'Attack on Titan' Season 3, Episode 11: 'Bystander'

 

After some sidetracks, this episode brings the focus back to the scout regiment.  It turns out that they've been running experiments that have yielded positive results.  Eren is getting a better handle on his titan abilities.  Said abilities have allowed the city to bolster its defenses so that they can kill titans without having to endanger human troops. 

This brings the fact that titans are transformed humans into focus as Eren starts to wonder just who they're fighting and why they're doing what they're doing.  The discussion triggers a flashback of sorts for Eren, who suddenly remembers a man who may or may not have known his father.  As it turns out, that man is Eren's former drill sergeant, Keith Shadis.

It's a bit of a contrived coincidence, then again, it is a fairly small-town like setting, so I suppose it's not outside the realm of possibility.  It still seems rushed and forced, though there are some positive aspects to the development.

A lot of the episode is a flashback, as Shadis tells Eren how he came to know Eren's father and the impact that the association had.  

We see that Shadis first came across Eren's father, named Grisha, after finding him outside the walls.   Grisha had no real memory of who he was, but he did know that he was a doctor and offered to work in that capacity.  I'm guessing that memory loss is a result of the Reiss', but we'll see if they elaborate on that at all later.

It turns out that Grisha is a very skilled doctor and he becomes something of a town hero.  In the wake of this, Shadis becomes convinced that he too is special.  He is soon disavowed of this notion and takes the opposite mindset, that he is nothing but a bystander (title drop!)

This episode had some good character elements.  It was kind of a surprise to see such a minor character make a return and we are getting new information about Eren's father.  Still, this episode didn't move things all that much and I was a little thrown when the credits just started rolling when they did.  I wouldn't be surprised if the information shown here comes back in bigger ways later on down the line, but I don't know if this will go down as one of the season's more memorable episodes.  

'Attack on Titan' Season 3, Episode 10: 'Friends'

 

This episode picks up where the last one left off, with Levi finding Kenny near death.  We do see a snippet of the prior being alerted to the latter being found, which helped mitigate one of my quibbles with the scene in the last episode.

With Kenny on the verge of death, it should come as no surprise that this is largely a flashback episode that tells us his story.  It's a little weird that he gets the most development just as he's dying, but it does still work out pretty well.

We come to see how he came to become in league with the Reiss family and what his reasons for doing so were.  We also see how he came to take Levi, who is actually his nephew, under his wing. Some of this was hinted at here and there, but we get a much fuller picture here than we had ever gotten before.

While Kenny takes center stage, the real show stealer is Uri Reiss, Rod's younger brother.  He is one of the wiser characters we've seen in the show.  He also has a pretty eerie introduction as he is able to go into a sort of quasi-titan form that gives him the monstrous power, but also allows him to maintain full control of his actions.  The style they use for his eyes really helps sell the weird effect.

Despite his creepy appearance, Uri is quite compassionate, even going so far as to bow and apologize to Kenny for the persecution his family has suffered. It's what allows Kenny to put aside his cruder impulses and begin to form a genuine friendship with the man.

Said friendship is what sets Kenny on his path to try and obtain the titan serum.  Interestingly, while he craves its power, it isn't so that he can unleash more bloodshed.  On the contrary, after seeing Uri, he wonders if compassion is a luxury for those who have power.  As such, he wants to see if him obtaining that power will give him the same sort of empathy that Uri has.  It's an interesting subversion of the usual tropes involving the acquisition of power.  It gave the episode a more layered approach to the story and allowed it to stand on its own rather than retread all too familiar territory.

There isn't too much forward progress in the overall plot.  Kenny hands Levi the serum and reveals their connection before he dies.  Historia takes her crown and is universally respected and admired.  We also see a quick stinger where the Beast titan looms over a beaten colossal titan and reveals that they will go through with his plan to obtain the coordinate rather than try to rescue Annie.  It would have been cool to see the fight, but the quick scene we get tells us all we need to know.  It was just good to see the Beast titan again after such a lengthy absence.  It seems like he's coming back to the forefront.

While I did like this episode quite a bit, this probably isn't an area where you want to take a lengthy hiatus.  Having the family mechanics and history fresh in your mind will help you enjoy and appreciate this episode a lot more.  I was able to get by on my broad strokes recollection of certain details, but it's looking like more regular viewing is going to be required if I'm going to move forward into the series.

'Attack on Titan' Season 3, Episode 9: 'Ruler of the Walls'

 

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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'Attack on Titan' Season 3, Episode 8: 'Outside the Walls of Orvud District'

 

Alright, gotta get back on the ball here, can't have another multi-year hiatus with this thing.  The episode picks up where the last one left off, with Reiss transforming into a titan.  Even by titan standards, this one's a big boy.  His transformation alone is enough to have the ceilings start caving in, threatening to crush both the scouts and Kenny's troops under the rubble.

Despite declaring herself an enemy of humanity, Historia does still make a valiant effort to break Eren free.  She sees a kindred spirit in him, even if his own spirit is pretty much broken.  The revelations of the last couple of episodes prove too much and Eren is convinced that his own death is the only thing that can fix the situation.

Anime protagonists do have a tendency to get pretty angsty, but Eren takes it to a whole other level here.  Even the other characters repeatedly tell him to stop whining and get his act together.  

He ultimately does, at least enough to drink a potion that not only allows him to trigger a transformation, but to also develop crystal armor similar to what the female titan had.  This not only allows him to create new pillars to keep the caverns intact, but Levi later notes that he'll be able to restore the walls and give humanity a new glimmer of hope.

Eren muses that this will also allow him to finally get to his father's cellar.  I did find it amusing how Sasha hung a lampshade on how that plot point was important for a while, only to be forgotten, before springing back into relevance now.  

