Introduction:
Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 2 is an amazing end to a fantastic season overall. The show continues to be as inventive as ever while having a strong focus on characters and themes, along with some great action that begins to rival some of WIT studio's best shots. However the large cast of characters sometimes holds this season back, and questionable creative decisions along with sometimes flawed writing also prevent this season from being quite as good as season 3 part 2 (the gold standard for storytelling in TV). See below for a more in-depth explanation of my views.

Plot:
The plot of this season is somewhere in between simple, and very complex. The part begins with the attack on Shiganshina district, which leads to Zeke and Erens adventure in the paths. Then after the long-awaited Ymir backstory, the rumbling is activated, and the main cast from both Marley and Paradis align to stop it. After a conflict between the Yeagerists guarding the flying boat in the port, the season ends with a wonderful Eren focused episode. The writing for the first three episodes that take place in Shiganshina is engaging and has a good blend of action and dialogue. These episodes are highly unpredictable and the stakes feel incredibly high, and there are many great character-building moments for people such as Gabi and Galliard. Episode four has Zeke and Eren travel through Grisha's memories, and is a masterclass in subversion, delivering heavily on major mysteries and calling back to key events in season 1, recontextualising them very well. The writing here is of incredibly high quality and is very exciting to watch. Episode five is perhaps one of the greatest episodes of not just Attack on Titan, but all of TV, delivering a satisfying and intriguing backstory for Ymir while showing just how the power of the titans was obtained. The episode ends with the activation of the rumbling and confirms that Attack on Titan truly is peak fiction, and an insane amount of planning is shown through the names of this episode and the very first episode of the show. ‘To you, 2000 years ago’ and ‘From you, in 2000 years’ is a fantastic way to link back to the very beginning and has many implications. Following this is the three episodes featuring the forming of the alliance, and is without question the weakest of the twelve episodes here. Although there are many great moments and revelations, I believe the quote “butter spread over too much bread” is significant here. In my opinion, adding anime original scenes to these episodes would have helped make them feel more worthwhile and enjoyable, as the scenes feel stretched to fit the set run time. Also the pie scene fucking su- Following this is a great but veeeeeery slooooooow episode featuring the alliance letting everything out and having a much-needed discussion. The decision to focus on the trees and environments instead of the characters' expressions is questionable, and lowered the viewing experience for me, but is a great dialogue-based episode nonetheless. Next, we have two episodes spent fighting the Yeagerists at the port and are full of great character moments and callbacks to season 1, such as the inclusion of Samuel and Daz (rip). These episodes are great from a plot perspective as you can understand both sides of the conflict, and seeing people who used to be enemies now fighting alongside each other, and similarly those who used to be allies now fighting against each other is very interesting and engaging and is something rarely seen in storytelling. There truly is no good and bad in Attack on Titan, only perspective, which is true for real life as well. The victor decides who is right and wrong, and as long as humans differ in opinions, there will always be an enemy. Episode 12 adapts 2 of my favorite chapters of the manga, and has a fantastic plot. The choice to centre half of the episode around the scouts first arriving into Marley greatly increases our attachment to these characters and develops their relationships with each other, while also putting a nice bow on the entire season as a whole by giving context to what exactly happened when the scouts first came to Marley. It gives us a breather after the intense action from the previous episode. Most importantly the focus on Eren in this episode is perfect, and I go into detail about this down below. Overall a great, plot-heavy chunk of episodes as is the norm with Attack on Titan. The story never feels stale and is always entertaining, even during the slightly worse episodes. Out of all the seasons of Attack on Titan, Season 4 Part 2 covers less content from the manga than the other seasons do, and while it shows a bit, the amount of content adapted is enough and considering the huge revelations that take place in this part of the story, it only makes sense to slow things down. However, I believe the plot of these 12 episodes to be nowhere near as tight as Season 3 Part 2, which is one of the greatest seasons of television ever produced from a story/plot perspective. While the earlier episodes in Season 4 Part 2 are stellar and arguably the best the show has ever been, the next few episodes are where the cracks begin to show. Characters are all over the place with little rhyme or reason, characters do nonsensical and irrational things, and characters who haven’t seen each other for years reunite again without any sort of acknowledgement of how long it's been. For example, many find how Armin and Connie met up with Annie to be funny, due to it being so unlikely, but I can’t help but question the odds of this. I also find it strange that this scene is played for laughs when Attack on Titan hasn’t focused on comedy really since season 1, and even then the comedy didn’t feel this forced. Annie surely murdered people in the scouts that Connie and Armin knew, yet Connie just laughs at her, and they team up as if it were nothing. Things such as Falco mourning his brother’s death are brushed over, going from crying to happily eating pie in a matter of hours. Also, it's strange for Hitch and Annie to have half an episode talking to each other when before she was frozen, Annie wouldn’t have known Hitch for any more than 2 months, especially when you consider that Annie’s reunion with Reiner lasted but a few seconds on screen and consisted of her kicking him in the face when those two knew each other for years as children. Characters meet up for no deeper reason than because the plot requires them to. Isayama wants the alliance to form but doesn’t know how to do it in 3 chapters worth of pages, so it all just kind of happens. The fact that Jean doesn’t even openly consider if his mother is ok during all of this when there was an OVA dedicated to their relationship seems strange to me, and though this is the definition of a nit pick, it would have been nice to show that Isayama was considering things such as this. I want to stress that these episodes aren’t awful. They are in fact good, however, they lack the incredible storytelling heights reached just episodes ago.

