I've seen people push back hard on the idea of referring to Mikasa as "selfish," but I'll argue that referring her in such a way isn't entirely antithetical to her character.
I think a better way to frame it is that a lot of her actions are tinted by individualistic desires. At the start she's determined to protect her family. And even some of her actions within Trost can be framed as her following orders and not being pushed forward by an innate sense of heroism.
IMO, her individualistic desires are embodied in how she disobeys Levi's orders to save Eren from the Female Titan, which immediately leads to her Captain getting hurt.
But she learns from her experiences though and come the next few seasons she doesn't freak out and break away from her squad when Eren is inevitably pulled into danger yet again. Her arc is subtle, but it's there.
And keep in mind that I'm a Mikasa girlie too! I love her to pieces. But I'm the kind of person who wants their favs to be flawed because that's usually how I relate to them, so I feel like erasing said flaws or filing off their edges to make them more palatable feels unfair.
I bring this up because Jean is also a character who people can easily call selfish, as a lot of his goals pre-Trost are rooted in individualistic desires. He wants to live a comfortable life in an increasingly uncomfortable world, and who could blame him?
But I notice that people praise Jean for giving up his individualistic desires, wherein he kisses every prospect of a cushy life goodbye for the greater good, letting that little fantasy coping mechanism dream of his fade away as he re-enters the world he actually lives in.
And yet people aren't as quick to give that praise to Mikasa, who also sees her fantasy hallucinationship dream fade away as she comes back into reality.
Is it because her arc is less succinct than Jean's? Is it because Jean's a man and Mikasa's a woman and life isn't fair? Or is it because some people can't process the nuance of Eren being both someone she loved and someone she gave up for the greater good? Who knows?
The importance of Hange's character in AoT and in Levi's story
This is a rant of mine that I've always wanted to express since I entered the AoT fandom, because the fact that an argument like this can be made where the fandom questions Hange's importance in the story, a character integral to the story and part of the most important side characters, has never sat well with me, especially for someone like me who has Hange Zoë as one of their all-time favourite characters not only from AoT, but from any media ever. The fact that Hange receives such claims from the fandom while other important characters, like Levi or Erwin for example, are not subjected to these sorts of claims, has always rubbed me the wrong way. I never really understood why these claims even exist in the first place and target Hange specifically, but perhaps sometimes there's no explanation to these things. I do want to specify that Hange has slowly gained in popularity especially after the release of season 4 as compared to previous years when Hange hate was definitely more prevalent in the fandom than nowadays.
But with that being said, this claim is unfortunately never truly gone from the fandom, and despite the fact things have improved, it's always relevant to remind the fandom why Hange is important to the story and cannot be so easily erased from it. Maybe for some people, this post won't make a lot of sense as to why it even exists since they already know Hange is an important part of AoT, but I still feel I need to enumerate in greater detail why Hange IS important to AoT's story AND to Levi's narrative as this fandom often times seems to overlook this fact as seen by this reply I've received to a comment I made stating both Hange and Erwin are equally important to Levi. (I might be annoying with this, but it’s something I cannot slide easily. In the end I decided to show the full reply just so you could see for yourselves the extent of some people’s delusions when one is too engrossed in their favourite relationship and fails to recognize the importance of others, which is why they had no problem saying Hange could be erased from the story.)
There are many incorrect facts in this reply and I won't go through all of them as some are very shippy-biased and many blogs out here have already discussed and debated these claims in full (like the Ackerbond which has been debunked by the manga countless times or again the infamous take that Levi chose Erwin over humanity), but I'll counter-argument the idea that "you can take away Hange from Levi's story and it doesn't change anything", going further to explain why it's impossible to erase Hange from the story and from Levi's narrative from the manga's perspective.
(Before I do that though, just want to share a newest reply I received after I called out someone still spewing the same old argument that Levi doesn’t like Hange because Hange is unhygienic and this is how they answer me:)
(To imply Levi and Hange are not even friends, or that Isayama showed that Hange means nothing to Levi, is mind-boggling to me. As you can see, the hate Hange receives from this fandom is unfortunately still relevant.)
