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Attack on Titan FINALE! (Watch-along) (Patreon)

Published:
2023-11-06 10:14:59
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Hey everyone! We're glad we could finally get this up. The edited version will be up later on with a brand new cover as well. What did you guys think about the way AoT wrapped up? Mappa really went all out for this one!


AoT Finale REACTION 

Comments

aubrey !!

SO FREAKING HYPEEE

RoZiiii

End of an era

Q

I thought the ending was very fitting. Some small complaints but overall pretty good. edit: LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

LuciusArtoriusCastus

Something interesting about the manga that isn’t in the anime is the very final page. It’s a different version of Eren, mikasa, and armin coming out of a movie theater after watching AOT and they discuss the ending briefly. It’s interesting because Armin and Mikasa take the stance of both sides of the fandom (as if Isayama knew about the backlash the ending would receive), Armin complains about the ending but mikasa said it was really good and that it’s ok for something to end and leave it up to the interpretation of the audience (the kid in the future finding the tree, that’s up to the interpretation of the audience). They ask Eren what he thought and he doesn’t side with either and just says if they make another movie he’d love to watch it with them because it was fun. I think this ties in with the realization Zeke and Armin had, conflict and death may never end, life may be pointless, but it’s those small moments with loved ones that makes it meaningful. As they walk away from the theater, they joke about how cool it would be if those 3 friends from the movie really existed…

Lau

I absolutely adored how everything wrapped up, despite it being absolutely heart wrenching. I truly don’t understand the people that hate it… it was the obvious upcoming ending, i dont see it ending any other way.

Mango

I loved the ending. History will always repeat itself. At least Erens friends got to live somewhat peaceful and happy life.

Charlotte PhD.
>>121546419

Right?! The ending was so good! Like angelo I was a bit "disappointed" by the last season cause I didn't really understand (at that time) why eren was so cold and not like he used to. But damn this ending explained everything and it was so heartbreaking. I really really really loved it!

Ferdz

What a journey

Ali (AKABE)

Is the audio doubled for anyone else or is it just me?

Jess

I haven't even watched the episode yet. But I've been waiting to know how you guys reacted to the ending! Thank you so much for this. I really hope you both stay healthy and happy!

Addstir

I'll keep my opinion short as it's negative. I'll briefly mention stuff from the episode so if you haven't seen it watch it before continuing to read: I thought the ending was complete and utter dog shit, I've been watching this show since its release, and I've actively avoided spoilers every single year, the 4-year wait for season 2, then every year of this "THE FINAL FR THO"... For that? I'm happy about the kiss at the end, kinda? But why not just have a happy ending, people have told me "Cause that's not how his future sight worked, bla bla bla" > The author wrote it that way. 10 years ago I'd have given the finale a 10, called it brilliant, and I'll stop myself bringing up other shows, but there have already been dozens of "masterpieces" in anime that had this same sort of ending, all of which I've grown to hate. I had the finale part 1 as a 9/10 on MAL, loved every minute of it, this finale made me list the finale as a 5/10. It wasn't the worst ending, but I'd honestly have preferred he just wiped out everything, and then the Paradis have a happy ending, him using the coordinate to erase Titan's existence. The ending was sad for the sake of being sad, poor writing in my opinion, the show overall is still up there, but I'm not one of these people who claim the ending doesn't dictate how good a show is, it does. At the end of the day, 2 things authors often think about most when writing is the ending of it, sometimes it's the first thought, and then the journey there. The journey of AoT was outstanding and phenomenal, the destination was shit. It just was. Overall, I'm just getting sick and tired of anime ending with sad endings for the sake of it now. It's been a major thing for the last 14 years, can we at least have some top-tier shows have happy endings again? Yes, plenty of average or generic anime have happy endings, but that's not why they're average/generic. AoT as of S4 P3 P1 was a 9/10 for me. The whole show was great, I just didn't enjoy the last 50 minutes of the franchise. I won't let it define the whole thing per se, but now if a new reaction channel comes along and I watch a blind watch start to end, I'll have a bitter taste knowing once it hits the finale I'll yawn again. My final thoughts on this: I cry EXTREMELY easily with media, particularly deaths, and other characters crying, heck I cried at the end of S3 part 2 when TkT played as he asked "if we kill everyone over there will we finally be free". Just got goosebumps typing it... Yet this finale didn't make me cry ONCE, I was sat there ._. the ENTIRE thing after the first few minutes. One final comment, ignoring the story, the production itself was just kind of "meh" too, rewatch it, the animation seems slick and good, but it's at times extremely lazy, with a fuuuuuck ton of cut-away shots and stuff like that... Didn't make me hate it, but Christ I expected a bit more from Mappa for a FINALE. But hey, I'll rely on UFOTABLE for the god-tier animation...

Lau
>>121546419

yes!! I think now we all should watch the last season or even rewatch the whole show at some point, now that we know everything. Because there are so many details all throughout the show that now knowing what we know should be very interesting to pay attention to!

long ass username

It feels kind of surreal that this anime is finally concluded. Despite what many manga readers wanted us anime obliged to believe, I absolutely loved this finale and thought it did a great job at tying up all the loose ends for most of the important characters. Albeit some scenes were a little confusing for a first watch it makes for a great time rewatching it through reactions like yours.

Guts

Carlie and Ange you guys are abosolute soliders for filming this while being sick, we as your fans love you and appreciate the dedication and hardwork!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Phil
>>121547623

Yeah, opinions really differ on this one. I've seen alot of hate but I really enjoyed it. For me it was the perfect ending. I didn't get the "sad for the sake of being sad" feeling at all. For me it would be the other way around because how on earth could the ending be happy with everything that has happened in season 4, there was no way we are not getting a sad ending. Also the ending was pretty straight forward with no big surprises, which might be the first time in the shows history, that there wasn't a huge plot twist waiting around the corner. Like most people suspected, Eren was still somewhat the same guy, who loved his friends and who couldn't help himself but to want "freedom" (like he did since the first season). Just like he said, to stop him they have to kill him, which they did. In the end it didn't do much, because just like the last time humanity went to war again.

Unholy

Great ending. So glad I got to experience this journey since the first day it aired. The story really stayed true to itself through to the end. I dont know how anyone could be upset because it didnt have a true happy ending.. what AoT version were they watching the last 10 years?

Roberto Apodaca

Loved the ending the kiss was shocking in the manga I was wondering if they were going to change that but happy they kept it.

Nethzil

Loved the ending ! A solid 9/10

Ivan Haji

ANGE I AGREE WITH YOU. Eren's breakdown could have been better. Rather than crying, and acting the way he did, he could have perhaps just lowered his head, and a tear or two come out his eye, while admitting he didn't want her to move on.

Laylyvfavv

Thank you guys I didn't expect this this early

nikito1

Eren's breakdown was a bit akward ngl. In this scene its just Eren and Armin, his best friend! Thoughout the series Eren was determined to make his dream into reality no matter what and was acting tough, but in the end of the day this was a very personal moment with his best friend. He could for the first time, after he touched Historia's hand, act totally honest in front of someone. AND dont forget the last time they saw each other was when Eren beat him up and said he hated Mikasa

Mango

Mikasa and Eren VA singing at the end where Mikasa is sitting next to Erens grave btw

Yokimbo

My first thought with Eren killing his mom was that he used that to push Grisha forward even more and to kill the founding family, because Grisha says in that scene Eren only shows him certain moments and flashes, but not everything, for example the exact date when the colossal attacks and Grishas family gets killed. This was just my initial thought though, maybe I missed some key detail since its been a while.

