Early Access - Attack on Titan 4x11 "Deceiver" (Post Episode)

Interesting take on the whole mikasa headaches and louise parallels. I do agree with you on how the headaches were probably her finally seeing that situation for what it was which was eren acting abnormally for a kid his age at the time. i don't think mikasa was obsessed with eren throughout the series, it's a rlly strong word and a lot of ppl can misinterpret that sentence. Mikasa, although not shown much in the anime, has developed from her s1 self throughout the series. She's come to accept that eren does act on his own and doesn't blindly follow him like louise does for yeagerists. I feel like louise is a reflection of the part of mikasa that DID at one point join the scouts for eren and did what she did for eren which she seems to dislike about herself. Mikasa throughout the series created attachments to characters that aren't just eren and has grown to be a prideful soldier who does care for humanity and doesn't hold a simplistic view of 'good guys vs bad guys'. mikasa has grown to see multiple perspectives and understand war (why she doesn't agree with eren's actions at liberio and why she never hates reiner or gabi or any 'traitors'). i'd say mikasa is severly attached to eren due to her trauma and views him as her home as everyone else from her childhood has left her and naturally she's protective and feels indebted to him. it's not the 'yandere' obsessive girl this fandom makes her out to be.  also i love how u pointed out the struggles hange is facing, she goes through so much this season i feel bad for her. The hange we've seen that loves to study titans is slowly fading before our very eyes. highly recommend reading the lost girls manga or watching the anime version although the manga has a lot more details but yeah great reaction

Gigi

The way people so violently hate Gabi bothers me to no end too. It's like people can't grasp her situation and why she's like that. And they get constantly annoyed and disappointed when she acts like she does. Do they expect something different? Why are their expectation such that they're constantly disappointed? Gabi grew up the same way Reiner did, which is why he developed such a split personality. Also I still don't understand WHY people hate her so much... It's like they hate what she is (because of her childhood) more than they hate her. But if we stop and think, what did she do that was so extremely wrong? She's a soldier, Sasha was a soldier. Sasha and gang came and attacked her hometown, getting Udo, Zofia and others killed so she went and killed Sasha. Ya I loved Sasha as much as the next person but I have NEVER blamed Gabi for killing her and hating Eldians so much. She literally sees them as evil inhumans plotting to destroy the world, and she hates them so much because she is them and wants to distance herself from them any way she can. People need to stop expecting Gabi to have the super-human perspective that Falco has. LASTLY it's worth noting what someone said in a Youtube comment: if we remember Gabi from Ep 1, she's always been smart, cunning, and clever. She even suggested she remove her armband to try to disguise herself as a battlefield civilian. And now in this Ep we see her be completely unable to remove her armband to go incognito in a foreign land of Eldians. She's become not herself; she's devolved into a fearful animal. She physically as close to Eldian devils as she's ever been and wants to keep the armband on to convince herself she's NOT one of them... she's a good Eldian.

rayman

Same absolutely love his character in the story, he brings such an interesting dynamic, even though I would punch him in real life.

Naz

A minor thing, but I’m quite glad you noticed the change in Galliard’s demeanor towards Reiner. I personally haven’t seen anyone else do (notice) that. Great discussion, as always.

Cody N

I'm from central America, and except for some native American communities most of the population is a mix of native, african and european. When talking specifically abouth 16th century colonisation, to blame current day europeans for example, for the crimes of their ancestors sounds utterly ridiculous to me. But, it is also good to acknowledge the bad in our past and built our future based on lessons learned. I think so much time has passed since the first colonies, that is easier to have a cool head and be detached from my own country´s past to analyse it, in other parts of the world the events are much more recent and is like an open wound, so understandably some people will take kaya´s out of context statement poorly.

niuxbel

Bruh, this was a great explanation of Floch's character. I hadn't pieced it together that after the trauma he suffered outside Shiganshina he now seeks out the powerful "devil", both to protect him and as payback for the sacrifice he and his fellow scout recruits made with their suicidal charge.

