Amin surviving was a bit surprising for me. I mean, the dude got roasted until all the skin in his upper body burned off AND fell down a 50 meter height. Looks like Armin is much stronger than I thought. Ah well, it's great to see one of my favorite characters alive...
But don't forget that we have now reached the next "big decision" in the series: the Titan serum. It turns out Erwin survived as well, and since the serum can only be used once, so it all comes down to this: should Erwin, the commander and the one who can lead the Survey Corps, survive, or should Armin, best friend to the protagonist who's also got good wits, live on instead? I visited the Snk tumblr tag, and let's just say, the Snk fandom is in Civil War right now because of it.
Also, pretty much RIP Bertolt at this point. He's going to be Titan food for whoever becomes a titan at this point so that they become a shifter/the next Colossal Titan. Even Zeke/Beast Titan admitted that.
But the most interesting part of this chapter for me was the scene where Zeke talks to Eren. Looks like those theories regarding Zeke being related to Grisha may become true after all. I mean, look at this panel.
They both look very similar, bearing practically identical features (only difference being the hair and beard, but if they are brothers, one of their parents could be dark-haired, while the other could be light-haired). Even Eren ends up mistaking Zeke for Grisha. Also, Zeke tells Eren that Grisha apparently "brainwashed" him, as well as Zeke himself. Is this just a trick to convince Eren to join his side, or was Zeke really being sincere about this? Either way, I can't wait to see this mystery get expanded on later in the series.
And let's not forget with Ymir's letter to Historia that Hange recovered from Reiner, another mystery has been raised. What does the letter contain? I bet it will explain a few mysteries and discuss Ymir's whereabouts (probably either Ymir was devoured by a Titan to let it become a Titan Shifter or she is now a prisoner in the Homeland).
And Reiner is officially the
plot armor-blessed luckiest character at this point. He once again survives what could've been death at the hands of the Survey Corps thanks to Zeke and the Mule Titan. I do feel a bit bad for Reiner though. If you look closely at his final panel in the chapter, you can see a tear coming out of his eye. Perhaps it's from learning that Bertolt has very little chance of survival at this point? If Reiner survived yet again, I have a feeling Isayama wants to use him for that final battle, so it seems like his character arc isn't done yet.