I started this analysis ages ago, but exhaustion, kids, and excuses interrupt it. Plus there seems to be a weekly weirdness coming out of the AoT/SNK world causing new confusion and chaos. Anyway, sure the characters from Attack on School Castes might be mocking this sort of thing, but truly it’s a fun look about something that I mostly enjoyed. I admit, I’m not a big fan of the manga’s ending, not just the last chapter but really quite a bit of the end. Still there are other parts I enjoy quite dearly, so it’s hard to just let go despite disappointment.
Anyway, once upon a time there was a theory about “Attack on Titan” that Eren Jeager himself picked specific moments with specific people to set up (specific?) future events. This seemed at one time clearly shown when Eren is shown pressuring his father Grisha to kill the Reiss family and get the founding titan. If I remember correctly he needed help from his brother Zeke (too late in the game for research, eh?) at that point, eventually he obtained the full founding titan powers (or so it seemed) and could choose when and whom he needed to influence.
Some element of this seems to be retained in the final chapter, like with Dina being sent past Bertholdt, and possibly being sent towards Eren’s mom, Carla. However by the end (or is it??), Eren’s influence was more vague, less controlled, with some readers interpreting this as possibly being still Ymir’s power while others felt it was actually Eren’s power. I think originally like with Grisha it was meant to be more defined and easier to determine which events and which people were at least partially being influenced and that Eren was the main influencer at this point not Ymir.
Moving on, yes, any kind of time travel, whether physical, metaphysical, especially going into the past to make sure the future goes the right way, can get convoluted or muddled. However if set up properly and then actually followed through on, this type of plot could work out pretty well and be quite fun, well at least for the audience, maybe not so much the characters.
There did seem to be at least one character in particular where it seemed he was originally set up to be a person of use to Eren’s future. All that remains of that is the Dina moment which is really more about Dina being led around. However I think I can make a case for poor Bertholdt, himself, being led, misled?, at times by Eren. There seemed to be lots of little signs that individually could be interpreted different ways, however taken together could show that originally he was intended to be unfortunately a victim of Eren’s long con.
I wasn’t sure whether to go chronologically by the story, or start with the moments with the most red flags, but I decided to go mainly in the order of Bertholdt’s life story. Now why would Bertholdt be chosen? In the first case, there are two events in particular that he is linked to that were big game changers for Eren. These are the destruction of the gate at Shinganshina, and then some years later, the gate at Trost.
Also, Bertholdt himself has been described as lacking assertiveness by Commander Shadis during his trainee days and as being unreliable by Reiner (though that is kind of an unfair judgment by Reiner despite Bertholdt agreeing).
So maybe Eren saw this with Bertholdt, too and thought he needed to step in and make sure these events happened as they should. Maybe there was something else that Eren saw in Bertholdt’s past that he even felt sorry for him. There isn’t much on his family backstory, there are claims he was trying to help his “sick” dad, though that’s too similar to Pieck’s story, it might depend on what word for sick was used. Perhaps his dad suffered from some kind of mental break similar to Reiner’s or was addicted to opiates and enlisted Bertholdt so he could get access to the quality morphine. Maybe his mom was the previous “female” titan and Eren thought that’s a bit messed up. Or maybe as Eren himself who was often shown in despair or anger when he couldn’t get his titan to function as he thought it should, decided to help an insecure kid out, perhaps losing track of what the end result would be.
So the first sign that something might be amiss in Bertholdt’s back story is after Marcel gets eaten and everyone runs. Reiner tells Annie and Bertholdt there is no point in going back to get the person who got the jaw titan powers because if the person transforms, they could easily outrun them. Bertholdt responds that no one can learn the power of their titan that easily so Reiner loudly reminds him that he was able to use the power of the Colossus right away. This in retrospect does seem an odd thing to forget even with the trauma, plus his response does look a bit guilty, especially in the manga where he does a full-body twitch. Yes, it could have simply been that it was a traumatic time, tensions were high, and they were just kids without adult guidance.
The Gate at Wall Maria, Shinganshina District
The next moment is Bertholdt at the outer gate of Wall Maria, the Shinganshina district gate. While this is only in the manga, Bertholdt is shown for a few panels, hesitating and doubting his abilities.
If an assist had been made, perhaps the two shared the same head space.
It’s possible there was some doubt on Bertholdt’s part on kicking the gate, previously he was shown taking out a military base while sitting in a windowless box, thus only seeing the aftermath after he explodes out. It’s definitely a different feel than taking out a village full of people of all ages that you can actually see before you commit an act of destruction.
Some time later in their training years, after Bertholdt tells his story which turns out to be the hanged man’s story, he says, “I have no will of my own.”
While it seems he is trying to say he doesn’t have any driving force to fight and perhaps is too fearful, the wording was always a little strange. Though that could simply be a translation issue.
