EREMIKA VS EREHISU: Which is more likely?
The new episode just dropped and the two portions of the fandom are arguing about it now. It is the most heatedly debated topic of the last 2.5 years in the AoT community. Which of the two girls Eren loves (i mean romantically)? Is it Mikasa or is it Historia? Now, if i really had to take sides here, i’d say that EreMika is more likely to happen than EreHisu. However, i’ll be doing something more interesting here. So,my short answer is: BOTH ARE EQUALLY LIKELY TO HAPPEN. And no, i don’t mean it is 50/50, but more like that both of them will happen.
Before i begin my masterful explanation, i will be making the assumption that Eren is in fact the father of Historia’s kid, because if he isn’t, then there is simply no EreHisu. Mind you, i’m not saying that Eren IS in fact the father of Historia’s kid nor that i wholeheartedly believe in the theory. However, for the sake of the topic (seeing as how the possibility is there) i will proceed by treating said theory as canon. Of course, if it turns out that Eren isn’t the daddy, then pay no attention to the EH part. Also, i feel obliged to warn you guys. This will be fucking long. And i swear, this isn’t shipping crap.
THEMES
With that out the way, let’s talk about themes. Specifially the theme of LOVE in the AoT universe. Ever since Isayama gave us Kruger and more specifically this panel:
it became painfully obvious that love would play a major role in the end. Afterall, Kruger mentions that only love can put an end to this endless cycle of violence and create a new world. And boy, was he right.
What Isayama shows us in the final arc is that love saves people from this war and from this violent conflict. Nicolo’s love for Sasha is the first example we see:
And then we have Grisha who put his crappy Restorationist mission aside thanks to Ai no Chikara.
And then, lastly, we have our loli Founder Ymir, who never knew real love in her life. Quite the opposite actually. Her husband, King Fritz, viewed her as his slave, he was basically raping her, and used her as a breeding/killing machine. Even when she made the ultimate sacrifice, he still called her a slave. Now, what’s interesting with Ymir here is that it is highly implied that what she really needs is someone to show her that true love still exists. I mean, just look at how much emphasis Isayama puts on this panel:
Obviously this wasn’t by accident. It will play a major role in the end.
Now, as i said, the theme of love is very intricately connected to the whole breaking the cycle theme of the story. But what exactly does breaking the cycle mean? Well, it most certainly doesn’t mean genocide. Both Eren and Zeke (they haven’t felt real love) want to commit genocide and both of them actually think that their respective method is the best one to put an end to 2000 years of violence. Zeke wants to sterilize all the Subjects of Ymir, in order to stop the titan inheritance. Eren wants to murder the entire human race bar Paradis, without actually ending the titans, so that the island can survive.
Both of them are complete morons. The story calls them out on their stupidity multiple times, especially Eren as we can see below:
What will eventually happen, if Eren manages to accomplish his plan, is a new Great Titan War. The families who will have the titans will start fighting each other for power. The same mistakes repeated again.
Breaking the cycle means that the world comes together in peace. That understanding and love prevail. That no more curses, inhuman powers and racism rule the world.
Eren and Historia
Enter EreHisu. Part of the reason Eren wants to stomp the entire world is the fact that he doesn’t want Historia to be forced to become a breeding machine with her children having to eat her. So, Eren reveals to Historia his plan to commit genocide. Historia protests for a bit, until Eren reminds her that back in the Uprising arc she had chosen to save him, becoming an enemy of humanity in the process. So, Historia decides to take sides with Eren and proposes to have a child in order to save herself. Judging by the fact that Historia is giving birth right now, i’d say that Eren agreed with Historia’s plan.
Here, we have the first big red flag. Historia didn’t decide to have a child out of pure love. She did it, at least in part, to save herself. Out of a selfish desire to survive. Of course, many people support the idea that Historia’s union with Eren is the result of deep love. Let’s see how that holds up.
I have already established that the endgame of the series is the breaking of the cycle of hate and violence. It’s also a given that true love is the only way to break said cycle. True love saves people from war and tragedy. Well, EreHisu has failed miserably in pretty much all of the above. Eren, instead of stopping his genocidal plan, goes ahead with it and murders god knows how many people. And it has been made clear that his ways won’t ever put an end to the cycle of hate and violence. Quite the opposite in fact.
Furthermore, one would assume that if Eren’s love for Historia and their kid was so powerful, he would have done everything in his power to get back to them. But this is not what the series presents. In the last few chapters, it has been heavily hinted that Eren actually wished to be stopped.
Given how Isayama portrays the scenes between Eren and Reiner and how he draws parallels between the two of them all the time, i think it is safe to say that Reiner is correct in his assumption. Afterall, is was Eren who said “We are the same”.
For all the above reasons, Historia and Eren cannot be the represenation of love in the series. They go against evert major positive theme introduced. It is simply impossible for the idea of true love to be represented by two parents who agreed to the killing of 99% of the world’s families. Eren and Historia are a failed relationship, much like Dina and Grisha. I am not denying that there were feelings involved, but not strong enough to change the course of history. Historia, despite her early protests, easily gave in and instead of helping Eren, she gave us his worst version yet.
Eren and Mikasa
Here comes EreMika. Eren and Mikasa make an interesting couple, because of how they start in comparion to EreHisu and how they are both going to end. In the beginning, Eren is jealous of Mikasa’s strength and hates the fact that she always tries to protect him. This creates his inferiority complex that lasts up to chapter 72 (though Mikasa altered her behavior in chapter 50). The two of them are unable to communicate properly for a big part of the series. They were unable to understand each other and they couldn’t properly express their feelings. Mikasa was trying to stay close to Eren at the cost of her own independence, while Eren was always running somewhere on his own.
