EPISODE CONTEXT

As the sixteenth and final episode of The Final Season Part 1, 'Above and Below' is the culmination of every political betrayal, character fracture, and ideological clash that MAPPA has been building since the Marley arc opener. The preceding episodes escalated internal power struggles within Paradis and deepened the conflict between Eren's faction and his former allies — this episode forces those tensions into direct collision. It functions as a critical bridge to the next part of the final season, converting simmering internal chaos into the spark for all-out external war.