Bertholdt, Armin and the Colossal Titan
I was going to wait to see Armin’s Titan form properly before posting this, but that might be never, so here it is now! I’ll update if we ever do get to see it.
Shifter lore is something I hope Isayama will reveal in more detail, as there is still so much of it we don’t know. One of the most controversial moments in the story was when Armin gained the power of the Colossal Titan. Let’s see what Isayama did to set up this story event, and if it can reveal anything about the Nine, the Colossal Titan specifically.
Armin and Bertholdt are unique in that they’re thrown against each other, in a similar way to Eren and Reiner. During the Clash Arc, while the rest of the 104th try to appeal to Reiner and Bertholdt, they question why they would betray them, calling back on their times in training. Mikasa is purely antagonistic towards them, she pushes past that and is focused on getting Eren back, ignoring Bertholdt’s pleas. Armin’s antagonism towards Bertholdt is something different. He is notably the only one who doesn’t say anything in this scene, but he is the focus of a panel when Bertholdt says “Someone has to stain their hands in blood” (to that effect).
When Armin faces Bertholdt later, he takes advantage of Bertholdt’s feelings for Annie. This attack is such a deeply personal thing, beyond attacking “humanity’s enemies”. In doing so, he shattered whatever friendship they had beyond repair. No one else in the story does this with Bertholdt. Armin goes further than needing to get the job done, he toys with Bertholdt, he’s gratuitous in his words, shocking even Eren who knows Armin better than anyone. The distraction works; Bertholdt is furious. He loses his temper and tries to attack Armin. “Children of the devil”, the first time we have any indication of why the Warriors believe the people in the walls should die. This is the first time he deliberately targets Armin, but wouldn’t be the last.
The next significant confrontation they have is in the Return Arc, and the confrontation on the roof.
Bertholdt is a different character at this point, and this is a different situation to the Clash Arc. This time he has allies, they have a plan, they have the clear advantage, they’re so close to finishing their job. Bertholdt in this arc has a clear head, he’s calm, to the point of being unnerving. Armin makes the mistake of thinking he’s the same as when they last met, which ignites Bertholdt’s anger again, but he’s learnt from his mistakes and is very aware of the soldiers around him. He listens to Armin, he tells him that he will accept nothing less than handing Eren over and everyone dying. This goes against what they’ve said in previous arcs: that they would leave the walled people alone if they handed Eren over. Bertholdt also attacks Armin exactly where he needs to: he goes straight for Armin’s insecurities, something he has not been able to deal with.
“I know, as long as you’re standing there shaking, you aren’t able to do a thing.”
This hits Armin harder than I think even Armin expected, and he freezes up, going so far as to ask Jean to take over command for him. Where Armin had previously tormented Bertholdt by using his feelings for Annie, so Bertholdt uses Armin’s insecurities against him. They both use deeply intimate and personal traits against one another.
Bertholdt transforms, and after a time Armin comes up with a plan, sacrificing everything he has to give Eren the opening to defeat Bertholdt.
The interactions between Bertholdt and Armin throughout the story have built up to this scene. Armin is horrifically burnt by the steam of the Colossal Titan, and it is through doing this that Bertholdt meets his downfall. Armin receives the serum, and Bertholdt is eaten by the very person he had tried to kill.
As we can see from previous interactions, Armin has been singled out numerous times when it comes to Bertholdt. Isayama specifically focuses on Armin when he reacts to Bertholdt eating a person during their reveal.
Armin is focused on during Bertholdt’s “hands stained with blood” scene. The concept of descendants of the devil is introduced through the reaction that Bertholdt has to Armin’s words.
Character wise, Bertholdt and Armin are quiet and unassuming. They don’t draw attention to themselves, they fade into the background when around their louder, more extroverted and confident friends. They both have the same mannerisms, they both are the only male characters in the series to use “boku” rather than “ore”, a reflection of their personalities and how they present themselves.
The ritual of passing on shifter powers is shown to be as intimate as it is horrifying (I’d go as far to say it’s violating, especially considering the context of how it happened here). It’s mentioned numerous times in the narrative that the previous shifters live on in the current one, their memories alive in them. Bloodlines play a role in that memories are more easily accessible when a Titan power is inherited into the same family, but as we see with Porco in chapter 93, the memories are still very much accessible without that. That Armin and Bertholdt, two characters who are so very much alike, yet on opposite sides on the battlefield, have been placed together like this is no coincidence. We don’t know if Bertholdt’s memories will affect Armin, or if he will even receive them at all but, narratively speaking, that Armin, out of all the characters, was chosen is no coincidence at all. The sheer irony that Armin inherited the very same power that so nearly killed him
Which brings us to the Colossal Titan.
The CT is the icon of the series. Characters call it “The God of Destruction”. It’s capable of massive devastation, levelling entire battlefields during transformation alone. It was the catalyst that began our story. It was also in the possession of a shy, quiet boy. It was passed on to another shy, quiet boy, coincidentally the first of the main cast to lay eyes on it.
This makes me wonder if the shifters are determined by fate already, before they’re born; everything already decided for the past, present and future. The Attack Titan has been inherited by people whose “eyes that could burn the world to ashes”. The Armoured Titan was inherited by Reiner, who we learn was never meant to have it. If Reiner has his way, it’ll be inherited by Falco, who would have also only received it by way of intervention. Were these people always destined to host the Titans? With Armin and Bertholdt’s antagonistic relationship all leading up to the final battle and the similarities between them, one could almost think it was all destiny.
I believe the Titans themselves could be sentient, only “awakening” rarely. The 145th King made a deal with the Founding Titan. Eren has a dream of the Attack Titan after hardening for the first time. Armin sees the Colossal Titan looking down at him while weeping.
Was this a vision of Bertholdt, or perhaps the Colossal Titan itself, weeping for the tragedy the Eldian people have to endure? What is it about Armin and Bertholdt that this Titan was passed on to them? Is it fate, or all just an unhappy coincidence that both the inheritors share so much?
Hopefully these questions will be answered at some point in the future.
Thanks for reading!
