Attack on Titan Episode 48: Bystander

Two months after her coronation, Historia Reiss is seen on a rural farm, chasing children. Eren Jaeger, Armin Arlelt, and Jean Kirschtein observe her, noting she seems more suited to running an orphanage than a country. Armin mentions people affectionately call her the "Cattle-Farming Goddess." Jean laments that no one will remember his own past deeds at this rate, but Eren points out that caring for orphans and the needy is what Historia wished for.

Historia approaches them, telling them to stop slacking as it's getting dark. Jean and Armin comply, but Eren walks alongside her. He confirms his hardening experiments are progressing well, but they need to hurry before "they" return. Historia asks what he would do if he faced Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover again, and Eren replies he would have to kill them.

Looking downcast, Historia expresses that she doesn't want to regret their actions, seeing the smiling children from the underground as proof they made the right choice. Eren praises her, to her embarrassment, and reminds her she once said humanity should be wiped out. She protests she was just getting carried away. Mikasa Ackermann then appears with a stern expression, takes Eren's load of supplies, stating he's tired from his experiments, and carries it herself. Eren complains about her treating him like an old man.

Meanwhile, the military has undergone a purge following a coup d'état. Humanity has also gained new resources: glowing ore from the Underground Chapel is now used as a light source, and Eren's hardening experiments have led to a new anti-Titan weapon. Hange Zoë demonstrates this weapon, which they call the "executioner from hell." It works by luring Titans into a narrow corridor blocked by Eren's hardened Titan material. Once a Titan is wedged, the Scout Regiment drops a log onto its nape, killing it.

Hange is overjoyed the weapon works, as it allows them to kill Titans day and night without risking soldiers' lives. However, Hange notices Eren is bleeding from his nose. Levi Ackermann suggests Eren has been overusing his powers with the hardening experiments, and Hange apologizes. Eren dismisses it, eager for these weapons to be made so they can proceed to Shiganshina District.

Later, in the Scout Regiment mess hall, Marlo Freudenberg expresses excitement about the new weapons, believing they will eliminate Titans. Jean comments that Marlo is the only one excited to join the Scouts. Sasha Braus asks why Hitch Dreyse didn't try to stop him. Marlo wonders why she would, but then recalls she adamantly told him not to join, and he thought he was wrong about her. Jean, Armin, and Sasha find him thick-headed, but Eren doesn't understand what Marlo did wrong.

Floch Forster, from another table, asks Jean if he considers himself a veteran now. Floch and other recruits join Jean's table, stating they aren't the only ones excited; everyone within the Walls looks forward to taking back Wall Maria. Floch observes something different about the 104th Cadet Corps graduates, wondering what happened to them. Jean offers to tell him, but Floch declines.

Conny Springer announces he will visit his village in the morning. Sasha speculates it's impossible to make Conny's mother human again, and Armin agrees. This prompts Eren to recall Ymir and her description of being a Titan, making him wonder if Titans are just people tormented by nightmares.

Mikasa snaps Eren out of his thoughts, telling him to finish his food. Jean complains about Eren's mumbling and tells him to focus on remembering the Scout he saw in his father's memories. Eren feels he's met the man before but can't remember where. Jean suggests a headbutt from the commandant might help, which makes Eren realize the Scout in his father's memories and Commandant Keith Sadies are the same person.

Keith Sadies, the 12th Scout Regiment Commander before Erwin Smith, meets with Hange, Levi, and the Special Operations Squad at the training grounds. Inside, Sasha insists on standing, still terrified from her training days. Keith notes how much the 104th has changed in just months.

Hange asks if Keith understands why they are there. Keith looks at Eren, remarking he resembles his mother but has his father's "fangs" in his eyes. Eren asks Keith to tell them everything. Keith admits he doesn't know much in the grand scheme of things but agrees to share his personal history as a bystander.

Keith met a man named Grisha twenty years ago outside the gates of Wall Maria. Both were surprised to find the other there; Keith because Grisha was outside, and Grisha because Keith was trying to fight. Grisha couldn't remember how he got outside, but Keith brought him in.

Grisha was detained by the Garrison for being outside the Walls, but Hannes was ambivalent, as Grisha hadn't harmed anyone. Hannes suggested not reporting Grisha, and Keith agreed.

Grisha claimed memory loss but remembered being a doctor and asked to be introduced to a hospital for work. He also asked Keith to teach him about this world and the Scouts. Keith taught him, surprised Grisha knew nothing about the world's state.

At a bar, Grisha expressed relief that people within the Walls didn't live in fear of Titans. Keith, however, was unhappy with this sentiment, believing it wasn't enough to live safely behind the Walls. He affirmed that exploring the world was what he and the Scouts did. Keith asked if Grisha found this foolish, but Grisha admired it, calling the Scouts the pride of humanity.

Carla interrupted them, asking if Keith was recruiting for the Scouts again. Grisha politely said he was unsuitable for such work, believing only a "chosen one" could do it, a notion Keith took to heart.

As the Scouts suffered failures under the 11th Commander, Keith began to believe he would achieve results if he were commander.

Later, a plague struck Shiganshina, and Carla caught it. Keith brought her to Grisha for medical care. When Carla mentioned her parents were also sick, Grisha assured her he would care for everyone. Keith observed Carla growing closer to Grisha, and his own promotion to Commander of the Scout Regiment was overshadowed by Carla and Grisha's marriage.

After an expedition, Keith overheard Scouts talking behind his back, calling him a moron who charges into death and wishing for Erwin to be commander, as his squad suffered no casualties. Keith reminded himself he was special and chosen. He then encountered Carla with an infant Eren. She asked if he intended to continue until he died and suggested he retire, which deeply affected Keith.

He launched into a tirade about how most people live and die without changing anything, and that normal people cannot accomplish greatness. Years later, this led him to ask Erwin to take over as commander. Keith became certain that special people existed, but after his failures, he realized he was not one of them.

Keith was in Trost District when Wall Maria fell. He met Grisha there. When refugees arrived, Grisha and Keith found Eren and learned of Carla's death. Grisha then told Eren he would have to avenge his mother and took him away, telling Keith not to follow. Keith asked why Grisha wouldn't avenge Carla himself, noting that while Grisha was special, Eren might not be. Grisha replied that Eren was different from Keith because he was his son, and again asked Keith to stay out of it. Keith complied.

At dawn, Keith saw a lightning flash and heard thunder in the woods. He found Eren unconscious and carried him back to the shelter, putting him in bed beside Mikasa and Armin. This concludes Keith's story.

Hange is disappointed, learning Keith's resignation wasn't to atone for fallen soldiers but because he felt he wasn't special. Hange calls out his inferiority complex and tells him not to run from reality. Eren asks Hange to calm down, agreeing with Keith that he, Eren, was never special either, but he knows he is the son of a special man.

Keith offers Eren one final memory: when he ranted about specialness to Carla, she asked if it was wrong not to be special. She didn't think so, and didn't need her son to be better than anyone; he was already special just for being born.

As Eren and his companions leave, Keith recalls sabotaging Eren's training gear as a cadet so he couldn't balance, yet he couldn't force Eren to flunk out of the Cadet Corps. He concludes he was merely a bystander.