So I’ve finally caught up on this show, and I’ve actually been really enjoying it lately. I think this second season has been much faster-paced and more full of interesting developments than the first half, and has been basically doing everything I could have hoped for – broadening the character focus, introducing multiple concurrent conflicts (the traitor, the original squad’s troubles, Eren’s own issues), and consistently adding new ideas. And I’ve got the goddamn words to prove it – if you’re interested, you can see writeups on 16 and 17 here[1] and here[2] . But screw that, I’m up to date. Let’s watch some Titan.

Episode 18

2:47 – That shot of Mikasa acting all stoic and badass always makes me wonder what she would have done if Eren had decided to be a banker or something. Would she just be running the surviving human economy at this point? I guess maybe she could do her own thing if Eren weren’t so goddamn intent on getting himself killed

2:56 – Titan is Serious Business[3]   Sorry, sorry. Sorry.

4:07 – I really think the show needs a balance between Titans as immediate obstacles and Titans as source of constant, invisible threat[4]  . I think this setup provides for a much more even horror/action mix than Trost did

4:16 – Man, Jean can get down on himself about anything[5]  , huh?

4:53 – Another war story staple.[6]   “We survived the battle, what justice is there in cold/starvation/lack of medical treatment killing us?” I’m not knocking it – knowing what sources to draw on is a key part of storytelling, and this is a good call for this kind of story

6:56 – Though this war has taken all else, moe must not die[7]  

7:17 – Moe was saved. The sun shines upon this day[8]  

7:26 – This show really is pretty funny[9]  . I think I actually love stupid jokes as long as they’re incredibly inappropriate to the tone and really stupid

9:31 – I like this.[10]   After all the chaos of the last episode, just letting us see it from Eren’s incredibly limited, claustrophobic perspective

10:09 – A nice demonstration of how much better[11]   the recon team is than the rookies we’ve seen so far. That gear is quite the superpower

12:33 – Recon team: not the best at naming things[12]  

14:09 – One of these days, Armin is gonna figure these things out[13]  

17:03 – Half-off sale at Macys you guys[14]  

17:27 – Awesome.[15]   Not only is this much more practical “intelligence” than most allegedly intelligent characters, it’s also my first rule of worthwhile criticism – assume the people making decisions aren’t complete idiots, and make deductions from there

18:24 – “Lol 2deep4u shit… wait… oh my god[16]  ”

Man, I’m being a dick tonight, huh? Apologies, I hit the bottle a little early

18:50 – And then the show provides its own counter-meme[17]  

19:44 – These titans[18]  . Reiner is not amused

I do like this strategy, though. They can use the trees to basically create a fence of titan-bait with the outlying soldiers, and reduce the fight to the best soldiers versus the female titan in the most fortuitous possible environment. I approve

And Done

Oh man, those fuckers. They dragged out that last moment there, but the female titan’s reentry was top-notch action drama. I think this episode was a bit of a step down from the previous one, but it was still exciting and propulsive – no true standout moments like the female titan’s introduction, but a lot of fun action and back-and-forth between the members of the various squads. They’ve probably got another couple episodes of sweet drama to draw from this female titan, as long as they keep shifting up the variables (like this episode’s wider squad focus and introduction of the forest, as compared to last episode’s more personal focus and introduction of the female titan). I’m still having a lot of fun with this second half. Here’s hoping they keep it up

Episode 17

3:04 – This show does have some lovely backgrounds

3:48 – Solid stuff. This show is always at its best when it’s riding on action momentum

4:46 – “Don’t pee your pants!” “You too!” Goddamnit Armin he was making… never mind. Forget it. It’s just Jean being tsun again

4:59 – Okay, this is exactly the kind of shit I was hoping this show would be about

6:26 – “Thus the column can proceed without encountering titans.” Interesting. I guess the commander uses the trails to gauge where specifically the first signal came from, in case he doesn’t catch the original trail? That would make the “if you see a flare, fire as well” make sense – I assume there are more specifics to this system they’re just not explaining, otherwise I assume everyone would fire a flare as a domino effect any time a titan is sighted

7:02 – Fuckin’ sweet sequence. Titans are much scarier when it’s one horrible creature chasing a person you know, and not a wave of monsters killing a wave of faceless victims. Plus, the fact that we’ve had some breathing room helps greatly – Trost resulted in massive titan fatigue for me, with any single threat just becoming meaningless by the end

8:10 – It was an interesting choice, making the abnormals seem souncomfortable with their bodies. Definitely heightens how “wrong” they’re supposed to seem

8:49 – Wow, this job sucks. No wonder they lose so many goddamn recon troups

9:40 – This sequence is excellent, and honestly one of the first examples of truly good direction I’ve seen in this series. The whole sequence builds that “wait, something’s not right here” feeling in the best possible way – Armin’s expression, the slow pan as the sergeant gets back on his horse into the Titan in the distance, the soldiers grimly but stoically resolving to kill this one as well. All the momentum up till now has been cut out, as this scene is neither an extended Titan fight nor a series of jump-cuts as before – the very fact that they’re lingering this long on the introduction of one more titan implies something horrible is about to happen. Really, really nice

11:23 – Didn’t really want to pause for screencaps, because that whole sequence was fantastic. Great introduction, the music perfectly nailed that kind of off-kilter horror film vibe, and Armin is far more compelling to watch now that he has some confidence and resolve. It was also an action setpiece that efficiently pushed the narrative forward – the scene was visually compelling, but Armin took the time to push the dots from “Eren can become a titan and act intelligently -> that makes it likely that the other unique titans are similar -> that means they are humans as well -> what do they want,” which is ahuge progression in narrative for a show that’s so far been so miserly in its plot progression. This show is looking up!

