Bite: The 57th Exterior Scouting Mission, Part 3

Bite (嚙みつく) is the nineteenth episode of the Attack on Titan anime. It was produced by Wit Studio and Production I.G. In this episode, while facing an important decision, Eren recalls his time with the Special Operations Squad before the start of the expedition.

Overview
Levi fires a noise round and tells the squad to continue moving forward. With more of the rearguard getting killed by the Female Titan, Eren begs his squad to let him fight but they tell him to trust Levi's decision. As he considers changing into his Titan form, Levi tells him to choose to be either a monster or a member of the Survey Corps. Eren starts remembering when Hange, Levi and his squad had him try to transform into a Titan for experimental purposes but was unable to. During a break when he tried to pick a teaspoon, Eren suddenly partially transformed, much to the squad's shock. They almost attacked him but Levi ordered them to stand down. Hange deduced that Eren is able to transform into a Titan not by solely injuring himself but also due to his desire to fulfill his goals. The squad apologized to Eren and told him they should trust each other. Remembering this, Eren decides to trust his squad's plan. It is then revealed that Levi's squad is bait to lure the Female Titan into an ambush where Erwin and his men fire hundreds of grappling hooks at the Female Titan, trapping it. Levi leaves his squad to meet up with Erwin to find out who the Female Titan is.

Summary
Still being chased by the Female Titan, the squad begs Levi for orders, proposing to engage in fight with the Titan. However, Levi tells them to cover their ears and, much to their surprise, fires a sound grenade in order to remind them of their job, which is making sure that Eren isn't injured even if it costs their lives. This leaves Eren surprised as he was under the impression that they were just keeping watch on him. Levi then orders them to keep going on horses.

Eren questions this decision and his protests get stronger as he witnesses the arrival of more reinforcements, knowing that if they don't help them, they will get killed. However, Eld and Gunther just tell him to continue running at top speed. Just as Eren claims that only the Levi Squad may be able to defeat the Female Titan, one of the soldiers behind them gets killed. Eager to help the remaining soldier, Eren keeps insisting, not wanting to abandon the remaining soldier, but Petra tells him to obey Levi's orders. Eren further asks for explanation, but Oluo states that there's no need for one and tells Eren that he doesn't understand just because he's new.

At that moment, Eren realizes that he doesn't need to depend on the squad as he can fight on his own. Just as he is about to bite his hand, Petra notices it, insisting that Eren promised not to do it unless his life is in danger. However, Levi states that Eren is not wrong and he should do it if he wants to, knowing that nothing can stop him. Levi then presents Eren with a choice - either trust the squad and keep going or believe in himself and go back. Levi, however, states that nobody knows what one's choice will cause so Eren should pick the choice he'll regret the least. Petra, once again, begs Eren to have faith in them, which prompts Eren to recall his time spent with the Levi Squad.

At that time, Levi tells Eren that he found a way to stop Eren in his Titan form without killing him. This method would only injure him as they would cut Eren out of the Titan's body. Levi remarks that any injured parts would grow back anyway, and when Eren complains about that, Levi tells him that he and the squad also take a risk as Eren may kill them in the process. An excited Hange then gets an approval to do experiments. They take Eren inside a dried well, with Hange saying that it may be able to hold him down if he loses control. However, after giving him a signal, nothing happens and Hange and Levi find out that despite repeatedly biting himself, Eren was unable to transform.

Knowing that Eren losing his powers would hinder their plan to reclaim Wall Maria, Levi orders Eren to do something about it. However, the rest of the squad seems to be at ease, saying that Eren is more human than they thought. Feeling pain of his not healed wounds, Eren drops a teaspoon and just as he is about to pick it up, he suddenly transforms. A shocked Eren then witnesses the squad facing him with fear and anger, only Levi tells everyone to calm down. Not listening, they keep bombarding Eren with questions until he tells them to be quiet and that's when Hange returns, extremely happy to be able to touch Eren's transformed arm. Eren then removes his arm from his Titan body, causing the Titan carcass to evaporate. While Hange is displeased, she then notices the Titan hand is holding the teaspoon.

Later, Eren talks to Levi about the rest of the squad, surprised to see their hostility against him. Levi states that he chose them to be the part of the squad exactly because they don't trust Eren. He also explains that their behavior to expect the worst is how they survived the whole time, but at the same time, it doesn't mean that they felt nothing when they turned their blades against Eren. The two are then called by Hange who shows them the teaspoon that Eren's Titan hand held and concludes that in order to transform, Eren must have a clear goal in mind, as he always had each time he previously transformed, as the teaspoon was not 'harmed' at all.

Seeing this, the rest of squad realizes that Eren had transformed accidentally and faces their own self-inflicted punishment decided on earlier: They bite their own hands, much to the surprise of Eren and Hange. Petra then asks Eren to rely on them, as they will rely on Eren. Back to the forest, Levi yells out at Eren that he's taking too long to decide. In spite of his inner chaos, Eren decides to keep going along with the squad and apologizes as he hears the screams of the dying soldier. The Female Titan begins accelerating and when it is about to catch up, they reach the location of the other soldiers. Erwin gives a signal to fire hundreds of grappling hooks at the Titan, successfully trapping it.

While the squad continues on horses, Levi leaves, having Eld to lead the squad. They then brag to Eren about the power of the Survey Corps and even though Eren is surprised to see that they intended to capture the Female Titan alive, he happily agrees. Levi reaches Erwin, just to be commended that they lead the Titan into the trap, but Levi states that it's thanks to the soldiers who sacrificed themselves. Both of them then watch the Female Titan, eager to find out who is inside its body.

Trivia

 * In the TV version of this episode, when Hange starts explaining her observation, she wears normal glasses, but after she looks at the teaspoon, her glasses are changed into her rubber glasses.

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