“I...I’ve been thinking every day since coming here. How did things turn out this way? Ruined minds and bodies... People with no freedom left... People who have even lost themselves... What kind of person would want to go to war if they knew they were going to end up like this...? But there was something there, all along, pushing us right into hell. For most of us, that something is not our own free will. We’re forced to by others, or by our environment. That’s why the people who push themselves into hell see a different hell from the rest of us. They also see something beyond that hell. Maybe it’s hope. Maybe it’s yet another hell. I don’t know which it is. The only people who do know...are the ones who keep moving forward.” (Chapter 97)
Eren’s speech to Falco in chapter 97 is key to understanding his character development, “mystery” thoughts, intentions, and plan. This monologue holds the answers to all of our questions as it’s representative of Eren’s collective journey as a person. So I believe Isayama already told us everything we need to know in a subtle and symbolic way. You just have to read between the lines and draw connections to multiple chapters to really understand it.
That’s what I’ll be doing in this analysis. Since I feel like the majority of the fandom overlooks the importance of this monologue, I’ll be explaining how this speech summarizes Eren’s character arc throughout the story and his plan by breaking it down into several parts.
We’ll begin by examining a few other monologues, just so everyone is on the same page when it comes to seeing the connections between Eren’s character arc and this particular speech.
Eren’s Quaking Mentality
Post-Basement, Prior to the Timeskip
“What was it that we found in that basement? Was it hope...? Or was it despair...? Our enemy was more powerful than we ever could have imagined. That calamity is only going to repeat itself if nothing changes. I’d be happy to give up my life if I knew doing so could change something. But I’m not prepared to sacrifice Historia’s life. What should I do? I can’t tell...anyone about this.” (Chapter 90)
Following the basement reveal, we see Eren fall into this hopeless depressed state where he questions his view of the world and everything he’s ever believed in. Note how he wonders whether finding out the truth meant hope or despair. A key part of Eren’s development is how uncertain he became about his original black and white mentality as the story progressed.
He went from being so confident that eliminating his enemies (Titans, inhumane oppressors) meant freedom, to learning that there’s no way of knowing which choice is right and that innocents have to be sacrificed in order for change to occur, to finding out that humans (the very existence he was fighting to save) are the enemy, to realizing that there are a lot more of those human enemies out there who wanted his whole race dead.
This brings us to the awards ceremony, the key event responsible for the largest shift in Eren’s mentality. Floch’s verbal attack during this scene was specifically targeted towards each person’s insecurity. He says Eren thinks he’s always right, but at that point, Eren’s belief in his ideologies was already shaky. That’s why he doesn’t try to defend himself. Instead, he attempts to hold onto that little bit of hope left in him to cheer Armin up. But then he’s bombarded with an image of the cruel reality, followed by his future memories and “that sight”.
If you look at Eren before and after the ceremony, that’s where his character really begins to change and grow distant. This is his first main turning point. However, it’s important to realize that even after this scene, Eren was still unsure about his stance. This is where his misunderstood line during the ocean scene comes in:
“On the other side of the Walls...is the ocean. And on the other side of the ocean...is freedom. That’s what I always believed... But I was wrong. It’s enemies that are on the other side of the ocean. This is all exactly as I saw in my old man’s memories... Right? Those enemies on the other side of here...if we kill them all...does that mean...we’ll be free?” (Chapter 90)
Side Note: By enemies, it’s important to understand that Eren always means oppressors. Eren has viewed any being that needlessly takes the fundamental right to live from others as an enemy since he was a child. That’s why he hated Titans. That’s also why he didn’t hesitate to kill those sex traffickers.
Once again, Eren questions his old beliefs. Note how he states that he was wrong about his original view. The Walls weren’t the divide between him and freedom. The enemies weren’t Titans, because the real oppressors were across the ocean all along. But when it comes down to his opinion on what to do in regards to the enemy, he isn’t resolute. He questions his own original simpleminded view. Will killing all the enemies really attain him the freedom he’s been looking for?
