Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2 Episode 3

This world really is cruel, but that’s what makes it such a compelling viewing experience.

Episode 3

Understatement thinking that leaving us mid-battle was going to become the standard this season. Not that there is anything wrong with this episode as it gives us some more Bertholdt and Reiner moments back before they revealed their identities before plunging us back into the battle.

It does feel odd to be getting this kind of back-story now on these two characters who have been there all along, however it does put a new spin on the death of Marco all that time ago and we continue to see that pretty much the world these characters inhabit is just plain horrible. There have been so any moments in Attack on Titan where the phrase ‘that sucks’ has been appropriate and seeing the characters this week and the choices they make and the choices they could have made which were ultimately just as bad, you can’t help but agree with Bertholdt when he points out that the world is ‘cruel’.

For the scouts there is a moment of triumph but also tears as they finally bring down the Armoured titan but even then, what little success it was is momentary before taken from them again. However, even before we realise the futility of their efforts, Conny and Sasha are dealing with the trauma of essentially taking the life of someone they trained with and worked with. This isn’t a nameless titan or an unseen enemy but someone they know very well and they were directly involved in taking him down. While the other characters attempt to remain more detached you can tell the action takes its toll on all of them.

But, there’s no time for processing emotions when you’ve got a colossal titan blowing up and setting fire to the town. Armin might briefly attempt negotiation but what is there really to negotiate in this situation? Neither side intends to change their minds now so the conclusion is decided before they even really begin.

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Despite the very limited progress in terms of time, it feels like a lot happened and to be honest the visual sensation that is the end of this episode (even if the animation was quite what it could have been) is more than enough payoff. There’s something just gut-wrenchingly horrific about the entirety of what is playing out here and the colossal titan flailing about surrounded by the burning buildings that it is using as projectile weapons is kind of the perfect visual to capture the true horror of the entire scenario.