What else could go wrong? The arc words of catastrophe, spoken only by the unaware the second before something else goes wrong. In an attempt to break this cliche convention, Attack on Titan throws a curveball and simply makes the situation worse, without anybody having to say those classic words. With Reiner and Bertholdt still holding focus, I was honestly not expecting the series to throw another ingredient into the clusterfudge it has been baking over these past few episodes, let alone an ingredient that was so…smiling. Yes, friends, the Smiling Titan is back, the very same Titan who devoured Eren’s mother and ignited the fire that burns out of control within his soul. Though it may seem coincidental that this one particular Titan would appear at such a crucial moment, feelings of contrivance were washed away by the sheer shock of it all. Existing as a horde, connections to a particular Titan are few and far between within the series. The verbage of Eren’s outbursts and the scope of his hatred following his mother’s …

Humanity is not the strongest species in the world. We do not have claws, we do not have fangs, we cannot fly, breath underwater burrow into the Earth itself. And yet, we can. Through intelligence and ingenuity, humanity carved a path through history as a dominant species on a planet of creatures more suited to this role. It is this very same mentality that has seen our characters through their toughest trials, plagued by Titans as they are. Reiner and Bertholdt themselves have been assuring their survival in their own betraying way, longing to live on past a time of war. So why, oh why, did they get between Eren and Mikasa? Literally anybody anywhere could have told them how boneheaded that move was. Very. The answer is very. Holy crap. Mikasa Ackerman is terrifying. Sure we’ve seen her slice up Titans like they were a tomatoes an infomercial about knives, but she take the fear factor up to eleven this week. We saw her click when Eren was in danger, we saw her slash …

They say that home is where the heart is and, as is made painfully clear, our poor Ymir has been homeless for quite some time. From a traumatic past, to a terrifying adolescence, this 104th cadet has the makings of a protagonist in her backstory. However, as always, Eren is on the scene to scream and remind us that he is the core of our story…at least until he gets knocked unconscious and tied to somebody’s back. Continuing from where we left off, newly revealed traitors of humanity Reiner and Bertholdt discuss their options as a troop runs ever closer to rescue Ymir and Eren. Their obvious panic aside, this was the first time I actually felt as if the two secret Shifters were actually characters of their own. With a quick check that Reiner was still a warrior, Bertholdt showed a more apparent sense of concern and reservation, rather than the quiet terror stares he has subsisted on in the past few episodes. Reiner’s assessment of the situation, and clarification that the true him …

As with any plan, there are two key features which must be present: Conception and execution. Without both of these aspects, a plan is either an idea or a whim. However, should both features be performed flawlessly, there still remains an important question that must be answered: What happens next? For Reiner and Bertholdt, the answer is a resolute: Who knows? Having stolen both Eren and Ymir away from the friends they have who aren’t traitorous Titan Shifters, Reiner and Bertholdt are seemingly lost, with no real handle on their situation. Given Reiner’s spontaneous decision to simply tell people that they were the monsters who began one of the worst tragedies in recent history, this is more than expected. And so we find ourselves returning to a particular forest, wherein captors and the captured try and wrap their heads around just what the hell is going on. Spoiler Alert: A consensus is not met. As he is want to do, Eren spends most of this episode screaming about the injustice of the world and focusing much …

When action reaches its fever pitch, that which follows is a wind down. An eerie calmness. An aftermath. Unfortunately for our intrepid soldiers, their recent clash with forces mostly unexpected did not end in the victory they were all but assured and they instead find themselves battered, bruised and fewer in number. So Eren just can’t win a fight, can he? Like, ever. And that’s not just me being mean to the guy, it’s actually a plot point. In a stunning return to relevance, Hannes reminds us all that he too was once important in the life of Eren and shares the collective emotional range of Mikasa and Armin, which essentially amounts to concern and blind, unyielding fury. He also serves as a rare example of human compassion that is not surrounded by promises, salutes and vendettas. Though rescuing Eren will require combating Titans, Hannes speech is simply about Eren’s personality, his flaws and strengths, his relationship with Mikasa and Armin and the hope he holds for the future, along with his fondness for the past. …

