Welcome back to the titan war! The time has come to end things. We are finally watching the final season of Attack on Titan, and I got a feeling that not everyone is making it out of this one alive. If you are new to our coverage, this is the part where I explain to you that I’ve never been what you’d call a regular anime watcher, but something about this strange and at times horrifying has never failed to captivate me. It’s about to be a jailbreak, because we are charging into Attack on Titan season 4, episode 11, “Deceiver.”
1. Tonight there’s gonna be a jailbreak
I feel like I’m mentioning my changing feelings about Gaby and Falco in just about every review. It was very disarming to spend so much time with them and none of the characters we already knew. It got even stranger when most of that cast was killed off; Falco and Gaby are pretty much the only survivors. Sticking them in jail sounded like a great new plot that could occupy them for a while but no, they escaped with very little effort. Their escape actually felt kind of weightless and too easy. They start off with the old, “Help, I think I’m sick!” The guard falls for it and is instantly slaughtered by a brick in a sack. Brutal! And then… they just get out? We don’t see them leaving their cell, going through corridors, ducking other guards, hopping the walls. And we know Paradis knows from walls! They just… get out!
I’m not complaining though, because this ended up being the kind of focused and self contained episode I was hoping for.
2. Zeke’s deception
I know, I know, it’s every week with this stuff! It’s just… nothing Zeke has ever done has been on the level and now he’s going around acting like he’s someone I should trust. I don’t think so buddy! I’m not the only one suspicious of the murderous monkey man- Gaby is starting to get suspicious as well! And narratively, this convinces me more than ever that he’s a quadruple agent or whatever. Because now when Gaby confronts him over his treachery, he’ll have a dramatic few moments to explain to her that actually he’s on her side, and Attack on Titan lives for those sorts of reversal of fortune moments. Again, I’m not complaining.
We briefly check in with a couple of plots in our sprawling story and all of them are supporting my “Zeke is actually a bad guy” theory. Like, it seems that Hizuru is using the 3D Maneuver Gear technology to make “a flying boat.” Is Zeke going full Lex Luthor and toppling the world’s governments to replace them with something made in his image? But he’s going to die when his titan timer runs out. Is that it? Is he trying to escape those consequences?
We also check in with Yelena, the leader of the Marleyan troops who defected. And you know what? I’m suspicious of her too! She seems so smug and reticent, she’s definitely hiding something. And considering that she’s basically Zeke’s #2… there’s something about this season of Attack on Titan that is making me paranoid. Normally, I like to think of myself as pretty level headed but in this world, I’d be the one pointing a weapon around and screaming about zombie bites. My paranoia is through the roof.
3. An orphanage of their own making
On the run, Falco and Gaby eventually come across an home for war orphans, which is a decent place for them to hide out for a while. Of course, it’s not just any orphanage, it’s one run by Artur Blaus. The father of Sash. Who Gaby killed. In cold blood. That’s some delicious drama. Real nice that Sasha’s family is continuing to look out for poor kids. Not nice by any means, but pretty hardcore for Gaby to take advantage of the generosity of someone she victimized, and to not even feel gratitude.
The two escapees meet a kind young country girl named Kaya. She’s cartoonishly angelic, to the point that I was trying to figure out if she had anything to do with the similarly angelic (and recently pregnant) Historia. But no, she’s just an unfortunate kid with a lot of love in her heart. She tries to help Falco and Gaby with their farm chores. The highlight: Gaby getting her head bitten by a horse. Comedy gold! The two soldiers are terrible at farm labor and again, I can’t stress enough how bad Gaby’s attitude is considering she is taking charity from a group of people she is trying to do war crimes against.
Continued below4. The worst spy
On top of her cavernous lack of empathy, it is comical how bad Gaby is at being even a little subtle. Like, Falco pointed out that maybe she shouldn’t wear her armband because if they were seen wearing an enemy uniform in hostile territory… yeah. Not a great way to stay hidden. Even when she reluctantly puts on normal street clothes, she can’t stop shouting insane propaganda at anyone who will listen to her. And no one is even working hard to get to the bottom of her story, she’s just abruptly starts yelling about ancestral crimes and blood libel with no provocation. In fact, once she outs herself to Kaya unprompted, she tries to kill her with a pitchfork. Falco intervenes but how bufoonish is that? No one asked her an opinion, she just ranted about how all Eldians need to repent for the crimes of their ancestors. Kind, beautiful Kaya even covers for Gaby’s actual murder attempt by telling everyone that is was a romantic jealousy thing, not an undercover op gone wrong.
Kaya has some feelings about politics too, and I actually really appreciated her perspective. Seeing how unhinged Gaby was reminded me that we don’t know the actual history of this world, just the propaganda. We are supposed to believe that the Eldians were some great and terrible empire, but we only have heard that from Marley. Kaya though has a different take. Even if you take all that ancestral stuff at face value, her mom was a good person who died a horrible, meaningless death. And like, just what the hell? Gaby has no compassion to give, she might’ve learned a big lesson by the end, but probably not. But I like Kaya’s opinion. You can trace a lot of conflicts back a long long way. It takes a lot of courage to say that enough is enough and to start looking at the future instead of the past. In the macro, there’s this big titan war, but in the micro there’s the back and forth empty vengeance of Eren and Reiner attack each others’ homes. Kaya as a leader would try to break the cycle of violence.
5. #FreeEren
Back at HQ, some soldiers are raising some questions that are pretty good. Like… seriously, what is up with Eren? Last episode he claimed to Hange Zoe that he was only a prisoner because he allowed himself to be. So… why ya doing that Eren? I guess it’s in his own self interest. If he plays ball with his side, he can get his revenge on Marley and the titans. But keeping him locked up like a Marleyan prisoner of war is rubbing some of his comrades the wrong way. Particularly, Floch.
If you need a reminder, Floch was one of the only survivors of the Battle of Shiganshina. He was strongly in the camp of letting Armin die in favor of saving Erwin. The rest of the Scouts were on Team STFU Floch, and didn’t listen. Well now he’s got another uncomfortable position. He wants to spring Eren from jail, and he’s got a squad of neo-fascist kids who will follow him. So this is building towards endgame right? Connie is ready to fight Eren. Floch is ready to fight for Eren. The dude himself has become so passive and distant, it’s hard to get a read on him. But he’s our main character, and he’s definitely going to play a huge role in the final chapters of the story. So you can see this conflict taking shape- a pro-Eren cult fanning the flames of all his worst instincts. Will anything be enough to make Mikasa and Armin stand against their friend? I’ve got a feeling we won’t have to wait too long to find out!
