...that during the Uprising Arc, it was Jean, Sasha and Connie who disagreed with his methods at first...
...and that Mikasa and Armin were the only ones to fully support his decisions, despite his harsh orders and use of violence.
Armin’s wits and bravery.
Mikasa’s resolute answer and Jean’s appalled reaction.
His sideways glance at Mikasa when she reentered the stables after comforting Armin outside.
Sasha and Connie’s troubled expressions and finally, Jean’s confession.
Jean was extremely guilty because it was his aversion to the Captain’s violent methods that led to Armin having to go through the trauma of killing in order to not be killed. Connie and Sasha were guilty because they shared Jean’s view. When Mikasa, of all people, defended Levi, Sasha, Jean and Connie knew they were in trouble: their way of thinking might not have been the most appropriate to the crisis they were in. It was a lesson well learned - later, during the underground assault, they didn’t hesitate to do their job.
Did that mean Armin and Mikasa were better prepared to do their jobs than these three? Not exactly - judging from his reaction, Armin sure wasn’t ready to kill someone so suddenly. What distinguished them from the others was that after losing their family, their hometown and almost losing Eren many times, Armin and Mikasa were the first to come to a fundamental conclusion already shared with Erwin, Levi and Hange: one day, all of them would have to set aside their humanity to make any difference in the world they lived in.
They would do it again less than thirty chapters later. Armin and Mikasa’s pleasantly surprising behavior during the Uprising Arc (at least to Levi) completely foreshadowed their decisions in the Battle of Shiganshina. Ironically, what Levi didn’t know was that these two, who so readily supported him not so long ago, would be the ones to give him the most trouble then because of their decisions.
