Attack on Titan 4x15 REACTION

Zeke displays pure willingness to take life without remorse, while Levi shows the pure will to survive. They are two sides of the same coin of humanity, as I’ve always seen it. I never saw Zeke as a full and true psychopath, I always interpreted that despite his crimes and mass killings he is still in some ways developmentally stunted as that kid whose parents didn’t love him. Of course, he is a manipulative harbinger of death. Not meaning to spur an argument here I just found your comment interesting and wanted to respond. Certainly one of the best episodes in the series

Based Hakari

The first five episodes. From the start when Eren woke up under the tree in episode 1 until the first battle of the Trost District. I can't state the reasons to avoid spoilers, but I think they should rewatch them all. I guess you're right. I should list several critical episodes instead because there are some important lines, events and characters that should not be missed out from S1 and S2. I'm afraid they are going to get clueless in S4P2.

Zakwan Khidzir

Can you provide them with the list of critical episodes to rewatch to jog the memory? Do you mean the FIRST 5? Because I'd argue they probably should rewatch the episodes that carlie and ange themselves deemed critical. the first 5 episodes leading up to the courtroom drama with the church folk and internal MPs when our old "sleepless eyes" loose canon sergent wanted to canon boom mikasa/eren/armin because he was scared of the rumors that eren was a titan. and there's the other episodes like ymir and bert and rainer conversation in the trees, and there's definitely the episodes about the whole backstory of the royal bloodline in the walls when they tried to make historia eat eren, and then another background-story heavy episode was grisha's story to eren in his book. etc. in the interest of spoiler free comments i'm just picking random episodes that carlie and ange themselves said they'd rewatch more than once because they had too much info to process, so that's the episodes i'm arbitrarily picking. I don't know if they would matter for part 2 to rejog the memory but those were the "heavy info for ange's notebook" episodes.

Charles Malo

Would love to see you guys react to it. The outro is beautiful too.

Weey

I agree it works as a metaphorical definition. Wasn't what I was arguing. Please people, just leave me alone. I regret ever bringing this up 😂

Jaypee87

Euthanization in this case refers to the group, not to the individual. No individuals will be euthanized, but the group will be euthanized via sterilization. It's a bit of a metaphorical definition and it works great. It puts the fact that you're ending an entire race right in your face, whereas saying "sterilization" doesn't convey the same feeling. Your comparison doesn't work, but if you were the last of your family and you sterilized yourself, maybe you could say you "euthanized" the Jaypee bloodline.

Kaedjik

It's very fitting with his character. He is not a sadist but more of a psychopath - a person who lacks or is devoid of empathy. His upbringing by Grisha and Dina like a tool, caused him to be the person he is today. That's why he expressed no remorse when killing other people because he doesn't view them as "people". Isayama purposely "pairs" him with Levi in the same scene a couple of times because he is the opposite of Levi.

Zakwan Khidzir

I beg to differ. This is a good reaction episode. I love watching silent reactions with minimal comments when the show is information-heavy. Some YouTubers talked a lot more than the characters in the show lol. Anyway, Zeke's backstory makes so much sense why he is such a psychopath now. He's like the opposite of Levi; he got no remorse for killing people because he was raised and treated like an object - devoid of love. Edit: I recommend you guys rewatch at least 5 episodes of season 1 before starting Season 4 part 2 - if you guys have the time for it. It's not a must, but it's good to jog your memory hence elevating your experience when watching S4P2.

Zakwan Khidzir

Yeah, after you 2nd Q&A I wanted to ask you if you also speak italian, but I also wanted to leave this question for the next Q&A 😂 I’m italian and live in Italy, so if I make mistakes with my english feel free to let me know 🥰

Carolina

I can definitely relate, as I’m also Italian. You could probably tell from the countless hand gestures in the videos 😂 Ngl, Teenage Mutant ninja Eren made me chuckle 😆

Carlie & Ange

Put it this way. If I chose to get a vasectomy, that is self sterilization. But I would not say that I euthanized myself 🤣 Okay, done arguing the pedantics of this word...