Eren is also thrown another bone when the others realize that his father did what he did, not out of greed or lust for power, but to give humanity a chance to fight back against the will of the founding titan's legacy.  

The fact that Historia can claim her rightful place on the throne also gives the remnants something positive to focus on.  The others point out that this may be awkward, as Historia had renounced her father.  The fact that she views herself as an enemy of humanity doesn't come up.  It might make things weird later on, but she does still agree to do it.  She even seems resolved to play it straight.  You don't get the impression that she has some ulterior motive here, at least not yet anyway.

With Eren safe and the government coup successful, the team turns its attention to Rod's giant titan, which seems to be made of molten rock that prevents the scouts from getting too close.  It's heading for one of the walls, which they know from the jump will do nothing to stop it.  Oddly enough, rather than evacuate, Erwin says that he wants to keep everybody where they are.  It's a puzzling move, to say the least, and it makes for a decent enough cliffhanger.

It was nice to see Hange survive, though it was also a bit surprising.  More surprising is the fact that her injuries are presented as minor.  She was just impaled, thrown into a wall, and fell a pretty good distance, but somebody actually says that she's in pretty good shape.  Maybe it is more of a relative thing, but it was still a weird line.

All in all, this episode was OK.  It was easy to follow, even after a good-sized break, it was well paced, and it moved the plot forward.  It was good to get back into it, hopefully I can maintain the momentum this time around.

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'Attack on Titan' Season 3, Episode 7: 'Wish'

 

This episode picks up with the scouts storming the caverns in their attempt to free Eren.  It's a pretty glorious action sequence as the team uses tactics and teamwork to gain the upper hand against Kenny's forces and maintain them for a majority of the fight.

Even the fact that their adversaries are now human doesn't seem to deter them the way it did before.  They're all ticked off and want some payback.  

The tide does start to turn when Kenny himself shows up.  He and Levi have another showdown where the two appear to be evenly matched.  

In the ruckus, Hange is...killed, I think? At the very least, she's severely injured.  I'm guessing the next episode will provide a more clear cut explanation of how that panned out.  

Despite the scouts' best efforts, their enemies are able to escape and put down a barrier to keep them from making chase.  

From there, the episode jumps back to Eren and his captors.  Rod, Historia's father, goes on to say that her sister is alive, sort of.  The way he worded it, I was almost sure, they were going to go a "Princess Bride", "only mostly dead" route, but instead, he says that Freida lives on via memory and that he can restore those memories by turning her into a titan. 

More specifically, he wants Historia to eat Eren so that she can regain the family power to control titans that Eren's father stole from them back when he killed Freida, along with most of the other family members.  He says that only their family can use the power and the fact that it was stolen is why everything has gone awry in the world.  Historia herself seems rather eager to do it.  Apparently, there's no sense of loyalty on her part.  If eating Eren is what she has to do, that's what she's going to do. 

My first impulse was to think that he was just lying, but Kenny the Ripper shows up, outraged that no one outside the bloodline can take the power.  He, rather nonchalantly, reveals that he himself is a titan and that he wanted to be the one to claim it.

Since he can't, he decides to give Eren a gash on his forehead in the hopes of triggering a transformation.  In his mind, this will at least make it a fair fight and provide some degree of spectacle.

While this showdown never comes to fruition, it still gets pretty intense.  Eren decides to throw in the towel out of guilt, but then Historia turns on her father and goes to free Eren out of spite.  She even goes on to declare that she doesn't care if the titans do wipe out humanity; she's done with everybody's crap.  It's a pretty jarring shift as she had been a pretty sweet kid up until this point.  I don't know if this is a full heel turn or if she's just venting, I guess we'll have to wait and find out.

The episode ends on a big cliffhanger as Rod himself decides to ingest some of the serum to become a titan.

I really enjoyed this episode.  It was well balanced, providing rousing action, as well as compelling character bits.  If the season had started off this strong, I probably wouldn't have taken a multi-year hiatus.  On the plus side, it does make me glad I made the effort to get back into it, as things really seem to be kicking into high gear.

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'Attack on Titan' Season 3, Episode 6: 'Sin'

 

With all of the political machinations seemingly out of the way, the show begins to shift its focus back to the titans.  Technically, none appear directly, but they do have a more overt role in the plot than they've had for quite some time.

The episode is light on action, but more than makes up for it with big reveals aplenty.   There's still a lot of talk about character family bloodlines, but it is a lot more interesting than the scouts vs military conflict.

Not only do we learn that Eren was the one who killed his father, but that Eren's father killed a majority of the Reiss family.  While the plan was to kill Eren to steal his power anyway, it does give them a much deeper motive for going after Eren, as there is a personal grudge.  The aforementioned aspect of the plan also negates the fact that Eren did inadvertently give them some degree of vengeance.  Even if Eren wasn't bound and gagged, bringing that up really wouldn't have helped him.

What's really crazy is that the key that Eren was given way back in the show's first season gets brought back to the relative forefront.  We still don't know what the key is for, but the fact that the writers didn't just forget about it after all this time is worth commending.

Historia herself has some revelations of her own, as she learns that she had a half sister.  Said relative, named Freida is the polar opposite of Historia's mother.  Freida's kind, friendly, and does what she can to give Historia some degree of proper guidance.  Considering how crappy Historia's mother really was, it was nice to see somebody actually care for her for once.  It is rendered somewhat moot by the fact that she is no longer living, but still.

A lot of this information is brought to light via the fact that the Reiss family has the ability to manipulate memories.  They can mindwipe people and restore said memories at will.  It's not perfect, Historia, for example, is unintentionally given some of her memories back when she and her father attempt to enlighten Eren about the history of their families.

While we're on the topic of family histories, Mikasa's also gets a bit of time in the limelight.  She learns of her possible ties to Kenny the Ripper and we learn through a flashback that the Ackermans are immune to the memory manipulation of the Reiss family.  

