「敗者達 ―第57回壁外調査⑥―」 (Haisha Tachi ―Dai 57 Kai Kabe Gai Chosa (6)―)
“The Defeated ―57th Expedition Beyond the Walls (6)―”

As the 57th Expedition comes to an end, let’s just say it’s a lot of the same: more suffering. Because even as Levi and Mikasa successfully manage to rescue Eren, it doesn’t change the fact that their plan failed far beyond what was ever expected. Not only that, but even what was supposed to be a straight forward retreat ends up contributing more to the suffering, and it really is an example of Murphy’s Law if I’ve ever seen it. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong in this universe especially, and there just aren’t enough words to describe the harsh reality the soldiers face here.

Indeed, it’s just not enough to risk one’s life fighting Titans. Because once the fighting ends, the suffering just continues as you deal with the bodies of your fallen comrades and consider your own mortality. As Jean puts it so well:

“How many of my friends will die?
How am I going to die?
It’s all you can think about.”

And it’s true. It’s horrible enough fighting on the battlefield, but it’s just as bad (or worse) when you’ve managed to get off it. The stronger soldiers will be able to stomach it on the conscious realization that you can’t fight otherwise (and you’d be spitting on the sacrifice of your comrades while you’re at it too), but it’s something that will easily rip the average soldier’s mind apart—assuming there’s anything left to be torn in the first place. Assuming you manage to get through all that, you then have to deal with the scorn of a city filled with those who think your effort is meaningless, and it’s enough to make anyone go bonkers at that point. Still more are the inevitable soldiers’ family members that will approach you too—as Petra’s father does to Levi—and really, it’s surprising there are any sane guys left. Though even then, the sane guys left might not even be sane by the normal definition anymore.

Ultimately, this week’s episode isn’t so much a resolution of the 57th Expedition arc as it is a summary of all the ways life can screw you over in the Shingeki universe. Gosh darn it, all Dieter wanted to do was retrieve his friend’s body for crying out loud. But not only does he end up failing to do so, his other friend dies in the process, and the Titans they end up attracting require them to dump the rest of the bodies too—all in the span of a minute long scene that I surely won’t forget for a long, long time. Thinking back to it just gives me chills—especially seeing Petra’s body, Levi’s reaction, and Petra’s father later—and I gotta say, it’s hard to be a blogger at times like this, because you’re sitting here trying to sort through the caps you take, and I ended up having to re-visit that scene way more times than I would’ve liked.

With that said, it does have to be noted that there are some positives to take from this loss though, and one such thing includes the inspiration of a new generation of future soldiers with the same view point that Eren had previously. Another such thing is the obvious maturation of Eren in the process too, as his ability to hold back against the scorn of the city’s critics demonstrate at least some meaningful growth from this experience. It’s another story altogether whether or not humanity even survives for that new generation to blossom though, and it has to be noted that Eren too may not be given another chance to implement what he’s learned for a while. The handing over of Eren to the authorities just hammers in another huge thing that this fight held in the balance. And while I’d say he’ll likely be back sooner rather than later… it definitely looks like it’ll be anything but straight forward, and it’s likely we may not even see him in action for the rest of this season while we’re at it.

Suffice to say, there’s a lot of elements here setting up for a really big cliffhanger, and I can’t say I’m looking forward to it at all. At the very least though, we’ll be getting a wide variety of Shingeki merchandise in the near future—for those of you into figures and the like—and it’ll be something that’ll let some of us bide our time till the inevitable next season. Before then though, let’s savor this season’s last arc while we can, shall we? As much as we can given the suffering anyway.

Author’s Notes:

  • Per the usual, there’s a zero tolerance policy for spoilers that aren’t in spoiler tags or in response to a query.
  • In regards to speculation, I want to leave it up to you guys to use your own discretion in regards to what you decide to type in a comment, so I won’t be requiring that spoiler tags be used. However, please note that if you don’t (or you word your speculation in a way that implies more than just that) there’s a chance viewers will down vote your comment to oblivion, and there would be nothing I can do to make your comment visible again. Also keep in mind that any speculation that seems beyond the scope of the word will be removed if deemed inappropriate or clearly based off the source material.
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    Preview

    93 Comments

        1. I didn’t mean in terms of actually doing something Levi was the boss.
          I meant that He need someone when he broke down on tears and she is there for him holding his hand I don’t remember that for the manga, but Mikasa has show how much Eren means to her, but we haven’t really see Eren realize that.

          oscuda
      1. Filler or not, it made one of the best scenes of this season. I like this series for being able to reuse the feelings toward particular heroes in order to strenghten the bonds between the story and its viewers.

        brajt
    1. fast… too fast… levi finished the fight levi squad, eren in titan mode and mikasa in eren mode in just like a minute. All I see is a whirling blade all over the female titan. Next thing I know, we have a winner.