This is the part I think a lot of people ignore. Eren posed this thought as a question. He wasn’t making a firm statement about his beliefs regarding what they should do. He wasn’t saying he wants to kill their enemies either (much like how he said he “had to” kill Reiner and Bertolt and not that he wanted to back in chapter 70 when Historia asked him). He was still looking for answers, and that’s reflected in his actions during the timeskip.
During the Timeskip
While we may only have snippets of what happened during this time, I believe we have enough information to connect the dots here.
Throughout the four years, Eren plays along with the political negotiations. He hears out Zeke’s plan when he realizes it must be the key to the future memories he saw. He rejects it when, once again, the prospect of making one of his friends sacrifice their life comes along. See, Eren is fine with giving himself up, but he doesn’t want to instill that fate on anyone else (as is clearly indicated by the first quote). As we know from the flashback in 108, Eren wishes his friends a long happy life. And who wouldn’t want that for their loved ones?
Going back to Zeke’s proposal though, one thing I want to point out about Eren’s initial reaction is how he speaks of the Rumbling as an inevitability. Combining Grisha’s reaction to “that sight”, we can confidently assume that Eren saw part of the Rumbling happening.
Now, this is one of those scenes that show how Eren still viewed everyone on the other side of the ocean as an enemy that needs to be eliminated. It heavily promotes the “Eren wants to kill everyone” theory, but it’s important to remember that Eren didn’t receive the full picture when he touched Historia’s hand. He only saw snippets of what would happen, so he could have interpreted the future this way back then because of his mentality at the time. Since this scene happened very early on during the timeskip, he was still trying to figure out if they had any other options.
In any case, Eren’s fluctuating behaviour throughout the four years shows how he was clearly struggling with what he’d witnessed in those memories. He was definitely still questioning whether violence was really their only option because we see him try to find alternatives, only for them to prove futile.
For example, the attempt to peacefully negotiate with other nations. When their offer gets declined (at least, according to Kiyomi), Eren hits his second turning point. I believe this is when he begins to see why the future he saw during the ceremony was necessary and accepts the fact that he can’t change it. Time is running out, so he takes Zeke up on his offer to talk.
Eren’s Decision
Towards the End of the Timeskip
So far, what we know for sure is that Eren talked to Yelena at least two months after they received the bad news from Hizuru, found out about Zeke’s real plan to euthanize Eldians, and decided to play along so he could gain the power of the Founding Titan. It’s heavily implied that the only person he confided in was Historia, and that the pregnancy was her way of helping out with the plan. In any case, around a month before the Attack on Liberio, Eren left Paradis to meet Zeke in person and begin planning their ambush.
The fact that Eren made a decision here might make it seem like this is the point at which he figured it all out, but as he later admits to Falco, he was still as uncertain as ever.
The Monologue
First off, it’s important to realize that Eren’s conversation with Falco in chapter 97 was very honest. He started off by revealing how he was here (in Marley) because he didn’t want to be back home (in Paradis). Interestingly enough, he also revealed his reasoning for feeling this way:
“I’m here for treatment of psychological wounds. But mine are fake. I’ve said I can’t go home because I have memory loss. But in reality, I just don’t want to go back. It’s too hard for me to face my family now.” (Chapter 97)
Then, as their conversation progresses, Falco says something that resonates with Eren:
“But I’m powerless. So...it’s all going to end without me doing...a thing.” (Chapter 97)
This mentality is something Eren struggled with personally. The most prominent display of that was when he broke down following Hannes’ death. And while Eren grew to accept that each person has their own role to play, I believe that fear of dying without making a difference still has a hold on him. In fact, it’s heavily implied that it’s the reason he took matters into his hands.
What comes next is Eren’s monologue, which can be broken down into three major parts that reflect the mental phases Eren went through: questioning, realization, and acceptance.
Phase 1: Questioning
“I...I’ve been thinking every day since coming here. How did things turn out this way? Ruined minds and bodies... People with no freedom left... People who have even lost themselves... What kind of person would want to go to war if they knew they were going to end up like this...?”
The beginning of the monologue is reflective of Eren’s mental exhaustion post-basement, when he started to question everything. And while I believe Eren is actually admitting that he’d reached a point where he regretted becoming a soldier, where he feels like he’s lost sight of himself, I think this line might have a deeper meaning regarding Eren’s denial when he first saw the future.
