After another year, we got more Attack on Titan. Well, an hour of it until Autumn. Anyway, as the series concludes, we get two special episodes, with this one being one hour, and the next one likely being even longer. So, how was it? Be wary, I will give spoilers for Attack on Titan up until this point, before a more in depth analysis of this latest episode. Let's begin.
SPOILERS FOR ATTACK ON TITAN UP UNTIL THIS POINT
As we pick up from last season, the Rumbling has arrived on the shores of Marley, bringing untold devastation in its wake. Meanwhile, the Alliance between the characters from Paradis and Marley make their way to repair and fuel their "sky boat", in an attempt to stop Eren before he goes any further. With all said and done, the team must be willing to sacrifice everything to stop their old friend. But can they, and if they do, what would be left of themselves and the rest of the world?
This episode is fantastic. With the previous part having established this new alliance and their quest to stop Eren, we are left with a group resolved in their goal, letting no truth be unsaid to each other and taking their last moments of peace before the coming battle, knowing every second they delay more people die. We get some brilliant payoffs that refer all the way back to the first season, letting us know that the end truly is coming.
We also get an expanded look at Eren's perspective, learning how he thought when devising his plan and how his actions affect him. Where we saw him earlier in the season, he was calculating, reserved and cold, but now we are shown how complicated his mindset is.
This is also one of the most horrifying episodes to date given the nature of the Rumbling and the effects it would have on the people of the world. It's shown as even more hopeless than the very first episode with titans invading the walls, displaying just how far Eren has gone, and why he should be stopped. Something I never really discussed before is how well the show parallels characters or events from previous episodes. I could discuss it for hours, but to sum it up now, it exemplifies both how far one character may have fallen, and how the other can redeem themselves from terrible actions, at times showing the complete absence of hope, and others a surprising amount of it.
I couldn't go on without talking about how brilliantly it was animated as well - by this point, the CGI has been perfectly integrated into the show, making it sometimes hard to tell between the two, and scenes where characters are talking to one another look just as cinematic as the fights. I know I had my doubts when the final season first started at the end of 2020, but at this point, I couldn't level a single complaint at the new style.
If I was forced to criticise this episode, which I must stress I'd be forced to, I thought there were some moments of dialogue that seemed very familiar to episodes of the last part. Not very many mind you, just a couple, and it never really detracted from the story.
I hope the final part will be able to answer all the still unanswered questions in a satisfying way - it would not only have to fit the final battle, but explain the state the world is in afterward and give each character a fitting conclusion. It is a tall order, but I hope it can be done. The show has been my favourite of all time since I began the first season five years ago, and if it sticks the landing, will be an international masterpiece. I can't think of any other show capable of balancing an incredibly well thought and complex storyline, brilliant animation, voice acting and music, and incredible action. No story I've seen has pulled off as impressive a plot twist as the revelation about the outside world, evolving the narrative in such a profound way, made moments so satisfying, gripping, terrifying and beautiful. This truly is peak television, and I can't think of anything that remotely comes close.
What would I give this episode? Somewhere between a 9.5 and a 10 I think. It is truly incredible, but I am finding it hard to place it between those two for some reason. A ten would mean perfection, and this is pretty damn close, but I think with some plot threads foreshadowed but not yet expanded upon, it feels a little incomplete - that is no fault of its own, rather a natural occurrence of the format it is adapted. Still, it is hard to judge it as perfect in itself as a result. So I'll give a 9.75 out of 10
9.75 out of 10
SPOILER SECTION
The opening of the special is very powerful - we see Ramzi and his brother in much the same way we see Eren and Armin in the first episode - two children with dreams of the future. The fact that Ramzi's hand had been cut off due to stealing shows the brutality of Marley, but also only furthers his powerlessness when the rumbling reaches him, as the ground starts shaking and his family tells them to run. Eventually, the debris reaches them, and Ramzi dies underfoot, looking at his dead brother, and the ghostly image of Ymir watching him (which doesn't make much sense if he isn't Eldian, but it is certainly eerie). By having Eren kill Ramzi, we see how far he has gone - nine years before, he was in a very similar position, but managed to survive. Eren's plan has no survivors, so by seeing this character symbolising him die, we see there is no coming back from. It is also very hard to watch such brutality, which only gets harder the more of the rumbling you see, from families crying, vehicles stuffed with desperate people and bodies strewn in the streets before the titans even reached them. What was worse in knowing every person you see alive will unavoidably be dead moments later. It was one of the most horrifying things I've seen in years.
