Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) - Manga discussion

[Wandering Soul]

It's sort of weird that we haven't seen any of Eren's side or thoughts as this all went down. I'm betting on next chapter showing his and Ymir's perspective as this all went down as all of this chapter felt too simple.

[Kanon]

We did get a chapter from Eren's POV, and it basically told us everything we needed to know besides whether he's the father of Historia's child. I do think he's going to come back for one last talk (Mikasa needs some resolution) but it might be inside Paths after his death.

[Jan-Poo]

Why was it even necessary to kill him at this point? I mean apart from the fact he's a mass murderer, a fact which everyone tacitly agreed to overlook for now and just limit themselves to stop Eren unless it was strictly necessary to kill him in respect of Mikasa's will, and probably also the fact that they don't want to risk three random babies to suddenly find themselves with a 13 year life expectancy.

[Router25]

To quote Jean, Eren's a stupid little suicidal blockhead.

[tsunade666]

welp, that was magnificent chapter. it ended with a bang at the end, quite literally, though without the MC's pov I have mixed feelings on it.

[Ligerleon89]

I'm still not sure.... I'll just wait for the last two chapters.

[Lex79]

I'll wait for the last two chapters but if everything gets solved by Armin using the power of friendship I'll be quite disappointed.

[foxbox360]

The Author said we won't get a happy ending so next chapter is going to be Major.

[grecefar]

Wasn't that before the manga became popular and he needed to change plans?

[Guido]

Originally Posted by foxbox360

The Author said we won't get a happy ending so next chapter is going to be Major.

In an old interview, Isayama-sensei, indeed, gave thoughts to conclude Attack on Titan with a grim, nihilistic tone reminiscent to the ending of Stephen King's The Mist where all main characters died out at the end. However, he changed his mind on the ending when surveying how fans of his manga reacted positively to the characters. Nonetheless, that doesn't mean Isayama-sensei will hold back on the ending, hence, either the readers are going to get a "happy" ending with a dark twist, a subversion or anti-thesis to a happy ending, or a bittersweet one, followed-up by another major character's death aside from Eren's.

[GDB]

Reminder that we already know the last panel of the series.

[Sheba]

A french youtuber pointed out that it is very possible that Eren have used the Warhammer Titan's remote control ability. Its a possibility.

[Jan-Poo]

Well he certainly didn't die. Warhammer titan power or hardening power (they said that it would work for Reiner) he survived that blast. It would make narratively little sense if he died before a final dialogue with at least Armin. In fact it would be very poetic if Mikasa killed him in the end.

The big question is what can he do, because with all that was established until now he shouldn't be able to control the founding titan power anymore, unless there's some kind of twist.

[Theelepel]

Originally Posted by Jan-Poo

Well he certainly didn't die. Warhammer titan power or hardening power (they said that it would work for Reiner) he survived that blast. It would make narratively little sense if he died before a final dialogue with at least Armin. In fact it would be very poetic if Mikasa killed him in the end.

The big question is what can he do, because with all that was established until now he shouldn't be able to control the founding titan power any more, unless there's some kind of twist.

He probably has survived it, but up to the point of being mortally wounded (gives more of a dramatic ending with the cast). Eren wants the gang to kill him: there have been multiple flash backs in the Manga that contradict to what he's been doing and indicate that he doesn't want to do it, but that it is necessary to end the cycle of hate and war. For quite some time, we've seen characters realising their errors and that they want to change. And he needs people who succeed in stopping him. I'm predicting that in either the next of the last chapter, he'll succumb to his wounds.
In a way, it kind of reminds me of why the European Union was formed: on the ashes of so much destruction, loss and pain of WW II, people who historically competed and warred against one another sought cooperation to end this.

And this all sort of connects to this centipede creature. It is presented in Zeke's story about survival and multiplying, so it must be connected to this. My theory would be that it needs the titan's powers to survive and that its main connection is with the founding titan. We've seen Zeke getting decapitated, but the centipede didn't pop up. We've seen Eren being decapitated twice, and it popped up twice. So the centipede is not related to the rumbling, otherwise it would have showed up at Zeke as well. It's connected to the founding titan and somehow needs its host (can we name it a parasite?) to either survive of have it being consumed alive by the next host. And because of the 13 year curse, it needs other titans (the Eldians) to consume the founding titan to keep on surviving.

So how does killing the centipede hold up with the story? Well the power of the titans is enormous and ripe for abuse. It can be used for conquest and to dominate others, like during the time of the Eldian empire: Ymir's memories of those days didn't portray a pretty picture of the Eldians. And it can be used for submission, in how the Marleyans have used the Eldians for their conquest while building a society build on a constant hate against them. As long as there are titans, the conquest and domination remain a possibility. So what if the centipede fails to connect to the founder (Eren) and ends up dying? Could it be the end of the power of the titans, so the Eldians lose the ability to transform and be similar to the other races?

I'm not sure where to put in Ymir in this. Leaving aside the rumbling, you do not get the picture of someone who is evil. Even during the rumbling, you can see she isn't using any power to for example prevent Armin and Zeke from stopping the rumbling. She might have been the unfortunate victim of the centipede and while due to this she has never really died, she has already been stuck in limbo for 2000 years. Perhaps if the centipede is dead, Ymir will be free as well? Perhaps reborn as the child of Historia?

[Ruki0089]

138 out... Kinda sad..

[Justice Knight]

how did they know the smoke can make every1 into titan? i dont recall the part explains that.

[tsunade666]

welp, his dead for good now. right? but ymir is still there, watchin and the shinny centipede is still rampaging. it even cause the refugee go titan.

I feel that the chapter is too short with all the flashback?/memory scene of eren and mikasa.

[Diluc]

And people angry MAPPA doing season 4 very bad?

Season 4 is inherently bad from the source.

[Wandering Soul]

That was a clusterfuck. I guess we won't get Eren's POV unless Isayama wants to cram that into the final chapter too. Also what was Ymirs goal during all this? First she supports Eren, then Armin, then just watches over Mikasa killing Eren. This doesn't seem like it can wrap up completely nicely.

That final panel gave me "nice boat" vibes.

[Jan-Poo]

Well I did imagine that Mikasa would end up being the one to kill Eren, but not even some parting words? We got some dialogue in a made up fantasy instead.

The fact that all Eldians (shifters excluded) turned into titans then was quite a shock, however there's no way it's going to be permanent. Either Ymir herself will act as a Deus ex Machina and solve the situation or somehow the whole curse will cease to exist after they find a way to kill the "centipede" (though it can't be any conventional mean since it survived the equivalent of a nuclear explosion).