Attack on Titan Episode 29: Soldier

Under the moonlight, two unusual Titans play-fight as a large, hairy Titan ascends Wall Rose. Nanaba draws her blades alongside other Scout Regiment members atop Utgard Castle, telling the recruits to stand aside as the experienced Scouts leap into action.

Two hours earlier, Nanaba's team set up camp within Utgard Castle while their horses rested. Henning observes that someone had been at the castle recently, and Lynne suggests bandits. Gelgar joins them with a bottle of alcohol, but he cannot read the label. Gelgar tells the recruits to rest while the senior soldiers keep watch, as little trouble is expected from Titans at night. Christa wonders where the Titans are coming from if no breach was found in Wall Rose, and Gelgar tells her they will investigate tomorrow.

Christa and Henning note that Titan activity has been surprisingly low near the Wall despite the possibility of a breach. Ymir asks Conny about his village. He tells her that no one was found, but he believes they survived because while all the homes were destroyed, there were no signs of blood or remains. Conny wonders aloud about a Titan he found on top of his home, believing it strongly resembled his mother. Reiner questions him until Ymir laughs, pointing out the absurdity of his mother being a Titan when he is so short. She jokes that his father must have been a Titan too for his parents to "do it," and Conny loses his temper.

Some hours later, Reiner visits Ymir as she searches through supplies in the castle ruins. Ymir jokes that Reiner does not seem interested in women, and Reiner replies that Ymir does not seem interested in men. Ymir informs him she is searching for food, which might be their last meal. Reiner brings up Conny's concerns and asks Ymir to continue joking about them to distract Conny from his missing family. Ymir finds a can of herring among the supplies and hands it to Reiner. He is surprised to find canned food but then realizes he cannot read the writing on the can. Reiner looks at Ymir in shock, and she stares back, realizing her mistake. Before Reiner can ask more questions, Lynne wakes the recruits to alert them of a dire situation.

Atop the castle, the Scouts spot a horde of Titans inexplicably moving in the moonlight. The four officers leap into the Titans. Gelgar cuts the fingers from a Titan reaching for him. Nanaba lands the killing blow, telling Gelgar his move was unnecessary and damaged his blades. Gelgar insists it is his way and demands the kill be counted as an assist. Nanaba is amused by his "heroism." Below, Lynne kills a smaller Titan attempting to crawl from beneath Nanaba's felled Titan and notices the door has been broken down. She maneuvers to the top of the castle and warns the recruits of the breach, telling them to barricade the Titans before they infiltrate the tower.

The recruits descend the tower, with Reiner taking the lead. Bertholdt tries to stop him, explaining to Conny that Reiner has a habit of taking the most dangerous jobs. Further down, Reiner cautiously opens a blocked door to check for Titans. He sees one has already made it up the stairs and frantically blocks the door again. The Titan begins to bang on the door as Reiner calls for help, wondering if his death is near as the Titan's arm breaks through the door. He remembers a time five years ago when he and Bertholdt were escaping Titans, and a friend pushed him aside, getting caught and eaten alive as Reiner and Bertholdt could do nothing. Reiner moves away at the last second as Bertholdt comes to his side with a pitchfork, stabbing the Titan in the face to hold it back. As they keep the Titan back, Reiner reminds Bertholdt that they will soon return to their hometown and will not die this way.

Further up the stairs, the other recruits arrive with a cannon, but with no gunpowder or cannonballs. They shove the cannon down the stairs, sending it rolling towards the door until it crashes into the Titan as Reiner and Bertholdt jump aside. The Titan is immobile beneath the cannon, but the recruits only have a small knife belonging to Conny. Reiner tells him not to use it against the Titan, as the risk of injury is too great. Christa proposes retreating upstairs, but another Titan climbs over the cannon and approaches Conny.

The Titan lunges at Conny, but Reiner pushes him out of the way. The Titan instead bites Reiner's arm, its grip too strong to break. Reiner hoists the Titan over his head, heading for the window to jump out. Conny comes to his side, using his knife to cut the Titan's jaw to help Reiner break free. When the Titan's bite loosens, Reiner backs away as Ymir kicks the Titan out the window. The recruits begin to barricade the door properly as Christa uses Gelgar's alcohol to treat Reiner's injury. She apologizes for the sting and notes that the bone is likely fractured. With no bandages, Christa tears off part of her skirt to treat the bite, leaving Reiner somewhat aroused. She apologizes for the lack of proper treatment, but Reiner insists she is helping. In his mind, he insists he must marry her.

Ymir tells Christa her finger got hurt in the fight, but Conny tells her to spit on it. He apologizes to Reiner for putting him in danger and points out that both Reiner and another person named Annie have saved his life in the past, saying he must repay him someday. Thinking back to the day his friend saved his life, Reiner tells Conny he was simply doing the right thing as a soldier. Conny asks Bertholdt if Reiner has always been so selfless, but Bertholdt says that in the past Reiner was more of a "Warrior," leaving Reiner somewhat confused.

Ymir looks outside and sees that the Scouts have slain many Titans. Nanaba and Gelgar catch their breath on the tower as Lynne heads to the top to check on the recruits, but a sudden whooshing sound catches their attention. An impact hits the stables, killing all the horses. A second sound is heard soon after, and a boulder strikes the top of Utgard Castle, killing Lynne and Henning instantly.

The recruits join Nanaba and Gelgar at the top of the tower, and Conny realizes the Beast Titan is responsible for their deaths. As he looks down from the tower, he spots dozens more Titans approaching. Nanaba observes that the attack seems too strategic for a normal Titan assault and that someone has been toying with them from the start. From atop Wall Rose, the Beast Titan roars at Utgard Castle before descending the other side of the Wall.

Nanaba and Gelgar do their best to fight off the new horde of Titans as their gas and blades run low. Gelgar notes that the tower's structural integrity is taking a toll. They examine their remaining equipment: Gelgar is out of gas and blades, and Nanaba is on her last pair of blades with little gas left. Gelgar prepares for death, having seriously injured his head and quickly losing blood. He regrets not having a drink before his death and lets himself fall. Nanaba kills the Titan which catches him, but her blades shatter and her gas runs empty.

As Gelgar falls into an opening in the tower wall, Nanaba is surrounded by approaching Titans. Within the tower, Gelgar finds his alcohol bottle and opens it for one last drink. As he holds it above his mouth, only a few drops hit his chin. He regrets his cruel luck while a Titan grabs hold of him, and he cries out in anguish demanding to know who drank the entire bottle. His head smacks against the wall as he is pulled out, knocking him unconscious.

The recruits watch helplessly from atop the castle as their commanding officers are caught. Christa throws rocks down at the Titans until Ymir stops her, warning her that she may fall from the tower. Below, Gelgar is eaten by a Titan as a horde fights over Nanaba, who has lost a leg. Delirious and terrified, Nanaba cries out for her father to stop hurting her until her screams are swallowed by a Titan. Conny begins to despair as their future looks grim, and Christa expresses her desire to fight to the death.

Ymir scolds Christa, seeing that she wants to use her superiors' deaths as an excuse to die as a hero. Ymir approaches Conny, asking for his knife. She tells him that she wants to fight, though she is not sure of what she plans to do. Ymir returns to Christa, asking her to remember a promise they made to each other during their training days years ago. Ymir says that while she has no right to tell Christa how to live, she wants her to live her life with pride. Conny's knife in hand, Ymir runs from the tower and leaps into the horde of Titans. She takes the blade to her palm and cuts, triggering a transformation into a Titan form.