With the Female Titan restrained, Erwin and Levi try to ascertain her identity with no success as she is able to crystallize her skin to prevent them from cutting out the human inside. Armin, Jean and the rest of Levi's squad realize it was Erwin's plan to use Eren as bait to draw out the mole within the army who joined them after the Walls fell and only revealed his plan to those who were part of the Scout Regiment before the fall. Meanwhile, the others wonder what is happening inside the forest. Levi taunts the Female Titan, prompting her to give a loud scream that draws all Titans in the vicinity towards her. Despite the Scout Regiment's attempt to stop them, the Titans ignore the humans and eat the Female Titan's body in a frenzy which makes Erwin call off the expedition. However, with no confirmation that the mole has also been eaten by the Titans, Erwin orders Levi to regroup with his squad. Meanwhile, the mole, disguised as a cloaked Scout Regiment member, attacks Levi's squad and kills a member.
Tropes:
- Better to Die than Be Killed: Upon realizing that she can't escape by herself, the female titan unleashes a scream that summons the other titans nearby to eat her, which allows the titan shifter concealed inside the female titan to escape.
- Combat Pragmatist: Erwin is determined to force the spy inside the female titan out into the open. When swords fail to cut through her hands because she can crystallize her skin, he simply orders her hands to be blown off with cannon fire instead.
- Cornered Rattlesnake: With no way out, the Female Titan resorts to summoning her cohort Titans to cannibalize her titan form so she can escape the Scout's trap, even though she risks getting eaten herself in the process.
- Evil Gloating: A rare heroic example, but Hange and Levi both engage in it this episode. Hange mockingly notes the female titans' inability to move and how her healing factor will actually make her even less likely to escape with the spikes in her and notes how much she's looking forward to meeting their "esteemed guest". Levi hops up on top of the Female Titan's head and goes into detail about how she's trapped, and they won't let her escape and what he's going to do to her once they do manage to force her out.
- Funny Background Event: After the female titan unleashes her scream that calls the other titans to the forest, you can see Levi angrily stomping on top of her head and chastising her for calling in the assistance, in a tone reminiscent of a gamer whining about another player cheating.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Erwin initially tries to fight the spy's plan to get her titan cannibalized and then escape through the confusion by having his scouts kill the other titans before they can consume her. But upon realizing that there are too many titans to kill and that the female titan is still being eaten, Erwin concedes defeat and orders the scouts to abandon the mission and return to the safety of the district.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: They're not actually killing her, but Erwin aggressively continues to order even more hooks and spikes shot into the female titan as this episode begins, unwilling to risk any potential chance of her escaping.
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Almost no one knew about the plan to capture the female titan or that the purpose of the mission was to lure the suspected spy out into the open, and those who did know kept everyone else in the dark. It's a justified trope since they're trying to catch a spy they think is hidden within their ranks, so the secrecy would be expected since they couldn't afford to have word of what they were doing leak to the spy they're trying to catch.
