Written by Sheena Fisher and Rachel Freeman
SHEENA FISHER
In this episode we see some more story unfold, we learn something new about the walls, and we get some background story for one of my favorite characters. This episode wasn’t quite as action-packed as episode one. But, trust me, it was not near boring either. First off, I’m going to tell you about the focal point of episode two. We learn more about everyone’s hungry Titan killer, Sasha.
Sasha was one of my favorites as soon as I saw that potato scene with her in season one. In episode one of season two we see more of the squadron is evacuating. Sasha and Conny’s villages are nearby, so they both head off to their respective homes to investigate. Without spoiling anything I will tell you that Sasha grew up in a village with customs that remind me of a time when cowboys were a real thing. Basically, Sasha is a badass. The flashbacks and her return to the village prove it in this episode.
Of course, we have the main plot going on with Mikasa, Eren, and Armin. We learned there are Titans in the wall. We also learned that Pastor Nick knows more about this and doesn’t want to share his knowledge. Armin has an interesting theory though. Remember at the end of season one when Annie goes into her crystalized form? Yeah, maybe that could explain the walls. Hange is also seen checking a bit of what could be Titan Crystal under a microscope. I think those two brilliant minds won’t need Nick to figure out the truth about the wall’s materials.
And closing out this episode something peculiar happens in Conny’s village. Upon arrival he sees his home is in shambles. He has no idea if there are any survivors. But the strangest thing is there is quite literally a Titan that has crashed into his family’s house. It looks sickly and possibly underdeveloped. Could this mean that there are flying Titans dropping weaker Titans into villages to feed? That’s just my theory. Whatever it is, I’m very interested and can’t wait learn more.
Sheena’s Rating: 9/10
RACHEL FREEMAN
This episode confirms something that could bring humanity to extinction. The walls are, in fact, made of Titans. Mind equals blown. It makes total sense though, when you think about it, especially once Hanji and Armin point out the Titans’ ability to harden their skin. I mean, it explains why the walls are so smooth and so tall. It explains why they’re so strong. But how did they get there? Everyone we know in the series has only known life after the wall. No one knows what happened or why. So how did Titans get in the wall? And why does the church know? Man, churches are freaking behind everything nowadays.
Although we get to see a bit of Eren, Armin, and Mikasa, they really aren’t the pivotal characters of this episode. Our focus is on our lovable potato-girl, Sasha. Like my friend Sheena, I’ve always loved Sasha, ever since the first time we see her and she was literally eating a potato during training. I was like, “That’d be me.” This episode is 90% Sasha’s history, where she came from, why she became a scout, why she’s obsessed with food. All the good stuff. I have to say, Sasha before becoming a scout was kind of terrible. I would not have liked her. I didn’t like this Sasha. She was mean and selfish. She was a survivalist though, and she was strong. I think I liked too that she came from a small town like me. She learned how to hunt from her dad, like me. She was close to her dad, like me. And she wanted to become better for her dad and her family. My family have always been a driving force behind my motivation, so I really liked how much I could relate. Mikasa is my favorite character, true, but I don’t relate to her in the way I do to Sasha. Sasha is meant to be more relatable, I think.
After the breach in the wall, Sasha races off to her old village, to her family. There, she is met with a Titan, a smaller Titan, but still big enough to crush her. And while that Titan is feasting on a woman, a young girl sits perfectly still, clearly traumatized. And even without her gear, Sasha barges in and saves her. We come to find out the woman was the girl’s mother and that she couldn’t walk. So when the news that Titans got through the wall hit, the rest of the village left, no one bothered to help the girl or her mother. Which, of course, strikes a chord with Sasha and her own issues with wanting to help people initially.
Eventually, Conny gets some screen-time towards the end of the episode. He arrives in his village to see that it is empty and fairly wrecked. He runs to his house, where he sees an irregular Titan. It’s on his house, on its back, but its legs and arms are tiny. There’s no way it got there on its own. So how? How did it get there? And why?
This episode was mostly information-oriented, specifically information regarding Sasha. While it’s nice to get information, I was rather unimpressed with this episode on an Attack on Titan scale. By that I mean this episode was really slow. And we saw literally two Titans, one which was rather small, and another which couldn’t even move itself. Not exactly the intensity we’re used to.
While I ultimately liked the episode, it wasn’t what I thought it could have been. It felt lacking, but I feel like our next episode is where we’re truly going to take off.
Rachel’s Rating: 8/10