SanteRip

I still remember the day when the first episode aired and people were saying that this is gonna be a journey to remember, whew. Thank you for sharing your journey with us!

Raden

Been on this ride since 2013 and couldn't be happier with the ending. If you truly understood the show and Eren's character, it all made sense. It's been a pleasure watching this peak fiction with you guys.

Cyber
>>121547623

You have your opinion and that's great. Personally I actually enjoyed it mostly because I was walking with a smirk on my face that I pretty much predicted a lot of the ending like erens goal sounding like Dr Manhattan in that DC long movie, and that the fact that Ackermans are immune to everything Titanic was gonna come around like eren controlling the rest (debunked when eren let them be free with their own choice but still kinda came back that it had to be Levi and Mikasa at the end and that Mikasa had to drop the final blow, I also predicted that eren caused his own mother's death to make sure that he gets that founder, and my personal favorite prediction was even before last part, I said that it's ironic that the embodiment of seeking freedom which is eren is the one person in the world other than ymir the founder that CAN'T be free because in his mind he's a slave to future eren and predetermined events and future eren cant risk veering off the path too much or else he may not "win" , and that his ironically a slave because hes the one with the willpower to seek freedom and that his story is a tragic self fulfilling greek tragedy almost). Now. About the ending, I will say the animation on the laughing about Mikasa moving on between eren and Armin was kinda oddly animated, it has that Yelena staring you down uncanny valley or when Connie and Armin were trying to lie to the jaegerists in the traitors episode. It felt weird at first and the eren crying was over the top when I first saw it. That being said, after a couple of rewatches it dawned on me that eren in that moment is just a pathetic idiot child that didn't know how to be real with people, he's experiencing his past younger self in that moment and a childlike thought and tantrum almost. And not only that, but it's showing that the cold calculated eren that we saw from their perspective was a front even more and he actually has just been in a mental spiral and almost showing his breaking point there that he himself cannot dwell on. That eren that lived all the past and future same time for thousands of years is THE true eren and kid version of himself that doesn't know how to handle this responsibility and is winging it based on what he's been told to do or else... For the ending about conflict persisting, I'm glad we went that way, I don't think isayama did a sad ending for the sake of a sad ending. I could think of many other animes that didn't need a sad ending but this one is just resonating as true. Eren got his wish, we got the happy ending for a few centuries maybe where erens friends were able to live long prosper and die a normal death. But I was actually not sure how isayama could even do a happy ever after ending though, the world is always going to hold a grudge and generational trauma. Hell even if Eren wiped the entire world, what stops the paradise island people themselves from growing too much and start colonizing other wasteland areas and then prosper and then fight over resources. In philosophy I read once that because resources are finite, man can go evil because it is in their interest to get more resources than to risk being starved out of them. And if resources were infinite, man would also have a chance to be in conflict because man cannot understand how another man equal to him could have more resources and so it's an arms race always and conflict to the top will always arise. It's also a genuine depiction of life. Ignore titans for a moment and this show, how many soldiers went to war and gave it their all to win that war to stop a conflict they're having and be on the winning side? And how many wars happened after that? World war 1 was supposed to be the war to end all wars and yet we had another world war 2. The only reason world war 3 hasn't happened yet is because of resources: if we go into world war 3, we are at risk of annihilation and no winners. So we're forced to NOT do that. Not because we want to but because we can't. I like that I could end the show on Mikasa scene and miss the end credits and just call it a bittersweet ending and move on, and that erens and Mikasa had their happy together in the cottage in a separate timeline, even if that's not the timeline that we saw on our screen. And then the credits end with a reminder that fear is infectious and the cycle of violence is hard to stop. I don't know how paradise or the world, other than our group of renegades, wouldnl ever truly be ok with each other. Hell racism is still a thing and that's not even anime. So isayama could have done a fake happy ending and put some magic into it like "yeah don't worry about it everyone loved happily ever after" but that wouldn't be true to the show. Everyone made good and bad choices and will keep making them. And so the ending was inevitable, all you can do is delay it or create a stint period in time of mutual peace or more like cease fire, but the spark will trigger again no matter what. Because it's human nature. Erens plan wasn't perfect or good because there was no good plan, and so all he could is put weighted criteria on the outcome he wanted and that criteria was that his friends are safe and live long and die happy naturally. Hell he even wanted to be in that plan but couldn't because his own life fell below the line on the decision making chart here. He even tried many many many times to make different decisions but it's like that Dr strange scene in infinity war, many people will call it a cop out to not poke at plot holes, but some may call it a summary or tldr of the other choices that they didn't work and move on and accept it. Again u have ur opinion in the end, but the action was great, the story was wrapped up, some missed pieces were filled, some arcs were closed, and the ending is left semi open ending if it was good or bad and I think that's by design because even in that aftermath of Eren war on heaven and Earth, many will see it as a good or bad outcome, it's subjective because it's not rational. Eren is not rational, Eren is a force of nature of emotions and will power. Eren had to fight for so long that he didn't even know how to not fight anymore. And in the end u can see the child with Mikasa skarf walking towards the tree that eerily looks the same as the tree that ymir fell into, and you may think that the story is starting over again and nothing was gained but u can also think that maybe the person never went into the tree anymore, or that maybe the "life" hallucigenia or whatever that spine cell creature does this time is not titans but maybe something bigger and more unwilling to die, like Zeke said. Maybe that cell doesn't turn people to titans but maybe id a virus that kills everyone because it's almost like an artificial intelligence or AI that it thinks that maybe the secret to everlasting life is not within our perspectives or life as we know it but to transcend to an eternal life where everyone is united z like heaven or hell or purgatory etc. we don't know. We are not supposed to know because the characters don't know, and it's again their choices and actions that will make that outcome...I think isayama wanted to leave us with a friendly warning that war sucks and everyone wants to be free from it and survive, but it's that very notion that may tip the scale since he's telling us to fight for Freedom but to know when not to fight anymore and to seek that Freedom and utopia, and we may never reach it but abandoning it for the sake of abandoning it will ensure it will never happy, however unlikely it is ..and we'd implode as a sofiety sooner than later because we would have no hope for the better anymore...very much like eren crying over the fact that he has no choice and hes abandoned sll hope for himself no matter what arnin says because he either csnt see that side ir can't believe it

Charlotte PhD.
>>121546419

We now know why eren was crying in the first episode of the show when he woke up talking about a dream he couldn't remember 😭😭😭😭. I'll definitely rewatch it again!

Cyber
>>121547623

@ange @carlie. that moment when you realize that eren was buried in the same spot that eren was first introduced to us in episode 1. His tombstone being exactly where he sat, which now makes it even worse when you realize that eren in episode 1 crying is because he doesn't remember that he saw his own future buried in that same spot and what he did to get there and he just thought it was a bad dream but he got messages from ymir and future eren right then with that leftover premonition but also that he was "dreaming" about his own death and Mikasa by his side crying that she just wants to see him again, only to wake up and seeing her in front of him and asking him why he's crying.

