, Marianne. |
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2011-01-21, 15:30 | Link #2055 | |
Author
Join Date: Nov 2010
Age: 52
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2011-01-22, 05:34 | Link #2058 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
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might have been quite different. Imagine seeing Lelouch's sister walking around on her own. Lelouch's pretense relationship with Rolo might have been the sort of attention that he might have given towards Nunnally. And this was during the one year time skip before the start of the second season when Lelouch's memories were altered by Charles. Remember that the first half of Code Geass R2 was essentially a repeat of Season One, with regard to the Asford Academy scenes. Therefore, Rivalz relationship towards Lelouch was replaced by Rolo. Not to mention, Nunnally being replaced by Rolo as well throughout the timeskip as his one and only sibling, thanks to Charles' Geass. This is clearly a borrowed scene from Season One when the producers rewrote the episodes for the second season towards the new audience who had not watch Code Geass before. Last edited by darthfury78; 2011-01-22 at 05:48. |
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