And on that day humanity received a grim reminder – of how awesome Attack on Titan is! Welcome back to the Multiversity Summer TV Binge! There’s not a titan to be seen in this episode, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a deadly conflict. From a detective story, to a military coup, to a potential execution, this was a very different sort of episode. Join me as we dive, swoop, and swing our way through Attack on Titan season three. Let’s see what happens in the fourth episode: “Trust.”
1. I remember you!
Remember Hitch and Marlo? They were the subject of a really good season one episode that ultimately was about Annie, but they were our first glance into the Military Police and the corruption in the capital. Well they are back now, and they are sort of on the side of the good guys? Well they are caught by the Scouts while investigating them, but they aren’t bad guys per se. They are following orders, trying not to get captured, trying not to give up their allies, but as the treachery of their superior officers starts to become clear, they show signs of turning. That is great character development because Marlo was already having a crisis of faith. Showing him working hard to be loyal to superior officers that he doesn’t respect somehow makes him deeply sympathetic.
It also creates a great conflict. Now that we are watching humans fight humans, their complex loyalties are being explored. The titans are basically just mindless monsters (with a few notable exceptions). Marlo is a guy who would be an ally to the Scouts if he hadn’t ended up on the wrong side of the fight. Hitch is even more interesting because she’s always seemed sort of mercenary, but even she has limits. Seeing a selfish person pushed to the edge of her selfishness makes for a complicated, nuanced character.
2. Flegel is a goofy name
Speaking of callbacks, I can’t believe the Reeves family became a thing. That jerk merchant/mob boss guy who Mikasa threatened back in season one ended up being sort of a big deal, getting murdered, and becoming a major plot thread. And now Reeves Jr. has gotta work with Hange Zoe to catch his father’s killer.
As much as I love the idea of Detective Hange Zoe bringing justice to the city streets, it’s crazy how far we’ve gotten from the high flying titan fightin’ action. We’ve got Law and Order happening, and Game of Thrones. There’s politics and cops with nothing to lose. The important thing is that Hange and Flegel are successful- they are able to prove to the public that the oddly popular Dimo was murdered by the Military Police, who then framed the scouts! I think a recipe for success will be to just do one on one team ups between Hange Zoe and literally anybody else.
3. In da Nile
And another small character from season one takes the spotlight. In this case Nile Dawk, the head of the Military Police who we saw at Eren’s trial in season one. Nile confronts Erwin and the tension is sizzling. This is great because both men know that the other is truly dangerous, both of them respect the other person, and both of them understand that they are on opposite sides of the conflict. Much like out time with Hitch and Marlo, our time with Nile shows us the human element of the conflict. He’s a believer, confident that he’s doing the right thing and commanding the loyalty of his subordinates. I’m predisposed to dislike him because he’s being mean to Erwin, but there’s a version of this show where he’s the good guy, struggling with an obstinate traitor.
4. Ack! Ackermann!
It’s a quick moment but don’t think I didn’t notice that Mikasa and Kenny share the same last name. We don’t know a lot about Mikasa’s past before she met Eren, but that’s crazy intriguing. Her parents were killed by human traffickers who wanted to sell Mikasa and her mom into the sex trade. Mikasa (with the help of Eren) murdered her kidnappers and it awoke something in her, a lightning through her synapses that makes her feel good whenever she kills someone. If Kenny is her… uncle? Real dad? Lost brother? Something else? Those serial killer tendencies start making some sense. Mikasa the Ripper? That also sets her and Levi up for a complicated familial relationship. Good stuff.
Continued below5. Erwin’s last stand
It all comes down to a blinding swirl of shifting loyalties. The Scouts are loyal to their own, but Hitch and Marlo ultimately throw in with them. Pixis hasn’t been a direct presence in this episode, but it’s clear he’s up to something, conspiring with Erwin. And Erwin himself? That dude is totally confident in his righteousness, but he’s sort of playing this one close to the vest.
Fat lotta good that’s doing for him. All Erwin manages to score for himself is a death sentence. He’s taken before the “king” (who is not Rod Reiss, but a puppet monarch) and that’s it! Erwin’s gonna die! But something tells me that’s not the end for him. We’ll have to wait to find out though, because the episode ends just before Erwin gets a chance to say his last words. Curses!
