<p>Lelouch is really the cart driver at the end of Code Geass R2.</p>
<p>Quoting from <a href="http://animeotaku.animeblogger.net/2008/09/code-geass-r2-25-so-is-lelouch-dead-or-not/" rel="noreferrer">this blog post</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The most obvious reason would be CC calling to Lelouch in the closing scene of the episode. As we can assume CC to be still sane, she must be talking to someone, and that someone would most probably be the driver of the cart: Lelouch would have to be alive.</p>
<p>Second, however, and this is where the others have thought things through, Lelouch is alive because he got his dad's code. He beckoned the World of C to lend him its powers, and he took Charles's code before Charles passed on. The reason why Lelouch still has his Geass is because he didn't take the Code from the same person who gave him his Geass: he took his Geass from CC, and he took his Code from Charles. Thus, he now possesses both immortality and a Geass. This is also a reason that the title is <em><strong>Code Geass: Lelouch</strong> of the Rebellion</em>.</p>
<p>To further corroborate this, however, remember that when Nunnally held Lelouch's hand he transferred his memories to her. CC also did it when Lelouch touched her accidentally back then, so it could be assumed that people with Codes are indeliberate telepaths. This leaves us with both immortals traversing the world for the rest of eternity.</p>
<p>[...]</p>
<p>Additional evidences:</p>
<ol>
<li>Charles grabbed Lelouch with his right hand, which had the Geass sigil.</li>
<li>Lelouch needed the fully evolved Geass to transfer a code.</li>
<li>The code doesn't appear to activate until someone dies. Hence, why C.C. was wounded when she first inherited her code. Same happened with Charles in the World of C.</li>
<li>When Lelouch touched Nunnally, Nunnally got a flash of his memories. This ONLY happens when a high potential Geass user touches someone with the fully evolved Geass.</li>
<li>The title of the series is &quot;R2″, which is similar to how &quot;C.C&quot; is pronounced. So Lelouch would be &quot;R.R.&quot; which is Engrish (I presume) for L.L., Lelouch Lamprouge.</li>
<li>When C.C. is talking on the wagon, she says &quot;the power of Geass brings loneliness…that's not quite right is it, Lelouch?&quot; and nods her head in the direction of the wagon driver.</li>
</ol>
<p>[Furthermore,] Orange knew of Lelouch's and Suzaku's plan and helped them out by ordering his men not to fire on Zero, he even smiled when Zero (Suzaku) jumped on his shoulder.</p>
<p>Now would Orange, a man who devoted himself entirely to Lelouche and threw away everything without a second thought be OK with a plan where the sole person he wants to protect in life is actually killed? The answer to that is NO, not even if Lelouch ordered him to accept the plan: he would not go along with it and would protect him with his life. There is only one way that Orange would be OK with a plan like that and that's if he knew about Lelouch's immortality, which I assume he did as he worked with V.V. in the Geass research base. Orange was OK with this plan as he knew Lelouch would come to no harm and would be able to start a new peaceful life with the woman he loves in a world which he himself had made peaceful.</p>
<p>Even at the end, we see Orange on his orange plantation, completely content with the way things have panned out, he definitely could not be that happy had Lelouch actually died.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So Lelouch and CC lived happily ever after, literally.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-01T20:46:49.980Z
Point #5 under "Additional evidences [sic]" makes no linguistic sense; the author's presumption that "R.R." could refer to Lelouch is simply wrong.
senshin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-13T00:14:17.483Z
@senshin "L" and "R" are basically the same in Japanese; that's one of the big things that causes Engrish
Izkata
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-13T01:54:06.380Z
@Izkata Lelouch's name was officially romanized as "Lelouch" even in promotional materials from before the show aired. While it is true that Japanese has a single phoneme /r/ that lives somewhere between(ish) English /r/ and /l/, that's not really relevant here.
senshin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-23T18:08:45.753Z
I have to disagree. About your 4th point, I don't think C.C. nods towards the driver at all. But that's not the main point anyway. When Suzaku appears as Zero to kill Lelouch, C.C. is shown in a church. She is crying as she comments on the price he's going to pay for using the Geass. It makes no sense at all if Lelouch wasn't going to die. Why would she cry if it was all just a drama. And what would be the price Lelouch was paying?
Alchemist
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-01T08:35:39.077Z
@Alchemist That's immortality. Immortality brings loneliness. That's the price Lelouch would have to pay for. Knowing that he will live on while everyone he know gets old and die. Including his beloved little sister Nunally.
絢瀬絵里
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-30T07:52:33.813Z
@AyaseEri Yes, C.C. did tell Lelouch that Geass brings a life a of solitude when she made the contract with him. But in the last episode, C.C. actually said otherwise when she was on the cart. I don't remember the exact words. But she did say that people say Geass cursed the bearer to a life of solitude. But that was not the case with Lelouch. It kind of negates the argument that C.C. would say the loneliness was the price he was going to pay.
Alchemist
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-20T14:13:40.970Z
@xjshiya This has been officially contradicted. there are numerous official statements where they explain that Lelouch is truly dead: interviews, tweets, live commentary, the official guide book, the remade epilogue where C.C. explicitly narrates to the audience that Lelouch is dead, etc. You can find an overview of these statements at https://www.reddit.com/user/GeassedbyLelouch/comments/8hklfr/evaluating_code_theory_main_body_index/ Please edit your answer to clarify that this fan theory is not canon and officially debunked.
Lelouch vi Britannia
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-12T05:55:36.733Z
2015-08-01T19:50:46.027Z
2020-06-17T09:17:53.303Z
xjshiya
<h2>Lelouch is officially confirmed dead</h2>

<p>Over the past 10 years the creators of the show have repeatedly explained that Lelouch is truly dead. This was done in interviews, articles, tweets, live commentary, the official guide book, the remade epilogue (from 2009) where they dropped the misunderstood hay cart scene and replaced it with C.C. explicitly narrating to the audience that Lelouch is dead, etc. There's a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/GeassedbyLelouch/comments/8hklfr/evaluating_code_theory_main_body_index/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Reddit post</a> where all these official statements can be found. This post also scrutinizes the fan theory which assumes that Lelouch has the code and shows where and how the anime itself contradicts the theory's points.   </p>

<p>I will give a few examples from that linked post, for a full overview follow the link above.     </p>

<h2>The interviews from Animage 10 (<a href="https://matome.naver.jp/odai/2143969576830905201/2143972453355434003" rel="nofollow noreferrer">October</a>, Okouchi) and 11 (<a href="https://matome.naver.jp/odai/2143969576830905201/2143972453355433703" rel="nofollow noreferrer">November</a>, Fukuyama) from 2008.</h2>

<p>In these interviews they explain that the death of Lelouch was a matter of principle for them (their aesthetics, their psychology, etc.), it was a matter of redemption and salvation in the eyes of Lelouch and Lelouch found peace dying for the gentler world his sister wanted.   </p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>Okouchi</strong>: <em>"(...) That end is to Lelouch and to Suzaku both the punishment and the salvation at the same time. It's also connected to the words Lelouch said at the beginning: "Utte ii no wa utareru kakugo no aru yatsu dake da." The person who gave the punishment was punished themselves and if you want to get the salvation, give the salvation first. Of course it's also the same with Lelouch's decision to accepts the geass (wish), because he geassed many people, as he himself has said in the show. [He refers to the last episode when Lelouch says what the people of the world wish for]"</em></p>
  
  <p><strong>Animage</strong>: <em>"So this was the end, but was Lelouch happy?"</em><br>
  <strong>Okouchi</strong>: <em>"I think that the show had a happy ending, not a bad ending. Lelouch and C.C. talks about it in season 1 episode 7 - just living a life is meaningless. Lelouch saved his beloved sister and managed to create a kind world in his own way. His life wasn't meaningless. That's why in the end he is smiling."</em></p>
  
  <p><strong>Animage</strong>: <em>"So you accept the end of the show?"</em><br>
  <strong>Fukuyama</strong>: <em>"I think that before he reached that final scene, Lelouch had many possibilities to choose from. But he understood very well what he had done and had to pay the price for that. Suzaku choose to live as Zero and was awarded the opportunity to pay for his sins by this choice. And Lelouch got his salvation by choosing not the happiness of living on but to sacrifice his own life to create the situation for the world to move forward. If you think about his character, I don't think he would still be himself, if he chose other end."</em>    </p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/pUAvd.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/pUAvd.jpg" alt="Animage interview"></a><br>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/gRnIb.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/gRnIb.jpg" alt="Animage interview"></a><br>
(Additional pictures of these interviews can be found <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/EN8sj.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> and in the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/GeassedbyLelouch/comments/8hklfr/evaluating_code_theory_main_body_index/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">compilation post</a> of all official statements)</p>

