Review: Attack on Titan, Episode 416: “Above and Below”

The first half of Attack on Titan’s final season concludes with an episode that promises another showdown between Paradis Island and Marley.

Recap

Tensions within the Paradis Island military have reached a boiling point in most recent episodes of Attack on Titan, but the first half of the anime’s final season concludes with an episode that presents an entirely new problem: an invasion from Marley.

After hinting that the Warriors would venture to Paradis Island to retrieve Gabi and Falco, “Above and Below” follows through on that promise, in addition to further exploring Eren’s betrayal of his former comrades and his homeland.

The episode opens with Hange, Floch and the rest of the Scouts heading out to find Zeke. The group hears the explosion from Zeke’s confrontation with Levi last week, but they aren’t sure what caused it. We see Zeke blown to pieces, something he’ll surely recover from once his Titan powers kick back in, but the episode doesn’t tell us what happened to Levi.

From there, fans see Yelena’s takeover of the military, with Commander Pixis coming to understand how she persuaded so many soldiers to follow the Jaegerists. While some are true believers, others are following orders because they drank the wine containing Zeke’s spinal fluid and could be turned into titans if they don’t comply with the revolutionaries. With armbands differentiating between those who are truly loyal and those who have been coerced, Pixis comments that the Jaegerists seem to be adopting some of Marley’s methods of control.

Yelena visits what’s left of Eren’s friends, disrupting a conversation about whether Eren has reasons for what he’s doing. None of them seem particularly optimistic about it. Yelena’s assurances about Zeke’s euthanization plan don’t put the group at ease either.

As Yelena makes her way around the military, Eren seeks out Gabi, requesting her help in exchange for saving Falco. But before we can find out what, exactly, Eren wants from Gabi, Pieck shows up disguised as someone from the Survey Corps. She threatens Eren at gunpoint, but quickly attempts to appeal to him as an ally instead.

Fooling both Gabi and Eren, Pieck promises to lead Eren to whatever enemies from Marley are hiding within the walls. He takes the bait, but as she guides him to the roof, it’s clear neither of them is letting their guard down. And when Eren asks her to direct them to “the enemy,” she points directly to him, confirming his suspicion that her arrival is part of a trap.

“Above and Below” ends with a scene true to its title. As Galliard, as the Jaw Titan, breaks through the roof and attacks Eren from below, troops from Marley arrive in airships from above. The final moments see Reiner looking down on Paradis Island as a now-transformed Eren welcomes the challenge.

Unfortunately, it’ll be some time before fans discover how the next showdown between Paradis Island and Marley plays out.

Review

On its own, this week’s episode of Attack on Titan is a perfectly fine addition to the fourth season. Although there isn’t much action to speak of, there are plenty of interactions that will have fans clutching the edge of their seats. From the taut conversation between Yelena and Pixis to Pieck’s arrival and confrontation with Eren, there’s plenty to love.

As a season finale, however, “Above and Below” doesn’t really stick the landing. It’s possible Studio MAPPA needed to call it quits early because of COVID-19, but the episode chooses a pretty anticlimactic place to end the season, even with the promise of another huge battle to come. The episode’s conclusion is the only time it really feels like a finale. Before that, it’s more political maneuvering, which is interesting and entertaining, but still fails to answer many of the questions fans had heading into this week’s episode.

And the ending is undoubtedly the strongest part of “Above and Below,” despite how important some of the episode’s character moments are. Watching Pieck lure Eren into a trap is nearly as exciting as the arrival of Reiner and the troops from Marley. The fact that most fans won’t know who to root for in this scenario highlights how successful this series has been at flipping the narrative during its final run. Viewers are likely to feel as confused as Gabi by the time this week’s episode is through.

In terms of keeping fans invested, there is something to be said about how “Above and Below” leaves so many characters’ fates in the balance. With the second half of the season not airing until 2022, however, it’s hard not to feel a little dissatisfied with Levi’s ending, or with the fact that Eren’s friends are sitting in the basement of a building now being torn apart by Titans.

It is fitting that the season would end with Reiner and Eren sizing each other up again, though, drawing more parallels between these characters who have both done terrible things for reasons they believe are justified.

Overall, “Above and Below” is a perfectly decent episode, though not as strong as some of the earlier installments this season. If there’s one thing it will succeed at, however, it’s getting fans to tune in as soon as the second part of the season arrives.

Episode Grade: B+

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