SHOWING MY MOM ATTACK ON TITAN | 3x18 | REACTION

[@hisuchan]

Early and Uncut episode’s full reactions up to S4 is up on Patreon : Patreon.com/broaustinreacts Also follow on Instagram: BroAustinReacts Stay tuned 😉

[@MysteriMustacheToast]

My obligatory spiel and take on the Armin vs Erwin debate if anyone is interested: Erwin was being eroded from the inside out by all the guilt he felt from sending his comrades to their death for his own selfish motives. However he was unable to stop pursuing his dream, unable to stop himself from being enslaved to this dream because his dream was what he was ‘drunk on’ and not only did it give him his strong sense of purpose, it was powerful enough for him to be able to throw aside his humanity in order to keep pushing through his guilt. During their final conversation Levi saw how tormented Erwin was as he grappled between his duty as a commander and his selfish desire to abandon the mission and go to the basement. By that point Levi had already developed an inkling that Erwin’s motives might not be as noble or righteous as he may have once thought. But it wasn’t until that very moment, that Levi truly understood just how deep Erwin’s obsession ran, how mercilessly this vice-like dream was suffocating him, and how much it was consuming him. As his long time friend and comrade, Levi saw that Erwin’s misguided motives made him someone who was pitiful rather than hateful. Even when Erwin, for the first time, showed hesitation and childish selfishness at a moment when his soldiers desperately needed him, Levi’s initial look of absolute disbelief and incredulous ‘huh?’ quickly changed to a face of genuine sympathy and commiseration. During a rare moment of vulnerability shown by an old friend who’d always been defined by his stoicism, he was beyond stunned. But nevertheless he still understood the pain of the pressure Erwin is under and how tragic his dilemma is. Levi decided to do him the favor of making the difficult decision Erwin hadn’t been able to bring himself to make. This all ties back to what Erwin told Levi in the No Regrets, OVA: when a person hesitates or allows themself to wallow in regret, they are dulling their future decisions and allowing others to make their choices for them. But in turn, Levi’s decision did also give Erwin a chance to redeem himself before death. Hence, Erwin thanking him with a face of relief, peace, and acceptance. In a sense, Levi fulfilled Erwins’ desire for judgment (often misunderstood as a desire for forgiveness). Cursory words of forgiveness can be easily given, but it is difficult to endure the punishment needed to truly earn forgiveness. Forgiveness can be given to even the unapologetic if they act pitiful enough when asking for it or if the person who gives the forgiveness is charitable enough, but sinners who ask for judgement in earnest and allow themselves to be at the mercy of punishment, are usually the ones who are sincere in their remorse. This is what sets forgiveness apart from judgment. The surmised purpose of ‘judgment’, is to bestow punishment on those who commit immorality and evil. As a result, to the remorseful sinner, judgment is an object of hope that alludes to a possibility for redemption through punishment, something that Erwin not only desired, but also secretly believed he deserved. If we want to tie in Armins’ “Those who can’t sacrifice anything, can’t change anything” philosophy: Erwin sacrificed his dream in order to change himself. He wanted to finally shed the righteous commander mask he’s been hiding behind all these years and for the last and only time, be a true commander who is truly fighting for his soldiers and humanity, not his own goals. Notice he does not parrot his usual ‘dedicate your hearts’ line. He never actually was sincerely dedicating his heart to humanity’s cause. They were empty words and he knew it. By throwing away his script and mask, he was able to finally be honest not only to his soldiers, but also to himself. The final factor that made Levi decide to let Erwin go was when he saw that even at deaths’ door, Erwin was still obsessing over his dream, still unable, probably unwilling, to let it go and make his peace. Many misinterpret the final rooftop scene as Erwin slapping Levi’s hand away and rejecting the syringe but that definitely wasn’t what that scene was about. He subconsciously raised his hand because in his delirium, he was reliving the moment his obsession first began and reflecting on the day he asked the teacher *that* question. Surprisingly, it’s actually the first time it’s fully revealed what Erwin had even asked that day. It’s been teased again and again how he’d raised his hand in class in his childhood, presenting a very controversial question, but what that question exactly was, was never explicitly revealed to viewers until this scene. It really sits among some of the most powerful and emotional moments in this show imo. Before leaving for the mission, Erwin himself had admitted that he had no idea what he was going to do once he fulfilled his dream of seeing the basement. Whereas Armin on the other hand was still full of dreams to be drunk on. Big dreams that have the capacity to inspire *everyone* to keep pushing forward along with him. Armin was ‘looking’ far beyond the walls, all the way to the ocean whereas Erwin’s vision was limited only up to the basement. A dream that stops at the Zhiganshina basement just simply isn’t enough to lead humanity towards the direction in which they now need to go, which is beyond the walls and forward. Erwins’ dream was a source of torment for him while Armins’ dream is a beacon of hope for everyone. Levi understood that letting Erwin go was the greatest mercy. He would no longer need to suffer under his dream (that honestly had become more like a curse at that point), or live every day wracked with guilt, or continue to shoulder the heavy responsibility of making the most difficult decisions for everyone, while still having to endure being called a devil or a demon. No matter the outcome, he’s always somehow made out to be the bad guy. If his ideas fail, he’s blamed for the results and when he succeeds he’s then criticized for the means. From the start he was stuck in an unfortunate position where he would never truly be able to please any of the expectations that’d been placed upon him. Someone in the comments for another video put it quite nicely - ‘If Levi had brought Erwin back, it would have been a betrayal and act of disrespect to his conviction’. For Erwin this was an incredible moment of long awaited emancipation and relief from a huge burden he’d been shouldering for most of his life. Erwin wanted to make his peace after a long struggle and even if it took a lot for him to get to that point, and even if he himself was still wavering inside, at the end of the day it was still his personal decision. Going against it would have been the same as dismissing his determination and resolve. Erwin himself already knew what the right thing to do was from the start but he just needed someone to give him that final push and affirmation that it was time to let go of his childish vice. With his wish fulfilled, he would have lived life an empty man left with nothing because he no longer has a dream to chase. Even if he had survived, it’s likely he would have never been the same commander again without that drive. On the inside, he’d just be a regular guy holding on to nothing but guilt, and guilt is a horrible and painful drink to be drunk on. As people often say, sometimes you’re happier chasing your dream than living a life where you no longer have one. You’ll continue to find this to be a heavily emphasized, central theme in this show. Thank you for listening to my TED Talk.

