The opening chase sequence was truly jaw dropping. It was as fast paced and as epic in scope as many of the larger face-offs with the titans. Kenny himself is able to overcome his stupid name and present himself as a worthy adversary. His intellect and his connection to Levi are put to good use as he is not only able to match the team, but provide some great taunting monologues as well.
While it is made clear that he is working with the military police to help the nefarious government syndicate achieve their goals, his talk of a "grand plan" suggests he has his own agenda. Whether that comes to pass or not remains to be seen.
These sequences are augmented by some stellar animation. This show always had a solid track record on that front, but this takes it to a whole other level. It really is a gorgeous site to behold on so many fronts.
I was unsure about whether human adversaries would work, but this episode actually puts that to good use by turning it into a moral dilemma. Our cast of characters have no problem slaughtering titans, but they're clearly not comfortable with the idea of taking human lives. Even when Levi does dispose of human mooks in the same fashion that he would a titan, the sequences take on a disturbing tone that adds to the whole thing.
Jean does try to keep things on the level, giving an enemy combatant a chance to surrender, but it ends up biting him. Were it not for Armin killing their captive, he himself would have been killed.
The fact that this sends Armin into an emotional tailspin isn't surprising. I do wonder why he felt the need to ask Jean why he had to be the one to pull the trigger first. I get the guilt thing, but if you're going to ask that kind of question, do so when you're talking to somebody else...when Jean isn't sitting right there. It just seems like a dick move.
It does give Levi a nice moment, as he reminds Armin that his dirty deed saved Jean's life. He even goes so far as to legitimately thank the guilt ridden scout. It was what you might call a "crowning moment of heartwarming"
While the heroes are delving into morally ambiguous behavior, a captive adversary monologues about how what they do keeps the kingdom safe. Villains who believe that they're in the right isn't exactly a new writing trick, but juxtaposing it with the heroes' descending into the realms of murder and torture does seem to shake things up quite a bit.
Once again, the titans sit this episode out. This time, though, you hardly miss em. There's so much going on and the moral quandaries are so compelling that you never find yourself bored or checking to see how much time is left. It does what the premiere should have done and gets the viewer interested and engaged in what's happening, even as the show's plot seems to take a random side turn. I'm looking forward to seeing where things go from here.
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