Sometimes I think about how Erwin could never see his dream and how he had to die and shed tears of supreme sadness. But then I think about what fuckery and pain went on in the future chapters and shed tears of joy that Erwin was spared such a cruel fate. Idk, is this the balance of human nature or something? I feel like this is what Isayama was going for tbh.
Erwin was crying at the end, but I never saw it as supreme sadness since his tears were accompanied with a smile of acceptance and gratitude. It's Erwin's smile that Levi remembered when he reflected on that scene, so it's what I choose to remember as well.
And yes, as I watched Armin blow up the harbor in Liberio, slaughtering not just a naval fleet but countless innocent civilians, my thought was the same as yours. I was grateful Erwin was spared that fate.
The icing on the cake though was the fact that Erwin and the others were still watching. I know when this panel first appeared I was in the minority 7% who thought it was a legitimate depiction of a "pathsterlife" and not just Hange's dying delusion.
I got some ridicule for that initially but the final chapter cemented it. Erwin's death, and really the death of all the SC was far kinder than I'd ever dreamed. Erwin didn't get to see the basement, but in his paths existence he was aware. He and others were always watching.
Thanks for the ask!