<h2>The interviews from Continue (<a href="https://www.retromags.com/galleryimgs/monthly_2017_10/small.59f05755697f9_ContinueVol.42(October2008).jpg.f9ec262ce76541c515b3ea32e65060c8.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Vol.42</a>).</h2>

<p>In this interview they confirm that the decision to kill Lelouch was a unanimous one, the entire show staff agreed:   </p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>Continue</strong>: <em>Was there a dispute among the staff members regarding the ending?</em><br>
  <strong>Okouchi</strong>: <em>No. It was decided fairly naturally. During the "Code Geass" script meetings, there are many cases in which there were a number of disputes, but there were barely any when it came to the scripts for (the previous series's) episode 25 and the final episode. I think everyone felt the same when it came to the end of the character that is Lelouch.</em></p>
</blockquote>

<p>They confirm that Lelouch's death was one of the first things they decided for the show and that his death was a matter of principle to them ("their sense of aesthetics"). This statement was confirmed yet again 10 years later in the tweets (see below).   </p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>Continue</strong>: <em>Why were you so bold as to choose this ending when the viewers might see it as a Bad End?</em><br>
  <strong>Okouchi</strong>: <em>Bold... yes, we were so bold as to chose this ending. Perhaps the show that is "Code Geass" ending up this way was decided the moment Director Taniguchi and I teamed up. I suppose you can call it our sense of aesthetics, or perhaps a part of our psychological makeup.</em>    </p>
</blockquote>

<p>The following statements explain how they foreshadowed Lelouch's death from the very first episode with his famous line "The only ones allowed to kill are those who are willing to be killed" (exact phrazing will depend on the subs you used, of course):   </p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>Continue</strong>: <em>Still, isn't it possible that defeating the wise ruler Schneizel, the person who was supposed to have brought order to the world, might lead to some [viewers] interpreting it as a Bad End?</em><br>
  <strong>Okouchi</strong>: <em>That's true. There are probably a lot of people who think of it as a Bad End, a tragedy, considering the protagonist's, Lelouch's end as well. However, Lelouch says in the first episode: "Only those prepared to be shot are allowed to pull the trigger themselves." If you were to think of that as his pride, then I think his getting shot (killed) in the end was a logical end. Of course, I understand that not all of the viewers will accept this ending. There were people who wanted a happier ending, after all.</em>    </p>
</blockquote>

<p>It is important to note that part of this last statement was often misinterpreted by code theorists as him saying that people could see it as open ended. It is clear from his words that this is NOT what he is saying. He said that he understands that some people will see Lelouch's death as a bad ending and that some people wanted a happy ending. Basically, what he is saying is that people are free to interpret Lelouch's death as happy or sad, but Lelouch's death itself was never open for interpretation, it was set in stone as the rest of the article clearly demonstrates. The ending was never meant to be ambiguous.<br>
It is also important to note the Lelouch's death can only be interpreted as a true, final death and not something temporary until the code revives him, especially the foreshadowing of his death doesn't make sense if we see it as temporary death or faked death, but the later tweets will make this even clearer, so I will go in further depth there. (see tweets below)   </p>

<h2>The tweets</h2>

<p>As part of the 10 year Code Geass anniversary, the creators of the show started a series of tweets titled "Geass Memories" in which they reminiscence about the days when they made the show, shedding light on the production process, the way certain decisions were made, etc. Of particular relevance here are the Geass Memories 77-83:   </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"Before I started writing the story of a person called Lelouch, I confirmed with Taniguchi-director something. That thing was that <strong>the end of Lelouch will be death</strong>."<br>
  "At least he is aware of his sins and pays for them with <strong>his death</strong>."<br>
  "This man called Lelouch will pay for his sins by <strong>his death</strong>. The story follows him till he finally make this decision."<br>
  "Probably this Lelouch we see in the first episode of the series wouldn't <strong>choose death</strong>. He would try something to avoid it. He couldn't <strong>die</strong>, for Nunnally as well. But we see him changed in the last episode."    </p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://twitter.com/ichirou_o/status/998739675895365633" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Link to the tweets on his twitter account.</a> </p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/FklXz.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/FklXz.png" alt="Screenshot of tweets in Japanese"></a>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/H503o.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/H503o.png" alt="Translation of the tweets"></a>  </p>

<p>It is important to note that "death" here can only be interpreted as a "true, final death" and not some temporary death until the code revives him, just as was the case earlier with the explained foreshadowing. This is easily made obvious by replacing the word "death" by "death for 2 minutes" or "faked death". "Lelouch pays for his sins by being dead for 2 minutes". "Only those who are willing to fake their deaths are allowed to kill". "Lelouch being dead for 2 minutes was part of our aesthetics".<br>
It is immediately obvious that their words simply make no sense if we assume Lelouch had the code and was immortal. The old argument "they said he's dead but not that he stayed dead" with which code theorists try to dismiss the Word of God simply does not hold water at all. (Also, who ever says something as unnatural as "he died and after that he stayed dead"?)      </p>

<h2>The Official Guide Book</h2>

<p>The official guide book explicitly states several times that Lelouch is dead. To avoid too much repetition I will only copy the explanation of the Zero Requiem:    </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"For those two who bear the heavy sin known as killing their fathers, they share the belief that they can forgive each other by imposing the greatest punishments on themselves. <strong>Death for Lelouch</strong> who wishes for a tomorrow with his sister, <strong>life for Suzaku</strong> who wishes to atone for his sins through death."    </p>
</blockquote>

<p>This explains that Zero Requiem was not only about creating a better world, but also simultaneously redemption for both Lelouch and Suzaku for their sins (as explained above in the tweets). Lelouch eternally boinking C.C. is NOT redemption, as much as some fans might want that. It is undeniably clear here that Lelouch is truly dead.   </p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/yrgj1.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/yrgj1.jpg" alt="Guide Book, Lelouch&#39;s page"></a>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/E8EFf.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/E8EFf.jpg" alt="Guide Book, explanation ZR"></a></p>

<h2>The New Epilogue (2009)</h2>

<p>Unlike the fake fan made epilogue which is going around on the internet (and which I will not give more attention by linking it!) where there's a fan edit which zooms in on the face of the driver and reveals it to be Lelouch, there is actually a real, new epilogue which can be found on the official release of the Zero Requiem Blu-ray.<br>
While the fake ending was nowhere to be found except on shady YouTube channels from people who were pushing their code theory narrative (If it were real how did THEY get it? And why ONLY they?), the real new epilogue can be found all over the web where you watch anime (look for Zero Requiem movie).<br>
Unlike the fake one where the image quality massively dropped during the edited zoom, the TV logo suddenly disappears, and there is no music during the edit, the real new epilogue has brand new, high quality art, music and <strong>narration by C.C.'s voice actress</strong>.<br>
In this new epilogue, the often misunderstood hay cart scene is dropped and replaced by a new scene where C.C. talks to the audience and explicitly explains that Lelouch is dead, that she mourns his death, but that she finds comfort in the thought that he died achieving his goals.    </p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>"A young man dies. He had the power to change the world, to create a new order. The world feared him, hated him. But, I know he died with a smile on his face. Only those who have realized their dream will truly understand that feeling of utter contentment. So, this is not a tragedy. And whenever I feel sad or cry at night, I sing a song. A song of man's making. Zero Requiem!"</em>    </p>
</blockquote>

<p>You can watch the new epilogue <a href="https://streamable.com/d8dji" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>. </p>

<h2>Nunnally Did NOT See Memories</h2>

<p>As if all the official statements about his death aren't enough, the creators even explicitly denied some of the core points of code theory, such as Nunnally seeing memories/code visions.   </p>

<p>In <a href="http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/NEOBK-65848" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Mook Animedia</a> (28 January 2009, p.89-90) there was an interview (see 2 pictures below) which explicitly denied that Nunnally was seeing visions or that those images had anything to do with codes or geasses.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Q: <em>"How did Nunnally managed to realize Lelouch true intention, when she touched his hand at the end?"</em></p>
  
  <p>Staff member K: <em>"The way Nunnally can tell that someone is lying, just like she was able to tell that Lohmeyer was lying to her, is that she can feel the hand of the person she is talking to is sweating or lightly trembling. It's nothing like Geass or some special ability like that."</em></p>
  