This scenario is hard to say, though it would make sense since it is the event that leads to Eren discovering his titan form.
Just prior to this event, Bertholdt was having the dream about the man who hanged himself.
In a later flashback he mentions they’re going to close the hole, “We worked so hard to open.” He’s talking to Reiner though and the “we” could just mean the warriors making plans together or it could simply be a translation thing.
There is also a different flashback that seemingly shows Bertholdt leaving his titan after it rapidly disappears. In the manga Bertholdt’s eyes are not his usual shading, however the anime seems to be the usual coloring. The other thing is that it appears to be how Eren is picturing what happened.
(Note that Eren in this translation only remembers part of what Bertholdt said in the trees, he also is momentarily unfocused after thinking about this).
The Armored and Colossal Titan Reveal
This is where it appears Bertholdt is recognizing or understanding something about Eren, at least in the anime version. At first I thought it was some kind of Titan power but with this theory it could have been that Bertholdt looking up at Eren, a rare occurrence for the much taller teen, sees him as the one who met him on paths during his childhood when he inherited the Colossus.
In the anime he actually lifts his head as if to take a closer look to make sure.
Does this mean Bertholdt would have been in full control of the Colossal Titan’s transformation on the wall? I don’t know how much resistance Bertholdt can have against Eren with control of the Founding Titan or coordinate powers. The transformation is unusual being partially transformed with ribs embedded in the wall, while this could have been just to save energy or due to stress of the situation, or could also have been the result of a struggle.
Why exactly Eren would need to control him, though, is unclear, except that at some point after his kidnapping he will have his contact with the Dina titan and have a taste of the coordinate powers. Even though Bertholdt has now been revealed we do not yet see him operating the titan, though, at least in the anime, we do see Reiner and Annie (at least briefly) after their reveals in their titans much like you see Eren in his after his first emergence in Trost.
Hanging Out In the Forest of Big Ass Trees
Eren asks Bertholdt what he was thinking when he told Reiner and him that a titan ate his mother. In both anime and manga, Bertholdt gives him the stare then basically tells him he used to feel sorry for him, though not in those exact words. So definitely Bertholdt is aware of something about Eren. The Dina memory doesn’t really make sense at this point since there wouldn’t be a direct connection to Eren yet, unless founder Eren said to Bertholdt, “Hey don’t worry about that smiling titan, I’m going to shoo her past you for now, you still have to marinate.” But really, I don’t think he’d connect Dina to Eren until after Eren activates the coordinate for the first time. However if he now recognizes Eren as the one who’s been assisting him including helping to kick down the gate that led to his mother’s death, then that could explain why he says he felt sorry for him back then, but not now.
Return to Shinganshina District (aka I really need to edit this part some more)
Is that the real Bertholdt?
A question we unfortunately never get any real kind of answer.
Both Armin and Mikasa note that Bertholdt is acting differently and question if that’s the real Bertholdt.
Now some try to answer the question by psychoanalyzing it, which is fine, but at one time most of the questions and mysteries in Attack on Titan had a much more straightforward primary answer. This doesn’t mean there weren’t layers to the mysteries, but the primary layer was usually pretty simple. Also while other questions/mysteries might not be answered directly, they were still answered more specifically than Ymir controlled everything or everything was predetermined.
When Reiner and Bertholdt used the term warrior, the truth was fairly simple, that they were part of the warrior program from Marley. When Erwin asked Eren who the real enemy is, the initial answer seems to be that there are titan shifters hiding amongst them, however another layer to this answer could be that Erwin, thanks to his father’s teaching, strongly suspects the real enemy come from humans who live outside the walls, which turns out to be true. Of course there can be even more layers of answers to this particular question like that with Erwin or Eren being willing to sacrifice other people’s lives for their particular cause either one could be considered the real enemies by some.
So typically in Attack on Titan, when two characters distinctly ask a question, like if someone is who they really are, one would expect at least one answer that is fairly direct (not necessarily directly told but at least fairly easily inferred from later information provided).
In this case, if the answer is “No,” then it could be that Eren is still in control of Bertholdt, however I don’t think Eren controlled him so much in human form, though perhaps using him as an observer, I think mainly he stepped in when it came to the Colossus.
If the answer is “Yes,” it could be that without Eren lingering in his head, and both Reiner and Annie beyond his help, he can just shake off any worries or fears and focus on the task at hand, so yeah, not as direct an answer as usual.
The answer does seem to be yes, it is Bertholdt, but he is still putting up something of a front, the skills are his, however this still isn’t really what he wants to do, but what he feels he needs to do to stop any more people from suffering.
Also after his transformation, this is the first and only time, even in flashbacks, that we see Bertholdt controlling the Colossal titan.