Characters:
The characters in Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 2 are as great as they have ever been. This season ultimately revolves around Eren, which is fitting as both the opening and endings are centred around him. Eren’s arc was completed in season 4 part 1 with his reintroduction and reveal in Marley, going from a very loud and angry individual who was very open with his emotions and sought freedom through the annihilation of the titans, to a more focused and level headed individual who realised that now to obtain freedom he must destroy the entire world instead. Though this change seems unbelievable and poorly written to some, this part of the season fixes this issue. While we previously knew that this change was partly because of his realisation that even after he has killed his mortal enemy, the titans, he still wasn’t free, we learn in episode five that it was also because he saw himself in his father’s memories and realised that one day he would initiate the rumbling and that there is nothing he could do about that. This, logically, kind of traumatised him. Furthermore, we also learn that for most of the time in season 4 part 1, Eren was merely putting on an act to push his friends away from him because he cares about them so much, to save Paradis and his friends, which makes perfect sense. This would have been incredibly painful for him, but in his mind it was necessary. Also, the twist that Eren hates the euthanization plan and instead wishes to use the rumbling makes complete sense for his character and shows that though Eren has changed so much, the core beliefs that he has held ever since he was born have never changed. That he is free, and so is everyone else, even the people that he will crush with the rumbling. It’s incredibly interesting to see how Eren has now become what he hated more than anything else, a giant monster who takes away freedom from others. But to understand why he would do this, we need to understand why he activated the rumbling. It’s simple really: Not for anything as silly as revenge, or even really about protecting his home, but to put an end to the cycle of hatred by wiping away the civilization that created it. Eren has always been willing to take freedom away from those who want to take it away from him, and here we see Eren take freedom from the entire world, from every single person who was born free, to protect his freedom and the freedom of those who survive on Paradis by erasing all essence of hatred beyond those lands. Unfortunately, the only way to do this is to become hatred incarnate. Eren is truly the face of evil, but in his mind, this is the only way to end war and conflict, and it makes perfect sense as to why he would think like this. Overall, although Eren’s character arc was complete a while ago, we learn an incredible amount about him this season which elevates his character to insane heights. I find him fascinating and very layered, and I aim to one day create characters as interesting as him in my writing.