  <p>Staff member Y: <em>"Yes. So, she simply came to conclusion [Lelouch was lying] by herself, because of this ability."</em></p>
  
  <p>Staff member K: <em>"She is Marianne's daughter and Lelouch's little sister. Two months have passed since that defeat of Schneizel and for this two months she's been wondering constantly about what had happened, like "why it happened?" and so on. So when she touched Lelouch's hand at the end she felt that he is calm, she put the two and two together and realized the truth. Of course, we know that in anime, it's hard to explain things like that, but yeah, please accept it like this kind of romantic idea we had."</em></p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/mJmrU.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/mJmrU.jpg" alt="Mook Animedia p.89"></a>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/HNmru.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/HNmru.jpg" alt="Mook Animedia p.90"></a></p>

<h2>Codes Do NOT Need To Be Activated</h2>

<p>The release of the Code Geass movies was accompanied by various Code Geass related events, some of these were, obviously, live interviews and live commentary. The following are excerpts from commentaries given by Okouchi, Taniguchi-producer and two other producers when they talked about the scene where Lelouch attempted to geass his father. This was documented by people who were present at these events. To protect the privacy of these people, I have removed all information which would allow them to be identified.</p>

<p>This <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/wIQYa.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">tweet</a> reads パパんにギアス掛けるシーンも、「これギアス掛かってないのに死んだふりするんだよ」「息子を驚かせようと」「ルルーシュくんかわいそう」「これ一番ショックなタイミング計ってるよね」「絶対笑いこらえてるよ」って色々言われてて笑った。   </p>

<p>Translation: About that scene Lelouch geass his dad I laughed because they said like "He isn't geassed, just pretends he dies!" " He tries to surprise his son!" "Poor Lelouch" "He tries to choose the most shocking timing, doesn't he" "I'm sure he tries hard not to laugh"     </p>

<p>This <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/uqtjW.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">blog post</a> talks about various Code Geass things, the relevant part is highlighted in red and reads コウジロウさん「この人、ギアスかかってない じゃないですか。よく我慢してますよね。こことか 絶対笑い堪えてますよ」   </p>

<p>Translation: "He isn't under an influence form Geass, is he? He's good with pretending, sure. I'm sure he tries his hardest not to laugh right now."</p>

<p>The creators are saying Charles is immune to geass already, that means Charles already had an "active" code, which means that codes are never not active and thus don't need activating.    </p>

<h2>Conclusion</h2>

<p>There's is a mountain of official statements which all repeat the same thing <strong>Lelouch is truly dead</strong>.<br>
When you put all these things next to each other, you see this conclusion is inescapable, consistent and waterproof.    </p>

<p>Some people will argue that the fact that a sequel is coming with Lelouch as the officially confirmed protagonist is proof that he's alive/immortal, but it is, in fact, the exact opposite. The official name of this sequel is "Lelouch of the <strong>Resurrection"</strong>. when you combine all the official statement about him being truly dead, him returning for the sequel and the sequel's name, it is obvious that Lelouch will start as dead in the sequel and will somehow be resurrected, he'll return from the grave somehow.    </p>

<p>Some people will argue that the sequel is an AU (alternate universe) which somehow must mean Lelouch is immortal. It is indeed true that the sequel will follow the movies and not the original series, and these movies have 1 BIG difference with the original series which makes it an AU. However, this change does not directly involve Lelouch, Zero Requiem still happens, Lelouch still dies, so as far as the movies show, all of the statements about R2 also apply to the sequel.</p>

<p>This answer was based on a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/GeassedbyLelouch/comments/8hklfr/evaluating_code_theory_main_body_index/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">compilation post</a> from reddit. The compilation post consists of 2 parts, part 1 gathers all the official statements, part 2 shows how the anime itself contradicts code theory because code theory violates the rules established by the anime's canon.<br>
That post is very long (even linger than this answer), but it is thorough and complete, and an absolute MUST READ for all Code Geass fans.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-20T16:08:23.357Z
2018-07-24T17:45:53.870Z
2018-07-24T17:45:53.870Z
Lelouch vi Britannia
<p>Well, actually, if you're going to offer that the official records pronounced him dead. I'd like to counter by saying during the show, after freya was launched by suzaku, the official records pronounced both nunnally and sayoko dead, and we know what happened there. </p>

<p>I know it was to prevent spoilers for the show, but still. Unless there's another season that adds on to it, we really can't definitively prove whether Lelouch is either dead or alive. There's just too much circumstantial evidence that he is alive, yet more solid evidence plus motive to say that he is dead.</p>

