This video contains major spoilers for Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 2 Episode 4, if you
are NOT caught up with the series, I advise doing that before watching this video.
You’ve been warned.
RISE UP YAEGERISTS!
Salute from your hearts and belch your boisterous battle cries as we witness Eren make his way
to the top of the list of anime’s most dastardly, diabolical, and inexplicably devious schemers
of all time.
The characters who cooked up a secret plan and plot twist so comprehensive and mind-boggling
that it has you questioning everything you’ve EVER believed, that makes it feel like Eren
knew every single thought you ever had before you even had it.
Which, honestly, isn’t tooo far from the actual truth.
And yes, you all know what I’m talking about- Eren literally manipulated EVERYTHING.
While everyone was playing checkers, Eren was not just playing chess, but somehow inventing
chess at the same time.
Across time itself, Eren schemed up until this point exactly how he wanted it all to
go, in one of the most insane plot twists of all time in anime.
And there’s a certain art to making a great plot twist.
A number of factors that both keep readers from guessing that it will happen and making
sure the moment when its revealed is incredibly impactful- not just because of the plot twist
in information, but the setting, buildup, performance, all of it is fundamentally important.
Let’s talk about it, in the first step which is what I call the art of distraction.
You can’t stop people from making theories.
The hints the author has dabbled throughout the series are always there, and what Attack
on Titan mastered perfectly is distracting us from thinking about it up until the very
last moment.
The reveal of the attack titan’s actual ability was so powerful because it was completely
unexpected; why is that?
I’m sure people could’ve thought that there was far more to the attack titan, but
why wasn’t it a big cause for concern among the community?
Why wasn't it a big theory?
Looking in hindsight, there is specificity of almost every titan: the armored titan’s
defense, colossal titan’s size, jaw titan’s- well, jaws-, cart titan’s mobility and longevity,
warhammer titan’s creation of structures, the female titan’s hardening and ability
to crystallize, the beast titan’s hairiness, of course, and then the attack titan is…
what?
Just a naked dude who can fight and eventually learns to harden, basically just copying the
female titan.
Why wouldn’t we suspect there was more to it?
Well, it’s quite simple; since the end of season 2, Eren’s attack titan has been far
overshadowed by the founding titan.
In season 1 and 2, titan shifters are still kind of unclear and we don’t really have
a reason to question the attack titan or think more about it; the show is simple and still
picking up at this point.
By season 3, once we really start world building, the focus shifts to trying to figure out what
the founding titan even is.
We figure out its powers, how it played a role in the Reiss’ family and king of Paradis’
vow against violence, we’re finding that the founding titan is arguably the most important
and powerful titan out there, and Eren has it.
In season 4, what is important is now finding out how Eren can access this power, now that
we know what it is.
The series continues to hold the founding titan and its relevance to the story in the
limelight.
Frankly, by this point in Attack on Titan it purposefully makes it feel like the attack
titan is more of a means so that Eren can fight, while the founding titan is the real
power he holds.
Which is certainly true to some extent, but the show is constantly distracting us from
the craziest power of them all.
If you want to see another example of Attack on Titan using this art of distraction more,
look at the second-biggest plot twist, when Reiner and Bertholdt reveal their identities
as titans.
In the episodes leading up to this, we have a super intense fight for the survey corps
as well as the reveal that Ymir was a titan shifter.
It was crazy to see that there’s another shifter, it's the first one we've seen since Annie
We're left wondering how she got her power, what her goal is, is it like Annie’s or is she different?…
and then Isayama surprises us immediately with something far more insane.
We were so distracted by other things, other important things.
Ymir’s story and status as a titan shifter is super important, just like how the founding
titan is also super important right now, it’s not like we’re being distracted by little
trivial moments or purposeful red herrings.
But the big reveals are always being saved for the perfect time amidst the chaos of it
all, and it takes a particular skill in storytelling and writing to find those ideal moments.
And this is part of why Reiner and Bertholdt’s plot twist was also amazing.
Returning to the case of Eren’s twist, even in the most recent episodes, zooming in to
the moments before the reveal, this theory of distracting the audience still goes; but
this time, it’s distracting us with Zeke.
