Chapter 138: Dreams vs Reality
So I’ve sat down with my thoughts on ch138 for about a week analyzing Mikasa’s “vision” for character meta and its function to the plot. Needless to say there are polarizing opinions for obvious reasons- but I still feel the need to share my view bc I think it reveals a lot.
Disclaimer: I realize the issue with ship wars. I don’t intend to claim one thing or another; it’s entirely fair to interpret Eren’s feelings in many ways because that’s how this series works. I have no interest in arguing about it. I’m only interested in the dream vs reality aspects of the chapter.
For the record, I’m working with two theories here and I emphasize THEORIES. It’s cool to disagree with parts or all of it! I do hope my words get you thinking at least a bit though!
The Butterfly Effect
In order to tackle these two theories, the theory of the “butterfly effect,” paths dividing into multiple timelines originating from one singular timeline depending on Eren’s choices, needs to be considered. On first introduction to the Attack Titan’s abilities, Eren says that the holder can see future memories of its respectable owners. Thanks to the Paths, Eren is able to communicate with previous holders, like Grisha, to commit acts that would lead him to obtaining the Attack and Founding Titans. The Butterfly Effect would kick off the events that we’ve been following along in the story and imply that time exists in a circle, since the reason Eren gets the titans is because he was able to convince Grisha to do so by showing him selective memories.
The issue with this is in ch138, if Mikasa’s reality was actually a divergent timeline, if it really were the case Eren and Mikasa would run off together if she had confessed her feelings, there would be no way for Eren to convince his father to give him the Attack and Founding. Therefore, they wouldn’t have even been in the outside world to run away to, Eren wouldn’t die of the titan curse, which is what happens in Mikasa’s ideal world.
It seems that he needs Paths specifically to communicate with Grisha. It’s even possible he needs direct contact with royal blood to even see the memories, or else it was needed to trigger that ability for him to now do so more freely later.
Therefore, in this case, we can assume the butterfly effect is either debunked or functions differently than a domino reaction.
Paths exist in parallels – Mikasa’s Ideal is an alternative reality
We have confirmation from the storyboard of the chapter that this was meant to be Mikasa’s “ideal (world).” Had she confessed her feelings to Eren, she would have suggested running away the night before Eren leaves his friends so that they can live Eren’s last 4 years in peace. Obviously with the watering down of the Butterfly Effect, we see that it is impossible for this to happen, at least in the main timeline.
Mikasa experiences a migraine when faced with the reality that Eren has to die in order to kill the “Founding Titan.” She’s been experiencing these unexplainable headaches throughout the series during certain critical points of the plot that she personally experiences. We can assume Eren has been lying about the Ackerman abilities in order to push Mikasa away from him, so that she would have less hesitation when she ultimately has to face him. We don’t see Levi having these migraines when his own “host” Erwin cannot be protected from death. Even Kenny doesn’t seem to experience or note these headaches when Uri is dying. The only thing that is mentioned is the awakening power and inability to have their memories wiped or manipulated.
That said, it doesn’t seem to apply to Ackermans actually experiencing what the Founder can show them. In this case, the theory of an alternate reality would be plausible if one with the Founder can access those other realities. If Mikasa did experience another reality, it is because Eren who “controls” (or rather is lent power by) Ymir is able to bring her there. This would mean that timelines exist in parallel to each other and there are multiple alternative universes and realities, ones with Titans and ones without. The headaches may be a result of a resistance that is likely due to showing Mikasa these realities during specific moments, ones with situations that align with other realities but aren’t explicitly converging at any point and her Ackerman blood trying to block that process from happening- with Ymir and Eren together, they are able to breakthrough that barrier.
Now you can interpret that Eren’s reason for bringing her there is to assure her that there is a reality where she suggests running away together and that she experiences that life with the assurance that she will stay with Eren as long as he lives. She knows that this isn’t her own reality: “I think I shouldn’t be here.” Eren likely also brings her here to show that even with their peaceful life that the conflict still exists and that she still cannot save him. After he dies, he wants her to detach herself from him, forget the memories, and to be free.
Whatever the reason, we can assume that the “cottage” Mikasa and Eren aren’t the main timeline Mikasa and Eren. It wouldn’t make sense for the history and it wouldn’t align with their motivations throughout the story. While the timeline of events up to that point are similar if not exact, their behaviors aren’t quite the ones we have been following.
I’ll explain further but in short to believe the above in genuine runs a high risk of presenting as “character assassination.” In other words, “out of character.” (Sorta)
Keeping this in mind, this potentially means that these “path” visits have been foreshadowed and even acted upon by Eren before this moment. First off, we know that Eren foresaw the future of the Rumbling and “that sight” when touching Historia’s hand. We also know he sees other moments in between via these future memories. He is only limited in seeing the actual chain of events that gets to that point.
