I mean… yeah. I agree. Those three deaths–Erwin’s, Bertolt’s, and Ymir’s–I think have a lack of closure. I think Erwin’s death was at the very least satisfying in terms of his arc closing, but Bertolt’s wasn’t even that. But Erwin was still such an important character that the info dumps & timeskips directly following it are kind of poorly placed in terms of pacing. I do think we will get some kind of reflection on Erwin, especially as Levi takes focus again (and he almost certainly will). I hope Bertolt gets more of a reflection as well; he and Reiner were so close. And Ymir, obviously, with Porco and Historia.
It is difficult to say, but I think it comes down to
what Levi asked him here:
Here Levi is talking about tactics, but his question is important also for Erwin’s existencial situation: “What will you do once you realize your dream?”.
I think Erwin’s answer would have determined his future. We
can’t know this answer and if Erwin were a real person he could have come up
with a positive and constructive answer as well as with a negative and
destructive one. We can’t know because people are complex and have in themselves more strength and more weakness than what we can imagine.
But yeah. I think this arc (quite possibly the last) is about, in part, overcoming the past and breaking out of the cycles, or the inability to do it in some cases. Armin I do think will be most likely to break the cycle, as the hero, but I think he may have to choose at some point whether or not to repeat the choices Erwin made like sacrificing himself/others, etc.–which he may be expected to do–or make new ones. He was already saved last time he tried to sacrifice himself, so suffice to say that’s a theme in his arc (as well as in Historia’s and Erwin’s) so I expect it to come up again. The most likely thing he’ll have to sacrifice imo is his close friendship with Eren, though that doesn’t mean I think they’ll hate each other–on the contrary, I think they will always deeply love each other even if they make choices that lead them away from the other one.
Hange finally getting an arc, I’m here for this. I think they are also trying to be Erwin when really they should be thinking outside of the box/ island they’ve been trapped on (the metaphor isn’t subtle) and the old strategist are not necessarily going to benefit them now. I also think they will overcome this.
And Levi. It’s funny, because I think I wrote a year or two ago how I really wanted to see Levi fulfill his promise to Erwin by killing Zeke. But in reality, I think it’s a far more character/thematically interesting–and far more hopeful–path for Levi to take if he has to choose between killing Zeke and… something else important in terms of freeing humanity (since Erwin wanted that too) and/or saving someone he loves, since Levi is and has always been motivated by the people he cares about most. I think it’s far better if Levi has to choose to leave his revenge for a better world even if he won’t be able to survive to live in it, and I do have confidence Levi would make the right choice. I also think that would make Erwin proud.
The point is exactly that there is no one who could fulfill Erwin’s role as commander, and also that that isn’t necessarily a bad thing if Paradis truly wants freedom and to be a part of the world.
I do, yeah. Eremika strongly parallels the other canonically romantic relationships set up by the narrative–Yumikuri and Galco–so I would expect Eremika to get the acknowledgement at the very least that Yumikuri got, and Galco to actually be the one that ends up canon and alive by the end.
That’s a very interesting comparison to Erwin and Nile’s dynamic. I can definitely see that parallel. If Jean and Mikasa do end up together in an epilogue (like I don’t expect a declaration of love, but an epilogue is entirely possible) I really hope we get to see some of their dynamic this arc (if indeed it is the last one, or the penultimate one). I can see something like you suggest happening.
I think an overarching theme in SnK is that each generation does a little better at embracing the beauty in the world (instead of letting cruelty reign) than the last. So I really still doubt a nihilistic ending because of that. I don’t believe Erwin ever told Marie his feelings, but I think Eren will tell Mikasa his feelings like Ymir did tell Historia her feelings (even if it was too late at that time), and Falco will tell Gabi his feelings (or vice versa) but they will have the chance to actually act on them in ways the other canonically romantic couples simply did not thanks to the world’s cruelty. I think Falco and Gabi, and their relationship, are about finding a balance of beauty and cruelty in the world. While cruelty kinda has a tendency to win out and cut the beauty short in the past, I think they will be able to live in a better world, and Jean and Mikasa (since they are both strong Falco parallels as well lol) will be able to live in that world as well, whether or not they end up together. (But the fact that Jean’s crush is established means, narratively, something should come of it at some point even if it is never returned, so yeah.)
