The last three episodes were peak Attack on Titan. Episode 79, “Memories of the Future“, was probably the best episode in the entire series with the best plot twist in all of anime history. It’s hard to follow such an amazing group of episodes that included so many iconic moments. Somehow though, MAPPA did it. Thaw was an excellent episode and didn’t feel like filler or like a stop-gap episode. The plot kept advancing. There was action. There were some great character moments, especially with Jean and Gabi. And, most important of all, the Rumbling has begun. The animation in “Thaw” was top-notch yet again. You would think that MAPPA would have a down episode after so many excellent episodes in a row, but they didn’t miss a beat.
This was a fantastic episode, don’t get me wrong, but in actuality, it is more of a stop-gap moment. It’s moving people from point A to point B and point C to set up the final part of the arc. Conny kidnapping Falco still feels unnecessary, and I personally wish they could have found a way to write that out, but there’s no way to do that. That’s my only real nitpick here. Jean borderline breaking down, rationalizing Eren’s actions, was a great scene. It is very true; these “outsiders” brought this on themselves. I’m not advocating for genocide, but they were the ones who attempted genocide first by trying to kill humanity within the walls. Jean is conflicted. He’s wanted the fighting to stop for so long, and it will be interesting to see what his next moves are.
Shiganshina looked like it was hell on Earth, which was fitting. All of the fire, the smoke; it was incredibly atmospheric. Perfection. Unfortunately, Floch survived (he’s my least favorite character), but I imagine he’ll get his in due time. The biggest problem I had with “Thaw” had nothing to do with the episode itself but rather the chapter they cut, “Island Devils.” This was such an important chapter, especially for Mikasa’s development. It’s a flashback, so hopefully, it’s only been re-arranged, but it needs to be shown in full. Especially considering it goes hand-in-hand with Chapter 131, which shows Eren’s POV. MAPPA has given us such a faithful adaptation of the source material so far, much moreso than WIT.
Keith Shadis proved again why he’s still a badass, even at his age and why he was the commander of the Survey Corps. RIP Dot Pixis. The best moment of the episode though was the revelation that Annie has become unhardened. Maybe Armin can succeed where Bertholdt failed? All kidding aside, we haven’t seen Annie in 10 years in the anime sans flashbacks. Will she work with her former comrades? Will she betray them again? Annie is a true enigma and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Hopefully, next week will focus on Annie and this ridiculous Conny subplot will end; Conny really is the worst of the OG characters.
While it was a stop-gap episode, “Thaw” maintained the quality of its predecessors as we get closer and closer to the final subarc. While we only got a glimpse of the Rumbling, hopefully, next week we get even more and begin to get some bits of Eren’s motivation; up until this point, we have no idea why he’s doing what he’s doing. With all his talk of being free, he may be the most shackled of all, a slave to the Attack Titan.