Yeah, this episode is a bit of an exposition dump and while all of this sounds convoluted, it never really lost me or my interest.  While the episode may not be the most eventful, it's easily one of the more impactful ones as far as the show's narrative goes.  

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'Attack on Titan' Season 3, Episode 5: 'Reply'

 

Boy howdy, it's been a looooong time since we last talked about this one.  Part of this is the usual schedule slip.  I did lose interest in the show's new direction. Though before deciding to continue, I did go back and rewatch it from the beginning and that took a bit of time as well.  The good news is that this won't be an "I haven't seen this in forever, so I have no idea what's going on" type of post.

Here we see the scouts start to gain their credibility back through the trial of Erwin.  He pleads his case and says that humanity needs the scouts to act as an offensive means against the titans.  Apparently, the government just wants to hunker down.  This would be a viable option if it wasn't already abundantly clear that the walls don't really act as an adequate defense against the monsters.  Oddly enough, this never comes up.  The officials seem to think that the wall will work and that the titans will eventually lose interest as their food supply dwindles.

Sure enough, the council does get word of a titan attack that has resulted in the breach of Wall Rose.  The soldiers in the room get ready to gear up and roll out, but the higher ups order that the gates be sealed and that those outside the wall be left for dead.  After all, if they got in, they could start an uprising.  

This decision ends up biting the council as the whole thing is revealed to be a ruse.  Still, it is all the proof Erwin needs to show that they are acting in their own interests rather than those of the people.  They have an official law that says that you have to put humanity above yourself.  It was something Erwin himself was being charged with and the turnabout is quite satisfying to watch.  I have to admit, implementing a similar law for government officials might not be such a bad idea.  The death sentence is a bit much but having a similar protocol at least in general concept could theoretically yield positive results.  That's neither here nor there, though.

It's a pretty dramatic and triumphant moment as several characters get to deliver big speeches to rousing music.  The looks on the council's faces (a mix of shock, anger, and fear) help sell it.  The real showstealer though is the king.  He looks utterly bored.  His facial expression doesn't change at all, and he just rests his face on his palm through the whole thing.  It actually becomes a little amusing to see, as it stands in stark contrast to everything happening around him.  The reveal that he was actually asleep gives some explanation, though the guy's eyes were clearly open. 

Oddly enough, Erwin starts to question his plan once they end up winning.  He starts to think that this new path is uncharted and maybe sticking with the "devil they know" might have been better.  It was a little forced, but maybe the writers were trying to plant a seed for future plot development, who knows?

The scouts themselves are happy to be free and clear.  Now that they aren't fugitives anymore, they can set their sights on getting Eren back.  

It is at this point that Hange drops an exposition dump about Historia's family and the circumstances surrounding their deaths.  We got some of this before, but with new information, Hange thinks that they may have ties to titans.  It's a pretty well done scene, with ominous organ music to accompany the whole thing.  It is clearly meant to set the stage for the next couple of episodes, but it does help tie the government stuff with the larger conflict.

Overall, this episode was OK.  I'm still not all that vested in the nuts and bolts of the city's political landscape, but this was well paced, had some highlight moments, and it does seem like we're moving back towards the show's main conflict.  We'll see how things play out, though.

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'Attack on Titan' Season 3, Episode 4: 'Trust'

While the gap between my viewing of this episode wasn't quite as long as before, I still had a hard time getting into this one.  It spends a lot of time with characters who I'm not all that interested in, trying to resolve a plot that I'm not all that interested in.

Armin, Levi, and Hange pop in and do stuff from time to time, but it seems like a majority of the episode is spent with largely peripheral characters who either didn't appear before, or I just flat out don't remember.

Ultimately, the focus of the episode is to clear the name of the Scouts, which the team does by tricking some interior police into admitting to shady dealings before they attempt to tie up a loose end.

There seems to be a running motif of the scouts leaping out of nowhere at just the right moment.  I mean, it's a cool visual, but at the same time, I'm not sure it really makes a whole lot of sense.  It's a nitpick, but I couldn't help but notice it.

The "test" was a somewhat interesting scene.  At first it looks like Jean (a character I legitimately forgot and wouldn't have remembered if I didn't look it up online) is going insane and/or rogue, as he makes an attempt to kill Marlo and Hitch after Levi orders him to tie them up.  It was probably the only scene in the episode that had any tension, which is impressive as these are three characters whom I barely remember.

It also provides one of the episode's best laughs, as Hitch (who had managed to escape and run off) comes back to make a surprise attack against Jean via hitting him in the back of the head with a club.... after the showdown had come to a peaceful resolution.  You can't fault her for it.  Based on the information she had, she thought she was doing something heroic, but ultimately it was for naught.  It's both awesome and amusing.

I do hope we're getting to the end of this subplot, however.  I'd like to think we are, but it's too soon to say.  It really didn't work the way the writers may have thought it would.

In any event, this does bring us one episode closer to being caught up, so there's that at least. 

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'Attack on Titan' Season 3, Episode 3: 'Old Story'

Barring maybe "The X-Files", I don't think any show within my rotation has suffered from schedule slip to the extent that "Attack on Titan" has.  It's....been a while.  Like so many other things, it needs doing, as such, let's dive in.

The lengthy gap made this one hard to follow.  Some times you can just jump right back in, but this was not one of those times.  A lot of this episode relies on you remembering prior events and specific details, which I didn't have.  Now, somebody who watches this in a timely manner likely won't have that problem, but it was a hurdle for me this time around.  It's not helped by the fact that the episode didn't have a recap at the start like most other episodes did.  It's weird to suddenly take them away in any event, but it would have been most helpful here.

Even with the confusion, the episode manages to bring a lot to the table.  There's character development aplenty as two characters are given chances to tell details of their past.

