Attack On Titan Final Season Part 3: [SPOILER]'s Death Isn't as Surprising as It Looks

On March 3, Attack on Titan Final Season Part 3 was finally released. Despite a few minor snags due to Crunchyroll missing the scheduled launch time, it turned out to be the action-packed episode fans had been waiting for. Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlert, and the others were on their way to halt the rumbling and, hopefully, save the main character Eren Yeager in this episode, which was set right after the events of Part 2.

Part 3’s hour-long debut wasted no time in delivering the shocking brutality and gruesome images that this anime is known for. It provided one of the strongest episodes Attack on Titan has ever had, beginning with an agonizingly heartbreaking bloodbath and ending with the spectacular death of one of the show’s best characters.

Hange’s Sacrifice Secures Her Departure From Attack on Titan

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Once they dock the ship and try to get the flying boat ready, Mikasa, Armin and the rest of their group are stopped by Floch, who miraculously survived and managed to slow them down. However, Eren’s high-stakes Rumbling is about to catch up to them. In an attempt to buy them the time they need to flee, Hange chooses to sacrifice her life fighting the Titans.

It’s a phenomenal battle — enamored with the creatures she has always been fascinated by, Hange swings among them killing them one at a time, finally catching fire and plunging to the ground. As she dies, her comrades manage to take off with the flying boat, Hange’s sacrifice effectively giving them another chance to win in the end.

Hange’s Tragic Death Will Surely Be the First of Many in Final Season Part 3

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As soon as she dies, Hange wakes in a barren land, looking up at a dazzling blue sky. Next to her, Erwin and the other dead soldiers are waiting for her to join them. Hange is finally taking her place among Attack on Titan’s fallen heroes, in a moving scene that will be remembered as one of the most emotional of the anime.

Hange’s death, like Erwin’s, was practically unavoidable. Part 3 of this final season warns the audience that no character is truly secure, that the end is near, and that many more lives may be lost in order for victory to be gained. After all, while Hange’s death is the most devastating so far, she is not the first main character to die. Her devotion to the Titans may have sealed her doom. What better way to end for someone who is obsessed with the exact monsters she is intended to exterminate than to die alongside them? Hange’s character would lose all meaning if the Titans were all exterminated.

Eren’s unwillingness to stop the Rumbling, going so far as to massacre Marley — innocent men, women and children included — was the point of no return. His warning to Mikasa and Armin that they will have to kill him if they want to stop him is another sign more deaths are about to come, perhaps even Eren’s himself. Hange’s death has actually signaled the beginning of the end. Attack on Titan’s last arc has finally begun, with the final stretch promising more pain, brutal violence and heartbreaking sacrifices.