See, throughout this speech, Eren explains what kind of person he is for choosing to go to war when he already knows how he’s going to end up. So I believe this line might actually be foreshadowing Eren’s fate (which he is aware of) as well.
Phase 2: Realization
“But there was something there, all along, pushing us right into hell. For most of us, that something is not our own free will. We’re forced to by others, or by our environment. That’s why the people who push themselves into hell see a different hell from the rest of us. They also see something beyond that hell. Maybe it’s hope. Maybe it’s yet another hell. I don’t know which it is.”
While this part of the monologue captures the realizations Eren had after coming to Marley, that line about “the people who push themselves” signifies the moment Eren decided to act on his own.
Now, it’s important to understand that the concept of hell during this speech is symbolic of war, violence, and the act of fighting. Here, Eren’s situation before and after he made his decision is compared: prior to coming to Marley, Eren had been forced to fight because of his environment. He was a slave to external forces. But now, he was willingly entering a war by starting one.
Eren goes on to explain why he made this decision to pursue hell. He views this war as more than just a simple act of violence that results in ruins. He believes there’s something beyond this round of fighting. It’s in this moment that he is no longer a slave to those external forces.
But once again, note how Eren questions whether it’s hope or yet another hell that awaits them at the end of this one. He full-on admits that he doesn’t know. In other words, Eren is still unsure. He doesn’t know what’s the right choice to make, because there simply isn’t a way of knowing until you act and observe the consequences. However, he is willing to take the risk.
Phase 3: Acceptance
“The only people who do know...are the ones who keep moving forward.”
The ending line of this monologue represents Eren’s current state of mind, as he’s come to fully accepting the reality of his situation: he will never find clear-cut answers to the questions he had post-basement, because there aren’t any. So the difference between Eren’s mentality here versus the majority of the timeskip is that he decided to move forward. He applied what Levi taught him and made the choice he’d regret the least.
I believe Eren is also referring to his future self in this line. He wants to reach that version of himself because that’s the one with all the answers. This goes back to my theory about Eren not knowing how to interpret the glimpses of the future he saw. I believe the end result he wants to see is a peaceful one (there is plenty of evidence to support that), but he’s accepted the fact that he’s going to have to get through hell to reach it. He’s willing to risk the possibility that his decision may result in his original interpretation. Because then, at least he could say he tried (remember “if you don’t fight, you can’t win”).
Concluding Remarks
As Eren tells us in this speech, he is still uncertain to this day. He made a decision, but he doesn’t know whether things will work out or not. In other words, he never had a solid plan going into Marley. He just had an end goal.
This explains why he told Reiner that he may or may not destroy the world. That’s why he told Falco he doesn’t know what awaits them beyond the the hell he was planning on starting.
Eren may have seen the future, but he doesn’t know the full outcome of his actions. And he’s been very honest about it. So his perspective hasn’t been as hidden as some people make it out to be.
Lastly, in terms of his intentions and motivations, I believe Eren wanted to gain the FT to end the 2000 years of Titan oppression, as he has expressed multiple times in various ways. His goal has always been to save humanity. So when he says he wants to destroy the “world”, he really means the social construct of their society right now.
I don’t especially like Eren but I like the idea to put him on false throne and give him his key and crutch instead of royalty insignias, and of course wreath of thornes instead of the crown.
Chapter 97: Reiner, in a flashback, remembers breaking up a fight between Jean and Eren, asking them: “Didn’t I tell you guys to cut it out? Every damn time!!”
Chapter 72: Eren and Jean get into a fight, with Eren wondering why no one is trying to stop them, and Jean realizing that they’ve never fought for this long before
——
Headcanon that Reiner broke up fights between Jean and Eren “every damn time.”
Headcanon that when the fight broke out in chapter 72, everyone of the 104th (including Jean and Eren) waited for Reiner to step in and stop them.....but then they remembered :/
Ok guys can we assume Zeke is talking with Kiyomi on phone in Snk 97 now?
"Hey Zeke, just a friendly reminder that your brother Eren has just arrived Marley. Would you like to meet me at the main gate at the night of the Tybur Festival? We need to talk."