The first is Christa/Historia.  We see her telling the scouts about her experiences growing up.  It seems her mother was reclusive and spent all of her time reading books.  One day, Historia tries giving her mother a hug.  It doesn't go well.  Not only does Historia get thrown aside (an impressive physical feat on the mother's part as she was sitting down at the time), but the mother then flat out says that she wishes she had killed the girl.  I vaguely remember Historia's origin, but seeing this did make me curious as to what her deal was again.  If nothing else, it cements her status as "woobie" because jeebus, that's harsh.

As if that wasn't enough, right before her mother is killed, she reiterates her stance right in front of Historia, who has to watch her mother get her throat slit.  She had a rough go of it, no doubt.

Erwin also gets to reminisce a bit, as he tells Pyxis about how his father was a teacher.  While most of mankind's history prior to the walls was lost, Erwin's father had a theory that the arrangement wasn't so much to protect humanity, but to protect the land and goods of the rich.  This ties into the whole government conspiracy thing that the season has going on, as Erwin spreading word about the theory gets his father killed.

On the plus side, the two threads do somewhat tie together, as Erwin hatches a plan to use Historia's bloodline as a way to stage a peaceful coup and bring an end to the corrupt institution.

It might have worked, but it seems the syndicate is two steps ahead.  They murder one of the town's wealthy residents and make it seem like the scouts were responsible.  As a way to buy time and keep things calm, Erwin turns himself in.

Thankfully, the titans haven't been completely forgotten.  It's true, they don't appear, but their existence does seem to play a role in the plot.  It's revealed that Eren's kidnapping was due to titans' being able to absorb abilities of other titans that they eat.  As such, his captors want his ability to control other titans.  It's a bit of a curveball, but I suppose it makes sense.  The concept of eating people to gain their power has been used in other works before.  It's grisly, but at the same time...I don't know, seems a tad silly?  We'll see how that subplot plays out.

I think this episode would have benefited from actually keeping up with the series.  The flashbacks are engaging enough, but this one lost me quite a bit.  I was also surprised at how little I had gotten into the season.  For some reason, I thought I was farther a long, but nope, we've got a while to go.  Hopefully I can get back on the ball on this one.  I really don't want another 8 months to go by before we get to episode 4.

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2019 Docket and Goals

Happy New Year everyone!  It's that time where we try to lay down a plan for what's to come in the next 365 days.  As noted before, a lot of what was supposed to be done in 2018 wasn't.  As such, a good chunk of this year's docket is just carry over, but we'll go through it anyway just for the sake of record.


Stephen King


Back log

Hearts in Atlantis
Castle Rock Season 1
Sleeping Beauties
Strange Weather
The Outsider
On Writing
Secret Windows
The Plant
Dreamcatcher
Black House
Cell (movie)
Mr. Mercedes series
The Dark Tower movie


New additions

Castle Rock Season 2
It part 2
Elevation




Brad Thor

Backlog

Path of the Assassin
State of the Union
Blowback
Takedown


Netflix

Back Log

The Punisher Season 1
Daredevil Season 3
Jessica Jones Season 2

New Additions

Luke Cage Season 2
Iron Fist Season 2
The Punisher Season 2



Legends of Tomorrow


Back Log

Season 3


New additions

Season 4- Once again, I'll have to wait for this to hit Netflix in order to watch it, but the plan is to binge it when it does happen.  It may not be current, but I'm going to make a point of getting through it quickly this time around.



Anime

Back Log

Attack on Titan season 3
Rurouni Kenshin (?)


Archive restoration (?)

Reviewstream

Back Log

Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition rule books
JLA trade paperbacks


The dividend income reports will continue and I will also continue to post the latest episodes of "Let's Get it Right".



Oh, and I, of course, aim to finally finish "The X-Files".


Goals


Savings challenge

I neglected to mention it in the 2018 review, though I did bring it up on Twitter, but this year I completed two savings challenges.  The 52 week "dollar a week" challenge and the "penny a day" challenge.  These were two that I had started back in the day when I was still trying the whole "self employed content creator" thing.  With my new station, I was finally able to put those to an end.

This year I plan on keeping the momentum going by taking on the extension of the first challenge.  It turns out that some people push the weekly challenge to two years.  Rather than stopping at 52, they just keep going, putting aside $53, then $54, then $55 and so on.  For all intents and purposes, I'm doing this challenge twice, as the plan is to move the slated amounts to my primary savings account, as well as the online savings account.


Bring dividend forward income to $400

Right now, my forward income sits at about $70.  I wanted to find a number that was feasible, but still somewhat challenging.  With purchases and DRIP, I think that this meets that criteria.  If I break it before, that's awesome, but right now, that's where I'm setting the goal post.


Max out IRA contribution

When I first opened the IRA, I mentioned that the odds of me doing this were slim.  Truth be told, that's still the case.  This is more of a mental thing.  I figure, if I set my sight on that, it will push me to get as close as I possibly can. Even if I don't hit the goal, I think having this mindset will still be beneficial in the long run.



$300 in Side Hustle

This is something that I haven't really talked about, but I want to add it to the itinerary anyway.  Right now, my main side hustles are Apptrailers, Epoll, and Reviewstream (there's also the Patreon, ad revenue, and the Amazon affiliate links, but they haven't really brought in income so they're side hustles in name only....SHINO.)  Epoll will bring about $60 at best.  App trailers is nice, but if I'm going to pull this off, Reviewstream will have to be a factor.  This should be a motivator for me to write more and make sure I cross that threshold.  Again, I think that this is a goal that's feasible, but will still present something of a challenge.


