Review Attack on Titan Episode 403: "The Door of Hope"
Written on: January 10, 2021
Review of Attack on Titan Episode 403: "The Door of Hope"
This week's Attack on Titan takes us back in time, reviewing everything that happened from Reiner's perspective before revealing a major twist today.
The last two episodes of Attack on Titan have trapped fans with the Eldians living and fighting for Marley today, but this week's installment takes them back in time. As Reiner recalls how he came to inherit the Armored Titan and infiltrate the Paradis Island army, viewers are treated to flashbacks of him and the other Warriors as children, when they were in the same position as Gabi and Falco, vying to inherit. the Titans. and "save humanity."
In particular, the flashbacks in “The Door of Hope” focus on Reiner's reason for wanting to become one of the Titan Warriors, and the fact that he was actually the weakest option of his generation, he chose more because Marcel would. convinced to save his younger brother than anything else. In fact, Reiner's fears and insecurities are revealed as the reason for the attack on the Shiganshina district so many years ago, the same attack that started Eren's quest for revenge.
Interwoven with these flashbacks are brief glimpses of moments fans have seen before, the moments that put Eren, Mikasa, and Armin on their own paths to this day. They help develop Reiner's character, but they also underscore Eren's development over the past three seasons. It's shocking to see a much younger Eren full of hope of reaching the outside world, especially once viewers get to the final scenes of the episode.
The final moments of “The Door of Hope” bring fans back to the present, with Reiner considering ending his life. It's clear that everything he's experienced has only left him more confused and desperate, but he decides to go on living when he remembers that Falco and Gabi need him.
The episode then changes to Falco chatting with one of the injured patients outside the Liberio hospital. The man's face is covered in long hair and bandages, and he begins talking to Falco about the horrors of war, wondering why things have "come to this."
When the episode finally reveals the man's face, it becomes clear that Eren has come to Marley. What he has planned for the people who live there is a question for next week, but with a festival involving different nations from around the world, fans can probably count on the protagonist of the series to cause a bit of chaos. .
Review Attack on Titan Episode 403: "The Door of Hope"
Reiner is fast becoming one of Attack on Titan's most fascinating characters, so reliving the beginning of the series through his eyes was an interesting change of pace this week. It was also nice to see Bertholdt and Annie again, especially since "Door of Hope" gives fans a glimpse of how these three became the Titans to successfully infiltrate Paradis Island and locate the founding Titan. And frankly, the chain of events is not what most people imagine.
Witnessing Reiner's level of despair and how he led to everything that happened in the series strengthens his character, as does his unsettling state of mind today. Given that season 4 seems to focus on Marley and his Warriors more than ever, it's nice to know what drives Reiner in this fight between Marley and Paradis Island. Dare we say that it is becoming easier to feel empathy for him?
It's also getting easier to compare with Eren, who seems to be heading down the same dark path that Reiner has traveled. Eren's speech to Falco is as chilling as it should be, and he foreshadows more suffering to come as the war between his people and Marley continues.
Going back to critical moments from the beginning of the series also feels good heading into the final series of anime episodes. Sure, it would have been nice to see some action this week, but revisiting the days before from a new perspective was a refreshing break before what is sure to be an intense and suspenseful episode next week. After all, now that Eren has arrived on the scene, the pace of the anime is sure to pick up. "The door of hope" is simply the calm before the storm.