For years before he concedes to this future, he is adamant about finding literally any other solution that will not result in the Full Scale Rumbling. When Kiyomi brings up even threatening the world with the Rumbling on top of sacrificing Historia, he rejects that offer, suggesting that they should consider other options. When Hange says that Hizuru cannot aid in getting other allies to help them, Eren is distraught by the failure of another plan. However, he accepts going to Marley to survey the nation to seek opportunities for peaceful conversation. Before their departure, Eren discusses the potential destruction of Paradis with Historia, saying that their options are to fight or run away- Historia, however, accepts the duties given to her. Eren knows this option is unacceptable and with that nature he must go forth with Hange’s plan or commit the Rumbling (though of course he knows the latter is the future). It’s the rescue of the little boy Ramzi that gives Eren the realization that the events are exactly how he saw them when receiving the future memories. He actually considers leaving the boy behind to change that fate, but his nature, just like how he can’t accept the fate of Paradis to be destroyed, causes him to protect the boy. Eren realizes that the future cannot be changed- because of fate and because of his nature.
He asks Mikasa the big question and receives her final answer. This seems far fetched but when his friends arrive to interrupt the moment he says with disappointment that it was “perfect timing.” Of course, this could also indicate the frustration of having this conversation interrupted with Mikasa, or that he no longer wanted to hear an elaboration because he didn’t expect anything to change, but with the future sight theory he could have foreseen his friends showing up at that precise moment; there isn’t a lot of evidence to say one way or another, but it’s worth considering since even Mikasa is confused when he says this, meaning that there is supposed to be focus on why he says this. During the conference that proposes Eldian rights, after attendees and speakers insist that the real issue are the Paradisians and they should be ridden of, Eren leaves, now convinced that this is the path he has to take. All other options are lost despite his begging, and he is sure there is no other way.
Everything seems to go just like Eren plans, including the time to meet up with Zeke; the only obstacle that he hadn’t foreseen was Reiner bringing reinforcements early. Either these are events leading up to the same future that he did not see, or this is a different Path he exists on.
We see that he convinces Grisha to slaughter the Reiss family in order to get the Founding Titan when Zeke takes them on a “memory lane” trip. With showing Grisha selective memories, his father decides to hand the titans to Eren just as he did in the “alpha” timeline. He tells Zeke that he was able to “get to this point” thanks to Zeke, so now he is on the proper path. Now the events are aligned where he does “see that sight” by contacting Ymir directly and activating the Rumbling.
How did he get to that path though? Where does it start? Is there a beginning at all? Well, either Zeke had led them to a parallel path that was similar enough to show identical memories so to convince Eren that Grisha was brainwashing him—or Eren took advantage of a distracted Zeke to “path jump.” It’s interesting that Zeke is the one leading them up until the end of the chapter when Eren is the one now pushing Zeke to get to the next memory. The events up until Grisha gets to the Reiss Cave during the titan invasion occur according to the main timeline.
At this point, Eren is aware that the future of this timeline is viable, one that he is most “like himself” because his behavior is consistent with his beliefs. He was always fated to be this way, he always knew that he would never abandon Paradis so long as they were at risk. He would never allow his friends to suffer that fate. There was never a future for him to run away and live in the mountains living the rest of his life in isolation with Mikasa. His very nature would never allow him to.
It is also possible that this foresight didn’t always come with the goal of flattening the entire earth- he would have foreseen the Rumbling not complete, he only ever mentions starting it and “that sight,” points in the manga that we have already seen. He had the opportunity to prevent his friends from fighting by wiping their memories (save the Ackermans, but even they are just two people), but chose not to due to his ideologies, which he carried since he was a child. In fact, he goads his friends to kill him. He knows this is a future he is fated to have. He expects Mikasa to kill him. Expects that he must convince her to let go of her hesitation and end his life. “You should let go of me.” Why invade that path to tell her this if his goals are to destroy the world, unless he truly expects to stop her and the rest? How could he foresee “see you later Eren” though as an end to his life?
This might be the answer to destroying the true Founding Titan since it now exists in their physical world as he acts as a vessel. This might be the solution to eradicate the titans- “destroy this world.” Disconnect Paths. Stop the indefinite fate where he and his home perish by erasing the existence of Titans altogether. Break fate.
