Season 1-3: Eren keep being kidnapped Season 4: Just as planned

There's Abusing your child, which is unforgivable, and then there's going back through time and space to abuse your own parent. Damn, eren.

I can just imagine Isayama chuckling in his corner as he sees the entire fandom thinking this anime is so cool in season 1. He must have been like "they can not possibly imagine what's next" Im guessing he must've felt so proud of himself

It only makes you realize even more why he was so depressed. Imagine finding out the thing you really hated the most was yourself all along.

It’s hilarious how as a teenager in 2013 I thought this show was just about fighting tall monsters…..I couldn’t have been more wrong LOL

I will always love how Eren takes the typical generic "Never give up/Power of friendship" tropes and subverts them by literally ending the fucking world for his friends.

"To you, 2,000 years from now" is Ymir sending her message to Eren. "From you, 2,000 years ago" is Eren receiving that message. I loved how the meaning became understood once the latter episode came along. The "you" can even be understood as Eren talking to himself, since he gained the ability to travel through the memories of time.

The biggest thing for me about Reiner and Bertolt's reveal is how they had it done so nonchalantly. Reiner confesses so calmly that it almost catches you off guard (if you were a sub-watcher, you'd almost think you misread something). The fact that it immediately goes to a wide shot of the group walking away to the left while Eren and company are standing to the right and the next shot is Hange talking about theories is so hilariously well done. It definitely left a mark.

It's not just Eren manipulating everyone else, he is also literally manipulating himself to become the person he needs to be. His motivation throughout season 4 has come from him viewing his own future memories through Grisha

what drives me mad about this is there is no continuity errors between that scene and the originals. to be specific, when Grisha offers to show Eren what he was keeping in the basement, he was looking at older Eren. if you go back to the original episode when Grisha said that to young Eren, Grisha is still looking that direction, towards older Eren. it was made like this because when Isayama wrote AOT, he wrote the story first before drawing any of it. So this was entirely the plan the whole time.

Eren wasn't manipulating things, it was Yimr. Eren is the manifestation of her suppressed rage, a byproduct of the abuse, neglect and trauma she endured. This is why Eren told Ymir that he knows that she's been waiting for him, and the name of the episode is "From you, 2000 years ago". This would explain the Attack Titans' ability and the reason it can rebel against the commands of those of royal descent, something Yimr didn't have the courage to do when she was alive. The purpose of the Attack titan was to finally free her from servitude.

I was taught "not every antagonist is the villain" after I witnessed the twist- I realize "not every protagonist is a hero" holds up just as well

The "future memory" was hinted at before - when Grisha got the Attack Titan, the owl actually said "protect Mikasa and Armin" or so. When Grisha asked who that is, he responded with "I don't know, those aren't my memories". At the time, I wondered if there was some cosmic loop, in which there were characters with the same names in the past, as I think it was already established Titans inherit some memories of their previous owners. Turns out, those were also future memories from Eren. On top of that, in the very first episode Eren "dreams" of the future, which in return were future memories from his father. Meaning the ability affected him even before he got the titanpower. So despite all the distraction, the ability was hinted at in the very first episode already.

The key to a good plot twist is things have to make MORE SENSE after the plot twist. All of the pieces need to fall into place at once.

You could've also mentioned, that after the plot twist happened Eren immediately was shown as the greatest villain in Attack on Titan. After Grisha killed the family, he was drowning in madness and sorrow, he cried and was mentally broken, yet Eren showed no empathy for his own father whatsoever. Even Zeke, who we knew as the one person who hated Grisha the most, cried. And then Grisha said, that Zeke has to stop Eren, since whatever Eren wants (of course now we know what he wants) is so horrible and "evil" that one of the bigger antagonists (here I mean Zeke) has to stop the "Protagonist" from literally destroying the whole world. At first, Eren being an antagonist was more of a meme. Now it actually is reality, and he may be one of the best villains ever. The beauty of his character tho is, that he can either be the protagonist or the antagonist, depending on where you stand and who's side you are on. It's just amazing, what kind of a story Isayama created...

What hit me the most were the chapters titles… To You 2000 Years from Now and From You 2000 years ago. I always wondered about that first title when I first watched the anime but I did not figure it would be this impactful

Eren said, “ isn’t this the story you started?” No Eren. You started it. You started the story and made Grisha a pawn in your story.

Another important reason why the twist works so well is that the groundwork for the reveal of the Attack Titan's unique ability was subtly laid throughout the show from the very first episode. In the first episode, we see Eren have dreams of his mother's death, something which he should not be able to see and which, in retrospect, was caused by older Eren sending his memories back to his younger self. Then at the end of season three, Krueger tells Grisha that he needs to save Armin and Mikasa, two names that he should not and could not possibly know unless he knew the future. Even the way the Attack Titan is described hints at its unique ability as it's described as always moving towards freedom and standing against the will of the Founding Titan's inheritors, an ideology that perfectly matches up with Eren's beliefs. On top of that, we learn in season two that the inheritors of the Founding Titans are bound to the will of a past king, so it would make sense that the direct opposite of the Founding Titan, the Attack Titan, would have its inheritors be bound not by its past inheritors but instead by its future inheritor, Eren.