Hange's importance to the AoT plot
The first reason why Hange is essential to the story is through the intellect they're showcasing which helps the entire cast to devise plans out of their discoveries or theories that happen to be correct. This intellect actually helps the plot moving forward. One of the best examples of such importance is shown in chapter 37, Southwestward. Hange is the one to prove the walls are made of hardened Titan skin like Annie produced and the idea to use Eren's Titan later to seal the wall in Shiganshina, which is the whole purpose of the second part of season 3 in the anime, comes from Hange. Although Armin also speculated on the fact the walls are made of hardened Titan skin (in chapter 34), Hange is the one to scientifically prove it. Without this important discovery, the whole mission to go to Shiganshina to seal the wall and the reason Eren needs to train his Titan to harden his body later in the story wouldn't have been possible. The rest of the story leading up to the expedition in Shiganshina is shaped around that single discovery made by Hange. Without their scientific approach and their deduction skills, the plot would've come to a halt. Here are panels from chapter 37 showing how that important discovery was made and how Hange (and Armin to a certain degree) exposed their findings to the rest of their teammates in the cart.
Hange is also essential to Erwin's strategic plans. Both Armin and Hange are, but I'll concentrate more in this post on how Hange's theories and ideas are what fuel Erwin's own plans. The example with the discovery of the hardened Titan skin is definitely one of them, as he then plans an entire expedition in order to let Eren use his Titan abilities to seal the hole in wall Maria which will also lead to his own death. Another example where we see how Erwin plans around Hange's theories is in chapter 28, Choices and Consequences. This is after Annie summons other Titans to eat her Titan form in the forest and Erwin orders Levi to replenish his gas and blades. Erwin reveals later to Hange since Hange asks him why he told Levi to do that as they're all in a hurry, and he says he was inspired by one of Hange's theories when they theorized for the Colossal Titan's disappearance someone with ODM gear could've escaped using steam as cover, even though Hange didn't believe in the theory anymore due to Eren's state when he emerged from his own Titan the first time. However, Erwin keeps that idea by theorizing Annie could have done it unlike Eren, which he happens to be right. By giving Levi that order, he knows Levi shouldn't meet with her since Annie goes straight for Eren and Levi's squad as we all know how the story goes. Therefore, without Hange, his strategies wouldn't be as efficient, which is why Hange is not only essential to him but to the plot as a whole. These are the panels showing how Erwin was inspired by Hange's idea to make this plan on the spot.
Not only Erwin respects Hange's theories, but Levi can also be seen respecting Hange's theories multiple times throughout the story, and not only respecting but actually acting on them and basing his own plans around them. One example of this is in chapter 62, Sin, where Hange explains why they find Rod Reiss' testimony suspicious about the destruction of the chapel in which his entire family was killed (we find later by Grisha). That pushes Levi to accept investigating the chapel since he remains the head of the 104th even if Hange joined their group, swayed by Hange's arguments, and this is how the group later finds Eren and Historia. Here is the panel clearly showing Levi following Hange's lead.
Another example where we see Levi clearly be inspired by Hange's theories to act is in chapter 133, Sinners. After the Alliance processes Hange's sacrifice and pitches ideas for how to stop Eren, Levi proposes killing Zeke as one of the ways to stop the Rumbling, inspired by Hange's hypothesis. This then adds a new reason as to why Levi wants to kill Zeke (and not only for Erwin as some people might want to believe), but also to save humanity, guided by Hange's reasoning. And we see later that killing Zeke does stop the Rumbling, at least temporarily, but enough for the Alliance to think of another plan. Hange is then essential to the Alliance even after their death through Levi remembering their sharp intellect.
