Attack on Titan

[Lyinginbedmon]

It certainly doesn't bode well for the mission, or Mikasa in particular.

That aside however, awesome entry for Eren.

[ElFuzzy]

From what we've seen from Mikasa she should be fine, it's the reactions of the other elites im worried about

[ElFuzzy]

New episode!
So I feel like this is starting to be drug out but it can't be helped. Mostly this raises the question of how ANYONE who can turn titan controls the dam thing. It was kinda creepy the way Eren was in his house imo, and I wonder if all of em have some sort of mental cage. I don't know if it's just the sound design of on purpose, but when Arimin hit the titan it sounded metal, just something I noticed that I'm not sure matters. Finally, I'm glad the elites managed to hold it together as that could of gone horribly, but they kept mentioning their squads... they didn't have anyone else did they? Either way; FFS get your shit together Eren you have bitches to crush.

[Lyinginbedmon]

I'm definitely enjoying every moment Pixis gets on screen, he's a pretty interesting character with seemingly a very appealing nature.

As to Eren:
Putting aside all the mental fatigue he's under from everything else that's happened today, I think if my brain was suddenly connected to a colossal creature of immense strength I'd be a bit woozy too. His brain is likely having to run a few times faster than normal to serve as the titan's main nerve cluster, and he's already done so to exhaustion once today.

Quite probably his fatigue from the first transformation, coupled with the fatigue from his partial transformation, has left him very groggy and weak, causing his brain to take a momentary back-seat to bypassing the Titan's brain (resulting in the Titan going haywire at Mikasa) before fainting entirely as we see now with Armin. Combining his exhaustion with acting simultaneously as the primary and presently sole-remaining nerve center of the Titan body, I can understand why he's having trouble understanding Armin and reality in general right now.

[ElFuzzy]

new episode!!!

I'm glad they finally closed the gap, although it occurs to me that if they really wanted it back they could of used the artillery to level the town. Then just use a giant steel gate or something to close the hole.

With the return of the recon corp, and an amazing entrance i might add, Eren finally got his wish. Although I'm curious as to how long he lasts if every time he goes Titan he doesn't have control to start. Also, I wonder if everyone else will get in too. I was hoping Sasha would bounce back but it seems more and more unlikely, also the death of Marco was a surprise only in that I thought he'd die sooner.

I do like the touch about how shell shocked everyone is, the coroner was doing her job, but she had the same look Jean did.

What concerns me about their next plan is that they have SOOO much to retake. I think that is the only hole in the wall but will they let Eren get to the basement before the land is purged?

Also, this is the first time I've actually noticed the score, it was rather good.

[Lyinginbedmon]

I'm sticking with my exhaustion theory as far as Eren's control goes. And with the end of the Battle of Trost, my knowledge from reading ahead via the manga ends. What comes next is a few dozen chapters of which I know little if anything about.

However, something is bugging me about Annie. When she's helping Marco et al to rescue Jean from his faulty equipment, there's that quick flash to her face and then a couple big booms like when Eren usually transforms or cannons land hits on something. Whilst it seems pretty unlikely she also transformed then, since she landed back on the wall, the framing of the scene was odd and seemingly accusatory.

If the Titans lack digestive organs, I wonder if a defense is possible to protect people after being devoured? Just sit tight in their stomachs and wait to be vomited.

[ElFuzzy]

I also noticed she wasn't wearing her mask/handkerchief whilst i-d'ing boddies

[ElFuzzy]

Yay non recap episode!
Man Levi beat the fuck outta Eren, and I'm not surprised by the healing factor. Seems apt. So I assume that the mission they proposed is to get to the basement. I wonder who they will take along.

[ElFuzzy]

This was a much better episode.

I like all the experiments they did on the Titans. The sunlight thing is weird as they don't seem to use chlorophyll for energy. Also wasn't the first titan they showed in the forest fought at night or at the very least in heavy shade? Also the weight is an interesting development that might partially explain why they never crush people. The only explanation that comes to mind is they retain the same weight as the human they're based off of but idk how that could work out. Also I love the train of thought they leave Eren and the viewer with at the end. My first thought was that the assassin is the enemy, but is that sympathizing with the titans? I decided no as they were valuable research tools. They weren't titans, they were property and destruction of said property must be dealt with accordingly.

[Lyinginbedmon]

I think the implications of Sawney & Bean's deaths is a lot more straight-forward. They were Titans who were entirely incapacitated and unable to harm anyone, even at their best effort, and someone went and murdered them in cold blood. Considering this exact same location is where Eren is being temporarily retained, and many consider him identically to the Titans in general, this is a huge safety risk for what is arguably a much more valuable resource than Sawney & Bean.

Their weight and sunlight affinity might actually be linked. Recall the steam? How it rises whenever a Titan is injured or exerting itself? Maybe it's not quite the light that they fuel from, but the aggregate heat, in order to produce steam. Now, granted, they produce a heck of a lot more steam than just sunlight usually allows for, but as variables go these seem pretty connected. I think the steam is a definite part of their function, allowing them to retain a light weight at a large scale and have sufficient strength to cause structural damage and capture humans. We've seen how fast these things can run too, maybe they're not too dissimilar from steam engines in that regard.

