Eren Finally Got His First Kill on 'Attack on Titan'

Attack on Titan’s fifth episode in Season 2 dives deeper into the realm of uncovering some secret identities, yet another Titan is able to talk, and Eren actually manages to get his first confirmed kill — in his human form, anyway.

So many of the minor characters on Attack on Titan find themselves in pairs throughout the course of the show (like Reiner and Bertholdt in Episode 4), and this week’s episode, “Historia,” hones in on the shared personal history of Christa and Ymir.

Especially in light of “Soldier” last week, we know that one or both of them are hiding some serious secrets. There was a tense moment when Ymir could read the ancient language on a can of fish just before the proverbial shit hit the fan, and, of course, she turned out to be a Titan Shifter in the episode’s final moments. In the episode before that, Minister Nick revealed that Christa also held some kind of secret. In “Historia,” we see their hidden pasts catch up to both of them all at once.

Spoilers follow for Attack on Titan Season 2, Episode 5: “Historia”

Despite being a comparatively tiny Titan, Ymir is able to use her small frame and heightened agility to ravage the Titans assailing the castle. She even manages to speak to her comrades in broken words, not unlike what must have been Conny’s mother shifted into a Titan. They’re both a far cry from the delicate and direct vocal skills of the Beast Titan, however.

We get all this only after an extended flashback of some winter training with the 104th Training Corps.

Christa stubbornly refuses to leave behind an injured Daz in a blizzard after the rest of the 104th Training Corps make it to a remote cabin. Ymir and Christa bond over mysterious pasts, with Ymir admitting that she knew Christa was the illegitimate child of some nobleman, a plot point that will no doubt come into greater prominence as the season progresses. Not unlike Jon Snow more or less being forced into the Night’s Watch by virtue of his birth status in Game of Thrones, Christa had no choice but to enlist in the military under her false persona.

Ymir is drawn to Christa for this reason, recognizing a kindred spirit shamefully trying to live with a dark and mysterious past. She actually uses her Titan power to save Daz in the midst of the blizzard, not because she cares about him whatsoever, but because she doesn’t want to risk Christa’s life.

It’s all about Christa’s safety — even during the present — and it’s back then during the blizzard that Ymir make’s Christa promise that she’ll embrace her true identity when she reveals her true self as well. Ymir is able to defeat quite a few Titans at Castle Utgard, but she’s overwhelmed by sheer numbers in the end. Just as Christa is about to get slammed by a Titan, Mikasa hits the scene in easily the most triumphant moment yet of the season and a dozen or so soldiers — including Eren — mop up the remaining Titans.

In the episode’s final moments, Christa reveals her true name, Historia, to a dismembered Ymir — who seemingly passes out immediately after. But what does her hidden identity even mean to the show? What were Ymir’s motives all along? What’s the “secret” that Eren is about the learn in the next episode?

Bonus Thoughts

• Reiner and Bertholdt simultaneously realize very quickly that Ymir is the Titan that devoured their friend all those years ago, which will almost certainly play into future episodes.
• Conny reasons that Ymir must have known about her Shifter powers for a long time, as opposed to Eren, who basically stumbled upon his.

You can watch the simulcast of Attack on Titan Season 2, Episode 6 “Warrior” on Funimation and Crunchyroll at 10:30 a.m. Eastern next Saturday, May 6 or on Hulu at 11:00 a.m. Eastern.