I’ve been thinking a lot about the military meeting in Chapter 70 and the incredibly cryptic conversation about the serum that raises some puzzling questions:

Why did Erwin not just issue an order to Levi?



Why should Levi take responsibility of the serum? Wouldn’t Erwin or even Hange be a better choice? Erwin did, after all, take charge during the Chicken Titan attack on Orvud despite his missing arm.



What is up with Levi’s question about Erwin’s dream?



Why do they look so fucking miserable??

I can only think of one way to explain this…TITAN ERWIN. It’s a theory I’ve seen floating around, and I think it may actually turn out to be Survey Corps’ secret plan for the serum.

Here is a long ass post explaining why:

The serum: an added advantage

After Kenny passed the serum to Levi, Levi would’ve gone to Erwin and Hange to figure out what to do with it.

Erwin, who always sees a million steps ahead, knows that if they were to go to Shiganshina, the titan shifters will be waiting because they know about the basement plan. There is an epic titan shifter battle waiting to happen.

They know they have to take advantage of the serum’s potential power, and try to give Eren some extra titan support. They’ve seen the serum work on Rod Reiss and Eren, So they’re going to take a chance and transform someone into another titan.

What they don’t yet know is whether they can get their transformed titan to eat a shifter in order to gain the shifting ability.

The Plan

Levi, the most capable soldier, will protect the serum until there is a need to use it.

When it comes down to a titan shifter showdown, Levi will inject the serum into one of the soldiers.

Eren will try to use his coordinate ability to get the transformed titan to eat one of the shifters, most probably Bertholdt. There is a chance that Bert would not shift when there is a need for quick fighting. Erwin knows Bert didn’t transform in Chapter 49/50 and despite its size, the Colossal Titan is slower, not armored, and easier to defeat.

Alternatively, they could try and feed Annie to the titan, but that would make for a rather dangerously crunchy meal. Also, titans don’t voluntarily eat rocks I suppose.

If their titan is not able to eat a shifter, the titan is a threat to the soldiers. Levi will have to decide whether or not the transformed titan should be killed. And Levi will kill the titan, probably.

Potential Titans

There are a few potential candidates for the serum:

Transform any random injured or dying soldier: This is the most convenient and easiest plan to choose. It would save them the heartache of trying to decide on a candidate for transformation. And the serum could potentially save a wounded soldier’s life. But for this plan to succeed, they’d have to brief all the soldiers beforehand. And they can’t risk word of the serum being spread around because the enemy doesn’t know about it yet. It would be better if the serum is used on someone that can be trusted and is privy to the secret plan.

Transform Hange: Hange would probably loooove to volunteer for this. But Hange’s life at this point is precious to the Corps. Hange is the brains behind the technological revolution and titan science, and is next in line to become the commander.

Transform someone from Levi’s squad: Forcing a young soldier to take the serum is too cruel. Looking at all the shit Eren had to go through as a titan, I don’t think Erwin or Papa Levi would agree to this.

Transform Levi: If they do this, they risk losing humanity’s strongest soldier who is capable of incapacitating a titan shifter on his own. If Titan Levi goes berserk, who the hell will be able to take him down? And we are also not sure whether a titan’s strength is directly related to the shifter’s physical strength, so humanity’s strongest may not necessarily be humanity’s strongest titan. Also, there are a few interesting theories floating around that Ackerman blood is immune to any Titan influence, so the serum may not work on him.

Upgrade Titan Eren: Titan Eren already has the “armored” advantage, and god knows how much more shit Eren’s body can take, what with his nosebleeds and all. Plus, two titan shifters are better than one. They’ve seen in the past that Eren could not take down the Armored Titan on his own. The “upgraded” Titan Eren has not been put to the test yet. Eren needs a titan buddy to have a chance at defeating the shifters. So…

Titan Erwin is the best possible choice.

There is a limit to what Erwin can do with one arm and his 3DMG gear on, so he’s technically the weakest soldier in the field and is dispensable when in comes to 3DMG combat.

But Erwin is one of the strongest, most focused minds out of all the characters, and would make a pretty badass titan shifter.

Erwin is determined for the plan to succeed, and he has seen the shifters in action before. He is mentally prepared to fight. As we’ve witnessed with Eren, it takes mental strength and willpower to be a shifter, and Erwin has those qualities in spades.

Once all the plans are put in motion and they are nearing the critical endgame, the soldiers have no need for Erwin’s brand of leadership as Commander of the Survey Corps anymore. So Erwin believes that his presence in the field will not be needed once he transforms. He believes that Hange and Levi can lead the Corps without him. Erwin has been giving more autonomy to his subordinates lately, a sign that he is ready to hand over command.

The Gamble

Whatever happens, whoever takes the serum will die or remain a titan forever if the attempt to eat a shifter is unsuccessful. It is a high-risk gamble, but it is a gamble that will pay off tremendously if it works out.

Also, Erwin and Levi are not completely sure that this sacrifice will be worth it. We don’t even know what’s in the basement. They only have a key, and a dead man’s word that there’s something worth looking for there.

This explains Erwin and Levi’s solemn expressions here when Zackley says:

Levi looks at Erwin and can see that even Erwin is not entirely confident that they will find what they seek in the basement. Which is probably why Levi cryptically challenges Erwin later on, in a last ditch effort to see if Erwin can think of a better strategy.

