Split minds.
The following review contains spoilers for the episode.
A discussion in the trees is the focus of this week’s episode, as Reiner and Eren argue about their past and future. Although a few interesting topics come up, Episode 34 drags on with meandering dialogue and uninteresting scenes that ultimately cause the entire episode to feel like it was unnecessary, especially when it only raises more questions and offers few answers.
The most compelling part of the episode is the discussion surrounding Reiner’s split personality. It’s been subtly hinted at in the past that he had something wrong with him, but those previous scenes did well to hide it under the guise of stress or confusion. Finally, we learn the truth that he is suffering from a split personality of sorts and that it’s something he’s been struggling with since he was first introduced. This revelation is quite interesting. The idea of someone going undercover for so long and having issues telling right from wrong is quite compelling. I only wish we had learned more about his struggles so that we could better understand Reiner’s point of view.
Episode 34 has a hard time making its long discussions interesting. Scenes drag on as each character takes the longest route possible to make their point. This wouldn’t work well in an outstanding episode, but is even more noticeable when the entire episode is dedicated to these various conversations. Attempts to intensify the scenes with exaggerated shaking and other editing ended up feeling more like annoying distractions.
A very lengthy discussion occurs towards the end about Ymir and her loyalties, only for her to shrug and brush it off. Although the most obvious example, there are several other moments where questions are shrugged off, or completely ignored as something else happens. In an episode where interesting dialogue is key to its success, simply teasing these questions and then not answering them is like a slap in the face considering there are already so many questions already on the table. Now more than ever would be a great time to explore these topics and enlighten us the viewers as to what’s going on.
Eren’s attitude and emotions are well represented in this week’s episode. In fact, one of my favorite moments is when Eren checks himself, realizing that he needs to calm down and gain new information from Reiner. This brief moment highlights how much his character is beginning to change, but not so quickly as to be unrealistic. It’s not even a few minutes later that we see the old Eren bubbling up as he can barely suppress his rage. There was a long stretch where I was concerned about his character. It seemed like he would forever be stuck in the past, always angry and quick to act. It’s great to see these moments of true growth for him, but his few good scenes can’t make up the rest of the episode.
The Verdict
Although it has a few interesting things to say, Episode 34 stumbles around with it’s meandering dialogue. Learning the truth about Reiner’s split personality is interesting and the way Eren is portrayed is fitting with his continuing growth as a character, but so much time is wasted with pointless conversation and teases about things that are never explained, that it makes Episode 34 feel like a waste as we simply sit and wait for the Scouts to arrive.
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