NON-SPOILER SECTION
Part two of the final season picks up right where the last left off - war has been brought to Paradis Island, as the Marley forces fight for control over the Founding Titan power - in Marley's hands, they can reassert their power over the world and destroy Paradis. If Eren and Zeke control it, they can protect Paradis and end Marley oppression of Eldians. And, on both sides, there are factions still hoping for peace and diplomacy in an increasingly desperate situation. Which side will Eren's friends take in the ensuing chaos? Who will die, and what kind of a world will be left for those who live?
I often ask questions like this at the start of my reviews, but in the case of Attack on Titan, they carry more weight than any of the others. These are characters that have been developing season by season, year by year, and when it concludes in 2023, it will be the conclusion to a story that began ten years ago onscreen, and fourteen on page. This is a long period of time for the audience to get really invested in both story and character, both of which have only gotten bigger, better and more complex the further the show has gone.
Then, with the beginning of the final season, the studio changed, and the story had a four year time jump following a major plot twist, and while I have mostly positive things to say about it, something felt a little off compared to what came before. It's hard to put my finger on exactly what, but if I had to, I'd say the animation felt like it couldn't keep up with the scope of the story being told, with everything from facial expressions not quite displaying the same spark of life as before, to the overreliance of CG models to previously hand drawn titans.
But, with this second part and with more time to perfect the production of the show, I can safely say that the magic from before has been recaptured, and pushed to the very limits. Now the story isn't just intense, but apocalyptic in scope, with that weight reflecting on the characters and their decisions, the poignancy of finding good in even the worst of circumstances - a theme that has served as the heart of the show since the very beginning, and keeps each character compelling and nuanced.
I have come down quite harsh on MAPPA's animation in my last Attack on Titan review, but these twelve episodes have proved me wrong, providing what could easily be the most memorable and visually stunning scenes of the whole show - which I'll get to in the spoiler section. The range of emotions this series has been able to evoke is astounding, from tenderness, tragedy, awe and dread in the space of twenty minute episodes - the last few sticking to mind in particular, reminding all of us watching of how we felt at the start. No show to date has produced anything near this quality in my mind, and I will happily say that this is my favourite show, just as I did five years ago when I first got into it.
To conclude, go watch it. I've said enough already. This is peak television, peak storytelling, peak drama and peak spectacle. Without a doubt, it is a 10/10.
10 OUT OF 10
What have been your favourite moments or characters in Attack on Titan? Feel free to let me know in the comments below. I'll finish the Attack on Titan reviews next year when the show concludes. It's been quite a ride.
SPOILER SECTION
The opening battle of this part of the season was pretty awesome - like all the greatest battles, no one side having control for too long. Marley's forces getting the jump on the Yaegerists, Eren's brawls with the Jaws and Armoured titans, to the emergence of Zeke, the release of the Scouts and the other Paradis military, to Zeke's scream turning the city to chaos as titans attack either side, and Eren's charge and decapitation before reaching Zeke.
The subsequent battle for control of Ymir between Eren and Zeke with Grisha's heart-breaking plea to Zeke to stop Eren masterfully changes the pace of the battle and reframes the assumption that Zeke was the one who was going too far, with Eren's ultimate goal now fully realised; Total annihilation of everything beyond Paradis' shores. This was expertly shown through the eruption of the walls, the one thing that kept Paradis safe in the past, and the giant skeletal form of Eren's Founding Titan - he really became a monster as was foreshadowed in prior seasons (although I don't think anyone could have predicted that this would be where the character would end up). I think we all kind of wish we didn't root for him before at this point...
Following this, we get to have one final fight between the scouts and the mindless titans in much the same style as season 1, under the backdrop of the red sky and the march of the wall titans, before regrouping and deciding to stop Eren, forming an alliance with those left of the Marleyan forces. Again, I wouldn't have thought we'd see these character pair up with the main villains of the past three seasons to beat the once-protagonist, but I'd be lying if it wasn't incredible to see, and a jarring twist as we root for them to take out the Paradis forces holding the port, rather than the other way around.
The final episode left an eerie impression - from the flashes to when the Scouts first went to Marley before the start of the season and their wonder at seeing this totally new world (which became a real tear-jerker by the end), quickly shifting to the Rumbling arriving on the shores of Marley, wiping out the only line of defence as the soldiers can only run, watching in horror as the titans begin stomping across their home, just as Eren did in season 1. Only this time, there is no fighting back.
This was quite frankly terrifying to watch, with the most powerful moment for me being when the soldiers on the shore paused in shock before slowly running away knowing there is nowhere to run to, making the whole scene feel strangely biblical. I don't know how the next part could possibly hope to top this, but considering the consistency of the show up to here, I can't wait. We'll see how it wraps up next year.
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