Related to how Levi acts on Hange's theories, he also praises Hange's leadership skills, like we can see in chapter 52, Krista Lenz, where the Survey Corps are into hiding to help Eren improve his Titan hardening skills. There's a moment when Hange hesitates on the next course of action, but Levi brings the determination Hange needed to fight back by laying out what options they have left. When Levi then compares Hange's answer to something Erwin might have said, he is recognizing the same leadership skills needed to be a commander that Erwin possesses in Hange, which not only is a sort of foreshadowing for what's to come in Hange's storyline, but it shows how both Levi and Erwin see Hange fit to be the next Commander (Erwin naming them as his successor later in the story is proof of Erwin's own trust in Hange's skills). Therefore, this means that the Survey Corps are in good hands regardless of what might happen to Erwin in the future, and we can see later how both were right (despite some people in the fandom criticizing Hange's commanding skills or actions later in season 4, how it's "their actions that led to Eren activating the Rumbling" as that framing is flawed but I'm overlooking that for now).
Hange is also essential for being the mastermind behind the thunder spears, helped by the engineers, weapons that can fight against the Armoured Titan and that will later be the weapons of choice for the Scouts (except Levi because he is a boomer until he does use them and yeah, that doesn't go well for him. Poor Levi :( ) So without Hange, no thunder spears, which wouldn't have gotten the Survey Corps as far as they've come. Here is the panel where we see Hange present the weapon to the rest of the Survey Corps from chapter 76, The Thunder Spears.
It’s thanks to Hange’s sacrifice the Alliance can keep going and the plane can take off with the rest of the Alliance. Despite this still being debated in the fandom, whether Hange's sacrifice was truly needed and whether they killed enough Titans to allow the Alliance to take off, the narrative is definitely framing it as necessary, and that without Hange's intervention in chapter 132, the plane could not have taken off. So Hange is essential for the survival of the rest of the Alliance.
Hange is the one who created the Alliance that can retaliate against Eren. They're the one to bring everyone together, from the Paradis side to the Marley side, which is no easy feat considering the historical tensions and divides between the two nations. But Hange is the main instigator, which makes them incredibly important for the existence of the Alliance in the first place. This panel from chapter 126, Pride, perfectly shows how Hange is the one to approach Pieck and Magath to create an alliance with them and Levi, followed later on by the 104th, Gabi, Falco, Annie, Reiner, Onyankopon and Yelena.
This is another reason why Hange is essential to the story, maybe overlooked but incredibly important, and maybe more so in our current times. Hange is the only character who says overtly “genocide is wrong”, and despite the Alliance definitely agreeing with them as well on that, I think it's important to be said explicitly since people still misunderstand this sentence even when stated explicitly. I've seen some people in the fandom say that what Hange said isn't nuanced or is too "simplistic", but the truth is that genocide is among one of the very few things in life that are actually very black and white. There's no grey area when it comes to genocide, no nuance, no "good reason" that can justify it, no historical trauma that can justify mass exterminations like Eren's or the ones we see nowadays in certain corners of the world. It IS wrong. Case closed. Therefore, Hange's statement is crucial, but more so, they're not afraid to call out their own people (in this case Eren) committing war crimes, even if it's painful or uncomfortable, something that for some reason is still incredibly hard to do even in real life. And Eren isn't just "another Paradis Eldian" to Hange or the Paradis side of the Alliance: Hange and Levi see in Eren something deeper than a mere subordinate (and I know the fandom likes to joke about how Levi and Hange are like the parents of the 104th, but pretty much) while the rest of the 104th with Mikasa and Armin mostly see him as their closest friend, making the heartbreak at having to fight him even more tragic. So that Hange is able to hold Eren accountable after everything he represents to them because genocide is just that wrong and horrific is incredibly strong and courageous, and absolutely necessary. We should definitely take example from Hange's moral clarity as well. Here are the panels in chapter 127, Night of The End, where Hange clearly expresses that genocide is wrong to Jean and Mikasa and then later during the stew scene in the forest where they tell Magath that no one wants a genocide.
