As pandemonium reigns around the battlefield Eren is confronted by his mother's killer. With history repeating itself once again and hope seemingly lost Mikasa reveals the feelings she's had for Eren all this time. Spurred on, Eren tries one final do-or-die tactic against the Smiling Titan only to reveal an ability that may turn the tide of battle.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Badass: The expanded focus on Hannes' death in the anime shows him holding his own against the Smiling Titan for a while, as opposed to his much faster death in the manga. He performs well for a self-professed coward and drunk, and for what was likely his first ever fight against a Titan.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: The Beast Titan's human host is revealed (albeit only in shadows) much earlier than he was in the manga.
- Adaptation Expansion: In the manga, Hannes' death was depicted in only a couple panels and it went almost straight to Mikasa's Dying Declaration of Love. In the anime, the scene receives a lot more of attention, and Eren's Heroic RRoD while trying to titanize and his Laughing Mad speech after watching Hannes being eaten by the Smiling Titan are completely new.
- Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Ymir lovingly strokes Historia's head with one of her Titan fingers right before she runs off to help Reiner and Bertolt escape.
- Almost Kiss: It certainly appears that way when Mikasa and Eren are so close together as the former gives the latter her Dying Declaration of Love. Eren himself ends up sidestepping it in order to protect them from the Smiling Titan.
- Anything but That!: Reiner is horrified that Eren possesses the Coordinate ability, lamenting that he is the worst person in the world who should wield such power.
- The Atoner: Eren expresses guilt over all the deaths that his capture indirectly caused, and vows to make up for it by retaking Wall Maria and wiping out the Titans once again.
- Book Ends: For Ymir's character arc until now. She started life as a false goddess and was sacrificed for the happiness of others. After regaining her humanity she vowed to life only for herself. However she then met Historia, fell in love, and dedicated her life to saving her. In the end, after realising that Historia now has a future inside the Walls, she decides to willingly sacrifice herself to Reiner and Bertolt as repayment for them indirectly returning her lost humanity. Her last words in the episode are very fitting:Ymir: It wasn’t so bad, you know, being a goddess for a while.
- Compressed Adaptation: While the first half of the episode is a pretty faithful adaptation of chapter 50 (with one exception being Ymir's conversation with Bertolt and Reiner on top of Shiganshina's wall which had some fat cut out of it) the second half, which covers chapter 51, is a bit different. Instead of the Survey Corps convening on top of the Wall it cuts to a week later and the conversation about Eren awakening the Coordinate was moved to taking place inside Trost. Another change was that Historia's reaction to Ymir leaving her was cut out. The explanation of how Titans and humans could be similar is trimmed down to reiterate the main point that they were all once human. Finally the scene where Erwin states that they will "kick down the wall of lies to find the truth" is original to the anime. It is likely that when season 3 premiers many of the scenes that were trimmed down will be expanded upon again.
- Declaration of Protection: After Mikasa's Dying Declaration of Love (seen below) Eren tells her that he'll "wrap that scarf around [her] as many times as you want" before punching the Smiling Titan's hand.
- Devoured by the Horde: The Smiling Titan, as Eren uses the Coordinate to send every titan in the vicinity to attack it. It shows no reaction or attempts at defending itself.
- Do Not Go Gentle: When it looks like Eren and Mikasa are going to be eaten by the Smiling Titan, Eren screams and punches its hand seemingly as one last middle finger to his enemy. This actually turns out to be more effective then initially presumed as it allows him to use the Coordinate and kill the Smiling Titan.
- Dying Declaration of Love: When it looks like she and Eren will be killed, Mikasa thanks Eren for giving her something to fight for and for wrapping her in her scarf when they were kids. Of course Mikasa and Eren end up surviving due to the Coordinate.
- 11th-Hour Superpower: Just when all hope seems lost and Eren and Mikasa are going to be killed Eren activates the mysterious "Coordinate" ability that Reiner and Bertolt have been looking for; the ability to control other Titans.
