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**Still processing but can be downloaded!  Thanks!  ~ MH*


Hey everyone!  Here's my reaction and review of episode 21 of the final season of AoT!  Wow.....seeing Ymir's back story was enlightening but also so heartbreaking!!!!  So I guess that proves whether or not the early Eldian Titans were really warmongers or not..... :/  Poor Ymir, she never once had any kind of chance whatsoever....until, that is, Eren gave her the opportunity!!!  And just like that, the walls are DOWN, and we're going a bit farther than the rumbling, it seems!!!!  Jeez, there's just no way this is gonna end without total destruction of some party, is there?  Guess we'll find out...!!!  Great ep!  Enjoy!  ~ MH

Files

Attack on Titan 4x21 full reaction.mp4

Comments

Tyler Stobbe

So I happened to, in the past week, see the first episode again and I noticed that the first time Eren appears, he’s waking up after seeing a clip show of future events on screen: and he comments that it feels like he just woke up from a very long dream. Which makes me wonder how far back the strings are being pulled here, and if all this is heading for a “reset” at the end of the series. Don’t worry I haven’t read the manga, so I have only blind guesses, same as you. Something occurred to me when all the other slaves put the blame on Ymir: they probably did it because they knew she wouldn’t pass it off to someone else and took advantage of her kindness. Human beings, right? Also, her being hunted by dogs seems to be a callback to what happened to Grisha’s sister. Something else during the flashback you seem to have misinterpreted: when Ymir dives in front of Fritz, she is not doing it to save his life. She literally wants to die. The king is perplexed as to why she’s not healing: she’s given up. It’s very much the same state Reiner was in at the attack on Liberio in the first part of this cour. He just wanted to give up and die. “After all this time, she finally gets to make a choice for herself…” - Oh come on, you already know the parallel I’m drawing with another show in my head, it’s the plot thread no one wants to think about… 👀 As far as Eren’s message: I don’t think he cares if there are Eldians beyond the walls. Those Eldians hate his people, and he’s seen one of his best friends killed by one of them. I think he’s at the point where he has no qualms killing anyone against him, and that includes members of his own kind. Gabi for example, has done plenty to be deemed worthy of death in his eyes. Here’s the REAL question regarding this turn: what will Mikasa and Armin do next? Those are probably the only two people he will even consider listening to, despite what he said to them earlier. Okay, now for a bit of theorycrafting: the question on everyone’s mind: Is Eren’s rage against everyone justified? His actions have serious moral repercussions, but at the core of the matter, he isn’t the one who started all this. This war began because of human selfishness when Ymir took the fall for something she didn’t do. Things have affected Eren directly because of this, based on the actions of others: his mother was eaten because Marley candidates attacked the wall. The Titans that attacked the city were put there by Marley as prisoners to begin with. Everything Eren is doing here is a reaction to something that someone else started first. I don’t know how much history you know, I assume you have some basis, but when we first saw the flashbacks in the basement, the armbands the Eldians were all wearing reminded me a lot of a scene out of the Holocaust in World War II. That along with the persecution Marley was putting them through. My theory now is that these are completely intentional references, based on this episode. The author is using the history of Hitler specifically to shape Eren’s character. Now I know that sounds like a stretch, but here’s the logic: Before he turned into a megalomaniac, Hitler just wanted to be accepted into an art school to pursue his craft. The school he desired to attend was run by a Jewish citizen, and he was rejected. This seemingly minor event is the catalyst for a deep seeded grudge that led to one of the most horrific purges in world history. The same way four Marleyans trying to do their job and complete their mission led to the death of Eren’s mother, thousands of his fellow citizens, and unleashed a deep seated hatred inside him for everyone responsible. Think about how many times you have heard Eren since that happened say he would kill and slaughter everyone. Loudly. It’s a direct reverse parallel: and I think the author is making this connection intentionally. Eren is willing now to commit genocide on a massive scale due to the actions of a few people who had no idea what the chain result would be at the time: and the result is that he wants to wipe out everyone who is not like him. Another parallel with real world events mentioned above. The difference between the two, is that we’ve been following everything through Eren’s point of view up to this point. We know everything he’s gone through. It doesn’t make his actions any less horrific, but we understand him more because we’ve been with him from the start. He thinks he’s protecting everything he cares about, and we grasp the concept his mindset is in, even if it’s not one that should be condoned. That’s the working theory I have. I shared it with another one of my reactor friends and he thought the same as I did: as uncomfortable as the pieces are, they really do fit together when you compare notes. Eren’s rage is justified. His actions, however, have serious moral ambiguity to them, even though the rest of the world, I guess you could say, kind of brought this answer on themselves? The point being made here I think is this: everyone is a hero in their own story, even those responsible for horrific acts don’t see themselves as villains in their own eyes. No one is born a monster: Monsters are created. And usually people are the ones responsible. Even when they don’t intend to be. No one is 100% right here. But neither is anyone 100% wrong, either. And last, but not least, let’s not overlook the most important thing we learned this week: this all started… ALL OF IT… because of a pig. (Where do I turn this comment in for extra research credit, btw? 😂)

