I never like when some fans get too bogged down in debating Armin and Erwin’s objective merits and how useful they have each been to the cause because at the end of the day, that reduces the worth of their lives to their utility and misses the true complexity of this episode’s conflict and the immense grace of Levi’s decision. The characters can argue which man is objectively more important for saving humanity all they want but the truth is all of them (with the exception of Floch) just want to bring back their friend, the one they love more. Levi ultimately made the decision to save Armin because he considered both Armin and Erwin as humans, not tools he can revive or dispose as he sees fit for saving the world, deciding to give Armin the chance to see the sea and Erwin the ultimate freedom and peace after all of his years of service. In the end the objective arguments don’t really matter. Levi didn’t act out of strategic gain, he acted out of love 🙂
Sorry, but I can't agree with the part that they all wanted to revive their friend. Maybe a part of Levi was influenced by that, but feelings apart, reviving the commander is the natural choice, I mean, is the commander, you have to save him. I'm pretty sure thats how Hange and Levi thought, it was the non bias decision. And that doesn't mean Armin didn't have good arguments in his favor, but you must save your leader.
@@mikelsainzbarreda4504 While you're right that that was Levi's train of thought for the majority of the time, in the end he _did_ choose Armin for Erwin's sake, as a friend.
If you paid attention the moment Berthold screamed for help, he smiled, but at the same time he realised, those arent his frends anymore, so he called for Annie and Reiner.
This is one of the best directed chapters I have seen in an anime, the music, the dialogue, the silence and the animation all perfectly tuned to catch the viewer and make them part of that difficult decision making.
Eren was willing to risk his life for Armin back during episode 5 of S1. And now Armin returned the favor. And we see how much it's broken Eren. He barely speaks above a whisper and he pleads with Levi to bring Armin back. Because Armin was the one who gave him his dreams of freedom. Armin was the one who told him about the outside world. About the sea. Moblit is very underrated. And he went out protecting Hange until the end. And the last thing Hange saw with her other eye was him burning away to save her. R.I.P. Moblit. On a side note, I definitely respect Bertolt for what he believed in and that awesome OST he brought. R.I.P. Bert. You'll always be the Colossal in my heart. Our original poster boy who finally found his confidence near the end. Also, it's commonly theorized that the reason he calls out for everyone in the end is that when he wakes up, he's still pretty out of it(possible due to blood loss). Then he remembers the situation he's in and calls out for Annie and Reiner. And as for Floch, he may sound annoying, but Erwin coming up with that plan was the only reason the Beast wasn't able to get over the wall and obliterate the rest of the scouts with his throwing ability. He provided them the opportunity for victory while being at a disadvantage(due to Monke Man being skilled at long range fights due to his lanky arms). Erwin overthrew the Government and made the plans that allowed everyone to get to this point. Erwin sacrificed his arm to save Eren. Floch doesn't really know Armin, so saving a random scout with potential over a commander with known ability seems crazy to him. But also, carrying Erwin over an entire field just to be told you did that for nothing has to feel really crappy. And so, Floch is the lone survivor of that charge.
@@hitzoae3000 Yes !!!! Is one of the epic moments in this anime !!! He earned more of my respect for that… others character lost all my respect in episode 11 and 12 of S4 part 2
Completely agree with the floch part. Keep in mind that the only survivor that heard erwin's speech was floch and levi. Especially in s4, you can see the inner erwin in floch. It's just sad he chose the "wrong" side... He had so much potential. :(
We see in this episode what we didn't see in "Perfect Game", which is Erwin thanking Levi when he ultimately made the choice. When he sits down on that crate and finally releases what he's truly been thinking Levi realizes how much Erwin's dream is burdening him. That's why Levi decides to make the choice: to free Erwin from that heavy, obsessive burden by sending him out to die. And that's why Erwin thanks him.
