Public Records: Episode 1 Discussion

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First episodes are very important for numerous reasons. They need to grab viewers' attention while still introducing key characters and the plot (or at least sub-plots.)

Survey Corpse does both of these within the first 10 minutes.

We meet Eren Jaeger, a young boy who has some brain issue causing him to have trouble waking up. He also seems to have, like in the regular SNK, a premonition or prediction of sorts to the danger ahead. His sister Mikasa Ackerman wakes him up.  Levi is a pretty dark character, but good-intentioned, as upon hearing about the virus he immediately visits Petra Ral and convinces her to evacuate with him, along with his twin sister Lani, who is not so friendly or easily-convinced to go with her brother. Erwin Smith and Hanji Zoe both work for CDC, a company whose sister building in Seattle could not properly initiate a lockdown due to its system being overwritten. Schools in Seattle are put on lockdown; Jean Kirschtein takes the chaos as an opportunity to cut class. Student Council  President Marco Bodt follows after him, and Marco's friend Armin Arlert, worried for him and attempting to keep himself from having an attack, tries to track down his friend.  Eren and Mikasa leave the hospital after their father, Grisha Jaeger, warns them to. Mike Zacharius informs Erwin and Hanji of the situation and what he knows before the two enter the Quarantined Zone of Seattle.

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There are a few important bits of this episode that should be taken note of.

1. Eren's medical issues. Just like in SnK, Eren most likely has something special attached to these medical problems that will help the characters in their quest to fight the virus.
   
2. Grisha. This should be fairly self-explanatory. What does he have to do with the virus outbreak???
   
3. The Seattle CDC hacking incident. Which might be tied to Grisha. Maybe. Only the writers know for sure.
   
4. Jean's attitude. He probably isn't like this without reason. What motivated him to leave so suddenly?
   
5. Marco's soft side. It might get him into trouble as the virus spreads.
   
6. Armin. He has medication for something. It isn't explicitly stated. Wonder how it'll tie into later episodes as the virus spreads?
   
7. Hanji and Erwin's findings (whenever they find something. They were sent into the Quarantine Zone for a reason, after all, so eventually they're bound to find stuff. Pay attention to whatever they encounter. It's bound to be important.
   
8. Levi. Seriously. He kept his sister's existence from Petra. And Petra's from Lani. He may be well-intentioned, but he likes hiding things, and in the crisis that's sure to unravel, let's pay close attention to what this guy's keeping secret.
   
9. Lani. Lani's as stand-off-ish as Levi is closely-guarded. Their relationship is strained. Why? Lani is probably more likely to reveal info than Levi is, what with her sharp tongue and obvious grudge against her brother. There's clearly more to their strained sibling relationship than just lack of communication. My suggestion: Keep tabs on their backstories and anything Lani reveals in passing while snapping back at her brother and Petra.

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Personally, I have a few theories that I'd like to share. (Not claiming if they're true or not or that they're in any way legit, they're just theories I'm posing based on what I saw in this Episode.)

1. Eren is immune to the virus/has control over those infected. Like in the series, Eren seems to be special. Whatever he was supposed to have checked out at the doctor's is probably going to come back in a big way in later episodes, and I'm betting it's that (like in SnK) it gives him special powers.
2. Levi has some drug issues. The first time we see him he's calling someone about a used needle. He also is a secretive person, so he could be keeping it from Petra and Lani. So. Yeah. (Maybe it's the point of contention between him and Lani? Idk.)
3. Armin has anxiety. Maybe not, but it's something he's had attacks for in the past, and he certainly gets pretty anxious when Marco and Jean bust out of the room. Then again, it could be some other psychiatric issue he's dealing with. Still, I'm willing to bet it's gonna prove a problem moving into furthter episodes as the virus spreads.

I'd also like to personally point out the things I thought made this episode hella.

• The background and sprite art. Oh my god, the background and sprite art.
• The voice acting. Let me tell you, I've heard lots of audioplays before, both professional and fan-made. These guys are very talented. Some of them you'll recognize from Attack on Space, some you probably haven't heard before, but in either case, they're all very talented.
• The planning that's gone into this is just incredible, you guys. There are already some things I'm 99.9% positive are foreshadowing that I've spotted, and to have the scripts be that intricate already is sweeeeeeet. Like, seriously. You have no idea. This series is gonna be hella rad, yo. The writing team is phenomenal.
• And hey, shoutout to the video editing! This episode blended seamlessly and the transitions were handled very well. Part of that's writing, but the part we see as viewers is the fantastic job done by the audio/visual editor (who also happens to be Lani's voice AND the director)!
• Is anyone else catching on to the Bible theme? With the episode names and the quotes? Because. Fair warning. It's a theme. Expect to see it again.

Overall, I really enjoyed this episode. It did everything a first episode is supposed to do. I'm super stoked for the other episodes to come and I'm really looking forward to seeing what this talented group can do!

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What are your thoughts, theories, and ideas about Episode One? Did you like it? Was there something you wish hadn't happened? Something you'd like to see in later episodes?