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 16, ‘Perfect Game.’
1. Commander Jean
Where we last left off, Bertholdt had just barely escaped from Armin and Mikasa, but barely was enough time to transform into the Colossal Titan. And while Armin has been totally tearing it up, his failure to bring Bertholdt down has left him shook. “Jean, can you take my place?” Armin asks, and everyone does a double take including Titan Eren. No one really expects genius tactician Armin to hand off control to… Jean.
Jean is one of my favorite character types. I love the flawed mortal who needs to work hard to keep up with a team of badasses. You see it with Batman in the Justice League. Boromir in the Fellowship. All of these guys are only mortal, facing down incomprehensible threats and proving their worth alongside some uncommonly talented allies.
That threat manifests itself as the Beast Titan, who is stupid good at throwing stuff. That dude has wicked good aim. In fact, the episode title refers to the Beast Titan’s desire to pitch a no hitter. I guess baseball is still popular in the society outside the walls.
2. The punt
This is one of those really good battle episodes. The Colossal Titan is on one side, spreading fires. The Beast Titan is on the other laying down “artillery strikes.” And Erwin is stuck in the middle with the Survey Corp. These sorts of battles are ultimately decided by quick wittedness and a mastery of logistics.
Brute force will get you far though. Eren gets caught in a colossal football punt by the colossal foot of the Colossal Titan! Lots of sports analogies in this one. I will say this though- every time the crew fights the Colossal Titan, they do a little bit better. But alas, they are still no match for it. And just when things look like they can’t get worse, Reiner makes his triumphant return as the Armored Titan, which doesn’t bode well at all. That dude is unkillable.
3. Marriage counseling
Our main event in this episode is an argument between the couple at the core of humanity’s battle against the titans, Erwin and Levi. Commander Levi wants to take the fight to the Beast Titan, and end this thing once and for all. But Erwin tells him to wait, because obviously he has a plan. “Then why did you keep your shitty mouth shut?” Levi deadpans. And it turns out Erwin’s plan is going to cost him his life, and the life of all these little recruits who are cowering under the bombardment. Erwin’s stoicism in the face of annihilation is chilling. His only regret is not seeing what’s in the Yaeger basement. He realizes that he is going to give his life for his companions, as so so many of his friends have done for him. The only difference is that Erwin is clear-eyed, and he can see his death coming a mile away, can choose the time and place. But now he is realizing that his death doesn’t get to be super extra special, it’s the death of a dude laying down his line to save the people he loves. Which is what he’s believed in his whole life. But that doesn’t make it easy. Chills.
4. The final plan
So Ewin’s great final plan is a charge of the Light Brigade. He and the young recruits hop on board their horses (which as we all know, behave just like motorcycles) and they will draw fire while Levi swings from titan to titan to take out the boss. And this is Levi we are talking about so it! Is! Awesome! I mean, the episode ends before we really get to see Levi go at it, but there’s a flash forward to his ODM skills and folks, you love to see it. The Maneuver Gear is still one of the coolest ideas in sci-fi/fantasy, it looks rad as heck, and when the music kicks in you can’t help but get pumped. But no, this is a serious show about serious stuff, so we need to slow our roll and get sad because…
5. Death and ruin
Erwin doesn’t lie to the kids. He admits they are all going to die. He confirms that their deaths will not mean a thing. But then he says that death never meant anything, and that their comrades who survived are the ones who are going to have to search for meaning. Being denied the answers he craved has filled the commander with a certain kind of nihilism, but he decides that the most important thing in life (and in death) is trust. He trusts Levi and Eren and Hange Zoe and everyone else to complete his mission, and to honor his sacrifice.
This sequence is made more gutting by the fact that Marlo is one of the recruits. He doesn’t scream or cry or reassure his friends. He’s going through his own thing. But the camera doesn’t let you forget that he’s there, that these kids mean something to someone, and that their deaths are going to be tragic. And sure enough, the last shot of the episode is a close-up on Erwins face as he collides with the sharp rocks. That’s SNK!
