If you’re like me, the tension around Attack on Titan is immense. To watch that show is really an experiment as to how much stress you can handle introducing into your me-time. And next week’s episode, “Dawn of Humanity,” is supposedly the series finale. So, the intensity is ramped up … by a lot. There are a ton of very legitimate questions about whether it’s actually the end of Attack on Titan, but even so, you can bet everyone will be lighting up Twitter next Sunday with their reactions. And I, for one, don’t want to fall behind and chance spoilers.
The finale was originally set to air on March 27th, but the airdate was pushed back. Instead, Attack on Titan had a panel at Anime Japan 2022 scheduled for that very day. Many were therefore expecting the announcement of a film or another part to the final season. They were disappointed, however, when the biggest announcement from the anti-climactic panel was regarding the Blu-ray releases for the existing parts of season 4.
So, when can you watch the ‘Attack on Titan’ finale?
Episode 87, “Dawn of Humanity,” will air on Sunday, April 3rd. As with every episode this season, the “finale” of Attack on Titan will air at 3:45 PM ET / 12:45 PM PT on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hulu. And alas, the free version of Crunchyroll won’t cut it—the newest Attack on Titan episodes are available only on Crunchyroll Premium.
The idea of a finale is bittersweet. For months, fans have been expecting a film announcement as a cap to the popular series. And the preview for episode 87 seems to back up the validity of either a film or another part to the season. “Dawn of Humanity” corresponds to chapter 130 of the Attack on Titan manga. And there are a total of 139 chapters of the Attack on Titan manga (making it seem like there should be some sort of further installment, right?).
But you don’t even need to know that to anticipate that the series can’t possibly be wrapped up in one more episode. “Dawn of Humanity” appears to be a flashback episode, detailing what the bejeebers Eren was doing in Marley that whole time. Meanwhile, in the present, the two parties who will surely constitute the series’ climactic battle are not even currently on the same strip of geographical land. Assumedly, at least. Where the Hell is Eren, Yelena? Was he in our hearts all along? (I hope not.) Even without an announcement at Anime Japan—I think many of us are still holding out hope that this isn’t really the end.
I’m not sure if I feel tenser about the unannounced fate of the end of the series, or about the content of next week’s episode. Either way, Attack on Titan sure knows how to make me revel in feeling very uncomfortable.
(Image credit: MAPPA)
