Reiner, transforming into the Armored Titan, rampaged through Eren's former hometown, engaging in a prolonged struggle with the members of the Survey Corps.
Outside the Walls, the Beast Titan and another Titan with a massive shell-like structure on its back stared into the city.
Survey Corps Commander Erwin Smith and Captain Levi Ackerman shifted their attention beyond the Walls.
The atmosphere of 'Attack on Titans' instantly grew tense.
"Holy crap, I knew the Beast Titan was definitely going to show up here."
"What the hell is that four-legged crawling Titan? A new intelligent Titan? Seriously, how many intelligent Titans does 'Attack on Titans' even have? The Armored Titan, the Female Titan, the Beast Titan, the Attack Titan, the Founding Titan, the Jaw Titan, and the Colossal Titan… This show has way too many people who can transform—just like 'Ultraman'."
"'Ultraman'? Can you not mention that word? I can't help laughing."
"Even though the transformation settings are similar, the story gap is huge. You really can't compare them to 'Ultraman'."
"So the Survey Corps is up against an unknown Titan faction outside the Walls? Damn, the author's imagination is insane."
"The Beast Titan even summoned a whole group of Titans outside the Walls. How does he even do that?"
"Didn't the story explain it earlier? The Beast Titan has a serum that can turn humans into Titans. He probably used that to create all those mindless Titans nearby."
"Turning living humans directly into Titans? That damn Beast Titan… absolutely disgusting."
Inside the Walls, Reiner fought against Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlert, and other Survey Corps members. Outside the Walls, Erwin and Levi faced the Beast Titan, the Cart Titan, and an entire swarm of Pure Titans.
Within just a few minutes of runtime, the audience had a full understanding of the battlefield layout.
Erwin knew they had to protect the horses. Otherwise, in a Titan-infested environment like this, a Survey Corps without mounts would be completely wiped out by the Pure Titans.
Faced with the Beast Titan's strategy, retreat was no longer an option. It was obvious the Survey Corps had fallen into his trap—Wall Maria was nothing more than bait to lure them in for total annihilation.
The forces split into two groups.
"Let us once again dedicate our hearts to humanity!"
With Erwin's pre-battle speech, the episode entered its true main act.
"Wait… Reiner's already here, but where's Bertholdt?"
Someone raised the question in the fan group.
"Yeah! Where's Bertholdt? The Armored Titan and the Beast Titan might still be beatable, but what about him? He's the Colossal Titan—steaming hot, absurdly huge. How do you even fight that?"
"This is bad. If Bertholdt transforms inside the city, Eren and the others are finished."
"Damn it, this pacing is insane. Last week it was all slow domestic drama, and now—within one episode—the Survey Corps is already clashing head-on with Reiner."
The remainder of the episode focused on Reiner's battle inside the Walls.
Though exhausting, Reiner had already been defeated by Eren before. With the combined strength of the Survey Corps, the fight didn't drag on for long. Reiner was defeated yet again.
Reiner—who in the entirety of 'Attack on Titans' only ever won once, and that was against a Wall.
Once again, he fell.
Compared to his first appearance—wrapped in armor and looking unstoppable—his actual combat record was laughably mismatched with his imposing Titan form.
In fact, throughout the entire series, aside from breaching the Wall in episode one, Reiner basically never wins.
So when he lost again here, viewers barely reacted. If anything, his perceived threat level dropped even further. Compared to the Female Titan, his sense of oppression wasn't even close.
His combat strength plummeted in the audience's mind—from "top-tier" to barely above rookie level.
But at the end of the episode, a flashback appeared.
Before the battle began, Reiner and Bertholdt stood atop the Wall, talking. The two swore that on the battlefield of Wall Maria, they would capture Eren and bring the conflict to an end.
And so—
Outside the Walls, the Beast Titan grabbed a barrel and hurled it violently into the city.
Bertholdt's strategy was revealed through narration.
He planned to transform into the Colossal Titan midair, crushing the Survey Corps with a devastating aerial impact.
However, upon seeing Reiner's Titan body lying below—already severely damaged—he hesitated, fearing he might kill Reiner as well. Instead of transforming immediately, he descended near him and spoke.
Reiner's head had been blown halfway off, but his consciousness had already shifted into his body's neural network, waiting for the Titan's power to regenerate him.
"I have a request. Please move your Titan body slightly. If you can't… then I'm sorry. Prepare yourself. I'll end everything."
Allowing his teammate's remaining consciousness to reposition the body away from the blast was Bertholdt's final act of mercy.
Next—
He was about to transform.
The episode ended abruptly.
When the ending theme played—
"I really want to curse."
"In making me suffer, that bastard author has never disappointed."
"For ratings, was this really necessary? Can you at least be sincere for once? Cutting it off here again?"
"I give up."
"Author, can you please stop using your dark arts? Let me have one peaceful weekend, okay? Every Saturday after 'Attack on Titans', I can't sleep thinking about the plot."
"This habit of yours really needs to change. Keep this up, and you'll lose me."
"Forget it. Don't complain on his social media—he obviously doesn't read it. Or he reads it and ignores us."
"How does someone get this rich and still have no bad habits? If he gambled or invested badly and lost all his money, maybe he'd work even harder."
"Honestly, he's pretty pure. Maybe that's why he's been able to keep his writing quality so high for so many years. See you next week."
"See you next week. Hopefully, this battle arc will finally finish."
"Unlikely. Feels like at least two more episodes."
The episode ended with a rating of 15.86%, a slight increase from the previous week.
But ratings alone couldn't capture the audience's excitement.
From the buildup alone, viewers could already feel how incredible the upcoming story would be.
The Battle to Reclaim Wall Maria—Jing Yu considered it the strongest arc in all of 'Attack on Titans'.
In terms of plot, storytelling, character depth, thematic weight—everything—it was the absolute peak of the series.
A major reason 'Attack on Titans' was hailed as a masterpiece on par with 'Fullmetal Alchemist' even before the manga ended was because of this arc.
Not flawless—but its strengths far outweighed its flaws.
Had the original author taken two or three years off to properly plan the ending and deliver a conclusion above a certain quality line, 'Attack on Titans' would likely stand alongside works like 'Slam Dunk' in manga history.
Its foundation was already strong. All it lacked was a memorable ending.
Unfortunately, serialized manga—much like Jing Yu's past-life web novels or Jin Yong's newspaper-serialized wuxia—are bound by deadlines.
Sometimes it's not a lack of ability, but a lack of time. One or two bad weeks, a burst of misguided confidence, and suddenly—
"This idea is genius. Fans will love it."
And just like that, what readers see as absolute trash becomes what creators think is peak fiction.
Once the plot derails, the entire work collapses.
Still, at least up through this arc—and even well into the Marley storyline—' Attack on Titans' remained solid, with growing thematic depth.
After the episode aired, online discussion about 'Attack on Titans' completely crushed 'Mobile Suit Gundam SEED'.
Yes.
Crushed.