“The enemy is now camouflaged as one of our men.”
What They Say:
Many years ago, the last remnants of humanity were forced to retreat behind the towering walls of a fortified city to escape the massive, man-eating Titans that roamed the land outside their fortress. Only the heroic members of the Scouting Legion dared to stray beyond the safety of the walls – but even those brave warriors seldom returned alive. Those within the city clung to the illusion of a peaceful existence until the day that dream was shattered, and their slim chance at survival was reduced to one horrifying choice: kill – or be devoured!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Honestly, I thought I had this episode pegged last week. It was going to be a straightforward reveal of the Female Titan’s identity followed by a contemplative ride home. Boy, was I wrong. Instead, episode 20 pretty much changed everything with a simple plot twist. Or maybe “twist” isn’t even the right word, since the important part is actually a logical extension of things we already know.
Everyone in the forest simultaneously comes to the same conclusion: there is a spy among them. Erwin had no reason to hide the true nature of his plan from his own troops, especially not those who had been around for years, unless he suspected espionage. This person is probably also responsible for killing Hanji’s pet Titans, Sonny and Bean. They reason that Erwin suspects the double agent to have joined their ranks five years ago, during the destruction of Wall Maria (which would at least absolve the Survey Corps.’ most senior members).
What this means is that there are people with the same power as Eren who are secretly allied with the Titans. Frankly, this is a brilliant narrative choice. It adds a whole new dimension to every character, even those we haven’t met yet. Anyone could be a spy, and everyone has the ability to spread false information, especially during missions. It also makes the Titans that much more frightening. Their only weakness before was their relative lack of intelligence; now you’re telling me that there’s a set of Survey Corps.-level generals leading the Titan army?
While all the separated groups are pondering this new insight, Erwin is deliberating over how to get the presumed human out of the Female Titan’s neck. She apparently has the ability to grow hardened scales over her hands at will, and their steel blades won’t even make a dent in the material. Erwin decides to blow off her wrists with explosives instead.
In the meantime, Levi decides to stand on the restrained Titan’s head and playfully taunt her: “Is it okay if we cut off your hands and legs?” Suddenly her eyes widen and she lets out a horrible howling noise that echoes throughout the forest. Sasha says she’s heard this sound before: “it’s the cry of a cornered animal that has nothing to lose.” Waves of Titans immediately charge toward her from all directions.
The Survey Corps. try to fight them on all sides, but the manic Titans ignore them and keep running toward their leader. Levi takes out three at once, like a badass, but in the end there are just too many of them. They swarm the Female Titan and devour her body as Erwin orders the soldiers to retreat. Any potential evidence of her identity has been lost.
As they all solemnly ride home from the failed mission, Hanji asks Erwin why he told Levi to split off and refuel his maneuver gear. Erwin responds, “The Female Titan was eaten. But did you see the person inside get eaten? I didn’t.” Elsewhere in the forest, Eren’s group runs into an unidentified person wearing a Survey Corps. uniform. The hooded figure pulls out a blade and flies directly toward them.
I really like the way this episode transitioned between different groups of people. You’d think separating all the important characters would hurt the show’s exposition, but the writers actually used it to their advantage. It reminds me of that one part in Final Fantasy VI where your party is broken into three groups and their individual missions all teach you more about them.
It was slightly cheesy how the split-up members of the Survey Corps. kept finishing each other’s sentences, but the effect was worth it. When the Female Titan howled, everyone heard it at the same time, and we saw the movement of Titans away from the sides of the forest toward the middle. It became clear in an instant that the Titans were the ones really in control all along. Eren’s group was isolated from all the action, so they were still joking around while the spy was heading toward them. The threat of the impostor was magnified by switching between scenes of their laughter and of Erwin explaining how much danger they were really in. Basically, these quick transitions used physical distance and the characters’ differing moods to expand on everything that was going on in this episode. Not that its great plot even needed it.
In Summary:
Everyone realizes that a spy has infiltrated the Survey Corps. Levi tells the captured Female Titan that they’re going to blow off her limbs, and she starts to make a horrible noise which calls all the other Titans toward her. The Survey Corps. are forced to retreat as the Titans eat their leader’s body, destroying all potential clues to her identity. Eren’s group is unaware of everything that has happened and is completely caught off guard when the spy attacks them. For me, the big deal with this episode was the new element of betrayal. From here on out, everyone is a suspect. And I have to wonder: why would a human choose to side with the Titans?
Grade: A-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Insignia 1080p TV, PS3 with Crunchyroll App; Occasionally 17” Toshiba Satellite Laptop, 2.13 GHz Core i3, 4GB RAM, Windows 7