This anime went from legendary to God level

After "the twist", the way Grisha has a meltdown outside is one of the best scenes in anime so far imho. It hits like a thunder spear to the heart.

Eren Jaeger legit pulled an Aizen and showed the world that everything was all part of his plan

I love the theory that when eren at the sea asks “if we kill all our enemies out there, will we finally be free” that he’s actually asking himself this and that eren is not just manipulating others he is manipulating his past self

I really feel like the team that butchered Game of Thrones should be asked to watch Attack on Titan for a lesson in true storytelling, to see how a protagonist can be moulded from hero to villain without insulting the audience's intelligence.

The biggest hint we all missed - the first scene of the first episode, is Eren having flashes of this future. The author is a genius. Before the opening credits, we see the titan appear, and it looks like they've just hopped back in time after the credits to before that happens, when in fact, Eren is waking up after glimpsing it. He wakes with a jolt, after seeing his mother eaten. This wasn't random at all. He's already tied to this fate he creates for himself.

The fact that Eren manipulated is still such a mindf*** to me. No matter how many times I think about it, it’s just a paradox. It reminds me of the “which came first the chicken or the egg” question. Did Eren live this story first without manipulation, and then gain the capability to manipulate the past through the Attack and Founder powers first, or has he somehow always been manipulating everything in an endless loop somehow?

When Zeke met his father and they said they loved each other is the only time I ever cried in this show. And then Grisha telling Zeke to stop Eren was so good

One detail that adds so much to this plot point is that Shingeki no Kyojin, translated into "Attack on Titan" in English, is meant to tell you it's the story about the war between the titans and humanity. But "Shingeki no Kyojin" also translates to "Attack Titan." ie, The Attack Titan is the focal point, the whole point of the story, the driving force, what everyone should have seen coming but no one did. That's actually pretty brilliant.

"We were too distracted" legit, in s2 after ymir transformed for the first time, there's straight up a moment of Berthold about to bite his hand and transform, but most people didn't notice until rewatching

Eren situation is really something can only happened 1 in 2000 years. A non royal blood that got the founding titan. Having a royal blood brother from different mother giving him the access to the Path. Being the Last Attack titan, so he can send his memory to the past Attack titan. You could say the Destiny of all Attack titan has been set in stone by Eren. Desire Freedom more than anyone else so that he will set Ymir free. It took Ymir 2000 years waiting so that someone to break her out of this curse.

It's weird, because although you could argue only Eren had the freedom to decide the plot of the story, it's almost like the story was set from the beginning, and so he didn't really have the freedom. So even Eren was never entirely free. He grew up to become the person he did, because the person he would become caused him to. So did he choose who he became? It's like that scene from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when Harry realizes he could do a Patronus Charm, because he already did (or he always could?).

I’m jealous of the people who will experience this moment for the first time

My favorite part is how the entire talking point of season 4 was how much Eren changed, and that no one could figure out what was going on in his mind. Yet when we go through his memories, he shows how much his original character is still there. "I was the way I am ever since I was born"

That's why I consider this part of the story to be peak fiction. I can still remember the pure chills I got the first time I read it in the manga and nothing's matched that since

It’s unbeliavable to believe that isayama was thinking about this details before in 2013. Incredible how detailed and awesome it is.

Normal anime: Plot Twist AOT: Twisted Plot

I think it's in cannon somewhere that the only titan shifters Marley didn't get were the Founder and the Attack titan. I like to think Eren tapped into the first Attack's user and was like "Bro, you need to get out of here and don't reveal yourself because I have a plan in a couple thousand years"

Eren didn't just manipulated his father, he had probably messed with other past Attack Titan shifters We can confirm that, because Attack Titan before Grisha mentioned Mikasa ans Armin in their conversation, even though he himself had no clue who they are

In the first episode you have the dinner scene where Mikasa tells the parents that Eren wants to be a scout. Grisha attempts to argue Eren against it. But then he sees Erens rageful eyes and Grisha's reaction is fear, and then resignment. Its crazy how this is the manipulation at work, right there. And we are mislead TWICE about what this scene is. Wonderful writing.

0:55 "While everyone was playing checkers, Eren was playing but somehow inventing chess at the same time" This made no sense but so much sense.

"He has such a tenacious will , that it scares me sometimes " -Hannes

my jaw dropped to Australia when Eren grabbed Grishas shoulder. A masterpiece of a plot twist, i think it might be even better than the Reiner and Bertholdt reveale 12/10 beautiful

The Beast Titans specializes in artillery with it's long arms. The Jaws, can cut and bite through even titan hardening. But the Female Titans ability isn't to hardening. Hardening is seemingly something any titan changer can do. It something you get. Likely some sort of secret involving royal spinal fluid. No, The Female, can summon titans, as seen in her opening scene using titans to aid her assult.

