Attack on Titan The Final Season Part 2

Episode 86

“I've been looking for a good time to die.”

“Retrospective” is one of those Attack on Titan episodes that wrestles with the same fundamental paradox that has stymied so many of the war stories that came before it: Is it possible to do justice the horror and tragedy of war if you're also indulging in the bloody spectacle of it all? It's not the first time that AoT has walked the line between grim parable and bombastic entertainment, but this might be the most glaring instance of the show fighting to have its cake and eat it too. For weeks now, we've been watching the human survivors on Paradis come to grips with their own guilt and culpability, and “Traitor” went so far as to devote a full half-hour to drawing out the terrible suspense that Armin and the others felt as it became more and more certain that they'd have to betray and kill their former friends to save the world.

At the same time, Attack on Titan is the anime where soldiers zip around on rocket-powered grappling hooks so they can dual-wield their swords and slice up giant monsters, never mind that they sometimes become those monsters in order to stir up some positively badass giant fights. Sure, at this moment, the tension is high and the line between friend and foe has become hopelessly blurry, but no matter how awful and stomach-churning things get on the battlefield, there's still that ancient, reptilian corner of our brain that isn't ashamed to hoot and holler with approval when our heroes get some real good killing done.

It's like Jean reminds himself as the carnage begins to explode all around him: If they stop to hesitate for even a second, Eren and his Colossal Titans will ruin the world. It's one of those points where the adrenalin rush of combat is allowed to overtake the more sane and reasonable parts of the human brain, and you're allowed to get just a little bit excited about the insanely cool shit that these soldiers are able to accomplish in times of extreme danger. MAPPA's production has been understandably shaky recently, but they pulled out the big guns for this one. It has always been dubiously ethical to revel in all of the bloodshed while still going along with the anime's stridently anti-war perspective for all these years, and that is unlikely to change so long as we have stories about war that strive to entertain its audience while imparting some kind of moral lesson.

At the very least, “Retrospective” features some of the goriest and impressively choreographed action that The Final Season has ever delivered, and every character gets a moment to shine. Conny gets to wreak enough havoc alone that it reminds you of why he graduated in the top ranks of the trainees to begin with, and Hange joins in the fracas as well. Mikasa's showstopping set piece is so over-the-top bloody that it's almost funny, and feels tailor made to serve as a highlight for the innumerable fist-pumping hard-rock AMVs that the fandom will be pumping out for years to come. Falco has an awesome turn as the new Jaw Titan (which I have affectionately dubbed “Chicken Boo”), but our girl Gabi steals the show with yet another one-in-a-million no-scope that shoots Floch right out of the goddamned sky. I doubt the bastard is dead, but I will feel so vindicated if Gabi was the one to finally squash that bug for good.

”Restrospective” isn't all mindless spectacle, either. Attack on Titan is classy enough to remember that all of this murder and killing isn't actually a good thing, and we get some very powerful character beats to send that message home. Shadis and Magath's last stand is the standout scene of the episode, and it makes perfect sense that these two old dogs would meet for the first time in the final moments of their life. This kind of heroic sacrifice is par for the course when it comes to war stories like AoT, but the old men's final words drive home the themes that the show has been working so hard to cultivate. The suffering and exploitation of children has been at the forefront of Attack on Titan's concerns since Episode 1, and Magath takes one last opportunity to express regret not just for his own bigotry, but for how he drove innocent children into fighting the same hateful wars on his nation's behalf.

Annie mirrors the same sentiment that Shadis and Magath do, right before they blow the hell out of the Jeagerist compound. There has been so much suffering, so much loss, so much needless destruction, and the only way to make any of it worth it would be to ensure that they find a way to stop the war for good. According to Hange, Liberio and Marley are doomed no matter what they do, and while Annie nearly gives up in her grief, she understands that fighting for the future is the only option they have left. It's what Magath and Shadis died for. In all likelihood, it's what Eren will have to die for, too.

Armin and Mikasa aren't able to respond when Annie asks if killing Eren is something that they can live with, but they will have to make their decision soon. With only one more episode (and the inevitable final film/mini-series) to go, our heroes no longer have the luxury of indecision. There's no more time left to waste. The end is here.

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Attack on Titan The Final Season Part 2 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.