“Why didn’t I kill you then?”
What They Say:
Many years ago, the last remnants of humanity were forced to retreat behind the towering walls of a fortified city to escape the massive, man-eating Titans that roamed the land outside their fortress. Only the heroic members of the Scouting Legion dared to stray beyond the safety of the walls – but even those brave warriors seldom returned alive. Those within the city clung to the illusion of a peaceful existence until the day that dream was shattered, and their slim chance at survival was reduced to one horrifying choice: kill – or be devoured!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
If you haven’t figured it out by now, this episode makes it abundantly clear who that big blonde monster really is.
It starts out with a day in the life of Military Police officer, Annie Leonhart (because apparently the Garrison is considered to be part of the Military Police). The elite faction turns out to be even more corrupt than it looks from the outside. Annie’s division is placed in full control of an important mission to escort Eren and the Survey Corps. inside the walls—but only because their superior wanted to get back to his card game.
One of guys in Annie’s group wants to fix the corrupt Military Police from within; his peers think he’s charmingly naïve. At one point he comes across a duo of senior members who are illegally selling combat equipment to the black market. When he tries to speak up to them they just start beating him with the backs of their rifles, until the others intervene. The poor guy starts to feel even more disillusioned as Annie muses about the depressing weakness of human nature.
At this point, I thought the rest of the episode would continue like this: it would be a thorough introduction to the unjust leaders who were about to condemn the Survey Corps. and argue for Eren’s execution. Instead, the second half more or less negates the first. Corruption is bad and all, but right now, there are much bigger fish to fry. It was interesting to watch these dregs of humanity so quickly become the lesser of two evils.
During the escort mission, a cloaked Armin calls Annie into a back alley. He wants her help to get Eren, Mikasa and himself out of the city so they can escape to safety. She eventually agrees, and the four of them set off down a deserted path through town. They soon come to an underground tunnel which is supposed to lead to the outer gate.
Annie is unexpectedly hesitant. She tries to persuade them to stay above ground, and the three gradually realize that she’s already caught on to their plan. “For some reason, there hasn’t been anyone nearby for a while.” How curious, given that they’re in the middle of a highly populated city during an important military mission. I love the subtlety of this scene. So much goes unsaid even as it becomes clear what’s really happening.
The camera pans around the area to show dozens of concealed people all ready to ambush Annie. Armin explains that he’s suspected her ever since he saw that she had the deceased Marco’s maneuver gear, but he didn’t say anything because he was still trying to convince himself that she was innocent. Finally, Mikasa decides she’s had enough of all the bullshit and promises to tear Annie to pieces just as she did back in the forest.
Her façade shattered, Annie suddenly starts to laugh. It’s extremely creepy to hear her in particular make such an exaggerated feminine sound. Her normally cold expression has been replaced with a gleeful, drunken smile, like that of a torturer who enjoys watching her victims squirm. The crowd tackles Annie and binds her mouth before she can bite her hand, but the ring on her finger has a protruding spike for just such an occasion. Mikasa pulls Eren and Armin into the tunnel as the town district explodes with the characteristic light of a Titan transformation.
In Summary:
Annie witnesses the corruption of the Military Police firsthand. She’s made part of the escort guard for Eren and the other Survey Corps. members, but Armin recruits her to help Eren, Mikasa and himself escape the city. His route takes them to an isolated underground tunnel which Annie refuses to enter. She’s already realized that they’re planning to ambush her. All the concealed people jump out and try to stop her, but soon the Female Titan emerges in the middle of a town deep within the walls.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Insignia 1080p TV, PS3 with Crunchyroll App; Occasionally 17” Toshiba Satellite Laptop, 2.13 GHz Core i3, 4GB RAM, Windows 7
Hi, would like to say that I read and enjoy your reviews. But just a friendly suggestion from a viewer’s perspective. Since anyone reading an anime episode review has already seen the episode. i’d like to hear more of the page being on your thoughts above (in other words new info to take in) rather than recap. You did a great job on commenting on that in ep 21 and ep 22. I’d like to read more of that thought process. Thanks!