[@datte_nanda_mon]

動画公開からたった１０分間で、これだけの情熱的な長文コメントを展開できる能力に驚きだ。 あなたこそ、巨人を継承すべきだったかもしれない。

[@HoggyPoggySloppyJoe]

Absolutely cooked 🔥

[@tomomib8539]

@@datte_nanda_monhave you heard of copy and paste?

[@Quantuman]

-Sure, let read it. *Opens Read more* -Dear lord (edit) Now I read it all. And, its such a way to put perspetives on the table. Worth to read.

[@WillFredward7167]

It’s rare to read such a long and complex comment and not disagree with any part. Very well reasoned, especially from Levi’s perspective which is what mattered most. Your point near the end about how it would be a dishonor to Erwin’s conviction to undo his sacrifice made me think of the absolute dumpster fire of a film “The Last Jedi.” Where Finn finds his conviction and determination and is ready to sacrifice himself to save everyone and everything he loves. And then the idiot writer and an idiot character stop him from doing so utterly dishonoring his conviction and being so absurd as to claim that he was not in fact, motivated by saving those he loves. In Attack on Titan, we get nuanced, subtle, genius, level, writing with character, plot, action, setting, and theme all woven together to near perfection. It makes me far more merciless when bid budget productions, utterly fail to remotely resemble this kind of narrative art.

[@ApolloTheLeader]

Hands down my favorite episode in the series. Personally i think its the greatest episode in the history of tv. From the story, dialog, to the cold open, to the fact music is absent for 90% of the episode until a magical crescendo orchestra at the very end as Armin emerges lookin all angelic and reborn surrounded by his closest friends with tears in their eye. When i say of all time. I mean it. This ep did more in 20 minutes than most shows do in 1 hour.

[@norinokia2307]

Thanks for saying it like that. I always felt exactly this. Even tho how cruel the entire AoT world is and how gruesome the existence of the titans can be, that moment when Armin came out of his pure titan, he looked like an angel and the whole scene itself looked angelic too. There is some weird beauty there. We now had some time to let it sink that titans are humans and they obviously don't know what they are doing while in their pure state. However for some reason there are also a very few titans who can be controlled and who can help people (Eren with the boulder in the beginning for example). Later we learn that while the old nation of Eldia used the titans in a devilish way to oppress and kill foreigners, the whole truth seems to be that they also used these powers in a godly way for the good of their own people. That's what I think AoT captures brilliantly. There is no black and white. Both Marley and Eldia did disgusting and great stuff. Like it's with pretty much every person and group of people on earth. And now Armin, that sweetheart of a smart little boy who just wants the best for everyone, who always tries to talk before being pushed to kill, who vomitted after first killing a person to safe a close member of his team, is coming out of his titan, with all that steam and sunlight, with the only damage on his body being the non harmful titan marks, after being burned to crisps. That's just amazing cinema right there. Titans look like terrible monsters. However when used right, their power can be an amazing asset of medicine, construction and so much other stuff a civilization needs. It was humans who did that power dirty. edit: all this especially when you concider that the current ways the 8 other Titans work is not a given thing. The founder has all these amazing abilities of ascending over time, death and matter. For example, the "Warhammer Titan" is just 1 part of 9 which were formed by splitting Ymirs powers, which did not have to happen like that. Also the name "Warhammer" is already politically motivated. For all we know, it could have also been the "Tool Titan" or "Construction Site Titan", but the humans in posession of it, writing the history books, only thought about using it to kill people. If Ymir was not a mind twisted slave but a free person with a similar character to Armin, Titan powers would have never became a weapon.