Car


As of now, I am without vehicle.  It's something I am aiming to remedy.  I've given serious consideration to getting a bike, which is odd as I've only ridden once since elementary school.  It's cheaper, better for the planet, and everything is fairly close by here.  It makes a lot more sense now than it did when I was living in Maryland or Kansas, but I figure I'd still need to get a car at some point.  I'm not looking forward to adding two more monthly expenses to my cash outflow, but if I can knock the car payment out quickly enough, it might not be that bad.


Walk the Year Charity Miles Challenge

I'm a big fan of the Charity Miles app.  I plug it frequently and was even going on daily 4 mile walks for a while.  I haven't been doing a good job as of late and I'm hoping that this will get me back on the horse.

Fun fact, we're one day in and, because I didn't walk today, I'm already behind schedule.  Auspicious.


Read 26 books

I noted before that I got no reading done.  I really want to amend for that this year.  I know that 52 books is the average, but I figure that starting small will work out better.  There's another reason I only have this many books coming into play, the next goal.


Read 26 graphic novels/trade paperbacks

I've been trying to get back into comics lately.  Rather than go back to the individual issues, I want to shift my collection to trades so that I can show them off on a bookshelf.  Rather than argue about whether these count as books, I'm putting them in their own separate category so that I can get the best of both worlds.


Swagbucks

I had heard that this was a great side hustle, but it hasn't really panned out for me.  The site brings my computer to a crawl (my laptop is a little on the old side,) which means I only log in when I have to.  As that hasn't worked, I want to try to put it to use in order to up my philanthropic game.  You can donate points to different causes and organizations.  Since I have the account anyway, I figure this will at least put the account to better use than it has up until now.  As the point cost isn't as high as the other rewards, I'll be able to "cash in" more frequently.



3 year goal

Oh, we're going beyond just the year.  I want to try to think in the long term, and as such I've got some goals that go beyond.

For this one, I want to bring my forward income to $6,000 a year.  This will bring my dividend income to Spoony's Patreon income level. It's important that I hit this goal as soon as feasibly possible.   I have my reasons.

It sounds lofty, but I'd like to think that I can pull this one off.





5 year goals


House

I've only ever been a renter, but the idea of being a homeowner has really grown on me.  That down payment scares the crap out of me, but I figure with enough prep time, I can take it.


3x Salary Saved for Retirement

Back in January, MarketWatch posted an article stating that, by the age of 35, you should have twice your annual income tucked away for retirement. Millenials....did not take kindly to this information.  While it was mathematically impossible for me to hit this goal after discovering it, I did resolve to hit the next marker, which is having 3 times your annual income tucked away by 40.

Funny thing is, I'm quite confident that I can pull this off.  Technically, I am still behind, but I have been viewing these past few months as a "head start".  I'm maxing out the 401k and pumping money into the IRA, both of which will generate increasing amounts of income as time goes on.  Add to that the fact that my birthday is in March and that gives me three more months before the 5 year challenge technically even starts.

Now, you might be asking where the stock portfolio fits.  It does and doesn't come into play as far as my retirement is concerned.  The dividends are designed to help finance and carry me through my golden years, but I'm not counting the portfolio into the overall total.  I could use market value, but that's way too fickle a beast.  As such, I'm viewing it as its own thing that is only tangential to the overall goal.


I'll admit that this is a lot, but I'm confident and fired up.  2019 is going to be huge.  2018 had its perks, but this is where I push myself to my limit, and then break past it.

'Attack on Titan' Season 3, Episode 2: 'Pain'

Where I found the season premiere lacking, its successor succeeds in spades as the action and tension are ramped up to a considerable degree.

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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'Attack on Titan' Season 3, Episode 1: 'Smoke Signal'

The third season of "Attack on Titan" premiered recently.  I'm not going to lie, I don't really remember what was happening.  It's one of the downsides of shows taking lengthy breaks in between seasons.

Right off the bat, the show changes things up with a new theme song.  I'm not crazy about it to be honest.  I mean, as a song, it's fine.  It just doesn't scream "Attack on Titan".  It doesn't even have that trademark chant that the first two theme songs had.  It's pretty jarring.

Of course, if this episode is any indicator, it seems like the plot is shifting.  There is the occasional reference to the titans, but they almost seem to become an afterthought, as the characters talk about food rations and a potential government conspiracy.

Said conspiracy centers around...Christa's secret heritage? Or the wall? Something about Eren? I don't know.  It seems like they're interested in all of it, but I'm not particularly interested as of yet, so it's kind of hard to care.  They do kill Hange's informant and make an attempt to kidnap Eren and Christa, so they're not messing around, but it feels like a strange turn for the show.

Things do pick up, as Mikasa and crew's rescue attempt goes off without a hitch. The fact that the perps had nabbed body doubles shows that this was just a ploy to draw out their enemies.  It was good tactics on Levi's part and both Mikasa and Sasha get some nice highlight moments as a result of it.  Poor Armin, though.  That must have been awkward on several levels.

There is an interesting plot twist, as Levi realizes that this has been too easy and maybe the players were really the playees.  He suspects somebody else is involved.  This leads to the revelation that, apparently, Levi used to live with a serial killer.  Said killer is Levi's prime suspect and it turns out that he's 100% right.

This was a bit of a clunky twist, but it isn't helped by the fact that the killer's nom de guerre is "Kenny the Ripper".  Using "the ripper" alone was eye roll inducing enough, but Kenny isn't the most menacing name they could have picked.  I'm not sure what name would have worked, to be honest, but that name doesn't exactly strike fear into the viewer's hearts.

It's a shame too, because otherwise, Kenny has a lot of potential as an adversary. He's clearly cunning and capable, but he also has a personal connection (and a vendetta from the sound of it) with one of the main cast.  He might just be a hired gun or he might be an independent wild card, we don't know.  The fact that he seems to have a squad backing him up would suggest the prior, but it could still go either way.  Unlike the government stuff, this has a lot more intrigue behind it and it ends up being the more engaging plot element.

