Warning. This article is going deep into spoiler territory for The Final Season of Attack on Titan.
Well, that was certainly something. A lot of Attack on Titan fans were super worried that Episode 16, “Above And Below” would be the final episode of the entire series since Studio MAPPA didn’t confirm or deny whether this would be the final episode. But we now have confirmation that there will be a part 2 to The Final Season that will be coming out in winter, so that’s a huge relief. Especially since that Attack On Titan Season 4 ending would not have been a suitable way to close out such an epic series.
In fact, after watching the episode, I now have even more questions about the fate of humanity. Because unlike most other anime, Attack On Titan has swerved dramatically from where it began. We started with a protagonist who we could root for in Eren Yaeger. But now he’s turned full Killmonger and decided that maybe it would just be better to commit genocide rather than make peace with people. Sailor Moon, this isn’t. So, here are five questions that I now have about the fate of humanity after watching the ending to Part 1 of the Final Season.
Does Eren Yaeger Have An Ulterior Motive?
One of the great things about Season 4 is that it pulled a Breaking Bad. What I mean is, we’ve been rooting for Eren for the past three seasons, and it’s only now that we’re starting to wonder, should we have been? Throughout Season 4, it was really only a matter of when, not if, the viewer decided that Eren was the true villain of the series, since he’s done such terrible things, like killing all those innocent people in Liberio.
But the final straw may have been in Episode 14, “Savagery” when Eren went too far. He told Mikasa that he hated her and beat Armin up to a pulp. This also leads me to a question, though. Is Eren really seeking to end all of humanity? One could make the argument, especially with his interest in the Rumbling (more on that in a few), that Eren may have an ulterior motive. Do you remember in Watchmen when Ozymandias wanted to bring the whole world together by setting off a cataclysmic event? I think that might actually be Eren’s intention, and to do that, he needed to push the two people closest to him away from him. Then, when he ultimately does die, the entire world will unite. Or, Eren could have just gone crazy and really does want to kill everybody. Who’s to say?
Is Zeke Really Dead?
Zeke is dead, right? After Levi put a thunder spear around his neck, Zeke decided to just end it all and set it off. The thing is, at the start of “Above and Below,” Levi is nowhere to be found, and a pure titan comes along and pulls her stomach apart, placing the mostly destroyed Zeke inside. But this leads me to wonder what the heck is going on, since this sort of behavior has never been seen before from a pure titan. It’s almost like the titan is protecting him, but Levi said earlier that he wanted to feed Zeke to somebody else to produce a new Beast Titan, so what’s going on?
This is especially important to know now that we’re aware of Zeke’s ultimate plan to sterilize all Eldians. Known as the Euthanasian Plan, Zeke’s intent was to make it so that no more Eldians could give birth and would essentially just die out as a race. And even though Zeke was supposed to work with Eren, their plans seem entirely separate. So, if Zeke is dead, I’m just wondering what will happen with his euthanasian plan. Especially since Armin literally cried since he found it so beautiful.
Will The Rumbling Still Occur?
We learned a while back that the walls were actually made of hardened titans, but it was just this season that we learned about the Rumbling. Essentially, since Eren has the Founding Titan within him, he could potentially make the titans inside the walls come to life and destroy the world. The question is, does he want to?
Eren’s sanity has been questionable this entire season, but in “Above and Below,” we see Eren get lured into a trap by Pieck (The Cart Titan), where the Jaw Titan and even Reiner come ready to battle. But I’m just wondering if we will ever get to see the Rumbling happen. And if so, who will be able to stop it?
Will The Survey Corps Be Left On The Sidelines For The Final Battle?
We saw another huge twist this season with the wine tainted by Zeke’s spinal fluid. One of my favorite episodes (and the show is just full of great episodes) this season was “Children of the Forest” where we learned just how dangerous Zeke could truly be. Members of the Survey Corps drank wine that could turn them into mindless titans, as exhibited in the episode “Savagery.”
This makes me wonder if most of the Survey Corps will be left on the sidelines for the final battle, since many of them would rather not risk being transformed into a titan if they could help it. Another question: Since Eren can shout to make his old friends turn into titans, will he use that ability in the final battle? Only time will tell.
Could the Euthanasian Plan Still Work Without Zeke?
Lastly, I have an inkling that the sterilization plan might just factor into how the show will end, and I’m wondering whether Zeke is even needed for the plan now that other people like Armin know about it. Armin seems to really like the idea, and I’m thinking that he’s soured on Eren enough that he might just want to try it.
Now, I have no idea how he would get this plan across to others, but if anybody could do it, it’s Armin. And I don’t think Zeke is even necessary anymore. Not to get this plan running, anyway.
There are a lot of other questions (like when is the exact date that it will be coming back?), but these are the five most pressing ones I have for the sake of humanity. To learn about more awesome shows, check out the 2021 TV schedule here.
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