Attack On Titan’s Message Is This: We’re All Stupid And Doomed

Attack on Titan final episode

Eren Jaeger was able to literally look through time and plot out every step of multiple generations of the line of the Attack Titan, and all he could come up with was to wipe out 80% of humanity. Let’s be honest: not a smart move. Genuinely, Eren’s entire story leads up to this moment, the pre-determined plan may even be why Eren was even born, as if the Eldian’s subconscious connection in the Paths made it his destiny. Regardless: absolute moron.

But Eren could only see as far as his life, as far as the lives of the Titans. He couldn’t see the fact that the Jaegerists he started and lead would end up turning the inhabitants of Paradis into hyper-fascists. They literally goosestep through the streets in the closing moments of Attack on Titan’s finale – I know writers who use subtext, and they’re all cowards. But, hey, y’know, who can blame him, how can really predict whether organizing a fascist group capable of a military coup would be a good idea or not? Eren’s a centrist, basically.

But seeing Eren Jaeger, a man with the power to save the world, decide to destroy it in order to equalize things – it seems absurd, right? Absolutely unthinkable. But then I look at how many Western politicians are so eager to feed weapons in warzones without any plan to aid the displaced people, and how many BBC Question Time audience members ask about how willing people would be to nuke some non-descript place in the Middle East, and I realise… yeah. We are really stupid, as a whole. And we’re doomed.

In the Attack on Titan universe the Titans are analogues for nuclear weapons – let’s ignore the fact that the Colossal Titan suddenly became an actual bomb halfway through the series – so Eren’s death, the death of the Founding Titan, and the death of Founder Ymir, is essentially the nuclear disarmament moment. Eldians are no longer held under the control and whims of the Founding Titan, freed from their prison behind the walls, and the humans that remain should be able to live in harmony, right?

Well, that might’ve gone better if they’d found a way to get rid of the Titans before, like, using them to kill 80% of humanity. Did Eren really go through every possibility, and conclude that using nukes to kill most of the people in existence would ensure his friends live longer lives than, like, just not having nukes in the first place? Eldia wasn’t totally without allies on the global stage – some of them could’ve acted as intermediaries to end Marley’s apartheid state in exchange for removing Titans from existence. Yes, it would’ve meant killing Eren, but hey, that’s what happened anyway, right?

It just seems unfathomable that this would be the best case scenario – unless Eren is a complete moron. I’ve mentioned the Nazi death squads he left in his wake, but then in the closing credits to Attack on Titan’s finale we see technology and humanity thrive, before weapons slowly destroy and break everything down until it looks like Nier Automata.

At the end a single human ventures inside the tree where Eren’s head was buried – very possibly rediscovering the Titan abilities, and starting the cycle again. The story of Attack on Titan is about how we’re all stupid, absolutely doomed, and we will repeat our mistakes. But, honestly? I blame Eren.