Attack on Titan Episode 66

Attack on Titan Episode 66

Assault

I hope you’re ready to read about my love for Attack on Titan character development this week because that’s what this review of episode 66 is going to be all about. Did the Armored Titan look like handsome Squidward at the end of the episode? Yes. But we’re not going to talk about the visuals this week.

A lot of people probably view Attack on Titan as this “normie” anime. However, as someone with over 400 completed anime registered on MAL, I can assure you that there are many reasons why so many people love it. For me, one of the best parts of the series is how complex the characters are and how they change over the course of their lives.

With this assault on Marley, we get to see into the minds of both sides. And, surprise, both sides are human at the end of the day. Every character is flawed, and yet they still have morals that they (attempt) to uphold.

Sasha Blouse from the anime series Attack on Titan: The Final Season
Sasha Blouse

Two great examples of this are Jean and Pieck. Jean is a Paradis Eldian who’s part of the group we’ve been following since the start of the series. By all accounts, he’s one of the “good guys.” And yet, when it came down to it, he was willing to sacrifice Falco, a child, if it meant killing Pieck and ending the war faster.

Obviously, this doesn’t make Jean a bad person, but it shows that the line is blurred. At what point is he no longer doing the right thing? And we even see him trying to come to terms with this right afterward.

On the other side, Pieck, one of the “bad guys” puts her humanity on full display when her comrades are killed. The armor division is like her family.

Babysitter Magath

One of my favorite, and yet unexpectedly “human” characters on the Marleyan side of the war is Commander Magath. There have been hints of this since the very first episode of this season, but Magath is actually a pretty good guy.

In the first episode, he doesn’t want Gabi to risk her life to take out the train. He’d rather send hundreds of other soldiers to their deaths. That might not sound like something a “good guy” would do, but you have to add in the context. And no, I don’t mean the context of him saying that Gabi is worth more than them because she’s a Warrior candidate.

Why did Magath not want to risk Gabi’s life? Because she’s a child. Those other soldiers he was willing to sacrifice are grown men. And again, when Magath is speaking to Willy before his speech, he expresses concern both for Willy’s safety and the safety of the civilians in attendance.

Commander Magath yelling at Falco from the anime series Attack on Titan: The Final Season
Commander Magath yelling at Falco

Still not convinced? Well in this episode, when Falco meets up with Magath to tell him about Reiner’s condition, what’s the first thing Magath does? He asks Falco if he’s okay and then tells him to get to safety. Even once he learns of Reiner’s condition, that seems to be secondary in his mind.

Now, Magath still understands that Gabi and Falco are soldiers. That fact isn’t lost on him and he does treat them as such at times. He’s also very aware that they’re Eldians, spawns of the devil Ymir herself. But he still views them as children first and foremost.

Even when ordering them to rescue Pieck, he’s not ordering them to fight. He and the other soldiers are the ones providing covering fire while Gabi and Falco get Pieck and escape to safety.

View from the Top

Yet another character whom we’ve gotten to see develop over the years is Armin. I’ll be honest, at the start of the series I thought Armin was a terrible character. But he gradually got better with every season. And at this point, I truly think he’s a good character.

His personality hasn’t really changed, but his view of his role in the world has — mostly due to the positions he’s been placed in by others. For example, in Season 1, Eren and Mikasa put their lives in Armin’s hands during one of the first times Eren transforms.

That was the first time that Armin was responsible for the lives of others. Now fast-forward to the current story arc, and Armin is responsible for the lives of every member of the Scouts. Hange is the commander, but Armin is the chief strategist and is the one who planned out the current assault.

Armin looking down at the destruction he caused from the anime series Attack on Titan: The Final Season
Armin looking down at the destruction he caused

Also, let’s not forget that the Colossal Titan was forced upon Armin against his will. After he learned that he was chosen to survive over Erwin, he opined that Levi made the wrong choice and that Erwin should have been the one to live.

But Armin also isn’t one to back down from a position even if he doesn’t want it. He knows that his comrades are counting on him — and he’s not going to let them down.

I thought Armin’s internal struggle regarding his role as the Colossal Titan was pretty clear to see in this episode. By looking at his face before he transforms, you can tell that he’s already feeling guilty about what he has to do. And afterward, he comments on the destruction he caused by rhetorically asking Bertholdt if he saw these same scenes.

Conclusion

What do you think of Attack on Titan: The Final Season episode 66? What was your favorite part of the episode? I want to say Armin’s entrance, but I think Pieck getting attacked might actually be my favorite part. And which character do you think has developed the most (or best)? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of the next episode is available here.

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