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The episode turns out to be a detail oriented pause reflecting on the complexities of the lore; the real calm before the storm. We have a dialogue between Ymir and Reiner with occasional inputs from Bertolt and Eren's screams. There was also a fair amount of character exploration and development, which is much welcomed at this point.
Now, delving into the back-and-forth poker game, I think it played out smoothly and the camera work made the episode more than bearable. However, there were some irritating aspects to the episode, namely the poor rendering of Eren's amputated arms and the underwhelming presentation of emotion. Take for example the brief shouting match between Reiner and Eren.. the voice acting was terrible at times and the animation subpar, especially for a show like SnK. My guess is they allocated their time resources more to possible upcoming action scenes, which given the choice, I'd say OK but rlly, it feels the budget/resource limitations should have been more flexible.
Anyway, it seems the Ape Titan (not sure if he is a shifter) is related to this mess. Reiner & Co are at-least familiar with it/him. He may have been the catalyst for Reiner losing it and jump-start the Eren kidnapping mission now that I think about it. The monkey titan may be a field commander of sorts or maybe something more sinister.
Ymir is getting so much screen time; I didn't even know her in S1. She is unique to stay the least; her awkward motivations puzzle even herself.. From the opening scenes, she remains calm when dealing with Reiner and Bertolt, pruning as much information as possible. What took me back a bit was her disconnect from Reiner and Bertolt. She is clearly not even on similar mission as them and all indicators point towards a chance coming together. Although those observations should have been made clear from Castle Utgard, I was willing to concede the benefit of doubt to her being on a some undercover activity. Overall, it is fortunate she is there as we learned quite a bit about the infiltrators and hints at a grander backdrop.
Eren is actually mentally unstable at the moment. He cannot take anything contrary to his idealized reality. If he were not the protagonist, he would definitely have died in Trost and given the show a Claymore vibe (I actually thought it were going to happen). He absolutely is unable to take stock of a situation or contemplate a plan.. I actually went wtf when he bit himself. Attempting to transform with both limbs amputated while in titan invested territory at a momentary impulse is insane. He needs to understand the inordinate amount of responsibility placed upon his shoulders and that he does not have the privilege to run amok. The show is shounen-esk in regards to Eren and I fear that won't be changing. It is a mixed bag though; his initial reactions and later mental composure when fighting Reiner two episodes back showed progress in character development but now he looks to have regressed back to his childhood self. Regardless, Ymir is able to calm him down and rationalize that the present situation is rather precarious and he does not have much of a choice but wait and listen. Although it is still regrettable that Ymir may have looked at his sorry state and factored that into her jumping ship.
And now, concluding with the incredible Reiner.. amazing plot twist and creative writing. So technically, the Reiner we know and love is still here just that hes a full blown split side for the real him to cope with the murderous things alpha reiner has done. I do wonder if Eren would be like him if he were in Reiner's boots. Regardless, Eren understandably goes 'wtf' when Reiner seemingly plays victim and, I think, weep. It is a bit surreal. Meanwhile, Bertolt seems to be haunted and on autopilot. It does look like he has given up hope and is just going through the motions. There is much bigger picture to this. I am willing to bet these two were forcefully sent out from their 'hometowns' to infiltrate the Walls for reconnaissance with their family/village being held hostage. Their body language is just all wrong.
Comments:
Ymir is likely making a rational choice in the grand scheme of things. Her goal is to protect her own skin and that of Christa's. I think there are large, proper human settlements outside the Walls and they are better protected, somehow. The situation the inhabitants of the Walls face is likely an extreme one set to get much worse and these folks seem to know what is coming. I do think Titans are concentrated around are Wall Rose territory and there is likely a secrete passage to get out of the surrounding no-mans land. We may have seen it in Ymir's earlier flashback; the one with the snowy mountain-tops. It would explain the survey corps not ever being able to venture out far or explore anything note-worthy, i.e. finding Reiner's hometown.
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Graphic Designer
Moderator
think there's 2 or 3 left. Curious how they're gonna handle the next season with the amount of dialogue that's going to be dished out.
