Shingeki no Kyojin – 42

「回答」 (Kaitou)
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You got to love it when a plan comes together. SnK may belabour at times to get through certain developments, but when it comes to overthrowing the old order and bringing about revolution there’s apparently no time like the present. Yes it all (well, Erwin’s side of things) went down this week as Scouts and Garrison united to take down one seriously corrupt government and pave the way (eventually) to restore some hope to humanity’s ultimate survival. We might still be lacking in answers or even an idea for what broadly comes next, but hey, I think we know what reveals are shortly coming down the pipeline.

While easily assumed Erwin would succeed in some manner (alive or dead) in overthrowing the current monarchy, it’s interesting noting just how risky his plan was. He banked entirely on the king and council responding as predicted, with Pixis and—most importantly—Zachary holding true to their attested moral (or not so moral) convictions. Should the council have acted righteously in the face of an apparent threat, Pixis deciding complacency is better than action? That’s one dead Erwin swinging in the breeze.

This moment too shows some of the subtle complexity SnK has been building up for a while, indicating how both threats and responses aren’t as black and white as previously witnessed. The leadership, as Erwin mentions, weren’t entirely in the wrong; closing the walls and likely sacrificing half of remaining humanity to retain a modicum of order is a valid (if horrific) decision in the face of potential extinction, for that small sliver of chance generated far outweighs the near guarantee of societal breakdown in the face of starvation. The problem is that neither king nor council even weighed their options before choosing, and chose with only themselves in mind. Such pusillanimous thought is easily picked up by moral yet pragmatic men like Pixis, making their choice incredibly simple given the circumstances. If the leadership had deliberated more before choosing, or simply emphasized the importance of societal survival, Erwin’s gambit likely wouldn’t have been so straightforward a success.

The real fun though is in what the current (well, former) leadership was trying to escape/defend from. There’s a reason a fake king was installed in place of the true Reiss lineage after all, a reason why Historia—out of several Reiss children—is the last surviving heir, and a reason why Eren (who is largely uncontrollable even for Mikasa) is deemed important enough (*cough* the Coordinate) to liquidate. Someone has more than a simple grudge against our little blondie and company, and is willing to murder to see its ends through. The truth and the real villains of course have yet to be revealed, but given the previous government was desperate to retain control of Eren’s powers and someone or some group tried to exterminate humanity’s only royal line, it shouldn’t be too hard to start making a few guesses, especially when Erwin’s father apparently stumbled onto a bit of the truth.

There’s a massive secret in SnK waiting for its grand debut, and if we’re lucky next week should start shining some light on what it just may be.

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