Overall, though, I found this episode to be disappointing.  After such a long break, this episode needed more umph.  There are still 23 more episodes, leaving plenty of room for plot progression, but alas, this wasn't the most auspicious start.

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Site Update: 2018 Docket

It's a new year, which means that, like last year, it's time to lay out the itinerary for what's to come.  Oh man, remember me saying that I would have a new post up every day of the year? Ha, I wasn't even close.  I won't be making that promise this year, though I would like to attempt it (and maybe even succeed) at some point down the line, maybe 2020?  We'll see.  At the very least, I would like to try and at least surpass the content bar that I set in the previous year.  Will I follow through?  That remains to be seen, as of now, though.  These are the things that I plan on covering in the next 365 days.


Stephen King

As of the writing of this post, I am working my way through "Hearts in Atlantis".  I also still have to discuss Stephen King's recent collaboration with his son, Owen, "Sleeping Beauties".  Speaking of Stephen King's sons, Joe Hill released a collection of novellas, "Strange Weather" that bears examination, so look forward to that.  Papa King also has a new book coming out called "The Outsiders" later on in the year. 

Progressing through the bibliography, I'm hoping to cover "On Writing", "Secret Windows", "The Plant", "Dreamcatcher", and "Black House".

On the movie front, "Cell" still sits in my Netflix queue.  I also have the first part of "It" as well as "The Dark Tower" to watch and review.  I recently read that the latter might also have a TV series attached, so hopefully that comes to light. 

I still need to watch "Mr. Mercedes".  Hopefully, that hits Netflix, Hulu, or DVD at some point in the near future.  If there is a second season, it will likely be delayed like its predecessor.  It's a shame that they aren't making it more widely available.

Speaking of Hulu, "Castle Rock" is slated to land in the next year.  I haven't followed the development too closely, but that should be an interesting watch. 




Brad Thor


I recently added another author to the site's content review roster.  I dove into Brad Thor's library with his debut, "Lions of Lucerne".  It should come as no surprise, then, that I aim to continue to progress onward through his library as well. 

Following "Lions", we have "Path of the Assassin", "State of the Union", "Blowback", and "Takedown". 

Thor is releasing a new book, "Spymaster" in the summer, but I will likely wait until I hit that point in the chronology before reading it.  I should (hopefully anyway) be up to speed by the time his 2019 book comes out, so it's a minor setback in the grand scheme of things.


Netflix


Continuing the tradition, my write ups for Marvel's "The Punisher" have succumbed to schedule slip.  Naturally, I will try to finish it as soon as possible, though.  Also in the MCU realm, the third season of "Daredevil is set to land, as is the second season of "Jessica Jones". 

Yes, much like "Daredevil", the write ups for that show will start with season 2.  On the plus side, all 4 defenders will be represented in the label list, so that will be good; especially if "The Defenders" does end up getting a second season. 




Anime


"Dragon Ball Super" continues.  I've been doing a decent job of keeping up with it and that won't be stopping any time soon.

The third season of "Attack on Titan" is set to air in the middle of this year.  I was hoping to cover the second season as it aired, but the schedule didn't permit it.  As I'm all caught up now, it should be a lot easier this time around.

I'd also like to dive back into "Rurouni Kenshin".  Alas, I'll likely have to start over.  Not only do I not remember what was happening, but there were a lot of articles lost in the Examiner shut down that I will have to re-do in order to keep everything complete.  It'll be a pain to go through, but I think it will be worth it in the long run.  It'll also eventually give me something to write about consistently to help fill in the gaps.

I could potentially add another series to the roster, though I'd have to browse around a bit.  I said that I would do this last year and nothing came of it, so I'd understand if you're skeptical, but hope springs eternal, right? 



Legends of Tomorrow


I discussed this in one of my Patreon updates, but I might as well say again that I have been unable to keep up with the CW shows as of late due to changing circumstances.  As such, I will be waiting for this year's batch of episodes to hit Netflix.  When that day does come, I will continue my write ups on that show.  It's a bit of a pain, but we do what we can with what we have. 



Archive Restoration


As it is, the site's backlog is mostly full of dead links.  I'm hoping to begin remedying that in the months to come.  It does mean doing a lot of work that was already done, but there it is.  I started doing re-writes for "Death Note", and you can see the articles for the first half of the show in my "mega-post", though I still have quite a bit to go through. 

The backlog covers all manner of things: movies, comics, anime.  It should give me a good variety.  I do try to put more emphasis on new content, but I think filling in the archive will be good overall.  Doing this will also facilitate more new content like episodes of "Rurouni Kenshin" that went unwatched and diving back into the "Dark Tower" comics.




Reviewstream

Normally, I've shied away from going into too much detail on upcoming content for this particular site as it was always more spur of the moment.  I'd see a movie and decide to write a review for it.  Some times, I saw a movie that I thought I would review, but found that it didn't give me a whole lot on which to comment.  It makes it difficult to lay down a projected list of what's to come.

This time around, though, I'm taking a different approach and have come up with some things that I plan on writing about. 

You might recall that I had written reviews for the first two JLA trade paperback collections.  My original intent was to go through the whole run, but it got pushed to the back burner.  While I won't go so far as to say that I'll finish, I do want to cover what I can and at least knock a few more trades out.

I'm also diving into the fifth edition of "Dungeons and Dragons".  I had written some articles on the "Essentials" material, but talking about the newer and more relevant content will be beneficial.  I did rather enjoy doing those articles, so it should be a good bit of fun.  I am kind of curious to look at the newest edition in more detail. 




So, there you go.  That's the 2018 plan.  It's definitely more in depth than last year's, but I think that's a good thing.  Oddly enough, I also think that this is more doable than the "post every day of the year" idea I threw out before.  We'll see how things go though.  Maybe on December 31, I can start doing retrospectives that assess what I thought I was going to do and what I did do.  We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. 






