Attack On Titan Season 1 Episode 9 Recap – Whereabouts of His Left Arm: The Struggle for Trost, Part 5

Outside

The Trost district suffered many casualties from the Titan attack because the elite Scout Regiment wasn’t there then. They had just left on a scouting mission that morning.

The people cheer on Commander Erwin and Captain Levi as they go beyond the gates. The scouts are entrusted with exploring the outside world for expansion and knowledge. After gaining a few resources, they have been more successful recently, but casualties still amount to 30 percent during missions. This shows the gap between titans and humans.

Captain Levi takes out several titans singlehandedly in one of the fallen towns. He saves one of the scouts, but the victim’s wounds prove fatal. Levi tells him he’s done his part and promises that he’ll put an end to the titans. The man dies with relief on his face.

Commander Erwin tells them to retreat as there’s been an attack from where they came, and the wall may have been breached.

Eren curses as he’s ingested inside the bearded titan and finds several other victims. One of them asks for help, looking for her mother, which reminds Eren of his longing. Eren starts squirming inside the titan’s stomach. Swearing in anger that he’ll end all of them.

An arm punches out of the bearded titan’s mouth as Eren transforms into the Abnormal Titan. His anger continues as he roars to the sky and rushes toward a nearby titan, killing it.

Transformed

Eren wakes up in Armin’s hands but finds a slew of soldiers surrounding them. Mikasa stands in front, defending them. Armin tells Eren to explain to them what he knows, but even he doesn’t understand what happened. Everyone is looking at him like he’s a monster.

Inside Wall Rose, Connie explains how they escaped Trost after resupplying on HQ. Christa apologizes as they tried to volunteer but failed. They asked Jean and his group what happened, but they all kept a vow of confidentiality. What happened to Eren must remain a secret for now.

Mr. Hannes now looks over the wall as part of the garrison troops. His colleagues asked him if he’s worried about the three kids he saved, now cadets in the vanguard. He trusts that they will survive due to their strengths.

Captain Kitz now threatens Armin, Mikasa, and Eren with cannon fire for their apparent treason. They ask him if he’s human or titan. Eren tells them he doesn’t know, which Kitz suspects as them playing innocent. There had been other witnesses who saw Eren emerge out of a titan’s body. They think he’s an unknown being who slipped into Wall Rose.

Secrets

Kitz has to rush into a decision since manpower is needed in anticipation of the Armor Titan’s next attack. His adviser tells them that it’s unlikely to find a resolution with these three.

Mikasa steps forth and threatens them back if they move forward. One of the lieutenants confirms her skill and capability. Armin tells her to stop as they’d be better off negotiating. Eren, for his part, can’t remember the Titan form or why everyone is threatening to kill him. Wasn’t that all a dream? He asks, also wondering how he got his limbs back.

Kitz asks them once again, and Eren replies that he’s human. Kitz raises the order to strike, so Mikasa returns and tries to save them. This reminds Eren of the key in his necklace and his father’s secrets in the basement. He remembers his father’s tears and the mission he entrusted him to take back Wall Maria.

Right then, Eren hugs Armin and Mikasa and turns into a titan to defend them, but the body is half-formed and terrifies everyone.

Our Thoughts

So much tension in one episode, with a cliffhanger ending that ramps it all up. Rating: 4.2/5