Attack on Titan ep13: you’re moving up in the world

What an episode! I don’t even know what to do with myself now that all that tension has finally been released from the show!

The episode starts with Jean and his very personal problem of having to save his own ass by jacking the gear of a dead soldier, under the threat of a titan popping around any corner and snatching him up. And he really is almost snatched up. Those big headed short titans really seem to take a personal interest in a snack when they see one. They’re persistent as hell. It’s when one of his fellow soldiers and old fellow cadets, Marco swings in to distract a titan and save his life (of course he’s gonna pay for this later). And he manages to make it so safety without a lot of support from his comrades.

This is when we get the amazing view of a boulder slowing making its way towards the gate. It’s Eren! His fervor was enough to get him to regain control and lug the massive boulder to its destination. But now the really, really hard part begins, as now the soldiers have to actively start distracting and slaying titans as they get close to Eren. And there are still more titans streaming in from his destination.

The battle from then on becomes a desperate struggle for the soldiers to simultaneously act as shields and fodder, as they try everything they can to draw the titans towards them. This turns out to be the doom for a lot of elite soldiers, as humans are most disadvantaged on the ground, away from anything that can be used to repel themselves out of the way. Soldiers are chomped, stomped and gobbled all over. And even as they do this, Eren is barely holding together, as the weight of the boulder is literally crushing his body. You can tell the damage is occurring because steam never stops streaming out of him. It’s a sign that he’s being forced to regenerate constantly.

In the end, Eren is successful and has one hell of a moment as he plops that stupidly heavy boulder down in front of the gate. Good luck getting in now you titan a-holes! During the withdrawal, Eren is completely exhausted and he and Armin are saved by Levi of all people during the retrograde! The Recon Corps couldn’t have returned at a better time! A hell of a moment!

Things skip forward a couple of days as we see the humans were able to mop up the remaining titans in town and complete their victory. Though the victory was achieved with the penalty of massive casualties, M.I.A.s, and wounded. On top of that downer, we get to follow Jean as he helps survey and identify those casualties. Some really horrific stuff is seen here as we see Marco’s horribly mutilated corpse. And then we see a virtual giant f*cking hairball made of humans. It seems that since the titans have no digestive organs, they just vomit up the corpses and move on!

AAAAAHHHH! That’s nasty!

What the hell is the purpose of these things?! All they do is munch and vomit people! I always knew the titans were basically giant walking zombies, but they’re really a whole different level of ridiculous! Sheesh.

When then see Eren awaken from his little coma in a well guarded dungeon cell. Outside his cell his face with Erwin, the captain of the Recon Corps, and Levi the baddest ass in the whole show. And while it seems Erwin is level headed and willing to give Eren a fair shake, it also seems that Levi hates his guts. Regardless of personal feelings though, they have a mission. They know of and have the key to the basement of Eren’s home. And they tell Eren that they intend to get there, but to do it they must clear out the conquered territory around it. And through that, they’ll get the answers they need. But first, they need to know if Eren will be able to help him. Eren’s fevered hatred for the titans comes through again, and we see that that is enough to allow him to join the Recon Corps. Though it’s with the caveat that he’s basically Levi’s b*tch. Levi wants total responsibility of putting Eren down given the slightest provocation.

So there you go Eren. You’re hero hates you and wants to kill you.

End of episode.

Oh yeah! How satisfying for this arc which has been boiling for several weeks now to come to a conclusion! It felt so good to hear that soundtrack in all its glory during these pivotal moments! It’s all come together so nicely. I’m even starting to learn to like characters like Jean, Connie and Rico. It’s just a matter now of the next arc winding up.

The question brought up now is obviously where do Eren, Mikasa and Armin go from here? Technically they all have their own separate talents and assignments. Armin would surely love to learn more and do research outside the Wall Rose, but will the higher ups let such a prodigy mind leave? The same goes for Mikasa’s titan slaying talents and athleticism. The Recon Corps may already have enough elites. As for Eren, he’s gonna have a rough ride traveling with a bunch of humans that don’t know or trust him, especially since he’s a titan as well.

Despite the problems solved now, there’s so much more to iron out. The titans are a ridiculous mystery. And if there are other humans out there like Eren, as hinted at by Erwin, then sh*t is gonna get a hell of a lot uglier. Saving one tiny town won’t be as easy as saving Wall Maria, especially with the previously spoken threats and that giant ass hole made by the Armored Titan.

And with the next episode being a .5 recap, I’m gonna have to wait a little bit longer to see any of these thoughts and scenarios play out. But at least I’ll have time to calm down and gather my thoughts for another season.

So hyped!

Further Reading:

• Episode 12