Season 3 opens with the Scouts in hiding. Eren's hardening experiments go nowhere, Pastor Nick turns up murdered, and the crown demands custody of Eren and Historia. A body-double ruse in Trost buys the regiment time, until a shotgun blast on a rooftop announces Kenny the Ripper, a killer straight out of Levi's past.
Summary
A brief flash-forward shows a long-haired Eren gazing at the ocean, wondering what waits beyond it. In the present, the surviving members of the 104th settle into a rural cabin as the rebuilt Levi Squad, tasked with guarding Eren and Historia. Hange's field test of Eren's Titan powers ends badly: each transformation produces a smaller, weaker body, and his hardening ability never materializes, leaving the plan to plug Wall Maria on indefinite hold. Erwin, meanwhile, has traced Historia's parentage to Lord Rod Reiss and questions how a regional noble came to hold the Walls' secrets.
Grim news reaches the cabin: interior Military Police tortured Pastor Nick to death in the Trost barracks. His ripped-out fingernails tell Levi the priest never talked, so the Reiss investigation remains hidden. A warning from Erwin sends the squad fleeing moments before MPs swarm the safehouse. The government has frozen all Scout operations and wants Eren and Historia surrendered; Erwin himself has been detained.
In Trost, where royal flags mark the king's coronation anniversary, kidnappers snatch a disguised Jean and Armin while the real targets travel hidden in a covered wagon. Mikasa and the others crush the abductors, but their amateurish work strikes Levi as wrong for an MP job. He assures Nifa that Kenny the Ripper is no myth but a man he grew up beside, and realizes too late how Kenny would stage a tail. Gunfire tears across the rooftop: Nifa and Abel are killed by soldiers wielding firearm-fitted ODM gear, and Kenny himself strides toward a screaming Levi.
Key Events
The new Levi Squad forms. Armin and the remaining top cadets of the 104th are assigned to protect Eren and Historia at a hidden cabin in Wall Rose.
Eren's powers deteriorate. His Titan shrinks with every transformation and hardening fails completely, shelving the Wall Maria sealing plan.
Pastor Nick is murdered by the Military Police's First Interior Squad, and the crown moves against the Scouts, demanding Eren and Historia while arresting Erwin.
Kenny ambushes Levi. After the Trost decoy operation succeeds, a squad armed with gun-mounted ODM gear kills Nifa and Abel, and Levi comes face to face with the man who raised him.
Notes
Smoke Signal is the first episode of season 3 and the 38th overall, animated by Wit Studio with Production I.G. Hiroyuki Tanaka directed from a script by Yasuko Kobayashi. It premiered in Japanese theaters via a US Funimation screening on July 10, 2018, ahead of its July 23 broadcast in Japan.
The episode condenses six manga chapters and debuts the fourth opening theme, Red Swan, replacing Opfert eure Herzen!. Its cold open at the sea foreshadows imagery the series returns to at the end of season 3.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What episode is Smoke Signal in Attack on Titan?
Smoke Signal is the first episode of Attack on Titan's third season, the 38th episode overall, directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka and airing in Japan on July 23, 2018.
What happens to Eren's Titan powers in Smoke Signal?
Hange Zoe's field tests show Eren Jaeger's Titan transformations growing smaller and weaker each time, and his hardening ability never appears, putting the plan to seal Wall Maria on indefinite hold.
Who is killed at the start of Smoke Signal?
Pastor Nick is tortured to death by the Military Police's First Interior Squad in the Trost barracks, but his torn-out fingernails tell Levi Ackermann that the priest never revealed the secret of the Reiss family.
Who ambushes Levi at the end of the episode?
Kenny Ackermann, a killer from Levi's past known as Kenny the Ripper, ambushes Levi's squad on a Trost rooftop, and his men, using firearm-fitted omni-directional mobility gear, kill Nifa and Abel.
Why does the government move against the Scout Regiment in Smoke Signal?
The crown freezes all Scout Regiment operations and demands the surrender of Eren Jaeger and Historia Reiss, and detains Erwin Smith, after connecting Lord Rod Reiss to the Walls' secrets.
Sources & Information
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View on FandomThis content is original writing by Daddy Jim Headquarters based on the Dragon Ball anime series, manga, and official materials. Episode and chapter references are cited where applicable.
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- Manga chapter pages: Jump Comics volume covers, credited to Shueisha and Akira Toriyama.
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