THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
See, there's nothing wrong with a complete shift within a long story, per say. But for the shift to be justified, the new story has to be better than the one that came before. Absolutely not the case with the final seasons of Shingeki no Kyojin. They throw the initial premises out of the window, replacing it with a weaker story.
Season four introduces a radical shift in the motivations of the main character and all factions. Not only is it tone-deaf and barely explained, it also deprives many other characters of their purpose and character arcs. The main cast gets senselessly buried under what’s essentially a new, weaker story:
The main culprit is Eren. He transforms overnight: from a bright-eyed shonen lead with a justified hatred towards titans - into shonen Hitler incarnate worshipping the titan race. A transformation explained by the new lore, but never explained psychologically. Erens 180 degree turn comes out of nowhere, erasing the old Eren and replacing him with his opposite. This isn’t character development. This is character assassination.
Mikasa's special, overprotective relationship with Eren? Ceases to be, as Eren is another man at this point, dismissive and abusive towards his former friends. Deprived of the meaningful relationship at the core of her characterization, Mikasa is reduced to a static and bland character, with little to say or do. Similarly, Armin can no longer use his smarts or empathy for the sake of his best friend, becoming a pointless character.
Historia? What is she even doing anymore? (Is pregnancy the authors’ idea of fulfilling female character development?) Historia’s sidelining is telling: the Queen of Paradis doesn’t matter anymore. Since the kingdom of Paradis and politics within is walls don’t matter anymore. Paradis simply gets left behind by the narrative.
But even the empire of Marley, built up as antagonist, barely matters in the final arcs. Marley's new characters, politics and military personnel don't matter. Why? Because the final antagonist story turns out to be neither the the titans, nor Marley, but … Eren's nonsensical genocide plot. This is just sloppy and messy writing.
I could go on endlessly about other characters and plot points becoming unrecognizable. My point stands: due to a radical shift in location, story and factions, old characters become deprived of their established meaning and goals, now acting in the emotional vacuum of a completely new story: edgelord Eren fighting racism with even more racism. A story that has little to do with the previously established stakes. A story that would’ve been fine as standalone, but completely fails to re-connect to where Shingeki no Kyojin started out: an engaging cast fighting for survival against titans in a meatgrinder setting, while uncovering their secrets.
I stopped recognizing the same Mikasa, Reiner, Levi and Armin anymore, even as they still bear the same names and carry the same weapons. That’s the price the show pays, for abandoning or replacing 60% of its premise.
So ... does the questionable writing render the final seasons of Shingeki no Kyojin unwatchable? Not really. At least, some of the merits of the initial setting are still present. The story of Shingeki no Kyojin 2.0, while far inferior to the original one, still isn’t bad. The visual direction is still great, the animation this time around as well. (However, the soundtrack is middling and used to be better in previous seasons, for my tastes.) We still get gory battles between humans in special gear and shape-shifting titans, in grander scale than ever before. They’re still cool to look at.
For most intents and purposes, the final seasons reduce Shingeki no Kyojin to a generic blockbuster apocalypse action flick. For me, that's a disappointing finale. Shingeki no Kyojin is a show that used to be much greater. Not through visual effects alone (they just were the cherry on the top), but by virtue of complelling drama, plot twists and the enthralling mysteries behind the titans.
Shingeki no Kyojin entered a downward spiral following the amazing season 3 and ends in a disappointing, anticlimactic fashion. Long live Shingeki no Kyojin.