Sometimes, when the world grows ever more complicated, when those around you change and truths find themselves transforming into lies, the best solution is the simplest one. And what could be simpler than standing resolute in your beliefs and punching a bad guy really, really hard in the face? Well, isn’t this a fine kettle of fish we find ourselves in this week? Except by fine, I mean terrible and by kettle of fish, I mean world of monsters. With Reiner and Bertholdt dropping all sense of care and subtlety, a Colossal Titan now stands half formed on a wall and an Armoured comrade plunges to the ground below, Eren in hand. At least until our furious protagonist reminds us all that he too is a Shifter and kicks off one of the most action packed episodes Attack on Titan has produced. However, it is a little more than simply explosive violence and screams. It’s choreographed…and also has explosive violence and screams. For those who don’t know, Hajime Isayama (the creator of Attack on Titan) based certain …

As with most storms, there lay a calm before it. A moment of respite to collect one’s thoughts, batten down the hatches and prepare for the worst. Unfortunately for the members of the 104th, no amount of preparations could prepare them for the storm that is forming around them. Metaphors withstanding, this begins as a fairly tame episode in the catalogue of Attack on Titan. The fractured groups that have comprised the past few adventures have finally come together and a majority of the 104th is back together. Except Jean. Those who were trapped in Utgard Catsle inform their rescuers about Ymir, about the newly revealed Historia Reiss and the lack of any hole in the wall. Real important stuff. However, it is a little overshadowed by a hunched over Reiner, who spends a majority of this episode breaking down emotionally and mentally. Which is sad…or at least it is before the big, and oddly quiet, reveal. Since we can’t go two weeks without discovering that a character we somewhat know is actually a Titan Shifter, …

If there’s one thing to be said about perilous mountain expeditions, it’s that characters will either perish on them, or come to understand themselves, and others, on an entirely new and intrinsically true level. Yes, technically that is more than one thing, but that probably doesn’t make it any less insightful and cool sounding. Jumping back to a time and place unknown, though assumedly during the 104th’s training and somewhere on a mountain, we are given yet another glimpse into the life and times of Ymir and Krista. Left wandering during a powerful blizzard, Ymir comes to a realisation chronologically that we have already had explained by her…in the future. It is also the one thing we know about Krista and kinda makes this whole perilous flashback a whole lot less expositionally interesting. Despite her sweetness and overall cute demeanour, Krista wants to kill herself. Not in an obviously suicidal way, but in a heroic way that would see her remembered fondly. To that end, she opts to drag the half-dead body of another trainee …

They say that home is where the heart is. Unfortunately, the darker side of that saying is that should a home be destroyed, a heart is too. And though a house may be rebuilt and, in turn, made a home anew, there is still something undeniably sad about the simple fact that it was broken in the first place. Poor Connie. After Sasha’s reunion with her family last week, a small glimmer of hope and happiness had found its way into the world of Attack on Titan. But alas, it was not to last, as almost immediately we were hit with the harsh reality of what Connie found waiting for him in his hometown. Nobody. Not a single soul left in the village and only a single creature remaining: A Titan. And yet there is something curious about this in and of itself. As is so noted by a rather pragmatic soldier, though no people remain in Connie’s village, there are also no remains of people. From everything we’ve seen so far, Titans are not fastidious …

In a world where humanity has been pushed to the brink of extinction, bad news is a pretty common occurrence. Still, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck to get it. And this isn’t, “I accidentally broke your favourite cup,” kind of bad news, we’re talking, “Your horse ran away and left you stranded in the middle of nowhere and I also think it kicked your dog,” kind of bad news. Which is really bad news. Especially since you don’t own a dog. Following up from last week’s uplifting re-introduction to the crapsack world of wherever the heck this series takes place, Sasha has made her way back to the area in which she was raised; a forest. Of course, we really don’t know anything about Sasha, other than she likes potatoes and the audience is nuts about her for it, so we find ourselves flashing back a couple of years for a little exposition. Apparently, good ol’ Sasha used to be quite the selfish one, seeing little benefit in other people and despising when their …

Once again, the day is saved thanks to the people of the Survey Corps. Well, not exactly “saved” per say and the classification of “people” is certainly blurred when it comes to Eren, given his true nature and all. Okay, so one major threat was stopped…and a lot of people died…also their houses broke…and the walls have seen better days. Man, even when humanity pulls out a win in this series it sucks. Hooray for Pyrrhic victories. With Eren still resting up from his clash with Annie and the emotional turmoil brought on by such, we are given an opportunity to focus on the other characters that stand under the Wings of Freedom…and boy are they bored. Refined to quarters/some building, the 104th muse over their lives and escape into a few fantasies that would honestly be fun to watch. Connie for example, wishes to steal away into the night, breaking free of lock-up and visiting his village. A somewhat normal thought for a series revolving around giant monsters that eat people for literally no …