Attack on Titan season 3 Part 2 continued with a thrilling followup to the season 3B premiere. Erwin tried to lead the Scout Regiment through the ambush in Shiganshina District by Survey Corps traitors Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover, who are now working of a new “War Chief” in the form of the monstrous Beast Titan.
“Thunder Spears” was an episode that played like a deadly game of chess, as Erwin tried to outstrategize and then outmaneuver the Beast Titan and his cohorts, before the Scout Regiment was trapped in Shiganshina with no hope of escape. That strategy required a lot of running and misdirection – but when push came to shove, the Scouts also had throwdown and do some key battling to stay in the fight!
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Part of that fight involved the Survey Corps unveiling their powerful new “Thunder Spears” weapon, which are designed to penetrate the Armored Titan’s armor. The other part of that battle saw Eren Yeager in Titan form, throwing down against Reiner Braun in his Armored Titan form. Over the course of both fights, we learn some (exciting? terrible?) new things about the Armored Titan’s weapons and powers!
First thing first: “Thunder Spears” details how Reiner Braun was able to survive taking a sword blade through the neck by Levi in the season 3B premiere. Apparently, the power of the Armored Titan allows Reiner to “move his consciousness” around his body; during a moment of inner monologue, he basically states that had he not done this as quickly as he did after Levi’s fatal strike, he would be dead now. Attack on Titan will have to further detail what this technique actually is, as fans are confused about it. Can he move organs like his brain around in his body? Or is it something much more metaphysical (like “moving his soul”)? In any event, the Armored Titan power preserves Reiner’s life while he’s in Titan form; we see the Titan body form appendages that pull the sword from Reiner’s neck as he’s piloting the beast, healing his wound entirely.
The second thing we learn about the Armored Titan is less a defensive / healing technique, and more of an offensive and/or support weapon: hardened armored claws that pop out of the Armored Titan’s hands and feet! Like with Eren’s hardening power, the reinforced appendages allow the Armor Titan to have much greater agility, allowing the massive and heavy beast to scale Wall Maria with squirrel-like ease.
As is quickly proving to be the case with all of the special Nine Titans in this series, what we initially knew about their powers was just the surface. Reiner makes vague reference to the potential that awaits Eren if he ever masters the powers of the Founding Titan (or “Coordinate”) – hopefully that’s a foreshadow that will play out soon.
You can currently find Attack on Titan streaming on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Saturday nights on Adult Swim’s Toonami block.
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