Hange’s clear statement about genocide also completely invalidates the criticism AoT sometimes receives for “endorsing genocide or fascism”. The narrative is not neutral: it clearly supports the Alliance and sees them as the right side, so Isayama was not subtle about the message that the Rumbling is wrong. But again, who truly remembers Hange saying that? This is why Hange is essential to the plot and their statements should be remembered more often by the fandom or else people risk misinterpreting the core message of the story.
Also, can we appreciate how insane Hange is for saying that (still from chapter 127):
I think a lot more people should remember Hange's words here instead of using ancient history to justify war crimes. Their moral clarity is spot on (and hats off to Isayama for writing that).
Hange's importance to Levi's narrative
Alright, so you’ve probably all seen me come with this, which is the most straightforward and simple reason to explain why Hange can't be erased from Levi's story, and it's that they save his life after Zeke exploded the cart in which he was too with the thunder spear. Pretty self explanatory, and here is the panel from chapter 115, Support, that clearly shows how Hange is trying to save Levi by lying to Floch so the Yeagerists wouldn't shoot him on the spot.
I'm going on a little tangent here because there's something I want to discuss about what Hange saving Levi means in terms of queer theory. This is obviously an interpretation I have of the scene, so I'm not stating Isayama necessarily intended to add a deeper meaning to this scene except only to show the culmination of Levi and Hange's own theme of mutual care, but I've noticed something about this scene that I find interesting. So, Hange's character as a concept is inherently queer due to their gender ambiguity. I'm not here saying Hange as a person is necessarily queer or that Isayama wanted necessarily to make Hange queer, but that ambiguity makes the concept of their character pretty queer. So it's interesting to see a character like them representing queer concepts about gender save a masculine character that on the other hand represents healthy masculinity: Levi emulates that masculinity through his compassion and empathy and desire to protect others, which is what masculinity actually should be about. To see a masculine character who usually is the one doing all the saving be now saved by a character without a conventional gender subverts the traditional trope of the male character saving others. Not only is he shown in an extremely vulnerable position, but someone else, neither really male or female, ambiguous really, protects him now, which is in my opinion a very interesting interpretation of this scene since it plays with gender roles. What is expected of Levi as the male character is now pushed onto Hange who doesn't have a clear gender, which makes the scene even more compelling from that perspective.
But Hange saving Levi's life is not the only reason why Hange is important to Levi. This reason is too obvious and easy to find and I want to go deeper than that as the person from the start of this post believing Hange could be erased from the story was not considering this reason as very important as seen by the reply below.
So why Hange IS emotionally important to Levi since apparently for some people, saving one's life is regarded as unimportant to someone's narrative? I will show how Hange is important to Levi beyond the trifling matter of saving his life (let me be sarcastic for a moment here lolol) and how this fandom time and time again struggles to truly understand the relationship between Levi and Hange, which is actually quite interesting, because I think Levi and Hange have one of the most straightforward relationships to follow in the story, and yet, some people still manage to misunderstand it.
Hange is emotionally important to Levi since Levi would've been a lot more depressed in the Survey Corps had Hange not been around. He would've been a lot more misunderstood by the people around him without no one to make poop jokes with or to give into his snarky comments, and Erwin cannot replace Hange here as he would've been more distant as the Commander and also in relation to his own dream and struggles around it. Levi needs someone like Hange to act as his "partner in crime" or the Survey Corps' experience for Levi wouldn't have been the same, and that is as important as any story narrative since it would've shaped Levi differently if Hange wasn't around him. I'll link my previous metas about Levi and Hange's communication skills and how Hange treated Levi when he first entered the Survey Corps for more explanation on why Hange is so important to Levi as I've gone into more details in those specific posts. But if I can resume rather quickly, it's because Hange cares for Levi exactly like he cares for them back and for the rest of the AoT cast for that matter, and Hange is among the very few who can perfectly understand his world view. Therefore, Hange cannot be erased from Levi's narrative due to this strong closeness they share together, no matter how hard some people in this fandom wish they could.
