Attack on Titan Season 2 Episode 7 Review: Close Combat

This Attack on Titan review contains spoilers.

Attack on Titan Season 2, Episode 7

On one hand, this episode is very aptly named. There was a combat, and it was very, very close. On the other hand, the title doesn’t quite cover how epic the battle between Eren’s Titan and the Armored Titan actually is. 

The Colossal Titan

Before we can get into the main battle of “Close Combat”, we have to talk about Bertolt and his Colossal Titan, specifically, what his plan is kidnapping Ymir and that random Survey Corps soldier.

This connects back to last episode, when Reiner out-of-the-blue exposed his and Bertolt’s true selves and intention just to convince Eren to leave with them. At this point, I really have to wonder who exactly they’re working for. Whatever they’re doing certainly isn’t for the greater good of humanity. Perhaps this whole thing leads back to the government? And if that’s the case, how so? And how does the Beast Titan and Annie factor into all of this?

Of course, I can’t not talk about the Colossal Titan’s steam attack either, because that is a pretty neat and surprising weaponization of what seems to be a natural Titan-shifter characteristic. Between all of the Titan shifters so far, we have the armor ability (the Female Titan and the Armored Titan), the ability to talk/command normal Titans (the Beast Titan… he’s most certainly a Titan shifter, right?), the ability to call/attract normal Titans (the Female Titan), and the steam attack (the Colossal Titan)… Makes me wonder why Eren’s Titan has yet shown anything special powers.

One of the things that did make me sad in this scene was when Connie asked Hange to save Reiner and Bertolt. Boy, does betrayal hurt.

Eren vs. Reiner

I have to say, there’s a certain lack of emotional depth in this episode in favor of pure Titans-beating-the-shit-out-of-each-other action. Not that I’m complaining—I’m very, very happy that our main character isn’t letting wishy-washy nostalgia get in the way of the fact that he’s pissed as hell and will murder someone. But it’s hard getting wordy fanboying over fighting techniques when your entire thought process in the latter half of the episode can be reduced to “oh no, Eren’s going to lose? But he’s the MAIN CHARACTER” and “shit, that is awesome” and “KILL HIM, EREN”. Yeah, I basically let my analytical self go and did very little non-essential thinking.

I think it’s safe to say that Eren won, despite a number of close-calls reversals during the battle. He would’ve broken Reiner’s armor to pieces should he have held on longer. The torso of the Colossal Titan falling on them will certainly change things for the next episode.

What Else?

– My favorite moment this episode would have to be when Hange blushed when Eren’s Titan nodded his head. I “aww”‘d a little.

– I wonder where Titan armor falls on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. My guess is 7 or 8 because the blades the Survey Corps soldiers use—assuming they’re made of cheap steel—can’t cut through Annie’s armor or the crystal she trapped herself in, and Mikasa’s blades barely chipped the Armored Titan’s armor. So if you think about it, if humanity can somehow mine enough diamonds to line the edges of a blade…

– While there isn’t anything inherently bad about this episode, I keep feeling like it’s missing something. It also feels short. 

– Annie versus Mikasa. Who won? Discuss.