This film (or theatrically released set of three episodes, if you'd prefer) is the “dark chapter” of the story—you know, where everything goes from a generally stable status quo to “the worst things have ever been” in just a few unfortunate moments. But while there is a lot of action (and some of the series' best mecha fights so far), the internal—personal and mental—conflicts are really the focus here.

The main setup here is that Sakuya and Ash learn the truth about each other. For Sakuya, this means discovering that Ash was always going to be her ally—and that her Geass command was the single evilest thing she could have ever done to him. For Ash, this means coming to terms not only with Sakuya's inadvertent cruelty but his full past and the promises he made at his lowest moments.

In the meta sense, this conflict is another comparison between Sakuya and Lelouch. For much of the original Code Geass anime, Lelouch was solely focused on his ultimate goal—he would often do horrible things to both his enemies and allies to further it. His selfish actions often had unintended consequences—especially where his Geass was concerned. Yet, even when confronted with them, he would double down on his original goal—continuing the cycle.

Sakuya, on the other hand, can learn from her mistakes. Confronted that her liberal use of her Geass has greatly harmed the one who should be her greatest ally, she is more than repentant—she is willing to die for her sins once Sakura is rescued if that is what Ash wants. And it's important to note that her promises aren't empty words. Sakuya has numerous chances to try and re-establish her Geass on Ash but never attempts it. She knows what she did was unforgivably wrong and thus refuses to do it again even when her life and goal are at stake.

All the scenes focusing on the pair—along with their internal struggles to come to terms with all they now know—work excellently. There is a ton of drama and some solidly shocking moments—especially given the mortal peril that Sakuya finds herself square in the middle of for most of the runtime. However, once the whole Ash/Sakuya situation has been resolved things get a bit shaky.

Sakuya's time in captivity has left her with some major psychological wounds to work through. Clearly, she is deeply wounded to the point where she can barely function. Instead of a gradual healing process, we get a light-switch moment, where she's suddenly okay again. It feels horribly unnatural and is clearly done so that she will be in top form for the big climax of the series—which suddenly begins near the end of this film.

And frankly, this climax feels completely out of left field. While the pacing has been fast to this point, the story has always felt tight and focused—so there were no real issues with the speed. However, with this ending, it suddenly feels like Rozé of the Recapture needs more than 12 episodes of runtime to tell its story. The logistics alone of what we see happening make little sense. It's hard to believe so many complicated machines could be made in secret—much less be deployed across the planet without anyone noticing.

Compounding this is the issue of the cameos we get in the closing moments. On one hand, they are incredibly cool—especially to anyone super involved in Code Geass' numerous spin-offs and side stories. However, these cameos aren't just quick scenes showing what the characters are up to as the action takes place elsewhere—each is shown to be in mortal danger. Given the importance of these characters in their own stories, it feels like we need to spend a lot more time on them than a few quick cuts—especially considering some of them either have powerful Geasses of their own or are under the command of various Geasses that they use in creative ways when in battle. I'm left wondering how everything could possibly be wrapped up in the final film—especially if the cast has indeed exploded in size as both the end of this film and the preview for the next seem to imply.

Still, closing minutes of questionable chaos aside, this film is a solid one. It hits the majority of its emotional beats well—especially those involving Ash and Sakuya—and the story is exciting with some truly excellent twists and turns. It's actually my favorite Rozé of the Recapture film so far.

...though I confess I could have done without all the creepshots of Sakuya in what amounts to rope-bondage gear.