Coco

Yes i agree with not being able to draw the line. My opinion is that there’s a difference btw governments fighting in int’l courts to defend the actual victims of war (some are still alive) and ordinary civilians just hating on each other. The reason why i cant stand the Yeagerists is bc they remind me of my gov. They want us to hate on other nations and stir up anger so that they can get more votes.

sksmsdbswjd

If youre gonna be empathetic, its up to the empathetic adults (us) to be even empathetic to the sociopath like thinking ppl who want gabi to die, because they are like children. Some of us even as adults have not grown enough to feel empathy. Of course, within limits. In this particular case, people who hate gabi n want her to die, although their willful ignorance sometimes can be annoying, it doesnt bother me at all. Totally get it. Its their love for the main crew that makes them see it that way. No matter how u look at it(id hope), no one operates under hate for gabi, at the core its always a love for someone else. In this case sasha. Bc its out of love i cant look down on it. I get it. How do u get through to ppl like that? Idk... shake them up like kaya shook up Gabi. Theyre all mini gabis. Its not worth it or fair to demean n make them out to be non feeling socipaths

Wolves

I think of it like this, when we sentence someone who is found guilty, we don't punish his/her whole family. This extends to war and at a macro level, sure there are people who have committed atrocities. We need to bring them to justice, everyone who is implicit in committing them. But punishing the progeny for sins of the ancestors, the question is where will you draw the line? Should a child be punished for the crimes of his/her father/mother? Siblings? Grandparents? This series really elicits some fascinating questions, that's why I love it so much!

Shiro

Isayama once again played us all and used his story as a mirror to our society. Grown people hating a child character that ironnically they take traits from (the hate for her = the hate she gives in the story in my opinion). Same when people were cheering a few weeks ago when Eren trampled thousands of people ! Gabi represents perfectly the mindset of our world, idiots will just catagorize her as "evil"

Gaïa New Gate

i’ve never realized people hate Gabi until i read youtube comments lol

sksmsdbswjd

I love how you acknowledge then immediately dismissed comparisons between Gabi and Falco’s mindset. Not only is Gabi’s family fully indoctrinated, Falco’s has a history of going against the regime. They are literally opposites in terms of upbringing and anyone who says things like “they both grew up together, why can’t she think like Falco” has completely disregarded the significance of how a household can affect your character. Also, I already expected you to acknowledge Floch’s development, but I really loved the appreciation you showed for it as well. I don’t like Floch and I personally don’t have any significant trauma, but I feel for him for some reason, when I think about how he is what he is now because of what happened in Shiganshina. Like (and this is still just my headcanon) how the reason he’s choosing Eren now is cos he’s the strongest and he won’t make himself feel as powerless as he did in the fields outside Shiganshina again. And (also my headcanon), he still wants to atone for being the only one who survived by bringing back the devil, as he said. He failed then with Erwin, but now he sees the devil in Eren. And I have to be honest, I’m really glad about the lack of Gabi hate in these comments. I’ve accepted that even people who understand where she’s coming from, will still harbor dislike for her simlly because it’s what people feel. Sometimes you can’t choose what you feel and it is understandable with Gabi’s personality how people might dislike her. But man, I cannot relate whatsoever to the hate. And it irks me even more seeing unironic calls for her (brutal) death being nonchalantly thrown around.

Muhd Zulhilmi

You really should have a segment here just for clarification/explanation of some translations

Muhd Zulhilmi

@Kopplex “fully aware of all the parallels that could be made to our world but force themselves to ignore them and try to detach from them” Isn’t this what Gabi, the character they hate so much, is doing ?

Muhd Zulhilmi

Ah yes I agree. Maybe display them when certain scenes or moments are mentioned to help recall which ones are being talked about

Muhd Zulhilmi

Lmao I'm not surprised, people like that annoy me the most ! Don't worry, just enjoy the story, don't listen to those dumbases who probably know nothing.

Gaïa New Gate

East Asia is so politically divided, there’s even a term called “Asia Paradox”. We’re culturally intimate but historically and politically divided. So everything is seen as sth political. Its kind of sad... Some were saying that Kaya’s line meant that its okay to commit war crimes and when time passes everybody is okay with it. Which i think is not interpreting the whole Gabi-Braus arc correctly. Thank you for ensuring me that im on the right track:)

sksmsdbswjd

thanks for the reply. I was so upset when my fav show/manga was trashed by ppl who dont even read it. Kaya’s scene was cropped from the manga and went viral on twitter. Some dumb ppl went too far and started attacking ppl who enjoy the show.

sksmsdbswjd

The way I see it, the whole SNK storyline resolves about the cycle of hate. Also, I am adopted from a white family and I'm black. It would be dumb for me to see every white person around me as "responsable" for the slavery their ancestors commited. I don't understand how this sentence could justify war crimes ? Our ancestors sins have actually something to do with us, we have to learn about the terrible mistakes they made to never have to go through it again (which as a specy we don't do at all lmao), I don't know if my answer helped ?

