Attack On Titan Season 1 Episode 15 Recap – Special Operations Squad: Eve of the Counterattack, Part 2

Levi Squad

Levi’s special squad takes Eren to the old Scout Regiments headquarters, a castle in the middle of nowhere. It was constructed during times when optimism was high, but with a lack of access to a river or roads, it became useless for the scouts. The castle would serve as an excellent place to house Eren.

Eren finds himself in good company with the group known as “Levi Squad.” Petra Rall has 10 Titan kills and 48 assists, and Oruo Bozad has 39 and 9. Eld Gin has 14 kills and 32 assists, while Gunther Schults has 7 and 40. These are men personally handpicked by Captain Levi. Each one of them can kill him if he rages uncontrollably.

They find the whole castle overgrown with weeds and dust, so Levi tells everyone to start cleaning. Eren has to sleep in the basement rooms; that way, they can restrain him if he suddenly transforms.

Petra finds him sulking but assures him that Levi isn’t disappointed. He isn’t the heroic and charismatic type, and he’s temperamental, crude, and unsociable. Eren notes he’s serious and rebellious as well. Petra recounts that Levi was once a rogue in the underground until Erwin took him in.

That night, Levi tells his squad to prepare for the expedition that will be held 30 days from now with their new rookie cadets. The other thinks it’s too soon for them after the previous incident, and they may still be scared out of their wits. But Levi knows Erwin has a good reason.

Hange’s Passion

Eld asks Eren how his transformation works, and he’s surprised that he instinctively knows that biting himself will activate it. Hange barges in to check on Eren and tells him to attend her experiments with the captive titans the next day. Everyone leaves as she starts explaining their experimental procedures on the titans.

They first attempted to speak with a titan, which was a failure. She names their new subjects Sawny and Beane after well-known cannibals who existed in the past. Hange is the only one with such a fondness for titans, and she learns that they somehow gain energy from the sun and grow weaker during the night. They also don’t need food, water, and oxygen.

Hange laments having accidentally killed her first subjects, so the next experiments felt hard on her as she inflicted pain on Sawny and Beane using various means. Eren asks him how she can be so lighthearted in dealing with and talking about the titans. He argues that they are their natural enemies, who have now driven them to near extinction. Surely, she’s experienced the horrors the titans have brought to their comrades.

An Enemy within

Hange admits she felt the same way at first but soon realized after kicking a titan’s head that they’re lighter than how they appear. She suggests there is more to them than meets the eye, and they’ve used an offensive and hateful approach to combating them for decades. She wants to study the titans from a different angle than everyone else, even if it wastes time.

Eren notes how the Scouts are practically made up of oddballs, yet they are the ones who seek the most change. He asks her more about her other findings, which she happily obliges. Their discussion reaches until the following day when a scout arrives to report that their captives have been killed the night before.

Hange laments Sawney and Beane’s deaths, and they all suspect it was done with at least two people with ODM gear. Erwin whispers cryptically to Eren if he knows where the enemy is.

Our Thoughts

The show just doesn’t let up, and the plot continually thickens. Rating: 3.8/5