The cliffhanger of episode 3 left us believing that Zeke tricked Eren into giving him the
power of the founding titan, allowing zeke to use it solely according to his own will
as a bearer of royal blood.
And honestly- just because of how ambiguous the founding titan and Ymir are- you don’t
have a place to really question this.
Like, yeah you might think that Eren has something else up his sleeve, but
it kinda seems like he's trapped at this point, because you don't really know any better
And then in episode 4, up until the point of the reveal, it’s a total slow-burner.
We’re exposed to a lot of dialogue and even more insight into Zeke’s belief about Grisha
and how he brainwashed both him and Eren into believing his doctrine of wanting to free
Eldia from the Marleyans.
Once again, i’ll emphasize that this “distraction”, per se, is very very important for character
building and fleshing out Zeke and Grisha’s character. It's as much a distraction as it is a pretty important plot point
Ever since Zeke and Eren spoke at Shiganshina, the first thing Zeke ever told him was how
Grisha brainwashed him.
The show is leading us to believe that Zeke is running this scene in his attempt to show
Eren exactly how Grisha molded him, their discussion about their father distracting
us from the truth that was yet to come.
And then we get to the monumental scene...
And just take note of how beautiful the soundtrack is here, the buildup and just how menacing
the orchestral music behind Grisha and Frieda’s discussion is as it gradually gets more and
more hostile.
It’s building up to the moment we all know is coming, where Grisha eats the Royal Family.
He says very subtly, as if it's not important, that the Attack Titan’s true power is the ability to see its future bearer’s memories
And you're thinking, what does that mean?
What can Grisha see then?
How does this change things?
Dozens of thoughts swirl in our heads alongside the anticipation of the violence and massacre
of eating the royal family with the music belting in our ears along and Hiroshi Tsuchida’s
absolutely incredible voice acting and performance here.
There’s so much going on, it's almost like overstimulation
and then it stops.
Just like when Reiner and Bertholdt were revealed, Attack on Titan perfectly uses silence to
make the moment of reveal strike clear and poignant.
And then the music returns for a moment, the frightening villain piano theme just slightly
hinting at the devious twist that is to come…
Grisha falls to his knees and claims that he can't kill children
Wait, what?
The panic sets in
The royal family screaming at Frieda to kill him, Zeke asking what is going on, and how it could
even be possible that the past is changing right now in front of his eyes.
And then it happens.
You realize…
this isn’t some different version of the past thats occurring like Zeke thinks.
This is the one story everyone’s been living.
This is history.
This is fact.
One that Eren made happen.
We see the true power of the attack titan come to life as Eren grabs Grisha’s shoulder
and tells him exactly what he must do.
The beautiful contrast between Eren’s stone-cold, determined face and Grisha’s fear and wavering commitment,
it's clear that Grisha would never do this if Eren were not there
did you forget what you came here to do?
Your sister who got eaten by dogs?
Your wife who was turned into a titan?
You don’t stop here.
You don’t stop in death, you don't stop even after death.
It’s horrifically beautiful.
Everything about this moment.
Not only does it shock us to our core with the power of the attack titan and Eren’s
ability to actually change the past with it, but it also shows us the unwavering and indomitable
mindset that Eren carries with him.
The reason Zeke thought Grisha brainwashed Eren was because he was carrying out the will
of Eren himself.
The subtle line here, where Grisha says how he killed the entire royal family except the
father, and us knowing that Eren needs the father in order to meet Historia and make contact
with the founding titan.
It’s more than just Eren changing the past too, he molded this story into what he wanted it to be
He doesn’t show Grisha all his memories, only what he needs to to make sure he follows
exactly what he says.
It's insanely manipulative, and almost unbelievable
What Grisha could not do, Eren could.
To achieve his goal.
To take away their freedom, before they take ours.
This is the culmination of Eren’s character up until this point.
It’s something that has been hinted at since season 1, that Eren will never submit to anyone.
This has nothing to do with his titan, or what cage or chains you might shackle him
with; Eren proves that he stops at nothing in this single moment.
Just like what Grisha says, “only eren will get what he wants.”
The beauty of this perfect plot twist, is that the plot itself, was always written by
Eren.
As always this has been the Anime Culture Corner
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