It was (mostly) just a dream
The second running theory is that Mikasa really does just experience the moment of “going back to their home” as a dream. We know she gets headaches at critical moments where she runs the risk of losing someone close to her—and this isn’t isolated to just Eren. This happens when Carla dies and Armin is on the brink of death. The dream ultimately is a coping mechanism, wishing for an ideal world where she can live with Eren in peace and isolation, instead of facing the inevitability that Eren must die.
Also the chapter’s title is “A Long Dream.”
Now I’m not claiming that Mikasa is suffering a delusion, because she is very much aware that this “reality” or “dream” isn’t real- just because she is lucid does not mean she thinks this a world that exists for her. She’s very aware that this ideal world of hers is impossible and was never possible to begin with. Her dream is a confrontation of the reality that even with an innocent Eren who just wants a peaceful life that it is not aligned with the nature she has watched develop. As much as she wants to cling onto an innocent and idealized image of her loved one, she knows this isn’t who he is. This isn’t who they are.
She knows that the world they live in is still with conflict- Eren reminds her of that. She apologizes for bringing it up because that realization that they left to live in peace and potentially leave their homeland exposed with no alternative solution, simply giving in to the circumstances, is not who either of them are, and to hold onto that image of Eren is merely fabrication. The entire dream functions as a metaphor. But in every world, Eren will die, be in by her hands or the titan curse.
[This is alluded to in Lost Girls, another “alternative reality” story.]
It is only disrupted when Eren tells Mikasa to throw the scarf and forget about him because she deserves to be free. He wears the titan markings of his Founding Titan. At this point it’s implied that Eren is communicating through Pathways that connect to her dreams. Remember, dreams (and nightmares) are a very prevalent subject brought up in the series alongside memories- it is possible that the Founder can infiltrate dreams to communicate much like it can bring Eldians to the Path realm. Mikasa cannot be controlled because she is an Ackerman, but this doesn’t omit the possibility that she can still see differences in her dreams (or reality) if interfered by the Founding Titan. Ymir allows this open line of communication with the knowledge Eren is convincing Mikasa to kill him. To simmer down the emotional turmoil, he says that she must forget about him. Of course, because Mikasa cannot be manipulated, she decides that while she must kill him, that his death is inevitable, she will not forget him. And he will not die without her expressing her feelings. That is her own willpower.
At this point, the dream is “shared” between the two because Eren is an active spectator. When Mikasa says her final goodbye, her “see you later,” it isn’t the same dream as what it started as. Which is why he is able to remember it in the first chapter.
Now, I say mostly a dream because it is possible that dreams themselves could create alternative realities if they haven’t existed before. But even if that wasn’t the case, Eren still alludes to path jumping, so the series of events could have still led him to a path that would be able to infiltrate Mikasa’s coping dream, knowing that she would struggle to end his life, but that she needs to see him again and be assured that he wants her to move on with her life, and not to see this as a failure on her part- that her answer really would not have mattered so she should not regret her choices. She is the one that has to kill him to get to this point. He expects to die, he doesn’t stop her when she gets in the titan, he seems resigned to that fate.
The dream theory is shorter but I’m inclined to believe that is what really happened with perhaps some mixture of the “alternate realities” theory for the sake of the plot solving the issue of titans, as well as reverting the rest of the cast from their Pure Titan fate. Getting rid of Paths (the Founding Titan and Eren) is a viable solution to both rid of the nightmare as well as give Ymir and Eren a new life without being enslaved by fate. But that’s a big elaborate and perhaps too complex theory. I’m only making sense of how the final chapter may wrap up.
Alternative Selves: Fabrication to Cope aka “Mikasa and Eren would not run away”
Regardless of either theory, we must come to the conclusion that the Mikasa and Eren in her dream, her ideal world, whatever it may really be, are not their main story selves. In fact it is impossible both because it would break the timeline and because it would not align with their true selves, the ones we’ve been following along throughout the story. It makes more sense for Mikasa to cope with this ideal of hers, but the moment she enters that vision, she knows that this is fake and that this Eren is an idealized version she created (or exists elsewhere and time). To believe otherwise is not understanding who these characters truly are at their core.
Regardless of Eren’s feelings towards her, be it romantic, platonic, familial, his very nature, as he states himself, would never allow him to “not make a decision.” He would never abandon the others he claims to love, the ones he wants them to live long lives, to wander in the dark without at least a warning of the impending doom ahead of them. He gave his friends the freedom to fight. He fights for the freedom of Eldia, protecting Paradis. He could never accept a fate that would allow the massacre of his people, even if he must commit omnicide to prevent it. Remember, this is the boy who saved a girl he never knew because her freedom was stolen. This is the boy that defends his weak friend because he values how the other boy’s mind opens to doors to freedom- the boy that gave him the knowledge of the outside world that fueled his ambition to break down the case in the first place. He doesn’t want to live a mundane life. Especially not if his oppressed people are in danger. This is the guy who has a superior officer who calls him a monster that will not submit to any cage anyone puts him in- he has the fire in his eyes to keep moving forward, to persevere against all odds.