      Ok, fine, the female titan is exhuasted, but still levi is pretty op, too bad I probably won’t be seeing him fight anymore since his leg is injured and what not.

      inferno
    2. That was an amazing fight between Levi and FT (female titan). It’s a shame he didn’t utilise Mikasa more, but I suppose that’s to be expected when she’s so inexperienced in his eyes.

      However, the part where the soldiers couldn’t stomach leaving corpses behind in the forest or throwing them off the caravan didn’t make much sense to me. These were experienced soldiers, weren’t they? Why would they be so conflicted when they’ve supposedly been through it all before (and worse, considering that they don’t usually have full bodies to bury anyway)?

      And now, for a bit of speculation in spoiler tags, in case anyone’s averse to predictions:
      Show Spoiler ▼

      Anyway, two SnK specials were released with the Blu-rays and were pretty funny, so do have a look.

      Sekai
      1. Well, the way I see it, the conversation between Jean and Armin said it all. There are some things you just can’t get used to, or at least, even if you accept that something is likely to happen, it doesn’t mean you like it or want it to happen if you can help it.

        I believe the big thing in particular is how they were almost home free. There weren’t any Titans in sight and they might’ve actually bought back a fair amount of their friends’ bodies back this time. Yet all of this was spoiled just they were thinking this, and it’s something where you’re bound to feel something for even if you normally wouldn’t, just because of that glimmer of hope they had.

        Also, not all of them are experienced. A fair amount of them were newly drafted or transferred, so this is theoretically their first real experience with this kind of combat and corpse disposal. They might’ve seen the ultimate results from the other times the squad came back, but seeing it from afar is different from actually being the ones throwing them out of the cart.

        Oh yeah, and I agree with the specials, haha. They were pretty funny, surprisingly enough.

      2. With regards to your speculation. Good eye. Here’s something to add to your theory.

        Show Spoiler ▼

        Vagrant
    3. For animeonly people, you may be surprised that this episode was nearly entirely anime original. I was actually shocked for the first time watching this show when Petra’s corpse was thrown of the wagon.

      Anyways, dat Hitch in the preview.

      Amarrez
      1. Yeah, they’re really trying to end it at that point in the manga.

        Albeit this episode being original, it still doesn’t have that awful filler taste other anime fillers do. Which is why I like how the studio is adapting the source material.

        Vagrant
      2. It was probably one of the best fillers I’ve seen in an anime ep. Since in the manga, it went straight from recovering Eren to him waking up to Mikasa, no explination was given to Petra’s body or anything on the way home to the wall. We just assumed nothing was recovered. So using the body as filler subject was very smart as they have free reign to develope it however they wanted and of course, fitting to Shingeki they gave us the saddest possible outcome.

        Frankly as a manga reader, it’s just refreshing to not know what to expect for once in this anime. I regret reading the manga so much…

        arimpact
    4. Levi showing epicness for beating up the female titan, and showing damn balls for holding it up against Petra’s father there.. That scene with Petra’s body was heartbreaking.

      Senjougahara Hitagi
    5. Felt much more depressing than in the manga, good job!
      But damn… When they tossed Petra’s body and Levi expression was just to much, all because he hurt his leg otherwise he probs would have killed that titan and kept all the bodies, felt so bad for him especially when Petra’s father came up to him 🙁

      PainKiller
      1. Forgot to mention it was most likely Petra’s patch. What Levi was probably trying to say to the guy was the same thing he was saying to himself. “For me, this is proof they were alive.” He sacrificed his own momento for another’s comfort. Stay strong Levi!

        PainKiller
        1. That was what I was thinking too, had to re-watch it just to confirm my thoughts. There was no way Levi could have grabbed the dude’s emblem. I think Levi planned to give the patch to Petra’s parents as a symbol gratitude towards not just Petra, but all of the people that have sacrificed for this expedition.

          Just A Random Guy
        2. I’ve seen this comment around alot (about Levi giving away Petra’s badge)

          For my curiosity’s sake:
          Can someone tell me why they’re certain it’s Petra’s badge/crest?
          We know Levi took a badge from at least one (if not all) of his special ops squad members, but we can’t identify whose body it is and we cant see Petra’s chest when her body is thrown out.

          I think the badge he gave to Dieter could belong to one of his squad members (as everyone assumes it is) but what im confused about is why everyone think’s it’s Petras.

          Does my question make sense?

