After the horror and flashback to yet more horror in the previous two episodes this one begins with a somewhat upbeat revelation...As far as is known there were no civilians eaten by the giants! Everyone made it through the gates before they were closed except the soldiers fighting the delaying action. The military, however has suffered mightily and as the episode begins Mikasa is going back to rejoin her friends  and assist in the survivors in an orderly retreat.  She arrives to find Sasha Potato Girl trying to rally a bunch of thoroughly demoralized troops, which include Armin.


And then,  Mikasa's eyes...just sort of die.



I must say this about the artists in this show. They really have the portrayal of dead, soulless eye's down pat.




I mean they've nailed it. The stills don't quite do the effect of this justice. While not particularly graphic the dead thousand yard stares in this episode are haunting in a way that really stays with you.


Of course, in MIkasa's case this is due to her leaning about Erun's fate. As one would expect she does not handle it well...



Here is the situation.

Their martial art involves a harness that includes power operated cables, grapling hooks and ascenders all powered by natural gas cylinders and supplemented by very short bursts from a rocket in the small of the back.  This allows them to swing about like fighters in some Xia brothers film and get to the vital spot on the back of a giants neck.

Well, after all that fighting, their gas cylinders are running low and without them they cant hope to make it to the wall, let alone scale it to reach safety. There is a facility with a recharge facility, but it is overrun by giants and most of the logistical command staff have fled.

Potato Girl and a male recruit named Connie Springer are  trying to organize an assault on the place to get at the natural gas depot and relieve those trapped inside , but no one will move.

At this point Mikasa of the dead eyes motivates everyone by the straightforward method of calling them all cowards and not worth saving and that she'll kill all the giants herself and abandon them...but they can come if they want.

It's unclear if motivation was her intent but it has that effect.

On the way Mikasa is separated from the group when she runs out of gas. Armin and Connie detach to find her but she has crashed in a heap at the foot of a giant in the wrong end of a dead end alley. As she contemplates why she is continuing to resist the inevitable, another giant shows up and rips the giant menacing her asunder....Armin arrives and scoops Mikasa up to the roof. He gives her his (barely used) cylinders   and blades. He, Connie and Mikasa watch the bizarre spectacle of the Aberrant Titan vanquishing others while ignoring them.





This episode ends with our protagonists pretty much in the same position as when it began, but a lot happened in between their making little progress. This battle is in it's third episode, and yet it doesn't seem to be dragging yet....which is unusual.

Mikasa had a moment of introspection that was interesting in that it had two aspects. On the one hand she determined that she is not going to give in to despair and she will fight to the bitter end. This is pretty straightforward and while well stated and inspiring it's not really unusual. What was unusual was the other thing she concluded. She reflected upon the fact that she's in a defacto leadership position and reflects on how this entails a good deal of DOWNWARD s well as upward loyalty.

 Mikasa has been portrayed throughout the show as a very decent person, but she really does grow in this episode even as she dies on the inside. There aren't many shows where this has come to the fore and off the top of my head I can think of only three other fictional fantasy female leaders who have had this virtue. Meia Gisbourne and the Captain in Van Dread, and to a slightly lesser extent Bellows in Gargantia.  This may not be a focus of the series but it is was refreshing to see this ethical point addressed.

There was also plenty of dystopic horror, and gruesomely gruesome gruesomeness, so the show hasn't had a sudden shift in tone...it's still hard to watch. But it remains intelligent and I note that nothing in this show has been extraneous...so that crazy ass giant means something.



Also, for those who've been watching the show : what happened to the key?

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 06:29 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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