Board Thread:Manga/@comment-27321453-20190408212907/@comment-35822279-20190408215629

I thought this was a strong chapter and I don't have any real problems with this chapter. I would say this is easily my favourite of this entire arc and probably my favourite since chapter 100.

Positives:

- The way that Pieck and Eren were juxtaposed against each other was really fascinating with Pieck retaining a stronger sense of humanity through her bonds with her comrades and Eren being presented as colder and inhuman as a result of severing his ties to his friends. While I still think this is a Rorschach situation (Eren isn't a complete villain he's pushing his friends away to save their souls) the thematic connection was incredibly interesting and I wonder how this will impact the battle to come (Ex. will Eren actually be overwhelmed without Mikasa and Armin?).

- It was interesting to see Gabi's arc progress after a few months and I think it was handled really well here as she didn't completely let go of her hatred but started to self doubt in a way that was naturalistic compared to the rest of her arc 106 onwards.

- The battle of wits at the centre of the chapter was really well executed nailing the political thriller angle really well (the tension, dialogue, and drawing were all top notch here). It was also great to see Pieck's strength as a warrior shown in a tangible way (charisma build FTW). I thought this was another great showcase for Eren's growth as he kept his wits and life by being shrewd and calculated unlike early Eren who would have attacked immediately in a blind rage.

- The ending was once again stellar with Marley launching their counter strike and a determined Reiner ready for battle. I can't wait to see were this is going.

- Yelena continues to be an intriguing and unnerving zealot getting a lot of interesting characterization here (blowing the dude's brains out was a genuine shock for me as it shows a genuine level of empathy for Nicolo and the Eldians) and I'm interested in seeing more from her which is a pretty impressive turnaround for a character I was ambivalent towards at first.

- kinda of a side note but Porco being visible in the hallway was a great choice and added a nice dose of tension to that final scene.