Review, Attack on Titan episode 404: “From One Hand to Another”

This week’s episode of Attack on Titan sees the Tybur family bringing festivities to Liberio, as well as a long-awaited reunion.

Recap

Attack on Titan has been biding its time heading into the action of its final season. This week’s episode continues the anime’s exploration of Marley, with the powerful Tybur family arriving and bringing festivities to Liberio’s internment zone. Most of the episode is about the Marley military and Willy Tybur planning their next move, complete with a party to welcome the leaders of other nations in Marley’s orbit.

Aside from the military planning, “From One Hand to Another” focuses on the Warriors and Warrior candidates as they catch the excitement. Watching them enjoy the festival further builds their characters and emphasizes just how little comfort they have living in Liberio.

We also get to see more of Eren this week: he asks Falco to deliver letters from outside the internment zone for him. It’s clear he’s up to something, since he doesn’t want the letters intercepted by Marley’s leaders. It seems Falco will be dragged into whatever Eren’s planning whether he knows it or not.

There’s also a scene when Eren speaks to his grandfather, although the old man remains ignorant of their connection. The two discuss Mr. Yaeger’s regrets about the destruction his son has caused. The whole scene is rather foreboding considering that Eren is likely to continue down his father’s path.

The episode ends with the promise of Willy Tybur making his big speech about Paradis Island the next day. Not a lot happens, all in all. Luckily, there’s a post-credits scene where Falco brings Reiner to Eren moments before that speech. And although fans don’t see much beyond Reiner’s surprise before the screen goes dark, it’s safe to assume that things are about to escalate.

Review

Although many of the character interactions this week were interesting, they felt like scenes that might have happened during the first season of a series, when the writers are still setting the stage for what’s to come. This, of course, is exactly what they’re doing, since the narrative has shifted to Marlay and we essentially have a whole new cast of characters. But given that Eren is in Liberio and clearly planning something, it’s disappointing to see so little screentime going to the people and plots we spent the last three seasons following.

Sure, this is probably the calm before the storm, but we’ve had too much of that in recent episodes. With so little time left and so much of the manga to cover still, I can’t help but wonder why the pacing has slowed so much. The military planning from Marley might be necessary for the coming storyline, but did fans truly need a conversation between Eren and his grandfather or a speech from Willy Tybur before his actual announcement the next day?

The highlight of “From One Hand to Another” is the post-credits scene, with Reiner and Eren finally coming face to face for the first time in years. The tension of this one moment is high enough to get fans amped up for next week’s installment, even if Willy Tybur and General Magath’s antics don’t.

Falco’s interactions with Eren and Gabi are compelling, as well, and it’s hard not to feel for the kid as he gets dragged into this cycle of violence between Marley and Paradis Island. If one good thing has come from all this setup, it’s that Falco and Gabi have become characters we care about.

Episode Grade: C

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