Amos_san

at the end jean and mikasa were the ones that showed up with the baby haha, they ended up marrying but she still wore the scarf even in her deathbed.

mohamed rafee

So glad to have been on the journey with you guys. I have been watching you guys since you guys reacted to the first episode and have been subscribed to the channel and have been a patreon member since. I thought it was a 9.7/10 ending, just the episode in itself was so sublime and brilliantly done (especially in terms of animation, songs, voice acting were all incredible). On the points that you guys thought the ending could have done better, I agreed with all 3 things you guys said, I thought the armin convo in the memories was good except the eren breakdown was slightly overboard. Secondly the mikasa kiss after the killing scene I thought was 50/50, I wouldn’t have mind that scene if it was a forehead kiss or if it was a tight hug or something, just the kiss to lips was a bit of a shock to me as well considering the emotional scene of cutting off his head. Thirdly, was the sending the titan towards the mom, I to be honest am 51/49 on it because eren became who he was because of that 100%, we all saw how seeing his mom getting killed motivated him as a kid, watching hannes getting killed by the same titan as his mom and the scene with Reiner in the basement in season 4 when he is asking why did my mom have to die, I thought they were all genuine scenes. I do agree even if the didn’t reveal this info of sending the titan towards his mom, it doesn’t change anything in terms of how we view the story so I thought even though I did like the shock factor and I am 51/49 in supporting the scene, it ultimately didn’t actually change much of how we view the story so I thought that reveal and scene could have been not there and we wouldn’t have felt anything left out. So I deducted 0.1 each for the 3 things I thought the ending could have done better and thought the episode was a solid 9.7/10, I thought the animation, songs, emotions were all crazy good in this episode, it could have easily been a 10/10 if they would have changed those 3 minor things.

Mango

To answer Anges question at the end. Why Eren could turn into a clossal. This is just my theory. I guess they only cut the skeleton head neck. Not Erens real neck. He was inside the mouth (where Mikasa cut the REAL neck). And he used warhammer titan to build that colossal one. (Just my guess) I want to add: Remember when Armin almost got eaten by santa claus titan in season 1 but Eren saved him by pulling him out. After that Eren said “As if I could die in a place like this” meaning in titans mouth. In this final episode he did die inside a titans mouth, his own titan mouth. XD

Bambina

I have to disagree with Ange not quite liking the Eren breakdown scene. Many people didn’t like it in the manga, and I’ve always wondered how people misinterpret such a simple scene. Because I feel like people forget that Eren is 19 years old. He didn’t get to live his life, he didn’t get to cherish the girl he loved. A majority of his life was spent with his head being a mess because of the Founder powers, as he himself said. In his last moments with Armin, his best friend, he allowed himself to breakdown, to have a moment of his true self. Because him being emotional? That’s his true self. That’s Eren we knew. Eren in season 4 is just a facade to push his friends always. So his breakdown about loving Mikasa and not wanting to die was very appropriate and I’d be angry if it didn’t exist, actually. Maybe it is selfish to not want her to forget about him and move on. But he said all of that to Armin, and told him to not say it to Mikasa. So he spared her his selfishness. Nothing was against his character. He has always loved Mikasa and while subtle, it was shown through the anime, especially season 2. We knew it, and he finally admitted it. I don’t like when people say that he seemed to hate her before. He didn’t. He was an angry kid towards everybody. But he was still a lot more soft towards her, always. Also, the kiss? Maybe because I lost someone I loved so I don’t find it weird, but it’s actually very common to kiss your loved one in their death or last moments.

Lau

Eren's breakdown makes so much sense to me; theyve spent a long time portraying Eren as a kid (as in childlike) this last season, and him holding the same utopic dream until the very end, ever since he was a kid. I think the breakdown in some way is very childlike, but also super emotional, which Eren has ALWAYS been, but we forgot about it because he tried to be cold, showing no emotions (other than anger) this last season, hence I think it is so sad and beautiful seeing him break like that, as if he was the tiny Eren we once knew, in his last conversation with his best friend, to which he hasnt been able to completely be sincere for the longest time. Very well fitting and heartbreaking in my opinion. PS: I also think it is purposefully meant to be seen as "pathetic" because, we all know, Eren has very little management of his emotions, he hasnt been able to learn how to, he didnt have the luxury, so this breakdown is him not being able to manage those emotions he has been keeping for only himself for god knows how many years.

Night Sterling

My theory on why Ymir "loved" king fritz is because of the worm thing and it goes back to what Zeke was saying how Life keeps looking for ways to multiply and the worm thing saw an opportunity. Or it could just be some mega Stockholm syndrome because as fucked up as it was, him saying "She did well" after the other slaves basically threw her under the bus, was the nicest thing anyone has done for her.

Night Sterling
>>121558551

I do think a lot of the people that hated his breakdown just preferred him being an edgelord no emotions genocidal maniac he was trying to portray himself as over him being the whiny kid he's always been in seasons 1-3

Lau
>>121558551

oh for sure, and i hate that part of the fandom hahaha its so embarrassing, because that means they missed the whole point of the show

Sammie

I can't believe it's been 2 years and 7 months since I've read the last chapter of the manga and cried my heart out for weeks!! The fact that I still cried watching it animated and cried watching your reaction means that I'm still not emotionally over this story! While I do not like some parts of how the events turned out but you can never have a perfectly written story.. it's impossible since everyone sees things differently. But what we can all agree on is common sense. So as I've said before, Mikasa was done dirty in the anime as she wasn't the type to shout eReH every single time in the manga. Some of her scenes were cut for reasons I don't understand and she was NEVER a slave to Eren or to anyone! She never listened to him (except once or twice) and she'd done things her way! Her love for Eren was understandable, why wanting to be with someone she loves makes her a terrible character to some people? As for Eren I think people tend to forget that he and his friends were literally children when hell broke loose and the guy grew up an orphan with a huge burden to carry and so much power added to so much rage at a very young age! Imagine going through your teenage years when your brain is always confused, messed up and your emotions are going up and down and add all that Titan drama to the mix... How would anyone react in his shoes? Guess we'll never know because it's easy to judge from afar. The guy (while I don't support genocide) was carrying everything on his shoulder, being depressed and at a young age didn't help and as he said he tried everything to no avail! Eren's breakdown is so much of his character, he's always been driven by his emotions but he had to suppress everything for years after learning about the future so when he knew he was dying the most humane thing he did was to let his guards down and show his true self in front of his best friend! I've always told to my friends that I wish I could hug him before he died (after slapping him for what he did) so to see Armin hugging him was a very fitting goodbye in my opinion because that's what he needed at that point... Armin's hug imo represents a bandage to Eren's open wounds, starting from that horrible day up to his last moments alive... Hugging him doesn't mean he accepted or forgave what he did but he hugged Eren, the boy he knew since his childhood and the boy he's in front of him showing his true self... IMO Eren needed that hug because he was already seen as a monster by everyone and he wasn't going to live or have a happy ending so a hug from a best friend to another despite all that ugliness to me is such a humane thing to do. Eren's emotions for Mikasa (while I think they weren't clearly depicted throughout the show) but I've always known that he had feelings for her and there were scenes that hinted that but again when you're a teenager your actions and the way you show emotions don't always make sense especially if you were so focused on saving everyone and getting your freedom. I have so much to say because I've been keeping this to myself for years but I'll add a few things... The last thing Mikasa said to Eren was See you later Eren and that's what he saw in his "dream" if you can remember (it was shown in the first scene of the last special episode) which was also the first scene of the first season of the anime but Mikasa's scene wasn't shown in that first episode for some reason.. But it has always been there in the first chapter of the manga so I like how it came full circle at the end.. and I think Mikasa's OVA was foreshadowing the ending if you can remember.. Overall this story will always hold a special place in my heart despite its ups and downs.. for a writer to be able to pull off such a smart and RELATABLE story and to stick with it until the end without backing off or rushign things (like many others did) is something I really respect and admire. Thank you Isayama for all this amazingly heartbreaking story, it was cruel yet beautiful.

