Three years have passed and the 104th are getting ready to graduate. With the skills and techniques picked up during his long training Eren is now more confident than ever in mankind's ability to stand against their foes. However suddenly a face from the past returns and Eren will have to put his training into motion sooner then he thought.
Tropes:
- Brick Joke: In the previous episode Mikasa shoved a piece of bread into her mouth in order to troll Sasha. In this episode, after throwing her under the bus, Mikasa shoves a piece of bread into Sasha's mouth to keep her from complaining.
- Compressed Adaptation: Quite a few of Eren's interactions with Annie in this episode are trimmed down compared to the manga. In the manga, after complimenting her technique, Annie offers to teach Eren more of her moves. In this episode, these elements were removed. This unfortunately lead to an Adaptation Induced Plothole later on in the season.
- First Day from Hell: After graduation, Eren and his friends are given their very first assignment to guard the Wall. Unfortunately for them, the Colossal Titan chose that day to make his return.
- Instant Expert: After getting his ass handed to him earlier in the episode Eren is able to replicate Annie's kick technique to an extent and use it against Jean. The look of surprise that flashes across her face shows that Annie is subtly impressed by how quickly Eren was able to replicate one of her moves.
- Mood Whiplash: The majority of this episode is a continuation of the tone of the previous episode with Eren even commenting that they are now better prepared than ever to kill the Titans. Then the Colossal Titan suddenly appears, kicks down the gate of Trost District, and suddenly the battle for humanity's survival begins anew.
- The Scapegoat: Played for Laughs when Shadis comes into the mess hall demanding to know what the noise is all about (as Eren and Jean had just finished fighting). Mikasa replies that the sound was Sasha dropping a huge fart and Shadis leaves with no further explanation needed.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: In a flash of yellow light the Colossal Titan just suddenly appears outside of the Wall without anyone being able to see where it came from.
- Stunned Silence: Much like five years previous Eren and company can only stare in shocked disbelief when the Colossal Titan pokes its head over the Wall.
- Tempting Fate: After learning that a number of his friends were inspired to join the Survey Corps thanks to his example Eren thinks to himself that, with the knowledge gained over the last five years, and the techniques under their disposal, humanity can now strike back against the Titans. Not a second later the Colossal Titan appears and kicks down the gate leading to Trost in order to test Eren's theory.
- Wall Run: When one of Eren's friends gets knocked off the Wall when the Colossal Titan appears Sasha detaches one of her hooks, runs down the Wall, and then hooks it to the falling boys leg saving his life.
