After an intense chase scene, the remaining Scouts escape from Kenny's men but Eren and Historia are captured for real. Armin is forced to kill for the first time when Jean hesitates to attack a MP, changing both of them. With Dimo Reeves' cooperation they capture the 1st Central Brigade that tortured Nick. Sannes breaks and confesses: Reiss is the true royal family, making Historia a royal bastard.
- All for Nothing:
- Sannes finally breaks when he's deceived into thinking that his comrades sold him out easily, after he endured torture and stayed silent.
- The operation to move Eren and Historia fails and the Scouts fail to rescue them.
- Benevolent Boss: It's revealed that the Reeves company has been the only thing keeping Trost District alive, and it appears that he treats his employees and community well.
- Bleed 'Em and Weep: Armin’s first response after killing for the first time (and a human no less) is to vomit and refuse to eat.
- Break Them by Talking: Sannes doesn't break when physically tortured, he breaks when he thinks his comrades hated him enough to betray him (actually a coerced fake confession right outside his cell).
- Bulletproof Human Shield: Levi uses the body of an MP to soak up several bullets as he closes in on the men shooting at him.
- Combat Pragmatist: Levi makes full use of his ODMG hooks to shoot them into his opponents, pulling them in so he can slay them with his blades.
- Didn't See That Coming: Levi invokes this when he thinks to himself that his evil former guardian Kenny, serial murderer of MP's, showing up with the Military Police was one of the last things he expected.
- Evil Is Hammy: Kenny puts on a corny show of an overdramatic lawman coming to hunt down the bad guy when he confronts Levi at the bar.
- Heel Realization: While Sannes doesn't apologize for his atrocities, he realizes that he wasted his life committing cruelty and that he deserves what's happening to him.
- Instant Sedation: Eren and Historia are tranquilized and fall within seconds, taking them out of the fight.
- Living MacGuffin: We get the first hints of Eren and Historia's significance: Eren will probably be eaten by some Titan or another for an important purpose, and Historia is connected to the real royal family within the Walls.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Armin when he realizes that he killed someone who was probably a kinder person than he was.
- Never Bring a Gun to a Knife Fight: The gun-armed assassins are no match for Levi's swords, who admittedly is a One-Man Army. They come closer to killing the other Scouts, however.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Kenny accuses Levi of being the same as him, an exceptional killer that just found a "hobby" to occupy his time. Levi doesn't deny it.
- Say My Name: EREN!!!
- Super-Reflexes: Levi and Kenny both display some superhuman reflexes during their fight scene.
- These Hands Have Killed: Armin vomits and cries in horror after his first human kill.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: Jean initially hesitates at the idea of killing other people. He nearly dies because of it and declares that he won't make that mistake again.
- Vagueness Is Coming: Erwin insinuates that the current government may not be capable of saving humanity and intends to "gamble" on something.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Sannes claims that humanity has lived in peace within the walls due to the 1st Central Brigade "erasing" people who would disrupt the status quo.
- We Used to Be Friends: Erwin mentions that he and the commander of the MP's used to be friends that aspired to join the Survey Corps once.
- Wham Line:
- "Reiss is the true royal family."
- "It is Levi Ackermann after all.''
- You Have Failed Me: Dimo alludes to this when he mentions that he's failed the MP's orders. Sure enough, they show up to kill him at the end of the episode.
