Armin finally wakes up and is told about everything that transpired after his seemingly Heroic Sacrifice. He is distressed about his new Titan status and that his life was chosen over Erwin's, but has to face this reality. Hange, now commander of the Survey Corps, will punish Eren and Mikasa for their insubordination later but Levi notes that the choice to save Armin was ultimately his. The Survey Corps, victorious, only has 9 remaining survivors. Hange, Levi, Mikasa, and Eren break into Grisha's basement office, which initially seems like a regular physician's office, but ultimately the basement key opens a drawer containing 3 notebooks. Grisha reveals the truth along with a photograph of himself and another family: human civilization has survived outside of the walls with roughly World War I levels of technology. The Survey Corps heads home solemnly, where the jubilant military and population celebrate the recapture of Shiganshina, with the truth weighing heavily on them.
In a flashback, we see young Grisha and his sister living in a city elsewhere along with their parents. When they go out, warned sternly to not leave the city limits, they are excited by the sight of a massive zeppelin. Grisha decides to pass through the guarded city checkpoint to see where it lands along with his sister...
Tropes:
- Apocalypse Not: Humanity is not extinct beyond the walls after all, and human civilization seems to be thriving.
- Bait-and-Switch: Twice regarding the basement. The basement key ends up not working on the basement door, but Levi forces his way in anyways. Then, when the basement key ends up working on a locked desk drawer, it seems to be empty, but it turns out there's a false bottom concealing three notebooks.
- Brutal Honesty: Levi bluntly tells Armin that he could never replace Erwin, but adds that Armin's gifts could still benefit humanity in a different way.
- Call-Back: As the scouts walk to Eren and Mikasa's house, they come across a lost doll, just like the a girl dropped during the evacuation of Trost.
- Cutting the Knot: When Eren's key doesn't work on the basement lock, Levi simply kicks the door down and forces his way in.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: It's not elaborated on, but the mandatory armbands (red with a golden star-like symbol) and the guarded checkpoint gate evoke the systematic persecution of Jews in 20th century Europe that lead up to The Holocaust.
- Due to the Dead: Erwin is laid to rest in a bed in Shiganshina.
- Everybody's Dead, Dave: The Survey Corps confirms that everyone else besides those present for the serum debacle are in fact dead.
- I Ate WHAT?!: Armin is horrified to find out that he ate Bertolt in mindless Titan form.
- Internal Reveal: Armin is brought up to speed about the events of the last episode, including confirmation that only 9 Scouts total survived.
- The Reveal: We finally find out what's so important about Grisha's basement: it contained proof that humanity was not driven to extinction outside of the walls, along with the revelation that human society has more advanced technology elsewhere and that Grisha himself had another family at one point.
- Survivor Guilt: Armin is devastated that his comrades decided to let Erwin die to save him. Further adding to this, Hange and Levi now have even higher expectations for Armin so they don't regret their decision.
- Wham Episode: Easily one of the biggest in the series yet with the confirmation that humanity is not extinct beyond the walls and that there is an entire race of people far more technologically advanced then those inside the walls. This completely turns the series on its head as the fundamental assumption that the Walls contain the last of humanity is wrong.
- Wham Shot: Two major ones. The first is the photograph of Grisha's first family which is huge since the technology to create photos hasn't even been invented yet inside the walls. The second is during Grisha's flashback to his youth when the camera pulls up and shows a zeppelin flying through the air, thus confirming that the people outside the walls are far more technologically advanced then initially assumed.
- Wham Line: Courtesy of the note written on the back of the photograph:Grisha: I come from a place outside the walls where humanity lives in elegance. Humanity has not perished.
- What the Hell, Hero?: When Eren says he and Mikasa will surrender themselves to whatever punishment the Scouts deem necessary for attacking Levi, Hange asks them if that makes it okay to constantly go against orders and be insubordinate. The ashamed look on Eren and Mikasa's face makes it clear that the words hit home.