Handler One

Ymir wanted to see that it was possible to be freed from love through Mikasa. Ymir loved the king too much to kill him. Mikasa kills Eren, but that doesn't mean she loves him any less. The last part with the bird swooping in to grab the end of the scarf that was falling off just kills me. Eren promised in season 2 that he would always wrap that scarf around her and he did it even after death.

Sammie

Ange remember what you said when you read the lyrics of "Child of Evil" ? 😂 Thank you guys for this AOT journey, I've always enjoyed watching your reactions and I can't say that I fully enjoyed watching this one mainly because I was just sobbing but you put a smile on my face at the end as usual! Thank you guys!

Daniel Molina

My interpretation of the ending montage of the show: The actions of everyone in AoT did indeed successfully provide a long era of peace for the world. It looks like centuries passed. Id like to think that was the long lasting effect of Armin and Historia’s leadership 😭 But eventually, as the show always reminded us, conflict happened again. I personally believe this conflict would have happened no matter whos plan was followed. Whether Eren’s, Zeke’s, or Armin’s plan for the world was executed, i think its clear humans eventually find something to fight about and this would have happened anyway. The song lyrics say that the entire earth was reduced to “zero” so assume everything was destroyed. And 20,000 years later, this little boy stumbles upon the tree. This boy is not running from dogs like ymir was, hes just peacefully exploring with one, so id like to believe that if he does indeed find something in the tree, this time that something will be used for good. And maybe its that something that ends the cycle of violence forever. I love this ending so much. Its so hard to end a show like this but overall im really satisfied with the ending. It was my first Anime and now i dont think anything will ever top it as my absolute favorite 😭 it was awesome going on this journey with you all 🫡

Sammie
>>121558551

100% agree!! all those who got angry at Eren having a breakdown and making dumb memes about Chad Eren and Eren Yoghurt were salty because they believed that the cHaD Eren they liked would carry on that plan until the end with 0 emotions and would die for his freedom only while forgetting why he was doing it in the first place. That only shows that they had superficial understanding of his character and they forgot about his true self after a few badass and cold moments from him after the timeskip. They never saw his true self. Sorry to them but this has always been a story with relatable characters and not some overly exaggerated generic mc turned villain.

Jason Serrano

I heard they're making an extended version director's cut part 1

Uzair Islam

A special mention to the VOICE ACTORS who absolutely, absolutely, absolutely CRUSHEDDDDDD THEIR ROLES!!!!!! Complete chills when hearing their performances!

Night Sterling

Also Armin during the end credit scene visiting Eren and Mikasa's graves like he's still the last to get to the tree 😭

Charles Hallberg

I want to say Ange that I agree with the romance portion in Armin's memory. The emotional scene felt jarring at first because it had been awhile since we'd seen that side of Eren, but it was actually very in character. However, his love for Mikasa, though shown a couple times (remember the end of season 2?) really could have been hinted at more often in the show/ manga. I do want to say that I'm a manga reader and they actually did change part of Armin's dialogue in response to hearing Eren killing 80% of the population. The manga version is even worse lol. Way worse. It was infuriating and way out of character for Armin. I won't spoil in case you want to read it for yourself. Also want to say you guys are the only reactors I've ever been a patreon of and this is my first time commenting. Happy for your guys success.

Tae Kellz

Yeah Ange definitely missed the point of why Eren sent the Titan to attack his mom. Another person in the comments already mentioned it but it set in motion for Grisha to get the founding Titan. That's what i got from it. I also agree with Carlie on the scene with Eren breaking down. He never got to experience loving someone the way he wanted to. Hes still a young kid with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Hertog

Didn't like the ending that much

N

Feel like this is show is one I'll enjoy more during a full rewatch many years from now. I think season 4 being broken to 4 different parts really broke the flow of it for me. Considering this is a show that I have followed (and enjoyed) for a literal decade, I am surprised how little I felt about anything in this finale. Don't even think it was bad, my attachment to these characters just wasn't there anymore. I'm glad it's done now, though. The closure is nice.

Chrisiyyi
>>121572292

Ye, the titan to his mom was not just for eren to get angry, it was for the whole domino to fall, he said in the episode he tried many ways but none ended up with the right result for him.

Herminio Hernandez Jr

The animation was amazing. However this ending is horrible. As a manga reader I already hated the ending and felt it ruined the character of Eren. This ending made it so much worst. They want us to believe that the guy who was the mastermind of the entire show. Who literally used time and space to move events so that he can accomplish his goal is a "garden variety idiot"?!?! There is so much to say if anyone wants me to explain further just ask.

Lau
>>121576210

i think the whole point and characterization of Eren flew over your head mate, sorry to say but the whole point is not that he is an emotionless GigaChad edgelord. You should rewatch or reread. He is not a mastermind either btw he was following what he saw and realized was the only path, he did not design the plan nor he was executing it bc he liked it. You completely misunderstood his character, congrats.

Rodrigo Reyes Escobar

I appreciate all the hard work you guys put in this especially when one of you is sick, thanks! I hope Ange recovers soon

Herminio Hernandez Jr
>>121576210

He was never a GIga Chad that is a mischaracterization. He expressed emotions to Ramzi before he killed him, He expressed emotion over the death of Hanes. The issue is not the lack of emotion but the fact that he just wiped out 80% percent of humanity and crying over a girl who he had ample time to have a relationship but rejected throughout the entire story. The revelation that it was all fate is a complete retcon. If you trace the story from post time skip up to the Rumbling the author made it clear that these were Eren's choices. You have read the ending back into the story which completely turns it on his head. Lets look at Eren "real reason" for the Rumbling. He allowed them to kill him so they would be heroes to the world. First this is not consistent with his character. Remember in S1 when Pixis told Eren the story of humanity uniting against a common foe. Eren rejected that as wishful thinking. He would never go for that. Nowhere in the story do we see any hint that this would change. Now let jump to S4 Eren bring everyone to Paths and tells them that he is going to kill everyone beyond the Island to protect his home. We see him waling around Marley pondering if this is best course of action, and he cannot accept the fact of the Island being wiped out. The ending now informs us that this was a lie. He lied to the Island and somehow he is lying in his inner monologue. He was also lying to Floch. Finally he was lying to Historia when he said his goal was end the cycle of hated and the titan curse (both continue). The ending completely reverses the entire story. What makes it worst he tell Armin in the end that this was his plan then a min later says it was all fate. Well which is it? This is bad storytelling and clear sign that the author was stuck and did not know how to properly end it. Finally if Eren real goal was for his friends to have long lived then why did he choose a path that would end up killing Sasha and put those is a situation where he admits that he did not if they would survive. The story on one hand wants you thing this was "his plan" and on the other "it was just fate". Definitely not a masterpiece

KaijinGarou

TBH I'm still not sure of what I think about this finale. There were things I liked and things I didn't. And things I don't even fully understand yet and need to give more thought before I form a definite opinion. For now I can say I didn't hate it like others but can tell I won't be thinking it was perfect because there's something that felt just wrong but I need to reflect on it. I liked for example how they got to close Eren's arc of "killing all titans" that's been there since episode 1. But how they got there with the sudden connection between Mikasa and Ymir, I'm not sure yet...

