#erentag

I think when we visit the core of Eren’s morality, he certainly harbors a great deal of resentment to the situation he was placed in.  He values his freedom, of course, and he’ll fight tooth and nail to obtain that.  But with new knowledge, he’s learned that while what exists beyond the ocean is his enemy, the ones who are truly to blame are those who pass on their fears, their anger, their hate to their children, so that they may continue planting the seeds that keep the cycle of oppression spinning.  It’s an inevitable happening.  There is no way to stop it so long as people are ingrained with this mindset.  Eren understands this, and that people cannot help if the environment they live in affects their ideas of other people.  The world is cruel like that.  He is no exception, of course.

That said, how can Eren commit the act of involving casualties of war, of any demographic, and deprive the choice of others to bring new life in the world, to force Eldians to die off?  And if that’s not the case, what do his actions plan to achieve?

Chapter 118’s typeset recently released and while it’s no official translation, the context of the dialogue isn’t difficult to misinterpret.  The chapter, among previous ones that question Eren’s motives, indicate that much of what Eren is doing is being forced upon him.  Why else would Eren even agree to enact the Rumbling and genocide their own race?  Armin, finally, persuades the 104th that the Eren they know wouldn’t do this.  The decision was not Eren’s to make.  Essentially, since many have presumably been consuming Zeke’s spinal fluid, it isn’t hard to imagine that there was an ultimatum here.  I’ve mentioned this previously that this might be the case that explains why Eren so easily cooperated with Zeke and dragged his friends into a surprise-attack battle.  I think Armin’s suppressed laugh in ch116 is his reaction to the concept, that there is no way Eren would actually agree to this.

Eren is, however, adamant about initiating contact with Zeke to do-- something.  I think a lot of what was mentioned in terms of the Rumbling, the manipulation of DNA, the war of the worlds, Paths, etc. will come into play in the final climax, and I believe Eren’s intentions are to commit the small scale devastation with the payoff being a temporary “world peace.”  Yeah, peace.  Not just restricted to Eldians, this will involve everyone.

Basically, my theory is that the Rumbling is going to happen.  Throughout the story, much of what Armin speculates using his logic, not personal feelings, tends to be right.  He guesses that Eren will use the Coordinate to effectively destroy the world’s military forces that will arrive at their doorstep, using the wall titans in Shingangina to pose a warning and protect the island from attacks until they are able to fend for themselves.  Only Eren can call upon any orders, be it awakening the Wall Titans, sterilizing the population, or both.

There is a fear that Eren is rage-filled enough to wipe out the entire world if he willed it.  He says so himself that he is capable of destroying everyone.  But Armin recalling Eren’s words when he first sees the ocean, that if they kill their enemies, they may be free, emphasizes the keyword enemies.  He brings it up before he transforms in Liberio.  However, in his conversation with Reiner prior, he admits that he thought everyone on the other side of the ocean were his enemies, then realized when living among them and experiencing their environment, that they were the same as anyone else.  

Anyone can look like a bad guy.  Anyone can look like a hero.  There is empathy for those he once saw as “the enemy.”  But it’s clear that “the enemy” is not the world, but those that oppress people’s freedoms.  He has had this philosophy since he was young, but ending the world isn’t a viable option like killing the kidnappers were in his eyes-- in fact, despite the intentions, it’s often brought up as an alarming act by a child.  But unlike before, those views aren’t so black and white, and he has grown beyond vengeance but rather sees the violence as an act of duty and necessity.  He has to destroy his enemies because, sadly, diplomacy can’t bring their guns down if they still have guns in their hands in the first place.

So, the Rumbling will happen.  They anticipated the world’s mightiest to arrive for their assault, and if they choose to attack even when the Wall Titans are mobile and near indestructible, then that’s their choice to risk their lives.  And it’s more than likely that all forces will join together to stop a common enemy (this doesn’t mean they are forever allies, but I’ll get to that in a sec).  They had already been motivated by Willy Tybur’s speech.  That was the cog needed to rotate this in action.  Had the world refused and not cheered for Willy upon his declaration, perhaps there would be no need to get the whole world involved.  Or else Eren wouldn’t have waited for a queue to attack, why bother waiting until Willy officially declared war, finished his speech, prevent other nations from listening before they can agree.  Willy was the ignorant adult to persuade every ambassador there, and the world proved themselves to be easily manipulated children.  So long as a well respected person is to call someone the devil, that person will be the devil to their followers.  Which is why the play, the Attack on Liberio, reclaiming the Warhammer titan was so vital.

