Attack on Titan, or “Shingeki no Kyojin”, has finally ended after a long journey that began in 2013 as an adaptation of Hajime Isayama’s manga. Thus, four seasons later, several specials and a wait that seemed eternal, we have been able to see the outcome of the adventures of Eren, Armin, Mikasa as part of the Reconnaissance Legion. However, as usually happens in this type of event, neither has this been a dish of good taste for the entire audience nor has everything we have seen during the 1 and a half hour special been clear. To clear your doubts, we bring you the ending explained With every little detail. Needless to say, below you will find all kinds of spoilers.
What happens at the end of Attack on Titan?
The special begins right where the previous one ended. Eren has started the Rumble, plaguing the world with thousands of Colossal Titans with the goal of destroying humanity. The few remaining members of the Survey Legion and some of Marley’s allies have joined forces to try to reach him, now converted into the Final Titan. After a bloody battle in which old allies, enemies like the Beast Titan, and tough decisions appear, Mikasa finally manages to reach what’s left of Eren and put an end to his life. But better we go in partsthere is a lot to talk about.
The outcome of Eren and Mikasa
We know that Mikasa is the one who ends Eren’s life. However, before those moments, a scene occurs in which both characters share a different destiny. Maybe there are those who think that this is a representation that occurs in Ackerman’s mind, but the truth is that, like everything that happens in this story, it is something deeper.
Eren has the ability to travel through time as a result of obtaining the power of the Attack Titan. You can’t do it in strictly physical terms, but you can influence past decisions. Thus, one of the hardest revelations is knowing that he was the one who let the Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan pass, removing the minor titans that surrounded Bertholt with the power of the Founder and causing the massacre of the first chapters of the series. , included her mother’s death.
Eren confesses to having traveled many times to the past searching for other alternatives until realizing that the only possible outcome, the one that will save his friends, was the current one. However, there is a point in the timeline that can change things and that is a decision which corresponds to Mikasa. When in a previous conversation she responds that to her he is like her family, he tips the balance towards the current option. If he confesses his feelings to her, they will both leave everything and live in retirement until Eren’s life as the bearer of the Titan’s power ends.
Therefore, what we see during that vision is a parallel reality in which Eren has not become a genocide. We find the proof of this in the first chapter of the series. If we remember one of the first scenes, Eren is sleeping peacefully on a tree when Mikasa tells him that he has fallen asleep. “I feel like I’ve been in a very long dream,” he comments and then begins to cry without knowing why. This is exactly the same thing that happens to Mikasa during the vision. Thus, this scene is a way of letting the viewer see that not only did they both have feelings for each other, but also of giving them a goodbye much less harsh than what we are going to witness in reality.
The talk with Armin
Armin is another of the most important people for Eren and this is how we can see it during the conversation between the two. This occurs once Eren has died, although in reality it had already happened. The viewer receives it at that moment simply because Eren erased the memories of her and once dead, they have reappeared.
During these moments in which some important moments are reviewed, both friends say goodbye and Armin agrees to take part of the blame for what happened so that his friend does not have the full weight of what he has done. In the end, Eren confesses that everything he has done has been to try to give them a better future.
The fate of the Eldians
And does he really achieve it? Once the Rumble has been stopped and the threat of Eren no longer exists, the truth is that the world continues, even if only with 20% of the population. Such a massacre has managed to slow down a possible repression against the island’s inhabitants by the rest of the territories, but they are still not safe. Thus, the main group that has participated in its elimination is forced to leave Paradis for a time. Within the walls, the faction related to Eren has grouped and formed a new army willing to defend himself if necessary.
Without the ability to become titans on the part of these inhabitants, Marley decides not to eliminate them and even the cooperation between the two during the massacre serves to end the rivalry of the nations. Thus, the Eldians who lived outside the walls are able to have a more dignified life. During the boat scene, we can see how Connie, Jean, Annie and Armin are on their way to the island again. They have become foreign ambassadors, but fear repression by the Jaegerists. Something that, with Armin’s mastery, seems not to happen.
What’s going on with Levi?
Levi’s fate is possibly one of the toughest in the series, (with Eren’s permission). Accustomed to seeing how the Ackerman is capable of finishing off all kinds of titans, now we have to see how this one ends his days confined to a wheelchair. His confrontation with the Beast Titan had already left him very weak and bruised in the previous special, but saving Connie in a risky way and a last effort to clear a path for Mikasa through the mouth of the Final Titan are what caused him to His body cannot recover. As a curiosity, in the manga he can be seen with Gabi and Falco.
Mikasa’s future and the bird scene
With Eren out of the picture, Mikasa no longer has to fight again. Unlike the rest of the main group, she decides to stay on the island and be near her grave. So we can see how three years later He continues visiting her with the scarf he gave her still around her neck. The bird scene caused a lot of stir when it debuted in the manga, but no, it’s not that Eren is now a bird, but rather it’s a symbolic way of representing that he will always be by her side.
Now we move on to the scenes seen during the credits of the series. Although in a tiny way, we can see how the years go by and Mikasa continues to visit Eren. At one point he is shown with her family. Although this is seen more clearly in the manga and is also dropped in some scenes, it is speculated that her future husband is none other than Jean. Finally, Mikasa dies of old age and is buried in the same place.
Explanation of the credits scene
The post-credits scenes continue and now we see how Eldia is an advanced nation of large buildings. The war once again ravages the place and we see how all the buildings are destroyed by bombs. The meaning of this scene is that the human being is destined to repeat their mistakes and Eren’s sacrifice has served to give a better life to his friends, but not to all of humanity.
Later we see a little boy with a red scarf who comes across the tree that Eren was buried in. This scene is very similar to the one when Ymir gains the power of the titans, implying again that the cycle It is condemned to repeat itself. And who is this boy? Although the red scarf may make us believe that we are dealing with a descendant of Mikasa, the truth is that it seems unlikely that it has lasted after so long and after a war. Plus it can still be draped over Mikasa’s neck during his funeral. It would be more logical to think that Isayama seeks to give the message that once again an innocent young man similar to how Eren, Armin or Mikasa were as children is about to start a cycle of destruction and evil.
Of course, each user can make the corresponding interpretations, but the ending of Shingeki no Kyojin is summarized in that Eren was not a simple madman, but the will to save his friends led him to want to achieve his goal no matter what the cost. In the same way, the human essence is staged very well through war and how humanity is not capable of living in peace. The titans no longer exist, but they can do it again and you know what they say: he who does not know their history is condemned to repeat it.