          Curious
    6. I’m a manga reader, for a long time and I barely noticed that there were fillers, was so perfect, so sad… and I confess that I cried in Petra’s scene… I don’t remember the last time an anime make me cry like this… damn it!

      vane
    7. *excited family members of deceased soldiers are excited about their return*
      I will not cry….
      *Petra’s body gets thrown to the Titans
      I will NOT cry….
      *Petra’s dad is excited*
      FUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCK!!!!!

      Levi, I feel your pain….I feel your pain…. ;_;

      1. Someone else who had the same the reaction! The tone of the episode was so somber I knew they were trying to get some tears, and I refused to.

        But oh man when Petra’s father showed up all happy to see Levi, I fucking lost it. The tears just started flowing.

        Damn it this show is like being in an abusive relationship.

        Tikal
        1. All throughout, I see that Levi does care for his men. He just doesn’t show it on his face other than the darkened expression. However, he understands that in order to survive, let alone succeed, he had to put emotion in the backburner. This is what he has in common with Erwin, which would explain why he was more or less Erwin’s right-hand man.

          Mincemaker
    8. All I can say is, if it was truly “over” for humanity each time the situation had gotten this dark, well, there wouldn’t even be any content left to piece together a story. The only thing that amazes me as much as the misfortune in Shingeki is the badassery that manages to overcome it (Exhibit 1: Levi, obviously). Not that anyone here doesn’t know that already, but that’s where I’m focusing – their will to persevere is so, so, strong, and it manifests in so many exciting and surprising ways.
      Not that I’m expecting immediate gratification on that account, either. I remember Trost. There’s too much suffering for it to be over in one episode.

      mythnut
    9. Although most of this was filler, this didn’t feel like filler at all, in fact it was executed almost perfectly. I was in tears seeing Petra’s body dumped like that, and the father’s scene, that was heartbreaking. Kudos to the animation team for handling this adaptation quite well.

      Flanders
    10. Even though it’s very obvious that it was used to make the audience feel even more emotional and logically speaking wouldn’t have made sense, the scene with Petra’s dad and Levi was too hard to watch…

      Just A Random Guy
    11. I don’t understand levi too well here.

      If he was able to handle FT so well, he might have been just better off with a different tactic from the start that involved him in it. For a captain that’s clearly superior of a titan-killer, that he kept himself from joining the fight probably directly contributed to his squad’s eventual end.

      Geoff
      1. I’m reminded of a previous episode. Levi made his choice at the time to follow Erwin’s orders and believed it to be the better plan. Now he has to live with the consequences.

        And it did seem to work at first, until they learned the FT could Titan call, shift back to human and to titan faster than Eren, and that she can harden parts of her skin.

        Plans tend to fall apart when things unaccounted for start popping up. And in their case there really was no way for them to know beforehand.

        Vagrant
    12. I must be nuts to think that Levi looks pretty majestic when he attacks. If people using 3D gear could be ballerinas… Lol.

      These anime-only scenes were spot-on. I sometimes wonder how human Erwin is, just as that member that was wanting to retrieve Ivan’s body had said. We’ve seen Levi pretty vulnerable with his comrades, but what about Erwin? He even replies to Levi about many of their members being sacrificed for the Female Titan’s capture a couple episodes back and just says “oh okay.” Um… alright? That’s some way to reply about deaths under your call.

      Not gonna lie, I was a bit ticked off when the guy went to get Ivan’s body even when they said no. Levi and Erwin are experienced… I’m pretty sure if they were retrievable without casualties, they would’ve agreed to it. But look what happened. His friend got eaten AND they had to dump the rest of the bodies. We got some more character development for Levi though, which was pretty nice. All of his camaraderie he has really does show his roots as a thug/gangster (or mafia boss lol). Proof that they were alive.

      Also, cried through all the Squad Levi overtones. Their families saying they were coming back, Petra being tossed, Petra’s dad basically confessing to Levi that she liked him enough to marry… oh man. Can’t handle this.

      Once again, finely executed anime-only scenes.

      Jel
    13. I’ve been thinking about this for a while and I haven’t come up with an acceptable answer, maybe you guys can help.

      Not exactly a spoiler, but more of a general discussion. Just being precaution. I’m certain this is something that you have encounter at least once in this site. Show Spoiler ▼

      It’s like being inside a ship in the middle of the ocean, I damage the floor and with no way to fix it I’m basically fucking myself over here. Has anyone thought about this this way before? And if so, any explanation on that? I feel like I’m missing something here.

      Solara
      1. Not sure if I understood your train of thought but here are my views

        Show Spoiler ▼

        Vagrant
        1. Show Spoiler ▼

          I’m so not looking forward to that cliffhanger in the next few episodes. Ugh..

