Light Yagami was just another teenager who could have become an important part of society if he had not failed to work for the greater good. But he instead chose a path of extreme fanatical moral righteousness that condemned everyone to death if they fail to accept his moral judgments. He did not even stop murdering people who truly cared for him.

Light’s extreme views were challenged by the best detective in the world, L, who was completely shocked by the moral judgements that the mass-murderer was passing on everyone else. In their fight of right and wrong, there were several instances when L was almost on the verge of catching Light. Unfortunately, he failed every time.

Light was very clear about the world that he wanted to create. There was no room for any other views other than the ones that he considered right. L, on the other hand, completely abhorred such radical perspectives of right and wrong. While light believed that ends justified the means, on the other hand, L thought that means to the right ends mattered just as much. Their views on morality were poles apart, and it was this difference that fueled their rivalry. L failed to win, and ultimately his successor Near had to catch Light. But L was very close to catching him on several occasions.

The closest L got to catching Light was when he put a camera in his room. Light had to go to extreme ends to avoid getting caught. Light stopped talking to his Shinigami just to ensure that no one could hear them talk. He also used his infamous chips trick to avoid getting caught as he used the death note. If only Light had missed a small clue that someone had gone into his room, he would definitely have got caught. It was this very rare moment of L almost catching Light that makes Death Note so famous.

Before his death, L was testing one of his theories, which would have proved that it was Light who was indiscriminately murdering so many people. However, before he could succeed, Light was smart enough to make Misa’s shinigami murder L. It was a crucial moment in the story, and it shows both L and Light’s intelligence. At that point, anyone could have won, but Light had an unfair advantage since he knew so much about the shinigamis. It is impressive how far L could go without any understanding of the Death Note and the gods of death. If Light did not have that advantage, it would have been impossible for him to win.

Source: https://a3office.co.uk/death-note-when-l-may-have-caught-light-yagami-but-failed/