(Season 3 Episode 19 Spoilers) Which was Better?

WeakerLink said:
Had a discussion with a mate of mine and wanted your thoughts on this.
We all know that, "There are still humans outside the walls" is a huge revelation/plot twist in AoT. But I feel like the Reiner & Bertholdt reveal "hit" harder. Which one "hit" harder for you? And could you say why?

Faxtual_Ghoul said:
Plot Twist for Shock Value does not add any depth to the themes 

It's still the same garbage 

kameriiychan said:
1. I personally could guess that there're people outside the walls but never thought they were actually nations also developed so much that they can punish people with turning them into titans. I only thought there were groups of people succeed living outside walls. Remember there was a scene where Armin told Eren, "My mum and dad went outside the walls and then there's this book I have here." before the titan attack.
Where did they go? Where were they this whole time? How did they bring that book? 

That iz explained on the scene where Levi and Hanji are torturing the guy on a chair 

Jun_Rei said:
The Basement Reveal easily hits harder in my opinion.

I had already predicted that there would be other humans outside the walls, but the actual reveal was nothing like what I was expecting. If I'm being honest, I expected it to be like a TWD type scenario where it's just other civilizations with their own walls and defenses attacking each other whilst also fighting off the titans.

What we got instead was a lot more tragic and haunting, but at the same time, this was such a genius and well executed reveal that I would go as far as to say it's the greatest plot twist in all of fiction.

The scouts reaching the ocean was also a moment that I knew would happen later on, but instead of being the triumphant and victorious scene that I imagined it to be, It was probably one of the most heartbreaking.

The scouts finally accomplished all the goals they established in the first season. They defeated the Colossal and Armored Titans, as well as the other titan shifters. They took back Wall Maria. They fought against the corruption of the Royal government and learned the wall's secrets. Last but not least, they were finally able to explore the outside world freely to the point that they reached the ocean.

All of these things being accomplished would normally lead to a happy and victorious conclusion for the story, but the Basement Reveal led to an even greater conflict being unraveled. Whereas in other series this type of plot twist would probably feel like a cheap way to prolong the story, the way it was executed in Attack on Titan made it feel like a natural progression for the story and characters. Everything Eren wanted to accomplish has been done, but instead of achieving freedom, he now feels more lost than ever. He sacrificed so much only for the sake of discovering a world that was far more haunting and hateful than the one he already felt enslaved to.

That to me is probably one of the most heartbreaking things ever, which is why I can't thank Attack on Titan enough for being able to perfectly craft and execute what I believe to be the greatest plot twist in all of fiction.