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'Attack on Titan' Season 2, Episode 12: 'Scream'

Thus, the second season reaches its conclusion.  The preceding episode set the stage rather well, and this manages to take that momentum and run with it, delivering another high octane episode that will be sure to leave an impression for quite a while.

As the last episode showed, the smiling titan that killed Eren's mother way back in the first episode makes its return, and it wants to know what Eren's favorite scary movie is.  No, it doesn't do that.  Good news, though, we got that obligatory reference out of the way.  We can move on now.

Seeing his nemesis throws Eren into an understandable state of shock.  Mikasa is too hurt to fight, so it seems like the pair are in a tight spot.

Fortunately, Hannes swoops in in a rather glorious big damn heroes moment to take the titan on head on.  He's more than willing to avenge Eren's mother and give our protagonist the sense of closure and justice that he so desperately seeks.

Hannes actually does surprisingly well.  He effectively dodges the smiling titan's swats and manages to land some significant strikes against the monster.  Alas, it isn't enough and he gets eaten.

It's a pretty heavy moment on its own, but its made worse by the fact that Eren tried to transform, but was unable to.  I assume he still needs more time to recover, though his titan power does have a habit of failing when he needs it most.  Even with purpose and self inflicted pain, he still can't seem to trigger a transformation.

The extent to which Eren is willing to bite his thumb is jaw dropping.  Not only does he start to bleed profusely, but we see him actually ripping chunks of flesh off his hand with his teeth.  It's pretty gruesome.

Eren's reaction to the whole thing is, oddly enough, the stand out moment of the episode.  He fluidly moves from fury to grief to laughter and back again.  It's a very "Killing Joke"esque moment, as Eren notes the fact that nothing's changed after all these years.  Eren's gone into furies and moments of self doubt before, but this one really takes the cake.  He legitimately does seem like he's losing it.

True to form, Mikasa pulls him back, using their history and bond.  It's a rather tender and heartfelt moment.  You can still see the chaos going on around them, but they still take central focus.  It almost looks like a culmination, as the two seem like they're about to kiss....only for Eren to pull back at the last second.  He does re-enforce their friendship and stands between Mikasa and the titan, so he doesn't completely snub her, but it was still a pretty big idiot moment for him.

A few episodes ago, Reiner made reference to something called "the coordinate".  It was the reason that they took Eren in the first place.  At first, it sounded like Eren was the coordinate, but Reiner's dialogue suggests that it's something that Eren has.  This led me to believe that the coordinate was whatever is in Eren's dad's basement that was said to be the key to everything (yeah, remember that plot point?)

This episode reveals just what the coordinate is and why Reiner insists that Eren is the last person who should have it.    We see that if Eren is pissed off enough, he can actually take control of titans.
It was nice to get a definitive answer on that front.  It would have been easy for the writers to just keep that dangling, but doling out useful information actually helps keep us engaged and allows for new issues and questions to be addressed.

We also quasi-confirm that titans are, in fact, humans.  Levi's reaction to this is particularly interesting.  He was more than happy to mow down titans en masse, but this reveal does not sit well with him.  He doesn't crack to the extent that Eren did, but it's still clearly visible.

The second half of the episode is oddly structured.  It's largely an epilogue showing the aftermath of the big battle.  The fact that so many lost their lives just to get Eren back doesn't sit well with anybody.  While it was a win, it didn't come without its own costs.  It gives the episode a very somber, down note feel.

Then, all of a sudden, Erwin says that the discovery about the nature of the titans is a step towards the truth and that humanity can still turn the tide.  Cue the sweeping music while everybody stands in badass "ready to fight" poses before the credits roll.  It was a rather bizarre bit of mood whiplash that I don't think the episode pulled off very effectively.  It was nice to end on a high note, but it didn't gel at all with what we had seen just prior to it.

All in all, this was a satisfying end to the season.  It balanced strong character moments with big, epic battle sequences.  It was all very well animated and the emotional cues hit their mark.  It's a shame we have quite a wait before season 3 hits.  On the plus side, though, I'll be able to watch and discuss those episodes as they come out.  That should be fun.

As a whole, this season was a mixed bag.  It did do a great job of giving some of the peripheral supporting characters more development.  They don't blend into the background nearly as much and knowing who's who goes a long way towards keeping you invested in what's happening.

The downside, however, is that it felt like there was next to no plot advancement.  Even new points that were brought in this season were never really touched on.  Titans in the walls? Nope. Beast titan? Not really.  The whole thing with the church? Historia's connection notwithstanding, no.  I think the third season will go back to a 25 episode run, so hopefully they'll be able to make up the lost ground there.  With the characters more established, it'll make future developments more compelling.  That was a problem with the first season, but this may have gone too far in the other direction.  Hopefully, season 3 will strike a better balance, what with the third time being the charm and all.



















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'Attack on Titan' Season 2, Episode 11: 'Charge'

After the dud that was this episode's predecessor, this entry had quite a bit of slack to pick up as we come to the season's end.  You'll be happy to know that it's up to the task.

It has compelling character drama, as multiple characters are torn between conflicting loyalties.  We see it first with Ymir, as both Historia and Bertholdt try to sway her to their side.  It's a proverbial devil vs angel on the shoulders situation and it works rather well.

We also get a "crowning moment of funny", as Ymir tries to coax Historia by saying that life outside the walls with the titans isn't as bad as she might think.  Historia points out that it wouldn't be so bad, except for the titans trying to eat her.  This alone would have been amusing enough, but Ymir clinches it by trying to minimize this fact and cite it as an annoyance that Historia should just get over.

Ultimately, though, I think the more effective instance of drama borne from torn loyalties is when the scouts arrive and confront Bertholdt.  They try to appeal to his humanity and their friendship, pressing him on whether or not it was all a lie.  Bertholdt's answer adds whole new layers to the story, as he reveals that he didn't want to do any of it and that he really did view the fellow scouts as comrades.