Gaïa New Gate

I know there are ppl from diverse countries here, so i want to know what other ppl think. Im from Asia, and this episode was quite controversial in my country. My country suffered from invasions and colonization during WW2 era, so Kaya's line about "ancestors sins don't have anything to do with us" triggered political arguments. Some ppl were saying this line justified war crimes, others were saying it was an important line about getting along. I'm siding with the latter bc of Magath's line later in the manga. But still Im not sure what to think of it. If there are anyone interested in this issue, plz tell me your opinion about it!

sksmsdbswjd

Anyone else come here so they could watch Im's reaction again to fill the SNK shaped hole in our hearts left by today's delay.

Rory Borcherding

Oof, that's such a good point about Karina.

Coco

I'm just so glad we got extra content this week from you, especially with the delay of today´s episode, good work! loved the reaction and discussion.

niuxbel

Your discussion made me think about a few elements of the story that I hadn't thought of before. Amongst the Marleyan Eldians, the Braun family (Reiner and Gabi) seem to be particularly more staunch believers of the Marleyan doctrine than the others. We know that Karina was abandoned by Reiner's father. I can see why she has major abandonment issues since she felt abandoned twice, once by her own race and a second time in her own private life. The parallels between Kaya and Louise are interesting...I can see why each chose their own respective path. Louise sees Mikasa as this symbol of warrior when she first meets her, a god swooping in and taking down a titan (something that people inside the walls do not see often). To her, in order to defeat a monster, one needs strength, and she sees that in Mikasa, raw brute strength, and wants to emulate that in order to save the masses, just as Mikasa did. Kaya, on the other hand, sees a different picture. Sasha does not save the masses, her intervention is at a very personal level for Kaya. Kaya was in fact abandoned by the masses along with her mother, so in Sasha she sees a saviour who saves individuals, not masses and she wants to reach out to those abandoned by others and help them, just like her idol Sasha. Hange and Floch are at odds with each other philosophically. For Floch, the end justifies the means whereas for Hange, the means justify the end. What a dilemma! And of course, Gabi. A scary yet pitiful child, facing an existential crisis...what she learns through her experience will be interesting to see.

Shiro

@Kopplex I think a lot of gabi haters hate on her so much because it is a lot easier. Sasha died? okay who killed her? Gabi? okay lets just ignore her circumstances and blame her because she killed her so she has to be the one to blame. Its so much easier to just blame gabi than look at the character and see who really is at fault.

Dominik

"Fuck Gabi. Barely know her. No character investment. This is an anime, not real life. I'm all for her demise... I think I'd prefer her mental anguish over her death, but I'll take her death too." This is an actual comment from a "gabi hater" I stumbled upon on another reaction, notice the "This is an anime, not real life." This is their favourite card to toss around when being presented with in-depth analysis of her character, it's almost as if they are fully aware of all the parallels that could be made to our world but force themselves to ignore them and try to detach from them. These people don't actually want to think and don't want to try to understand the character, which is pretty obvious when you see that their whole arguments revolves around "but she killed sasha". Sorry if you are one of them, but I personally see gabi haters as edgelords who are incapable of logical and rational thinking.

Bubi Reactions

Just one thing I wanted to point out. This is related to my earlier comment on how Eldians on Paradis always said "humanity" meaning "people inside the walls". When Floch says "so be it", subs make him say "if it's for the sake of humanity, so be it" (not an exact quote, going off memory). In reality he says "if it's for the sake of humanity inside the walls, so be it". There is a distinction. Just like people outside of Paradis separate humans and Eldians, Eldians on Paradis separate themselves and everyone else. At least these radicals do.

石原 悟

couldnt have said it better man all of the Gabi haters dont even understerstand the story

ya ya

Thanks for posting this! Really well said. While I didn't hate Gabi when she was first introduced and obviously after her taking a beloved character away, I did kind of take the stubborn route of truly understanding her. All those angry/annoyed feelings towards her 1. killing Sasha and 2. Absolutely despising the people of Paradis and not seeing to reason are basically all gone for me. I just feel sympathy for her that she was brought up the way she was because of other people. So unfortunate but I am surprisingly loving her arc as I truly did not care for her (not in a bad way) in the beginning.