Jaypee87

Ahahaha 😂 I’m kidding too, I like to not take things too seriously, since AoT is such a dramatic and meaningful series, I like to be more superficial for my mental health… and I’m Italian so I sometimes can’t express what I really think so I usually exaggerate. I like Eren, it’s just not my fav, but I’m attached to him in a way. I felt really sad when I saw he lost his sparkle in the eyes (Eren’s eyes are the most beautiful in the series), but I felt more sorry for Zeke though, I think he was a really sensitive child, he craved for love. Grisha is a father with a lot of flaws and he surely traumatized them (and wtf… he wasn’t even shocked when Eren killed those dudes!?), but I think he loved his children and wanted them to be happy. He didn’t have time for Zeke and hurt him a lot. Being a parent is difficult, being a parent with such a goal is more difficult, so he may have used Zeke, but I think he did it for Zeke’s future too. He tried to do better in Paradis with Eren, and we can see it in the first episodes, how Eren speaks to him with such a confidence and happiness. And we have to think about Grisha’s VA… damn, he should win all the prizes out there! I enjoyed this newly found brother bond, but I think things could be done differently (and I will really shock you, I don’t even ship Eren and Mikasa together! 😌 I don’t know why, but I’m not a fan of the couple. People will hate me, but I think Jean would be better for her - for what I see, Jean and Mikasa are a lot more mature than teenage mutant ninja Eren 😂) you know, there’s only one person in my heart since his first appearance, and it’s Reiner 💖

Carolina

judging by all of your other comments, we were convinced you were a jaegerist.... So you taking this stance surprises us! Only kidding 😂 Grisha has indeed been a controversial figure in the series!

Carlie & Ange

Grisha did a great job, his two children are psychos 😂 so much to be proud of

Carolina

It is euthanization tho. He is permitting the death of an entire generation of people and sees it as an act of mercy. It's like what the Germans did during WWII, before the camps. They would sterilize people they deemed "unfit to live, " which is historically considered a form of genocide.

Kailey Coffel

my tag is Coco#0069 - i forgot that was the number lol 💀

Coco

Haha I was fine, it was just a heavy episode! I didn’t have too much to say that was exciting 😆

Carlie & Ange

I know exactly the line you're talking about. What's the discord if you don't mind me asking?

Rae

Nice, was waiting for this! One of my fav episodes of the entire show!

Chris V

Also, I wouldn't mind seeing a reaction to the outro of part 2 but up to you guys.

Kynan Lamb

Lit reaction 🔥

Jay Hewitt

This episode introduces a philosophical stance known as anti-natalism. The idea that we'd be better off not being born given the amount of suffering in the world. It takes a view that there is much more suffering than joy/love on balance, so it is better to never experience any of it to begin with. While it's not a stance I agree with, it is a fascinating perspective, and I give Isayama credit for bringing this as an alternative/juxtaposition to Eren's old view on having a right to live and be free because he was born into the world.

Jaypee87

Merriam Webster dictionary: "the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (such as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy." I just feel like, without context, someone could hear Zeke wants to put down all Eldians currently existing. There's no supposition of sterilization. We know because we heard Zeke and Ksaver discuss it, but they're using that term erroneously.

Jaypee87

I think ultimately it is euthanisation - it's the quiet death of an entire group of people via sterilisation.

Coco

I think what Zeke says before pulling the Thunder Spear illuminates this part of his character quite well. "I didn't steal lives, I saved them." If you believe to the very core that there's no greater gift than not being born in this world, not suffering the world's cruelty, killing so many Eldians doesn't seem so bad. He did seem unnecessarily gleeful, but he was also so angry about these young Scouts being sent to war not knowing what they were fighting war that he crushed the boulder he was holding. I think he also said something like "Let's try to enjoy things," you're right that this could be his way of coping.

Sachal Khan

Disagree whole heartedly

Gabriel Barott

I think "euthanization" is terribly misleading (not to mention bad PR 😂). Idk what word is used in Japanese, but clearly Zeke is talking about sterilization, not euthanizing everyone.

