Not gonna lie, out of all the episodes for the second part, this episode had to be the weakest one so far. Though that isn’t to say that there weren’t any good parts because there were at least two really strong scenes this episode. It also felt a tad rushed similar to how the second episode was to this part of the season. However, from how it’s going, I don’t think that they’re going to be able to wrap up the remaining bits of story in the next four episodes. There are still too many things that has yet to be adapted and I’m wondering if there is a part 3 or a movie that will officially wrap things up. But I guess we’ll find out by the end of the twelfth episode which is going to be delayed a week.
Anyways, let’s talk about the episode because there is a lot. It’s another fairly slow episode, but is still ridden with great character moments. Even in the very first scene of where Hanji is shown shooting scouts, she is crying because she’s killing people she used to battle along side with but she refuses to take the gamble of whether or not they are not her enemies to keep her and Levi safe. Hanji is definitely a character that cares way too much for her own good and is forced to make tough decisions despite it. She can be a very emotional person and can act a bit silly, but knows when and where it’s important to put her emotions aside to be logical, even if it hurts. And that’s one of the many reasons why I love Hanji as a character.
Just like Armin, Hanji is also bogged down by the weight of filling in Erwin’s shoes once she became commander of the scouts. It has been shown several times that there is just so much she can do and questions if whether she was the right person for the job. Not to mention she’s also dealing with the cycle of who has the power in the government with her “term” coming to an end. It’s definitely hard to see her so defeated considering how silly and preppy she was in the first few seasons. But even despite all that, she still doesn’t want to give up and do everything she can.
Connie’s situation is definitely sympathetic, but I do by no means agree with what he’s doing. And as I said last post, he’s not thinking rationally. The only thing he sees is that there is a way to bring back his mom from being a titan. And it’s really sad because he feels so alone in his decision and even wonders if Sasha would be able to understand him. I do think Sasha would understand where he’s coming from, but I don’t think she’d support him either. While Sasha was an “idiot,” she also learned to put aside her personal feelings if it meant the best for the group. But man, Connie in his entire interaction with Falco in his village felt absolutely terrifying. While he was starting to have doubts about feeding a kid to bring his mom back, he was still willing to go through with it. Even with that absolutely terrifying smile that was incredibly unnerving to see.
And thinking about it, I don’t think present Connie has smiled at all this entire 4th season unless I’m forgetting something. That’s incredibly sad especially since this smile is the fakest things we’ve seen from him. If it weren’t for the fact that Armin and Gabi rode through the night while Connie and Falco took some time to rest and sleep, they would have never caught up to them in time. In the state Connie was in emotionally and mentally, there was no doubt in my mind that he would have went through with feeding Falco to his mom.
This scene was such a test to Connie’s character as Armin put his life on the line to see what he would do. Armin made a huge gamble, akin to Erwin often did when he was still alive, making Connie choose between him or his mom. In that moment, I think Connie showed that he still cares a lot about Armin. Heck, he was one of the ones crying over Armin being brought back when he became a titan shifter back in season 3. While they aren’t as close as say Connie, Sash and Jean, Armin is still up there as one of his beloved friends. I appreciate how Connie seemed to realize the severity of what he nearly did, realizing his mom would only suffer as the new Colossal Titan if he were to let Armin get eaten. Thus making him realize that his mom would never want to be brought back by sacrificing someone whether it be someone close to him or a stranger. Connie is just so desperate to not lose anyone anymore that his priorities got skewed. He’s definitely very fortunate to have friends that will help him when he needs it and make sure he follows the right path.
But man, did you really need to gamble your life like that, Armin? :'(
I honestly can’t even imagine what it must have been like to just listen to the rumbling all night and day. While most of the people in Paradis are okay, the fact that these Colossal titans are out trampling everyone else around the world is something that wouldn’t let me sleep at night. Which is shown with both Mikasa, Jean and Annie. It also makes me sick how people can see all of this as a good thing and celebrate the slaughtering of millions of people around the world. It’s sickening. I especially hate it how they constantly just taint Erwin’s words of “give your hearts.”
