After surviving the horrors of Utgard Castle, Reiner's group re-joins the Survey Corps on top of the wall to assess their objectives. However, on top of that wall, a startling revelation is made. One that will forever change the battle between humanity and the Titans.
Tropes:
- 2D Visuals, 3D Effects: For whatever reason the Colossal Titan is rendered in CGI for this episode and possibly for the rest of its appearances throughout the remainder of the season.
- Anti-Climax: Played with and subverted; Reiner reveals his and Bertolt's true nature to Eren almost matter-of-factly in passing conversation. This was ultimately done to highlight just how far past the Despair Event Horizon the two have come.
- Badass in Distress: Ymir is currently in a coma after overusing her Titan form and almost getting eaten last episode, so she's helpless to defend herself when Bertolt grabs her.
- Becoming the Mask: What Reiner's speech at the end seems to imply; that his constant contact with the humans he was meant to kill has made him regret what he has done.
- Broken Tears:
- When Reiner finally breaks down and admits that he has stayed with the humans in the walls for too long; he admits that if he hadn't, he wouldn't be "such a half-assed piece of shit".
- Eren is also shown crying while in Reiner's grasp as he flashes back to all of his memories with him and Bertolt and is forced to accept that, much like Annie, people whom he trusted have been working to destroy humanity all along.
- Cerebus Call-Back: Armin, and thus the audience, are reshown the scene with Reiner asking Armin where Eren could be in their formation and him escaping from Annie's grip. Only now it's with the knowledge that Reiner has been working with Annie the whole time and in fact allowed himself to be grabbed so he could write a message on her hand to tell her where Eren was.
- Character Development: Eren manages to play it cool and listen when he hears the truth from Reiner's mouth, showing he's gotten somewhat better about hiding and controlling his emotions. Additionally, even though he can't bring himself to fight back (or even move) when Reiner moves in to grab him, he snaps out of it much faster than he did when Annie was confirmed to be a traitor and transforms instantly the first time.
- Chekhov's Gun: The message that Sasha gave to Hange back in episode 3 turns out to have contained information on where Annie supposedly came from before entering the 104th. It also reveals that Reiner and Bertolt apparently come from the same place providing the first hint that these two are moles.
- Combat Pragmatist: Once it becomes clear that Reiner has no intention of backing down and intends to capture Eren, Mikasa immediately goes to work carving him and Bertolt up whilst both are still in their human forms. Unfortunately, Reiner is able to push Mikasa away before she can finish Bertolt off and the wounds she leaves allow the two to transform.
- Didn't Think This Through: Eren himself points this out to Reiner: if he's really an enemy of humanity and they need Eren captured, did he really think that just asking nicely would work? Bertolt understandably calls out to Reiner that his confession is poorly timed.
- Dissonant Serenity: Reiner openly speaks about his and Bertolt's heinous crimes completely matter-of-factly. The dissonance between the sudden admission of guilt and Reiner's nonchalant tone is jarring.
- Extreme Doormat: Bertolt makes a very minimal effort at damage control when Reiner blows their cover, apparently either too meek to say more or just trusting Reiner's (increasingly erratic) judgment.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: Due to the large amount of steam that is released from Reiner and Bertolt's transformations, their Titan forms are obscured at first and thus the most distinct part of them that is visible are their glowing eyes.
- Heroic RRoD: Due to almost being eaten, as well as overexerting herself last episode, Ymir is in a coma for the episode and hasn't even regenerated her missing limbs yet. This makes her easy prey for the Colossal Titan.
- Ignored Confession: Despite Reiner revealing that he and Bertolt are the Armoured and Colossal Titans respectively, there is virtually no reaction from the other members of the Survey Corps who are in earshot. Of course, this is because the Corps are already aware of Reiner and Bertolt's deception and are playing dumb so they can capture both of them harmlessly. It doesn't work out.
- I've Come Too Far: Reiner says something to this effect when he is in the middle of his Sanity Slippage. He's not sure what's right or wrong anymore, only that as a Warrior he has to face the consequences and complete his mission.
- "Just Joking" Justification: Bertolt tries passing off Reiner's mental breakdown as shell-shocked babbling. Reiner doesn't go along with it and continues confessing.
- Mask of Sanity: While it was alluded to in the previous few episodes this one finally confirms that Reiner, seen by the 104th as the stable Big Brother Mentor of the group, is actually a mentally broken young man due to his status as The Mole.
- The Mole: It's revealed that Reiner and Bertolt are both Titan Shifters and have been working with Annie from the start to destroy humanity and capture Eren.
- Oh, Crap!: Reiner and Bertolt when Mikasa suddenly appears behind Eren with murderous intent in her eyes.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- Eren's Dull Surprise to The Reveal. The fact that he didn't react with shock, anger, or denial should have given away that he knew and was trying to play it cool.
- Hange acts somewhat oddly when she's walking away from Eren, Bertolt, and Reiner, making an unusually dimwitted guess as to how the Titans got inside Wall Rose with Moblit. Of course, it's because she's listening intently to what Reiner's saying at that moment...
- Bertolt's unusual enthusiasm when encouraging Reiner that they'll both soon return to their hometown when interrupting Reiner's mental breakdown. Of course, given The Reveal, this was likely a veiled message to his co-conspirator to focus on the mission.
- Rage Breaking Point: After finally seeing Reiner and Bertolt's transformations with his own eyes, Eren transforms himself and furiously declares them traitors.
- Rule of Symbolism: Throughout the episode, a tattered and torn red flag can be seen in the background to represent Reiner's Conflicting Loyalty. When it becomes clear that Reiner's mental breakdown is getting worse, a large breeze picks up and causes the flag to flutter violently in the wind. When Reiner finally snaps, the flag breaks from its post and falls off the Wall to symbolize Reiner finally giving up on his deception in order to complete his mission.
- Sequel Episode: To Soldier. Aside from the obvious themes, the episode focuses a lot on Reiner's feelings, adds some insight into his past, and even ends with a dramatic Titan reveal (although unlike in that episode this is definitely not a good thing).
- Slashed Throat: Mikasa deals one to Bertolt, who partially recovers in a few seconds due to his Healing Factor and uses it to transform into the Colossal Titan.
- Stunned Silence: Even when Reiner makes it abundantly clear that he's not joking and is an enemy to humanity, all Eren can do is stand there and stare in utter disbelief at the betrayal. The others (particularly Mikasa) are able to react faster.
- Wham Episode: Reiner and Bertolt are revealed to be the Armored and Colossal Titans, respectively, who destroyed the walls five years ago, thus kickstarting Eren, Mikasa, and Armin's story.
- Wham Line:Reiner: Five years ago, we compromised Wall Maria and launched an attack on humanity.[...]I'm the Armored Titan, [Bertolt] is the Colossal.
- Wham Shot: Reiner taking off the splint that Historia made for his arm in the previous episode to show his wound healing. Less so because of how overt Reiner is in using his Shifter abilities now, but because it shows that Reiner's no longer screwing around.
