Anime: Attack on Titan Ep 20: Erwin Smith: 57th Expedition (4)

This episode is one I have been awaiting, there is one other in particular I look forward to but I suspect that will be next season.

This is not one of the flashier ones for Attack on Titan but if gives a lot of what appeals to me in this show.  Humanity on so many levels it actually makes one's head hurt to think on it.  There is no cut and dried, no good or evil, there is just a lot of unfair life and dealing with nightmares on top of regrets if you survive.

We come back where we left off, the Female Titan devastating the Recon Corps is finally brought to a standstill in the prepared trap of a few hundred 3D gear hooks.  Once again this Titan protects where Cmdr Erwin and Eren know a human nests inside of it.

Unlike Eren however, this one has a great deal more tricks and control it seems.  Attempts to remove who is inside are frustrated by a surprising ability to mimic the Armored Titan's shell, but only for a small while.

Time, however, is very short outside the Walls for mankind.  As Erwin has his men prepare a desperate attempt to get at his enemy, we see the various MCs analyze the plan they unwittingly participated in.  Armin makes a very firm argument about the choice made to keep all but a very few in the dark about the true plan, while Eren gets a more detailed look at who is trusted and who isn't.

We see a wide gamut of emotions and revelation about each personal character, and even side characters make you sympathize and relate very well.  All of that however is the meat of this series, the monsters and the situation are their world yes, but the characters are what drives this series and we get a nice shot in the arm of those moments.

Sasha even gets a much more solid moment with Mikasa when things do not quite go the way Erwin hoped.  The fact that Mikasa accepts her assessment and states clearly that Sasha's instincts are unnervingly dead on gives an even higher stamp of approval.

Just when things seem to be completely lost for the goals of the 57th expedition, and by extension Eren himself, Erwin gives Levi some strange orders.  We are left with a quite shocking cliff hanger but thankfully next week will bring this expedition very close to finished.

There are some really intense moments ahead but this whole expedition lays stunning ground work for what is to come.  I recommend that even though they give us reviews at the start, to watch them all again once this short arc concludes.  Assuming you have read the manga I think most would agree that some serious WTF moments are coming.