Board Thread:Manga/@comment-27321453-20190908104148/@comment-35822279-20190908192625

I thought this was a well done chapter with palpable tension, great dialogue, and a couple of fascinating developments making for a fantastic read.

Pros:

- The biggest positive this chapter has going for it is that at least for me I found it to be wildly unpredictable and subversive which is something the series hasn't done for me in a long time (not that this is always bad). The big example of this is Zeke getting development in the form of truly understanding his father + learning to love him again but also having his shortsighted ideals reinforced through Eren's violent actions and Grisha's horrified demeanour regarding Eren's future plans. This put a quick end to any kind of redemption for Zeke which is probably for the best. Definitely think Isayama deserves props here for going the hard way rather than the easy one which most writers would.

- My second positive is the dialogue for this chapter as it was a nice blend of ideological, witty, and horrific which is a tough blend for most writers to balance without creating tonal incoherence but Yams hit it out of the park here.

- My last positive is that I was genuinely impressed with how dark this chapter was as it actually managed to disturb me with how brutal Eren was and how he basically violated his father's mind into committing a atrocity. The fact that Eren can be easily vindicated for this act also creates a effective moral quagmire and pushes the series into even more impressively grey areas with both Zeke and Eren being potentially morally dubious choices for now.

Overall thoughts:

-  This is a really great chapter with everything I like about the series in sharp dialogue, excellently executed twists, dark morally complex subject matter, and a ending that has me on the edge of my seat and thrilled to see where it goes next. I do have some minor issues with the chapter but there heavily dependent on how future chapters deal with the setup here so I didn't feel the need to bring them up.