<p>It's inconclusive, really, but as a placeholder I think seeing him as passed on would be appropriate for now.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-22T07:46:17.747Z
2016-12-20T04:08:36.103Z
2016-12-20T04:08:36.103Z
user2267
<p>This seems to be a religious issue, judging by the amount of arguing I found while I was searching for the information contained in this answer. At the very least, xjshiya's answer is not universally accepted, and there are a lot of people who flat out reject that theory. In my opinion the evidence against the other theory is more compelling. I'm going to try to present said evidence as impartially as I can.</p>
<hr />
<p>First, no official source has ever claimed that Lelouch survives at the end of R2. That alone doesn't answer the question, because it could be deliberately ambiguous. Of course, Lelouch would need to be alive to be driving the cart.</p>
<p>Second, several official sources list Lelouch as dead at the end of R2. <a href="http://forums.animesuki.com/group.php?do=discuss&amp;gmid=38473" rel="noreferrer">Here</a> is an interview with writer Ichiro Okouchi, taken from the Japanese magazine Continue (vol 42, Oct 2008, translated into English (I have not yet found the original so I can not confirm the accuracy of the translation). I've copied the relevant part below:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot; -----Still, isn't it possible that defeating the wise ruler Schneizel, the person who was supposed to have brought order to the world, might lead to some [viewers] interpreting it as a Bad End?</p>
<p><strong>Okouchi</strong>: That's true. There are probably a lot of people who think of it as a Bad End, a tragedy, considering the protagonist's, Lelouch's end as well. However, Lelouch says in the first episode: &quot;Only those prepared to be shot are allowed to pull the trigger themselves.&quot; If you were to think of that as his pride, then I think his getting shot (killed) in the end was a logical end. Of course, I understand that not all of the viewers will accept this ending. There were people who wanted a happier ending, after all.</p>
<p>-----Was there a dispute among the staff members regarding the ending?</p>
<p><strong>Okouchi</strong>: No. It was decided fairly naturally. During the &quot;Code Geass&quot; script meetings, there are many cases in which there were a number of disputes, but there were barely any when it came to the scripts for (the previous series's) episode 25 and the final episode. I think everyone felt the same when it came to the end of the character that is Lelouch.</p>
<p>-----Why were you so bold as to choose this ending when the viewers might see it as a Bad End?</p>
<p><strong>Okouchi</strong>: Bold... yes, we were so bold as to chose this ending. Perhaps the show that is &quot;Code Geass&quot; ending up this way was decided the moment Director Taniguchi and I teamed up. I suppose you can call it our sense of aesthetics, or perhaps a part of our psychological makeup.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>------I see. So Lelouch's decision was also your, Mr. Okouchi's, and Director Taniguchi's decision.</p>
<p><strong>Okouchi</strong>: Which is why I think of both our and Lelouch's decision as Happy Ends. I believe that there will be better things in the tomorrow awaiting Nunnally, Kallen and the rest who have been left behind. And surely Lelouch, who was able to make this into a reality, can only be happy [about this].</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>-----Some unresolved mysteries still remain.</p>
<p><strong>Okouchi</strong>: From the very beginning, [I/we] never planned on explaining everything. In fact, if you ask me, I think we might have overdone the explanations. While it's undeniable that Lelouch's story has ended with a full stop, the other characters' stories are still on-going, and it's not like the world [of Code Geass] itself has come to an end either. [I/we] didn't want to end it by closing it up for good.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That seems to pretty strongly confirm that at least Okouchi believes Lelouch dies in the end. Of course, Okouchi, being a writer, doesn't have the final say. The director is the one whose word we should ultimately be looking for, but director Gorō Taniguchi has not said anything definitive either way. He did say something ambiguous, to the effect that he &quot;prefers to see the end as a happy one,&quot; but Okouchi also claims it's a happy ending despite Lelouch dying. Okouchi also didn't seem to have any difficulty speaking for the whole team, and no one came out to correct him, so this seems reasonable.</p>
<p>The link above has a couple other relevant quotes which I will not repeat here. I believe that this establishes that there's a pretty strong opinion that Lelouch is, in some form or another, dead.</p>
<p>Here's a further confirmation of this. This image lists people who died in R2. I've boxed the relevant entry for Lelouch.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/N9MkX.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></p>
<p>The above was taken from the same issue of the magazine. This is an official image. I don't think this really adds anything to the above except removing some ambiguity.</p>
<p>There's some further evidence <a href="http://animeotaku.animeblogger.net/2008/10/code-geass-r2-another-nail-in-lelouchs-coffin/" rel="noreferrer">here</a> (I haven't really checked this translation but by a cursory skim it seems to be accurate).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>C.C.’s profile has also been updated, and the final part of it now says: “Knowing that Lelouch does not hate her for giving him the Geass, she is now able to show her true feelings. With the realization of “Zero Requiem”, her time with Lelouch, who was able to forgive and accept her, came to an end, but the memories created with him has, without doubt, saved her from eternal loneliness.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Given that the &quot;Lelouch = Cart Driver&quot; theory requires that Lelouch and C.C. aren't separated at the end, this piece of information just doesn't make sense unless we reject that theory.</p>
<p>So we've confirmed that Lelouch is pretty dead at the end of R2, and that the fan theory that he is the cart driver really isn't supported by the official statements. There are a couple of ways to get around all of these facts. I don't really regard them as anything but conspiracy theories and other ways fans are trying to deal with the ending that isn't quite as happy as they were hoping for.</p>
<ul>
<li>Lelouch has at least two identities. Perhaps Lelouch vi Britannia died, but Lelouch Lamperouge lived on? Or maybe Lelouch abandoned his name, but he's still alive, and the sources list him as dead because his identity as Lelouch vi Britannia is dead? I can't really argue against the <em>possibility</em> of this, but there is no evidence supporting it at all. It doesn't really make sense in light of the C.C. bio either.</li>
<li>While several people have confirmed that they believe Lelouch dies, director Taniguchi has been notably silent. Perhaps there was some disagreement among those in charge, and Taniguchi actually thinks Lelouch is alive? We can't ever know for certain what happened when they were writing the ending, but it seems reasonable to expect that if there were disagreements, Okouchi wouldn't have claimed that there were none, and if the disagreements were major someone else probably would have spoken up.</li>
</ul>
<p>Again, I regard those as little more than conspiracy theories by disgruntled fans who think the ending is somehow &quot;unfair&quot;. There is no evidence supporting either of them.</p>
<p>While the theories proposed in the other answer are good speculation, they just don't fit with facts released later. The consensus of the production team is that Lelouch is dead and not driving a cart at the end of Code Geass R2. The cart driver is probably just some random guy. If this seems unfair to you, then it's worth remembering that many other characters with far fewer crimes died in the series, so in some sense it's poetic justice for Lelouch to also die. And the interviews with everyone including the director do confirm that in dying, he was successful at his goal of starting the world down a better path.</p>
<p>Again, this seems to be something people view religiously. I'm not claiming that the speculations that Lelouch survives are bad in-universe, but there's simply no evidence for them either from the producers and a lot of evidence to the contrary, so the better answer in this case is that <strong>Lelouch is dead.</strong></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-11T07:51:21.367Z
So, I can assume that they release the pull-cart scene for fans to have false hopes? They have officially declared that Lelouch died but why would they release the pull cart scene? I guess to have other fans have wishful thinking of the opposite. Oh well, this is convincing enough. Got my heart broke though (as Lelouch's fan). Nice answer btw, thanks.
xjshiya
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-11T14:18:51.027Z
@xjshiya I'm honestly not totally sure why they put that scene in. It makes the ending of the anime very ambiguous. I'll admit that your explanation seems to fit that scene a bit better, but it just isn't consistent with everything that the producers said outside of the anime. Maybe they wanted to officially kill off Lelouch but let fans have their own theories, or something like that.
Logan M
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-11T14:22:49.620Z
Also sorry for "breaking your heart", that wasn't my intention, but on our Reddit thread http://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1890ko/looking_of_a_canonical_answer_to_a_question_about/ someone pointed out that there were official comments to the effect that "Lelouch is dead" and I felt that it would be problematic to leave this question as-is without representing that side.
Logan M
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-11T15:03:53.450Z
Rewatching the show for the n-th time some months ago, there are actually several scenes where Lelouch hints that he is planning his death - this is probably part of why there was agreement among the staff for Lelouch's fate (they had probably made the decision months before the final episode was ready).
Fadeway
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-11T23:38:35.663Z
@LoganM, it's fine. I think Lelouch's death as an end is a very good way to end a very wonderful anime. But it wouldn't be that bad to think that he can be (forever) alive with C.C. It depends on how the viewer would want to look at it. It's a good move to officially declare that Lelouch died though. Thanks for the answer again. :)
xjshiya
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-21T01:19:54.753Z
i think Lelouch is both dead and alive, the Code is Absolute like Geass, something "God" could not destroy, if so when how did Charles and V.V get so close to destroying it, yet Charles was still destroyed which could indicate that Lelouch took the code from Charles (symbol in other eye when he gave his command to "God") which allowed "God" to then destroy Charles and Lelouch doesn't have to be there for C.C to be talking to him, remember, she was talking to Marian through the series without knowing she was inside Anya (her surprise when she was Anya inside her mind)
Memor-X
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-21T02:20:07.580Z
also, i think in the subed version of the last episode, there is a slight few seconds where you see the face of the driver and it shows lelouch but the artists could have just been lazy, also, even if Lelouch is Dead in Code Geass, he's still alive here http://vndb.org/v945, check out the screen shot of the class
Memor-X
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-25T19:57:51.950Z
The official statements might not be lying, Lelouch Vi Britannia stopped being a human. This does not contradict him becoming immortal.
cppanda
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-07T03:25:55.233Z
Would it be possible that they put the cart scene to accommodate the possible of having continuity to the series?
Jem Eripol
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-20T18:58:51.027Z
I have heard they are doing a new season, and Leleuch is the main character again. It seems to hint he lived.
Ryan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-15T21:29:01.377Z
To supplment this answer, in 2018 an one of the writers tweeted (as part of an interview question) that Lelouch was basically written to die, and it was decided from the start. Reddit thread with links [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/8tlw9z/psa_code_geass_creators_have_recently_explicitly/).
Lyco
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-11T06:12:29.717Z
2013-02-11T06:32:19.323Z
2020-06-17T09:17:53.303Z
Logan M
<p>At the ending of Code Geass R2, the last scene showed someone whose face wasn't showed riding a horse-pulling-cart with CC. I believe that it is indeed Lelouch (who was previously stabbed by Suzaku wearing Zero's uniform as part of their Code Zero plan to free Elevens), and that he had gained immortality because of his frequent usage of his Geass. </p>

<p>Lelouch's Geass first leveled-up the episode when he accidentally ordered his sister Euphemia to kill all Elevens. Then, his father King Charles was beaten by him and I'm thinking that King Charles' immortality was transferred to him. </p>

