It’s the Multiversity Summer TV Binge! Although I’ve never been what you would call an anime person, I’m a huge fan of Attack on Titan. I first fell in love with the subtitled version of the show, so I thought it would be fun to revisit the dubbed version. What along with me, but be warned, here be spoilers!
1. Out in the open
We pick up where we left Jean and Armin and Reiner. They’re one horse down, stranded in the middle of a big field wondering how they’re going to reunite with the group. We actually spend a good chunk of the episode’s runtime with these three, even though not much happens plot-wise. It does reinforce how central the Jean/Armin relationship has become to the story. There’s also a moment when Jean spits that’s the most lovingly animated few seconds this show has ever rendered. Someone really likes the mechanics of spit.
Finally, the three boys are rescued by Krista. They start fawning over her and proposing marriage to her. This may be a cultural misunderstanding, but Krista does not seem coded as a sexually desirable character to me, she’s drawn to look like she’s twelve. Plus I may not know much, but I know Krista isn’t interested in boys in that way. I wish the show was a little more explicit with that, because otherwise, Krista comes across rather one-dimensional.
2. Outsmarted by the Female Titan
We also get another sequence of the Female Titan completely wrecking members of the survey corp. She plays with her victims like a kid playing with their food, grasping one guy by the ODM gear, whipping him around, and rocketing him off like a sling. It’s all very exciting, but doesn’t advance the story. We already saw the Female Titan doing this kind of stuff last episode. Now it’s just redundant. Attack on Titan typically has good momentum, but here I’m starting to feel we’re in a bit of a holding pattern. A lot of this episode feels padded out.
3. Hey, a forest of giant trees!
Finally, we arrive at our titular location. There’s not a lot of talk of why there’s a forest here, or why the trees are so big, which I guess could be interesting. Instead, there’s a lot of talk over formations and maneuvers. The center rank (the one with Eren) goes straight though the forest. The other ranks go around. Every soldier seems incredibly worried by this turn of events, which seems like an overreaction.
That is except for Levi, who has the most utterly appropriate reaction imaginable. “Take a look at these big-ass trees!” he demands. Indeed Levi. His actual point is that functionally, the big trees are like buildings when it comes to ODM. They’re good for swinging around and thus good for Titan fightin’.
4. Mutiny is on the table
When I said the Scouts seemed nervous about this forest, I wasn’t kidding. Jean even entertains the notion of a mutiny… wait his just kidding… or is he!? Cranky Jean whines about the entire development, but an interesting power dynamic presents itself. Jean asks Armin if stopping in the forest makes any sense, and Armin tries to put himself in Commander Erwin’s shoes. Jean, a regular grunt, trusts his BFF Armin, but Armin, something of a genius, trusts the commander. It makes me question how the Scouts are set up. If regular recruits get so antsy by the lack of communication that they seriously consider betrayal, there’s something wrong with the chain of command. You shouldn’t have to be an Armin-level genius to follow orders.
5. Sudden cliffhanger
We end on a montage of Scouts, all of whom fear the Female Titan. Well, almost all of them. Not Eren. “You’re chasing the best damn titan-slayers in existence!” he shouts (in his head). He’s still so caught up in the excitement of being a Scout and serving Captain Levi that he feels invincible, which is ironic when surrounded by much more seasoned soldiers starting to panic. Levi continues to stonewall his own troops for far too long until he demands that “Everyone, cover your ears now!” And boom, to be continued.
I’m still excited, the story is still exciting, but something about this one didn’t quite click with me. Nothing really happened. The first half of the episode dealt with the aftermath of the last one, and the second half was set up for the next. It didn’t stop my momentum, but the pacing was all over the place. Let’s hope that Levi’s secret plan is worth all this set up.
