Synopsis of 2×02: Sasha returns to her home, only to come across an ominously empty, new village in its place. Mikasa and Eren depart with Levi, Hange and Pastor Nick to reach Wall Rose.
Throughout the episode, we receive flashbacks of her past, including her relationship with her family and her reluctance to build relationships with others besides them. There are several hints at her hiding her true self and wearing a facade.
The walls, that support human survival, may have been built by the adaptive skin of titans, just as Annie’s titan skin formed a hard cocoon around her upon her defeat.
Eren and friends leave for Wall Rose with the rest of the survey corps.
Pastor Nick’s keeping his secrets to himself. Whether he knows something about the titans more important than the fate of humanity is still unclear, but definitely hinted at.
After flashbacks of her past, Sasha reaches the forest where her home once was, except it’s no longer a forest. It’s a new village, devoid of people, but not of human life.
Along comes Sasha’s most redeeming moment so far. She goes at a titan’s neck with a woodcutting axe and no maneuvering gear. So, she’s definitely my favorite character for now. With a staggering appetite tantamount to mine and a sense of bravery befitting a compelling protagonist, how can you not like her?
She’s unable to hack all the way through the titan’s neck as he continues his meal. She apologizes to the woman being eaten alive and takes the daughter.
So. much. despair!
Sasha’s horse leaves them and they’re forced to run when the titan slowly walks after them.
As they run, the little girl explains how everyone in the village left her and her mother when titans came because her mother can not walk. It’s a depressing tale.
After gaining some space from the titan, she drops the relatively courteous accent she’s adopted since the beginning of the series and yells at the little girl to run away in her natural accent. As small of a moment as it may seem, this is one of the most powerful moments of the episode, only overshadowed by the fight that follows between Sasha and the titan.
Sasha is left to defeat the titan with three arrows. She shoots one and it soars past his cheek. She releases another one and it punctures one of his eyes. With her last arrow, she aims it and readies herself to let it go, but this is her last one. Her failure would mean the death of both her and the little girl who just watched her mother snacked on like a chicken wing, Popeye’s not KFC (because KFC is slimy as all hell).
Sasha tosses the bow to the side and charges at the titan with her last arrow from atop a hill. She drives the arrow into his eye and blinds him. He bear-hugs her and tightens his grip, but the blood allows her to slip away. As she runs off to find the girl, she crosses paths with her father, his group of horse-riding men and the little girl she told to flee.
As for Connie, things aren’t looking as well. He reaches his town, but he finds a titan laying in his home as if he fell on it. The titan’s legs are too malnourished to carry his giant body and that leaves everyone to wonder, how did he get there?
What did you think? Was it deserving of the 41/2 score? Do you have a newfound respect for Sasha? I know I do. Leave a comment and let us know. We’d love to hear it.
English