Attack on Titan s.3 e.51 “Thunder Spears”

Hello lovely readers,

As the previous episode ended, we saw the titans and the scouts staring each other down.  In “Thunder Spears,” the scouts and titans begin to move.  The smaller titans begin their charge, and the armored titan starts climbing the wall.  As the enemy’s machinations begin, Erwin sets his own plan in motion.  Season 3 now can truly begin.

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I think after this episode, we should re-title Attack on Titan to Attack on Cliffhangers.  I thought of Mob Psycho 100 II or The Promised Neverland were the ultimate in advanced cliffhanging this season, but sheesh.  AoTS3 has decided to enter the fray, and holy smokes this episode.  The ending of this episode literally elicited a “NO!” from me at the “To be continued” screen.  *sigh*

If the last episode might be likened to the uphill part of a roller coaster, “Thunder Spears” serves as the moment we crest over the top and start the rapid descent of the downhill portion.

The Beast Titan’s plan, at least from what is surmised, is to eliminate the Scouts’ means of escape, and trap them atop the wall until the forces of humanity have become too weak to fight on.  Then Eren’s capture would be all but a certainty.  It’s simple and would be an effective to minimize any losses.

An effective image that illustrates who what Erwin has sacrificed to reach his goals.

We get to see a bit of Erwin’s internal monologue in this episode, and it’s fascinating.  There was the sense at least until this season, that he was dedicated to the scouts because of his loyalty to humanity, but during season 3, cracks in this facade begin to appear, and Erwin’s true nature starts poking through.  This episode opens the door to his own personal basement and we find out just how far his ambition has taken him and who he has sacrificed to work toward his dream.  Assuming that he survives, it’ll be interesting to see what happens when they get to the basement.  What will happen if he finds what he is looking for, or what happens if he doesn’t, or if it isn’t what he expects.  Erwin could conceivably become humanity’s greatest threat.  Wouldn’t that be an interesting twist?

One of the action highlights of the entire series was the Eren v Armored Titan fight during season two.  We finally get the rematch.  The animators do an exceptional job at showing the weight of the two… um… titans as the ground splits, roofing tiles fly off, and the wind whips around.  There’s this immense sense of force behind each blow as the the two giants punch and wrestle.  It’s not nearly as flashy as the fights in the OD gear, but this battle is no less satisfying.  There’s a viscerality to these fights that is incredibly effective, and I kind of felt like a little kid watching the fight in this episode.

I think that one of the best parts of the series is seeing how humanity has progressed through the course of the story.  Not content to lay down and die, the remnants behind the walls have constantly pushed forward to improve and innovate.  Facing defeat against the Armored Titan, humans now have a weapon that they can use against him and it is something that will certainly add another wrinkle in the fight against the titans.  When the thunder spears are used, it is certainly impressive.  Let’s see the Beast Titan defend against that!  It doesn’t come without anydownsides, and I’m guessing that the dangers that the thunder spears represent to the users will come into play later in the season, be it a character unintentionally getting caught in its blast, or a one sacrificing him or herself.

But strap yourselves in, because AoT never allows for a clean victory.  I fear that the next episode will be anything but tragic for the scouts, especially since so many of them are green, and haven’t even seen titans, let alone fight them before this episode.  We still wait for the appearances of Bertholdt and perhaps Ymir, and there’s still the issue of the larger titans, and the Beast himself potentially getting involved in the battle.  Erwin isn’t going to have an easy path to the basement or his dream, is he?

Until we meet again,

Kevin

And as an aside, Crunchyroll’s dumb web player continues to be dumb 😡

The Crunchyroll web player looking at me.

You’d better watch yourself, web player.