Unfortunately it becomes painful to watch as it goes on because much like this analysis it seems he is rambling, definitely talking way more than is typical, and honestly it seems like he is losing his mind. Perhaps this strange behavior was originally meant to show that he did get too much assistance in the beginning. While he had the capabilities, he lacked confidence, now however he doesn’t have a firm grasp of his limitations. So with a bigger more explosive transformation than usual while also staying in titan form much longer than usual, it seems he burned himself out, similar to when Annie in running to the wall had maintained her titan form longer than intended and wound up knocked out for quite a while.
“Serum Bowl” (Midnight Sun, whatever), Sort-of Off-Topic Complaint
All this leads to the cruel dehumanizing death of Bertholdt because Armin had to be the Colossus for some reason. I just want to add that in regards to the “serum bowl”, the audience is presented with three choices, people.
You, personally, don't have to choose Erwin or Armin, you can decide not to play god and grab Bertholdt and run. That doesn’t mean siding with Marley, but you also don’t have to side with Paradis either. They both had walls and limits to who can go past the walls, torture, and questionable chairs, no I’m not posting pictures of said chairs. One side does seem to sedate titan holders before passing them on, and even when they are considered an enemy, let them write one last letter to a loved one, sure Reiner might get the credit but he probably had to get Zeke’s permission first. Yeah, Marley still sucks, but when the alleged good guys can’t do better than the alleged bad guys, they’re not really the good guys either.
Anything Useful In Bertholdt’s Memories?
Eren appeared to be deliberately baiting Armin when he asked if he found anything in Bertholdt’s memories. Armin replied nothing useful, making it sound like he does have access to some memories, however it seemed like he was not telling the whole truth. This is more clear in the anime version. Originally it seems we were supposed to get a bit more of Bertholdt’s memories, but it got reduced to just the Dina shard, which for one is really her pov via Eren and two is disappointing. The one character where we get set up for getting memories about and it winds up being nothing more than Eren going yeah I led Dina past Bertholdt and inadvertently or possibly purposefully, can’t remember, set up my mother to die.
Here Eren enacted the trope where one character tries to distance himself from his closest friends because he doesn’t want them interfering with or being hurt by the task he has set for himself. Perhaps he learned this from Bertholdt’s biggest failures, his attachment to Annie cost him Eren, and his attachment to Reiner cost him the battle for Shiganshina. In any case Eren made an odd choice for Armin. Why would he tell an alleged smart person that Bertholdt is taking over Armin’s brain through his memories, when Eren is in possession of three titans that would come with their own memories? Was this just to clue Armin in that this is all a ruse, but don’t interfere? Was it a plea for help that if Bertholdt’s memories have some influence on Armin then he must have some idea what is happening to Eren? Or was he once again trying to get Armin to find some things in Bertholdt’s memories that explain what has really been going on over the years?
Bonus, Bertholdt Holding the Lantern/Lamp (anime)
So the lantern or lamp is seen quite a few times throughout the anime and seemed to once have had some significance to the original story. It could be seen as a gift of enlightenment or knowledge from the devil, or a devil-like figure.
From the first season Bertholdt holds the lantern while he and Reiner talk to Eren and Armin.
Nice quote from Armin there, sheesh...Reiner and Bertholdt seem to be played by their stand-ins in the second picture.
From the Red Swan intro, a brief glimpse of the warriors with Bertholdt again holding the lantern:
A brief summary of how it might have went:
a young Bertholdt probably suffered some childhood trauma prior to receiving his titan (maybe what Ymir freckles seemed to be seeing when Bertholdt poured out his emotions while Reiner was shielding him and Eren),
while in a vulnerable state he is met by current Eren in Paths who presents himself as some kind of mentor
he is assisted by Eren in his titan transformations (with the possibility of the late Bertholdt in Paths being used as a conduit)
the relationship probably starts out as an amicable one at first but most likely starts to go downhill when the gate is kicked in
eventually Bertholdt realizes that Eren from the 104th Cadet Corps is the same figure as the helper from the Paths
he is possibly still under some control not really able to have full control until the late Bertholdt is freed in the Paths,though this action is possibly the one that leads him to dying and being in Paths to begin with
Armin most likely received some memories from Bertholdt where he is influenced by what would seem like present day Eren to Armin, however time in Paths isn’t the same as off of them. Basically Bertholdt’s past memories are happening concurrently with present day events
The main downside of this scenario is that Bertholdt would lose his Colossal Titan Wunderkind status.
However it would have been interesting to see how Bertholdt’s and Eren’s stories or p.o.v.s would have intertwined. Also Armin would have to deal with the fact that a child was basically led on a path to be sacrificed to him which would have added another layer to his guilt and self-doubt in later chapters.
Thanks to Hajime Isayama, Wit Studio and Mappa, and to all the various translators and uploaders of the manga and anime
