I haven't been able to give my full and lasting to Clamp ever since they screwed me for X and then Legal Drug. I am bitter. I think Clamp has a true talent with characterizations of a certain few and fucking with your head by making the thing you least expect to happen happen. That's probably what you're referring to as literary theatrics. I just get irritated when people act like they can do no wrong. The newest fans brought in by Tsubasa and XXXholic often carry this belief because they have no been there to see Clamp truly dangle its readers.

I think the main difference they were talking about is having the geass massacre incident be on purpose and not an accident, which I wish people would realize would be a travesty to Lelouch's characters. He's cold and calculating yes and when he uses Euphie's death to further his goals, it's after he has no other option and she's already dead. Even his original plan of smearing her name (which I still believe was driven by his fear of losing and hot-blooded temper tantrum) pails in comparison to a whole-scale massacre, not to mention annihilation of Euphie's self. It disgusts me to hear people say they would have rather had the incident be on purpose. And making it on purpose would be a Clamp thing to do but there's a chance Clamp might have also employed some deep and almost impossible to decipher rationality behind the choice. AKA Fuuma in X. Sometimes I don't think the new breed of Clamp fans understand Clamp at all, aside from the fandom staples.