<p>If that person was really Lelouch, then, has he already gained immortality by that time? </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-20T13:26:18.967Z
@user2367 That video is a clear fake. It has been confirmed by that it is not part of any dvd or blu-ray release, and the creators have officially confirmed that Lelouch's death was one of the very first things they decided about the show. The most recent confirmation was from tweets from 2 months ago, but they've been saying this for 10 years now. To find these tweets (or all other statements) go to https://www.reddit.com/user/GeassedbyLelouch/comments/8hklfr/evaluating_code_theory_main_body_index/ and then "Part 1: Lelouch Is Dead: The Tweets (May 2018)"
Lelouch vi Britannia
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-11T11:54:41.227Z
@Xeo moderators of anime stackexchange are similar as the moderators of movie stackexchange: They don't care that much about spoilers unlike other sites like say MAL or reddit
BCLC
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-12T02:45:27.610Z
Huh, I always thought that was just Suzaku in Zero's uniform (side-glancing the episode at a friend's place).
Xeo
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-12T02:51:12.220Z
The one who stabbed Lelouch at the last episode was indeed Suzaku wearing Zero's uniform.
xjshiya
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-12T02:53:20.760Z
Yeah, but I also meant at the end on the cart.
Xeo
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-12T02:57:19.800Z
The face of the one on the cart wasn't shown but I do believe that it was Lelouch with CC. That's why I want to have proofs that Lelouch is already immortal by the time he was stabbed. I want to believe that Lelouch and CC will live together, forever (literally). I think the scene in the cart hinted that he is (already immortal).
xjshiya
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-12T02:59:11.233Z
In any case, I'd rephrase the question, something like: "Who is the person in Zero's suit at the end of R2?" This way it avoids spoilers and isn't as "wish-thinking"-filled.
Xeo
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-12T03:08:19.937Z
I don't think so. It was shown that the one who stabbed Lelouch was Suzaku in Zero's costume. But my question is different. The person I'm referring my question to is the one at the cart with CC (last scene of last episode if I'm not mistaken). The face of the one at the cart wasn't shown (to keep the audience guessing, I guess) but a lot believes that it was Lelouch (can't think of another character to better suit that scene). And if it was him, allegations of him, being an immortal arises, so I need to have proofs to support that it is indeed Lelouch, the one at the cart with CC.
xjshiya
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-12T04:36:36.103Z
I'm not sure if this question can be answered. It would all be speculation. Maybe a better question would be something like "What are the reasons both for and against Lelouch being the cart driver?" Like you said, it was probably left ambiguous to keep people guessing, but there are definitely reasons for both sides.
atlantiza
<code-geass>
Was Lelouch the person driving the cart in the last scene of Code Geass R2?
# Was Lelouch the person driving the cart in the last scene of Code Geass R2?
Posted by: username_0 on 2012-12-12
At the ending of Code Geass R2, the last scene showed someone whose face wasn't showed riding a horse-pulling-cart with CC. I believe that it is indeed Lelouch (who was previously stabbed by Suzaku wearing Zero's uniform as part of their Code Zero plan to free Elevens), and that he had gained immortality because of his frequent usage of his Geass.

Lelouch's Geass first leveled-up the episode when he accidentally ordered his sister Euphemia to kill all Elevens. Then, his father King Charles was beaten by him and I'm thinking that King Charles' immortality was transferred to him.

If that person was really Lelouch, then, has he already gained immortality by that time?
**Tags:** code-geass
> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Huh, I always thought that was just Suzaku in Zero's uniform (side-glancing the episode at a friend's place).  
> **username_0**: The one who stabbed Lelouch at the last episode was indeed Suzaku wearing Zero's uniform.  
> **username_3**: Yeah, but I also meant at the end on the cart.  
> **username_0**: The face of the one on the cart wasn't shown but I do believe that it was Lelouch with CC. That's why I want to have proofs that Lelouch is already immortal by the time he was stabbed. I want to believe that Lelouch and CC will live together, forever (literally). I think the scene in the cart hinted that he is (already immortal).  
> **username_3**: In any case, I'd rephrase the question, something like: "Who is the person in Zero's suit at the end of R2?" This way it avoids spoilers and isn't as "wish-thinking"-filled.  
> **username_0**: I don't think so. It was shown that the one who stabbed Lelouch was Suzaku in Zero's costume. But my question is different. The person I'm referring my question to is the one at the cart with CC (last scene of last episode if I'm not mistaken). The face of the one at the cart wasn't shown (to keep the audience guessing, I guess) but a lot believes that it was Lelouch (can't think of another character to better suit that scene). And if it was him, allegations of him, being an immortal arises, so I need to have proofs to support that it is indeed Lelouch, the one at the cart with CC.  
> **username_4**: I'm not sure if this question can be answered. It would all be speculation. Maybe a better question would be something like "What are the reasons both for and against Lelouch being the cart driver?" Like you said, it was probably left ambiguous to keep people guessing, but there are definitely reasons for both sides.  
> **username_1**: @user2367 That video is a clear fake. It has been confirmed by that it is not part of any dvd or blu-ray release, and the creators have officially confirmed that Lelouch's death was one of the very first things they decided about the show. The most recent confirmation was from tweets from 2 months ago, but they've been saying this for 10 years now. To find these tweets (or all other statements) go to https://www.reddit.com/user/GeassedbyLelouch/comments/8hklfr/evaluating_code_theory_main_body_index/ and then "Part 1: Lelouch Is Dead: The Tweets (May 2018)"  
> **username_2**: @Xeo moderators of anime stackexchange are similar as the moderators of movie stackexchange: They don't care that much about spoilers unlike other sites like say MAL or reddit  
---
## 4 answers
### Answer by username_10 on 2013-02-11. Score: 51 | Accepted answer
This seems to be a religious issue, judging by the amount of arguing I found while I was searching for the information contained in this answer. At the very least, xjshiya's answer is not universally accepted, and there are a lot of people who flat out reject that theory. In my opinion the evidence against the other theory is more compelling. I'm going to try to present said evidence as impartially as I can.

---

First, no official source has ever claimed that Lelouch survives at the end of R2. That alone doesn't answer the question, because it could be deliberately ambiguous. Of course, Lelouch would need to be alive to be driving the cart.

Second, several official sources list Lelouch as dead at the end of R2. [Here](http://forums.animesuki.com/group.php?do=discuss&gmid=38473) is an interview with writer Ichiro Okouchi, taken from the Japanese magazine Continue (vol 42, Oct 2008, translated into English (I have not yet found the original so I can not confirm the accuracy of the translation). I've copied the relevant part below:

> " -----Still, isn't it possible that defeating the wise ruler Schneizel, the person who was supposed to have brought order to the world, might lead to some [viewers] interpreting it as a Bad End?
>
> **Okouchi**: That's true. There are probably a lot of people who think of it as a Bad End, a tragedy, considering the protagonist's, Lelouch's end as well. However, Lelouch says in the first episode: "Only those prepared to be shot are allowed to pull the trigger themselves." If you were to think of that as his pride, then I think his getting shot (killed) in the end was a logical end. Of course, I understand that not all of the viewers will accept this ending. There were people who wanted a happier ending, after all.
>
> -----Was there a dispute among the staff members regarding the ending?
>
> **Okouchi**: No. It was decided fairly naturally. During the "Code Geass" script meetings, there are many cases in which there were a number of disputes, but there were barely any when it came to the scripts for (the previous series's) episode 25 and the final episode. I think everyone felt the same when it came to the end of the character that is Lelouch.
>
> -----Why were you so bold as to choose this ending when the viewers might see it as a Bad End?
>
> **Okouchi**: Bold... yes, we were so bold as to chose this ending. Perhaps the show that is "Code Geass" ending up this way was decided the moment Director Taniguchi and I teamed up. I suppose you can call it our sense of aesthetics, or perhaps a part of our psychological makeup.
>
> ...
>
> ------I see. So Lelouch's decision was also your, Mr. Okouchi's, and Director Taniguchi's decision.
>
> **Okouchi**: Which is why I think of both our and Lelouch's decision as Happy Ends. I believe that there will be better things in the tomorrow awaiting Nunnally, Kallen and the rest who have been left behind. And surely Lelouch, who was able to make this into a reality, can only be happy [about this].
>
> ...
>
> -----Some unresolved mysteries still remain.
>
> **Okouchi**: From the very beginning, [I/we] never planned on explaining everything. In fact, if you ask me, I think we might have overdone the explanations. While it's undeniable that Lelouch's story has ended with a full stop, the other characters' stories are still on-going, and it's not like the world [of Code Geass] itself has come to an end either. [I/we] didn't want to end it by closing it up for good."

That seems to pretty strongly confirm that at least Okouchi believes Lelouch dies in the end. Of course, Okouchi, being a writer, doesn't have the final say. The director is the one whose word we should ultimately be looking for, but director Gorō Taniguchi has not said anything definitive either way. He did say something ambiguous, to the effect that he "prefers to see the end as a happy one," but Okouchi also claims it's a happy ending despite Lelouch dying. Okouchi also didn't seem to have any difficulty speaking for the whole team, and no one came out to correct him, so this seems reasonable.

The link above has a couple other relevant quotes which I will not repeat here. I believe that this establishes that there's a pretty strong opinion that Lelouch is, in some form or another, dead.

Here's a further confirmation of this. This image lists people who died in R2. I've boxed the relevant entry for Lelouch.

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/N9MkX.jpg)

The above was taken from the same issue of the magazine. This is an official image. I don't think this really adds anything to the above except removing some ambiguity.

There's some further evidence [here](http://animeotaku.animeblogger.net/2008/10/code-geass-r2-another-nail-in-lelouchs-coffin/) (I haven't really checked this translation but by a cursory skim it seems to be accurate).