There are probably a lot more reasons why Hange is important to the story, but these are the ones I could think of. This post also doesn't cover fully how Hange is important to Erwin even if I showed it a bit, or to Moblit, or to the 104th, or to their own squad, but I wanted mostly to answer the claim of how Hange is meaningless to Levi since that was the topic discussed with that other fan, and this post would've been a lot longer than it already is. I wanted to make a post like that to counter-attack this claim that can't be more wrong and disrespectful to Hange's character and what they represent and to their fans, with the hope that perhaps I won't have to see it anymore circulate among the fandom. I know this is naive as claims like these always persist, and people who strongly believe Hange is not important to the story will continue to cling to that belief, but I'll try to end this already very long post on a more optimistic and positive note: this claim is slowly declining in the fandom like I've stated at the start of this post, especially after the release of season 4, which can only be celebrated. I also hope that with this post, the fandom can cherish Hange a little bit more and remember why they're such an incredible and amazing character to the story, to Levi and to other AoT characters, and to stop spreading this claim that they can be erased once and for all. If Isayama made Hange, it's because they serve a purpose in his story, and to state otherwise is to misunderstand that purpose in the first place.
in chapter 36, sasha is remembering the moment in the training corps where ymir makes fun of her fake proper accent because of her argument with her father, seeing now that everyone IS connected. she’s coming out of the forest to help her fellow person.
the question, and also the bigger question, is whether sasha putting aside her selfishness to look for survivors in an otherwise desolate place is a form of freedom or slavery.
either way - in the memory - sasha was enslaving herself to this standard of being ‘above’ her rural upbringing. historia (who isn’t short of being a moral compass in the series) is adamant that pretending doesn’t necessarily make sasha someone she’s not; she’s basically acting that way to suit herself. in the present while trying to save the girl, she’s helping her fellow person not out of necessity - sasha didn’t have to stop at the village where apparently it’s ’no longer fit for human life’ - but out of a genuine willingness to help someone else while knowing her own village has probably already fled.
sasha is still sasha even if she’s not “being herself” by being selfish. you could really say selfishness is a core trait to everyone.
in short, sasha is remembering that moment because she’s technically defying who she “really is”, but she desperately is fighting so hard for it. she’s accepting that living in the world IS a privilege.
(in bad boy) it's also still majorly interesting to me how the Titan-esque 'power' that awakens doesn't just activate the mind but sort of wakes up? the brain itself (but that'd make sense for fighting). it REALLY resembles tiny tendrils of the hallucigenia which is sooo disturbing.
in general, the "life" probably attaches itself to the spinal cord and brain, which is why the weak spot of titans is the nape of the neck, severing the spinal cord from the brain stem which ordinarily paralyzes you completely. (sort of like sleeping -> dreaming hmm)
for Eldians in general, this is probably an arbitrary thing/presence, but it presents itself a lot more the more powerful you become as a titan. so of course, it's more present in Ackermans than Eldians, but less than Titan shifters. Eren possessing like... 3 Titans including the Founder is probably what did it (when it burst out of him after Gabi shot his head off)
Eren, Armin, and Mikasa all taught the Founder Ymir valuable lessons, and were instrumental in setting her free. All three of them caught Ymir's attention and she made the effort to reach out to them personally in different ways, observe them, learn from them.
First Eren reached her in the Paths and told her that she's her own person, and can choose what SHE wants rather than follow orders. This was the first time in her long, miserable life, that someone called her a human being. The first time in 2000 years (that would have felt even longer in the Paths, closer to millions of years), that she was told what happened to her was wrong. In her life, she had spent her whole life as a dehumanized slave without any acknowledgement of her own humanity. Eren opened her eyes (literally) to the injustice of her situation and taught her autonomy.
Then Armin arrived to fight Eren, and Ymir watched his every movement closely, even stealing him into the Paths with the Okapi and trapping him there. She watched his conversation with Zeke where he shared that the meaning of life is in appreciating the little moments and the love you already have rather than chasing an unattainable dream. In her life, she longed for an unattainable love/validation from King Fritz who was incapable of giving it to her, since he's a monstrous psychopath. She lived and died yearning for something she would never receive, rather than living for what she had (her daughters). Armin taught her the true meaning of life.
