On this day, Marleyans received a grim reminder!
Last year’s cliffhanger left us wanting more from Attack on Titan’s final season with Reiner reuniting with Eren after four years, but today’s episode satisfied our hunger and made us want even more!
Right from the very first minute, you can feel the palpable tension as Eren and Reiner has a little “heart-to-heart” talk. Reiner is scared, Falco is confused, and Eren is acting as if nothing is wrong. And what really made this scene so heart-pounding and gripping is the fact that Eren is the one in control of the situation. The way he sits, the way he talks. You would never guess that he is inside enemy territory and facing an elite Titan warrior.
The fact that Willy Tybur is narrating the story of how Eldia rose and eventually fell added a haunting backdrop to the conversation. Not only did we learn how Paradis really came be, we also had a perfect foreshadowing of things to come, especially if you are following the manga.
The way Eren brought out Reiner’s guilt in full force is truly a sight to behold. For the first time, we’ve seen Eren employing psychological warfare to great effect, leaving Reiner a quivering mess—a far cry from Eren’s usual method of punch first, talk later approach in combat.
Perhaps one of the best things in this episode is the slow revelation, both for the characters and us viewers, that Paradis has already set up a trap within their enemy’s own city. We see bits of it everywhere from a soldier who awfully looks like Connie to Eren casually revealing who got his letters, much to Falco’s terror. And then we have that breathtaking buildup as Willy finished his story and declare war on Paradis right before hell broke loose. Quite literally.
Episode 5 brought another big cliffhanger, but the grim atmosphere and tension it gave us was worth the wait. Definitely, this episode deserved a perfect 10/10. At this point, the plot would be picking up all the way to the exciting finale of the series!