Not gonna lie, the part where Armin and the others bump into Annie was both weird and hilarious. Annie stuffing herself with pie because the poor girl hasn’t eaten in years was something I didn’t know I needed until I saw it lol. Especially when she started chewing faster once she was discovered. And after realizing that Connie hasn’t genuinely smiled, much less laughed in all of season 4 so far, him laughing over Annie eating pie felt like a breath of fresh air. After everything he’s gone through, it was nice to see a little bit of the old Connie come out after all this time. While that moment was really funny to watch, I do admit that it felt rather abrupt for Annie to just ditch Hitch and join Armin and company without seeing how they convinced her or why she even joined them. Not to mention I just felt really bad for Hitch because this isn’t the only time that someone she was close to just left her. May you rest in peace, Marllow. :'( She even bought a whole freaking pie to share. Why you gotta leave her hanging like that.
If I wasn’t 100% done with Floch and the Yeagerists, at this point I am 2000% done with them. It was so disturbing how they sounded so disappointed that Floch wasn’t going to kill Yelena so he can continue showboating this execution. And the worst thing is, this happens in real life where everyone just gets this mob mentality and celebrates killing others. It’s honestly disgusting and I felt so validated when Onyankopon basically called these people out on their crap. I feel really bad for Onyankopon since he helped Eldia become what it is only for them to turn their backs on him and celebrate in the destruction of his homeland. He even called them out for being xenophobic (which they most definitely are) and that they basically are copying exactly what Marley did to them all of these years. It’s a terrible cycle and it’s so frustrating and disappointing how these people just don’t see anything wrong with their actions.
Though I must admit that seeing the Cart Titan just suddenly come out of nowhere just bulldozing down people was hilarious. It was also very satisfying to see Floch finally be shook after the Cart Titan came in and snatched Jean, Yelena and Onyankopon up. Not to mention he realized that Mikasa was also MIA. Take that, Floch! FINALLY something happened that he didn’t expect and threw a wrench in his plans and our group of misfits successfully secured supplies. Though I am curious as to who the figure in the window was since I don’t remember who it was and whether or not they are a friend or foe.
Jean has been progressively going up my ranks of favorite characters. By the end of the first season, I already really liked him and since then has had such a steady character progression. He is definitely not the same guy he was back at the start of season 1. While he tried to block out the noise of the rumbling and ignore what it meant for the rest of the world, he just couldn’t ignore it. Him at the start probably would have ignored it, but ever since Marco had changed his perspective on things, he can’t go back to hoe he used to be. He’s developed a strong sense of responsibility and just doesn’t have it in him to leave things as they are anymore. Even now, Marco still made such a big impact on Jean and I’m glad he didn’t just backpedal on his development just because he was tired. When he didn’t salute after Floch and the Yeagerists were doing their usual chant of “give your hearts” it was pretty obvious he hadn’t defected to their side.
Our group is slowly gaining more and more additions. After coming to somewhat of a truce after securing Yelena, both Piek and Magath seem to have the same goals as Levi and Hanji. And then after getting help from Falco, Gabi and Annie, they went to Reiner to see if he would lend them his aid… which made for a very awkward encounter. Though I am surprised that Connie was able to joke around with Annie while being understandably cold to Reiner. Though I guess Reiner’s betrayal was a lot more personal to him since he was actually good friends with him while Annie mostly kept to herself while helping him out a couple times as comrades. It’s still a little strange though. But I do have to admit the line of “to save the world” felt beyond cheesy lol. It just makes my mind flash back to Avatar’s “but I know that Aang can save the world.” Probably not helped by the fact I just binged a re-watch of the first season recently. But we got to set the differences aside to squad up.
There were a lot of scenes in this episode that flew by without giving them the breathing they needed to really make a bigger impact. Such as the scenes with Hanji and Levi, Mikasa and Louise and when Annie decided to join with Armin and the others. I feel like all three scenes had the potential to be a bit more meaningful and really delve deeper into particular characters, but only ended up skimming the surface most likely due to time restraints. I literally got nothing out of the Mikasa and Louise interaction as it only ended with Mikasa just taking her scarf and leaving without much consideration to Louise’s feelings. And then Annie just ended up leaving Hitch behind without seeing WHY she joined Armin and the others. Especially since she was previously only determined to find a way back to her dad. There were just a lot of scenes this episode that felt a little too convenient. But I digress. I’m not sure what MAPPA’s plan on how to wrap up the series is, but there is absolutely no way it can be done in four more episodes. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