Through the flashbacks of Eren, we get to see his perspective far more. Instead of simply being fanatic, he questions the nature of fate and morality - why should he save Ramzi from being attacked when he will be killed in a few weeks anyway. He doesn't seem to want to take the actions he does, but has seen the future and the predicament that Paradis is in, and determines that they never find another way, and it fundamentally breaks him. His actions cannot be justified, but it is heart-breaking knowing he is the same boy as the previous seasons, seeing a terrible future fate forces him to bring about, and makes the Rumbling scenes that much more haunting.
Next, we get back to the new alliance, Armin and Annie confess to each other in a jarring contrast, yet a satisfying scene, and the ship arrives at the port to fuel the plane. The final moments of peace are shared between them, as Annie decides to leave with Gabi and Falco, and the others stay. It is cathartic to see old enemies separate as friends, but due to the opening, these scenes having a palpable sense of dread, as the peace could be shattered any minute by the arrival of the Rumbling. Which, sure enough, it is, and at the worst moment as Floch survived (somehow - I thought he was definitively dead before - this seems like the first dramatic death fake out of the show, and was a bit contrived) stowed away on the boat, firing shots that pierced the plane's hull, leaving the others to repair it and get it going while Hange, shedding her command, faces the army of titans to buy them time.
I would say that this fight, and consequently Hange's death, are surprisingly satisfying - I loved the character, and it was nice to see her let loose after being burdened with such a difficult command for the last season. However, I didn't like the scene afterward, where we see her and the scouts of old in the afterlife - it does allow Hange relief that her sacrifice wasn't in vain, but I felt the intensity of the scene was lost a bit as a result - if a scene like this was saved for the very final part, I would understand a lot more. It isn't too bad, I just think it didn't fit considering the intense and overwhelming nature of the episode and the threat the Rumbling poses - that is just my opinion, though.
The scene on the plane discussing the plan and Eren's weaknesses was very well done, voicing many of the thoughts and discussions I have had regarding them myself and painting a comprehensive plan without getting overblown, and the scene where Eren interrupts the conversation to tell them they will have to kill him if they want him to stop was scary, making him seem omnipotent (which in regards to Eldians, I suppose he is - he might even be in tune with the millions of them he is killing, making it even darker). The use of a child Eren, like in the Rumbling scene earlier, is also very unnerving, like he is the victim of a curse passed on by Ymir, and the Rumbling is integral to his vow when he was a boy.
Fort Salta was another great moment, showing how the Marleyans and Eldians are now equal, united under the common threat of destruction, and the Marleyan commander vowing for things to be different should they all survive demonstrates the good and the humanity that Eren will trample, not just the hate that threatened his island. Reiner's mother reflects on how she used her son for her own means and despairs, spiting those she blamed for her predicament at the cost of his life. I really resonate with scenes like this, showing a terrible side of people, willing to exploit those closest to them, but bearing it truthfully in the face of death.
The airship attack commences, killing many of the titans around Eren, but Eren conjures the beast titan, puppeteered disturbingly, and he throws titan crystal into the ships, destroying them. These scenes show a hellish futility to fight Eren, but the others arrive to fight Eren, and a Marleyan remarks on how Paradis sent forces to help. Jumping from the plane and landing on the skeletal form of the founding titan, they prepare to fight.
It is a spectacular end to the episode, and we can only wait to see how the battle will play out. As I speculated, Eren could influence his friends to stop, but his ideology of freedom allows them to proceed. I wonder to what extent - how far will he defend himself, and will he be willing to hurt or kill them directly? He has broken every other moral rule, but does he still value his friends enough to kill them along with everyone else? Questions are also left like how will Paradis fare? The radical government and ideology of the Jaegerists is still present, and as the only place unaffected by the Rumbling, would they allow refugees, or kill them as they attempt to land? Would Armin, Mikasa and the others still have a place there when the battle is over, or be forced to live in exile?
There are so many questions, I hope the final part will be able to answer them all in a satisfying way - it would not only have to fit the final battle, but explain the state the world is in afterward and give each character a fitting conclusion. It is a tall order, but I hope it can be done. The show has been my favourite of all time since I began the first season five years ago, and if it sticks the landing, will be an international masterpiece. I can't think of any other show capable of balancing an incredibly well thought and complex storyline, brilliant animation, voice acting and music, and incredible action. No story I've seen has pulled off as impressive a plot twist as the revelation about the outside world, evolving the narrative in such a profound way, made moments so satisfying, gripping, terrifying and beautiful. This truly is peak television, and I can't think of anything that remotely comes close.
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