Jaypee87

what do you mean? the intention is to make it so that eldians cant reproduce by changing their biology - future eldians wont be killed because there wont BE future eldians i thought?

Coco

is Angelo ok ? When he spoke, I felt that he is sick or something unless I was wrong

Akram Almalahi

Yowwww can’t wait for next episode , Y’all bout to be left on the biggest cliffhanger of the series

Armani

The best part of the show is when everyone starts making a whole lot of sense because of how their own past has molded them and you just don't know who's side to pick. So you usually end up sticking post-it notes with characters names on a dart-board and wherever the dart lands, that's your choice.

Amrith

Fun Fact (Foreshadowing) When Grisha went behind the Walls in Liberio with his sister he ran into Mr. Ksaver when he wasnt a Warrior yet

hasan1204

One small criticism of your format. I love that you've done cover of the Intros, but they're always so much louder than the reaction so I have to switch the volume down, I could be alone but I find it quite jarring. Just something to keep in mind that might help you guys improve. As far as what the scouts have been doing. Keep in mind 4 years isn't much time to try to build international relations from the ground up, as well as building boats and acquiring an air ship to travel. I understand Zeke's perspective, but surely it's not the best option, Sterilising your own people is not a decision that an individual should make. Considering how much power the founding titan plus royal blood yields, surely they could come up with a better plan. Like... get rid of the spinal fluid to stop titans roaming and some strict guidelines on how the 9 are passed down or something. Just.... better solutions then euthanisation/genocide.

Trent_88

- (relating to timestamp 17:20 - 17:30) the "euthanization" caption is somewhat mistranslated but the intention is to "kill" future eldians in other words not making their existence happen - I like that you pick up the glasses symbolism. Its pretty used a lot in anime but I think AoT adds some variation to its use

M.N.

Grisha's voice actor. 10/10

Clown

I'm not the biggest Zeke fan either, but I don't think he was genuinely enjoying it. It seems like he was trying to enjoy it, by turning it into a game. I've always felt that even as an adult, Zeke has had a childlike mentality. Like his development was stunted due to his lack of an actual childhood.

Maia Brodsky

Interesting, I never really thought about it that way

GB3

I can understand that

Q

Despite the lack of reaction when watching the episode, I loved how engaged both of you were! You guys were correct, Zeke wants to sterilize* all Eldians for the race to then eventually dissipate from the world. This episode is so good, and is important for understanding Zeke and why he decided to go against Grisha. We see Grisha mention at the end of S3, "But if anyone, I should have known... How terrible the sin to besmirch one's beliefs on your children". Grisha perpetuates the behavior of his own father, then creating this cycle. Zeke's atrocities are not forgiven, and I'm still not sold on the idea that this is the most effective course of action. However, this episode gives a lot of tragic insight into Zeke's character and provides room for sympathy/empathy for him. Looking forward to episode 16! :)

Gabriel Barott

they're definitely onto something, Alex

Coco

yeah man i think a reaction to the opening, or the full mv would be awesome. especially if youre a metalhead

Degenerick

you have to find a way to cope somehow, maybe to him a way to cope was to pretend its all a game of catch to not try to focus on the killing. remember how in s3pt2 he caught himself getting mad when he started to think about the reality of things and about his father?

Degenerick

Zeke is a brilliant multi-layered character. Top 3 for me. Best Jaeger brother.

NissanZaxima

Wtf are you talking about

AK

NO SPOILERS Alright, hear me out on this one, I would like the ability to make plants grow on command, sitting there, thinking about how your crop this year is bad, or maybe your mom or dad has a complete lack of green thumb, and your bell peppers keep dying because one of them touched it when they shouldn't have (This isn't a real world example I promise, okay, it is a real world example. But stay with me). Now say, you grow that bell pepper plant, use your powers and and its succulent, looks great and you could probably feed a small rural appalaichan family with it, but what if we took it one step further, we make use of the power to grow it even further, we enter it into the local bell pepper seasonal tournament, we hype it up in the fighting ring, lather some wax over it to preserve it, and it goes on to win the best dang bell pepper of 2022 Idaho Growathon.