What impressed me about this work, or should I say, the creator, was how in the story, he depicted a situation in which the characters were forced to choose whether to let Erwin or Armin live, and at the same time, he forced the audience to choose as well. Should it be Erwin, a man of action who everyone has absolute faith in? Or Armin, who is inexperienced due to his age, but is full of creative ideas? It was cruel, but I was reminded of how, as we live, we constantly make decisions of varying significance in our everyday lives. It was a really thought-provoking episode.
i feel like so many ppl forget erwin's accomplishments cus they weren't listed like armins were in this episode. yeah armin had a shit ton of great ideas, like moving at night, figuring out annie's identity, helping figure out bert n reiner, etc. but so did erwin. erwin created the scouting formation that allows them to avoid titans while going outside of the walls, he created the plot to try and capture annie in the forest, (which only failed bc of annie's unforeseen scream power) he was the first to think the titans might be hiding in human form within the walls, he thought quickly and efficiently when eren was captured in s2 to get him back, and he thought of how to defeat the beast titan when there was seemingly no hope. there are probably some that i missed. also armin has never had to throw aside his humanity on the level that erwin has, which could prove difficult for someone like armin. i say all this just to bring light to some aspects some people might not have thought about, i'm not saying that erwin was the right choice, because with AOT there's never a right choice lol
"You look nothing like your father" "We're both victims of your father" English translation sometimes gets too specific. I feel that this hinders the viewers from grasping the world of the story. In Japanese, we can omit subjects and objects and we even don't have articles. Japanese is a language that can make things ambiguous, which creates room for imagination, so I hope they make an effort to translate it in a way that helps it. I think, in this case, the translation should be “the father” and “that father”. Zeke didn't say “your” at all. I don't know if "your" feels more appropriate for English speakers. Also, "war chief" should be "warrior chief". I really appreciate Ben's willingness to share his background and feelings about it with the viewers, and Anna's very natural way of reacting to it. I love you guys so much.👍
This has always fascinated me with Japanese. I come from the western european language tradition, and the language is way more precise. That can be good for some things, but bad for others. What is interesting though is how language forms thought. It would be super interesting to see a deep study done on thinking and creativity in different language cultures, comparing them and seeing if we could figure out what comes first, creativity or language.
@@tzimiable I am very interested in how cultural and language differences affect what people do and how they act. I love watching reaction videos because, of course it's fun, and they can show me those differences and consequences. 日本語を勉強されているのですかね？もしそうなら、頑張られてください！👍 I'm also interested in which country you're from.
I really like them too! Erwin is my fav, and Bert is immediately the second, and Moblit maybe is my forth or fifth….is a crazy episode for me, pure sadness:(
I still say he was an idiot for calling out for help to the people he was trying to kill earlier, but I think he could have been a decent person if he hadn't been a Warrior.
@@Adanu191 Bro he was literally in the brink of death, also he didn't wanted to kill them. He tried bcoz he was a warrior. And he called them out bcoz of the fear of death, it was such a realistic scene...
You should watch the end credit from ep 12 now. I can only imagine that if you watch it now, you two will agree that it would’ve been running through your mind the whole time. And you undoubtedly would figure it out before it came. Would be fun to see
@@jlilley73 I think that's exactly what they should do, since there aren't any direct spoilers, aside from the scene from this episode, but rather stuff to theorise on.
The way that this episode is directed is peak AoT. Absolute silence for most of the episode. Showing both that the fighting is over and that everyone is holding their breaths to see who will survive.
25:15 i think floch phrase was more to put in context what armin said about erwin in season one “to rise up against monsters he decided to throw away is humanity… people who can’t throw something important away cant hope to change anything” and that’s erwin’s way
Exactly bro, I still saying that Floch always speaks facts… but the other are just emotional… Erwin was the right choice if you look things without been emotional.
Ironically Armin has said similar things too, to Erin back in season one. About how to defeat a monster you have to be willing throw away your humanity. Eren even took it to heart right before he fought Annie when he couldn't transform because he couldn't truly see her as an enemy yet.