Blake Richey

Thanks for the honest opinions of the episode! I had a very similar take to Ange. The animation was phenomenal, MAPPA absolutely delivered. The writing, mainly the breakdown scene in Armin's memory, was a miss for me, personally. It felt like Eren's motivations and convictions were flipflopping - multiple times within the same scene. The best interpretation I could come up with is: Eren was trying to make excuses, just feeding Armin whatever he thinks Armin will believe so that he can take the blame and Armin can move on with his life afterward? And Armin attempts to share the blame so Eren can feel a little better despite having to do what he did, because... Armin is convinced that the outcome they arrived it was either 1) inevitable/out of Eren's control or 2) the best possible outcome and felt sorry for Eren? Not entirely sure, but I was expecting Eren to continue to show resolve that he tried his hardest and this was the best possible outcome he could grant his friends. The kissing scene also took me out of the show for a moment, almost like the author was saying "Fineeee they will kiss... how this?". Kinda giving the shippers the middle finger? It made me laugh for a moment; it was so cursed... I expected Levi to die leaning against that rock... somewhat sad he didnt, but only because up until now we havent had a happy ending. Why the change of heart? He could have gone out having completed everything he needed to, like Erwin. Fulfilled his last mission. Incredibly insignificant compared to the other two scenes, though.

Floch

I loved this ending. It beautifully depicts humanity and its selfishness and how as long as humans exist there will not be a happily ever after. But war. A continuous cycle of death. I’m also happy that at least most of the main characters and their descendants got to live full lives before they got plunged into another war.

SeiferJaeger

I think Carlie's vision about the "Eren opening his vulnerabilities part" is totally wrong. How do you feel if Levi, a veteran soldier who has seen countless of deaths, instead of acting cold and telling the guys to jump over Falco's titan to fly from the eldians because they're going to become titans... he starts to have a mental breakdown and pussy out crying out of nowhere? It sounds out of character, right? Well with Eren saying "It's because i'm an idiot XD face" and crying, simping out Mikasa is out of character as well. I can understand if Season 1 Eren does it, but he had an amazing if not the greatest of all character development throughout the entire show: he became ruthless, determined and cold hearted in his actions to the point a group of eldians from Paradise founded a militia to honor his ideals he shown in Marley fighting for his people. That's simply bad writing. If Eren just said something "Jaegeristic" (patriotic or freedom related) that would be congruent to his character. Other than that the final is OK. We are used to have peak content and writing in this show because imo is the greatest anime ever, and having a normal ending feels kinda odd. It could be better? i have no doubt, but it's not bad either. A solid 7 if you ignore Eren memories with Armin, if you choose to review it completely you can down it to 6 or 1.

Aizen
>>121580995

He had already seen the future he kept himself emotionless basically executed the plan what he just saw . Doesnt mean he isnt a normal person with insecurities emotions etc and when you have to lock ur emotions up this is how it shows eventually at the end its an influx of it That goes against who Eren is ? Eren was always season 1 eren he never changed just had to put up a face and execute after what he saw at ceremony .

Aizen

Btw just about that Eren and Armin scene . Eren was always season 1 Eren he did put a brave face almost felt emotionless ruthless after what he saw at medal ceremony . He executed what he saw ( the future ) but he was a normal person not a mastermind or anything . Thats why when you have to put a brave face which he did emotion suddenly pours out which happened in front of armin. This is just like in war stories when people are trained to be emotionless and after a long time when they express themselves they go crazy . Which is bcoz a longer deviation from your true personality does that .

Rodrigo Reyes Escobar

Oh and I also think king Fritz is a complete piece of garbage but, that’s with today’s thinking. Today’s thinking is much more different than from back then so Ymir must’ve not thought of king Fritz as a complete asshole, mostly because women were treated differently back then and that was the norm for them in that era

Lau
>>121580995

he didnt become ruthless, the whole point of the conversation with Armin is ti show us that it was all just a front to make him the villain and push them away. He literally said it. He is still the same lovable idiotic brat, with childish way of managing his emotions, because he had no chance to grow and learn, with the weight of the whole world and future on his shoulders.

SeiferJaeger

Also, that part when the main reason of Ymir was to be released of "love" is bad writing as well. Everyone understood that she was a slave with slave mentality following her master's orders, and when Eren (a "former" freedom supremacist) told her that she's a human like any other and she can do whatever she wants (no one told her that in 2000 years), with tears she breaks free of following orders and voluntarily lends her power to Eren. That's the logical reason of Ymir, not simply Estocolm syndrome.

SeiferJaeger
>>121580995

So you are saying that everything of what happened during the entire show and after that massive genocide is because Eren deep inside is just an inmature child who is in love, and you are telling me that is good writing lol. Don't be pathetic, there's a reason why this ending is so controversial. It's true that manga readers were overreacting about the ending, but clearly has it's faults.

Aizensalami

I liked the ending. What a journey it was. I kinda agree about the Armin memory, could've been better. But I feel that I won't be this picky for other anime shows 😂. Because AOT is sooo deep and heavy, I kinda want it to be absolutely perfect in every single moment, which is difficult to achieve for such a twisted and detailed plot. Everyone is going to dislike one or two points, yet it remains one of the best anime of all time. I think Eren knew it had to be his mom in order for him to be driven into this ending. If you remember, his father also had the same doubt, after he killed Historia's family, he was screaming to the sky and asking Eren "was this really the only way? even Carla?". That scene probably had the best voice acting I've ever seen.

SomeChosen One

When eren cried about mikasa, when he calmed down a bit he did say that he genually wanted her to be happy, it was a conflicting feeling, he wants to be with her but he wants her to be happy too. Most importantly, the crying is rooted in him not wanting to die as he said, and wanting to stay with his loved ones including arming and everyone else.

Daniel J

I've been pretty bummed the past few days reading a lot of the views on the show, so thanks to you both and a bunch of the other comments here for giving me some faith. So many of the comments I see elsewhere (I need to stop reading reddit) are either calling the series the Game of Thrones of anime, or on the opposite side calling it a masterpiece. Both 'sides' saying that the other doesn't truly understand the show. It's so cringe. There doesn't need to be 'sides'. I generally feel the same as you both, I enjoyed the episode and loved the series overall, but it definitely has some plot holes, wasted potential (RIP Historia as a character) and some wonky dialogue that I wish was just... better?

Amrith
>>121556057

I really don't mind the scene exists because deep down it does showcase how vulnerable the character was but don't expect a person to empathize with a character who just flattened 80% of humanity.

Phil

I understand why Ange feels it was a bit too much with Eren wanting Mikasa to never forget about him and so, but I actually think it shows really great how desperate Eren was. He loved Mikasa and never had the chance to live the life they lived and the "memory". So he went a bit overboard during his breakdown with Armin next to him, but right after he folows it up with "I want her to be happy". Ymir loving King Fritz is a bit weird but then again abusive relationships do exist.

