User blog comment:Hihowru/Does Lelouch really die in the end?/@comment-4197234-20131027081850

I honestly think that lelouch died at the end. All of the theoris I've read surrounding lelouch's "survival" range from flimsy (at best) to downright ridiculous. it doesn't make sense thematically for lelouch to survive and it also doesn't make sense because it goes against lelouch's character.

The first point is the matter of redemption. At least to him, Lelouch caused an untold amount of destruction and even caused the deaths of many people closest to him. Even if it was for the greater good, lelouch still held alot of guilt and sought to repent in some way. In his eyes, the only way he could even begin to make up for his actions was to die for the good of humanity. This also ties back to his famous catch phrase "The only one's who should kill, are those who are prepared to be killed." Lelouch was prepared from the beginning to die for his cause if the need arose. It would be completely hypocritical of him to use some kind of loophole to escape his death and go off and live happily ever after with CC.

Not only that, but there's also the technical standpoint in that the entirety of lelouche's plan hinged on his death. Lelouch built himself up as the symbol of the world's hatred and, once he was removed, the world would be able to move on and focus on the future. If lelouch was suddenly found to be alive, it would undo everything he had worked for. In order to ensure 100% success, lelouch had to die for real.

Finally, there's also the fact that Lelouch's death was done so beautifully and so Fulfillingly, that to have him come back to life would just ruin the whole thing and seem like a massive cop out in an attempt to appease the fans.