Board Thread:Manga/@comment-27321453-20190408212907/@comment-4383890-20190409034515

Another mixed bag but slightly more above average

Pros:

-Yelena blowing Grior's brains out. Boy that dude had it coming, and I think more people view her favorably after that. I mean, I thought I wanted most other Marleyans dead, but this dude literally would have given me an aneurysm had Yelena not put him out of his misery so quickly.

-Eren as a ruthless, unforgiving leader. THIS is what Eldia needs. Not Hange. Not Armin. They're too weak to lead Eldia. Eren shows just why he ought to be leader. -Eren and Yelena talking to one another about their mutual distrust of Pieck was oddly satisfying.

-Seeing Falco okay (for now, at least).

-SOME insight into Pieck. Though still not my favorite character, she isn't too terrible, which is more than I can say for most other Warriors.

-Just when the last couple chapters (this one included) mostly seemed like just an info-dump, this one still sets up the next one for some action

-Jean. I thought I was going to keep disliking him for taking the same pacifistic road as Hange and Armin, but hearing his level-headed thoughts on why Eren would do what he did tells me he's at least trying to understand Eren's motives before making a conscious decision. People say he's a foil to Eren, but I think he's really a foil to Floch (which I may have stated before in the 109 discussion after Jean arrests him).

Cons:

-After nearly two years of putting up with her, GabBage STILL doesn't grasp how wrong she is. I still don't see postive development after all this time. Just the same old stupid brat that makes me want to gouge my eyes out. -Yelena discussing the euthanasia plan with the SC. I'm pretty sure I understood the gist of it with Zeke's fewer but simpler words. The dialogue this time around just made the whole thing confusing.

-"Our true objective is not some empty thing like getting revenge on Marley." Coming from Yelena, I don't buy that for a minute. Not because it would hit too close to the "revenge is bad" narrative Yams is shoving down our throats, but because we've all seen how unhinged Yelena is. Actually no, I take that back, what we've seen is probably just the tip of the psycho-iceberg, so I don't believe there isn't some vengeful motivation in their scheme.

-Connie. I'm liking him less the more he continues to blame Eren for what happened to Sasha as if "the brat who killed Sasha" (as she is so affectionately called by Eren and a large chunk of the fandom) isn't already a few cells over. I mean, it's not the cheesy pacifist outlook Hange and Armin have, but his grudge against Eren tells me he might do something stupid that inadvertently helps Marley, and that's a big no-no for me.

-The end-chapter text seemed to be implying that Eren is the evil one while painting Reiner in a somewhat-heroic light. Big fat NOPE. After 90+ chapters of watching Paradis/SC go through hell, no trauma-conga line is gonna make me root for a mass-murdering angsty jock, and I don't like being told that that's who I'm supposed to root for.

-Not knowing what's become of Levi and Hange.

Neutral:

-Armin's crocodile tears. Whether they actually are fake or something else, that just felt out of place to me.

-The return of Marley/Warriors. Colt and Porco are of little consequence. And while I don't have the same vitriol for Reiner as I do his cousin, he is still part of RBA, and we all know what that trio has done.

-Pieck protecting Gabi. When Mikasa and Mr. Braus protected her the same way, all my love for those characters went down the crapper. Pieck does it, it's because it's what she's supposed to do in the story. Or should I say "as expected of Pieck"?

6/10 overall.