Using Commander Erwin's long range scouting procedure the 57th Scouting Mission is officially underway. All seems to be going well for the Survey Corps when suddenly Armin runs into a mysterious Female Titan. One that shows far more intelligence then even an Abnormal should be capable of...
Tropes:
- Eye Scream: One member of the spotting squad lost his eyes during the Female Titans attack judging by his blacked out eyes. Poor guy desperately tries to tell someone to warn them about the Female Titans presence not knowing that everyone else in his squad are dead.
- Foreshadowing: There is a ton of it in this episode for both Reiner and Annie's future reveals as the Titan Shifter Spies.
- For Annie, the Female Titan noticeably reacts to Armin using Eren's "suicidal maniac" nickname, which means that 1. She's looking for him, and 2. She was in their class since she knows who the nickname explicitly refers to. Jean also refers to her impressive combat skills and extreme athleticism.
- For Reiner, when he meets with Armin and Jean, each of them reveals that they were given differing information regarding Eren's position within the formation, but Reiner mentions that his map said Eren is in the rear of the right wing. The Female Titan first attacked at the rear of the right wing, hinting that Reiner gave her the intel. Also, despite Armin advising him and Jean to keep their cloaks up, since the Female Titan won't kill you unless she can see whether you're Eren or not, Reiner deliberately lowers his before he attacks her (since he obviously needs her to recognize him.) She also gives the subtlest grin when she does recognize him and he winks at her before she appears to "crush" him with her hand. Reiner can also be seen steaming when he escapes after which the Female Titan runs off in the direction of where Eren really is
- It Can Think: Armin quickly realises that the Female Titan must be a Shifter like Eren due to its humanoid intelligence and the fact that it kills its victims rather then simply eats them.
- Outside-Context Problem: It quickly becomes apparent that the Survey Corps were not ready to face a Titan that can think as the Female Titan very easily kills the right spotting flank in the formation as well as two Corpsmen that try standard Titan killing tactics against it.
- Underestimating Badassery: Jean lampshades the fact that, due to Mikasa hogging all the spotlight, he forget that Reiner is still the second most skilled member of their class when he manages to slice his way out of the Female Titans grasp.
