Special Operations Squad: Eve of the Counterattack, Part 2

Now formally a Scout, Eren rides to the regiment's disused former headquarters, a remodeled castle chosen as his hideout. Oruo Bozad tries to intimidate him on the way and bites through his own tongue instead; Petra Rall later scolds Oruo for the act and for aping Levi's mannerisms. Eren quietly registers that these friendly people, along with Eld Gin and Gunther Schultz, are the elites assigned to cut him down should his Titan slip its leash. Levi, disgusted by the neglected building, puts everyone to work scrubbing it, and Eren learns he must still sleep in the basement by order of the brass. Petra explains that Levi, once a thug, follows rules now because Erwin Smith pulled him into the regiment.

At dinner the squad probes Eren about his power and learns nothing beyond the official reports. Hange arrives seeking a volunteer for the next day's experiment and, given the smallest opening, launches into an all-night account of the two captured Titans. Named Sawney and Beane after a cannibal clan, the pair endured communication attempts, sunlight deprivation, and pain studies that hurt Hange as much as the subjects. Eren begins to see the section commander's mania as another form of the regiment's hunger for answers.

Morning brings a report that both Titans have been killed, their skeletons already steaming away. The culprit escaped using ODM gear, meaning a soldier destroyed humanity's only research specimens. While Hange grieves and the Military Police take over, Erwin quietly approaches Eren and asks what he sees and who he believes the real enemy is, then apologizes for the strange question and walks off.

Eren is inducted into the Special Operations Squad, relocating to the Scouts' old castle headquarters with Levi, Petra, Oruo, Eld, and Gunther as both guardians and executioners.

Hange recounts the Titan experiments performed on the captured specimens Sawney and Beane, keeping Eren up through the night.

Erwin hints at hidden plans, telling Miche he will reveal everything about the coming expedition when the moment is right.

Sawney and Beane are assassinated by an unknown soldier with ODM gear, and Erwin poses his cryptic question about the real enemy.

This is the 15th episode of season 1, produced by Wit Studio with Production I.G, directed by Kiyoshi Fukumoto and written by Hiroshi Seko. It aired in Japan on July 21, 2013 and in the US on August 16, 2014, adapting the manga chapter Special Operations Squad. Crunchyroll streamed it under a variant title.

The in-world information segment introduces the Order of the Walls, the Wall-worshiping sect whose influence has swelled since Wall Maria fell, seeding a thread that dominates later seasons. Erwin's closing question foreshadows the traitor hunt at the heart of the 57th expedition.