Training officially ends for the cadets, meaning they have to decide which branch they want to join: the military police or the scout regiment. If that doesn't sound like enough to carry a whole episode, you're right.
This seems like the sort of thing that should be peppered sporadically through multiple episodes, as opposed to crammed into one. Characters have several conversations about how committed they are and whether they want to risk their lives to fight the titans. Most of said conversations have the characters looking at the ground, speaking in hushed tones while sad piano music plays in the background. It almost comes off as over the top.
It all culminates with a speech from Erwin, wherein he lays down the mission: reach Shiganshina to obtain whatever it is in Eren's basement, and talks about the initial high fatality rate of scouting expeditions. One of the other troop leaders later chides him for instilling too much fear, but isn't that kind of honesty a good thing in this case? I mean, the people should know what they're signing up for, yes?
It's a nice idea in theory, but a lot of the new recruits end up walking away, presumably to join the military police.
As it happens, the characters with whom we are most familiar are the ones who stick around. The sequence is a bit drawn out, but it does yield some benefit as we get glimpses into why some of these supporting characters joined in the first place and why they'll keep fighting despite the fact that they're terrified of what will happen.
On top of that, the group is brought to the same location as Eren, providing a bit of plot consolidation. The reunion of the show's big three was nice. I also liked how Mikasa still holds a grudge against Levi. I share her desire to see him get what's coming to him, so that was a nice moment.
There's another moment that stands out, though for completely different reasons. One character introduces a horse named Chalet, and lets the cadets know that said horse likes to eat human hair. It is at this point where the horse bites on to the rag that said man is wearing on his head and proceeds to start pulling. I'm guessing the horse had some hair too, or maybe the guy didn't want to give up his rag, but it prompts a bizarre game of tug of war.
It's silly, so it achieves the desired result of getting a laugh; but it comes out of nowhere, has no bearing on the episode's plot, and we just cut away after as if nothing happened. I can appreciate the desire to throw some comic relief in after so much solemn introspection, but that was just strange.
From there, the episode closes as the team embarks on a new expedition. It was appropriately rousing. Having the two kids looking on in awe at the scout regiment from a nearby window was a nice touch. Even Eren seemed to appreciate it, considering he was in that position not too long ago.
All in all, this episode didn't have a whole lot to do. It tried to shine a light on the lesser known characters and give them a bit more depth, which is a nice idea, though the result wasn't particularly engaging. Plot advancement was minimal, but it should set things up for the next story arc.
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