Forum - View topicAttack on Titan (TV) (all seasons).
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Beltane70
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Even though I followed the entire series as the episodes were being released, I was still a bit confused at what was going on in the new episode. I do remember it being revealed in the last season that the technology in this world was actually quite a bit more technologically advance than what we and the main characters were originally led to believe. |
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11299 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Okay, so it was just a "meanwhile, in some other location beyond the ocean" transition. Kind of weird to introduce this new plot element so late into the story, but judging from the previous seasons, I'm not surprised, either. Lots of intrigue, now, and I'm hoping they flesh out it enough to tie everything together.
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23776 |
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Not just a transition, but a 4-year time jump, apparently.
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ACｘS
 Posts: 882 |
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60:
Yes, I think the writers deliberately want the audience to go "wait, what the hell is going on?". We knew from the end of last season that there's a time leap―or that there's going to be one―between the end of that season and the start of this one. At least that part I understand. Right now what we don't understand is what's happening. We know it's a big world out there, much bigger than Eren and Co. could've possibly imagine, and Reiner and Zeke (aka Armored Titan and Beast Titan) were from the outside world. They had a clear mission on heading to Eren's "inner world" (I don't know a better way to describe it); we just don't know exactly what it is. From what I've gathered in this episode, the domination of Titan in the world―Marley's sole trump card to rule the world—is dwindling, and the only way to get back is to find the Founding Titan (and that's Eren, I think?). Hence, Reiner and Zeke were looking for Eren all along. Why is the Titan's rule dwindling? We don't know; we will find out. Truth be told, there are gaps in my understanding of the Attack on Titan universe, because 1) it spanned for 7 years (the first season came out in 2013), which is long, and 2) there were a lot of details I probably have forgotten. From the onset I will say, I am glad AoT is having a grand finale. As much as I enjoy the show, I want it to see it end with a bang rather than prolonging it beyond its expiration date. Too many anime titles are suffering from this. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23776 |
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@ AC x S -I believe that one of the reasons that Marley's/Titan's (come on, couldn't a better name have been coined?) rule is dwindling is that human weapon technology is improving, making the Titans easier to kill.
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ACｘS
Posts: 882 |
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Yeah, that seems to be the case. There's a lot of analogies at play here. A war between two superpowers with conflicting ideologies and different weapons. Eren's world is apparently a bubble shut off from the rest of the world (is that why Eren's father ran there?). Titans are seen as deities in one world, but assets in another. Humans rebelling against Titans seen as a form of transgression. Interesting stuff. P.S. Gotta admit, this season's OP is the least impressive. Urgh. |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11299 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Basically what Gundam has been all this time. But I'm interested to see a non-mech version of that same analogy. That's why I compare this to GoT and Walking dead so much: it's just people fighting each other for power, but even after they realize some of that futility, human nature takes over, again, and the fighting just keeps going: war, peace, revolution; an Endless Waltz. We've seen plenty of revolution and war through the series. Guess it's time to start winding down and see if they can actually reach a peacetime. |
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ACｘS
Posts: 882 |
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61:
So basically: Marley is a fascist—maybe even Nazi—empire under threat by an enemy country with newer technology, Eldians are the inferior/feared race with the power of the Titans (notice how "inferior" and "feared" are intertwined in racial discrimination throughout history), anyone who goes against the empire is an infidel, and Ymir is being made into the empire's Judas. Notice how Reiner explains his experiences in Paradis Island—aka where all the action happened—in such a way that he's dehumanizing the people. I'm not sure if the show verified his experiences (I don't quite remember); if it didn't, then it's a revealing moment for him. As a figure of authority, he has to keep up the ideology that any enemy of Marley is inferior. Yet deep inside, after being in Paradis for so long, he knew firsthand how fearsome they are: Eren and Co. almost killed him with a few blades and motorized cables. Primitive compared to cannons and bombers... the kind of grit and tenacity Reiner had to be afraid of. Seems like now the main protagonists are Falco, Gabi and the new young ones. I wonder what kind of route they're taking as characters: fighting for Marley, or realizing the empire's ambitions instead of just being led by blind faith and loyalty. Interesting direction. Last edited by ACｘS on Mon Dec 14, 2020 8:54 am; edited 1 time in total |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15462 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Fascists have throughout history had a group they demonised to create a common enemy as to keep everyone under their control.
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ACｘS
Posts: 882 |
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Dehumanization, us versus them, racial discrimination, propaganda... ah, humanity!
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2846 |
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Anyone who's in this series for the action would be disappointed with this episode. Going by next week's teaser, they'll continue to be disappointed since it's a lot of background exposition to come.
