Attack on Titan - S1E2 - That Day
Previously, on Attack on Titan: “To You, After 2,000 Years”
We’re back in the terrifying action that is the Fall of Shiganshina. A priest recites scriptures, most likely from Revelations. Townspeople hide, flee, and are otherwise devoured. The priest is not absolved from being made a snack and is enjoyed as such. Cut to Hannes with Misaka under one arm and Eren on his shoulder. Eren’s shock wears off and attacks Hannes. He berates Hannes for taking off when they were so close to rescuing his mother.
“We were so close! Why couldn’t you mind your own business? We were so close to saving her!” Hannes throws him off his shoulder, trying to get him to stop. He kneels down next to him and tells him something that fires Eren up:
“You couldn’t save your mother because you lacked the strength.” This pisses off the boy naturally. He called him weak. Eren throws a punch and Hannes catches it easily. We see his face and they’re big, glassy and tears are streaming down his cheeks.
“I couldn’t save her because I lacked the courage to stand up to the Titan!” Ouch. That hurt. It hurt Eren more, knowing that Hannes was right on both counts. Misaka has flashbacks to a traumatic experience to which she simply muses as; “It’s happening again?” In a few short minutes Armin is on a barge and spots Eren and Misaka. He tries to get their attention but notices that Eren is unresponsive. Armin’s grandfather tells him to let him be for now.
At the central gate, the Wall Garrison tries their best to hold off the titans as they evacuate people. It’s a total clusterfuck with no leadership and cannons that hit everything else but titans. Someone gives the order to shut the gate off. Hannes is there trying to get the order rescinded becase there are still plenty of people that have yet to be evacuated. Before a decision is made however, a titan shows up. It’s skinless like the one that busted down the door but is smaller. It takes a starting position, then sprints for the gate. Cannon fire doesn’t even put a dent in it. It shrugs it off and picks up the pace. Like a strong running back it punches through the defense and leaves an opening for the Titans to continue their onslaught.
By now, the news has reached to everyone within the Wall Rose territories that everything has been breached. The central government has given the order to withdraw all of people behind Wall Rose. The death toll is estimated to be 10,000 souls gone. It’s over and done. Elsewhere, Eren’s father rides through the forest, hoping that his family is safe. Boy, is he in for a surprise.
Next is another nightmare sequence. This time it’s Eren and his father yelling at one another as a key becomes the focus of this sequence. Whatever’s going on, it has to do with Eren’s dad trying to administer a drug and Eren himself telling his father that Mom’s death has broken him. Eren wakes up though in a way that resembles what happened in the first episode. The attack is real and so’s the threat. Armin shows up and hands out rations-a loaf of bread per kid which is their food for the day.
The soldiers and people are angry. It’s different in this territory, people are treated poorly and had already been facing a food shortage. The refugees are putting more stress on an already difficult time. One soldier remarks that if the titans got through, that they “could have eaten more people if you ask me!” Eren without missing a beat attacks the soldier who replies by punches him and his buddy puts a boot to him, sending him to the ground. Before things can escalate, Armin steps into to diffuse the situation. He gets Eren off the hook by claming he’s hungry and irritable which is causing him to lash out.
Eren goes on a tear, saying he won’t eat their food or act tough because of the walls like those soldiers. He angrily throws the bread back at Armin, asking him if it bothers him or not, being treated this way. Misaka cools Eren down with a straight punch that knocks him on his ass. His mother asked her to keep Eren safe, she says this as she jams the bread in his mouth. Eren realizes his folly and accepts his circumstances.
The next sequence sums up what happens in the following year. Once all the refugees were accounted for, they were sent out in the wildlands within the wall to cultivate food to ease the strain of the food shortage. That was not expected to last and the Central Government issues an order to retake Wall Maria. 200,000 people embarked on this mission, 20% of the remaining population went out and less than 200 returned. Even though it had been a wash, the grim truth was that their deaths eased the food problem. Part of the casualties was Armin’s father. It is then that Eren decides he’ll enlist and gain the strength to fight the titans! Armin wants vengeance for his loss and Misaka decides to join too, because of the promise she made. The episode closes out with the Drill Instructor barking out the standard introduction. He calls them less than livestock and does not welcome them warmly. Eren, now older and more mature vows that he will destroy the Titans.
