Still recovering from the many revelations made due to the battle against the Female Titan the newest threat to humanity has already arrived. A Titan horde has appeared inside Wall Rose lead by a new threat. One more terrible than any humanity has ever faced.
Tropes:
- Antagonist Title: The title refers to the new Outside-Context Problem The Beast Titan. Rather ironically this also doubles as a Secondary Character Title as the Beast Titan doesn't appear until the last five minutes of the episode.
- A Death in the Limelight: This episode focuses very heavily on Mike Zacharius, the second strongest soldier in the Survey Corps, who up until now had mostly been in the background. Fittingly enough the episode ends with his death.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: A very minor example but in the original manga The Beast Titan almost immediately sics the remaining Titans on Mike after he gets what he needs from him. In the episode he seems to forget Mike is even there and seems to leave him alone afterwards only sending the remaining Titans after Mike when he makes himself noticeable again.
- Break the Badass: Mike is shown to be a determined leader and skilled soldier with strong nerves, which is all the more surprising when the Beast Titan renders him speechless.
- Call-Back:
- Much like the end of the first episode of the first season the end of the first episode of the second season shows a Minor Major Character getting brutally eaten by a Titan after their legs are left crushed. And much like in that case said person tries to die with dignity before their courage leaves them when they are about to be eaten.
- Levi mentions that he's not at 100% referencing the broken ankle he received after trying to save Mikasa from the Female Titan last season.
- Do Not Go Gentle: Mike attempts this, despite his injured legs, to no avail.
- Face Death with Dignity: Horrifically subverted Mike tries to invoke this after his legs are left mangled and useless and his ODM gear is taken, even remembering his own words of advice that he gave to one of his subordinates before the battle started. However once he stares down three Titans intending to kill him his courage leaves him and he can only beg not to be eaten as they start tearing him apart.
- Gory Discretion Shot: The final moments of Mike's death, especially the part where his head is ripped off his body by a Titan, is left in shadows so the viewer can't see it.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Mike goes off on his own to fight the Titans to buy his comrades some time. While he intended to come back after he killed enough of them, both he and his subordinates understand that he's likely to die.
- Immediate Sequel: The season picks up almost immediately after the end of the previous season, with some minor retconning, to right after Annie's crystallised body is being taken away and the Survey Corps discovering the Titans hiding in the walls.
- Implausible Deniability: Reiner points out that the 104th is being held by the Survey Corps for an unknown reason, without any uniforms or gear, while their guards are fully armed deep within safe territory. The odds of them thinking that someone else is The Mole appears to be high.
- In Medias Res: The start of the episode begins almost immediately after the events of season 1, showing the Titans hiding in the walls. Then, news breaks in that Titans have invaded Wall Rose, and the story flashes back to twelve hours prior to the episode's start, to see that confrontation begin. The episode then switches back and forth between this confrontation and Erwin and Levi discussing the implications of the invasion.
- Stunned Silence: Poor Mike can only stare at The Beast Titan in abject horror while it calmly sits down and tries to converse with him clearly not being able to fully comprehend what is happening.
- You Can Talk?: While the idea of Titan Shifters means that certain Titans which can think is nothing new The Beast Titan one ups the previous cases by actually speaking comprehensibly to Mike. He even notes that they should speak the same language when Mike is too horrified to say anything.
