A tale of two names.
Warning: The following review contains spoilers for the episode.
Christa and Ymir’s relationship is at the core of Episode 30, and much of it is told through Christa’s actions and viewpoint. Unfortunately the opening minutes left much to be desired, as they were filled with weird pacing issues. Things quickly improved when we returned to Utgard Castle and the episode is able to end with a heartfelt bang.
Since Season 2 began, Attack on Titan has had many great episodes detailing more intimate moments about the characters we love, or barely knew anything about. Unfortunately, this week is when they finally fumble this, as a flashback opens up Episode 30. The pacing felt very inconsistent during this flashback, as it would jump from Eren’s perspective back to Christa’s. Eren’s point of view added nothing of value to the flashbacks story, making his parts feel wasteful. Making the flashback focus entirely on Christa and Ymir instead would have felt much better and would have gotten us back to the battle at Utgard Castle faster.
Although sections of the flashback didn’t seem necessary, the somber but captivating conversation at the top of the cliff was very well handled. Not only did this conversation help fill in Christa and Ymir’s backstory, it opens up even more questions about the future that I am eager to have answered. It also cleverly ties into the end of the episode, which was a nice touch as it provided excellent closure for Ymir’s character arc over these last few episodes.
It was clearly implied last week, but finally, we got to see Ymir change into a titan. The most striking thing about the events that follow is her lack of power when compared to the other humanoid titans we’ve seen. Although I enjoyed much of the battle, it’s tough to compete with Eren and the events of last season. The bar was set incredibly high with his transformation, so anything less than that isn’t as interesting in comparison. This is felt here as Ymir’s smaller, weaker titan form just didn’t elicit the same excitement from me that I felt when watching Eren.
It’s a brief moment, but as Ymir seems to be dying, Christa reveals her real name to her. Not only does it tie nicely into the earlier flashback, but also allows Ymir to seemingly die in peace. It’s very rare for people in Attack on Titan to die a satisfying death. I quite liked Ymir, as she was a strange and interesting character, but if she does end up dying here, then I would rather it happen in a heartfelt moment like this than being torn to pieces in a titan’s mouth.
The Verdict
Focusing in on Christa and Ymir, Episode 30 is able to deliver another fun, character driven episode. Some odd pacing issues and character appearances early on make the opening minutes rather rough, but the last half redeems the episode as we see Ymir transform and save her friends, only to doom herself.
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