Lastly, Mikasa. From the moment Ymir noticed Mikasa's love for Eren, she was intrigued. She began to peak through Mikasa's lifetime memories, causing her headaches. Then Mikasa killed Eren despite loving him, knowing it's the right thing to do and proving she's not a slave. Ymir herself couldn't do this in her own life, instead choosing to die for the monster she loved, instead of killing him. Mikasa taught her that love does not equal submission.
In the end, all three of the main trio were instrumental in setting Ymir free. In her last appearance, Ymir had a vision of what she wished she had done, what she WOULD have done had she received these three lessons earlier in her life. She would have protected her beloved daughters, the truly important and precious things in her life, rather than being a slave to the abusive king. If she were given another chance, she would have let him die.
In the end, Ymir's deepest most primal desire was a pure and loving human connection, some semblance of tenderness and care, something she was so deprived of. This desire was so strong that it bled into every single Eldian, connecting them all to Ymir through the Paths. One lonely, abused little girl's desperate need to be loved, enveloping every one of her subjects, binding them all to her in an all-consuming web. She has always been desperately reaching out to other people.
In her ill young mind she mistook the king's sick """rewards""" as that love she craved. Eren made her realize "what he did to me was wrong and I have a right to my anger", Armin made her realize "I shouldn't have waited for love from him that would've never come and instead cherished the love of my children", Mikasa made her realize "I should have let him die/killed him myself". Acknowledging all this and making peace with her tragic life and the decisions she made, allowed her to let go. She finally moved on, and in this moment, she appeared not as an immature child, like she did throughout the Rumbling, but now as a grown adult woman.
Ymir's story in the finale is essentially a coming-of-age story from the perspective of a mentally ill, dehumanized slave. She starts the finale as someone with arrested development lashing out at the world, and ends it as an adult at peace with herself. Eren invited her to indulge in her rage. Armin helped her consider what was truly important. Mikasa healed her and allowed her to let go. All three protagonists were valuable and influential in freeing Ymir.
Just a question found your blog and really loved your analysis for attack on titan. What are your thoughts on the ending? A lot of people I saw hated it's not my favorite but I don't understand to huge hatred. Did you ever share your thoughts?
Hi Anon!! First off, I apologize for the late response... I know you sent this in a couple weeks ago but I wasn't in the headspace to type anything up at the time. Life is busy! lol
I'll start with a lot of people disliking the ending... I think a lot of that stems from the fact that we all had our own ideas as to where the plot was going and some were able to adapt to the ending better than others. Especially for those of us who put a microscope to everything and spent every monthly chapter release overanalyzing every small detail.... lol it sometimes was a shock what Isayama would end up doing in the next chapter! I definitely had my ups and downs with that during the run of the manga.
I actually can't recall if I ever shared my thoughts on the ending here either than maybe being a little lukewarm on it? My initial response to the final chapter was kind of in the middle of positive and negative. If you read any of my analyses on the latter chapters I'm sure you noticed a lot of cope when it came to Eren doing the rumbling... I couldn't stand that one of my favorite characters would do something I find morally reprehensible! lol I was trying to come up with any other answer for his behavior than wanting to enact the rumbling. Once he finally did, it took a long time for me to make my peace with it. Although, in retrospect, it makes total sense for his character and, imo, sets this story apart from so many others and will be what makes it so memorable for decades to come. It gave him more complexity in the end and makes his character more memorable.
I think what helped me not be so initially angry at the ending was actually the conclusion to Mikasa's story and how she was able to overcome her feelings for Eren to do the right thing... both for the remaining people on the planet and for Eren himself. I was happy with her ending - and since she is really my favorite character of all time and my comfort character, I was able to be more at peace with the conclusion of the story.