I adore it. It’s my favorite one visually and symbolically. It brought me to tears. Musically it’s nice but not my fave.
For my very brief, rushed analysis of it (I’m not gonna cover every shot I don’t have time but):
We open with Eren with his eyes closed.
And then Eren awake, with his eyes open, jumping into action.
The camera then pulls back, symbolic of how his world is going to open up this season with the discovery of Marley. It’s also a part of growing up and maturation, a major theme in the Uprising and Shiganshina arc: learning to expand your worldview.
They cast larger shadows, symbolizing among other things, again, groiwng up, and also what they have to overcome:
The still images are fascinating, because they are of them as children, because they can’t change their past no matter what happens in the future.
We then have adorable baby Levi stumbling around between street walls #symbolism.
Levi flipping a knife and looking at an angle that appears to match Kenny’s angle next, showing again, that Kenny is his father figure.
And also Kenny’s original shot of him with his face covered and then flipping his hat up so we see his face: a literal unmasking.
If this Erwin shot of him watching his father and his child self does not break your heart I don’t know if you have one. Erwin’s face is also resolute, signifying how he was driven by his childhood trauma to the very end.
Baby Historia, initially appearing alone, only then to be revealed to be with Frieda, opening her hands and releasing into the wider world.
Eren appears and then we see his hand reaching for himself, but he can’t grab hold. He also then reaches for Mikasa, who stares away from him up at the sky, clutching her scarf (a symbol of something that saved her during her moment of trauma, and of her love for Eren that anchors her).
The hand then reaches for Armin, looking down, and Armin vanishes and hte hand is left with blood, and if you’ve read the manga you’ll know what this is referring to. It’s also interesting that Eren, Mikasa, and Armin are all looking in different directions, which is again symbolic of growing up and forming your own individual place in the world.
More still images of Carla and Grisha and baby Eren, and then we see Shiganshina again, the childhood home, and Eren then gets to his feet to look out at the larger world, but with his back turned towards the audience. I don’t want to speculate too much but you can clearly see this as a reference to what’s going on in the manga right now, with Eren going rogue from everyone who cares about him, and not even listening to his child self who keeps trying to get his attention before giving up. This is my favorite part, and I cry.
Then we see them running as kids, but not the destination. We see the Warrior babies trying to find their way through a dark, confusing forest with a lamp, looking lost.
Historia at the fence, refusing to looking out and away, rocking as if she can’t decide whether to step forward or not, Erwin and Levi passing each other and Levi watching Erwin.
The Shinganshina trio are running and they lose a shoe, and it’s left behind, the key and then a still shot of them laughing together. The key of course is the thing that will unlock the larger world they’re a part of, a world that they all need to find their way in, and they have to keep running forward, keep fighting for that beauty in the middle of a cruel world. It doesn’t lessen the beauty of the relationships they’ve shared, but it does make it impossible for them to go back to those days. Their love for each other will never lessen, that I believe, but they won’t be able to return to the simplicity of those childhood days, and their dreams will be realized but with a cost.
Erwin Smith. 13th Commander of the Survey Corps. The most intelligent and charismatic Commander humanity ever had. Never hesitated to dive into the hell outside the Walls to seek the truth of this world. Always first in the line, his soldiers followed him no matter what and were always willing to offer their lives in his command for the glory of humanity.
battle is one their relationship changes: E is Always the one making the most important decision, but in Sh L tells him what to do when E is stuck. To me it’s interesting to confront it with the Female Titan Arc. There L says he’s not the strategist and that the one thinking is E. That arc is also the one where we see E sacrifice a great number of soldiers to reach a goal. L obvs doesn’t like it, but he’s far more stoic than in Sh when he looks at the recruits and E die. It can be bcs the cont.
battle is one their relationship changes: E is Always the one making the most important decision, but in Sh L tells him what to do when E is stuck. To me it’s interesting to confront it with the Female Titan Arc. There L says he’s not the strategist and that the one thinking is E. That arc is also the one where we see E sacrifice a great number of soldiers to reach a goal. L obvs doesn’t like it, but he’s far more stoic than in Sh when he looks at the recruits and E die. It can be bcs the cont.
