Ep 21. From You, 2,000 Years Ago

Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman, and Armin Arlert have been at the crux of the Titan wars since the show's inception. Their mission now takes on a new purpose as they plan an assault on Marley. They brave the approaching final battle where they expect their actions will determine the fate of Eldia and ultimately their own existence. Season 4, episode 21, "From You, 2,000 Years Ago," is a riveting episode that sidetracks Eren and his friends back around 2,000 years in history to expose a secret that none of them could ever have predicted.

In the opening scene, we find Reiner, the armored Titan, reflecting on his past, wondering if he is atoning for his sins or is there a purpose to his life. Indeed, since the story began, Reiner has been a complex character, with a conflicted personality and loyalty towards his motherland and his friends. In this episode, he is portrayed as a prelude to the bigger themes as viewers reflect on Eren's journey and the Titans' history.

In "From You, 2,000 Years Ago," Eren and his comrades gained a clearer understanding of the situation they are up against. Still, the episode flips back and forth between their reality and the past, with memories of time beginnings. It is the perfect storytelling formula that makes each episode more thrilling than the last.

As the episode progresses, viewers are thrown into a dramatic montage, as we watch as historians eagerly uncover the memories and conflicts of the past with their equipment. The scenes alternate from the Marleyans causing destruction in Eldia, civilization, and culture to Eldia uniting as a community, building walls to maintain safety. One interesting fact revealed in this episode was the power behind the Eldian's war cry and how it disrupted the Marleyans. The anime's animation and sound engineering technology possess an entirely new level of sophistication, creating a immersive experience for those watching.

During the montage, cross-cutting takes the viewer back to Eren and Armin as they recall events from their past, Eren's discovery of his Titan abilities, Armin's father Eren Kruger's secrets. It is within this backdrop that viewers start to understand the heart of Attack on Titan, where the past is not only critical to creating a cohesive narrative in the present but also crucial in shaping characters' point of view.

As the story unfolds, the episode has its set of emotional moments that bring tears to the viewer's eyes. A feeling of melancholy pervades the episode when memories of the Eldian King's threats to the world lead to the Pilgrim Tower at the heart of the continent. The tower is the symbol of the Eldians' legend, with the story bearing the name "From You, 2,000 Years Ago."

The most emotionally driven scene in the entire episode is found in the details revealed in what occurred as Eldians fled from the conflict with the Marleyans, with many Eldians sent on a perilous journey across the sea on hand-crafted boats. The experience, from what it seems, depicts a clear understanding of the human condition and nature. The passage speaks to a constant theme that the most straightforward solution to dealing with Titans is Eldians themselves finding ways to reconcile both sides of the coin.

Attack on Titan Season 4, Episode 21 is an episode that sounds confusing on its surface as it details the origins of Titans using memory manipulation, a mode the anime has used a lot. However, the episode is more about character development, and the story's history isn't presented to deliver exposition, but to turn-over our understanding of ordinary characters and make them otherworldly. More importantly, it collaborates the conflict between Eren and now revealed character Ymir. This emotionally charged episode lays testament to the show's reward for fans, who have remained loyal to the franchise since its inception. Overall, it is a poignant and powerful episode, one that will leave viewers wholly satisfied.