Recap: Mikasa and Levi manage to rescue Eren from the Female Titan. However, now the Recon Corps must return return to the city, their mission a disastrous failure.

Gee’s Thoughts: With Levi and Mikasa on the case, there was no way our Female Titan was going to get away with Eren in tow. We are all reminded why Levi is the big (figuratively) man in the Recon Corps. Seriously, I can only describe what he does to the Female Titan as, “like a buzzsaw.” However, while they may have escaped with Eren, the operation to capture the Female Titan ends in resounding failure, no less the long term goal of reaching the basement of Eren’s childhood home. Instead, they return to the capital to lick their wounds.

I have to say, this episode was just heartbreaking all around. Sure, we only knew Levi’s squad for a few episodes, but the sheer brutality of their deaths combined with Levi’s reaction is all we need. Levi continues to do a great job of hiding it, but the look on his face says it all. This is a man who’s so embittered by the deaths of his comrades that if he didn’t adopt the sardonic persona he’s known for, the man would likely break in two. The scene where the Recon Corps is forced to dump the bodies of their fallen comrades, including Petra, was particularly hard to watch.

As if to make things worse, we’re forced to watch the rest of the squad’s various families and loved ones eagerly talk about their safe return. I can’t even tell if these people are deluding themselves as a coping mechanism or if they truly believe that their loved ones will return safe and sound, but either way it’s depressing. Then as if to rub salt in the wound, the townsfolk mutter about how much of a waste the expedition was, and we get to see that even behind Erwin’s cold facade, he too is on the verge of breaking under the pressure.

And despite the sad pretense of this episode that seems to only exist to kick us while we’re down, there’s an important theme here. The Titan universe is cruel place and everyone has their own way of coping. Some like Armin, just don’t think about it, because spending any time thinking about the inevitability of death is just too much to handle. Sasha lies to herself, telling herself that just being alive is a victory. And of course, Levi maintains his persona because the man cares so much for his comrades that he truly has no other choice but to continue pretending. Regardless of how you manage in the Titan universe, you need some kind of coping mechanism because the only alternative is succumbing to the sheer madness of it all.

With the operation a failure, Eren’s fate is once again thrown into flux. With Erwin and the Recon Corps unable to prove Eren’s worth as an asset to humanity, it’s likely he’ll be thrown to the Military Police, who are only concerned with turning Eren into a convenient science experiment. And not the non-fatal kooky kinds that Hanji likes to perform. We’ll have to wait and see how our heroes manage to survive this situation with everybody intact. Armin seems to be approaching Annie about something in the next episode preview so anything could happen.

Marlin’s Thoughts: Well, this episode started out with one of the most badass moments since the victory at Trost. It’s good to see this studio has enough budget to keep things looking good when they need to. Still, despite such dominance over the female titan, we’re forced to look back and remember that this was a resounding failure. Titan definitely knows how to kick you right where it hurts, and watching the body dropping sequence was downright painful. As we get closer and closer to the end, I have to wonder what note Titan will try to end on. If Eren is simply being given up to the Military Police, will the real finale be a fight against humans instead of Titans?