Attack On Titan Season 1 Episode 1 Recap – To You, in 2000 Years: The Fall of Shiganshina, Part 1

Outside the Walls

A boy named Eren wakes up from what feels like a long and elaborate dream. His adopted sister, Mikasa, tells him it’s time to go home. She asks him why he’s crying, but Eren can’t remember.

The year is 845 in the Shiganshina District. A priest preaches on the sanctity of their walls as Eren and Mikasa make their way inside, carrying firewood. Mr. Hannes, one of the guards, overhears their conversation and asks why Eren is crying. He reeks of alcohol.

Eren yells at him for having drinks while at work. He wouldn’t be fit to fight in that state if something happened. Hannes’ colleague assures him that they can defend the walls just fine, but no such incident has occurred in a hundred years.

They’ve seen the monsters roaming outside during scouting patrols, but these walls are too high for those creatures to breach. All they have to do is close them. Eren isn’t satisfied and says that this kind of life makes them feel like cattle. The other guards laugh at the plucky kid as they storm off.

Mikasa whispers to Eren that she might not be joining the Scout Regiment with him, which sets off an argument between them. Suddenly the bell rings, signaling the return of the scouts, so Eren rushes back to greet his heroes.

The men who return are bloodied, broken, and distressed. A mother wails for her fallen son. She asks if he at least achieved something out there, but the scout weeps as he admits they’ve made no progress.

The Scouts

Eren clobbers a man in the crowd for insulting the scouts, but Mikasa pulls him back and throws him to a wall. She asks him if that display changed his mind about joining the scouts, but Eren merely picked up his dropped firewood.

Back home, Mikasa tells Eren’s parents about his plan to join the scouts. They feel shocked and remind him how many have died outside the walls. Dr. Jaeger asks him why Eren responds that he wants to see the outside world.

Dr. Jaeger leaves for work and tells Eren he’ll speak with him when he gets home to discuss the secrets in his basement. He knows mere words can’t stop his son’s curiosity. As he leaves, Eren’s mom tells him to forget about the scouts, so he runs away in rebellion. Carla Jaeger tells Mikasa to look after his son, who’s a magnet for trouble.

Further down the streets, three bullies beat their friend Armin for wanting to venture outside too–considered heresy. They are stopped when the bullies find Mikasa running behind Eren.

The Attack

Armin thinks that the relative safety they enjoy won’t last forever, so humanity has to expand. As he says this, a lightning strike hits the wall and shakes the ground. Rattled, everyone goes to investigate. There they see a titan’s head emerge over the 50m wall, and it kicks the entrance open, blasting away debris and nearby people alike. Other titans start swarming inside.

Eren and Mikasa run for their home as Armin realizes that the city is about to be overrun. Eren returns to find his mother crushed under rubble. They try to get her out, but she tells them to make a run for it. Eren cries as he could never do such a thing. The two of them refuse, but Mr. Hannes arrives and swears to slay the nearby titans.

Hannes gets stopped in his tracks as a massive titan looms over him. He sheathes his sword and carries the two kids to safety. Carla tells her children to be safe and weeps. The titan picks her up from the rubble and eats Carla, right within Eren’s view.

Our Thoughts

This is a masterclass in how to create an opening hook. 4/5