: For the first time, the Survey Corps' Omni-Directional Mobility (ODM) gear is used not to fight Titans, but to evade and fight other humans.
The central thesis of "Smoke Signal" is that humanity's greatest threat is not the monsters outside the walls, but the corrupt systems within them. "Attack on Titan" Smoke Signal(2018)
: The arrival of Kenny the Ripper and his Anti-Personnel Control Squad visually and narratively cements this shift. Their ODM gear is modified to use firearms instead of blades, proving that their sole purpose is the extermination of other human beings rather than monsters. : For the first time, the Survey Corps'
In "Smoke Signal," the narrative actively strips the Titans of their mystery and supernatural terror. Their ODM gear is modified to use firearms
The title of the episode refers directly to the tactical colored flares used by the Survey Corps to communicate across long distances without speaking.
The Shift from Monster to Man: Analyzing Political Realignment in Attack on Titan ’s "Smoke Signal"
: The episode opens with the Survey Corps attempting to test Eren Yeager's hardening abilities to seal Wall Maria. The experiments fail miserably, resulting in grotesque, deformed Titan partial-transformations.