> C.C.’s profile has also been updated, and the final part of it now says: “Knowing that Lelouch does not hate her for giving him the Geass, she is now able to show her true feelings. With the realization of “Zero Requiem”, her time with Lelouch, who was able to forgive and accept her, came to an end, but the memories created with him has, without doubt, saved her from eternal loneliness.”

Given that the "Lelouch = Cart Driver" theory requires that Lelouch and C.C. aren't separated at the end, this piece of information just doesn't make sense unless we reject that theory.

So we've confirmed that Lelouch is pretty dead at the end of R2, and that the fan theory that he is the cart driver really isn't supported by the official statements. There are a couple of ways to get around all of these facts. I don't really regard them as anything but conspiracy theories and other ways fans are trying to deal with the ending that isn't quite as happy as they were hoping for.

* Lelouch has at least two identities. Perhaps Lelouch vi Britannia died, but Lelouch Lamperouge lived on? Or maybe Lelouch abandoned his name, but he's still alive, and the sources list him as dead because his identity as Lelouch vi Britannia is dead? I can't really argue against the *possibility* of this, but there is no evidence supporting it at all. It doesn't really make sense in light of the C.C. bio either.
* While several people have confirmed that they believe Lelouch dies, director Taniguchi has been notably silent. Perhaps there was some disagreement among those in charge, and Taniguchi actually thinks Lelouch is alive? We can't ever know for certain what happened when they were writing the ending, but it seems reasonable to expect that if there were disagreements, Okouchi wouldn't have claimed that there were none, and if the disagreements were major someone else probably would have spoken up.

Again, I regard those as little more than conspiracy theories by disgruntled fans who think the ending is somehow "unfair". There is no evidence supporting either of them.

While the theories proposed in the other answer are good speculation, they just don't fit with facts released later. The consensus of the production team is that Lelouch is dead and not driving a cart at the end of Code Geass R2. The cart driver is probably just some random guy. If this seems unfair to you, then it's worth remembering that many other characters with far fewer crimes died in the series, so in some sense it's poetic justice for Lelouch to also die. And the interviews with everyone including the director do confirm that in dying, he was successful at his goal of starting the world down a better path.

Again, this seems to be something people view religiously. I'm not claiming that the speculations that Lelouch survives are bad in-universe, but there's simply no evidence for them either from the producers and a lot of evidence to the contrary, so the better answer in this case is that **Lelouch is dead.**
> **Comments:**
> **username_0** (2013-02-11): So, I can assume that they release the pull-cart scene for fans to have false hopes? They have officially declared that Lelouch died but why would they release the pull cart scene? I guess to have other fans have wishful thinking of the opposite. Oh well, this is convincing enough. Got my heart broke though (as Lelouch's fan). Nice answer btw, thanks.  
> **username_10** (2013-02-11): @xjshiya I'm honestly not totally sure why they put that scene in. It makes the ending of the anime very ambiguous. I'll admit that your explanation seems to fit that scene a bit better, but it just isn't consistent with everything that the producers said outside of the anime. Maybe they wanted to officially kill off Lelouch but let fans have their own theories, or something like that.  
> **username_10** (2013-02-11): Also sorry for "breaking your heart", that wasn't my intention, but on our Reddit thread http://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1890ko/looking_of_a_canonical_answer_to_a_question_about/ someone pointed out that there were official comments to the effect that "Lelouch is dead" and I felt that it would be problematic to leave this question as-is without representing that side.  
> **username_11** (2013-02-11): Rewatching the show for the n-th time some months ago, there are actually several scenes where Lelouch hints that he is planning his death - this is probably part of why there was agreement among the staff for Lelouch's fate (they had probably made the decision months before the final episode was ready).  
> **username_0** (2013-02-11): @LoganM, it's fine. I think Lelouch's death as an end is a very good way to end a very wonderful anime. But it wouldn't be that bad to think that he can be (forever) alive with C.C. It depends on how the viewer would want to look at it. It's a good move to officially declare that Lelouch died though. Thanks for the answer again. :)  
> **username_12** (2013-03-21): i think Lelouch is both dead and alive, the Code is Absolute like Geass, something "God" could not destroy, if so when how did Charles and V.V get so close to destroying it, yet Charles was still destroyed which could indicate that Lelouch took the code from Charles (symbol in other eye when he gave his command to "God") which allowed "God" to then destroy Charles and Lelouch doesn't have to be there for C.C to be talking to him, remember, she was talking to Marian through the series without knowing she was inside Anya (her surprise when she was Anya inside her mind)  
> **username_12** (2013-03-21): also, i think in the subed version of the last episode, there is a slight few seconds where you see the face of the driver and it shows lelouch but the artists could have just been lazy, also, even if Lelouch is Dead in Code Geass, he's still alive here http://vndb.org/v945, check out the screen shot of the class  
> **username_13** (2015-02-25): The official statements might not be lying, Lelouch Vi Britannia stopped being a human. This does not contradict him becoming immortal.  
> **username_15** (2016-12-20): I have heard they are doing a new season, and Leleuch is the main character again. It seems to hint he lived.  
> **username_14** (2017-10-07): Would it be possible that they put the cart scene to accommodate the possible of having continuity to the series?  
> **username_16** (2018-08-15): To supplment this answer, in 2018 an one of the writers tweeted (as part of an interview question) that Lelouch was basically written to die, and it was decided from the start. Reddit thread with links [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/8tlw9z/psa_code_geass_creators_have_recently_explicitly/).  
---
### Answer by username_0 on 2012-12-12. Score: 27
Lelouch is really the cart driver at the end of Code Geass R2.

Quoting from [this blog post](http://animeotaku.animeblogger.net/2008/09/code-geass-r2-25-so-is-lelouch-dead-or-not/):

> The most obvious reason would be CC calling to Lelouch in the closing scene of the episode. As we can assume CC to be still sane, she must be talking to someone, and that someone would most probably be the driver of the cart: Lelouch would have to be alive.
>
> Second, however, and this is where the others have thought things through, Lelouch is alive because he got his dad's code. He beckoned the World of C to lend him its powers, and he took Charles's code before Charles passed on. The reason why Lelouch still has his Geass is because he didn't take the Code from the same person who gave him his Geass: he took his Geass from CC, and he took his Code from Charles. Thus, he now possesses both immortality and a Geass. This is also a reason that the title is ***Code Geass: Lelouch** of the Rebellion*.
>
> To further corroborate this, however, remember that when Nunnally held Lelouch's hand he transferred his memories to her. CC also did it when Lelouch touched her accidentally back then, so it could be assumed that people with Codes are indeliberate telepaths. This leaves us with both immortals traversing the world for the rest of eternity.
>
> [...]
>
> Additional evidences:
>
> 1. Charles grabbed Lelouch with his right hand, which had the Geass sigil.
> 2. Lelouch needed the fully evolved Geass to transfer a code.
> 3. The code doesn't appear to activate until someone dies. Hence, why C.C. was wounded when she first inherited her code. Same happened with Charles in the World of C.
> 4. When Lelouch touched Nunnally, Nunnally got a flash of his memories. This ONLY happens when a high potential Geass user touches someone with the fully evolved Geass.
> 5. The title of the series is "R2″, which is similar to how "C.C" is pronounced. So Lelouch would be "R.R." which is Engrish (I presume) for L.L., Lelouch Lamprouge.
> 6. When C.C. is talking on the wagon, she says "the power of Geass brings loneliness…that's not quite right is it, Lelouch?" and nods her head in the direction of the wagon driver.
>
> [Furthermore,] Orange knew of Lelouch's and Suzaku's plan and helped them out by ordering his men not to fire on Zero, he even smiled when Zero (Suzaku) jumped on his shoulder.
>
> Now would Orange, a man who devoted himself entirely to Lelouche and threw away everything without a second thought be OK with a plan where the sole person he wants to protect in life is actually killed? The answer to that is NO, not even if Lelouch ordered him to accept the plan: he would not go along with it and would protect him with his life. There is only one way that Orange would be OK with a plan like that and that's if he knew about Lelouch's immortality, which I assume he did as he worked with V.V. in the Geass research base. Orange was OK with this plan as he knew Lelouch would come to no harm and would be able to start a new peaceful life with the woman he loves in a world which he himself had made peaceful.
>
> Even at the end, we see Orange on his orange plantation, completely content with the way things have panned out, he definitely could not be that happy had Lelouch actually died.