Levi’s Struggle

I think Erwin and Levi had agreed to the Titan Erwin plan before meeting with Zackley, which is why they looked so morose despite all the positivity about the military developments and the fact that the Wall Maria reclamation is starting to look feasible. But they don’t want Zackley to know the full extent of the plan because they probably think that Zackley wouldn’t agree to transforming someone of such a high rank in the military. Or they just don’t trust Zackley.

Here, the usually smart mouthed captain is unusually quiet, distracted, and has nothing to add because they’ve already discussed the secret plan. This guy here thinks Levi is about to launch into a snarky tirade about how shitty the not-secret military plans are (lol look at the guy sweating nervously… he’s so intimidated by Levi), but Levi looks downcast because he has actually already resigned himself to the secret plan.

Here Erwin is just saying what they’ve probably already discussed. They’ve both arrived at an understanding that they have to be willing to sacrifice everything for victory. And this is exactly what these two have planned for themselves.

It’s interesting that Isayama chose to draw them together in this panel. Because this plan hinges greatly on the life-changing actions and sacrifices of these two men. Erwin may need to sacrifice his life. And Levi may need to kill Erwin and let go of his dependence on Erwin’s leadership. When Erwin says that they are “willing to do anything” in their power, he means it.

Levi is soft-hearted when it comes to sacrifice and death, and he is cautious about doing things recklessly. So, knowingly letting someone take such a risk would definitely upset him. Which explains how reluctant he is when Erwin asked if he would take responsibility of the serum. Levi wishes instead that Erwin had issued an order, not a request.

Erwin does not want to order Levi to take responsibility of the serum, because there is a personal element to job he has in mind for Levi. Erwin knows Levi hates pointless death. Levi always questions whether sacrifices are worth making. So Erwin wants to know that Levi is willing to go ahead with the plan.

I’ve put my shipping goggles aside for this, so I’m gonna assume based on their canon interaction that the bond between Erwin and Levi is platonic but strong. Erwin has been a mentor figure who has seen Levi at his worst and helped Levi to become the soldier he is now. Out of all the living characters, he is the one Levi has known for the longest time. So, Levi is deeply conflicted about possibly having to kill Erwin, even though he knows that it is the best course of action.

The Cryptic Conversation

Let me try to fill in the blanks in the conversation:

LEVI: If it’s a mission…just give me an order. Why do you ask me that? [Erwin you ass. You are asking me to make a choice with no regrets. I don’t do such choices well in case you haven’t noticed]

ERWIN: *surprised stare* [oh shit Levi I thought we discussed this already. Zackley doesn’t need to find out about the real plan. Hush, this isn’t the time to get sassily confrontational pls stop just say yes and let’s pretend this is the first time we’re discussing this] We don’t know under what circumstances this should be used [actually we do but Zackley doesn’t need to know this]. You’d be entrusted with that decisional power too. [You do know what the logical choice is, don’t you, Levi?] Depending on the situation, you would also have to decide on whom to use it.*meaningful stare* [You know I’m the best choice for this. Now hush before Zackley catches on] Will you take this on? [Please tell me you’re willing to do this, I don’t want you to regret it. Remember my awesomely inspiring speech to you about having no regrets, many years ago after you tried to kill me??]

LEVI: … [Damn it Erwin. Are you really willing to gamble your life on this? Do you really have nothing to lose? And I also need to know what the hell I’m supposed to do after you die because I’ve been following your lead all this while] If you are able to realize your dream…what would you do afterwards?

ERWIN: *gentle stare* [Ok, I get that you are upset, you little softie, and I appreciate your concern, but still…] … I still…don’t know…until I do realize it [my future is not relevant to me until this plan succeeds. So I have nothing to lose and I am willing to do whatever it takes]

LEVI: I see. OK. [Fine, you stubborn idiot. I will respect your wishes. I will do what needs to be done] I get it. [I totally understand the reasons why you want to do this but I’m going to continue to brood, thank you very much]

ZACKLEY: *totally oblivious* Yo… you guys wanna see some cool shit I came up with?

Levi’s Choice

If this prediction turns out to be true, the development neatly ties in to Levi’s personal philosophy and Erwin’s speech at the end of ACWNR, where he tells Levi not to regret his own choices, to take ownership of his own choices and not let others make his choices for him.

It’s a sad but appropriate resolution to one of Levi’s personal struggles: having the courage to make his own choices confidently, no matter how they turn out. Part of Levi’s character development is how he learns to lead without relying on someone else to make difficult decisions for him.

Even when he was given the autonomy to choose, Levi gives in to Erwin’s wishes because he respects Erwin and trusts his judgement. He is able to put his sentiments aside for the greater good. But if Erwin dies, Levi will have to learn to trust himself completely. If Hange becomes commander, I think Levi will trust them as he did Erwin, but their relationship as captain and commander would be more equal, as we’ve seen Levi disagreeing with Hange’s judgement before and telling them what to do. So Levi needs to learn to step up as a leader capable of making his own difficult choices.

So yeah, this is the only explanation I can think of to explain the puzzling interaction in the chapter. This really makes me fear for Erwin’s life but I would like to remain optimistic that this secret plan of theirs has a high chance of working out and Erwin will magically grow a right arm and live a long and happy life as a titan shifter. I really want Erwin to survive this shit but the death flags are flying high right now. Help.