Look at the bright side, you got to watch one episode right after the other. Manga readers had a 3 month hiatus on the manga when we all thought Armin was dead. If you look online you can find images from this time period where people were taking framed pictures of Armin to the beach and having memorial services. It was a TIME. 😂
The brilliance of this episode , for most of it being silent and the ost taking a backseat, the dialogues between characters.... it is so good. 10/10 episode BTW this episode was the end credit scene of s3 ep 12 ..... and the future episodes are gonna be so hot in terms of discussions...boiiiiiiii
It's sad how a lot of people seem to downplay Erwin's dream despite how "big" it is. I feel lazy in explaining but at this point, im pretty sure you guys already know it.
The previous episode wasn't just the best episode of the series, it ranks on IMDB as the best TV episode of all time (alternating between that and that Breaking Bad episode)
Tho I'm glad Armin survived, Erwin got to rest, and I don't necessarily agree with Floch's motivation, I really do sympathize with Floch. When I first watched it with my friends and they're being so salty to him, and seeing so many reactors saying "Shut up floch" on this ep, I just can't understand. Like, imagine, surviving suicide charge alone, wondering among ur comrades' dead body, calling "is anybody alive?", then dragging the commander's body across the wall ONLY to see a total stranger he knew nothing about being picked to get revived. If Floch was a real person I too will be pissed with who he is now on current season, but since he's a fictional character I can't help admiring how amazing his character's impact alone to the whole story and how Isayama creating such a tragic yet realistic character and fitting his role so perfectly in this kind of circumstances.
@@farial9599 Many do not understand, or pretend not to understand that in war or in any case in such a serious situation, the end justifies the means, everyone would throw water at his mill, you may not agree with his methods, but his methods they would have saved Eldia from extermination if there was no SPOILER the traitorous alliance
@@LoneWolf-xq4bs I beg to differ on the justification. Floch is a result of war, just as tragic as Reiner. Both need help, not to be put on the battlefield. [Spoiler alert] If the end justifies the means, there are lots of wrong endings going on with Floch's method. We lost Pixis. Hundreds of soldiers (his own people) become titan. Some civillians (who should be protected) lose their home, family, and their own life as collateral damage when the wall is undone. Possible civil war within the wall. More struggle of power and second titan war as result. Facist is still facist. Even in war, there are ethics. For example, bombing hospital or involving civilians into battlefield. Sure there are reasons behind that and there are circumstances where u cannot avoid it to happen, but those reasons exist for us to understand so it wouldn't happen in the future, not to justify it. That is why we have the term "War Crime". There's just no justification poisoning the wine with spinal fluid. There's no justification execute Onyankopon and other volunteers who already helped developing the land. The one thing I admire from Floch is his speech. His got all of Erwin's spirit when it comes to bring people under his command. Still, the method he used is facist. If we try to justify Floch's method, then we might as well justify the whole Marleyan's racist system against Subject of Ymir. They are afraid of this race cause they had bad history with them, and these people can turn into titan. Does it justify them oppressing Subject of Ymir? Of course not. It's the same case with Floch. He had reasons, he saw no choice but to do all that, but whatever reason it is doesn't justify it. And I wouldn't call the alliance traitor tho. Half of them are Marleyan, the other are the Scouts. What is the Scouts' oath? To protect humanity, isn't it? Nowhere in their job requirement to defend certain land, specific race, or Eldian nationalism. That was the MP's job, and protecting the civilians is Garrison's. If Floch was in the MP, his facist method is more understandable (still not justified). But he's in the Scouts. That would make him the traitor on that sense since he betrayed his oath and his higher ups. He is everything Erwin called out in season 3 about "soldiers who only protect their home, their backyard, their piece of land instead of protecting humanity." And the one thing that's really tricky about defending homeland stuff is that u would need to consider only ur people in the right position while the rest is in the wrong. When u defend Eldian to the extent of erasing the whole world, just know that u're not only protecting the good innocent poeple within the wall, but also some thugs in the underground city, slave traders, and even corrupt nobles.