MagnusVD

I'm also anime only but I managed to rewatch the series several times along with reactors so I'll give you some more food for thought but I will not say any theories I have. Rewatch beginning of season 4 and compare Falco waking up with eren waking up in season 1 Compare Erens face after he kissed historias hand and ymirs face at the end of this episode

Supermonaman

I love this episode so much it’s probably my favorite episode of the show I have ever watched. We saw the fight at the start before but it wasn’t animated fully and it’s rough seeing how brutal it was. I love that Zeke is able to put things together so quickly being really intelligent and the voice acting especially when he starts whispering realizing exactly how horrifying this is. Also I like that he isn’t completely at peace with his hatred towards Grisha since he corrects himself when saying father to the 1st name. Confirmation of what is going on is so trippy imagining seeing your own future through someone else’s memories. I love Eren’s determination/resolve here but it is truly insane and terrifying (what’s a couple fingers to him after all) and I’m not surprised a lot of people were cringing at seeing the visceral dismemberment. And his desperate scream are impressive apparently according to the voice actor he almost lost his voice with this performance. I love how aside from certain important moments Ymir’s memories are voiceless just like she is literally and metaphorically being voiceless being a slave. I too didn’t realize she had her tongue cut out because I thought Eldia was only doing that to the people who were resisting. I am not entirely sure if this was happening but the wedding Ymir was watching might have been forced with one of the slaves being married off and we can see her desire to be loved by people here. The cruelty on display from the king towards the slaves is so wrong and you can really tell the slaves are lifeless at this point. I think they all blamed her because they knew she was the type of person who would accept it to help people. Also this type of thing happened to the Ymir we 1st knew before she turned into a Titan when she accepted all the blame for the cult/group that took her in and gave her name as they were worshipers of the original Ymir if you remember. It’s a great parallel considering she was basically playing the part of the original Ymir as well as her connection with Historia and how she was acting like Ymir as we now know. For the king to talk about freedom in parentheses speaks to a lot of stuff in the entire show and his sarcasm is so messed up because he was never going to let her go and his be free was like being free from life. Them hunting her like an animal is some game of thrones shit. It feels like this is playing into the whole this world is cruel but also beautiful philosophy of this show with her seeing the bloodstained flower which possibly represents the hopelessness of her situation. Also there are 9 petals like the 9 Titans and 13 hands pointing at her like the 13 year limit of Titan shifters as well. Someone I watch who knows a lot about fairytales pointed out something interesting about how in many stories forests are places that change the characters who enter them. The tree here is very old and almost impossibly large with how deep it goes and is like a dark version of Yggdrasil with how twisted it is and it just feels like it doesn’t belong. There is a Norse mythology reference here with the weird creature being a reference to the Niddhog which chews on the roots of Yggdrasil. This thing is actually inspired by a creature in real life called Hallucigenia (or as fans like to call it Hallu-chan) a strange worm that resembles animals today so little archaeologists reconstructed it upside down. It existed during the Cambrian explosion where all sorts of different kinds of life was evolving and the area it was found in is where lots of life today or at least the predecessors of originated from. Here’s a short cool video with more detail https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-Z9Ssgb0Kg . Apparently when this happened in the manga all the manga readers were getting recommended that video on YouTube. I like that the way it connects to Ymir looks like a spinal cord. Her Titan form is both metal and disturbing as all hell and it’s much bigger than the colossal kind of crazy. It sucks that she remained a slave with so much power it just shows the type of mentality a slave has especially one who became a slave so young she has known nothing else and Stockholm syndrome is probably a part of it as well. Also I want to point out that the position she always assumes has her hands in a gesture as if she is shackled despite no chains. It turns out Marley and the restorationists were both right about the past no one knowing Ymir was a slave. There is basis in history here with Eldia being like Germanic tribes where Norse mythology originates and Marley being this world’s version of 1 of the Roman empires. Although where the Romans historically often defeated Germanic tribes Isayama threw Titans into the mix. And while the king wanting her to bear his children as a reward is disgusting in the time period this compares to it was thought to be an honor to have a Kings children and Ymir has that whole wanting to be loved and helpful. Also this is definitely meant to remind you of what’s going on with Historia if Zeke’s plan continued. The way all the characters are more grey to show how long ago this was and the blank eyes represent the cruelty at this time and her lifelessness. It doesn’t even look like she loves her children it was just expected of her. I believe Ymir intercepted the assassination because she had a death wish but it was also what had been ingrained in her as a slave. I think she may have also been trying to see if the king had any caring for her at all and once he was still cold she lost the will to live but through magic or something the paths formed. The fact that being a slave was such a part of her identity she continued to be 1 after death and it was a living hell considering in the path world time is basically infinite. Oh another couple sad details as