YOU CAN’T END AN EPISODE THERE!
Well, I suppose you can and they did. Still, it’s not fair at all! I was hanging on the edge of my seat with my breathe held, waiting to see the outcome of the explosion when the ending credits started.
Well, before we talk more about that. Let’s move back to the beginning of the episode. With the wall surounded by the Titans, Reiner transformed inside of the wall and things looking generally grim. Erwin does what he does best, sits and analyzes the situation. He comes to figure out the Titan’s plan, which is to trap the scouts by taking out the horses and then waiting until they are all too weak to do anything. This include Eren as well, who is the Titan’s main objective. So Erwin splits the groups, a few teams down to defend the horses and Hange and Levi’s squads to fight the armored Titan.
However, not Captain Levi. He’s sent with the team to protect the horses and when the time coms. To go attack the Beast Titan, that Levi was the only one he trusted to take it on. Levi, ashamed that he couldn’t take out Reiner before he transformed into the armored Titan, swears to make it up by eliminating the Beast Titan and goes down to help with the horses for the time being.
Meanwhile, the other plan involves taking out the armored Titan. The key to this plan is using Eren as bait, so Eren transforms into his titan form and draws Reiner’s attention.
Reiner rightly figures that they are trying to draw his attention away from attacking the horses, but there really isn’t anything he can do. Since if he moves with the original plan of attack, he’s leaving it so Eren can escape over the wall in his Titan form and make it past the circle of Titans outside the wall and gather reinforcements.
Thus the fight between Reiner and Eren begins and, I honestly can’t put how good it is into words. It’s so high tension, so thrilling to watch. In particular once it comes to a head and the rest of the squad heads in with a new weapon. A weapon made for the armored Titan in particular, called ‘Thunder Spears’
Which, I guess are a bolt of concentrated lightning? The way that Hange explains it, that’s what it sounds like at least. No matter how they are made, they cause large explosions that can even take out the armored Titan. The beautiful moment that Hange and Mikasa fly up and fire two of these spears into the Titan’s eyes is breathtaking.
Even more so when the rest of the squad comes up and hits it in the nape for the first time.
The hit, the shock that it hit and then the uncomfortable moment just as they go to fire the second ones to finish Reiner off. That moment of uncomfy realization that they are about to kill a former ally. Then the tension as they fired a second round of lightning spears into the nape of the armored Titan.
It pierced in all around Reiner and just as the explosion goes off. That’s where this episode ends.
I loved this episode!
The insightful monologue by Erwin, the fight between Reiner and Eren, the moment before they fire the second round of Thunder Spears. Everything is so good, and as usual, the animation is absolutely top notch in this series. I can’t wait for next weeks episode, to see what happens and if Reiner is dead.
How will Berholt react?