Eren! Why do you want to go beyond these walls?
Summary:
Eren loses control of his titan body and attacks Mikasa. Attempts to bring Eren back fail, and the rest of the troops split off to defend Eren and distract the titans. Armin succeeds in awakening the titan by stabbing the human Eren in the titan’s neck in the arm.
Impressions:
I think all the Mikasa and Eren shippers can rejoice with that little 5 second blush, right? XD With Eren being unresponsive, it was on Armin to wake him up. I’m not sure why being a titan makes him fall into a delusion of the past, but it might be that the titan Eren is different from the human version of him, and becoming one, I guess, isolates the other? This is something conflicting, as the human Eren is the one that makes the decision to change, but the titan gains control once he lets go. Talking doesn’t seem to work, so I suppose until Eren gets better at controlling it, it will have to be a wild chance the humans are willing to take.
This episode was very much a desperate one, but different from the past episodes in that this time the conflict is not “necessary” – the gate is still open, and the titans are flooding in, so there is a very low chance of retaking the district without high casualties. The fact that they’re willing to bet on Eren for this small, but strategic step…it really is kind of foolish, don’t you think?
The chain of command is present as always, as Attack on Titan is as much about the titans as the structures that humans build (physical and hierarchical). Strategies can fall to pieces within seconds on the field, and the war of attrition will only ever end when one side loses. I’m going to be pissed if Jean dies next episode he was actually shaping into a (better?) person the more I see him in action. It sucks that technical failure of equipment is as bad as getting grabbed. @.@
Normally, I don’t pay attention to the “extra information” from the panels in between the two parts of the episode, but this time, the information was pretty relevant. The 3-D maneuver gear straps are not for show, but for controlling the motion of the person. Using it requires all the muscles in the body, and following that, fast reactions are probably the next best thing to have in the field. Apparently instructors cut ropes during training sessions to test trainees, and if they died from slow reaction/falling, they would have never lasted against a titan.
The next episode will be the closing part of season one, as episode 14 will be recap. I think we’re all looking forward to the next opening, ‘cause I’ve been listening to “The Reluctant Heroes” and “DOA” on repeat for the last few days. XD