But what of after that?  Once this common enemy is destroyed, Paradis will become a land to conquer because of its resources.  Hizuru, even as supposed allies to Paradis, lend their help with the trade of ice burst stones, which is a limitless energy source that can provide extended use of fuel.  Resources are the reason why Marley plans to take the island eventually, because using Titans as their weapons will become obsolete.  Other nations are advancing and the need for shifters and pure titans pose less and less of a threat with each war.  With Marley now crippled, there is no stopping the world from fighting for that territory and those resources, effectively causing them to fight each other (which they have been already).  The cycle of war isn’t stopping and perhaps it will never stop.  Especially if those armies exist.  Simply because they fought against their biggest enemies, it does not mean the world will come together in cooperation- this is brought up in the earlier chapters of the manga.  Eren even says that it is basically ignorant (too optimistic) to believe humanity can be brought together as one even if they fight a common enemy.  This wasn’t the case when Titans were their only antagonists, and it doesn’t apply to the rest of the world.

Eren may not be actively solving every crime imaginable when it comes to wiping nations, and he may not be doing this specifically to reduce the amount of war for an extended period for the world.  He takes the survival of Paradisians as a priority, but dismantling militaries force nations to halt their fighting and to build up from the start.  This gives Paradis more time to build their own defenses, while making fair connections with allies that won’t make them vulnerable if they cannot compromise on certain actions, and puts them at a level playing field whenever the world is ready to fight again.  Which is exactly what Paradis needs.  It is not an infinite “world peace” and it’s not even really “peace” but it is a semicolon to the chaos so that Paradis can catch up with modern technology.  Specifically, without Titans.

That’s where the agreement with Zeke stops.  Eren doesn’t want to sterilize his people, but he does want them free.  And the only way to free Eldians is to get rid of the Titans, as he has always said.  Except this time, he really means the identity of Titans.  If rewriting Eldian DNA can be done to cure sickness, sterilize the population, become titans at all, literally healing shifters and pure titans from any injury, why wouldn’t the DNA be written to severe the ties the physical body has to the invisible Paths that connect Ymir to her people?  True that this will be a big leap of chance on Eren’s part, but it isn’t illogical to come to that conclusion.  The power of Ymir, the Founding Titan specifically, can stretch that influence to Eldians at any proximity.  No matter where Eldians are, they are always bound to the curse, and therefore will always able to become a titan.  The world cannot get over that fear because it’s simply true- Eldians can become cannibalistic monsters.  It’s their fate and genetic makeup that chains them to that identity, and they have no choice in the matter.  Even as Pure Titans, they are victims to only their subconscious, their intellect and morality suspended, not even aware of what they are doing.  Shifters are pre-determined to die in 13 years despite their near indestructible and powerful bodies.  Titans brought upon suffering in the world and caused a race of people, some who had no idea that they could become monsters in the first place, to be ostracized, enslaved, feared, despised, abused, and murdered for the misunderstanding that they are pre-determined to be evil people.  Because, to the world, monsters are evil, even if in reality that is not always the case.

So if the existence of physical monsters are no longer present, and the world learns of this, Paradis is able to prove this and properly have the time to establish peace among nations, then the fear is at least partially diminished.  Oppression will always be a thing, but the important thing is that the possibility of being a Titan will no longer be there and eventually that aspect from others’ minds will very, very gradually die as generations are less likely to hear this from their parents, or at least less inclined to believe it if there are clearly no more Titans around at all.  Even the Walls may be broken.  Even those in the frontlines in this current battle who may turn into Titans because of Zeke’s inevitable scream will revert back and no longer have to worry about it happening again.  The ability to be a “monster” in personality will lie solely on choice, and not because it is predestined upon birth.

Breaking the Paths will likely also prevent an Ackerbond from being created.  While Ackermans aren’t affected by memory manipulation and possibly not even DNA alterations, they are still descendants of Ymir by biology and their bonds are remnants of Paths taking effect.  Ackermans perhaps have more free choice than Eldians themselves to create their bonds at all or perhaps break them, but as the bonds exist, they have a bias to follow their “lord” (or “master” as Eren means) and said lord’s motivations.  It isn’t to say Ackermans cannot have their own dreams, but they are still inflicted with the Paths that can possibly affect some judgement.  Breaking the Paths themselves will prevent that connection if you think about it logically.

Of course, this doesn’t quite align with Eren’s words to Mikasa.  I think Armin’s important role in ch118 (and really his reason for existing in the story) is to remind everyone that Eren’s actions have a greater meaning, and had he not brought up potential lies that Eren made about the Ackerbond to Mikasa, it would have been more questionable that he’d lie at all than it is now.  It’s possible that those words were to break Mikasa free on her own without simply severing the Paths.  It’s also relatively fool-proof, as severing Paths would only be a theory in Eren’s mind, and not an absolute.