Dookie

The part about Zeke that still rubs me the wrong way is how he was so gleeful in his slaughter of the Scouts. His attitude in that scene was not of someone who was sympathetically freeing these people from misery. Maybe that's the Marley culture seeping into him over the years. Maybe taking some enjoyment in what he does was necessary for his own sanity on some level.

Jer

I wish I can sympathize with Zeke. I will never be on his side because of the way he took pleasure and enjoyment from killing the scouts when Erwin did the suicide charge. Doesn’t feel sorry for killing at all.

Kevin Franco

100%. Their reactions are amazing.

Ivan Haji

Okay so essentially I’ve had to learn the first 20-30 seconds of it for the new intro, however, I only listened to a spoiler free version which a member of our discord sent in! So a full reaction at some point could be on the cards. We’re not quite sure yet! -Ange

Carlie & Ange

It's my favourite opening. A reaction to it would be fun to watch.

Rachael Mulondo

they digest things really well - its why i love their content and am subscribed to their patreon guys 😭 there was just a certain line i expected more of a reaction to, which i obviously cant specify bc... spoilers. if u guys wanna talk on the discord i'll explain more of what i mean!

Coco

Easy for you to say when you know what happens after the episode. they digested everything better than 99% of people.

Ivan Haji

I think they digest it better than I was when I read the manga.

The Plot Armored Titan

mann i feel like you guys didnt really digest certain things this episode 👀

Coco

Zeke saying Eren is starting to look like his father.. in the earlier seasons people said he looked like his mother. I feel like that also speaks a bit to Erens character development. I think about that speech that Carla gave to Shadis about how he is special just for being born into the world and Eren has said that a few times in his own internal monologues in previous seasons. Seeing him now saying there is no greater salvation than not being born into the world is so sad 😢

Jean-Luc Baca

I remember watching this and legitimately teared up when zeke's backstory was shown.. he was emotionally abused as a child. He was used as a tool to get eldia back. Some could argue that its for the better and to help millions of Eldians be free, but some could argue the morality of making your own son into a tool and see him as nothing less than a key. What's really right or wrong, this show toes the line of morality and ethics. It's amazing, and I truly loved the way they make the audience question their own stance. There's no right or wrong, there's no black and white, it's just people following their own ideologies. AOT isn't a war on evil, it's a war of ideologies and a focus on nurture. Hold on tight for part 2!

Georgie Acero

Levi and zeke both got blown up though, I don’t think they are ok

Sean Carroll

Poor Zeke💔 But imo his plan would only fuel more anger and hatred, and Paradis people can't win with the "talk" plan since Marley wants their resources and the world hates them and they're determined to exterminate them. To me, no plan is going to work 100%. I'm gonna quote Carla and say that we're all special because we were born into this world. Erwin also said: "Humanity will never stop fighting itself until it shrinks to a size of one or fewer". Thank you for the upload❤️

Sammie

Zekes perspective is soooo tragic. Imagine having the mindset that sterilizing people against their will is worth it because them not having kids would mean no more of their people would have to experience the torture chamber life can be. Sheeesh

Q

a cruel world... born into this world.... keep moving forward, phrases that have a lot of meaning in the show...

Rena2509

Eren was all about freedom and having the right to live simply for being born. To see him side with Zeke and his plan to sterilize all eldians really made me wonder what happened to Eren 😔

Val

lol no its not. but his titan was hinted in this ep shown in the flashback he had about his wife and kid

Degenerick

AyBe

have you started part 2 yet? if you havent.. what will yal do about the opening? i know yal skip openings when recording but angelo listens to them to learn on his guitar, however since this song is a special case, are yal skipping it entirely or maybe directly reacting to it? people say its spoilery because of its title and lyrics and also visuals but the visuals and lyrics can be just an illustration on its own as well, idk. i personally want to see you guys directly react to it but its up to y’all and what other patrons say

Degenerick

Can’t wait for part 2!! The show only gets alleviated more.

AyBe