And on that day humanity received a grim reminder – of how awesome Attack on Titan is! Welcome back to the Multiversity Summer TV Binge. We will be diving, swooping, and swinging our way through Attack on Titan season two. Scream and cry and tear your hair out, because we’re about to get into season 2 episode 6: “Warrior!” Also watch out because this episode has the most spoilery spoilers imaginable.
1. Ynjured Ymir
She’s reverted to human form, and she’s in bad shape. Ymir is sort of a hero. No one saw that coming. After defending her comrades and nearly getting killed, Ymir is down a couple of limbs and her insides are apparently reduced to pudding. The only reason everyone is staying even remotely calm about this is because of her most excellent titan healing factor.
It’s notable how pragmatic everyone has become (not that it even lasts until the end of the episode). Last season when someone was revealed to be hiding anything, it triggered an immediate meltdown. There were whole episodes of soldiers wringing their hands over whether or not to kill Eren on the spot for being a titan shifter. He was put on trial for his identity. Now the army is trying to heal Ymir, also a secret titan, and figuring out how to utilize her powers for the war effort. The Scouts are done screwing around.
2. Zoe in Command
Erwin Smith has been off dealing with politics, and Levi is nowhere to be found. Mike is dead. That puts Hange Zoe solidly in charge and you know what? Zoe is one hell of a commander. They (and I’m going to keep using gender neutral pronouns, as that’s what they prefer) have a big plan but good small scale management. We’re here to fix the wall, but that doesn’t mean we can’t stop to give soldiers a moment to heal and recover.
3. THE SINGLE WEIRDEST MOMENT IN TV HISTORY
This is the most important moment of the show.
This is the most important moment of the show, but the way it plays out is so weird that I was certain I had missed something. It’s a creative decision I can’t understand or justify and I implore anyone with thoughts to share them with me.
Since the beginning of the show, the Colossal and Armored titans have been set up to be the main antagonists. The Colossal titan is sort of the show’s mascot. As we learned more about titan shifters, it became clear that they were humans in disguise. And now we know their true identity. That was the biggest card the show had left to play, and it happened in such a flippant way that I didn’t even realize it was happening.
As Sasha, Mikasa, and Armin walk off to join the rest of the Scouts, Eren is approached by Berthold and Reiner. “Eren,” Reiner says, “have a minute? We need to talk.” “What about?” Eren asks. And Reiner drops the bombshell. “Five years ago we demolished the wall and began our attack on humanity.” The most devastating sentence imaginable, a confession of genocide on an inconceivable scale.
Then we flash over to Hange Zoe. “Oh no,” they say, “what if the titans have dug a hole under the wall?”
“I’m the armored titan, he’s the colossal titan,” Reiner continues to explain to Eren as the camera pans across the wall and away from them. They are on the far right of the frame as if the camera operator started to get bored and panned around look for action. They are not framed as if they are confessing their crimes as the worst war criminals in human history.
Why frame it like this? It’s striking, but I cannot conceive of a reason to lessen the impact of this monumental moment. It’s so audaciously weird, that I have respect for it even as it baffles me.
4. Master Armin’s master plan
And you know, we’re at the halfway mark of the sixth episode of the second season. This is not where you usually put the biggest reveal of your story. Then we find out there’s a twist buried inside of another twist!
Because Armin is a friggin’ genius and he already had started to put the pieces together as early as last season. In a meeting that happened around the time of the siege of Castle Utgard, Armin figured it all out. Not only are Berthold and Reiner the enemies of humanity, our main characters have known for most of the season and have been waiting to make their move. And boy do they try. Unfortunately, Mikasa is just a second too slow. Even though she manages to slit both their throats (holy shit!) they use their titan powers to heal and become the satanic monstrosities that have tormented the human race for years.
Continued below5. Screaming
Okay, now I’m freaking out. Writing in all caps would be tacky, feel free to read the rest of this at top volume.
Moody opera-style music blasts as dark clouds gather. Using their drawn blood and their singular purpose of capturing Eren, Reiner and Berthold transform into the Armored and Colossal titans. With a blast of lightning and blazing hot steam, the Scouts are burned and thrown from the top of the wall. The Armored Titan- that is to say Reiner- grabs Eren in an enormous fist. Eren is too shocked and saddened to resist. The Colossal Titan- Berthold- grabs the comatose Ymir.
Armin is screaming. Krista is screaming. Eren is crying and remembering his five year friendship with two of his staunchest companions.
And I’m screaming. Holy shit am I screaming.