It makes the plot more complex, teases a bigger villain behind the scenes, and actually builds empathy for characters who you would otherwise categorize as ruthless, blood thirsty killers. It was a very effective plot twist on that front.

Heck, this theme even carries over to Historia herself, as she still pledges loyalty to Ymir.  Even when the scouts rescue her, she insists that she be allowed to go back for Ymir's sake.  It doesn't get quite as much attention, but it does round out the trifecta.

In addition to great character drama, the episode also delivers on action.  We get scouts taking on titans, the scouts trying to take out Reiner, and the titans trying to take out Reiner. It's an all out brawl and it's glorious to witness.  For all the chaos, you never lose track of what's happening.  Credit to the animators and the directors because this could have easily turned into a mess.

Not surprisingly, Mikasa is a highlight.  Oddly, this is probably one of her weaker showings as far as combat is concerned.  She still lands some solid hits, but she also gets injured and caught off guard more frequently.  Her status as highlight is more due to the fact that she is incredibly pissed off at Eren being taken away.  It's frightening and awesome at the same time.  It really enforces the fact that you do not want to hit the "Eren" button with her.  They did that and it was not a good idea.

This episode did a great job of building up momentum for the season finale.  Heck, it honestly could have been the season finale.  The way it was structured and the way the episode ends, it would have been a great way to cap off the season.  We'll just have to see if the next episode can follow through.

Guys, I'm going to be caught up.  When the next season hits, I'll be able to keep up with it as I do "Dragon Ball Super".  That was supposed to be the plan with this season, but clearly that didn't happen.  It'll be great to have another semi-consistent "once a week" entry in the rotation.  Of course, that won't be until next year, but still.




















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'Attack on Titan' Season 2, Episode 10: 'Children'

With only a couple of episodes left, one might expect things to escalate in terms of tension, action, and general plot progression.  This episode...doesn't really do any of that.  It really does spend a large amount of time just spinning its wheels.  I'm surprised at how little this episode has to show for the time it spent.

The crux of it boils down to Reiner and the others booking it when he spots the smoke signals from the scouts who have gone out to retrieve Eren.

I did get a kick out of Eren's fake out.  Reiner tries to threaten Eren into submission, only to be met with a response that Eren is in no condition to fight back.  Cue Eren attempting to beat Reiner with his stumps.  He gets a few shots in, but it isn't long before Reiner regains the upper hand and puts him in a sleeper hold.  I'm not sure if the attack was meant to be comedic, though I found it to be so.  Still, credit for going for it, in any event.

Hearing Eren's grunts as he tried to wrestle free over Ymir's and Bertholdt's quieter character moment was an amusing background touch.  It makes sense as they are in close proximity, but it also undercuts the drama.  The fact that it's funny helps, but for those who like the quieter moments, you might find it unwelcome.

Ultimately, he is subdued and the group depart.  This prompts a flashback which gives us Ymir's back story.  It's an interesting one, though I do find it oddly placed.  It turns out that she was taken in as an orphan by adults who groomed her to be some sort of god-queen in their cult.  From the way she tells it, it wasn't so bad.  She had creature comforts, but she also got fulfillment as her presence made an impact on others and allowed her to feel needed and important.

This comes to an end when a military raids the compound.  It was kind of appalling how quick the leader was to sell Ymir out as the mastermind of the whole thing.  I would've thought that Ymir would have quickly negated this with the truth, but she instead chooses to take the hit in order to save the others. It's a moot point as everyone is taken anyway, but still, credit where its due.

The episode reveals that this military group is the one who turned Ymir into a titan.  You'd think that this would be some earth shattering revelation, but it's so downplayed that whatever shock you might have had never comes to the surface.  Even in a larger context, it's anticlimactic as the origin of the titans was always one of the show's bigger questions.  Just having it be humans that did it just results in an, "eh" from the viewer.

We do get a nice montage of past events from the series that allow us to get caught up to where Ymir is now.  It makes the development feel more earned and resonates more than if it had just been random scenes that were not depicted prior.

Eventually, the episode does return to the present and things actually start to pick up.  The scouts are hot on the group's heels and it seems like a major confrontation is about to go down.  Ymir demands that she go back for Christa (who's political connections are important to the titans, apparently?)  While Reiner does want to get the girl, he rebukes the offer until Ymir forces the issue.

I was wondering why Ymir made no attempt to overpower Bertholdt.  Eren has an excuse, he's unconscious and tied up.  Ymir not only has her arms free, but has them wrapped around Bertholdt's neck.  You have to wonder why they thought it was a good idea to give her such an advantageous position.  She eventually does and this is what allows her to go back.

At first, the scouts are relaxed, as they know that Ymir is on their side.  In fact, they try to get information about the situation, but are only met with silence.  I thought it was a stalling tactic, as Reiner and the others are still moving, but Ymir's endgame makes itself known when Christa approaches....and lands in Ymir's mouth.

I was initially caught off guard by this, but they made a point to frame this sequence very carefully.  Ymir never chomps down.  As such, it becomes clear to the viewer (though not to the scouts) that Christa is alive and well inside the titan's mouth.

It was an odd tactical gamble.  Even though she didn't bite through the girl now, if a fight ensures, there is risk there.  On the other hand, it does keep Ymir's hands free, allowing her more mobility.  I think the biggest problem comes in the form of the scouts, who now view her as a traitor to humanity and are now out for blood in order to avenge the death of their fellow combatant.  

This episode had moments here and there, but it really fell flat for me.  Judging by the preview, the next episode should be more eventful.  I'm definitely looking forward to that.  The next two episodes should, hopefully, allow the season to end on more of a wham note.




















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