Having seen almost the entire series from the eyes of Eren and the other island dwellers, it was only at the tail end of last season that viewers got a glimpse of what "the other side" was about. With this season, that viewpoint gets fleshed out and expanded. Too many parallels between the Eldrians and the Jews in pre-WW2 Europe. Perhaps deliberate, but there's an irony in the way the empire Eldrians think they will achieve their salvation through working together with the Marleyan Empire when the islanders want nothing more than to be left alone just as their progenitor ancestor wished (and will have their utopia if the Marleyans give up for good). If the Jews of WW2 Europe are supposed to be the fictional analogue to the Eldrians in this series, then there's a huge split between history and fiction already. The Eldrians in the ghettoes are allowed out to fight for the empire baited by the promise of liberation and equal rights, the Jews of interwar Europe were never given that opportunity. The islanders (Eren and the others) only need to find a way to stop the Marleyans from going after their progenitor Titan and they'll have their freedom thanks in no small part to their geography. Not sure how Reiner survived last episode, but it won't matter since time is not on the side of Zeke and himself. There's arrogance in the way Reiner and Zeke think they can just go in with more reinforcements and a substantial Titan contingent to where Eren and the others are and pull of their victory because they're more desperate now. The Marleyan officers listening in are uninterested in losing their trump cards, even if their potency in battle diminishes by the day. It's implied the Marleyans have completely lost any intelligence advantage they had previously when Zeke, Reiner and the previous visitors were embedded within the walls; if they go in as they are now it might trigger the very thing which the Eldrians in the empire are so afraid of: Eren and the elite scout squad mounting their decisive counteroffensive having spent the previous four years making their own preparations. |
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ACｘS
Posts: 882 |
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Interesting you point this out (for me), because I wanted to make this comparison but wasn't sure if it would be valid. I find it eye-opening how, even when discriminated by the empire, Eldrians still think the empire is on the right, and the answer to getting a better life is to work hard (conservatism, much?). This made me hesitant to compare them to Jews in WWII, and I also have to point out: Eldrians are seen more as useful abominations rather than sub-humans.
That's fascist arrogance for you. |
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ACｘS
Posts: 882 |
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62:
Basically this episode is all about putting everything together and tying up loose ends. Reiner sees his servitude to Marley as his ticket out of second-class citizenship. He keeps telling himself and everyone else around him that the people of Paradis Island are devils. The question is, does he sincerely believes that or it's just a coping mechanism to get through what he's doing. You can already see that the whole infiltration mission has taken a toll on him, and he's looking at Falco to offload the burden (or maybe he sees Falco as the solution to salvation). The only thing I've wondering now is, if Marcel (Jaw Titan) was eaten by Ymir many years ago (So Ymir then inherited the Jaw Titan), then how did it end up back at Marley today, as seen with their battle with the Mid-East Allied Forces? I must've missed something. But here's one thing I didn't miss, and it's quite the bombshell: spoiler[The survivor whom Falco was talking to at the asylum? It's Eren. This raises a whole lot of questions: why is he in Marley, of all places? And did he actually fight for Marley? Why? Is he taking a leaf out of Reiner's book and playing the infiltrator the last four years? How much has he learned about the outside world by now? Right now, it feels like Falco is dragged into a tug-of-war between Eren and Reiner, with inheritance to the Armored Titan hanging on the line.] This is shaping up to be an amazing grand finale. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2846 |
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Episodes like this make the show a whole lot more than just Titans vs. Humans in big action set pieces. It's not the first time the series has episodes full of exposition and character development, but these are so crucial to filling in the gaps from previous foreshadowing and events which didn't really mean much but have more impact looking back now.
To think Reiner wasn't meant to take on the role. After all the bloodshed and carnage he caused in his stint, it makes one wonder whether the original mission would have succeeded if the original candidate had been picked. It also emphasises how much of a monster Mikasa is (she graduated top of her cohort, Reiner and Bertholdt were 2 and 3 with Annie in the top 10 who didn't even try hard. The three infiltrators already had military training from a young age yet Mikasa still outperformed them). The target Annie was trailing in the sewers: that's Levi's adopted father and the antagonist during that arc featuring the royal family. Because he was too good she gave up on that angle, which was probably just as well since that one is on par with Levi as far as combat is concerned. The companion they lost (Marcel) was supposed to be the leader, so it's a twist of fate that Ymir ate him and took the powers of the Jaw Titan for herself. Although she's now in the Marleyan Empire with her powers most likely stripped from her, she's probably the reason why Reiner wasn't executed for failing his mission. The Cart Titan was briefly seen in the final parts of last season carrying ammunition for the Beast Titan to throw at the Scout suicide charge, so she was briefly summoned but left shortly after. As for the big reveal at the end: That's probably an aged Eren. He's lost a leg, but he's still alive and if he wants to can easily regenerate it if he shifts back to Titan form. As to what he's doing there, all those memories he's accumulated from last season means he probably decided to take a journey to see what the other side was about. I doubt he went willingly; most likely some argument with his companions forcing him to make this journey alone. He's telling the truth: he can't return to face Mikasa and Arwin in his current state and tell them what he's experienced. So he's probably doing what Reiner did previously and is biding his time. Not that he has a lot of it: from last season it's revealed his lifespan is dramatically cut short and unlike the rest of the Titans under Marleyan control he has no idea who or how to pass on his powers before he expires. |
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ACｘS
Posts: 882 |
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I won't go as far as calling Mikasa a "monster", though. The only thing we know is that she has strong protective instincts, especially towards Eren. The test only proves her aptitude, and I'm not sure if it truly reflect Reiner and Annie's true aptitude either. If their objective is to simply infiltrate the cohort, doing just enough to get themselves through would've worked. Reiner and Annie's true aptitude would've been reflected during their test to become Marleyians instead, if anything.
Kenny's last name is Ackerman, the same as Mikasa's. That's already revealed earlier in the series, but we still don't know what's the relationship between the two. We're not even sure the same name is a mere coincidence (I doubt so). |
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