So Lelouch and CC lived happily ever after, literally.
> **Comments:**
> **username_5** (2015-08-01): Point #5 under "Additional evidences [sic]" makes no linguistic sense; the author's presumption that "R.R." could refer to Lelouch is simply wrong.  
> **username_6** (2015-10-13): @senshin "L" and "R" are basically the same in Japanese; that's one of the big things that causes Engrish  
> **username_5** (2015-10-13): @Izkata Lelouch's name was officially romanized as "Lelouch" even in promotional materials from before the show aired. While it is true that Japanese has a single phoneme /r/ that lives somewhere between(ish) English /r/ and /l/, that's not really relevant here.  
> **username_7** (2015-11-23): I have to disagree. About your 4th point, I don't think C.C. nods towards the driver at all. But that's not the main point anyway. When Suzaku appears as Zero to kill Lelouch, C.C. is shown in a church. She is crying as she comments on the price he's going to pay for using the Geass. It makes no sense at all if Lelouch wasn't going to die. Why would she cry if it was all just a drama. And what would be the price Lelouch was paying?  
> **username_8** (2016-02-01): @Alchemist That's immortality. Immortality brings loneliness. That's the price Lelouch would have to pay for. Knowing that he will live on while everyone he know gets old and die. Including his beloved little sister Nunally.  
> **username_7** (2016-03-30): @AyaseEri Yes, C.C. did tell Lelouch that Geass brings a life a of solitude when she made the contract with him. But in the last episode, C.C. actually said otherwise when she was on the cart. I don't remember the exact words. But she did say that people say Geass cursed the bearer to a life of solitude. But that was not the case with Lelouch. It kind of negates the argument that C.C. would say the loneliness was the price he was going to pay.  
> **username_1** (2018-07-20): @xjshiya This has been officially contradicted. there are numerous official statements where they explain that Lelouch is truly dead: interviews, tweets, live commentary, the official guide book, the remade epilogue where C.C. explicitly narrates to the audience that Lelouch is dead, etc. You can find an overview of these statements at https://www.reddit.com/user/GeassedbyLelouch/comments/8hklfr/evaluating_code_theory_main_body_index/ Please edit your answer to clarify that this fan theory is not canon and officially debunked.  
---
### Answer by username_1 on 2018-07-20. Score: 10
## Lelouch is officially confirmed dead

Over the past 10 years the creators of the show have repeatedly explained that Lelouch is truly dead. This was done in interviews, articles, tweets, live commentary, the official guide book, the remade epilogue (from 2009) where they dropped the misunderstood hay cart scene and replaced it with C.C. explicitly narrating to the audience that Lelouch is dead, etc. There's a [Reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/user/GeassedbyLelouch/comments/8hklfr/evaluating_code_theory_main_body_index/) where all these official statements can be found. This post also scrutinizes the fan theory which assumes that Lelouch has the code and shows where and how the anime itself contradicts the theory's points.

I will give a few examples from that linked post, for a full overview follow the link above.

## The interviews from Animage 10 ([October](https://matome.naver.jp/odai/2143969576830905201/2143972453355434003), Okouchi) and 11 ([November](https://matome.naver.jp/odai/2143969576830905201/2143972453355433703), Fukuyama) from 2008.

In these interviews they explain that the death of Lelouch was a matter of principle for them (their aesthetics, their psychology, etc.), it was a matter of redemption and salvation in the eyes of Lelouch and Lelouch found peace dying for the gentler world his sister wanted.

> **Okouchi**: *"(...) That end is to Lelouch and to Suzaku both the punishment and the salvation at the same time. It's also connected to the words Lelouch said at the beginning: "Utte ii no wa utareru kakugo no aru yatsu dake da." The person who gave the punishment was punished themselves and if you want to get the salvation, give the salvation first. Of course it's also the same with Lelouch's decision to accepts the geass (wish), because he geassed many people, as he himself has said in the show. [He refers to the last episode when Lelouch says what the people of the world wish for]"*
>
> **Animage**: *"So this was the end, but was Lelouch happy?"*  
> **Okouchi**: *"I think that the show had a happy ending, not a bad ending. Lelouch and C.C. talks about it in season 1 episode 7 - just living a life is meaningless. Lelouch saved his beloved sister and managed to create a kind world in his own way. His life wasn't meaningless. That's why in the end he is smiling."*
>
> **Animage**: *"So you accept the end of the show?"*  
> **Fukuyama**: *"I think that before he reached that final scene, Lelouch had many possibilities to choose from. But he understood very well what he had done and had to pay the price for that. Suzaku choose to live as Zero and was awarded the opportunity to pay for his sins by this choice. And Lelouch got his salvation by choosing not the happiness of living on but to sacrifice his own life to create the situation for the world to move forward. If you think about his character, I don't think he would still be himself, if he chose other end."*

[![Animage interview](https://i.sstatic.net/pUAvd.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/pUAvd.jpg)  
[![Animage interview](https://i.sstatic.net/gRnIb.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/gRnIb.jpg)  
(Additional pictures of these interviews can be found [here](https://i.sstatic.net/EN8sj.jpg) and in the [compilation post](https://www.reddit.com/user/GeassedbyLelouch/comments/8hklfr/evaluating_code_theory_main_body_index/) of all official statements)

## The interviews from Continue ([Vol.42](https://www.retromags.com/galleryimgs/monthly_2017_10/small.59f05755697f9_ContinueVol.42(October2008).jpg.f9ec262ce76541c515b3ea32e65060c8.jpg)).

In this interview they confirm that the decision to kill Lelouch was a unanimous one, the entire show staff agreed:

> **Continue**: *Was there a dispute among the staff members regarding the ending?*  
> **Okouchi**: *No. It was decided fairly naturally. During the "Code Geass" script meetings, there are many cases in which there were a number of disputes, but there were barely any when it came to the scripts for (the previous series's) episode 25 and the final episode. I think everyone felt the same when it came to the end of the character that is Lelouch.*

They confirm that Lelouch's death was one of the first things they decided for the show and that his death was a matter of principle to them ("their sense of aesthetics"). This statement was confirmed yet again 10 years later in the tweets (see below).

> **Continue**: *Why were you so bold as to choose this ending when the viewers might see it as a Bad End?*  
> **Okouchi**: *Bold... yes, we were so bold as to chose this ending. Perhaps the show that is "Code Geass" ending up this way was decided the moment Director Taniguchi and I teamed up. I suppose you can call it our sense of aesthetics, or perhaps a part of our psychological makeup.*

The following statements explain how they foreshadowed Lelouch's death from the very first episode with his famous line "The only ones allowed to kill are those who are willing to be killed" (exact phrazing will depend on the subs you used, of course):

> **Continue**: *Still, isn't it possible that defeating the wise ruler Schneizel, the person who was supposed to have brought order to the world, might lead to some [viewers] interpreting it as a Bad End?*  
> **Okouchi**: *That's true. There are probably a lot of people who think of it as a Bad End, a tragedy, considering the protagonist's, Lelouch's end as well. However, Lelouch says in the first episode: "Only those prepared to be shot are allowed to pull the trigger themselves." If you were to think of that as his pride, then I think his getting shot (killed) in the end was a logical end. Of course, I understand that not all of the viewers will accept this ending. There were people who wanted a happier ending, after all.*

It is important to note that part of this last statement was often misinterpreted by code theorists as him saying that people could see it as open ended. It is clear from his words that this is NOT what he is saying. He said that he understands that some people will see Lelouch's death as a bad ending and that some people wanted a happy ending. Basically, what he is saying is that people are free to interpret Lelouch's death as happy or sad, but Lelouch's death itself was never open for interpretation, it was set in stone as the rest of the article clearly demonstrates. The ending was never meant to be ambiguous.  
It is also important to note the Lelouch's death can only be interpreted as a true, final death and not something temporary until the code revives him, especially the foreshadowing of his death doesn't make sense if we see it as temporary death or faked death, but the later tweets will make this even clearer, so I will go in further depth there. (see tweets below)

## The tweets

As part of the 10 year Code Geass anniversary, the creators of the show started a series of tweets titled "Geass Memories" in which they reminiscence about the days when they made the show, shedding light on the production process, the way certain decisions were made, etc. Of particular relevance here are the Geass Memories 77-83:

> "Before I started writing the story of a person called Lelouch, I confirmed with Taniguchi-director something. That thing was that **the end of Lelouch will be death**."  
> "At least he is aware of his sins and pays for them with **his death**."  
> "This man called Lelouch will pay for his sins by **his death**. The story follows him till he finally make this decision."  
> "Probably this Lelouch we see in the first episode of the series wouldn't **choose death**. He would try something to avoid it. He couldn't **die**, for Nunnally as well. But we see him changed in the last episode."