The arcs of other characters continue in season 4 part 2 as well. Armin is still dealing with the pressure of inheriting the colossal titan instead of Erwin, and we see him attempt to jump into a titan's mouth to save Falco, believing that is what Erwin would do. Seeing how far Armin has come since the beginning of the show is wonderful, and his development this season is decent. Mikasa is also in the middle of an arc, having to accept that Eren, the person she cares about the most, is now an enemy and that there may come a time when they have to kill him. Her development is passable, but nothing that interesting. Zeke is also a focus in the earlier episodes here, and him making up with his father through the powers of the founding and attack titan combined was both emotional and mind-blowing. Through making up with his father comes the completion of his arc, however even in the end his views about the euthanization plan don’t change, and he loses to Eren. He continues to be a fantastic character, and very interesting. Seeing the potential end of Floch, depending on whether he died or not, was an impressive moment, and seeing him take on the Jaw, Hange and the Cart at once shows just how far he has come from season 3, where he was nothing but a pathetic, crying soldier who was powerless. His belief that only a devil can save the world has been his driving motivation since his introduction, and his risking everything to support Eren, who in his eyes is a devil, is commendable. His development has been stellar this season, and an entertaining presence. Other characters like Jean and Connie receive some development, but nothing special, with Connies in particular feeling rushed and quite pointless. Gabi’s arc reaches its conclusion in this part, as she finally understands what Reiner was saying back when they ate a meal together in episode 2 of season 4 part 1, about how the people in Paradis were just normal people, not devils. Her arc is very good and her change feels natural, and I found myself liking Gabi a lot this season. Plus, she made up with Kaya, which was also a great scene. While there are many other characters, the final two I would like to commend are Shadis and Magath. Magath has always shown compassion to the warriors, and over this part, he realises that he cares deeply for them. His apology to everyone in the alliance is fantastic and shows how his character has matured, and his final sacrifice is a good farewell to his character. Shadis also gets his moment to shine as he aids Magath, proving that he is no longer a bystander. His character was a good presence in this season and his relationship with the new trainees was interesting. However, there are some characters that I feel were not handled as well as they could have. Hange and Levi are both great but don’t serve many purposes in this part. It would have been nice to give them an arc or some sort of development besides showing how great of a chef Hange is. Furthermore, I find it difficult to root for or even like Annie. She shows no remorse for what she has done in the past unlike Reiner, who I now really like. Yes, her interactions with Hitch were great and much needed, and the scene in which she said she doesn’t want to fight with anyone anymore was some good development, however, I find it difficult to root for her. Even someone like Floch, whose views I do not agree with, I can get behind and cheer for as he goes against the alliance because I understand just how much all of this means to him and he is giving it his all (I swear I’m not a Yeagerist, I just appreciate good character writing). Annie simply wants to save her father, which while consistent with her goals from season 1, is a rather selfish trait to give to a character we are supposed to completely root for, unlike everyone else who wants to save the entire world no matter what they have to do. I still think she’s an alright character though, but it would greatly benefit the story if she begins to show remorse for how she brutalised so many scouts in the female titan arc, and also if she perhaps becomes motivated to save not just her father, but the world also (due to the fact we have to root for her now). A large cast of characters isn’t necessarily bad, but in this case, it hinders the story in my opinion. In my writing, I make sure to consider how large my cast of characters should be to not negatively affect the experience for the reader. I do like a large cast though when done right. Not to say that Attack on Titan does it badly, but it does bite off a bit more than it can chew at times. Overall the characters in this part are great, especially Eren and Zeke. Not a whole lot of meaningful development is given for many others when compared to season 4 part 1, but regardless Attack on Titan continues to have much better characters than the vast majority of other shows and is one of the reasons Attack on Titan is still so popular.

Themes:
Thematically, Season 4 Part 2 is peak. Freedom has been the main theme since the very first shot of the entire series, which was of birds, representing freedom. However, by now, the idea of freedom has mutated into something much bigger than exploring the outside world. This show is fantastic in how it questions what freedom truly is. To Eren, freedom is everything, and he still desires it more than anything else. However now, it's not titans but the whole world that prevents this. For him to gain his freedom, he must murder the entire world, and thus wipe out hatred so the island of Paradis can be free. Zeke’s idea of freedom is very different, believing that for Eldians to be free, they must be euthanized, and thus the world will be saved. Ultimately it comes down to two opposing beliefs: To be free is to not be born in the first place and accept the world's hatred, or to be free is to be born into the world and fight back against oppressors. Zeke supports the first, and Eren supports the second. Of course, Eren comes out on top, and his plan to claim his freedom by murdering the planet and taking their freedom is initiated. There are many metaphors of freedom in this part, such as Ymir being a slave representing her lack of freedom, how in the paths Ymir chains Eren to the ground erasing his freedom to move and give orders, and the still ever-present shots of birds.

Furthermore, the theme of hatred is explored very well in this part. Essentially, though once enemies, the people of the alliance have learned to overcome their hatred for each other by talking things through around the campfire. Furthermore, Eren’s new titan form can be looked at as the personification of hatred itself, with a face looking very much like a typical devil, the root of all evil. It can be argued that through the world's hatred towards Eldians, they brought the ultimate form of hatred upon themselves: A merciless, seemingly unstoppable monster. Essentially, hatred is bad and leads to bad things.

Also, the idea of ‘escaping the forest’ is a wonderful metaphor for how people should avoid conflict and instead treat people with respect (something that a vocal minority of Attack on Titan fans on the internet are incapable of). The idea that the world is one big forest full of war and hatred, and at the very least we need to keep the children out of it or else war will just continue forever, is a great message and metaphor for our world. Though Attack on Titan is fantasy, it’s great how many of its messages can be applied to our world today, without getting in the way of the main story or becoming too political.

Themes are an important aspect of storytelling, and the more unique or complex the themes, the better. Attack on Titan has always been heavy on themes and has found unique ways to explore them. I've always loved how the show uses birds to represent freedom, and the survey corps symbol is the wings of a bird. The scouts even fly around, making the comparison even more obvious. Many shows don’t bother with complex themes, and shows such as Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer are prime examples of this. They are good stories, however, they fail to say anything beyond ‘family is important’ or ‘don’t give up’, for example. A lot of people don’t care about things like this in their stories, but stuff like this is very important to me. I make sure to decide on my themes before I begin writing my stories and ensure I have something meaningful to say while avoiding taking political stances. Attack on Titan does the same.