@@farial9599 Let's start from this assumption in AOT everyone has his reasons for doing what he does, no one is wrong or actually 100% right because everyone pulls water to his mill. You said that there is no reason to poison the gendarmes, false because the latter are nothing more than parasites who for their whole life have done nothing but live at the expense of the poor citizens and have always been the likes of the most weak without actually deserving freedom (to gain Zeke's trust, Floch and Eren accepted this wine plan). "The walls have collapsed and killed some civilians" ok but to obtain the salvation of the entire island some human sacrifice is essential you cannot think of winning without losing any civilians, they died for a greater good just like when the followers of Mandela or Gandhi are dead, unfortunately sometimes it is necessary to give one's life to actually change the world. You talk about Erwin and his words but the latter did not know what was really outside the walls so your talk about him is totally out of context because we will never know if he too would have become a traitor or a savior. Does wanting to save your nation from an extermination agreed upon by all the nations of the world make you a fascist? no indeed a national hero and on this point we cannot argue because it is a fact. Doesn't it make sense to kill Onyankopon? WTF do you really believe he did all this because he really cared about the Eldians? let's not talk nonsense he helped them simply because he wanted to exploit them for his purpose which is to save his homeland (he makes hypocritical speeches when he is the first to act out of patriotism but many pretend not to understand it) Floch has to eliminate any internal problems and the volunteers who don't want to join them are so there is a good reason to take them out. It is logical to side with Eldia more than with Marley simply because for 3 seasons we have immersed ourselves in their hell but if I were born in Marley I too would like the menace of the giants to disappear forever so as you can see I am objective
Armin died while the main chords of the Soundtrack Tkt played. After he died, Aot stopped all music until he got reborn. He was rebon while the same chords played. This EP and at all the Characterarcs that concluded within the last 3 EP's are another level thats still unseen of how to buildup characters in the most rewarding outcome possible. All from now on starts the REAL story of ''Shingeki no Kyojin''. After next ep you officially finished the storyprologue.
Oh my poor kids. I'm giving my screen a hug before this episode starts. They're going to need it. 15 seconds in and Ben has been so damaged he has turned all Snake on us.
The problem with comparing who is more crucial to humanity between Armin and Erwin is that without either of them, we wouldn't have made it this far. Armin with the boulder, finding Annie, and the defeat of the Colossal titan. Erwin with Stopping the Reiner and Bert from taking Eren after they were found out, leading an uprising that dethroned the ruler of the walls, and the defeat of the Beast titan. The fact is either of their deaths is a blow to humanity
there is a few of foreshadowing in this episode that i notice. especially when eren and floch moving to diffrent direction from the others, hits diffrent now. also when eren said the one who save humanity is not me or commander.
Now that you've watched this episode you are clear to watch the intro to this 2nd half of season 3, and you can also go back to episode 12 of season 3 and watch the end credit bit that I vaguely recall you skipped because you felt you would analyze it too well and needed to skip it.
Makes sense. The colossal titan was the flagship eye candy that started the whole series. It was a case of "here's this big monster, stick around if you want to find out what his deal is".
Wrong. Isayama confirmed he made the cart titan the way it is bc he planned to make the human inside of it an old man and made the cart starting from him, he changed the shifter to Pieck later but the titan had to stay as he already did it before of making her.
I love how Levi realized Erwin would have completed his dream once they reached the basement, but Armin's dream is way beyond that. He wants the sea. Everyone needs to be drunk on something and Erwin would have lost his main driving force, but Armin would still be pushing them for lorger.
nah, he chose between resurrecting Erwin or letting him rest, but not between Armin and Erwin. No one can come close to merit like Erwin's, that’s why he’s more effective but u know Levi acted like a friend of Erwin
Thank you for being sad over Moblit's passing. He was a G. At least he died as he lived: keeping Hange alive. Your hatred for the backpack titan is great hahaha! Edit: Btw it should be safe to watch the credits scene from part 1 now.
The next two episode will actually change the plot to a whole new level. Up until now everything is just only the tip of an iceberg, the real story is only getting started. You might even change your perspective on how you interpret the series after this
Each of the two groups has an important person. You can revive one of your loved ones through discussion. Reanimation has a time limit, and in that short time we have the ultimate debate. It should be a harsher situation than facing a giant.
