Rod Reiss' giant titan makes its way towards the city of Orvud. As established at the last episode's cliffhanger, Erwin declares that they won't be evacuating the city.
The others are rightly perplexed and angry, but Hange jumps into explain that abnormal titans are drawn to large, crowded areas. Not only would evacuating not solve the problem, but it would also put people in greater danger. Having them stay put to draw the titan to where they want it to go is the better play.
Risky and callous as it may seem, this aspect of the plan makes sense. Erwin's confidence that the perimeter cannons will be super effective is another story. Have they ever worked? Maybe it annoys them or causes them some degree of pain, but it seems like the only real way to take a titan down is through the nape slicing that the scouts do so regularly.
The episode paints the cannons not working as some big surprise, but they do have a plan B. It's a little peculiar, but it works.
Eren's fit of self doubt was a little forced and didn't really add anything to the episode. I know the last few episodes put him through the ringer, but his whole, "I suck, I'm useless, and not anything special" felt a little forced. Shouldn't what he learned about his father make him more driven to at least try and make things right? While he doesn't "verbally" express guilt, we do see him beat himself up...literally, he starts punching himself "Fight Club" style. On the plus side, it got all that out of his system (for now, anyway) and he's able to focus on the task at hand.
Historia herself is especially determined. Not only is she eager to fight and stop her father, but her reasons for fighting show a degree of political savvy. She recognizes that people won't readily follow a new queen due to bloodline alone, so by fighting on the frontline, she wants to prove herself and show that she's someone worth following. It's commendable, and for his part, Erwin does see her reasoning. He still protests, but notes that he can't really stop her, so that settles that debate.
Sure enough, Historia is the one who delivers the killing blow. It was a good moment for her and it got her her desired results. She's still not sure what her role and purpose are, but she seems closer now to finding herself than she was before.
The episode offers a nice parallel to the first, with a set of kids witnessing the titan rising above the walls the way the colossal titan did way back in the day. Not only does Eren vocally acknowledge the parallel, but a lot of the imagery mirrors what we saw before. As Armin notes, though, this time they're ready for it, and thus a much better outcome is achieved.
Levi himself also manages a victory as he finds a wounded Kenny out and about. I'm not sure how he knew where to find him or what he was doing out there, but it does give the two a small scene as Kenny starts to succumb to his wounds. Before he dies, though, he unveils a syringe with the titan serum in it, thus marking the end of the episode.
This episode was fairly solid overall. It was straightforward, but it did give several characters a moment to shine. It also provided some nightmarish imagery as the eroded face of Reiss' titan will likely haunt the dreams of many a viewer. We'll see where things go from here.
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