[@Riley-ic7ww]

She looked so happy to get Armin back

[@maiqtheliar_]

''Its not me or Erwin who's going to save the humanity. Armin is.'' - This makes much more sense after finishing the whole series

[@Yashvardhan-lw6nl]

Mann

[@Wineblood]

One thing that wasn't mentioned is how Bertholdt accepts his fate after seeing the others watching him, it mirrors how he watched Marco get eaten

[@hessiankyojin]

Mine (and my mother's) favorite AOT episode in the first 3 seasons. No music needed, all the characters doing their parts, the drama, etc... So good.

[@hydrofrog6496]

This show is so damn good

[@tinyj96]

Austin I am so freaking excited for the rest of this week. We are finally GOING THERE.

[@FranciscoBuenoRuiz]

Thanks thanks thanks, I'm crying again 😢❤

[@dionMrtr]

I love this videoreaction with the family

[@michaelyanela2745]

This show never fails

[@bluegrey600]

rest-in-peace Erwin and Benjamin

[@sariekiriyuu]

I feel sad for Levi, because I always believe Eruri was canon, and the moment Erwin said Arigatou to Levi... I was crying... rest in power Erwin, the best commander, nobody can replace you, and Levi, please be strong, I believe you will get someone else soon

[@krtkjkr]

They were soulmates like no one else could ever be 😿

[@sariekiriyuu]

@@krtkjkr yes they were 🥲

[@K_Petar]

I think Erwin and Levi were soulmates in terms of best friends. But I dont really think they ever found each other romantically. Its explained in No Regrets OVA how Levi sees Erwin and their relationship is really deep and personal but there being romance in there just seems impossible after everything they went through. Their minds are constantly filled with "no regrets" mentallity. Erwin with his "demon" personallity and wish to proves his father theory, and Levi by following him and trying to understand why Erwin is like that, theres just no place for romance at all, like I get it they are both 2 hot anime dudes so no shi* people are gonna ship them but thinking from a cruel and war prespective that aot is its just not realistic lol.

[@krtkjkr]

@@K_Petar just want to say that Erwin in No Regrets manga is so very different from the anime, much more kind and grateful 🥹 Of course everyone is free to see their relationship as they want though! 😌 I personally think they both developed feelings for each other but probably never acted on them.

[@hessiankyojin]

If Armin died, who knows what Eren might have done?

[@junfour]

Pretty sure the one and only reason why Levi picked Armin is because Erwin's story was at an end. Erwin's driving force was the basement/answers, so would he change after he got there and learned the truth? So his usefulness had come into question. Armin's goal of exploration reaches further, so he can be trusted to still be motivated. It's not the destination but the titans we killed along the way.

[@seanwilliams7655]

Erwin wouldn't have had anything to be drunk on once he got his answers.

[@るる-x7i2m]

watch “yourname”!!!

[@gus7575]

team Erwin!

[@trufflescat3875]

The way I always saw it was that Armin had the potential to be way more important than Erwin with more experience, so in the long run saving Armin would end up being better

[@pxg1773]

Yes but it’s risky

[@trufflescat3875]

@@pxg1773 true, but its also risky to choose erwin since his motivations are were a little corrupt as well as about to be completely fulfilled anyway. I think in the end it kinda evens out to be honest

[@dandansfu]

@@trufflescat3875 nah that's just isayama want to support Levi decision (which I mean his decision) and needed armin for the plot, nothing wrong with Erwin wanting to see the basement to learn the truth, yes it may have costed lives, but doing nothing will also cost them lives. with same reasoning, Hanges love for titans, can be risky too, just that Isayama didnt write anything about it. if he wants to make Hange looks "bad", he can easily come up with storylines to fit that narrative. same as spoiler everyone all has killed a lot of ppl , but Isayama purposely focus on children for the rumbling to make you not able to "defend" him. coz let's be real, if titan were real, I am willing to bet, children die from Annie/Reiner action for sure, but Isayama didnt draw it out so its "easier to forgive them" rewatching them, you can tell , Isayama, began to paint Erwin some negative light and only during that moment

[@trufflescat3875]

@@dandansfu sorry that was really hard to read but it seems what you said is only about the quality of their motivations? I was talking about how risky it is to just assume that erwin would keep going and being as useful as he has been even though his goal is fulfilled completely (Correct me if im wrong because i haven’t slept in like 3 days so i might just be bad at reading right now)

[@pxg1773]

@@trufflescat3875 I just feel like the scouts are always facing being wiped out, there is no time to wait for Armin to grow into the leader he would be. And plus, if I was a veteran who trust Erwin’s order with my life , and then the leadership told me they could’ve saved Erwin but closed not to, I would have problem to follow order ever again. So I guess it’s “lucky” that all of the veterans died, otherwise the scouts would have inside problems.