Honestly I could probably have happily listened to Zoe yap on for hours.

[ElFuzzy]

But could you listen to it again this time with a commentary track laid over it? Because that's what she was proposing I think

[Lyinginbedmon]

I think at that point I probably would have gone to talk to Sawney and Bean.

Fun fact: That legend is real, a Scottish myth about "Sawney Bean" and his clan of incestuous traveler-ambushing cannibals.

[ElFuzzy]

I figured as much, my mind pictured the Donner party goin freelance

[Phailhammer]

What I want to know, is what Erwin knows that he's not letting on; I think it's something to do with the central government, and the fact that the best recruits are the ones given the chance to avoid the titans entirely. I don't think he knows the identities of the Colossal or Armoured Titans, unless he is one of them or another abnormal himself, though I think he has his suspicions. I get the feeling he's going to be the Hughes of SnK, in the sense that he uncovers something big that gets him killed.

I was discussing titan identities with one of my friends over the past couple of days. I may have spoiled the identity of the Armoured Titan for myself; I saw a few posts claiming it was Reiner, but I didn't click the wiki links they posted, so I'm not 100% sure on that. My friend also thinks the Armoured Titan is Reiner, and is almost certain that Marco is the Colossal Titan. I'm a little less sure of the latter, due to the state his body was in when he was found. It could be that he possesses the same healing Eren does, but it's just acting slowly due to the colossal (hehe) damage to his body. If he was the Colossal Titan, I don't think we'll be seeing it again, since it seems to me that they burned Marco's body with the rest of them.

I'm now a little more suspicious of Annie, and after watching ep16, including the ep17 preview, I'm a almost sure that she is a titan of some sort.

[ElFuzzy]

I have to agree, I've had my suspicions of Annie ever since Marco's death. Although, at the end of this episode I was fully prepared and hoping that the colossal would be right there. It'd be interesting if Reiner is the Armored as I want to see how that plays out if/when they get to the basement. I'm curious as to who murdered the titans and I wouldn't be surprised if Erwin did it.

[Phailhammer]

I doubt Erwin murdered Sonny and Bean; it just doesn't sit right with me. For a moment, I thought Armin was going to be accused of doing it, possibly because one of the real culprits had switched their manoeuvre gear.

Edit: My curiosity got the better of me; I finally gave in and decided to start reading ahead. All I'll say is that I'm really looking forward to seeing certain bits animated, and that the manga ordering of events is a little different. The latter doesn't really come as a surprise.

[ElFuzzy]

I've yet to read the manga so I'm freaking out after that last episode.

So that's Annie right? It has to be, she's blonde and couldn't kill anyone from training. If it is her, I am assuming that she has yet to go to the inner walls for the police thing. I suspected she would use that position to get there and strike some major target. Also, how will they classify her? She doesn't seem to have any major features beyond being female. If that's how they do it, fine, but she seemed fast. Although that didn't really hold up.

The next part deals with speculation involving the spoiled identity of the armored titan and this episode.

Click to Expand

So, they kinda spoiled Reiner being A titan this episode. Or at the very least gave a massive hint. After being CRUSHED he manages to, "I'M A MAN!!!" his way free. While in the hand it shows blood on his face but when he grabs Aramin it was gone. I can understand animator error BUT in the next shot the wounded part of his face was steaming. Also they showed partial conspiracy, so to speak. Annie look Reiner right in the eye and smiled, then crushed him. She obv knows he's a titan and can heal. How much she actually crushed him is what I'm curious about. I couldn't tell if she was actually surprised he got out or if she was looking at some message he left. It seemed like Aramin was surprised when she turned towards Eren at the end. Was she not always going there, and if not how'd she find out/how'd Reiner tell her. Finally, just as Reiner was crushed I had the thought that they can heal outta some crazy wounds. Thus making me think that previous speculation about the identity of the Colossal titan could work.

[Phailhammer]

I know the answers to the stuff in the spoiler tags, but I obviously won't say what those answers are. I admit it is tempting to.

Just out of curiosity, who do you think the Colossal Titan is?

[Ptangmatik]

ok, yeah, the female titan looks remarkably like Annie and the armoured is probably Reiner. He was clearly communicating with her when the female titan grabbed him and iirc he looks a fair bit like it

that just leaves the colossal. Did those two hang out in a group of 3 in training with another guy? I can't remember. Screw it, I'm gonna look it up.

[ElFuzzy]

Someone earlier in the thread through out Marco as possible Colossal

[Lyinginbedmon]

I don't think we've seen anyone resurrect or heal from all-out death though, so if he is that puts Mr Big Bones out of commission.

[Phailhammer]

I think I was the one who suggested him as the Colossal, and made the same guess Lying did.

[Lyinginbedmon]

I'm not convinced there was any Titan action on Reiner's part here, between the lack of damage to his clothes and the series' penchant for dramatic events it's probably nothing.

And as to the identity of the Titaness, Annie seems like a safe bet but only by hair colour. If we're assuming normal physical features are carried over to Titan form at all, who's the tallest character we know? They'd be a good candidate for the Colossal.

[Lorithad]

I like this series. It really satisfies my desire to consume those whom I dislike.

[ElFuzzy]

WTF IS GOING ON!?!?!?!?