Attack on Titan Episode 50: The Town Where Everything Began

The Scout Regiment travels towards Wall Maria under the cover of night to begin their operation to reclaim lost territory. They encounter a sleeping Titan, which Hange speculates is not one of the new types that can move at night, possibly due to the moonless conditions.

Leaving the Titan, Eren feels the pressure of the mission. Mikasa and Armin notice his nervousness. Though Eren denies being afraid, Armin shares his own shaking hands and asks how Eren was able to pull him from a Titan's mouth without fear. Eren explains he remembered Armin's book about the outside world and felt a strength when thinking about regaining freedom. Feeling better, he thanks Armin and expresses hope they will see the sea next year.

Mikasa recognizes the woods as a place she and Eren gathered firewood. A Scout ahead calls out that they have found a trail, and Eren, Mikasa, and Armin realize they have returned to their hometown.

As day breaks, the Scouts charge on horseback for the Walls of Shiganshina District. They switch to omni-directional mobility gear and scale the Wall. Erwin's plan is to seal both the inner and outer gates of Shiganshina to isolate and exterminate any Titans inside. To prevent enemies from singling out Eren, all one hundred Scouts wear hoods.

Eren is momentarily overcome with emotion upon seeing the town from the Wall, but Levi tells him to hurry. Eren and his squad follow. Armin pauses, noticing sooty residue from a fire on the Wall. He flags Erwin's attention, realizing that Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover must be nearby.

Around the outer Wall, Hange notes the absence of Titans, finding it strange. Levi insists they continue the plan. Hange agrees and fires a green signal flare to announce their arrival.

Eren dives over the Wall to the breach below, biting his hand to transform into a Titan. Bertholdt and Reiner, in unknown locations, see the light from his transformation. Eren successfully hardens his Titan to plug the breach. Mikasa retrieves him, and he rejoins his squad. He lost his cloak, so Mikasa gives him hers.

The Scouts signal their success, and Hange directs them towards the inner gate, still hiding their faces. Eren is surprised by how easily he plugged the outer gate, but Levi warns that their enemies can break it again as long as they live. The operation will not end until they kill Reiner, Bertholdt, and any other enemies.

Erwin and Dirk observe the green flares. Dirk remarks on the lack of Titans and wonders if their enemies were unprepared, sounding doubtful. Armin arrives to elaborate on his discovery.

Armin found signs of camping: cooking supplies and several lights scattered below the Wall. From the cups, he deduced the campers drank black tea. Three cups and a pot indicated at least three people on the Wall. Erwin is surprised the pot was cold, meaning the campers had enough warning to hide despite the Scouts' rapid approach. Erwin estimates they would have had no more than two minutes to react if they had spotted or heard the Scouts from atop the Wall, which is too short a time for the pot to cool. Armin concludes there must have been more than three people on the Wall, implying they had a scout. He realizes the Scout Regiment should assume many more enemies are in hiding.

Recognizing Armin's insight, Erwin assigns him soldiers to locate the enemies. The soldiers acknowledge their new directive and ask Armin for orders.

After Armin and his squad depart, Dirk notices Eren's group approaching. He asks if they should wait to seal the inner gate until the enemy is found, but Erwin says they will continue. He states that the Scouts would lose a prolonged battle in enemy territory. Even if this is part of their enemy's plan, they will have to live with it. Erwin reminds Dirk that their enemies are not the only ones hiding something.

Meanwhile, Armin agonizes over why their enemies haven't shown themselves and why the Scouts haven't found them. He thinks they are attacked unpredictably because they know so little about Titans. While hanging from the Wall, he remembers the Wall Titan in Stohess District and has an insight. He fires a signal flare to recall his soldiers and instructs them to search inside the Wall itself for hiding spaces.

Hearing this and Armin's reasoning, Erwin fires a red signal flare to halt Hange and Levi's squads. Hange has the soldiers from the outer gate scatter and hold position. Erwin tells the soldiers around the inner gate to listen to Armin. Those at the inner gate split into two groups to search either side of the Wall.

As the search continues, Conny wonders what the other soldiers are doing, and Jean acknowledges that this is no longer a surprise attack. Eren wonders if Armin figured something out.

Armin believes that if their enemies are watching Eren and everything he does, it must be from within the Wall, especially if they don't know the Scouts are aware of Wall Titans. Without that knowledge, they wouldn't expect the Scouts to consider an attack from inside the Wall.

A Scout signals he has found a cavity, but the Wall quickly opens to reveal Reiner Braun, who skewers the soldier with a blade. Reiner emerges, and Levi dives at him, slicing his neck. With his other blade, Levi stabs Reiner's torso as they fall. Levi is surprised Reiner is still alive. He pulls out the blade and lets Reiner hit the ground alone, wondering if a Titan power is keeping Reiner alive.

Though grievously wounded, Reiner's body contorts, and he transforms into the Armored Titan. Erwin calls out for soldiers to look for Reiner's allies when a flash of a Titan transformation thunders behind him. He turns to see the Beast Titan has appeared, along with a small army of Pure Titans.

The Beast Titan hefts a boulder and throws it in an arc at the Wall, plugging the hole in the inner gate. This prevents the Scout Regiment from bringing their horses through. With the horses trapped on the Titan side of the inner gate, their enemy will be able to eliminate them to prevent the Scouts' escape and then annihilate the Scouts themselves. Erwin remarks that this gives both sides what they want: a chance to settle everything once and for all.