          Solara
    14. I think one thing that makes Levi epic in his fighting isn’t that he’s so fast and strong and everything, but that he KNOWS the limitations of things (his own and opponent’s, after engaging them anyway) and utilizes what CAN (or what more important thing can) be done.

      If a mistake is made, he’s shown to be able to quickly learn from it on the fly and plan differently later, like how quickly he adapted to fighting the Female Titan after their first engagement, seeing her harden her skin the way she did, how intelligent she appeared to be (like actively blocking the Titan weak spot), and so on, coupled with the objective he had in mind in simply rescuing Eren while pretty much ignoring taking the Titan’s life. So rather than, like Mikasa tried to do (and almost learned the hard way what Levi and co. did before), trying to go for the kill, all he did was simply aim to disable her as much as he could until Eren could be snatched up.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
    15. Wow, Corporal Levi, you’re the Shit! Just look at him spin. (In a reverential way in case people misunderstand)

      The scene with him retrieving Ivan’s badge and him with Petra’s father soundly establishes a softer side in Levi than his regular badass image.

      Maybe that’s why it’s arranged for him to sprain his ankle this episode so he’ll most certainly be out of action for a while. Else he might just curb stomp the whole show.

      Now for the political fallout from failing to capture the Female Titan. (Meaning less action scenes and more time for Studio WIT to recuperate once again before the finale, seeing as they’ve been using stock footage for the pre-OP scenes to fill up time for the past 3 weeks)

      echykr
    16. I slipped for 24 minuets at work to hide in my car and watch this episode. You see I knew I needed some adrenaline pump to get by today, having slept so late trying to wait for the episode but couldn’t do it, and this episode made me go back to the office with bloodshot eyes, enough! It was enough watching squad Levi get eradicated last episode, and now we see their families, and Petra’s dad, talking about her marriage – I will rewatch this episode later, there’s still this fire burning in my chest that makes me want to cry, very.

      Though I think the writer had no intention that the outcome of this expedition would reveal the female titan’s identity, something I did not expect. Though, why was she crying? Was it that afraid of Levi? Or was she a victim of the wars with the titans, with those that are playing with the threads of it all. Leaving that aside, if I still assume it is who it is, I would like that person to give a damm good reason, a VERY GOOD reason, why it did what it did, I deserve that much as a viewer.

      Thanks for your review, as good as ever 🙂

      Cheers, M.

      Mi-Chan
    17. I read the manga and I have to say this is one of the few series where the anime is better than the manga. Anime as a medium is able to capture and evoke the raw emotions of loss and mourning more powerfully than manga can. Some of the anime-only scenes really added that human element to the story which was great to see. The Petra scene was more moving though I do feel like it focused too much on that potential romance between Petra and Levi than the camaraderie of the entire Levi squad which I thought would be more realistic and less fan-service for those who mindlessly like to pair relationships.

      fishies
    18. Fuck. Fuck. That scene.

      …Petra……………..

      If I were Levi, I would’ve at least broken Dieter’s jaw for being such a selfish bastard– even if he had noble intentions. Respect to Levi for maintaining his composure all-throughout.

      Beedle
    19. Damn…that was a beautiful episode. Not just animation wise (which was movie quality) but the emotions in this episode. It didn’t sucker punch out any emotions like episode 21 but slowly drained you throughout the episode until the end. Levi’s expressions throughout the episode, where you could see him trying to maintain his composure and deteriorating throughout as he witnesses tragedy after tragedy. Damn. And when he gave Dieter Petra’s badge and lied that it was Ivan’s just to comfort him… :-(, giving up the only thing he had left of Petra dammit your such a good corporal. I really felt for Levi.

      Also, I think Auruo liked Petra. Petra respected and admired corporal Levi so Auruo imitated him to get her attention. The only time you see him smile is in that flashback shot where he is looking fondly at Petra, you could see the despair on his face when Petra died and he’s already pretty full of himself, so why else would he want to imitate corporal Levi?

      Also, in the preview for the next episode I really like that last shot of Annie. I get the feeling of her standing about waiting on corrupt nobles and just turning a blind eye on it.

    20. Levi fighting looked like the Oboro style from Muramasa with that whirlwind. He’s only lacking demon swords.

      That last scene where she was crying, was it for failing the mission after so much effort and killing or because she regretted being defeated so easily?
      Let’s see when someone realizes who she is in the next arc. A good investigation should uncover it (where were you during the day the 57th expedition took place miss?). >.<

      Ebisu
    21. Petra is gettin lots of attention. Female Titan curb stomping her, slow-mo toss off the wagon and now her Dad approaching Levi about her. Jeez.
      I have a feeling that Round 2 – Eren vs Female Titan will happen when he heads into the loving Military Police waiting for him in the inner most wall…(based on that opening theme song and failure of Erwin’s Expedition.)
      Damn 3 episodes left for SnK and BrBa. Ohhh man. So exciting!!!