In JRPGs often times there's a bad ending, a mid/neutral ending, a good ending, and a more difficult to get true ending (ultimate good ending.) I'm guessing the choice will lead to one of the latter 2 good endings (relative to what is possible in their position.) Erwin being a better on a macro level, keeping everything strategically sound and thinking outside of the box, while Armin is good on the micro level (better character/relationship outcomes) Not sure which choice would lead to which end though. Would be sick if later down the line a sort of IF route was made in book or manga form, showing how things would have been different with Erwin back instead.
Well, you were just one episode off in your prediction of opening the basement door. (I'm assuming B&A are at least 2 eps ahead on Patreon, and I don't think they ever read comments on RU-vid anyway.) The BIG answers to your questions are coming soon. I'm looking forward to Sunday, but I'm REALLY looking forward to next Friday!!! (Or early Saturday morning ... whenever.)
dios mio ,vi este episodio mas de 20 veces minimo y me sigue haciendo llorar ,increible episodio uno de los mejores de todos los tiempos habia puntos a favor de los 2 para vivir y eran entendible escuchar y considerar las dos opciones donde realmente los lados tenian razon ,el sueño de eren siempre fue la libertad ,obviamente por las cosas que paso para llegar a esa libertad tenia que matar a todos los titanes y tenia esa ira porque les arrebataron todo ,por eso eren dice que armin no tiene maldad o esos pensamientos ,solo queria ver el mar
The decision made makes the most sense when you look back to a few conversations Levi has been a part of or overheard; Levi's conversation with Erwin about Erwin refusing to stay behind on the mission. (S3E12) Levi's conversation with Kenny about everyone needing to be a slave to something. (S3E10) Levi's conversation with Erwin about needing to give up his dream so he can lead the suicide charge. (S3E16) Levi's conversation with Erwin about regret. (No Regrets OVA part 2) Levi overhearing Eren's conversation with Armin about The Sea. (S3E12) The tactical potential/leadership prowess weigh up is basically a wash between Erwin and Armin, however once you pay closer attention to each of those conversations you get a bit of an idea of why Levi would choose Armin. Erwin's goal was to reach the basement, and he had no idea what he would do after that. Levi knows this. Erwin gave up his dream and accepted his death right before the suicide charge. Levi knows this. Armin's dream extends past the walls and the fighting, out to the rest of the world and the potential that could be waiting for them. Levi knows this. Levi understood that everyone needed to have something to push them forward, and Erwin's was that dream that he had given up on and accepted he would not get to see. Levi understood that second guessing his decision and letting others take control of your fate is effectively where you die, which is what Erwin did when he let Levi choose for him to give up his dream to lead the suicide charge. In the end Erwin's story had reached its end one way or the other, where as Armin's had not. Even when Armin was being burnt alive he had accepted his death, but he never emotionally gave up his dream to see the sea; he simply accepted that Eren would have to do it for him. Levi may not have known what Armin was thinking, but I point it out because its specifically not the same as Erwin's emotional state. You could even add on that Levi's own purpose became killing the Beast Titan to complete his dying promise to Erwin, and so letting Erwin live would undermine the thing he himself had become a slave to. There really is just so many connecting and intertwined ideas going on.
People can form more dreams after reaching one. I doubt Erwin would've been like, "Hey cool, I saw the basement, I'm just gonna die now. I've got nothing else to look forward to".