And finally it comes down to the pregnancy.  Historia at this point already accepted shouldering the burden of carry children to pass down the Beast Titan, and the government was willing to see this through as cooperation with Hizuru to do this.  Initially, Eren was opposed to this, but of course Yelena (or Eren) as part of the ultimatum with Zeke told Historia that her early pregnancy was to ensure Zeke’s safety for an appropriate amount of time to act.  However, I also believe it could have been used as a backup plan in case breaking Paths did not succeed, or that he had no actual choice but to enact mass sterilization (which would probably only happen on terms of a massive threat).  I’m not saying this was Eren’s initial intention, and that he very much is still against Historia’s forced circumstances, but if it was all going to happen for the sake of Zeke anyway, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume that once that plan is carried out, Historia’s unborn child will be unaffected by this DNA change.  

Allegedly, when a shifter dies naturally, Paths dictate that the next born, not conceived, Eldian baby will receive power.  This implies that Paths and therefore the Founding’s actions do not affect unborn children.  In this case, the race will not die off, as it can be carried on by another.  Even if this weren’t true, Historia herself would have to remain fertile (as well as someone else) to continue producing children until Eldians on Paradis are able to either A) stabilize their forces that make them formidable against large armies or B) Eldians gradually die off without war consuming them all.

While it’s not quite clear why Eren has not told anyone this, I think it’s basically what Armin expect as him being pushed to a corner and unable to tell them to truth.  They were involved in war to show that the weakness he has toward his friends’ survival, which that he made very clear that he cares deeply about (and why would he have ANY reason to lie), would not interfere with Zeke’s plan.  He trusted them to be able to survive, yet Sasha’s death proved that he couldn’t even do that-- he had almost no choice but to push them away and locked them up.  He kept them at a distance so Zeke, Yelena, and the Marleyan allies are not suspicious.  Ultimately keeping them in one place yet near enough lets him keep an eye on them so that they are still safe.  Would they have understood?  Maybe.  But it doesn’t mean they would agree to a massive world war to destroy armies.  There are a lot of risks involved and it won’t solve everything, but to Eren this would be the best method to defend against oppressors while removing the chains.  He can’t have his facade broken like he broke down when Sasha was killed.  He can’t afford that to interfere.  And he, everyone, can’t afford to sit down and do absolutely nothing, as they have been doing before Eren, by Hange’s admittance, decided to be the one to act.

The theme of the story is to break free from the walls holding you back.  It’s an experience Isayama has lived as a kid, that as he grew he envisioned to experience the world beyond his town.  Armin and Eren are very literal when they are young, and Armin still speaks of freedom as a physical obtainment and knowledge, something global, but Eren projects his version of freedom to apply to the will of others in a general sense, more self-focused.  That one cannot truly be free if they are bound by threads of fate, that truly free choices cannot be made if there is both an actual and metaphysical boundary preventing them from reaching whatever dreams they desire.  Eren himself wants to be free, but that also means freeing his people.  Ironically, he binds himself to the responsibility.  He even emphasizes with Reiner’s confession that he wanted to be a hero and that’s why he committed to breaking the walls; Eren doesn’t necessarily want to be respected or seen as a hero, but he chooses to take on that responsibility to be that symbol, even if there are many that see him as a monster to do it.  Because even if Reiner had the best intentions, he was still hated.  Eren will be the same way and he accepts this.  

But he must not become one to destroy all, but one to grant choices that will advance their existence forward.  That’s literally what this manga is titled.  That’s exactly the titan he harnesses.  Choice is a word that has been nearly every character’s vocabulary at some point.  Which is what the entirety of this series is based on and has been consistently presented by other characters, Levi, Erwin, Armin, Mikasa, Jean, etc.  Eren severing the bounds and eliminating the threatening oppressors grant choice to his people, and to Eren, willpower and choice are what bring a person freedom.

In summary:

Eren will enact the Rumbling to fend off and effectively destroy international armies.  This will put the world at a level playing field in terms of military buildup so that Paradis is able to make its connections and advance aka “obtaining more time.”  Eren will not follow Zeke’s sterilization plan.  He will severe Paths and effectively end “all Titans” (not Eldians) so that his people can be free.  This may include Ackermans.  Historia’s unborn child will not be affected by the sterilization so long as it remains unborn for the duration of the plan IF Eren is forced.

Thematically, it makes sense for the story’s direction.  It makes sense for Eren’s direction.  All the story’s morals about choices, free will, influence, war-- everything comes to relevancy here and all has a reason to be lesson exposed to Eren, specifically.

Eren’s character moral is to not become like the opposition, which is revealed to be Zeke and his ideology.  He must fight against that.  It has always been about fighting and breaking free.  It’s completely ridiculous to believe otherwise.  It is completely ridiculous to believe Eren would throw away his personal connections and beliefs in favor of listening to the people who slaughtered his comrades, who advocated for a continuous cycle that would ensure their containment, who think death is the only freedom, who will continue killing innocent people.  His philosophy and love for his friends, both that he lives by to the fullest extent since the very beginning, contradict all of that.

