‘Attack on Titan’ Kidnaps [SPOILER] Yet Again

Attack on Titan season 3 continues to move a break-neck pace, with one main character now back in the enemy’s clutches.

Spoilers for Attack on Titan season 3 episode 2 follow!

The 39th episode of Attack on Titan, “Pain,” aired this weekend, and it was a thriller from top to bottom. When the screen wasn’t swirling with omni-directional action, the political intrigue was heating up, further separating the Survey Corps and the Military Police and pitting them against each other.

Two of the show’s stars were left out of all the action, however, as Eren Yeager and Historia Reiss — a.k.a. Krista — were captured. They were taken prisoner by a group of thugs led by the mysterious Kenny, and apparently working for the military police. Not long into the episode, they were carted through the gate into Wall Sina, out of reach of their friends.

Of course, both Eren and Historia have been captured in the past — and pretty recently in the show’s timeline. Eren was taken prisoner along with Ymir last season, as Bertholt and Reiner attempted to whisk them away to some secret location.

By the time the Survey Corps caught up with them, Ymir had decided to side with the two Titan traitors, for her own safety and for that of Historia. She helped them kidnap Historia, and they nearly got away, though the scouts managed to save Eren and Historia.

This time they were not so lucky. Of course, Mikasa went after Eren’s captors with everything she had. For the first time in their lives, the graduates of the 104th Traing Corps were forced to kill other human beings, not just titans. While Armin Arlert did not hesitate to shoot someone in order to save his friend, the choice rattled him. It looks like he will be dealing with that decision going forward.

In the end of the episode, we got an idea of who might have orchestrated Historia and Eren’s capture. The two woke up some time later in an undisclosed location, alongside Historia’s estranged father, Lord Reiss. The show dropped a bombshell, revealing to the audience that, by rights, Historia is the true ruler of the entire kingdom with the walls.

It has only just begun, and season 3 of Attack on Titan is already shaping up to be the best one yet. There’s no telling where these twists and turns could lead us. New episodes air every Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, and are available in the U.S. through Hulu, Crunchyroll or Funimation. In addition, Funimation has confirmed that the English dub will begin airing in August.