Attack on Titan - S1E20 - Erwin Smith/The 57th Expedition, Part 4
Previously, on Attack on Titan: “The 57th Expedition, Part 3”
Everyone is waiting with bated breath; it’s the first time they’ve caught a variant. Eren and the rest of Levi’s squad move further into the forest and wait for orders. Erwin gives the order to fire the rest of their cannons to make sure the titan is fully immobilized. Everyone on the perimeter of the forest can hear the commotion and they all speculate about what’s going.
John and Armin take the time to shoot the shit while avoiding one titan who’s learned how to climb up to their level. Armin says it’s scary that they can learn, but it differs from titan to titan. John reveals to Armin that he has a good idea what they plan on doing with the female titan. They came to capture the person in the female titan.
Cut to Eren and Levi’s squad high up in a tree. Eren’s bothered by the mission and Erwin’s words before they left on the expedition. He finally says what’s on everyone’s minds; what’s with all the secrecy? Not even Levi’s squad knows what’s going on. Being the rookie, everyone jumps down his throat, ready to feed him his own teeth. That’s until one of the other members validates his thoughts. The only reason they’ve been kept in the dark is that there’s a spy amongst them. Either a titan or someone working for the titans.
This plan may also have been discussed with the guys who’ve survived five years at least. So besides Erwin, that’s Levi, Hanzi, Mike and a handful of others. It’s an exclusive club to say the least, if you remember Erwin’s bold recruitment speech. They all start to share their thoughts. If they’d been able to answer questions pertaining to the titans that were killed, they might’ve been let in on it. Say, five years ago? Wasn’t it five years ago the wall was destroyed?
Back in Armin and John’s neck of the woods, (pun intended) they watch the climbing titan drop to the ground. John is bugged by the fact that if the Commander had intel on a variant titan running around, that a lot of people died not knowing what it was for. Armin’s grown a lot as soldier, and he says that the Commander made the right choice. He explains to John that it’s easy to say what should have been done after the choice is made, but it came down to (and say it with me) the needs of the many, outweighing the needs of the few. They’re soldiers, first and foremost. The chance of death comes with the territory; especially if you’re part of the branch that leaves the safety of the walls. With that also comes the need for leaders who are willing to sacrifice their own humanity in order to defeat monsters. That’s when Armin delivers this killer line to John; “A person who cannot give up anything can change nothing.”
As Erwin orders more of the cannons fire their shots, Hanzi is having a one-sided conversation with the female titan. She explains that as her wounds heal, the harpoons embedded in her flesh lock down her joints. She couldn’t scratch that ass of hers if she had an itch to scratch. Levi and Mike swing down from up high to cut her hands off. At the moment of impact though, their swords are shattered. This bitch has the ability to harden parts of her body, like a kind of armor. Erwin doesn’t have time to mess around with this. So he calls for demolition guys to set the explosives to blow off her hands so they can get to person inside. As they get to work, Levi takes the time to have a chat with her as well. He’s not happy that she killed a lot of his comrades. But he is going to have all kinds of fun when they pull her out of this husk. You can see it in his eyes; he is going to make this person suffer.
Coming from him, that chills my spine as well as hers because she lets out a scream that is literally heard for miles around. Levi was a little startled but that’s the least of their worries. Mike can smell the hordes of titans coming in and the first group is coming from the east. No one knows why the titans are suddenly bypassing the soldiers in the trees. No one except for Sasha. She stops Mikasa before she heads deeper into the forest. She’s heard a scream like that before when she used to hunt with her clan back at home. The most dangerous part of the hunt is the final moments. Sasha has a sixth sense for this kind of stuff, and Mikasa would be a fool if she doesn’t listen to her.
Erwin gives out the order to defend the female titan from the hordes but it’s no use. Even Levi can’t stem the tide and the female titan is promptly devoured. Erwin gives the order to retreat. He’s pissed that she chose the easy way out. He issues another order to Levi to load up with new blades and gas. Levi doesn’t understand why but does so anyway when Erwin tells him to do as he says. Right now, their mission is to get back home without losing anyone else. The signal flares are fired off and most everyone is relieved that it’s over.
With Eren and the rest of the Levi squad, they see a green flare being fired and figure it’s Levi signaling for a rendezvous. We see their reply and someone who isn’t Levi. Hanzi with the bulk of the regiment asks why she ordered Levi to re-supply if they were short on time. Erwin tells her no one saw the titans devour the pilot of the female titan. How could they, with all that steam? But there stands a chance that the person inside was equipped with a 3D rig and a disguise to escape alongside the rest of them. Levi’s squad learns this first hand as the mysterious scout kills Gunter without hesitation.
