Attack on Titan Episode 73: Savagery

Mikasa and Armin sit with Gabi, who asks why they protected her after she killed their comrade and bludgeoned a guard. Gabi asks to be taken prisoner and for them to kill her. Armin muses that her ideology reminds him of Eren, who then appears in the doorway. Eren silently raises his right hand, showing his palm has been sliced open and is bleeding.

Eren tells Armin and Mikasa he wants to talk in a quiet setting and that Eldia's problems can be solved without conflict, requesting they keep their hands on the table. Armin questions if a man named Zeke and a woman named Yelena were the reason Eren attacked Marley alone. Eren replies that he is free and did it of his own free will.

Mikasa claims Eren is being controlled and recalls how he saved her from kidnappers who killed her parents. Eren ignores this, claiming he learned a lot from Zeke in Marley. He asks Armin if he is still visiting a woman named Annie. Eren adds that if memories play a role in forming a person, then part of a man named Bertholdt's memories have become part of Armin.

When Mikasa interjects, Eren claims that the Ackermanns were intentionally designed to protect Eldia's King. An Ackermann awakens their instincts once they recognize an individual as their host. Eren states that when he ordered Mikasa to "fight" in the cabin, all the necessary conditions were fulfilled and her instincts awakened, heightening her physical abilities because she accepted Eren as her host.

Eren claims Ackermanns sometimes fight their true self, which can manifest as severe headaches. Armin, seeing Mikasa is too shocked to react, tells Eren to stop. Ignoring him, Eren reminds them he hates anyone who is not free, comparing them to livestock. Calling her both, he vehemently tells Mikasa he has hated her since he was a child.

As Mikasa starts to cry, Armin lunges to attack Eren, but Mikasa stops him and slams him against the table. Both are horrified by this, and Eren repeats that it is due to Mikasa's lineage. Armin punches Eren in the face and is sent into a shelf. After Eren beats him and says he would never last in a fight, he orders all of them to be taken and travels with them to Shiganshina District.

In the Forest of Giant Trees, a man named Levi meets with several members of the Scout Regiment in the trees and learns of a man named Dot Pyxis's plan. He tells two Scouts they will capture a Jaegerist and transfer Zeke's power to them. Levi orders them to inform Pyxis and descends from the tree.

Barely looking up, Zeke asks if there is any wine left at the camp. Levi replies there is not, prompting Zeke to state Levi comes up with the worst punishments. Levi walks away and grimly steels himself to kill Zeke, confident he will not get away with the numerous Scouts in the trees. Composing himself, Levi internally tells a man named Erwin that he will finally fulfill a vow he made. He then notices Zeke running into the forest. Suddenly, Zeke lets out a piercing scream. Horrified, Levi watches as the numerous Scouts above him fall from the trees and transform into Titans.

A numbing sensation ripples through several military officers due to Zeke's scream, powerful enough to cause Pyxis to drop his cup. Those affected are in both the Garrison and the Military Police Regiment. In a carriage driven by Jaegerists, a boy named Falco wakes up, saying he feels like electricity shot through his body. A woman named Hange realizes from his words that a man named Nicolo's suspicion about the wine is correct and that Zeke must have used his power.

In the forest, Zeke leaves Levi behind to face the combined might of the Scouts who have been transformed into Titans. He taunts Levi, asking if he would truly cut apart his own men. Levi realizes Zeke's spinal fluid must have been in the wine his soldiers drank. He also pieces together that what Zeke told them about people becoming numb on contact with his spinal fluid is a lie.

The former soldiers move more quickly and intelligently than ordinary Titans, which Levi theorizes is probably due to Zeke's influence. He is initially taken aback by their quickness and increased ferocity. Forced to fight his subordinates to survive, Levi ponders if his subordinates are aware of their actions as he is surrounded by them mid-air.

As he departs, Zeke laments their present circumstances, stating they cannot be called a battle or a war. He expresses disappointment that he and Levi never learned to trust each other, attributing it to them coming from different worlds and Levi not understanding what it means to have the world preparing to attack Paradis Island. Zeke lets one of the Titans carry him away, considering how his half-brother, Eren, is the only person capable of understanding him. He wonders if Eren remembers where they are supposed to meet.

However, before he can escape the forest, a bloodied and angry Levi catches up to him, now armed with Thunder Spears. Zeke uses one of his remaining Titans to attack him, but Levi slices through it. In horror to have to face Levi again, Zeke bites his hand to transform into a large, ape-like Titan and tears apart his last remaining Titan to use pieces of its skull as ammunition to throw at Levi. Noticing no more Titans around, Zeke asks Levi if he really killed all of his own men.

Levi leaps through the trees, cutting down branches far above the ape-like Titan's head to use as diversion. He says all Zeke needed to do was sit back and read, and asks him what made him think he would not kill his own men. Levi supposes Zeke has no idea how many friends the Scout Regiment has had to kill to get where they are now. He fires his Thunder Spears into the ape-like Titan's nape, severely wounding Zeke and blowing him out of his Titan entirely. Levi grabs Zeke's broken body by the head and drags him away, saying he will not kill him yet.

In Shiganshina District, a man named Keith prepares the 109th Cadet Corps for a practice defense against invading Titans. However, some cadets find this useless, given their enemies are now humans from outside the Walls. One cadet whispers to his companions that they should be training to use guns and form an Eldian army, feeling their commandant is stuck in the past. Another cadet adds that their best chance is for the Jaegerists to seize power, wanting a leader willing to make tough decisions.

Their training exercise is interrupted by the arrival of a man named Floch and the Jaegerists, who are leading a captive Hange. Floch points his gun at the group and says they will now follow his orders. Keith tries to take him to task, but Floch fires a warning shot near his foot. Floch explains this has nothing to do with Keith personally but calls on the Cadet Corps to join the Jaegerists. He asks if they are willing to save Eldia and join them with Eren as their leader.

A few step forward and salute, pledging their hearts to Eldia. Floch then orders them to beat Keith until he can no longer stand, as proof of their resolve, since Keith represents the old order the Jaegerists are trying to get rid of. Anyone who does not participate will be sent to jail. Horrified, Hange tries to get him to stop, but Keith says to let it go, claiming the cadets will be no match for him. A short while later, Keith lies battered on the ground, and Floch congratulates the Cadet Corps. He then tells Hange to lead them to Zeke.

Elsewhere, the members of the Scouts who were detained at the restaurant are waiting in prison. Inside a building with elegant windows, Eren looks outside.

Zeke wakes up to find himself gravely injured in a wagon with Levi sitting on a bench beside him. Levi tells him not to move and informs Zeke that the Thunder Spear impaled in his stomach is tied to a detonator around his neck. One wrong move and he will be blown in half. Zeke looks at his own body and vomits, and Levi almost pities him as he draws his blades.

Levi cuts off half of Zeke's foot, and when Zeke screams, Levi tells him to shut up as he cuts off more chunks of his legs. Levi explains he has to do this, otherwise Zeke will turn into a Titan. In agony, Zeke asks about his now missing glasses. Levi is unsympathetic and tells him he no longer needs them.

As he falls unconscious, Zeke remembers when he was a boy playing catch with another Eldian, a man named Tom. He asked Zeke if he was going to become a pitcher when he grew up. Zeke replied that he had a mission to do.