When the opening doesn’t play, you know stuff is gonna go down. We got a lot of information this episode. Even Eren’s point of view and the things that he saw right before he disappeared. And boy, is it rough. It really puts some things into perspective and while I still can’t agree with what Eren is doing, I do feel bad for him. Especially with everything that’s been weighing him down.
I was wondering where this flashback was and had thought that they just cut it out to preserve time. But it looks like they were saving it for when things finally died down a bit. Which makes sense as it would have messed with the pacing if they were to put it when things were ramping or ramped up. After all the tragedy, it was kind of nice to see the Paradis group get awestruck by literally every new thing in Marley. Even if they were in enemy territory. Not to mention we even got to see Sasha again. Seeing Hanji, Connie and Sasha chase after a car in awe was something I didn’t think I needed until I saw it. And the fact that they were buying carrots to try and feed it just made me pause the episode and laugh.
Also oh my gosh… if they weren’t trying to be discreet, that clown would have been punched in the face for thinking Levi was a kid. I was DYING. THE MAN IS IN HIS 30’S LOL.
Seeing Jean, Connie and Sasha flip out over ice cream felt so reminiscent of when Gabi, Falco and the other got to experience their first festival. It’s both hilarious and sad at the same time since they’ve never been able to have these things before due to their blood. And while all that silly antics were happening, it was sad that Eren couldn’t join them since he experienced so much through the other Attack TItan memories. He is like a hundred steps ahead of them due and it seemed to take the joy out of everything around him. Which is really sad.
Just seeing things from Eren’s perspective was both interesting and depressing. Not only does he not find joy in the little things anymore, but it does seem like he gave everyone a chance to find a peaceful solution to the whole Eldian/Paradis situation only to be disappointed in the fact that there didn’t seem to be one. Which is probably why when Hanji went to talk to him in his cell in the first part of the season, he seemed both desperate and frustrated with her not having an answer to solve the situation. It all seems completely hopeless, especially since the world seems to be cracking down on Eldians even harder now that blood tests are becoming a thing. Paradis is essentially backed into a corner and while the ongoing theme was to talk things out, I feel like that just isn’t enough anymore. Not when it’s on such a grand scale like this.
Eren’s situation must be incredibly difficult. Despite how terrible and horrifying his plan is, he still cares a lot for others, especially those close to him. And in this episode it shows that he even still cares for people he doesn’t know personally as he was looking out at the camp and crying. He knows that he’s going to have to kill innocent people like these, robbing them of their freedom in order to grant his own people their freedom. He just wants his friends to live, long happy lives. Sadly, that isn’t possible for some of them. It’s a terrible situation where it seems like you can have one or the other, but not both. And I feel like that’s a hard pill to swallow, especially for people like Hanji and Armin who strive for a peaceful solution.
I do find it interesting in the people he chose to confide in. Them being Floch and Historia. I’m still baffled at why Eren chose to let Floch of all people in on his plans. It could be a paths thing as he saw that Floch was most likely the only person who would go along with him as I’m sure none of his closest comrades would agree with what he’s doing. Considering all of them are teaming up to oppose him currently. It is also a bit surprising that he talked to Historia about his plans and she ended up not telling anyone. Especially since she seemed very against the idea. I loved the switching between him talking to Floch and Historia all the while showing completely different reactions. Though it did feel haunting how Eren brought up how she’s “the worst girl in the world” that saved the person who ended up being someone who wants to destroy the world. It almost felt as if he was telling her that she was partially to blame for this happening.
But holy crap, the fact that he cut off his own leg and stuck a bullet through his eye just so he can blend in with the soldiers suffering from PTSD… that was extremely hard to watch.
The last few minutes of the episode hit HARD. Literally. Watching the Rumbling actually happen and the sheer amount of destruction that is causes was terrifying. Especially when just getting hit by the steam immediately just melts your freaking skin off. That part was absolutely horrifying if not worse than just getting stomped on. Not even the world’s military could put a dent into the Rumbling. Sure they took out a few of them, but there are thousands if not millions of them. There was no way they stood any sort of chance. Though it was funny seeing all those colossal titans swimming. MAPPA did an absolutely fantastic job in demonstrating just how terrifying the Rumbling is with the sheer amount of colossal titans flattening the area. And just icing on the cake with that one part taken out of the opening and making it the last thing we see. The Rumbling is no longer coming… IT IS HERE.
Final Impressions:
The fact that there is another season coming after this and calling it the “Final Final Final Season” feels like a joke lol. Is this an April Fools joke??? But in all seriousness, I am glad that they aren’t condensing it all into a movie and instead we’re getting another season because I do think the rest of what this series has to offer deserves a season all on its own. Especially when in the case of Demon Slayer, they just ended up splitting up the movie into episodes for the next season anyways. What was the point if they were going to do that anyways? But thankfully that won’t be the case for Attack on Titan and we’ll hopefully be able to see how everything wraps up.
Overall, Part 2 was a solid watch and experience. I had forgotten quite a few things that happened in the manga during this part so I was still able to experience quite a few surprises along the way. There were some pacing issues here and there, but nothing too severe that it ruined the experience for me. While I do miss WIT’s style, I still have to give MAPPA huge props to how they’ve been adapting this part of the story. Their CG animation seemed to have gotten better compared to the first part. And while their animation never quite hit the highs that WIT studio were able to achieve, they still did a great job with a couple stand out scenes.
Some of the stand out characters for me this season had to be Gabi, Jean and Eren. As I’ve said multiple times, Gabi has grown so much on me as a character. Seeing her development and where the story took her made me appreciate her so much. I think at this point, I can safely say that I really like her now. I’ve always liked Jean since the first season due to his amazing growth, but this season made me appreciate him so much more. The poor guy just wants to kick back and relax after everything that’s been happening. He could have just as easily plugged his ears and feigned ignorance. But he’s still willing to continue forward to do what’s right rather and take the harder road and I respect him for that. And then there’s Eren… oh boy… Unlike Gabi and Jean, I don’t particularly LIKE him, but he became such a great antagonist despite caring so much for his loved ones. Seeing him through the past memories just made me absolutely terrified of him and we see just how big of a threat he is. Especially with his mindset of wiping out all of his enemies. Eren is such a complex character and even if you don’t agree with him, he’s such an interesting character and you can clearly see just how he’s gotten to this point.
This part of the season was an absolute RIDE and it really makes you question your own morality and what decisions you would have made in these situations. Well, at least THINK what you would have done since we often don’t know what we’d actually do in a situation until it actually happens. And I always appreciate how we’re able to see more than one perspective and really get to know WHY a character thinks and feels a certain way. Just like the first part of the season, I’m giving this part a solid 9/10. There were some parts where it was a bit questionable pacing-wise, but there were just so many moments that were done almost perfectly that the pros just heavily outweigh the cons. I laughed, I cried, I got depressed, this series never fails to deliver those hard-hitting moments. I’m definitely looking forward for the final, Final, FINAL part of this series. Until 2023!