Historia, on the other hand starts her relationship with Eren by saving him when he was at his then lowest in the cave. However, from then on, the relationship becomes the catalyst for Eren’s atrocious actions, while his relationship with Mikasa will put an end to those actions. By that, i mean that Mikasa’s love for Eren and vice versa will stop the massacre, destroy the titans and the Paths.
Now, of course, one might say that this is a bit much. It may initially seem so, but remember Ymir the Founder. Ymir destroys the world, out of a lack of love. Had she seen that love from Eren or from his relationship with Historia, she wouldn’t have accepted Eren’s plan. She is still waiting. Ymir wants to be free of the Paths. She wants to die peacefully.
(Something important to note here, as long as the centipede exists, it will always try to attach itself to Eren’s head. This centipede is the source of the titan powers. It’s death means the destructiong of the titans and the end of the realm of Paths. It also means the death of Eren most likely, since he is just a head right now.)*
Now, back on track. The only member of the Shiganshina trio that hasn’t spent a significant time in the Paths is Mikasa. Seeing as how her regret of not confessing to him her true feelings and Eren’s promise of always wrapping the scarf around her are both shown in the trailer of the final volume, i’m sure she will pay Eren a visit there. That encounter, in the presence of Ymir no less, will seal the fate of the world.
But why is it that Mikasa’s feelings are so important? Are they not one-sided? No. Eren is also in love with Mikasa. Just a few days after supposedly impregnating Historia, Eren suffers a mental breakdown in Marley. And what does he do? He asks Mikasa this:
This line is in fact romantic in nature. We can’t say that Eren wanted to test the future, because he hasn’t seen this line in his memory shards. And if it is any other reason other than romantic love, why is he so bothered by their friends interrupting them?
And why is that her feelings for him continue to bother him for so many months after said moment?
Eren has left a pregnant woman behind. It doesn’t make sense for him to still be wondering about Mikasa’s feelings if he doesn’t share them. He obviously does.
Isayama himself puts a lot of emphasis on the scene. He has Mikasa theorizing that her answer might have been able to stop this destruction.
To be honest, i can’t imagine a scenario where Mikasa confesses to Eren that she is in love with him and then he wraps the scarf around her neck without reciprocating her feelings.
Going by what we know about love in the series, how it stopped Grisha from commiting a serious murder or saving Nicolo from war, Mikasa’s narration is extremely important. Her love for Eren would have stopped him right then and there.
Eren’s relationship with Mikasa, unlike his relationship with Historia, matches with all the positive themes presented in the series.
Love breaks the cycle of tragedy? Check.
Beauty in a cruel world? Check. (scarf and murder)
Mikasa is the beauty in this cruel world for Eren, which is also why he tries the hardest to push her away from him. He won’t be able to fulfill his mission with her by his side, just like his father failed initially with the Reiss family. Eren tries to throw away his most important connection to the world and his own humanity, symbolized by telling Louise to throw the scarf away.
Mikasa and Historia
Mikasa and Historia have been endlessly compared by Isayama in this final arc. They have so many things in common and yet they are so different. Actually, that is the very first thing Isayama shows us in the first chapter of the final arc. The parallels between the two of them. They are both royal blooded girls, heirs to the throne of their countries with a strong relationship with Eren.
They even share the pregnancy talk.
Both Historia and Mikasa realize that Eren’s actions are horrible. The difference between the two girls and ultimately the reason why only one of them can save Eren (and the world), while the other doomed him (and the world) is their PRIDE. Another theme that the two of them have in common.
Pride is also a notion with a lot of significance in the final arc. Chapter 126, where Mikasa decides to take back her scarf from Louise and fight against Eren, is called Pride. In the previous chapter, Floch, the only other person besides Historia who knew Eren’s real plan, gives an important speech.
Floch is a fascist and an antagonistic force to the main characters in the final segement of the story. So, it should be obvious that Floch represents the negative themes of the story. The themes of the losers. What Floch says is that pride is not worth dying for. Yet all the main characters chose their pride over survival. Historia was once a person who chose to live her life with pride.
Back in the Uprising arc, Historia was inspired by Ymir to live a life that she could be proud of. However, in the final arc Historia threw away her pride and put her connection with Eren first, because it would save her a lot of trouble. Historia’s situation was, admittedly, very hard, but that’s how it is in stories. The bold and daring people who take the hard road are the ones who are rewarded, not the ones who prefer the easy way out.
Mikasa on the other hand chose her pride. While Eren’s massacre would also save her, she put herself at risk, fighting against many enemies to stop him. Mikasa acknowledges that Eren has two sides. The first one is his violent side, represented by him killing her kidnappers and the second one is his kind side, represented by the scarf. While Mikasa chooses to stop Eren she accepts both sides of him and says that she is willing to help him shoulder the weight of his sins. She finally sees him for who he really is and accepts him.
Historia too understands that Eren is not wholly evil and that he also has a good side to him as well. However, when push came to shove, she chose the evil side, because it was the easy way out. Mikasa chose his good side, knowing very well that the road ahead would be hard. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Mikasa in the final arc has a character arc similar to that of Historia in the Uprising.
In the end, i think that Eren loves both girls and both girls love him as well. However, the story can only conclude in one way and that is the breaking of the cycle of violence and hate. Between Mikasa and Historia, it is only one of them whose love can help Eren destroy this cycle. With Historia, Eren became the enemy of humanity. With Mikasa, he can save it.