A_Daddy Daichi

Such great analysis, this is exactly what was going through my mind as well. I seriously cannot understand the hate on Gabi given she represents such an important viewpoint in the story. We are witnessing the breaking and remaking of someone's identity, that too of a child. I feel sympathy for her given the circumstances she was born and raised in, at the same time some admiration for her tenacity as well.

Shiro

Something I haven't seen discussed by reactors or in the comments (though Im has done a great job of pretty much describing exactly this) is that Gabi is not just stubborn but indoctrinated. She was brought up in a society where she is a second-rate citizen, under a doctrine that her race is evil and lesser, that the sins of her ancestors was so great they are inherited, and that the only way to atone is through selfless service to Marley to pay off this "debt". And yet despite that (or because of it) she's passionate, courageous, has a strong sense of justice and honour, and extraordinary willpower and drive which has served her well to become a very capable warrior candidate. In the Liberio assault she managed several incredible feats, especially for a child. These are some great parallels to Eren (seasons 1 - 3, anyways), which enabled him to overcome insurmountable odds. Gabi has built her identity on becoming the best warrior to protect her family, reclaim pride in her race, and to champion her people. Being a “good” Eldian for Marley is foundational to her identity (hence her violent reaction to Falco trying to take off her armband which she wears as a badge of honour). We can see the gradual breakdown of this foundational belief as she finds herself living amongst the very enemies she’s sworn to kill. Her beliefs are being challenged as she is exposed to the reality that these island devils are just people, who can show compassion, empathy and kindness. Kaya even directly questions why the sins of their forebearers should hold present-day Eldian’s responsible, especially when this memory was wiped from the minds of the Paradisians. Now Gabi is starting to question her deeply held beliefs and experience cognitive dissonance. It makes perfect sense that her natural reaction when faced with this distasteful reality is to deny, project and withdraw back into the safety of "all island devils are evil." Her very identity and her years spent training are now under attack. Can we not show some sympathy for such a difficult process, especially in today’s world? The last four years of US politics has highlighted how incredibly easy it is for people to have distorted views of realities, to believe propaganda and to bury their head in the sand when faced with the difficult challenge of reflecting on your understanding of reality. This show reflects the moral complexity in our world. Characters (main or secondary) all have some extraordinary depth or growth, and the beauty of this show is it doesn’t shy away from digging into the unsavoury ways humans handle life. That’s a big reason that sets it apart from other shows – characters are not just two-dimensional tropes. Look at Sannes, Marlo and Floch – all great examples of secondary characters people often discount or dislike but who have poetic developments that bring greater meaning to the story. Hell, look at our main boy Eren and the drastic turn his character has taken compared to season one! I think if people can slow down and approach this show with some patience and emotional maturity, you are rewarded with appreciating the depth of human experiences, even those you may initially find discomforting. (As a side note I think this also extends to viewers’ impatience regarding “slow” episodes. When those “slow” episodes do come around, where not much seems to happen and it’s mostly set-ups and dialogue, instead of grumbling, enjoy the moment as it makes those exciting, fast and action-packed twists all the more memorable and beautiful.) For us all here on Im’s Patreon, we subscribe and love his work because of the scrutiny in his analysis. He looks at each character and knows there’s something great to extract from their tale, whether it be happy or tragic. I’d be interested for any Gabi haters out there to let me know if this changes your opinion of her at all. I’m definitely going to be posting this comment (essay!) to the YouTube video when it drops.

Coco

Sasuga Im-san. Sono toori dayo.

LEX the Lexicon Artist

bruh delete dissssss

LEX the Lexicon Artist

Man, delete your comment, it's considered a spoiler. Do not refer to anything that would happen in the future. Im will get spoiled even by "cleverly" camouflaged hints. He's not your regular type of reactor.

Ideophagous

Why can't you resist the urge to put spoiler hints in the comments?

Kaedjik

"I want to point out an earlier scene out of nowhere and tell you to keep it in mind for future episodes because it'll be relevant" is a spoiler. He was already not going to read the comments because there's a 4x12 spoiler in here, but your comment would've been enough of a reason also. He's uploading 4x11? Pretend you've only watched until 4x11 and know literally nothing beyond 4x11 when you type your comment. Very simple spoiler etiquette.