[Link to the tweets on his twitter account.](https://twitter.com/ichirou_o/status/998739675895365633)

[![Screenshot of tweets in Japanese](https://i.sstatic.net/FklXz.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/FklXz.png)
[![Translation of the tweets](https://i.sstatic.net/H503o.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/H503o.png)

It is important to note that "death" here can only be interpreted as a "true, final death" and not some temporary death until the code revives him, just as was the case earlier with the explained foreshadowing. This is easily made obvious by replacing the word "death" by "death for 2 minutes" or "faked death". "Lelouch pays for his sins by being dead for 2 minutes". "Only those who are willing to fake their deaths are allowed to kill". "Lelouch being dead for 2 minutes was part of our aesthetics".  
It is immediately obvious that their words simply make no sense if we assume Lelouch had the code and was immortal. The old argument "they said he's dead but not that he stayed dead" with which code theorists try to dismiss the Word of God simply does not hold water at all. (Also, who ever says something as unnatural as "he died and after that he stayed dead"?)

## The Official Guide Book

The official guide book explicitly states several times that Lelouch is dead. To avoid too much repetition I will only copy the explanation of the Zero Requiem:

> "For those two who bear the heavy sin known as killing their fathers, they share the belief that they can forgive each other by imposing the greatest punishments on themselves. **Death for Lelouch** who wishes for a tomorrow with his sister, **life for Suzaku** who wishes to atone for his sins through death."

This explains that Zero Requiem was not only about creating a better world, but also simultaneously redemption for both Lelouch and Suzaku for their sins (as explained above in the tweets). Lelouch eternally boinking C.C. is NOT redemption, as much as some fans might want that. It is undeniably clear here that Lelouch is truly dead.

[![Guide Book, Lelouch's page](https://i.sstatic.net/yrgj1.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/yrgj1.jpg)
[![Guide Book, explanation ZR](https://i.sstatic.net/E8EFf.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/E8EFf.jpg)

## The New Epilogue (2009)

Unlike the fake fan made epilogue which is going around on the internet (and which I will not give more attention by linking it!) where there's a fan edit which zooms in on the face of the driver and reveals it to be Lelouch, there is actually a real, new epilogue which can be found on the official release of the Zero Requiem Blu-ray.  
While the fake ending was nowhere to be found except on shady YouTube channels from people who were pushing their code theory narrative (If it were real how did THEY get it? And why ONLY they?), the real new epilogue can be found all over the web where you watch anime (look for Zero Requiem movie).  
Unlike the fake one where the image quality massively dropped during the edited zoom, the TV logo suddenly disappears, and there is no music during the edit, the real new epilogue has brand new, high quality art, music and **narration by C.C.'s voice actress**.  
In this new epilogue, the often misunderstood hay cart scene is dropped and replaced by a new scene where C.C. talks to the audience and explicitly explains that Lelouch is dead, that she mourns his death, but that she finds comfort in the thought that he died achieving his goals.

> *"A young man dies. He had the power to change the world, to create a new order. The world feared him, hated him. But, I know he died with a smile on his face. Only those who have realized their dream will truly understand that feeling of utter contentment. So, this is not a tragedy. And whenever I feel sad or cry at night, I sing a song. A song of man's making. Zero Requiem!"*

You can watch the new epilogue [here](https://streamable.com/d8dji).

## Nunnally Did NOT See Memories

As if all the official statements about his death aren't enough, the creators even explicitly denied some of the core points of code theory, such as Nunnally seeing memories/code visions.

In [Mook Animedia](http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/NEOBK-65848) (28 January 2009, p.89-90) there was an interview (see 2 pictures below) which explicitly denied that Nunnally was seeing visions or that those images had anything to do with codes or geasses.

> Q: *"How did Nunnally managed to realize Lelouch true intention, when she touched his hand at the end?"*
>
> Staff member K: *"The way Nunnally can tell that someone is lying, just like she was able to tell that Lohmeyer was lying to her, is that she can feel the hand of the person she is talking to is sweating or lightly trembling. It's nothing like Geass or some special ability like that."*
>
> Staff member Y: *"Yes. So, she simply came to conclusion [Lelouch was lying] by herself, because of this ability."*
>
> Staff member K: *"She is Marianne's daughter and Lelouch's little sister. Two months have passed since that defeat of Schneizel and for this two months she's been wondering constantly about what had happened, like "why it happened?" and so on. So when she touched Lelouch's hand at the end she felt that he is calm, she put the two and two together and realized the truth. Of course, we know that in anime, it's hard to explain things like that, but yeah, please accept it like this kind of romantic idea we had."*

[![Mook Animedia p.89](https://i.sstatic.net/mJmrU.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/mJmrU.jpg)
[![Mook Animedia p.90](https://i.sstatic.net/HNmru.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/HNmru.jpg)

## Codes Do NOT Need To Be Activated

The release of the Code Geass movies was accompanied by various Code Geass related events, some of these were, obviously, live interviews and live commentary. The following are excerpts from commentaries given by Okouchi, Taniguchi-producer and two other producers when they talked about the scene where Lelouch attempted to geass his father. This was documented by people who were present at these events. To protect the privacy of these people, I have removed all information which would allow them to be identified.

This [tweet](https://i.sstatic.net/wIQYa.jpg) reads パパんにギアス掛けるシーンも、「これギアス掛かってないのに死んだふりするんだよ」「息子を驚かせようと」「ルルーシュくんかわいそう」「これ一番ショックなタイミング計ってるよね」「絶対笑いこらえてるよ」って色々言われてて笑った。

Translation: About that scene Lelouch geass his dad I laughed because they said like "He isn't geassed, just pretends he dies!" " He tries to surprise his son!" "Poor Lelouch" "He tries to choose the most shocking timing, doesn't he" "I'm sure he tries hard not to laugh"

This [blog post](https://i.sstatic.net/uqtjW.jpg) talks about various Code Geass things, the relevant part is highlighted in red and reads コウジロウさん「この人、ギアスかかってない じゃないですか。よく我慢してますよね。こことか 絶対笑い堪えてますよ」

Translation: "He isn't under an influence form Geass, is he? He's good with pretending, sure. I'm sure he tries his hardest not to laugh right now."

The creators are saying Charles is immune to geass already, that means Charles already had an "active" code, which means that codes are never not active and thus don't need activating.

## Conclusion

There's is a mountain of official statements which all repeat the same thing **Lelouch is truly dead**.  
When you put all these things next to each other, you see this conclusion is inescapable, consistent and waterproof.

Some people will argue that the fact that a sequel is coming with Lelouch as the officially confirmed protagonist is proof that he's alive/immortal, but it is, in fact, the exact opposite. The official name of this sequel is "Lelouch of the **Resurrection"**. when you combine all the official statement about him being truly dead, him returning for the sequel and the sequel's name, it is obvious that Lelouch will start as dead in the sequel and will somehow be resurrected, he'll return from the grave somehow.

Some people will argue that the sequel is an AU (alternate universe) which somehow must mean Lelouch is immortal. It is indeed true that the sequel will follow the movies and not the original series, and these movies have 1 BIG difference with the original series which makes it an AU. However, this change does not directly involve Lelouch, Zero Requiem still happens, Lelouch still dies, so as far as the movies show, all of the statements about R2 also apply to the sequel.

This answer was based on a [compilation post](https://www.reddit.com/user/GeassedbyLelouch/comments/8hklfr/evaluating_code_theory_main_body_index/) from reddit. The compilation post consists of 2 parts, part 1 gathers all the official statements, part 2 shows how the anime itself contradicts code theory because code theory violates the rules established by the anime's canon.  
That post is very long (even linger than this answer), but it is thorough and complete, and an absolute MUST READ for all Code Geass fans.
---
### Answer by username_9 on 2013-08-22. Score: 1
Well, actually, if you're going to offer that the official records pronounced him dead. I'd like to counter by saying during the show, after freya was launched by suzaku, the official records pronounced both nunnally and sayoko dead, and we know what happened there.

I know it was to prevent spoilers for the show, but still. Unless there's another season that adds on to it, we really can't definitively prove whether Lelouch is either dead or alive. There's just too much circumstantial evidence that he is alive, yet more solid evidence plus motive to say that he is dead.

It's inconclusive, really, but as a placeholder I think seeing him as passed on would be appropriate for now.
---
