Musing Over Manga: Attack on Titan Chapter 54--Change is Coming

After a chapter of confusion and deliberate vagueness, it looks like there's a clear direction for this arc now.

(A/N: The post deals with spoilers for the entire manga. Please do not read unless you are caught up!

Also, in light of Kodansha stating that Hanji's gender is not allowed to be confirmed in the manga, I will also be respecting the author's wishes and will not use gendered pronouns to refer to Hanji from here on out. Follow the link for more information on that. However, I will continue to spell Hanji's name however I want. Because reasons.)


But first, I honestly wasn't expecting the mystery woman to show up again so soon. I thought she'd be tossed aside for the time being like all the other big mysteries of the series, but this opening scene does clarify a few things. I guess we can consider the ancestor memories theory invalidated, since this puts her on the same timeline as the rest of the current story by showing her with Historia.

She's also shown as a pretty happy person, or a least more motherly than Historia's real mom ever was. Too bad Historia is not allowed to remember it, since the new question (there's always a new question) is how she was able to seal Historia's memories in the first place. I saw one theory that guessed that it might be hypnotism, which I agree with since it's the only thing that makes sense at the moment, and also because it's implied that this wasn't the first time she had to do that to Historia.


From her use of the word "again," we can guess at a couple of things: one, that she was a constant is Historia's life, even if she wasn't aware of it, and two, assuming that this scene was the last time they met, she probably isn't aligned with the Titan-shifters, or at least not aware of the plan to bring down the wall. She didn't act like this was the last time she'd see Historia for a while, or at least that was how I viewed it. She seemed more upset that she had to take the memory away.

In any case, I hope that this isn't the last we see of her for a while, since this is the first time we've seen a character other than Eren deal with suppressed memories. Right now she's the biggest link between Eren and Historia, and I'd love to know who she really is and what her stake is in all of this. Maybe she lives in Eren's basement. I wouldn't be surprised at this point.


However, despite erasing Historia's memories, she still had an effect on her. In Historia's conversation with Eren, she reveals her insecurity in leaving the "good girl" Krista behind. While it's been a couple of months for us manga readers, it hasn't been that long since Historia reclaimed her real name. It makes sense that she's still not comfortable in her true identity. Not to mention the sad moment where she thinks that Ymir abandoned her. She did it for you, Historia!


But it is interesting to note that her idea of what makes a "good girl" seems to have come from the mystery woman and not her upbringing. She may not remember, exactly, but the effect that the woman has had on Historia's subconcious and, in turn, who she is today, is undeniable. I wonder if those same implications hold true for Eren and the memories he hasn't quite grasped yet. We'll just have to wait and see.

Also, Eren's completely right. Historia beats Krista any day.

 
Meanwhile, the plan to smoke out the people who've been trying to capture them is a complete success. It feels like it's been ages since we've seen Mikasa and Levi kicking ass and taking names.

Also, here is your regular reminder that Sasha is a badass.

Call her Potato Girl one more time

ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew

And as much as I'd rather completely ignore the above scene, I can't help but wonder why attention is being drawn back to this creeper. There are some theories that this is meant to give Armin a glimpse into the truly messed up side of humanity, but... I feel like the manga has already solidly established that at this point without throwing this guy into the mix. That said, I'm glad that this scene didn't go down the "lol Armin in drag made this guy gay lol" route and portrayed it for what it was: creepy and disturbing. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if this scene has any larger implications. In the meantime, poor Armin.

Anyway, it turns out that the people after them were from the Reeves Company. ...Which meant nothing to me until it was clarified that it's the company owned by that guy who blocked the exit route out of Trost forever ago. You know, the one that Mikasa threatened to kill? I never thought that we'd see him again, but I have to admit that I'm glad that it's not a completely new face.

Understatement of the century

This underscores yet again how over-confident and flat-out stupid the Military Police are. They've severely underestimated the Scouting Legion by thinking that a civilian merchant company could stand up to them. As we saw when they murdered Pastor Nick, they may have political power on their side, but not the brains to cover their tracks. It's been obvious for a while now that only letting "the best of the best" into the Military Police is just an excuse so that the nobles can arguably have the best protection, yet it seems like the only thing the majority of them know how to do is take advantage of the system. They have power in a sense, enough to influence events behind the wall and to attract people like the president of Reeves Company, but like what we saw with Annie, they're not equipped to deal with the real danger here. Against people who stare that fear in the face on nearly a daily basis, they don't stand a chance.


I think that's what Levi's playing at with his offer here. Mikasa was initially mad because it sounded like he just traded Eren for tea, and I've seen some confusion surrounding this scene as well, so let's look at what Levi actually said. As much of a jackass as the Reeves Company president is, he's the lifeline of Trost right now. Political power doesn't matter much when there are no people left to rule. Levi is giving him a way out from relying on the Military Police and asking him to trust the Scouting Legion instead, since they've already proven that they're much stronger. He's not blindly handing over Eren and Historia. They're gaining an ally.


And they're going to need all the allies they can get, jackass or not, since the big reveal at the end of the chapter this time is that Erwin is living up to his namesake and is making a move to overthrow the government. While it's really clear that the government behind the wall is in need of new management, for now the new setup that Erwin is revolting for is pretty vague. He doesn't strike me as the kind of character who'd try to put himself on the throne, so is he going for a more democratic option? How would it be set up?

But I'm probably putting the cart ahead of the horse here, since we don't even know the nature of Erwin's revolution or even if it stands a chance of working. I'm pretty sure that Pixis will come to his side, though. He's seen the extremes of both how things are run inside Sina and the horrors that the Scouting Legion face. He would be a great second perspective to have.


This also marks the first time we've seen the King--or at least, I assume that's the king, since he's sitting next to a birthday hat from Burger King. Like I've mentioned previously, we have nothing to go off of about the king's role in the government except that he exists. The story has been exclusively military-focused at the point, and I don't remember any indications that the King plays a commander-in-chief role. The lack of buildup does leave the plot with a lot to clarify in the next chapter or two, but I'm all for watching our heroes tackle the corruption that's been clear since the beginning.

...Why am I excited about a torture scene? This series has changed me...

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