      Heisenburg
    22. I’ve read through everything, and didn’t see anyone react to how the Female Titan seemed to be crying after Levi and Mikasa were fleeing with Eren – a pretty significant scene, considering they emphasized that Levi was looking back at her while she was crying. Any thoughts?

      MarkBadong
      1. So a friend of mine who can speak Japanese told me that Isayama (manga author of this series) posted on his blog that he was the one to suggest the anime-only scenes with Dieter and Petra and that he is “happy that his suggestions were accepted.”

        That guy really wants to destroy me T_T

        Misk
        1. Regret for killing people in vain?

          She seemed like enjoying it at least in one instance (the poor guy that was rolled like a toy in the air).

          Whatever the reason was, it was not regret over the killed people.

          vladrin
        2. It’s too early to dismiss regret. Even in the manga that possibility hasn’t even been considered yet.

          But in a war you can’t immediately feel sorry for the people you’re gunning down for trying to kill you. Mostly it’s in the aftermath when you realize the atrocities both sides have committed for the sake of the mission/goal.

          So until character of the FT is better fleshed out, I wouldn’t put it past her to feel regret

          Vagrant
    23. This episode hurt, it really did. I was quite literally beside myself by the end of the episode. This anime has done real good job of portraying the characters emotions imo especially these last few eps like Erwin’s silent fury as he watches his plan completely & utterly fall apart & Levi’s deteriorating emotional condition as things go on culminating to him looking like he wants nothing more then the earth to open and swallow him as Petra’s father inquires about her.

      I think the last anime I watched that evoked feelings such feelings from me was FMA (The 1st one, not brotherhood) Good stuff…

      fatalblue
    24. she was crying cause of fear, for the first time she almost faced death as Levi was slicing her into pieces and if yandere Mikasa hadn’t interfered, who knows He might have actually killed her to avenge his comrades,too bad he got hurt cause of Mikasa’s hastiness.

      TECK
    25. dammn petra, so damn cute too cute to die yyyyyy SnK universe whyyyy!!!!!
      Annie ma girl ahhh i forgot about them eyes….

      Yes id say about 1/2 of us know who the female titan is at this point even if you didnt read the manga, the clues are there if you watch closely enough. But that crying at the end there, it happened for a reason, and levi realized it, maybe he can use that to figure it out, i dunno how they figure it out anyway….shhhh ppl who know dont ruin it for the animewathcers

      Levi was godly, holy flying buzzsaw batman, i love that previous poster’s comment that he did did wat everyone including mikasa in eren mode barely managed, humulitate that titan, he could have won if he wanted to he could have killed her too. He was a beast, a demon hehe, is it bad that im more mad that he broke his leg than i am over petra’s body being tossed out. but rlly thgh he better not be hur the rest of the anime ill be pissed.

      Setting up for that cliffhanger, they better bring it back in like 2 seasons max or im gonna be eren titan mad XD

      ScarletNyx
    26. I think the reason of female titan tears was because she already had discovered by Eren when he was fighting her.. the moment he saw her identity, he frozen.. so she toke that chance to cut off his titan head and capture him.. she was so confident that she would capture him and success the mission, at the same time keeps her identity .. however, the appearance of Levi and mikasa was a surprise not to say they have stopped her movement and released Eren … therefore, she was hopeless as she lost her place to both teams, her original team (the enemy) because she failed to fulfill the mission and Eren team.. no more playing games on their land anymore..

      Hana
    27. This episode, as per the norm now, just crushed me.

      Folks behind the walls think Erwin and Levi aren’t affected by what happens to their people. They couldn’t be more wrong. My heart broke for me both, but especially Levi who seemed to take his squadmates’ deaths particularly hard.

      The growth Eren has gone through is very interesting. As well as seeing Mikasa continue to struggle with the skills she has and the emotions that might get her killed.

      I hope to see a true Mikasa/Levi team up in the future. What we saw was cool as is but if Mikasa weren’t enraged and Levi hadn’t been injured I think Nice Ass would’ve finally been taken out. (More’s the mystery, I suppose).

      Cannot wait for the second season, and I was very surprised to learn this was mostly an anime-only portion of the story, as it worked for me so well. The cruelty of having to toss the bodies of the dead was haunting.

      Until then, AoT figmas are calling my name. <3

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