S01.E21: Crushing Blow: 57th Expedition Beyond the Walls, Part 5

[PrincessEnnui]

Erwin realizes it was a mistake to assume all titans have abilities like Eren. The mission was in vain. Meanwhile, the Female Titan is chasing Eren with all her might. Eren wants to transform and fight the titan, but the Team Levi urges him to flee. They will take on the titan themselves...

 

Flitting from trust to doubt, Eren watches Team Levi fight...and fail... He transforms to fight the Female Titan, human grief and rage personified.

 

Wow, that was intense. There was something intimate about the fight, maybe because of the generic-ness of the fighters. Eren got eaten again, Mikasa got pissed again.

Edited October 5, 2014 by PrincessEnnui

[Eri]

I watched the sub version of this episode and it pains me to see it again. Eren as usual goes in guns blazing with no plan or thought process, just pure adrenaline. Poor Team Levi, I missed Petra the most T_T

[PrincessEnnui]

You can't really blame the kid. He's 15, emotional enough as it is. Watching the people you're trying to have faith in die horrible deaths, knowing you have the power at the very least to act, is rough. Mikasa is the same way, so its not just him either.

[Eri]

The majority of the 104th Trainees Squad are the same age and are all dealing with death and the war on Titans differently yes. Some a bit more impulsive than others. I never cared for Eren in general because his hot-headed temper has gotten others killed or in trouble before (Episode 5). Mikasa ever becomes emotional whenever Eren is involved because of her over-protective and sometimes clingy nature. I thought about whether Eren's Titan transformation would have helped in the battle but I think eventually the Levi Squad would have been killed off anyway for drama effect.

[lathspel]

Amazing episode. Eren's pretty scary, but the Female Titan really took him apart in short order. The tempest kick (OK, really a hand chop I suppose?) she used was epic, and in general her moves have been astounding throughout this arc.

I know Titans can regenerate their heads, but it must be really disorienting for the human inside when the head is cut off.

I almost missed it, but either that was Titan blood steaming off of Mikasa... or I just saw her regenerate from a few cuts. I'm not sure what I saw.

The only thing I didn't like was that Eren gets the moral victory of not disobeying orders, but then still gets to do what he wanted in the end anyway. That somewhat diminished the impact of his agonized decision making to trust his squad. Although now he has mega guilt, so maybe that's the real down side.

Edited October 5, 2014 by lathspel

[ZoqFotPik]

I never cared for Eren in general because his hot-headed temper has gotten others killed or in trouble before (Episode 5).

That hot headed temper is also what saved Mikasa from a life as a sex slave, and in episode 5 even though he went off half cocked, his squad seemed fairly gung-ho and  was ordered to engage, so it isn't entirely his fault they got slaughtered.

 

the Levi Squad would have been killed off anyway for drama effect.

Yeah, they were toast. They had to bring the rest of the 104th into the loop some how. Still it was sad it see them go.

[Eri]

 

That hot headed temper is also what saved Mikasa from a life as a sex slave, and in episode 5 even though he went off half cocked, his squad seemed fairly gung-ho and  was ordered to engage, so it isn't entirely his fault they got slaughtered.

The squad was not ordered to engage, they tried to stop him from going off because they knew going solo was suicidal and got caught in the crossfire as a result. And that same temper he used involuntarily attacked Mikasa as a Titan. I'll give you the other point; his impulsive nature has been around since the time he was a kid, although how disturbing is it that he'd be willing to kill at such a young age? o.o;;  (Anger management anyone?)

Edited October 5, 2014 by Eri

[ZoqFotPik]

The squad was not ordered to engage

Yes they were. "Squad 34, Move Out! The Vanguard needs support!" were their orders, but agree Eren went off half cocked. This is becoming more about previous episodes so I'll take it the season 1 thread for any further response.

[Sandman87]

So remember that important lesson about trust that Erin learned recently? In this episode it turns out that it was all bullshit. Or at least that's Eren's take-away from it after the Levis Squad gets fatally pantsed. He goes all Titanic to fight the Female Titan, but at some point it swerves dangerously toward porn territory. And then he gets eaten. Again. Maybe he should change his name to Gilbert Grape.

[lathspel]

Although it didn't appear he was cut in half or anything, so I'm guessing he'll come back. He's actually been hurt worse, and the last Titan who ate him didn't end well.

I hadn't really figured it out until this episode, but all the steamy muscles and screaming reminded me of Evangelion, and I realized that this is basically a mecha show. There are gigantic unstoppable robots, a young and inexperienced military force in over their heads and trying to save humanity, and at least one of them is a "pilot" who's trying to learn how to fight before he gets killed.

[Sandman87]

I hadn't thought about it in those terms before. I can see little bits of Evangelion now that I think about it. Especially in the notion that humans are either helping the Titans or using them for their own ends.

[ZoqFotPik]

There's also the main character's dad knowing way more about what's going on.

[lathspel]

Excellent point, I'd almost forgot about him.

[Iguessnot]

Once again the extra long soliloquy when he's supposed to be  engaged in a death match, ruined that scene. 

[PrincessEnnui]

Didn't he say all that when he his hands were regenning though? I don't know if the Female Titan was healing up other wounds though, but I would have booked it as soon as I saw Eren transform. I guess she showed him though, so to speak.

 

I do actually get Eva overtones. That said, I think the characters are far more savvy (and considerably less selfish) than Eva characters at large. Hearing that the manga creator based this series on an inability to communicate with another person, I am not surprised there's a bit of overlap here and there. I also would not be surprised if the battle between the Female Titan and the Rogue Titan was animated based in part on one of the battles from Eva. I really did half expect Eren to start eating her...

[the fresh maker]

I hadn't really figured it out until this episode, but all the steamy muscles and screaming reminded me of Evangelion, and I realized that this is basically a mecha show.

 

 

Yep. Titans are flesh mechs.

 

Once again the extra long soliloquy when he's supposed to be  engaged in a death match, ruined that scene.

 

 

Didn't he say all that when he his hands were regenning though?

 

I was wondering why the heck he was wasting time monologuing, and then I saw he was sitting in that, um, position with no hands.

[Sandman87]

It's worth remembering that almost any anime that's based on a manga is going to have a lot of pauses in the action so the characters can talk and talk and talk. It's the only way to cram in all of the original dialog.