situation is far more drammatic or bcs even E is gonna die, but the reading I prefer is that L is particularly emotional also bcs that time he himself is the one who made the choice in E’s stead. I think L reached the pieck of his development in that moment when he overcame Kenny who wasn’t able to understand Uri until his dying moments. L is able to understand E as a person in time and is able to make the best choice for him which is to let him die. Meta Anon
I joined the fandom where serumbowl was happening. Like I’m not kidding that was the first chapter I was around for spoilers for. Joy right? 😦
I knew from the beginning how it would turn out. Armin would almost certainly live if he was still alive after all he went through (if you start a deux ex machina like that follow it through dammit). Bertolt had a tiny chance of living if the other two died, but Erwin was always going to die. Always. And it breaks my heart because I never intended to get so attached to him, but his character is very well written. The choice between Bertolt and Armin and Erwin was the deciding choice of the series: would they choose the future (a kid) or the past (an adult)? (I realize that sounds cruel and I’m an adult myself but that’s how coming of age stories work. Mentors suffer a lot.) And would they become like the Marlayans (killing Bertolt for Armin) or would they choose to rise above and spare a screaming friend and child? They chose to become like the Marlayans even if they didn’t even know what Marlay was then, which Isayama not so subtly showed us when Bertolt’s death scene paralleled Marco’s so closely. We’re seeing the consequences of that decision right now. By fighting to save Armin and not Bertolt, Mikasa reaped Eren’s death–he was going to die anyways, but his current actions are the result of treading this path, a path that they may have tread anyways once they found out, but killing Bertolt was the point of no return for Paradis. It wasn’t Eren’s invasion. Once the SC endorsed that kind of thing, it was over.
I still expect them to change the world and save it, tbh. I think we wil have a hopeful ending. But I think the vast majority of our cast will lose their lives except Mikasa and Jean, and possible Connie and Sasha if Isayama is feeling generous. (Armin also could survive the final battle since he is the hero!)
I also think serumbowl gave Eren the realization that he was not the hero of the story, which was obvious for awhile, but finally it sank in. Unfortuantely, that also appears to have convinced him he should be the villain. Sigh.
I think they’re different insofar as Eren knows everything, whereas Erwin knew a lot less about the circumstances of the world. I think people are culpable for what they know, and not for what they don’t know, and according to that, we know Erwin was desperate to find out the truth, but Eren is desperate to end the war. Both of them are using the ends as justifying the means philosophy.
However, when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of it, when it comes to the families and loved ones of those who lost their friends and family, does it matter their motivations? To them, that person–Erwin or Eren or Zeke or anyone–is a monster, because they stole their loved ones away from them. Both Erwin and Eren now were/are aware of this. Armin told Eren he needed to cast aside his humanity in the Female Titan Arc, which is not so coincidentally firstly where we see just how brutal Erwin could be to capture the titans and make progress in his quest to find the truth. Erwin knew what he was and he wanted to die because of it, becaues he didn’t believe he deserved forgiveness, and I grieve that because I don’t think it’s true, and I don’t think the narrative even supports that suggestion–Levi desperately wanted Erwin to live, for example. But Levi, unlike Flock or even Hange, wanted Erwin to live not because of what he could do for mankind (though that was part of it), but also because of who Erwin was and how Levi loved him (I believe platonically but to each their own). Levi ultimately let him go because he knew Erwin as a person and not as a devil or a monster, and he did not want to see his friend suffer continuously. Mikasa is probably going to have to let Eren go at the end of the story for similar reasons, though I expect the titan struggle will be over then and I think her tears in 102 show us she is already seeing what’s going to happen.
The thing is, SnK as a manga constantly asks us what makes a monster and a human? And the answer is always that we are all monsters and we are all human. It doesn’t condemn Annie or Reiner or Bertolt or even Zeke, or Eren, or Erwin–it condemns their actions without question–Mikasa even says as such in 102. And it shows us the agony their actions cause–Eren’s loss of his mother, for example, and Gabi right now and doesn’t offer any sort of whitewashing of the agony they go through. But it lets us see that they are people too, manipulated children or hurting adults traumatized by their childhood guilt (Erwin).
Yes, I think we’re meant to compare Eren and Erwin’s actions. No, I don’t believe that means we can necessarily equate them. Eren for example knows the pain of what he’s unleashing more personally than did Erwin. But again, I think Isayama is telling us to condemn the actions and to still care for the person. Like Mikasa, the more epicenter of the story, I think we are supposed to weep for them.
hamliet 