That being said, I think Isayama didn't do the best with the final chapter - mainly with how he handled Eren and Armin's conversation and there's a part of me that still kinda hates the "only Ymir knows" thing lmao but MAPPA really remedied a lot of that when they adapted it into the anime and tweaked Eren and Armin's conversation. But I remember reading the final chapter and feeling a bit empty. Partly due to the story coming to its conclusion but also just feeling like it could have ended better. I could have still been coping with the rumbling though! LOL
I do like the ending now though. and I give MAPPA a lot of credit for that. I absolutely loved watching the conflict and conclusion unfold in the anime, and I still get chills when I rewatch the finale. I don't think there could have been a more appropriate way to end the story and I appreciate that the ending maintained an aura of hope despite also portraying the reality of human nature and how conflict is something that will never truly end. It was realistic while also giving a good conclusion to the characters and their arcs. And knowing that the surviving characters got to live out their lives in relative peace makes me happy. All in all, I don't think there could have been a better way to end it and I'm happy with it.
In my opinion, Kenny and Kuchel represent the ideals of love vs. power. Love is gentle and makes life valuable, but ultimately it cannot save you, which is why Kuchel dies. Power can save you, but it means harming others. Underground, they are in a “kill or be killed” kind of environment, so Levi is forced to prioritize power. I think this mirrors real life, where children grow up knowing (hopefully) only the care and love of their parents, and then are thrust in to a world that is uncaring and cruel, and having to grapple with that.
you remind me of this :)
tldr: the power of love/compassion is just as mighty as the power of violence, which kenny couldn’t learn how to understand (and in the opposite way neither could uri).
yes, kuchel would ultimately die, but from all we know about kuchel, her “power” “strength” would bring about a healthy baby (a feat in of itself in the underground) but one who carries that same ideal of love/compassion.
levi being a product of both is extremely special in the greater themes of aot where love and hate is central.
i kind of noticed something and it might be a reach but: these figures who only embody ideals of love/freedom always serve a greater purpose surrounding those ideals to the characters to whom they influenced, and are at their most influential posthumously. they aren’t fleshed out almost whatsoever, making them like saints. ie, kuchel, carla, fay, erwin’s father, frieda (before taking on the curse anyway). to me a true testament to how pure compassion is most valuable and make life worth living the most, but truly just how quick they are to die in the world aot is set (but also, in general).
godddDAMMMM idk if this is just me, but the belief tends to be that flashback episodes in anime tend to just take away from the main story and slow things down but Bystander doesnt feel like that AT ALL. we were already curious about grisha and how eren would become a titan and why. also, set up at the beginning, why shadis would be prevalent in eren’s memories from that day in the first place.
it was built up so wonderfully too. like - we don’t get to see shadis on his own as a character REALLY until this episode but by the end he feels like a full fledged person i can sympathize with and also kind of hate. despite how hard he preached about everyone lacking imagination (ohh like dreamsss?) and his life being more than what inside the walls could contain, he was extremely close-minded. when grisha put it into his head that he could be special, he thought it was a curse, bc he just isn’t. but then at the end of the episode, to hear carla tell him that you can be special just for being born into the world is so beautiful. especially knowing that shadis doesn’t take that to heart when the wall falls.
the plot twist that SHADIS intentionally sabotaged eren’s odm gear from s1 too?? SO good. it could be said that he wanted to prove that eren wasn’t special, or to protect eren’s life (which i love soooo much about aot, how people’s morals and actions are multi-faceted).
this also further sets up the main THING about eren, is that even if he’s told over and over again and given every reason why he CANT do something, he WILL find a way. it’s so cool.
i also love the parallels between erwin and shadis. shadis is criticized for doing nothing but sending his soldiers head-on against titans all at once and getting them all killed without dying himself. in s2 this is what ERWIN would do to get eren back, and he does it again in s3, but dies on levi’s order. in the same sentence, it’s said that ERWIN should be commander bc no one on his squad has died.
i’m rambling but - it’s just soooooooo good. imo it’s masterful :((