This is the man that would lay down his own life if it meant Paradis would be saved. He would simply never choose the option to run away from that, not even dream about it.
He knew he wanted to see that sight. He was shown that image. That is his ideal world. His vision, his dream. Which means he must fight and move forward. Find a way to save his loved ones so they live long happy lives.
And, honestly, it’s inaccurate to call Mikasa selfish for her ideal life because while she would want to live alone with Eren by her side, when being reminded of the carnage that will take place and that they are not there to help, she submits that it is something neither of them could accept. She might want to run away to have a peaceful life, but not with the knowledge there are consequences for doing so. That there are people she would leave behind. She wouldn’t leave them to that fate. Her actions to stop Eren is evidence of that.
As much as she loves Eren, she has devotion to her homeland and her friends, too. To run away would be uncharacteristic. This is the girl who decided to fight when the boy who saved her was in danger. This is the girl that chose to keep fighting even when her closest family, the one she loved, was “killed.” She is the girl who threw the knife away and promised that she would never leave her friend behind. She stays to fight for her home, Paradis, because it is her birthplace, she belongs here- she wouldn’t run if her home is in danger.
Which is why, to assume they are the real Mikasa and Eren in Mikasa’s “ideal world”, is utterly and completely misread. That is not nor ever what their characters would lead to. The idea of running away would be barely a flicker of a thought at most, but even then, it is uncharacteristic to act. Unreal. Just like their artificial selves in that “dream.”
It isn’t like Isayama didn’t allude to Mikasa and Eren separating. He does so for Armin when they have clashing views on the world and their own selves- Armin being more “worldly” and explorative and Eren being more “self-focused” and personally ambitious. Mikasa would sympathize more with Armin’s point of view, but her desire is to be by Eren’s side.
Isayama gives his opinion on Mikasa’s determination to be stuck to Eren the entire time. It is a “pitiful” existence. She is willing to even shoulder his burdens just so he could come home, that perhaps his emotional distress is the reason he is causing mass destruction. She is desperate for this. That is… not exactly productive of her character, or the plot.
However, he clarifies that this is his view on Mikasa’s course of direction. Her ideal is to be with Eren forever. It may not necessarily be entirely positive that she leaves him behind since deviation from that ideal isn’t guaranteed growth. Isayama has a habit of allowing his readers to experience his work with their own interpretations. Just because he believes Mikasa’s existence with Eren at a constant is unfavorable, everyone will see it that way. Perhaps it is a good thing that she has a goal to work towards and that it is the fuel to her fighting spirit. That her desiring a peaceful life with Eren is a good motivator. Or alternatively, her fixation on Eren would lead her into more dangerous situations that would risk her life, it has her see an unreal version of him, unable to accept his fated death that she is willing to sacrifice everything, even if it means shouldering the burdens he carries, if it means he lives.
The message is clear, however, that whether you, the reader, sees that as wholly positive or negative, or a mixture of both, the intention is that she must let him go. She must accept his death. Because if she is to keep her home, a semblance of peace and closure, save her friends- this is how it must end. There is a beautiful nuance, however, that Mikasa is given the opportunity to forget so that she can avoid the suffering and be free, but she chooses not to- just as she decides when Eren is first taken from her. When she initially thought he died, she decided to keep fighting to honor his spirit and memory. She never wants to forget him. Even if he will die in every reality they share together, the worst thing in the world is an existence without even the memory of him.
This is why she is able to get that closure. She expresses her feelings and says her final goodbye, in this world anyway. “See you later” because she will still have the ideal dream knowing that while it isn’t real, it can never be real, not for her, but his memory will live on with her. And she can carry that memory without sacrificing her agency, her home, her friends, her love. That is what she is meant to do.
Anyway, I wrote this mostly to observe the function of Paths and what Mikasa’s dream infers is possible, and an opening to a solution, as well as her decision to end Eren’s life. The dream speaks loudly of Mikasa and Eren as characters because it shows us what they are not. It emphasizes the characters that we have been following since the beginning are raw and motivated, destined to live their lives fighting and protecting and moving onward, never surrendering. And to insist otherwise would be a disservice to how they’ve been built up to after all this time.
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[Once again: Despite the language in this, the manga has always been a work to be wildly interpreted in a multitude of ways, I just speak passionately about why I think certain interpretations don’t make since to my own. But nothing is indefinite. The material is flexible. See it how you wish.]