a Titan she could have regenerated her tongue or did and just chose not to she just felt that voiceless & her appearance in the paths is a child because she never grew past that. The gruesome aspect of having his children cannibalize their mother is beyond words especially not even knowing it would work. The 1st king is just a monster his kingdom could have perhaps done so much good but instead it was all about domination. And then we got to see Eren embodying freedom and that really great part of himself that values freedom and peoples choices and even if he needs her help I 100% believe this was him being honest and sincere. Before we get into the big stuff I want to say that Ymir & King Fritz are 2 extremes of humanity the ultimate kindness of humanity and the ultimate cruelty of humanity and how extreme altruism can be detrimental to oneself. I love how a dark choir starts up here and I believe it’s deliberate that Zeke here resembles King Fritz to a degree. It’s such good storytelling that this is also the 1st time we see her eyes. The way the music builds up here is fantastic and the instrumental for the rest of the episode I believe is called footsteps of doom. The creature bursting forth and helping resurrect Eren brings up theories like did Ymir just transfer it into him or is it inside every Eldin which possibly gives credence to the parasite theory. It must be crazy for everyone when this seems to come out of nowhere but especially for Gabi since everything in the paths happened instantly she must’ve gone from I saved everyone to oh God no. Seeing/experiencing what the rumbling fully looks like is truly horrifying but the sheer scale is incredible and a story that manages to create such large-scale events will never not be awesome to me. Also the sky darkening like it does really gives off the world ending vibes it should. The roar from Eren and what he transforms into are truly terrifying and everyone’s reactions sell it really well. This thing is almost unimaginably big since the colossal Titans closest to it look tiny. From measurements we know people have guessed it’s size and while there are many larger buildings in the real world it’s up there with some pretty big buildings irl. The idea that the rumbling is so loud Mikasa can barely hear Armin right next to her. You can clearly see from his face that Armin while not being happy about this is relieved to know Eren is on their side but someone in a comment put it in perspectives “wait what does being on our side mean to Eren”. But the reality of the situation sinks in quickly and since others have talked about it in detail all I will say about him wanting to kill everyone off the island makes so much sense after everything he has gone through and his speech here is so amazing with the voice acting it’s chilling/breathtaking. I still think I’m right about that theory regarding Eren and the end of this story I told you about in a previous comment. Him being able to talk to everyone is like going @Eldias in a messenger application. I love how we have so many diverse reactions of so many different characters including some minor characters who somehow managed to survive the rest of the show. I think most of the reactions are obvious but I want to talk about Shadis and Flock’s reactions. Shadis is reacting to the teenager he trained become this and it’s crazy to go from season one to this. Floch reaction might just be shock and hopefully rethinking things like you wanted a demon there he is as I said while watching the episode but the way he is sitting resembles kneeling in front of a king perhaps being in reference to Eren thinking he actually did it. I love the image at the end like you I think it’s terrifying and awesome at the same time. Although I do wonder if it could have been even cooler if it was actually animated talking. Also I like that there was static because of how this speech can be considered similar to a radio transmission which I think was the point. It’s a little funny but reflects the seriousness of this that the mid card was basically at the end of the episode, was quicker than usual and the music didn’t even stop. I would be happy if you are right on the Titans are aliens thing but I love how even official reports have no idea what the creature is I think it’s the point and I think it’s better that way. It really feels like the end of the world and everything that comes after this will be a roller coaster of all sorts of emotions and I think it will be great to see the different characters reactions to it and how those reactions and decisions will vary. Great reaction this was a really incredible episode 1 of my favorites in the show. Keep up the great work. :-) <3

kamenriderhime

This was an awesome ep for sure! Eren's resolve is truly scary and that's so interesting about the VA's voice, dang! Yes it was quite symbolic that poor Ymir still has no voice...the cutting out of the tongue is just brutal! Ohhhh good call about this paralleling the later Ymir's situation too! Ooohhh did not notice the number of petals on the flower, and great insights about the forest changing people, and also the tree!! Ohhhh that is so cool about Yggdrasil, thanks for the info! I can only imagine the spike in views the video saw when this chapter came out in the manga LOL. Very interesting about the references to historic wars. And yes there's quite a parallel to current day Historia with the whole bearing children thing! So sick that that was seen as the king's "reward". Ooof yeah she may have just been going through the motions with the children at that point....and sooo true that no one even knew if eating her would work, ugh! Oh everything here worked so well didn't it?! Seeing Ymir's eyes, the music, everything. Couldn't agree more! Armin is def relieved because at the end of the day he's really going off of the love for his friend. Good point about Shadis and Floch too! Yeah the mystery of the Titans' origins really works, I wouldn't mind if they never told us! I'm so happy you liked my reaction!!! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and for all the encouragement and support!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^_^