Shingeki no Kyoujin - 6

"The World She Saw - Defense of Trost 2"

I think I like this series better when there's less Eren in it.

Though this has been one of the mainstays of the season in terms of quality and action, I've had some trouble really getting into the characters' heads. The last time I felt true empathy was at the end of episode one with the death of Eren's mother, but since then it's been craziness after craziness without enough time to really stop and consider who these kids are. Sure, we have archetypes; Eren's the headstrong hero with big ideals, Mikasa is the badass who's out to make sure her osananajimi isn't getting into too much trouble, and Armin's the weakling who wants to be strong and stop relying on his friends. Beyond that, however, Shingeki's characters haven't really resonated with me as real people. That's why I really appreciate an episode like this, which stops the action long enough to reflect on the people behind the types, and for both Armin and Mikasa, this is very much a good thing.

I'm still not buying the "Eren is dead" trap, if only because I'm pretty sure a series like this doesn't have the will to pull off something like that, but for the moment everyone does believe he's dead, and Armin is the one dealing directly with the consequences. He's had very little of the spotlight so far, so it's interesting to get into his head and realize just how helpless he knows he is, and even more thought-provoking to wonder just why it is that the Titans left him alone. After eating Eren, why didn't the Titan eat him too? It adds to the mystery of these terrifying creatures, and at this point I have a million theories about their existence and origins, though neither of them are probably anywhere near the actual truth. There's a more human element to Armin's grief than there has been for a while though, and the same can be said for Hannah and Franz, who she desperately tries to revive despite his having been bitten in half.

The real drama at the center of this episode, however, comes from Mikasa. Her utter devotion to Eren makes far more sense in context; he saved her life and gave her a reason to move on after the brutal murder of her parents. I'm not really sure what to think of Eren after the whole affair, however; what kind of child is prepared to murder for the name of justice and justifying it under the statement that those he killed weren't human? Though Mikasa might feel indebted to him (and probably more), I can't help but cautiously place a psychopath label on this protagonist. Even so, this revelation doesn't really flesh him out any more than what we already know about him. The real questions lie in how he became this way. For the most part it seems like he belonged to a loving family, so why is it that he had such strong opinions on justice since such a young age?

N.B.: Thanks to Ivan for the caps!