Welcome back! Prepare yourself! 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 this strange, at times horrifying show has really grabbed my imagination and never let 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 12, ‘Night of the Battle of Retake the Wall.”
1. Blame it on the juice
Levi is a good solder. It’s funny to think about, because he’s such an off-putting guy, what with being raised by a prolific serial killer and spending years as a subterranean master thief. But his loyalty isn’t question by military command. And he earns that trust. He earns it by doing stuff like handing over the titan syringe. Which is immediately handed back to him because the rest of the commanders think he is more reliable and trustworthy than any of them. And that’s amazing.
Seeing the commanders meet was another reminder that these characters are consistently really smart. At the beginning of the story, they didn’t know much more about their world than we did. The fantasy stuff and history and lore was shrouded in intrigue. But consistently they’ve not only fought to survive, they’ve asked the right questions. Their understanding, not to mention their strategy and technology, has improved markedly. After taking stock of everything they don’t know, Erwin gives the ghost of a smile and says, “Let’s go see what this is all about. Isn’t that what Scouts do?” It’s easy to write stupid characters. Thoughtful, intelligent people driven to solve an unthinkable mystery? That’s much harder.
2. Those two guys
You’ve also got to admire the restraint in how the show portrays Erwin. His disfiguring injury is deeply traumatic. But where a lot of other characters would clench and shriek and smash things until they were bloody, Erwin is just moody and withdrawn. We can tell he’s suffering from the ghostly visions he keeps having of his past, mostly involving his dad. It’s almost like he’s got one foot in the grave, and he’s closer to the land of the dead than the land of the living.
But then, Levi is very much alive and Levi has faith in him. The two have what from the outside looks like a pretty brutal argument, but really it’s the most married people shit I’ve ever seen. Levi is so worried that Erwin may be hurt that he offers to hurt him prematurely. A little leg breaking now may prevent some later titan chomping. Erwin manages to laugh it off, and accept that he can’t lead from the front lines anymore, but his quiet heartbreak is way more devastating than Eren’s tantrums. “There will come a moment when we learn the truth about our world, and I must be there for it,” Erwin says. He knows what his priorities are. If he can learn the why, maybe all the everything will have meant something. I hope he’s right, but I doubt it.
3. The meat madness
Seeing as tomorrow is going to be a major battle- possibly the final battle- the officers throw a little feast for the troops. It’s a long needed moment of levity as everyone digresses to their craziest self. That’s especially true for Sasha who goes MEAT CRAZY. She manically munches on a roast, fights off her comrades, and eventually takes a decent sized bite out of Jean’s hand. Connie has to put her in a legit sleeper hold, and then he and Eren have to tie her to a column. This is all played for laughs. “You cut that shit out potato girl!” Jean yells, and crazy heavy metal music ensues. And yeah, I laughed my ass off. Sasha is a food freak, and it is inexplicably delightful.
We also get our first serious Jean character beat in what feels like a long time. And Jean is my favorite character so this meant a lot to me! He’s now a survivor and a veteran and he is doing what he always does. Jean is totally aware of his own flaws and when he sees someone who shares those flaws, but not the self awareness, he mentors them. In this case, that means Marlo, one of the two good cops in the whole city. Their relationship is hella cute, which probably means Marlo is going to go the way of the last guy who Jean mentored like this and who had basically the same name with one letter changed, Marco. I hope not though.
Continued belowEren and Jean also have what is now their traditional pre-battle fistfight. Those two have a great dynamic too. They never liked each other for a lot of reasons, some petty and some legitimate. But now they respect each other, and trust each other… and still hate each other. At this point, no one is surprised by their animosity, so it barely registers. The two of them act like teenagers (which now that I consider it, they probably still are) and are secretly desperate for someone to put a stop to their fighting, so they can save face. But no one wants to intervene until Levi gets sick of the noise and kicks them both in the nards. All these freaks deserve each other. They are one big messed up family and yeah, I love to see it!
4. A more innocent time
I think we’re going to get a new theme song in the next episode, so we get a quiet moment reflecting on the themes of the current one. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin sit on some stairs looking over the city and reflecting on where they’ve been, where they are, and where they are going. Armin still wants to see the world outside the walls, but it seems like Eren has given up on that dream. He can probably feel the death hanging in the air too, and doesn’t think he’ll live that long. Armin looks hurt that Eren is giving up, and tries to rally the three of them. In the end they all agree that they will fight for a return to a more innocent time before the attack, before they joined the war.
Except… Eren and Mikasa had already racked up a substantial body count. Remember that time Mikasa was captured by child sex traffickers so she and Eren tied a dagger to a broom and stabbed some dudes. That memory of happiness is false. There were times they were happy as kids, but there were horrors too. The world wasn’t better back in the day. I want them to find happiness. I really want them to find peace. But this nostalgia isn’t going to work the way they think it will. There’s a version of this where they can rebuild Shiganshina. But they aren’t going to make Shiganshina great again.
5. A proper sendoff
Folks, I am not afraid to admit that I got a little choked up in the final moments of this episode. I love the way this show can get under my skin, even as I reject a lot of its values. It helps me comprehend the appeal of ideas I don’t believe in. This happens when the Survey Corp is leaving for their battle and the people… cheer for them! This has never happened before. Civilians have always thought that the Scout branch of the military was a waste of money and lives, but now they’ve proven what they are all about. And they’ve made a difference. Erwin gets to give one of his inspirational shouty speeches to civilians now, and everyone cries tears of pride. Even me.
And then we get a final shot of the enemy: Bertholt and Reiner watch the sun rise, waiting for those who they betrayed to come seeking vengeance. That’s a great cliffhanger to leave stuff on! Onward to Wall Maria!