12:20 – I mean, it looks like Annie, right? Am I supposed to think that?

12:24 – Okay, that was obviously titan-perspective, so it apparently recognized him specifically and then decided not to splat him

16:10 – Jean’s toughened up quite a bit. Not much else to say here. This exposition is fine, since it’s actually conveying necessary information, and this feels like the first time Armin’s actually demonstrated real intelligence, and not just “shounen smart one”-level intelligence. It’s not graceful, but it’s fine

16:37 – Yeah seriously though

16:47 – Okay, getting a little on-the-nose here. Goddamn is this show bad at character development

17:43 – Holy shit Armin realized Jean was insulting him

18:51 – And the show straight-up admits those two are OP as fuck

21:16 – Holy shit Reiner’s dead! Well, fuck! Two down, eight left…

21:26 – Nevermind Reiner’s fine fuck you Titan

And Done

That was an excellent episode. Some fun tactical stuff, some nice bits of direction, and several good action setpieces. I had my complaints too, but I always have some complaints with this show, and as long as it keeps up momentum in both narrative and individual scenes, any issues I have with characterization or storytelling are minimized. Those things have never been what this show does well, and when it doesfocus on what it does well (and especially when the direction gets careful), it is a damn entertaining spectacle. Definitely one of the best episodes of the series

Yep, picking this up again, again. What I’ve seen/heard about this recent arc seems far more interesting and dynamic than Trost, and this show just works better when you watch at least a couple episodes at a time. It doesn’t make its’ flaws go away, but it does make the show more enjoyable in spite of them. But enough negativity – new arc, new characters, and this time we’re working with actual professional Titan-killers, so it should be much less “let’s all die as slowly as possible so Eren can get shit done” than I was worried about. Let’s fighting!

Episode 16

2:17 – “Whoever did it must have really hated the Titans.” You never were the smart one, Connie…

And then of course Armin agrees with him, proving no-one in this show is actually the smart one.

3:30 – These quiet moments with the team are generally my favorites of the series (which might betray the fact that I’m probably not the right person to be critiquing Titan, of all things)

4:06 – “Not everyone can be like you.” Don’t knock your lack of shounen protagonism, Jean. It makes you the best character in the series

4:49 – That expression. Courage isn’t a lack of fear, it’s acting in spite of it

5:54 – “There’s a time and place where people are morally obligated to lay down their lives.” Not that humanity here has really been portrayed as a race worth protecting

6:45 – And there’s the murder-mystery angle. I’ve been liking this second half significantly more than the first so far – the characters actually have a little grounding now, there’s more going on, and each plot thread is moving forward in a way that changes the variables of the world and characters. But again, I find stuff like Levi’s guitar-solo-Titan-slaying introduction actively tedious, so that might just be me

6:59 – “I wonder if there’s anyone crazy enough to join us.” “Hey Eren! You’re crazy, wadda you think?”

8:23 – It’s like that scene in Starship Troopers where the protagonist is now the grizzled sergeant talking to the new recruits, except this isn’t a subversive indictment of jingoistic war fetishism and that comparison doesn’t make any sense

8:30 – “Unlike some dumbfucks, I ain’t got no death drive.” For this show, I actually appreciate Commie’s bullshit

10:26 – “We have the key to discovering the Titans’ true nature.”Don’t listen that dumbfuck Armin, I actually love it when this show’s leaders use a little propaganda or mob-riling for the greater good

12:13 – “Most of you who join will die. Likely slowly, almost certainly horribly. Those who survive will watch the first group as they are dying. Most of this second group will then die.” Man, he really knows how to sell ‘em

13:31 – Man, I was wondering if they’d actually switched directors for a couple episodes there. Nope!

15:15 – I actually find this show’s goofy, bipolar sense of humorpretty endearing

15:58 – “Strangely, Eren’s position was nowhere to be found.” Adding the possibility of some kind of traitor really does make this more interesting

16:40 – “This mission may have a secret objective…” You don’t say! This should be fun

17:28 – Commie contain yourselves.

17:36 – Okay this is getting out of hand. Switching back to subs written by adults after this…

And Done

Fine episode. It was a board-arranger, but it arranged the board pretty effectively, and there was plenty of Jean. I’m honestly not sure what I’m supposed to believe convinced the recruits to join the death squad – it made it clear they were all scared out of their wits, but the only motivation I’m really seeing beyond Marco’s effect on Jean and Mikasa’s motivation is “somebody’s gotta do it!” I guess that’s the best you can do in an action show with an ensemble cast, but it’s not all that satisfying. But this episode still moved well and drew the players together for the next act, so overall it was a serviceable if unremarkable episode