Phil

Eren influences the Smiling Titan to kill his mom because of Bertholdt. I don't think he had full control over the titan either but "persuaded" it much like he did with his father in order to save Bertholdt. Because if he would not do that, the Smiling Titan would kill Bert and Dina Fritz (smiling titan) would go back to normal and have the colossal titan in her, which would change the whole story, likely making it impossible for the rumbling to ever happen.

Chikᶠⁱˡa

As someone who got spoiled and was sort of surrounded with the "fandom war", the anime adaptation has made me appreciate the ending more than feeling disappointed by it back when I got spoiled. I agree with Ange, I think the ending could be enhanced if we get couple more expositions with some characters and better executions in some scenes so that this ending can "make more sense" for lack of better words in terms of showing what Isayama chose to end this story...so that the community won't be so divided

Decaf

King Fritz always reminds me of Pretzel 🥨.

Astor Lefflinker

Can't get over the fact that the whole 2,000 years of hatred, war, and suffering was all because goddess Ymir has a thing for bad boys and toxic relationships.

Slizzle

About ange saying “We never knew eren loved mikasa before so it was a surprise” brother eren literally punched the smiling titan with his bare hands out of desperation and not knowing any other way to protect mikasa in the end of season 2, if I remember correctly ange himself has said something similar to their romance not being a typical one but it still being a good one, their love is shown more through action and not depicted in a way where it is spitted out for us, him not getting it here or maybe forgetting about it because like they said their memory of aot is not fresh right now kinda makes me sad because I thought they were one of the only reactors who paid attention to all those little things in the earlier seasons pointing toward eren and mikasa loving each other deeply, anyways it was still a blast watching these reactions since s1 and finding comfort in knowing there was more people who had the same view of certain things in the show as me even if their perspective changed toward the end, because reading most people’s perspectives on the internet it didn’t seem like most people cared about these things in aot

MADHOUSE

It's crazy to think that my AOT journey started when S1 first started airing back in 2013, when I was just finishing HS, and man, what a journey it's been. Any time I think or talk about my favorite season from the series, it's always different. S2 was my favorite when it came out, but then both parts of S3 came out and then they became my favorites. With S4, same thing. Really proves to show how great the characters, writing, and world-building was; especially, the mystery that the basement held for almost 6 years (in terms of the anime). Then, another 4 years later... and the series is finally over. **My review is a bit long, so, sorry** 😅 If I were to score the ending, and the build up to it, I'd give it a solid 8/10. There were a lot of great scenes that C&A also seemed to like, such as how Mikasa put an end to Eren and his eyes slowly shutting while Mikasa was the last person he saw, and the fact that Eren visited everyone he knew and loved and gave them a farewell, only to be forgotten until his death. There were many more amazing and emotional moments that I won't mention here; hats off to the VA's and Sawano+Yamamoto composer combo. What's great the show is that it didn't have to be a 10/10 all the way to the end for me to thoroughly enjoy it, because IMO, there was only so much the script writers and Isayama could do once the rumbling started. One critique that I'll argue against here is that people say that the show shouldn't have given an MC that just committed mass genocide a happy send off. I would agree in most cases, but I think Isayama was just trying to convey that Eren's character was always the same, since the very beginning of the show. Vague, I know, but let me explain. The show always had flashbacks to when Eren, Mikasa, and Armin were hanging out together as young and innocent kids. I believe two things were trying to be said about Eren in those scenes: First, Eren was someone that would always do what he says, no matter what, even if it killed him (on multiple occasions). This characterization was pounded into our brains throughout the series. He would always have an inner-conflict and his answer every time was to go back to his initial option: to fight. Secondly, and this is a simple one, but he was a child. He was always a simpleton, and had simple goals. His first goal was influenced by Armin, and that was to go beyond the walls and explore the world and see the landscapes that Armin's book(s) showed. Then, it was to avenge his mother and eradicate the Titans. His next goal was to uncover the secrets his dad left in the basement. Finally, to protect his friends and loved ones, he was to get rid of all of humanity outside of the Paradis walls; or at least whatever he can until his friends stop him. From my perspective, he was able to accomplish all of his goals (albeit in a way that the viewers didn't expect). Anyway, that's just me over-analyzing and trying to think in Isayama's shoes (also a bit of playing devil's advocate). The bit with Eren and Armin talking about Mikasa was a bit weird though, but I kind of see what Isayama was trying to do. It was just them talking it out as friends (despite the genocide that just happened) before the final fight. Thankfully, Eren immediately brings up the talk about the 80% of humanity he killed, then weirdly saying he did it because he was an idiot (which was a scene/line I didn't really like). I know power can consume and change people, but being an "idiot" didn't feel like the right explanation here lol. That's enough about Eren... There were a lot of convenient plot holes and things left vague and/or unanswered (e.g. Mikasa's sudden Hizuru tatoo, the Ackerman memories, how Eren's time powers/visions work [I understand it's supposed to be confusing, but I really can't understand how it fully works], Colossal titan disappearance and nuke abilities, how Eren became a colossal titan, etc.) But, that's anime for you. Still an interesting and compelling story despite its flaws. Can I talk about the ending song? Just wanted to throw some appreciation to Mikasa and Eren's VA's, Ishikawa Yui and Kaji Yuki, as well as Revo (Linked Horizon), for singing the ED. Really brought the whole show around for me as it felt like a farewell to the series from them. As Carlie said, the ending definitely felt bitter, rather than bittersweet, as the fighting and hatred never ended. At least Eren's friends got to survive and live out their lives. Overall, I enjoyed the ending and the series as a whole, and I'll never forget the 10 years that I spent watching it. Sorry for the long post

Slizzle
>>121610435

U understood what I meant right? This aint school it just needs to be understandable

MADHOUSE

Also wanted to say that we've officially finished the first anime that you guys started on your channel! I kind of said this in your 150K subs post, but it's crazy how many shows you've seen since the start of your anime journey. I know AOT will never be topped as that first anime for you guys, but judging by your anime tier list, it's good to see you guys enjoying many other animes (even more than AOT). There are a few other shows out there with amazing anti-hero writing, so I hope we can get you guys to watch them someday.

Carlie & Ange
>>121570214

Curious about the manga version of Armin’s dialogue now 👀 Thanks so much Charles, means the world to us ❤️

Astor Lefflinker

Finally finished the whole video including the discussion. Glad that Ange pointed out that it was quite weird for Ymir to keep being devoted to King Fritz lol. I mentioned it in my previous comment that I can't get over that. What, does she just have a thing for bad boys? I know that a lot of women like bad boys and I understand that, but King Fritz goes far beyond a bad boy. He cut off her tongue, and while he had children with her, he had no feelings for her whatsoever as he fed her body to their children. That's some messed up sick shit and now just has me viewing Ymir as a karen lol I don't quite agree regarding the memories with Armin, though. I think Eren just felt that finally he was in a safe space to be really vulnerable at that moment as he can also erase Armin's memory, so he just let his true feelings out, but even though that was his true feelings, he was still going to continue with what he's started. I don't think it was out of character, but even if it is, I think characters being out of character is not that big of a deal, because also us real people do things that are out of our characters. That's why I think that writing-wise, I've always found it forgivable when characters do out of character stuff.