[@rajatchandra27]

When are u reacting to demon slayer

[@jameseddleman6944]

Erwin lived his whole life fighting. Armin doesn't care about fighting, in the future, they will need more peaceful, but equally smart people. Erwin only knew how to be ruthless and make sacrifices.

[@norinokia2307]

Also, what I think is often overlooked: Even without believing in Armin's dream, which he is still so hopeful off compared to Erwin who just wants to give everything to get closure for his father's and his dream, you'd still have the very situation in front of you and what they just did. Erwin planned to sacrifice everyone, so Levi could kill the beast. Armin planned to sacrifice only himself, so Eren could capture the colossal. Erwin and Levi knew about the cart titan, Levi still messed up in his emotions to realize that there would still be a way out for Zeke. Armin and Eren did not know the cart titan might come, Eren still performed perfectly by immediately taking Berthold hostage. Armin and Eren outperformed Erwin and Levi here in almost every metric.

[@lkhbbkps36]

I am happy that Levi chose Armin but ------- spoiler to all of you that have watched the final episode ----- all of you Yeagerists you would regret it later because if Levi chose Erwin, Erwin would lead you to rumbling and all of you wouldn't be sliced and killed by Alliance, poor you Yeagerists you choose the wrong person ...

[@WillFredward7167]

You both have every right to feel the way you do regarding Bertolt’s death. I don’t blaming you for feeling sad. But I can’t. At all. In his final moments, I *hated* Bertolt so much. Him begging for help angered me so deeply, filled me with such disgust. Having caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands, having looked Armin in the eye and been proud *not* to be conflicted, after killing most of the troops in the wall including (he believed) Hange, and believing he’d brutally killed Armin, the scumbag is so disgusting as to beg for help. To clarify, this is *not* a lack of empathy on my part. When he begged and cried at their previous encounter, I had empathy, acknowledging the horrid position he had been put in when quite young. But then he put all remorse behind him, embraced his status as a killer… and then fell apart in his final moments. In this battle, we saw a couple hundred heroes die for a selfless cause. Bertolt accepted his mission as something that merely “had to happen,” and was 0% hero as he died. When he was crushed in a titan’s teeth, I DID feel empathy… for all of his victims. Many would disagree with me. Many still felt sorry for him. And that’s ok, especially since this is fiction. But good luck actually convincing me otherwise 😤

[@liquid1514]

pretty sure anyone would act the way he did in his position

[@WillFredward7167]

@@liquid1514 In this show, we’ve already seen tons of genuine heroes, mostly unnamed, go out like bosses, fighting to their last breath and dying in titan teeth for a cause that clearly mattered. Some begged for help from their allies, some instead died for said allies.

[@liquid1514]

@@WillFredward7167 fair, but let me ask you something, do you feel bad for the other two warriors?

[@HotAI-1990]

Well since Reiner outed the both of them because he went on a crazy rant in S2, there was no way Berthold would be able to stay within the walls and live a normal live, nor would he be able to go back to Marley without fightin on their side. He couldnt otherwise but fight.. Him screamin is simply a automatic stress reaction, trying anything to survive being eaten even screaming irrtionally , reiner and annie as his last words. He was still a victim from his own history

[@WillFredward7167]

@@liquid1514 Annie and Reiner also caused so much suffering, and killed so many good people, that I would have cheered if they’d died in their battles. Seeing and recognizing someone’s humanity actually makes me *more* angry when they commit atrocities. They show they can feel fear, pain, and sadness… and yet they inflict it on others. They aren’t monsters, but worse: They are people who chose to ruin lives. In Annie’s and Reiner’s case, they ended up living long enough to finally regain what Bertolt abandoned: regret and remorse. And they ended up, by their actions, saving far more lives than they took. So in a way, they were lucky, lasting long enough for a highly unlikely chance at redemption. But it also didn’t bring back everyone they killed, such as Levi’s first squad. If he’d lived, there’s a chance Bertolt also would have, eventually, done the same. But as of time of death, I just saw a person who had caused tremendous misery but was unwilling to face it himself. I can see a person’s pain, and wish the pain wasn’t necessary, but I won’t let that override what I know about their actions.