The Last Charge
Episode 4
In my review of episode 2, I said there was a real pleasure in seeing the humans occasionally looking like they might come out on top. The key phrase being ‘looking like they might’. See, realistically what hooked me into Attack on Titan in season one was how utterly brutal it was and seeing the humans getting beaten down and driven into a corner. The humans who broke and the humans who stood and fight and the utter indifference the titan showed regardless of the character of the human in front of them.
Therefore, it kind of makes sense that episode 4 of season three part two (that is such a mouthful) hit me very much like the very first episode of Attack on Titan. While for a lot of season three (part 1 and now part 2) I’ve been finding reasons to enjoy it again and new respect for the characters, this episode actually managed to bring back the awe and the very real horror of the situation the characters are in.
There were so many moments that just left me breathless and I watched many sections multiple times just to try and absorb and process what had happened. It wasn’t that the episode was fast paced. Arguably, it is quite slow in how it moves forward. It is more that each event is so pivotal to this fight and there’s so many emotions attached with each section that my brain just froze and I had to watch it again.
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Whether it was Armin freezing in his role and then throwing the torch to Jean in an act of desperation, Mikasa’s reaction to Eren getting kicked through the air to land atop the wall, the scouts freaking out as yet more groups are wiped out in an instant as the beast titan flung broken boulders at them, or Erwin’s ‘motivating’ speech before the last charge, every single moment just hit hard. Everything is so raw and human as characters faced with an insurmountable challenge either crumble or attempt to rally for a last act of defiance and it is beautifully brutal in its delivery.
It has been a fair while since I’ve really gotten this swept up in an episode of Attack on Titan but realistically there isn’t a thing about this episode I would change. It just worked. And while we’ll once again have to wait for the next episode to really see the outcome, I’m actually happy for now. I need the time to contemplate and digest and that is the mark of a really solid episode of anything.
Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
Join the discussion in the comments.
Karandi James
- Attack on Titan Season One Review
- Attack on Titan Season Two Review
- Attack on Titan Season Three Part One Review
- Attack on Titan Season Three Part Two Review
- Attack on Titan Season Three Part Two Episodes 1 + 2
- Attack on Titan Season Three Part Two Episode 3
- Attack on Titan Season Three Part Two Episode 4
- Attack on Titan Season Three Part Two Episode 5
- Scott and Karandi Discuss Attack on Titan (Part 1)
- Scott and Karandi Discuss Attack on Titan (Part 2)
- Attack on Titan Season Three Part Two Episode 6
- Attack on Titan Season Three Part Two Episode 7
- Attack on Titan Season Three Part Two Episode 8
- Attack on Titan Season Three Part Two Episode 9
- Attack on Titan Season Three Part Two Episode 10
- Images from: Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2. Dir. T Araki. Wit Studio. 2019.
I love that Armin froze up and it was left to the others in the group. I’m so glad no one in this show is perfect. (Also, that guy’s hair gives him invincibility lol)
He’s going to need invincibility given he’s a character in AoT.
Lol true!
Yabut yabut… Too many loose threads yet. What happened to Erin’s ability to command titans with his voice? What about that syringe of titan inducing drug? Since they can’t quickly beat the colossal titan, why not sneak off to check out Erin’s basement? The answer they need might be there. And Erin’s not dead yet. Suppose he jumped off the wall onto the colossal titan’s neck? There are so many things yet in play, ways it could go. ‘Snot dead yet!
Sounds like Attack On Titan is getting crazy! I watched the first season a long long time ago when it first came on. I remember it was dark, and there was a ton of stuff left unexplained. I think there was a crazy long wait for the second season because I never picked it back up. Nice episode review!
There was a lot during the second half of season one and then season two that I didn’t really love. Season three seems to be going very well though and this episode really reminded me what I loved about the series when it first began.