Snk Chapter 88: The Grisha Files Part III
I understand nearly everyone is tired of "The Grisha Files". Initially they were a welcome diversion from the pain and drama of the serum bowl. They gave us something new and interesting to focus on. But after three months without the appearance of the main cast, I too am ready for them to come to a close. Still, when I temporarily deaden the part of me that cares deeply about Levi, Hange and the others, I find much to enjoy in this chapter, primarily...
I have a type, and apparently it involves tall powerful men who put their dreams above their morality and carry enough guilt to power a nation. High cheekbones and an aquiline nose are also nice. I’m talking, of course, about Erwin Smith and Eren Kruger. As far as I can tell, the main difference between these two men is that one had an army to help him achieve his dreams, while the other needed to build one from scratch.
As a child, Kruger watched as his entire family was burned alive for being part of the Revolutionary Army. He alone remained. As a teenager, he inherited the power of “Shingeki no Kyojin”, the Advancing Titan, the titan power that would “always move forward seeking freedom”.
He embedded himself in the Marleyan military, found a small network of spies and loyalists, and slowly started to build a revolution. He fed them information to raise morale, located Dina Fritz and handpicked Grisha Jaeger. The wheels were in motion and it all might have worked if Grisha hadn’t totally sucked as a father. With time running out and his death imminent, his final act was to put his faith in someone else to complete his mission.
Please tell me I’m not alone in seeing the parallels.
I have to wonder if Erwin was in Kruger’s position, how many fingers would he have cut off and how many of his brothers would he have pushed off a wall if it was necessary to achieve his goal? Both men attempted to achieve their dream using whatever means necessary. Both lost their humanity in the process.
I hope if a Shingeki afterworld exist, Kruger and Smith meet and have a beer together. They can compare notes, confess their sins, and Erwin can tell him how he left his dreams in the hands of Levi Ackerman. I imagine Kruger will be a little jealous of that.
“Why am I the only one left standing here as human?”
I’m keeping this brief. I don’t hate Grisha. True he was a terrible parent to Zeke. He was blinded by nationalism, pride and religious ideologies. He recognized his mistakes, owned up to them and paid a terrible price. I believe he tried to do better the second time around. But when the situation became a choice between the destruction of his entire nation and injecting his son, he chose his son.
Unlike the majority, I don’t think that choice was entirely wrong. Perhaps Grisha reasoned that thirteen years was better than none because, lets be real, the walled world was doomed at that point. His plea to Eren was “if you want to save Mikasa, Armin and everyone else you’ll have to control this power.” It was do or die.
The truth is that Eren Jaeger was born to be “Shingeki no Kyojin”. Go back and read chapter one. Go back and read the whole manga. With or without the titan power, Grisha knew that nothing would stop Eren from seeking freedom.
“That... is the founding titan”
So, it’s a little morbid, but I honestly like that Grisha named his son after the man who gave him a second chance.
I don’t know exactly what unlocked Eren’s memories, but it’s finally happened. Eren is the avatar... uh Coordinate. He has his father’s memories as well as those from previous Coordinates. He was able to tell Armin specific thoughts of previous “successors”. In case there was any doubt about this, Yams drew the incredibly creepy panel above.
The upside of this is that there will be no future need for chapters like this one. The next time we need to access something from “The Grisha Files”, Eren can slip into his avatar state and retrieve them.
Shifting has an expiration date. If I forget the human face of the shifters, I like it as a concept. Such power can’t be unlimited. They aren’t immortal. No one is OP. But the reality isn’t so simple. Zeke, Reiner, Annie, Eren and Armin are living with a death sentence.
I’ve seen many of you in terrible pain at this development, so let me just say that I am sorry. I’ve written a few posts trying to look on the bright side and spin this into something positive, but I I’m aware that doesn’t actually help. Knowing that the character you love is going to die and realizing the pain of those they leave behind is awful and heartbreaking and it hurts like hell. Seeing a large percentage of the fandom grieving is not just sad, but it reopens my own wounds, still fresh from the loss of Erwin. So let’s all just grieve together, ok. Why did any of us think this manga was a good idea in the first place?
And now, the self congratulatory part of my post...
Since I’m rarely right, please allow me to gloat when I am. It’s confirmed that each of the Nine Titans have a unique name and power. It’s confirmed that there will always be nine titan shifters. If Eren were to die, it’s confirmed that his power would be split back into the two titans he possesses. The mechanics of it all are a little dumb, but I’ll take my victories where I can.
I’m sure I’ve forgotten many things I wanted to discuss, but there are dozens of asks in my inbox that will hit on some of them. I won’t be able to answer all of them, but thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.
Oh - last thing! If you have any ideas for this months snk poll, I’m open to suggestions.
