It’s the Multiversity Summer TV Binge! Although I’ve never been what you would call an anime person, I’m a huge fan of Attack on Titan. I first fell in love with the subtitled version of the show, so I thought it would be fun to revisit the dubbed version. What along with me, but be warned, here be spoilers!
1. A long ride through the woods
At first I was worried that this was going to be yet another filler episode. We’ve been sort of aimlessly making our way towards Eren’s old house and his dad’s creepy basement, but it’s been slow going and the obstacles don’t seem that connected to the goal. Indeed, the first full seven and a half minutes of the episode was just Eren and the scouts screaming on horseback, covering much of the same ground they did in the last episode. Levi reminds everyone that “this squad’s mission is to keep this brat alive- no matter the cost,” which we basically knew. Eren is not happy that people are dying for him. It seems like more of the same. But then an excellent flashback re-contextualizes everything.
2. The well
We go back to Eren’s training with the Scout squadron. Levi is discussing how to mutilate Eren without killing him, and the meaning of sacrifice. Cheery stuff. “Your arms and legs will probably grow back, lizard-style, creepy little bastard,” Levi says to Eren. The real creeper in the room though is Hange Zoe, who has creepy little eyes… and a plan. They’re going to throw Eren down a well and test out his titan transformation.
So Eren spends the day gnawing on his own hands at the bottom of a well, which is again, quite cheery. The thing is, he’s not transforming. The other thing is, he’s not healing. The plan is an utter failure, and Eren’s hands are freakishly gnawed down to the bone.
3. The secret of spoons
At lunch, Eren is in such pain, and his hands are so eviscerated that he can barely hold onto his cutlery and he drops a teaspoon on the ground, which is extremely frustrating. But when he leans over to pick it up, his arm turns into half a titan ribcage and arm. The Scouts leap into overdrive.
They hate him. They fear him! It’s actually really intense. The four of them come close to killing Eren on the spot; they are so determined that they defy Levi’s orders and almost kill him too. Then Hange Zoe leaps into action, desperately (and maybe a bit sexually?) wanting to touch the arm. Hange is too happy for intense fear and hatred, and fortunately spoils the murderous mood. They realize that “self harm isn’t the only catalyst of transformation.” To become a titan, Eren needs a goal. In this case, picking up a tiny spoon.
4. Chomp, munch, bite
Then we learn the real reason for the episode’s title. It’s not about titans biting humans. It’s not even about Eren munching on his own hands. Every member of the Scouts chomps down in solidarity. They don’t love Eren. Most of them don’t even like him much. But they trust him. It’s actually pretty powerful, and re-frames their mission to protect him as something that came at the end of a long process, instead of just soldiers following orders. Going back and re-watching the early scenes, you can see each soldier’s reaction as a conclusion of their feelings toward Eren, and the mission. Some are resentful, some grateful, some desperate to make the crazy plan work, but all of them took a journey to reach that trust.
5. I hope we all learned a lesson
Having completed a flashback, Eren remembers that he trusts the Scouts too, and leaves some of them to die, slowing down the Female Titan. He doesn’t understand that plan, but he trusts that there is one, and that everyone is serving the squad.
The plan, as it were, ends up being pretty effective. Levi was using Eren to bait the female titan, and some of his soldiers to slow her down, so that Erwin could spring a trap. They fire hundreds of spears through the Female Titan, pinning her down. Now they have her captive, and they can figure out who she really is. The Scouts know what’s up, and Eren is learning that he needs to trust them.
