Attack on Titan Season 4, Episode 9: Recap and Review

Episode 9 – “Brave Volunteers”

Brave Volunteers is the 9th episode of Attack on Titan season 4. Armin is talking to the crystallized Annie Leonhart, he explains what happened three years prior. The Scout Regiment captures the crew of a Marleyan ship thanks to the betrayal of Anti-Marleyan Volunteers. In the last episode, they introduced us to Yelena. She’s leading the revolt. Naturally, the Scouts don’t trust her. She meets with Hange and Levi inside a tent.

While Hange marvels at the Marleyan pistol, Yelena explains the size and scope of the Marleyan military. It shocks Hange to learn that the Marleyan army has aerial capability. She asks, “why they haven’t attacked then.” Yelena tells her that “the Pure Titans that had been unleashed would have hindered a land assault and that Marley is currently already at war with multiple countries.” After the Scouts defeated and took the Colossal and Female Titan, Marley’s enemies to advantaged and declared war.

We will become devils

They forced Yelena and Onyankopon into the Marleyan military after they conquered their nations. Zeke inspired Yelena, and she shot their superiors on his orders. Their goal is to “free the Eldian people.” We cut to Hange, revealing the demands of Zeke Jaeger to Historia Reiss and the Military. Unsurprisingly, they’re resistant. After Eren reveals that a Titan of royal blood would work around the “vow renouncing war, and with that power they could wake the millions of Titans sleeping within the Walls.”

This was the secret that Eren kept from the Scouts last season. He feared it would cause problems for Historia. The military won’t use Marleyan soldiers, so Hange says they need to find volunteers. These volunteers use radios to trap Marleyan ships, allowing Armin’s Colossal Titan to destroy the ships. With Zeke’s life reaching its last years, Eren becomes concern they’re running out of time. Armin fears using the rumbling will make them into the “devils” they’re perceived as.

We have to fight

In the present, the Scouts deal with fallout from Sasha’s death. Armin doesn’t believe that he “understands” Eren anymore. At the gravesite, Conny and Jean stop a Military Police officer from beating Nicolo. The Braun family arrives to grieve. Nicolo offers a dinner invitation to Sasha’s family. Levi brings Zeke to his “hotel” which is a forest with giant trees. Yelena and the Anti-Marleyan Volunteers are being detained by Pyxis.

They don’t trust Zeke and need to keep him on “a short leash.” Yelena has given Pyxis Titan serum. It’s unclear why they want the serum, but I don’t think it’s good. Elsewhere, Armin, Mikasa, and Eren all accept that violence is necessary or they can’t win. Peace is no longer a possibility. Attack on Titan episode 9 marks the end of hope. The Marleyan military has been severely hampered, but as Yelena stated, their military might be great. The imperialism that Marley engaged in has created many enemies. If these forces join with the Scout Regiment, they could destroy Marley.