Herminio Hernandez Jr
>>121558551

I actually explained how that is not the case in post above. The last chapter was actually a complete retcon of Eren and not because he was suppose to be some mega Chad. The last chapter nullifies everything that came before it.

Lau
>>121558551

how does it nullify it? did you miss the whole first 3 seasons where eren would have mental breakdowns? He didnt have like a character development in which now he was supposed to be ruthless, thats the whole point of the ending, that he is still is and was the same, he was putting up a front. Thats how Isayama wrote, dont like it? too bad.

Herminio Hernandez Jr
>>121556057

It is really easy. The scene was out character not because he was emotional. We see him cry over killing Ramsey. The issue what he was crying over. He just wiped out 80% of the planet but he crying about a girl that he had plenty of time to have a relationship but constantly rejected her. Any manga reader ought to know this. Mikasa constantly simped for Eren but he never acknowledged it. There are only really 2 instances where Eren displayed genuine care for her. He was driven in his goal to defeat his enemies and obtain freedom. Mikasa for most of the manga kept interfering instead supporting him. It annoyed to point where he lash out at her. This was not healthy relationship. Then in the end to say all of was completely out of left field.

Dune

First off loved the discussion at the end. Now in regards to ymir loving king fritz. She accepted her fate and also wanted to feel needed. Fritz, regardless of how twisted he was, needed ymir and her power and she felt that he would never throw her away so for me personally it's not too out there. Regarding Eren's sudden outburst of emotion i agree with you ange. Even though he didn't want to go down this path he had the conviction to continue down it. It definitely would've hit harder if all we saw from him was that final moment of him seeing mikasa smile and accepting that her and his friends will live long lives of peace. We all know how eren felt about mikasa. He never fully showed it but he didn't have to. I sometimes prefer when things are implied instead of said. Lastly I think eren becoming a colossus was due in part to his connectiion with ymir. Maybe he had the ability to turn into any titan variant he wanted but chose a colossal because he knew he would have to take on armin and any other form would be too weak. Also dina killing his mom is what leads him onto the path of wanting to kill titans. WIthout that motivation the story would be drastically different. We would be looking at a completely different outcome were his mom still alive. All in all though this was a beautiful ending to a sad story.

Carlie & Ange
>>121610435

I never said that I didn’t think he loved her. I thought his outburst about wanting her to “pine over him for the next 10 years” was absolutely out of place. That sort of dialogue told me that he was absolutely head over heels for her which was no where near the case throughout the series. You could tell through out the series that he loved her and armin and wanted to protect them, but aside from that, he only ever yelled at her for the most part.

Martina
>>121610435

I think it was proven through the memories he planted in them that he was purposely being mean to all his friends, to make them hate him, so they can kill him when the time comes. you can see that the ideal reality that Eren created for him and Mikasa includes them running away and living a simple life, but alas that was just not possible... but to me it was very obvious he did love her in the end. the outburst with Armin was him finally showing those repressed emotions.

Carlie & Ange
>>121610435

I think we could’ve been shown some of that affection (more than just that one scene at the end of season 2) between seasons 1 and 3. He didnt need to push them away at that point. It was only after he had that moment with Historia where he saw the future.

Carlie & Ange
>>121572292

Im saying it didn’t need to be written into the story at all. I dont think it being there adds anything valuable to the story. If it were left out, no one would’ve asked about that moment. “It was for the dominos to fall” and that being the only way is very odd as well. Would he not have gotten mad that these titans just started slaughtering the people on his island? He was already furious before they even broke down the walls. It also seems weird because this now means in order to save Armin and Mikasa, he sacrificed his Mum and Dad.

Carlie & Ange
>>121580995

@Lauraa i respect a lot of your points, but it wasn't just a "front" in my opinion. Even before Eren was shown the future, he was always a very driven, goal oriented character. He had to become ruthless otherwise he wouldn't have been almost able to singlehandedly make the rest of the world fall to their knees in fear of him because we wanted to fight back and protect his Island. I think that if we are to believe that ALL of Season 4 Eren was a complete front, it greatly dimishes his intricate character writing because it just reduces him to an actor. In the episode I think his character was doing way too much flipflopping in that scene with Armin at the end, but thats just my personal take on it. I dont disagree with a lot of what you have said.

Slizzle
>>121610435

I didn’t mean this as criticism of your reaction, its more of a me thing because throughout the show I kinda felt alone in being emotionally attached with some of these things in the show and it felt good seeing you guys caring about those things as well in earlier seasons, I agree that it would’ve been nice to see more of that affection, though I personally don’t mind it that much since aot depicted it in a unique and subtle way in small scenes in between so much other things happening in the story, that I haven’t seen much in other stories and I like seeing things being done in new ways, I don’t even mind the kiss because its supposed to be tragic and tragic it is, the biggest thing that annoys me about aot right now is that in the manga the story starts with eren seeing mikasa telling him see you later in his dream and waking up crying asking mikasa when her hair grew so long as mikasa’s hair is short when she kills eren, but in the anime they changed it and it shows eren seeing a bunch of random things instead of his last moment living, it would’ve been so surreal seeing that in the start of the show on a second watch, anways thanks for the reactions again, love

Night Sterling
>>121550681

Yeah but literally every breakdown he's had in the previous seasons has been the same as this one at the end

Astor Lefflinker
>>121634745

Doesn't it show more conviction on Eren's part to have still continued doing what he did despite him not really wanting to do it? I think it was more powerful because his true feelings are more selfish, but he still went through with it for the people he cared about. And that's why that scene was important. It doesn't show Eren's lack of conviction. It's the opposite really. It's kinda like how you can only be brave when you're actually scared.

Martina
>>121610435

don't want to drag out this discussion, but I just recently learned that WIT studio for some reason cut some scenes that showed Eren being more caring towards Mikasa. it seems they also cut or changed quite a lot of scenes that dealt with Mikasa's character development and her thoughts and feelings beyond just being an Eren simp. sad.

Tempered Glasses

Interestingly, the fact that this was the 100th video in your AoT reaction playlist may have greater significance in a few months.

Carlie & Ange
>>121610435

@Slizzle I know! Im just trying to better articulate myself in the comments because the videos are generally just my initial impressions. Its great to have a healthy debate here on Patreon as opposed to the absolute shitstorm in the youtube comment section 😆

