Welcome back to World War Titan! The time has come to end things. We are finally watching the final season of Attack on Titan, divided up into three parts. Things our looking pretty grim for our cast of troubled heroes. 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 show has continued to captivate me. Annie is not the only old friend we meet in this episode so join me in considering Attack on Titan season 4, episode 23, “Sunset.” Everything is orange!
1. Big Titans, Little People
Yes, welcome back. The rumbling is still rumbling. I’ve been told that this is a thing in anime, you get this weirdo pacing. The story is exciting enough, we spend so much time getting into everyone’s head, we see flashbacks and listen to thought processes that are actually resolved in an instant. I don’t think this episode was more than an hour in the time of the characters, but there are a lot of them to get through.
Before that though, we check in with the little people. We see a gaggle of people who lost family and homes when the walls came down. And it’s up to the military police to put a stop to the sudden rioting. Is there anyone left who we know in the MPs? There is. It’s Hitch!
Despite the death of her beloved Marlo, Hitch has become a leader within the wall. Everyone above her is dead. And she’s really trying to do her job despite, you know, the end of the world. I gotta respect that. She gets distracted though by a set of slimy and mysterious footprints. I think you know what this means. Annie’s on the loose!
2. Along Came Annie
I had forgotten, but Hitch was initially introduced as a supporting character for Annie. But Annie has been frozen for four years in the story (and about seven or eight years in real time). Hitch has gotten way more screen time, and some surprisingly poignant stories. (I guess I’m still not over Marlo dying viciously). And I tell ya, I am completely down for an episode with Annie makes Hitch ride with her at gunpoint. We get about half an episode’s worth and it’s good stuff.
Annie has been in a dream-like cocoon, able to sort of perceive the world around her. Mostly she remembers her two best friends in all of Paradis- Armin and Hitch. And most of what she remembers of that is Hitch complaining about boys. She figures after four years of that, Hitch can shut the hell up and listen to some backstory.
3. Little Leonheart
I feel like I could have guessed this story. Still, I don’t mind spending the time. Annie was abandoned as a baby. Her mom was some kind of rich Marley lady, her dad was Eldian. So Annie is an unwanted bastard, left in the street. She gets taken in by a “father” who decides to train her into the perfect weapon a la Cassandra Cain. Her childhood seems more than a little abusive. Eventually she kicked the shit out of her dad; beat him so bad he couldn’t walk anymore. He cried with pride like a freak. That’s how Annie learned not to value any life, human, animal, or her own.
But shortly before the series started, Annie was approached by her biological dad, and he wanted to be a family. This was the closest Annie ever has gotten to feeling something, and so it became her total motivation, to come back from her secret mission to get to know her dad.
Currently, papa Leonheart is locked in an Eldian ghetto in Marley. With the rumbling coming, a lot of people are about to die. And it looks like the thought of dying in a ghetto without ever seeing his little Annie again fills him with rage. I really hope he survives this uprising.
4. Chip Off the Old Floch
You will be unsurprising to learn that Floch has gone mad with power and is gleefully doing executions. Demon Eren is his god and he is his herald on Earth. He rounds up the volunteers and orders them to submit or die. Also captured: my beloved Jean. And he’s gone completely comatose. “Is it over?” is all he manages to get out. Come on Jean, take this sucker out!
Continued belowBy the end of the episode, the Jaegerists have basically won. Keith Shadis is telling his loyal students to leave him and try to fit in with the new order. Armin and Mikasa seem to have reached a detente, and they are free to travel wherever. The thing is, Mikasa is not used to having to make plans like this and she’s sort of lost. Armin totally loses his temper with all that’s going on. He thinks he’s got to find Gaby and use her to manipulate Reiner and the other Warriors. He even figures out that Annie is probably awake and making trouble. He remembers Historia is out there. He’s so stressed out, he totally loses it with Mikasa.
“If Commander Erwin was here, he would’t have snapped at you,” Armin says, breaking my heart.
5. Everybody Else!
Who else did we check in with today? Keith Shadis I mentioned, he’s super depressed. All is lost. And we see Gabi, she hugs Kaya goodbye. That’s the same girl she was trying to kill not too long ago. That’s been a whole weird saga.
Oh, and Falco! Everybody wants to know where Falco is and we get to see over the closing credits. He’s still with Connie… and he’s awake! Connie has been lying to him, and Falco thinks they are friends. Will Connie go through with feeding this little lad to his monster mom? Hopefully we will find out next week on another <i>Attack on Titan</i>
