Welcome back! Are you prepared?! Hunker behind these walls and smell that fascist smell. It’s time for another episode of Attack on Titan. This is the part where I let you know that I am very much not a regular anime watcher but that this strange and at times horrifying show has gotten under my skin and never let me go. We are continuing on through the third season, as part of our 2020 Summer TV Binge. Let’s get into it! Buckle up your Omni-Directional Movement gear and lets swoop into Attack on Titan season 3, episode 15, ‘Descent.’
1. The murder of Marco
You know, it had been a long time since this show had actually managed to disturb me. Shocked me? Sure. Grossed me out? On occasion. But the last time I felt truly harrowed was maybe way back in season one when we saw Eren get devoured by a titan. Well it’s happened again. Poor Marco. Poor poor poor poor Marco. He solved a lot of the show’s mysteries early in season one and he got murdered for his trouble.
And we pretty mcuh knew that this is what happened, but to see it play out was just so scary and upsetting. To see Reiner grow more and more stoic as he steels himself to do a horrible thing. Berholdt clearly not able to cope with it, and growing more and more distant. And even Annie, who we think of as the ultimate hardass, was left a little broken. To top that all off with Marco’s screams for help, I will be shuddering about this for a long time. “This is what makes us warriors,” Reiner says.
2. War Chief Zeke
We also get a brief flashback to the events of a few episodes ago, as Reiner and Bertholdt watch the Survey Corp arrive, chug down some special titan tea, and get into position for this battle. I think though this is the first extended scene we are getting with the Beast Titan in his human form. They even got a name for him: War Chief Zeke. It’s notable that this, which feels like a hugely revelatory scene, is delivered with the same dull sense of predetermination that the biggest reveal on the show was- Reiner and Bertholdt being outed as titans. These two bring an anti-shock quality to their whole story.
3. The warriors three
This is not the first time we’ve spent with the enemy titans in the run of the show, but it’s the longest time we’ve seen them interact together when they aren’t playing a part. We can now see that Reiner has never relly been kind or supportive to Bertholdt, who has been slowly unraveling since he joined the military undercover way back in episode three. We also learn just how deep Bertholdt’s obvious crush on Annie goes. You really feel for the guy even though he’s a mass murderer. Not forgive him, but seeing how damaged he is from his own actions is pretty shocking.
So when Bertholdt feels the shock of seeing dead Reiner, it causes him to completely ditch their plan, which would have worked and killed a lot of their enemies. And I think it takes good writing to sell us on an otherwise smart character making dumb choices. But of course he discovers that Reiner cheated death AGAIN…by “transferring his consciousness throughout his entire nervous system,” whatever THAT means. Reiner just won’t quit.
4. Crying comic relief
But Connie and Sasha don’t know that. They are still crying over having to kill him, and Jean is still pissed about it. But Armin raises a really valid point. The real tragedy is that these Titan Warriors are too powerful to take prisoner. The only way to meet their overwhelming force is to respond in kind. That’s so like Armin to blink at an intensely tragic situation and respond with a genuine intellectually compelling observation. And it’s so like Jean to get so fired up with vengeance that he starts lashing out at all his friends. And it’s so like Connie and Sasha to cry at a tragedy because they are ultimately reasonable people. Every is so on bramd.
5. Ultimate dork showdown
OK, OK, but oh man the final confrontation between Armin and Bertholdt was electric. These two guys are considered the intellectuals of their respective sides, and to be the mild mannered one. But despite being meek, Armin is incredibly ruthless. And despite his doormat status, Bertholdt is the biggest titan of all time and one of the most accomplished murderers in history.
Armin unknowingly echos Marco’s final plea, to just “stop and talk things out.” This gives the already hesitant Bertholdt even more pause. The guy has totally lost it. The Annie thing has really left him shattered. And then Armin spontaneously uses the idea of Annie being tortured to manipulate Bertholdt. Armin is good at his job. If his job was being Hannibal Lecter.
In the final moments of the confrontation, Bertholdt steels himself, and finally overcomes the fear that had been threatening to consume him. “I feel like no matter how this all plays out, I can accept whatever happens,” he says And frankly, that’s an interesting definition of bravery. Ol’ Bert takes that newfound courage and transforms into a big monster. And now the battle is looking really dire!