@@CadPlaysGames It's less about forming another dream and more about that Erwin knew he would die and accepted it, not even thinking that could be something after that - he GAVE UP, that's what Levi told him to do, to give up on his dreams, and he did. Erwin knew it would be the end, gave up and, by Kenny's words, had nothing else to be drunk on to keep pushing on. Armin was different and Levi realized this, that's why him hearing the conversation of Armin and others about the sea was an important scene
@@CadPlaysGames yes but this isn't the case with Erwin, during the whole show they have shown us that Erwin's goal isn't just that or just a dream, that's literally his reason to live, what pushes him when he can't anymore, his only reason to keep going, his obsession to the point of putting it above it all even above humanity. That's not something healthy, you can't just have one only reason to live bc once that's gone you feel like there's nothing else and you can't just construct another thing bc that was your whole life and you don't know how to keep going without it, there's a clear difference between having healthy goals and dreams, and obsessions that became everything in your life. Do you really think Isayama would give us two scenes of Levi being worried as fuck bc he noticed Erwin has no idea of what to do after this and him deciding to not give Erwin the serum when he was about to bc he heard him talking about his obsession all over again which made Levi remember the words of Kenny about people needing to be drunk and slave of something to keep going, just for Erwin to be perfectly able to keep going? No, he wouldn't have and the story screams that to our faces. Everything in Erwin's mind since he's ten has been that, everything he has done was bc of that, everytime he felt like he couldn't keep going the only thing that pushed him through it was the thought of getting to that truth to prove his dad right, so once he doesn't have that what does he have? Much people romanticizes the fight for humanity a lot but absolutely everything has proved to us that Erwin can't keep going for that once he gets that obsession, since his conversations with Pixis, Zachary, Levi, his past, every flashback of his days on the survey corps and his inner monologue. It isn't as easy as "well, I got my goal, let's go for something else bc I can't just die now or have something else to do", that's not how humans works and that's the whole opposite of what Isayama has shown us about Erwin. This was the perfect way for him to die, when he could put humanity in front of his obsession finally, but giving him the serum when he was still going to keep that obsession would have ruined his arc, that's why when Levi hears him talk and realises he's still with that, he decides to not give him it. At a narrative level, character arc and the future of humanity, this was one of the best written scenes, but just a lot ignore half of what this construction says.
In what world is Levi a slave to the promise to kill Zeke? We already have it spelled out in the show that Levi is a slave to being a hero and he passes up so many chances to kill Zeke over and over again because he has more important concerns (primarily not wasting the beast Titan power which would screw them)
Back after binge watching kickassreactions' reactions to S1 of Danny Phantom 🤭👌🏾 time to be emotionally torn at 9 at night 5:22 oh! oh that means it's time for "We're both victims... I'll be back one day to save you" 10:08 IM GONNA VOMIT 11:55 WELCOME TO THE PREVIEW 15:45 THE ANGUISHED *SQUEAK* 16:50 wish he slept a little longer But also in panels it might be a little clearer that he saw them from a distance, called out for help, saw their faces in more detail and remembered that _right_ , it's like that... and then calls out for the others on his side
When Erwin pull his hand in his head he's a little boy asking the question that lead to his obsession. Therefore in that moment he's truly at peace, at least that's what I think they were going for. Which made levi decision easy because the type of person erwin is he could never know peace as long as he is alive.
In the end Levi actually picked based on emotions, he wanted to let Erwin rest. I wanted Armin to live but strategically speaking then Erwin was the better pick. It's not a question of who is smarter, it's just that Erwin has both the charisma and political influence of a leader which they sorely need, Erwin was someone who could unite their people. But at least Erwin's dream was actually already fulfilled, it has already been confirmed that there are humans outside of the wall and that the Reiss family erased their memories. Erwin is smart so I think he was just trying to find a new goal to keep pushing forward, I might just be reading too much into it but he subtly changed his dream to learning what was in the basement and to be there the moment it happens.
I love the parallels between Eren and Armin, and how Eren sacrificed his life to save Armin in S1, and now Armin sacrificed his life for Eren. And at the end they both only survived thanks to the titan powers.
It's EP 17 and 16 for those spots. Midnight Sun is ~top 20. But let's be real, there are so many episodes on this show deserving of a similar ranking. There's just an obvious inflation due to the majority voting for action heavy episodes. Like, "Assault" S4E6 is ranked 15, which is completely undeserved. That episode was executed so poorly, but since it had action and it executes a turning point in the story, the edgy 15yo shonen blockheads just eat it up, completely ignoring it's faults and execution.
damn i only realised now on my 4th rewatch that erwins last words was the question that he asked his dad which got rejected in class i never knew how much i needed to know that
