In the second episode of its final season, Attack on Titan gives us more insight into Marley’s plight and the characters fighting to protect the nation.
Recap
Attack on Titan threw viewers straight into a time jump and a war during last week’s fourth season premiere. This week, however, the series takes a step back and let fans get to know the inner workings of Marley, as well as the Eldians living and fighting there. “Midnight Train” opens with a meeting of Marley generals, all of whom are concerned about how the rest of the world has come to perceive them following their failure at Paradis Island and the subsequent war with the Mid-East Allied Forces.
With its control over the Titans, Marley has always been a force to be reckoned with. But with technology advancing, it’s only a matter of time before foreign forces can fight from above, or find other ways of getting around Marley’s Titans. Also, they no longer possess all of the Titan Warriors.
Zeke brings this up during the meeting, suggesting they resume their fight against Paradis Island as a show of power. Until all of the world’s newspapers read “Marley Occupies Paradis and Wields the Power of All Titans,” he suggests, they won’t be taken seriously again.
Following the meeting, Zeke bonds with his would-be successor Colt. There are several mentions early on in “Midnight Train” that Colt may not be able to wield the Beast Titan’s powers as Zeke has. Why this could be the case remains to be seen, and we don’t get answers, as the two are interrupted by a Marley general.
The conversation that follows does, however, provide some insight into what our actual main characters have been up to over the past four years. When discussing Paradis Island, viewers are told that ships (32 in total) have repeatedly been sent to the territory and none have returned. Zeke doesn’t believe just one Titan could manage this, meaning viewers can assume Armin has mastered the Colossal Titan as well.
Meanwhile, Reiner is having nightmares about Mikasa, highlighting how much PTSD he still has from all his years on Paradis Island. Galliard, who took the Jaw Titan back from Ymir, seems suspicious of Reiner’s years pretending to be a soldier. It’s also clear Galliard has some resentment about what happened to his younger brother when Reiner and the earlier generation of Warriors went to take Paradis Island. Luckily, Pieck interrupts them before things get too heated.
The remainder of “Midnight Train” sees the Eldians heading back to their hometown, Liberio. Colt and Gabi spend the train ride celebrating their victory from last episode, but Falco and Reiner stand away from the chaos. When Reiner confirms that Gabi will likely inherit the Armored Titan, Colt is surprisingly disapproving, criticizing the fact that she’ll die at 27 if she isn’t killed in battle first. This is the reaction one might expect from a kid their age, but seeing Reiner agree with him — and suggesting he try for the Armored Titan to save Gabi — is unexpected.
When the Eldians arrive home, Reiner faces more struggles as his family asks about his time on Paradis Island over dinner. Gabi tells him afterward that his Aunt Karina suspects that he’s lying about what happened there — and so does she, for that matter.
“Midnight Train” ends with Zeke recounting the plan to retake Paradis Island to the rest of the Titan Warriors, and promising help from a new one. The War Hammer Titan, who hasn’t been introduced in the anime just yet, is coming. According to the Warriors in the room, the Tybur family, that holds the War Hammer Titan, has never sent it “to enemy soil,” though it did play a significant role in the Great Titan War way back when. The Tyburs will hold a festival with VIPs from around the world to announce their involvement in the mission to retake Paradis, something that will happen next episode.
After showing that the Warriors are being closely monitored by Marley generals, even in their private war meeting, “Midnight Train” shows one last shot of Gabi defeating Falco in training (not a very good sign for him winning the Armored Titan over her) and Reiner wondering if he’ll need to return to Paradis.
Review
This week’s episode was interesting in terms of character development, though it did feel a bit slow given how little time the series has left to wrap things up. With the manga still going on, one has to wonder what they’re going to cut to round out the anime, and it doesn’t seem like all the time spent in Marley is on the chopping block.
That said, it was refreshing to actually get to know some of the Eldians fighting on Marley’s side of the war, especially after last week’s premiere. Although some of them remain stoic outside of battle, it’s hard not to like characters like Gabi and Pieck, even if you can’t fully understand why they’re so dedicated to their cause.
And it’s strange to see how hard the Eldians are fighting their own people in order to redeem themselves in the eyes of Marley, particularly when the new episodes have underscored how little Marley trusts or respects its Titan Warriors. The glimpse of Liberio showed a bleak internment zone that makes you wonder whether Zeke and Reiner wouldn’t be better off turning on Marley. But then, perhaps they will before the end.
The most interesting moment of “Midnight Train” is undoubtedly Falco’s conversation with Reiner, which will sell fans on Falco’s character. But it also highlights just how much Reiner has changed since the beginning of the series, and it teases an interesting conclusion to his arc. A few seasons ago, a change of heart from either Bertolt or Reiner seemed out of the question. This season seems to be building up to something like that, even if it doesn’t result in a full-on redemption arc. This episode went to great lengths to highlight Reiner’s struggles with who he was and who he’s become, so that’s likely to have a big impact on the rest of the series.
When it comes down to it, “Midnight Train” isn’t a bad episode on its own. In fact, it has a lot of interesting character development that sets up a compelling season during which viewers may not know who to root for. It does, however, feel like a potentially unnecessary lull given how little time is left to wrap up all of these storylines.
Episode Grade: B
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