- Failed Attempt at Drama: Eren says that he'll settles the score with the Smiling Titan once and for all. He bites his hand and nothing happens.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: The moment Hannes is killed by the Smiling Titan, the exact same group of flowers
◊ being splashed with blood from Eren's cryptic dream in the very first episode briefly flashes on screen. - Half the Man He Used to Be: Hannes' fate when the Smiling Titan proves to be too quick for him. He lives just long enough to look at Eren and Mikasa.
- Heroic BSoD: After Eren fails to transform and save Hannes from the Smiling Titan he breaks down into screams and tears and quietly says to his mother that he can't do anything anymore.
- Heroic RRoD: Eren is still healing from the wounds he got from his fight with the Armoured Titan. Unfortunately this means that he can't transform and can't prevent Hannes from being eaten. Interestingly it's possible that the Coordinate may be affected by Eren's healing to as the camera places emphasis on Eren's healing hands before he punches the Smiling Titan.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Ymir going with Reiner and Bertolt back to their hometown is framed this way considering what little we've found out about it from her flashbacks (as well as Ymir's assertion that their superiors won't allow them to return empty-handed).
- History Repeats: Once again Eren and Mikasa are Forced to Watch someone they care about being eaten by the very same Titan. Eren can only laugh at the cruel irony of the situation.
- Hope Spot: The Survey Corps is trapped and nearly all of its strong fighters are wounded or maimed when Eren and Mikasa are confronted by the Smiling Titan... but Hannes shows up to bravely give it the fight that he promised so many years ago and save them both. Alas, he was a little too slow...
- Internal Reveal:
- Connie finds out, off-screen, that his parents, family, and everyone else living in his village were turned into Titans.
- Hange explains to Erwin, Levi, and Pixus, that all Titans were once humans.
- I Owe You My Life: Ymir explains to Bertolt and Reiner that the reason she chose to help them is because, if they hadn't come to tear down the Walls, she would never have regained her humanity again. Therefore she feels she owes them and is willing to hand herself over to them as a sacrifice.
- Laughing Mad: After Eren is Forced to Watch Hannes being eaten by the Smiling Titan all he can do is laugh and cry over how useless he feels. Yuki Kaji AND English voice actor Bryce Papenbrook both deliver an amazing performance in this scene.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Levi is dismayed to realise that the Titans he has spend the better part of his life killing were originally human at one point.
- Oh, Crap!: Reiner is absolutely horrified to realise that the Coordinate that he has been searching for all this time and Eren are one and the same. As he notes Eren is the absolute last person on Earth he'd want to have said power.
- The Reveal: Not only is it revealed that Eren is the "Coordinate" that Reiner has been talking about, the Coordinate's ability allows it to control other Titans.
- Scary Shiny Glasses: The Beast Titan's human host is a bespectacled man whose glasses reflect the light of the sun ominously to the audience to close out the season.
- The Scream: Much like the title says there is a scream this episode, specifically one from Eren after when he punches the Smiling Titans hand and activates the Coordinate for the first time.
- Stunned Silence: The rest of the Survey Corps can only look on in bafflement once Eren activate the Coordinate and the Titans begin swarming the Smiling Titan. Even Erwin, who last episode was nonplussed about losing his arm, is clearly shocked.
- That Man Is Dead: When Connie refers to her as Krista she denies it and tells her that her real name is Historia firmly cementing her conviction to live her life honestly as Ymir always wanted her to.
- Was Once a Man: Erwin summarises Hange's findings by concluding that all Titans originated from humans in one form or another. Levi is left disturbed as he realises that he has spent so long killing other humans as oppose to mindless monsters.
- Wham Shot: Eren seemingly tries in vain to fight the same Smiling Titan that took his mother, only to unleash some mysterious power that commands the other titans to devour it. It turns out he is a "Coordinate" that Reiner and Bertolt were looking for... and it terrifies them.
- Wild Card: Ymir, once again, is focused entirely on how best to keep Historia safe. That means she is in turmoil as she isn't sure which side can best protect Historia from the coming war and therefore who she should back. Ultimately, once she realises that with the Coordinate humanity now has a chance, she leaves Historia in the hands of the Survey Corps while she goes to help Reiner and Bertolt at the last second.
- Worf Had the Flu: Mikasa's injuries that she occurred in the previous episode means that she is too weak to protect Eren from the Smiling Titan.
