Board Thread:Manga/@comment-34196931-20200108165627/@comment-5179916-20200109203704

RuneLai wrote: This was a chapter I initially enjoyed while I was reading for the first time, but liked less on second read when I was doing it for the wiki's chapter summary, because in doing that, I realized that Chapter 125 is really just a collage of different scenes without a coherent story tying them all together... Shadis's scene probably could have been cut. We would have presumed he survived even if we didn't see him again this chapter and unless Surma and the other trainees do become some kind of sleeper cell inside the Yeagerists (is there any time for that?) this is a setup that won't pay off.

Hitch and Annie reuniting was nice, though it was a little too on the nose when their dialogue specifically calls out that Annie is info-dumping her personal backstory to Hitch.

It was nice finally seeing Hange and Levi at the end, after them being gone for so long, but like most of this chapter, it felt like it was mostly setup for things to come. I agree regarding the scene with Shadis. This was almost a retelling of when we last saw him; beaten up, but still alive with his usual gruff attitude.

I think the "scattershot" approach was needed just because there are so many plot points that were dangling out and needed to be reeled in (especially with Annie, Hange and Levi.) While Annie did go into exposition overdrive, she had a lot of ground to cover since we had last seen her; while she was asleep, we saw the stories of Reiner, Bertolt and the other Warriors being told over the course of several flashbacks/chapters. Since we are presumably near the end of the series, there wasn't too many options available for Annie.

Due to the circumstances we last saw them in, I knew it was only a matter of time before we saw both Levi and Hange again. Consider me part of the minority, but I think it would be interesting if Magath kills one of them (just because of how protected they both have been.)