Attack on Titan Season 3 Episode 20 Recap – That Day

A Dark History

As young Grisha and Fay stepped out of the Liberio Internment Zone, they found everyone giving them threatening looks and pushing them around. Still, Grisha persevered until they reach the airship‘s hangar on a nearby field.

Two safety officers found them outside where they shouldn‘t be and made them choose between labor or beating as punishment. Grisha picked beating and volunteered to receive her sister‘s punishment since it was his idea.

The cop immediately beat Grisha while the other takes Fay. After the beating, the officer told Grisha to enjoy the view as it was what he came for. The next morning, they found Fay dead by the river. Even though they were the victims, the safety officer scolded Grisha‘s parents for the death of their daughter. Hearing such as a young child made Grisha hate the man with all his heart.

Eldian children learned at a young age that two millennia ago, their ancestor Ymir Fritz made a contract with the devil to obtain the power of the Titans. Upon her death, Ymir’s spirit split into nine Titans, which the Eldian Empire used to defeat the great nation of Marley. Thus began the dark ages as subjects of Ymir oppressed the world‘s races. That was until the great nation of Marley brought seven of the nine Titans under their control to put an end to the oppressive empire.

The Eldian King left with his people and built three walls on Paradis Island as their refuge, while many other Eldians, including Grisha‘s ancestors were left inside Marley. Grisha watched with empty eyes as his father lectured him about their history, pleading that he and her sister had nothing to do with it. His father couldn‘t do anything as the alternative would be worse.

The Owl

Grisha grew up in obedience and learned the doctor‘s profession until he joined a Restorationist Movement among the Eldians, guided by an insider from the Marleyan Government called the Owl. The Owl led Dina Fritz, a descendant of Eldian royalty, to their group. She provided them with information that only her family knew. They learned that the Eldians were defeated when the last king turned away from the conflict and built his settlement on Paradis.

Grisha roused his men to retrieve the Founding Titan then and defeat Marley. Grisha married Dina soon after, and they had a son named Zeke.

A day came when the Marleyan Government recruited Eldian children for their Titan program to continue using Ymir‘s Seven to keep up with global powers. But Marley isn‘t keen on attacking Paradis head-on as the first king threatens to retaliate with an attack of millions of Titans from inside the walls.

Now the Restorationists have the same goals as the Marleyans: to infiltrate Paradis and take the Founding Titan‘s power for their own. Grisha concocts a plan to get Zeke into the program, and he indoctrinates him on their plans. It backfires as Zeke turns them in to the police to protect himself and his grandparents.

Kruger

Grisha is sentenced to wander Paradis as a pure Titan along with the other Restorationists. In a twist of fate, Kruger, who punished him as a child, and Gross, who took Fay, served as their executioners. Their punishment was to inject them with a serum before pushing them down the walls, turning them into Titans. Grisha watches in horror as Dina turned into a Titan.

Eren wakes up from the nightmare in their containment cells. He recognizes them as his father‘s memories and figures out that Dina was the one who ate his mother.

Grisha is left atop the wall, facing the man who fed his sister to the dogs. Gross decides to drop Grisha while he turns another Restorationist into a Titan to eat him. He‘s about to drop Grisha when Kruger pushed him down instead.

Kruger reveals himself as the Owl and severed his own hand to transform into a Titan, sweeping away the other soldiers below and destroying their ship.

Our Thoughts

Wow, the sequence feels as deep and rich as the three seasons that came before. Rating: 4/5.