Shingeki no Kyojin - The Final Season - Episode 70 - 10 Second Anime

Gabi and Falco escape prison and find refuge at a stable. An orphan girl’s story challenges Gabi’s perspective.

#70 – “Deceiver”

Hmm.

Shingeki no Kyojin started its Gabi rehabilitation project on a terrible note. Bashing a concerned guard’s head in with a brick is not the way to gain sympathy. Hajime Isayama continues to apply subtle brush strokes of foreshadowing and morality plays with a mop. Gabi’s journey started at Sasha’s parents’ farm, which housed an orphan girl from the Marleyan incursion four years before, and then she’ll end up at Nicolo’s restaurant. Sasha directly affected each of the people Gabi interacted with, the brainwashed jerk who killed her. Splat, splat, splat. Lay it on thicker, Shingeki no Kyojin.

Two good things came from the otherwise awful storytelling. Falco is a good kid. He continues to be a good kid. This guy will be the ultimate bridge between Marleyan fascists, Eldian Restorationists, Eren’s liberation front, and Paradis isolationists. His story has the successful narrative execution that Gabi’s lacks. I hope that continues.

Shingeki no Kyojin’s other good point this episode was using Gabi as a foil against Kaya the orphan’s simple arguments against social justice and reparations. Individual people in the present and the future are not responsible for the actions of their ancestors. Period. Any argument against that is one of persuasion, incitement, and justification for bigotry, prejudice, and resentment. Justice is a solution between individuals in the present. There is an expiration date for justice, which is the source of that aphorism “Justice delayed is justice denied.” Past a certain time, a person needs to accept his circumstances and move on. Anything else prolongs suffering. Gabi wasn’t ready to hear any of that from Kaya, but Falco was. Like I said, Falco represents the future of Shingeki no Kyojin.

Meh.

The writer used a lazy framing device too many times in this part of the story. Sasha saved Kaya from a Titan attack, so she has a connection to the character. Mikasa saved Louise from a Titan attack in the city, so she feels loyalty to her, just like Mikasa feels devotion to Eren for killing her kidnappers. And some nameless, faceless stranger knocks up Queen Historia because he used to throw rocks at her. That’s relying too much on that past history device to create relational context. At least Kaya and Louise’s circumstances had an emotional impact on the audience, but only Mikasa’s connection meant anything since we saw her reaction. Will Gabi get a reaction scene when she finds out Sasha saved the life of that helpful blonde girl? Historia’s frame is more useless. Shingeki no Kyojin tries too hard to connect this time skip part of the story to the past. We don’t need this clumsy, ham-fisted crap.

Heh.

Prison break! Gabi takes it too far, as always. Gabi is like a feral beast. Falco is her only leash. Reiner finally woke up. Looks like Pieck finished healing too. Enough of them, back to Gabi’s fugitive adventures. She’s so indoctrinated. She won’t even take off her yellow armband. That’s right. Gabi is acting crazy. Whoops! There’s one of those “island devils.”

Gabi and Falco go with the "runaways from child abuse" story. The blonde girl doesn’t seem surprised to hear that, but that pause of hers hints at other things. Oh man. That’s Sasha’s father. Gabi, Sasha’s killer, found herself at the Blouse Stables. These island devils aren’t so different. The boonies Blouses talk with a southern Marleyan accent. Ugh, Gabi. The indoctrination is so good, she feels revulsion at a kind gesture. Well, it looks like flinching from child abuse, so that still worked out.

That Kiyomi lady is back to Paradis after Eren ate up Willy. This time skip crap explains the anti-personnel improvements on the Scouts’ gear came from their engineers. Terrible writing. Hizuru forces brought an observation craft under a tarp. It’s looks like a plane with folded wings. This “Iceburst Stone” crap is ridiculous. Whatever. This is how Shingeki no Kyojin wants to take things.

Hange faces public backlash against arresting Eren. Too right! What other pressure is Hange feeling as the Commander of the Scouts? The merchants and newspapers are all on Eren’s side. Is this only normal political corruption of the military exerting its power over naïve and inexperienced leaders? Hange’s lament that, “The Walls are open now. The meaning of info has changed!” is something to pay attention to. Weird how Floch changed from opposing Eren’s wish that the Colossal Titan go to Armin to save his life instead of Erwin’s to becoming his number one fan. Too many people know about “the rumbling” and Hange hasn’t even seen it yet. This feels like a disinformation campaign to get people to hope for a myth.

Louise feels devotion to Mikasa for saving her life, like how she’s devoted to Eren for saving her life. This looks like a flashback for new fans instead of people who have been following all along. Har. Pyxis thinks Yelena is a pretty lady. Since he said it, it must be true. Yelena influenced Floch, who was Eren’s guard officer, and then Eren started his independent movements.

Yeah! Bite that head, horsy! Hahaha! Horsy laughs over Gabi Buckethead. So begins Gabi’s lesson on the futility of ancient grudges, bigotry, and resentment. Shut up, Gabi. Nobody knows or remembers the atrocities Eldians committed over a hundred years ago. Ha! Kaya knew they were Marleyans because she heard them shouting about it when she first found them. This scene with Falco stopping Gabi from killing an innocent Paradis Eldian is the whole point of the time skip. Kaya is great. Gabi IS jealous of Falco’s attention to Kaya.

Ah. Kaya’s village was the scene of the Beast Titan awakening the Pure Titans. Kaya shows how ridiculous Gabi’s recitation of propaganda sounds. Her mother never did all that killing and enslavement. Whoa. Falco spilled the beans on Zeke and Pieck’s mission on Paradis. They were staging for an invasion. They weren’t there to rescue Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie. There it is. Sasha saved Kaya’s life. And Gabi killed Sasha. Of course, she doesn’t know Kaya’s story relates to her yet. Aw. Kaya knows Sasha died from Mr. and Mrs. Blouse. Welp, they’re going to meet Nicolo, and he won’t like that Gabi killed Sasha.

Too much time left for the end credits. Epilogue time. Back to the aftermath in Marley. Commander Magath knows Zeke is alive. Blargh. They claim to find Marleyan tech in the modified Anti-Personnel ODM gear. Why not just the Scouts combining Kenny’s MP gear with their own? Whatever. Conspiracy with the Eldian Restorationists is PLOT. Magath’s timeline is wrong about Zeke starting his plot four years ago. Yelena and others arrived three years ago. The Warriors advocate for immediate surprise counterattack to rescue Falco and Gabi instead of waiting for a global coalition. Those island devils won’t be expecting that! Yeah, right. This is how Eren “bought time.”