Attack on Titan - S1E8 - I Can Hear His Heartbeat/Attack on Trost Part 4
Previously on Attack on Titan, ‘The Tiniest of Blades/Attack on Trost Part 3‘
We are back in the Trost district in this week’s recap! Well, we’re still in Trost. Armin’s given Mikasa’s rig a system’s check. Everything still works and he’s given her a full blade compartment. He’s kept one for himself, in the event he has to fall on it to avoid being eaten. Mikasa stops him and says she won’t leave them behind. She grabs him by the wrist and they start to haul ass. Armin looks back to see the unique Titan still stomping its fellow monsters into the ground. He stops her and says he’s got an idea. That titan ignored them to attack the other titan. It’s a gamble, but if they can lure it to headquarters then they can use it to clear most of the titans out.
The plan is risky and it involves killing the titans around it so it’ll be drawn to the highest concentration of titans. It’s up to Mikasa and Connie, since they’re better at the maneuvers than he is. Connie has his doubts but Mikasa doesn’t. She’d rather put all her eggs in one basket on this one instead of waiting to die. This wins Connie over and he takes off with them.
Meanwhile, John has gotten through his self-doubt. Finally. Even though it’s mortifying, the titans are too busy eating the fallen soldiers. Now’s their chance to charge up to headquarters. The others follow in formation and Marco takes the time to tell John that thanks to him that because of his quick thinking, they won’t perish. That might have been speaking too soon as another soldier is snatched out of the air. Even though John sees this there’s no time to grieve. They’ve made it to Headquarters and crash through the windows. They brush the dust off their soldiers and John sinks into self-doubt again. He doesn’t do this for long when he notices the Quartermaster corps hiding in the shadows. Then John flips out and grabs one of them and starts to beat the shit out of him.
“Because of you, people died needlessly!” I like seeing John angry, probably because he’s not a wimp. When the response is that they couldn’t deal with the Titans that actually broke into the supply area, John doesn’t relent. They’re soldiers; it’s their job to deal with them. Because they’ve got so many people in one area, two titans breach the wall and scatter all the soldiers. As John stares those two behemoths, that unique Titan knocks them down. Mikasa, Connie, and Armin fly through the gap. They’ve made it and Connie takes a moment to mention that he was on fumes. What a rush! John’s surprised to see Mikasa alive and Connie praises Armin’s strategy with a few hard pats on the back. John can’t believe it but Mikasa tells him to face it; keeping that Titan alive is their best chance at survival.
Outside, we’ve got the titan battle royale as it punches, kicks, and throw the others around. Inside, the soldiers are trying to form a plan. Renier asks Connie if they know much about the Titan that saved them. He doesn’t know anything except that it attacked the other Titans. John shows up with a few cases of guns from the Military Police. They’re not sure if it’ll work against the Titans’ regenerative capabilities. Armin’s strength lies with his brain and he lays out a plan.
A group of people with the rifles will be lowered into the center of the room while the most skilled soldiers will wait in the rafters. They’ll wait till the very last moment to fire their guns, blinding them. At that moment, Mikasa and the others will take them down. They only have one shot at this. They descend in the lift and are in the center of the room. The tension is so thick, you could cut it with a knife. When one titan finally notices the bait, the tone goes from “Oh shit” to “OH SHIT.” Marco tells everyone to hold their fire, they need the titans to get in closer. The titans start to move in closer.
“FIRE!” The Titans are blinded and quickly dispatched. When Mikasa lands, she quickly checks on her comrades. Everyone performed beautifully. Except for Connie and Sasha. They missed their marks and now they’re the ones in trouble. Thankfully Mikasa and Annie move in and dispatch them like it’s no big thang. The celebrations can wait; they need to refill their tanks and retreat. As they refill their tanks, Sasha wonders how she’ll face everyone if she can’t face a titan. Connie tells her that they’ll give her shit later; for now just focus on packing up! Marco tells John that he’s not the strongest when he remarks that he’s unfit for leadership. His lack of strength however makes it easiest for him to understand the plight of the weaker soldiers. He’s also adept at properly addressing a situation. Marco is alive, thanks to John. With tanks full, the soldiers head to the wall to rejoin the main force.
Mikasa hasn’t left though. That Titan-Ass Kicker is being overwhelmed. Annie, Reiner, Berthold, and John appear. They decide that they could learn a lot from it if they can save it from being completely devoured.
Coming to the fray is that jumping Titan that consumed one of their friends earlier. The now armless titan sees it and in a final push runs over and clamps its jaws down on its neck and flails him around. Killing the one in its teeth and the one next to him. With a thunderous roar, it keels over. John says the show’s over, but like most of us, they stay for the credits. It’s then that they notice that in the weak spot of the titan, that nape, is Eren. Fully healed. Mikasa swings down and puts her head to his chest and hears his heartbeat. In a rare display of emotion, she cries. She has her family back and Armin, even as he’s overcome with emotion still wonders how he was able to get his arm and leg back. John looks back at the titan corpses. Eren did all of that, and how?