So I really enjoyed Eren’s calculative mindset without hesitation, willing to trust his intuition and logic.  Even as a planned attack and learning about the layout of the plan beforehand, it’s likely no one anticipated such a wildcard like the Warhammer’s abilities.  And yet, Eren did not need help analyzing the situation, and it certainly didn’t seem to take long to act on his suspicions; any inner dialogue about them took but a few panels.  And though there was trial and error when it came to breaking open Lady Tybur’s crystal, considering the action of war in the background and a chomp-happy Porco, I’d go so far to say it is an indicator of increased wit.  I’m not sure what I would rate him exactly, since I believe some of those stats are superficial, but it appears the one roadblock to his weaker points at the time, such as wit, was his high temper stat.  With that at a much lower temperature and experience, wit is definitely higher than his initial score of 3.

After the absolutely brutal and borderline squeamish use of Porco’s jaw to break open Lady Tybur like an egg, he encounters an alive but weak Reiner.  It goes just as you would probably expect: a swift punch to the jaw, that quickly sends him flying back.  What I find interesting, however, is that there was a very easy shot of killing Reiner right then and there.  Maybe the power of plot saved him, maybe Eren was truly to weak to command his Titan to throw a few punches, and maybe they were on a severe enough time constraint that one millisecond delay is not worth driving a heel or fist once more- the fighting ends abruptly and there an expectation to get him next time.  At this point, we see Eren wear a forlorn expression that I simply read as it being directed at Reiner.

Throughout this arc, Eren has been flipping the on and off switch when it comes to exposing his emotions.  He’s spent a lot of the beginning part decepting Falco, and therefore showed himself vulnerable.  But he appears very reserved, quiet, and melancholy in his brief encounters with his grandfather and during his temporary solitude.  Throughout his talk with Reiner, he shows less expression and puts more effort into his words, up until Reiner breaks down in front of him, he seems to be a bit shocked by the outburst.  And then comes Willy’s declaration of war, when Eren is reminded by the goal he has been fighting for throughout the entire story, to obtain his right to freedom- it seems to ignite something within him before he breaks into what I interpret as...a distressed “smile.”  It’s not a happy nor relieved one, though it is laced with self-assurance and strain.  I’m not sure if this will be touched up on but it seems to be the more ambiguous of his variety of expressions (and lack thereof) and I believe it’s it the most necessary to look back on.  We don’t see his human self in the first acts of attack, but we can assume that it wears something similar to what he is doing.  He is very in control and aware, so I imagine this is where his emotions are put at a halt so that he may use some wit to execute the plan effectively.  We do see a break in this when it seems the Warhammer is defeated, where Mikasa shares her concern of the effects of their raid and Eren’s destruction, when he sees her near tears, his expression is noticeably less focused on the battle as it becomes strained and almost hurt, whether it is in guilt of what his attack did to the innocent, Mikasa’s emotional state, or both.  Of course, he goes back into his battle trance once the Warhammer proves to still be active.

When they make their escape, Eren’s eyes look down and his brows indicate a forlornness.  This is something very telling of his initial feelings at the end of the battle in which previewed with his talk with Reiner and ended with peering below at him (or so I assume).  Despite his newly resolved behavior, the continues to glimmer his empathetic side and this scene is where it is most evident.  I have no doubt Eren expects himself to finish Reiner’s life, but at this point, he seems to understand a connection between themselves.  It’s quite a bit like looking himself in the mirror, acknowledging their likeness, and realizing Reiner’s breaking point.  Reiner is an enemy, of course, but he is also an ex-comrade, and I believe the strong feelings of hatred and hurt of betrayal are simmered down.  He sees a better picture of his enemy’s life, excuses it as something wrong with society to make him like this, confirming that their ambitions really are the same albeit on opposite sides.  Killing Reiner is a necessity at this point, but I strongly believe that rather than feeling upset that he couldn’t kill him, that it was a statement of fact.  That, no, they are not able to kill Reiner this time, but their will be an attempt another time.  It is no longer a priority and Eren sets aside his plan at vengence to focus on the primary goal- though not without what I personally see to be a look of pity or sadness.  It is a stark contrast to when he first saw Reiner escape death.

We likely won’t have these expressions properly explained outright (which I wouldn’t want that anyway), but hopefully they will come with further context clues and more ‘show don’t tell’ methods.  I would love to see that final stare at Reiner to be relevant to their next meeting, if anything between now and later would change anything, and how he expresses his feelings of Reiner to both himself internally and his comrades, which I have suspicion to believe he verbally expresses a different picture than what he wears.  But essentially, my thoughts on Eren are fixated on both his improved abilities in battle as well as his long term cling to human empathy.