Giuseppe Zingarella

A week ago I was rewatching his AoT reactions from the very beginning and then I saw that episode 6 was taken down. It made me sad. I wonder if he could do something to reupload it again.

Ivan Chicharro

talking about that episode of mikasa’s backstory, it reminded me of the fact that it was taken down from youtube, will you ever try to re upload it again ?

Jennifer Garcia

I heavily agree with you in regards to Floch. While I'm not a fan of him as a person, I am extremely impressed with what Isayama has done with his character. He's very well utilised. Great discussion!

Annatar

How work intensive is adding those still frames? Wouldn't mind having those always on top of normal footage.

asdasdaaa

The fact that you did the call back for Sannes’ words to Hange before they do in the episode while other reactors didn’t even recognise that scene or character... I think this is a simple answer to why Im is my best reactor

Rayan

was going to comment this as well, onii is brother, onee (said like onay) is sister

jibbmn

I noticed that too and I also think that it's definitely intentional. It's one of those little things that tend to go unoticed and do show that there is some change happening within her, whether she herself & her haters like it or not.

Bubi Reactions

Other reactors be like "I understand her, I really do..........BUT"

Kopplex

I'm so soooo glad that you do understand Gabi's struggle in this moment of the story. I'm so tired of everyone just hating on her solely for killing a beloved character and not trying to understand her point of view at all. I'll admit, she is a difficult one to like - there are moments even in this episode when it's hard to not roll eyes at her stubbornness, but you explain her reasoning perfectly and just... *chefs kiss* As expected of Im!

nattu

2:41 I think onii-chan just means big brother and Kaya says onee-san which should mean big sister. You got the right meaning out of the actual spoken sentence but you repeat the wrong word. Hope I could deepen your knowledge with this :)

floxer

Prateek Pillai

Isayama mentioned in an interview that Louise doing the salute and Eren stabbing the kidnapper in the heart was supposed to be a comparison/parallel. Can't find the interview right atm, otherwise I'd link it here.

RaijinCloud

I do think it's very much intentional. Before arriving at the farm she says she'd never have a meal with the devils but then 10 minutes later she has one anyway. She does it begrudgingly, but she does it. The way her putting that first spoon in her mouth was shot shows how big of a step that was for her character, whether she recognizes that or not.

RaijinCloud

I think it’s important to note that Gabi lashed out when Sasha’s mom touched her shoulder, but she doesn’t some time later when Kaya is trying to level with her and talk about her mom. Kaya grabs Gabi’s shoulders and asks questions, but instead of flipping out like earlier, she just stands in place in stunned silence. That could be progress! Or just a continuity error, but I think the difference in reaction is intended. I’m a manga reader and didn’t catch this until I watched the anime!

Sarah S

I love the adventures of Ben and Mia! It feels so real and raw to see Gabi at her lowest point so far and just have her interact with the world she finds herself in now. She's extremely lost and has already accepted that she's dead. It makes for some very interesting moments for sure. I also love that, in a show that is usually dominated by red/orange colors, we get a lot of green and blue. The change of environment was a breath of fresh air and helps the episode stand out imo.

RaijinCloud

I like the fact that Sashas death was not just for effect. It ripples out into the story. Now that is a good way to kill someone off the series. I also love that Isayama taps into the idea known as "Thrownness". You are just happened to be born in a specific place, in a specific time in history, by some people. You were basically "thrown" into this world and you have to make do, with your ancestors history and mistakes and all the rest.

Thanos D. Alexioy

Absolutely loved your interpretation of Mikasa and Louise. Also something that is intresting is that the scouts salute almost looks like as if its a stab through the heart, and the next scene is Eren stabbing someone to death. Intresting parallel imo nonetheless.

Naz

Filmbuff is connected to paths via Isayama. Its confirmed.

Naz

Sorry to hear about the computer issues, hope you’re able to fix it! This discussion was basically a podcast which I think is very fitting for your style, very enjoyable. Keep up the awesome work :) Also, THANK YOU for understanding and even explaining Gabi’s perspective perfectly. I think you and Semblance of Sanity are the only reactors that are 100% understanding of her character.

Chelle