User blog comment:Hihowru/Does Lelouch really die in the end?/@comment-184.186.80.217-20120620083621

I believe that Lelouch is well and truly alive. His character allows no inconsistencies. He is upheld by all for his brilliance, and he always pulls through. He had a contract with C.C., the girl who wished to die. Lelouch is smart enough to know that he can solve both his problem and C.C.'s problem at the same time by taking her code, but not in the way one would expect.

Lelouch said he would fulfill his contract in a way that C.C. would die with a smile on her face. What better way than living a full and happy life, growing old with the current generation and bidding life a farewell while with her friends. How can this be done? Because losing your Code won't kill you.

The Code is simply a means of obtaining immortality. But when you lose your Code, does it mean instant death? No. In all cases of a person losing their Code (C.C.'s mentor, V.V., and Charles Zi Britannia), the one bearing the Code died by alternative, external means, such as a fatal knife wound, gunshot and shrapnel wounds, and being erased from existence by the collective unconscious. Losing your Code simply makes you a mortal again, allowing C.C. to begin aging once again, and live out her life in a normal, cheerful way.

Lelouch profits from this as well. In addition to fulfilling his contract, turning off his obstructive and constantly active Geass, Lelouch gains immortality, the ability to give people Geass (possible that he gave Suzaku a Geass to better complete his role as Zero), and to keep an eye on things, like his sister Nunally. He can now rest easy knowing that Geass bearers are wiped out (due to his extermination mission to wipe out V.V.'s hideout), meaning his immortality is locked in place for as long as he chooses.

Lelouch's brilliance shines through even at the very end, and it would be a crime to discount this possibility that our favorite anime hero lives on in secret, smirking as his operations prove fruitful, hidden from the eyes of the world as he makes it a better place for everyone.