Recap: The Female Titan closes in on Eren’s position, meanwhile, the remaining recruits attempt to figure what exactly is going on.

Gee’s Thoughts: Damn Titan’s on a roll, even if the budget is clearly hurting. I honestly forgot how wonderfully tense and fast paced the first half of the Female Titan arc was. We’re treated to yet another episode with Jean as our audience surrogate, a situation I much prefer to listening to Eren talk. Before our secondary trio is forced to make a hard decision, they’re saved by universal waifu Christa. I suppose it’s the comic moments placed in between the tension and the darkness that makes those moments all the more memorable.

While a retreat would be the obvious choice, Commander Erwin insists on pressing forward, a seemingly suicidal decision. At least, that is until our heroes reach the forest of the giant trees, a forest with well, giant trees. Perfect for Titan hunting actually. Seems our crew will be attempting to capture/kill the Female Titan. Let’s see if our veterans live up to their reputations.

Overall, I really enjoyed this episode. With so many talented Titan killers and supposedly super badass members of the Recon Corps, you’d almost forget that Titans are fucking scary. These are implacable human-devouring monsters. And the smart ones? Your worst nightmare. The Female Titan manages to remind us just exactly what the Titans are capable of, as it basically spends the majority of this episode killing people. In fact really, any moment this episode not taken up by Armin or Jean talking, was occupied by the Female Titan murdering the shit out of the Recon Corps. with its eerily human intelligence.

I was especially pleased with the looks of sheer terror on the Recon veterans. While Eren may have faith in their abilities, their distress and fright in the face of such a force shows us that our heroes should be very scared. Another moment that had me cheering in a somewhat morbid way? When she was spinning that Recon Corpsmen like a toy. Goddamn. If that’s not the kind of malicious glee only human intelligence can summon, nothing is.

While I do have my complaints about the Female Titan arc, those are mainly due to developments that occur later. The beginning of the arc is probably one of the best moments in Titan, if just for the sheer brutality of it. I look forward to seeing if Levi, Eren, and the rest of the Recon Corps. have what it takes to bring her down. But even if Eren activates his Titan shifting power, I’m not so sure he’ll be able to come out on top.