CMY85

I want to share some thoughts about the weird “love” between Ymir and King Fritz, why Armin shares the guilt with Eren and why Eren sent the smiling titan to eat his mom. Before that, I would like to state that English is not my native language. Please forgive me if anything is unclear. Talk about the weird “love” between Ymir and King Fritz. First of all, whether Ymir is in love with King Fritz or not, it seems abrupt for Ymir to develop positive feelings towards him. In addition, we need to find out if Ymir, who grew up in tragedy and was never treated well, truly knows what "love" is. It is necessary to place the values in the context of the times they lived in - in a time when killing and pillaging were normal, it made sense to victim blaming. The losers should blame their weakness, not hate the winner. The oppressed, who have no dignity at all, accept the oppression as a matter of course, and have no courage to hate and resist the oppressor; but if the oppressor gives them a little favor, they will be grateful for it. Following the logic, it would make sense that Ymir doesn't want to use the titan power to fight back against King Fritz, but instead she thanks him for not killing her. (I know this sounds bs, I apologize if anyone feels offended.) Let's explore exactly how Ymir feels about King Fritz. Both Zeke and Eren mention that no matter how powerful Ymir is, she never wants to or can't get away from King Fritz. Zeke can't understand this, while Eren senses that this could be love. Both Ymir and Mikasa have lost the meaning of life, and both have gained the meaning of new life from another person. Both Ymir and Mikasa are way more powerful than that person, but they are always willing to be dominated by that person, whether by force or by choice. In this life meaning-giving relationship, Mikasa develops love and be loved; Ymir develops endless confusion and pain. Ymir can't even know exactly how she feels about King Fritz. She can only understand that it might be love by peeking at Mikasa, who has a similar experience to hers. That's why when Eren contacts Ymir, it gives him the impression that Ymir is in love with King Fritz. This ultimately caused confusion among many audiences (including myself). Honestly, I can't quite believe that Isayama-san would make such a nonsense character's emotions. I'd rather believe that I'm the one who didn't understand what he was thinking. So I tried to justify it to make myself feel better lmao. Eren and Armin's imagination of the world beyond the wall would be one of total freedom with no other human beings or civilized societies. From Eren's speech to the refugee child, we can feel the disappointment that Eren's dream has been betrayed by reality. Armin seems to have accepted the truth very quickly and continues to face it with optimism.It's possible that he feels the same way as Eren, we just haven't been told. Eren admits himself an idiot. Satisfying his imagination of a free world is what drove him to massacre; protecting what he loved was a way of convincing himself that he had no choice. It is Armin who feeds Eren's imagination, and in the end it is only Eren who does the bad things that allow both of them to finally reach their childhood dream . Armin obviously thinks this is unfair, and it makes him feel indebted to Eren. That's why he chooses to share Eren's guilt. I don't know if Armin was telling the truth when he said he had thought about destroying the people outside the wall or if he was just trying to comfort Eren. Also, assuming that the people outside the wall didn't intend to exterminate the Eldian, Eren would have no reason to support himself in the massacre. I believe that Eren will be able to let go of his imagination and accept the reality like Armin. Finally, let's talk about why Eren sends the Smiling Titan to eat his mom. In the Path, Eren uses his ability to tamper with future memories to peek at things that didn't happen. However, by manipulating other people to do different things in the sandbox, many things remain the same. For example, Sasha will be shot, and her last words will be "meat" no matter what, and that's why Eren has that kind of ridiculous and angry feeling. So I'm guessing that Eren had let the Smiling Titan eat Bertolt and give Diana The Colossus Titan's power in the sandbox scenario. However, the outcome was no better than what we're seeing now. Besides, he told Armin “I’m sure none of them wanted to die, either”. I'm assuming that Eren has already let his comrades die in various future scenarios to try and find the best solution. Obviously, Eren didn't choose any of these scenarios in the end. After Eren's almost desperate attempts, he realized that the only way is the Smiling Titan to eat his mother. Letting himself develop an unshakable hatred, letting Grisha pass the Titan's power to him ...... Ultimately causing Mikasa to do what she did and ending the Titan power is probably the best solution. (Protecting he loves as much as possible, realizing his dream of a world beyond the wall, and ending the tragedy of the Titan Power) Since Mikasa's Ackerman bloodline would not be affected by The Founding Titan's power, Eren had no way of determining exactly what Mikasa would do in the sandbox. He can only modify his own behavior and the behavior of others to lead Mikasa to make the final choice. Well, so far my brain is about to be as messed up as Eren's is. If I'm wrong about the plot or plot mechanics, please let me know and I'd appreciate it. Lastly, my thoughts on AOT: Fxxk the titan power, fxxk the Ymir's curse, I just want to see Eren and Mikasa have a happy life together. Every time I saw Mikasa crying, I cried. p.s. Watching Carlie and Ange enjoy shows that I have enjoyed is so satisfying. Thank you!!

Chrisiyyi
>>121572292

It is more that they all wouldve died, instead he sacrificed his mom and dad to save alot more people (incl. someone he loves and all his friends) for the foreseeable future instead of them all getting killed right there. Eren has seen all paths and futures and couldnt find any other way to get to the same result by his own words, so idk how we can think of other ways without the same experiences.

Ricsson

jesus christ you are NERDY as fuck here wtf , you should start you own anime :D

AMAN
>>121610435

exactly you're right. again it was not a love story still i think the author paid quite more than enough attention to it.

Russell Gambardella

Loved the reaction and discussion, thanks for the incredible journey! One point I wanted to touch on was Ymir Fritz. While children can react in a variety of ways in the same environment due to their personality (ex: Falco and Gabi), it’s important to note she was a child when she was enslaved. While l can’t speak for everyone, I can definitely relate (to way less extremes of course) to feeling like I had to act a certain way or be a pleaser toward authority in relation to others as a child. When we grow up, we (hopefully) realize we have a choice, albeit at a wide variety of ages. It reminds me of the other Ymir (the one in the Scouts) when she starts her flashback story with, “that was the first time I lied to myself, telling myself I never had a choice.” In retrospect, realizing you have a choice once you’ve learned is obvious. However, if some behavior or idea is simply all you know, there’s not much you can do about it until you learn from more experience. Add on top of this the fact that king Fritz destroyed all of Ymir’s connections (her family, village, and literal ability to verbally communicate with others). Wanting to feel needed by someone, the only way she could do that, in her mind, was to properly perform her role/relationship as a slave. And in that role, her exposure to learning experiences are little to none. Her experience of observing Mikasa is what allowed her to learn. While it’s not the exact same situation, I think this can make sense in a much simpler way if we look at some other characters and what made them have moments of epiphany. Historia - despite desperately wanting a connection to her father, it was her experiences with Ymir (‘live for yourself/live a life you are proud of’) that allowed her to break free from her perceived duty of the Reiss family, just in time to slap the syringe away and not eat Eren. Also, her terrible “relationship,” or complete lack of, with her mother, was just simply, “life as she knew it” and she didn’t realize how alone she was until she read books. Reiner- wanted a connection to his mother and to live with his father, he thought being a warrior (essentially a slave to Marley) was the only means to achieve that. Similar to Gabi, he was Marley brainwashed until he met Eren and saw himself in Eren, realizing everyone is just human. Gabi - even more indoctrinated than Reiner and it took an incredibly traumatic sequence of events for her to finally have the same epiphany as Reiner. Ymir (Scouts) - deciding to live for herself and realizing she always had a choice only after luckily stumbling upon a second chance at life after eating Marcel. Note most of these characters realize these simple things when they are significantly older than Ymir Fritz was when she was enslaved. To conclude with a real life example, I’m sure both of you have met a person, even an adult, who has stayed in a toxic relationship of some kind. It’s obvious to you what you’re looking at, but not necessarily to them. And I’m sure they also do not have Stockholm syndrome and are just a regular person, with simple, human, issues. Anyway, I hope that sheds some light onto understanding Ymir Fritz. Much love ❤️, glad to have watched this masterpiece of a story with you both!

who O

love the reaction

Fire Cape

amazing series. Eren was right, he should of wiped them out. since all that eh really gained was having his current ppl have an easier life while they died in the long run and were wiped out in the end. they will always see u as a future threat after what happened. no going back and expecting them to be friends with you