Pacing and Structure:
Season 4 Part 2’s pacing is rough. Episode 1 is paced fine in my opinion, but in episode 2 the long recap is a bit much and reminds me very much of season 1’s recaps (yawn). Episodes 3-6 are well-paced in my opinion, but I feel that 7, 8 and 9 are on the slow side and when writing the script, additional anime original scenes should have been added to pad out the episode, like what was done with the Trost arc in season 1 which worked out well. The rest of the pacing is fine, however, in terms of structure, I would have personally put the beginning of episode 12 where the scouts are shown exploring Marley around episode 6 instead. This is how it was in the manga, and helps to give more reason for why the scouts would want to stop Eren. Otherwise, there are no other complaints.

Visual Quality:
In terms of animation, this part is stellar. It has very impressive scenes such as when time has stopped after Eren has his head shot off and the camera moves through the 3D environments, and also when the rumbling was activated and MAPPA displayed some great sakuga. The action was consistently very high in this part and the CG felt much better integrated, with much more 2D titan shifters that also looked great. Much more high-quality 3DMG action was implemented that MAPPA just didn’t have time for in part 1, and overall everything is of high quality. There are many great effects, however, the animation does take a dip in certain episodes. Episodes 8 and 9 can’t hold a candle to any that came before it in my opinion, with many janky shots, especially in the dreaded pie scene (not to mention a completely static background, where everyone behind them is frozen in place for some reason). Episode 9 features a very dull storyboard, in my opinion, however, the use of colours was great, just as in all of the other episodes. In terms of ranking the seasons of visual quality, my list goes as follows:

1) Season 2 (Perfectly on model characters, plenty of detail, stunning action)
2) Season 1 (Best and most consistent ODM scenes in the series, with impeccable direction)
3/4) Season 4 part 2 (Great direction, mostly on model characters, blend of great and terrible creative decisions)
3/4) Season 3 part 1 (Impressive ODM action, perfect direction, very high-quality overall)
5) Season 3 part 2 (Levi vs beast titan. Enough said)
6) Season 4 part 1 (Over-reliance on 3D, rushed production, off-model characters, but still looks great at times)

Audial Quality:
The music is yet again very good, but nothing compared to what Hiroyuki Sawano gave us in seasons 1-3. We do get the occasional banger such as ‘Footsteps of Doom’ and the remix of ‘Fall of Marley’ but overall is not the best in terms of new music. Still much better than most other TV shows can give us. Here's my seasonal ranking:

1) Season 1 (Nearly every track is a masterpiece)
2) Season 3 part 2 (I know I’m biased but I just love the season 3 part 2 soundtrack, ‘T-KT’ is amazing)
3) Season 2 (‘YOUSEEBIGGIRL/T;T’, ‘Beast Titan’, ‘Barricades’. So many bangers)
4) Season 3 part 1 (‘K2’, ‘Barricestra’, ‘OSK’, chefs kiss)
5) Season 4 part 1 (‘Ashes on the Fire’, and ‘The Other Side of the Sea’ are AMAZING)
6) Season 4 part 2 (‘Footsteps of Doom’. Pretty much it)

How to improve these twelve episodes in 3 easy steps:
1) Either fewer characters or increase the episode count to allow more time for meaningful character development. This could fix Connie’s awkward arc, as well as be used to develop weaker characters such as Pieck.
2) Devote more time to the alliance forming episodes to establish clearer motives for the characters while making the joining of characters make more sense and feel less rushed and jumbled. Add extra scenes.
3) Correct more of the frames. Attack on Titan still has more off-model drawings than other MAPPA anime but is greatly improved from Season 4 Part 1. Also, perhaps a more interesting soundtrack would help this season compare to previous ones. Kohta Yamamoto is amazing, but Hiroyuki Sawano is on an entirely different level.

Conclusion:
Well, there you go. My honest and hopefully mostly objective views on Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 2. As much as I love this show and these twelve episodes in general, I can’t honestly say it's perfect because it's not. I think there are just too many characters at this point for the show to be trying to accomplish this much in such a short time. I remember when this portion of the manga was being released monthly, and I hoped that for the anime they would extend some of the alliance forming chapters to make it more coherent, but they did not. That doesn’t change the fact that the majority of these episodes here are extremely good and incredibly exciting to watch. Some characters unfortunately do feel sidelined by the plot, while others get more attention than you would expect (which on its own is a good thing). Eren is still a masterclass in character writing and the best thing about this season. Animation is much better this time around, however, this cour of episodes is, unfortunately, the weakest in terms of soundtrack. Regardless, Attack on Titan is still good, very good, actually it's amazing. If you read all of this, then thank you. I hope I made at least some sense.

Grade: A (I really wanted to give it an A+)
Score: 89/100 (Rounds to 9/10)