Check out our previous episode review here.
I ended up watching the episode late because I was watching a kdrama called Hyena with my mom all day. I just expected the start of the Reverse Uno Saga in PATHs – not the confirmation of the multiple timelines theory with the appearance of Goth Mikasa, Nerd Armin, and Sauna Reiner.
I damn near had a heart attack after seeing all of that. I actually got teary eyed, and had to take about three hours just to gather my thoughts and truly let it sink in:
An Anime Original Attack on Titan Ending is indeed happening.
And it’s going to be grand.
***
So it’s been a few days since I wrote the intro above, and I have since calmed down a little bit.
I knew that peak fiction was being animated, but for some reason my heart just couldn’t take it. Haha ☺
Before we begin the review, I just want to address two gripes I had while watching this:
- The Garrison charge that Pixis lead
- Gabi riding a horse
I know that the manga and anime are two different entities, but I am glad that they at least changed the (believed) continuity error of the soldiers flanking the Marleyan rear, only to be seen in the manga panels later charging them head-on.
Concerning Gabi however, when she and Falco first reached Braus Ranch, Gabi mentioned she did not know how to ride a horse. This scene occurred both in the anime and manga…so why on earth does Gabi suddenly know how to ride a horse?
I know it’s a nitpick all things considered, but as everything else is seemingly meticulously planned in this series…that scene bugs me. ☺
Anywho, on to the good stuff.
We finally got the confirmed death of Koslow via a sick backhanded kill with blades by Mikasa.
We also, unfortunately, got the death of Porco Galliard – one of the realest Warriors from Marley.
Porco’s Death Scene
The anime captured his arrogant swagger perfectly during his death scene.
I saw some reactors I watch were confused as to why Porco got Marcel’s memories, and why he decided to sacrifice himself for Reiner (and Falco). If you are coming across this and were wondering as well – here’s your answer.
Do you all remember in part one of the season when Reiner and Porco were talking about memories after defeating The Mid-East Allied Force in episode two? Porco berated Reiner for his behavior during the time he spent on Paradis, and Reiner asked Porco if he saw Marcel’s memories, to which Porco replied no, just Ymir’s.
In Reiner’s episode directly after this conversation, we get to see Porco’s dynamic with Reiner as children. The two never got along, and Marcel kept apologizing to Reiner for reasons he did not understand until they arrived on Paradis.
Because Porco already resented Reiner for the death of his older brother, Reiner believed that if Porco saw Marcel’s memories, he would understand for himself what happened, instead of trying to explain it away.
If Porco heard what happened himself and saw the events through his brother’s eyes – it would be more real to him.
Why did Porco let himself be eaten by Falco, when Zeke ordered Falco to kill Reiner?
As Porco mentioned, he was out of energy.
Just as Pieck almost died during the assault on Liberio, Porco was at his limit and could no longer heal.
By Reiner holding Eren (the Founder) and then reaching out to touch Porco, that was the ‘conduit’ so to speak that triggered Marcel’s memory within Porco.
Porco finally got to see the real reason why his brother Marcel died, and that memory confirmed to him that he had always been better than Reiner. Porco was only left behind in Marley due to his brother tricking the military.
Unable to heal, and at peace with a situation that bothered him for years after all of his friends left him alone – he could finally die with no regrets. And as everybody likes Falco, Porco decided to sacrifice his already dying body and transfer the jaw titan powers to Falco.
If you remember in episode one of season four, Falco had memories of flying around Paradis Island using ODM gear. Falco inherited Ymir’s jaw titan memories earlier, given to him while he was staring at the bird on the active battlefield during the capture of Fort Slava.
As to why Falco had dream memories of killing titans on Paradis before becoming a shifter, we can look to Eren. Why can we look to Eren?
Well, I’m working on a theory right now concerning that very topic that should be released very soon ☺.
Moving on, let’s talk about the second half of Two Brothers.
With the Galliard brothers dead, and ½ of the Grice brothers exterminated, we can now move our focus to the Yeager bros.
We got the epic reveal that Eren does not support Zeke and Yelena’s Euthanasia Plan – and was playing his half-brother all along.
I loved all of the anime-only bonus scenes we got that included:
Goth Mikasa, Nerd Armin, and Sauna Reiner from the Attack on School Castes spin-off manga, which Isayama just officially confirmed as canon in Eren’s Memory Shard sequence before entering PATHs.
And with that, I think I’ll leave it here.
(Also mainly because it’s Friday night and if I spend any longer obsessing over this episode the new one will already be out, and I’ll behind on my reviews yet again! 😅 )
But, tell me your thoughts.
Which ‘brother’ substory did you enjoy the most in this episode?
Why do you think Zeke and Eren ultimately betrayed each other?
And…
Did Gabi inadvertently start the rumbling by shooting Eren’s head off?
Leave your thoughts in the comment section below, we’d love to hear from you! Also be sure to follow us for more weekly Attack on Titan the Final Season reviews and discussions!
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