I like to come back to this video once in a while to hype myself up for part 3. One thing I find so cold is when Zeke asks Eren why is he acting the way his father wanted him to act. Little does he know that Grisha has been acting the way Eren wanted this whole time.

''If you want to save Mikasa, Armin and everyone else, you must master this power.'' Attack titan's ability of seeing into future was kinda revealed by that point but Eren's manipulation scene was really a shocking twist.

Season 1, I thought "Shingeki no kyojin" means "Attack by titans" Season 2, I thought "Shingeki no kyojin" means "Attack on titans" Season 3, I thought, oh neat, there is a titan called the Attack Titan. Season 4, I finally realized "Shingeki no kyojin" really does mean "The Attack Titan", because it is the most important titan to the story.

I love how AOT actually forces you to choose a side as if you’re in the world. AOT is Honestly peak consumer product not just anime.

As someone who just experienced the whole series - from first anime episode to final manga chapter - in 5 short days, I have to say that Eren and Zeke's entire stay in the Paths is the undeniable peak of the series. The plot twist that this video focuses on was exceptional. On a personal note, I very much enjoyed how these particular hints came together in this one sequence. - When Zeke asks Eren why he's betraying him at the last minute, Eren says "Because I was born into this world." This perfectly tied back to what his mother said to Sadies: "He doesn't need to become great. [...] He's *already* great. Because he was born into this world." - When Eren told Zeke about seeing his father's memories of killing the royal family, he said his "father was mistaken." Zeke took this to meaning Eren was rejecting Grisha's plans and supposed brainwashing. In reality, the reason Eren felt his father was mistaken was because Grisha hesitated and did not wish to kill children, even for a greater cause. The moment he saw his father hesitate, all respect Eren ever had for Grisha went away.

No matter what anyone thinks of the ending, this story was masterfully created and has the biggest and most interesting plot twists I’ve seen in a long time

Oh my god I remember when I first watched AOT, my entire focus for season 1 was “What is Eren’s special Titan power?” Because Annie seemed to have a special ability, but he didn’t. I thought it would be explained later on, or that it’s power was simply it’s sheer strength. After the plot of Season 2, i was more focused on other things, so I completely forgot about it. Now, years later, I realise that my original thoughts led to the biggest plot twist ever. This story is a masterpiece.

Love the fact that Eren evolved from a Hero, to an Anti-Hero and finally an Anti-Villain

I'm a manga reader, and when I read this chapter my mind was destroyed. Not blown. Destroyed. I loved it and it is still my favorite chapter of all manga that I have read. And then the anime took it and made one of my favorite episodes ever. For me, this was how I hoped it would go. I wanted to see Eren achieve the rumbling. I wanted to see him become the villain. I just wasn't expecting this twist.

This twist doesn’t materialize out of thin air. It develops within the realm of the narrative (and Eren’s character); there are hints of something being off in the episode (and on rewatch, throughout the show). I totally believe that Eren had no idea that Zeke still had control in the paths. When Grisha sees Zeke the first time, Eren is legitimately surprised, but quickly picks up on what is happening. Eren remains in shadow, learning as they are walking through Grisha’s memories. And as he’s learning, he is also manipulating Grisha. Eren’s fundamental persona is not different; he is still someone willing to fight, to keep moving forward because it’s “kill or be killed”. I was shocked when Grisha refused to kill the family. Then not a second later, I realized what was about to happen. Eren took the reins. It was always meant to play out this way.

What I love about AOT is needing to rewatch every episode. The clues were there, and I missed them. Every freaking season.

While everyone’s playing checkers, Eren is playing StarCraft IV in 1997.

I like to think that Zeke showing Eren the past is what he needs to alter it. If that interaction never happened, Eren couls never talk to Grisha, so he planned everything leading to that point. I would also like to think that this is why Eren laughed when Sasha died. He probably knew it would happen but it is one of the things he just can't bring himself to believe but it did happen, and from that moment on Eren knew what was coming. To be honest if I was him I'd laugh, too.

I also just realised that Eren quite literally created himself . Back when Kruger told Grisha to go inside the walls marry and have children, protect Armin and Mikasa. Those were all Eren's memories from the future tasking his father to create him through speaking with Kruger.

At the end, the message of AoT is the futility of war. How everyone is a victim and a villain. It all depends on perspective. War only brings pain and suffering. AoT to shows constantly that if you get to know your 'enemy', you'll understand them. That is ultimately why Eren ends up being the bad guy, he only cares about his friends, to the point of alienating them. Losses his goal, and ends up destroying everything for a freedom that doesn't exist. He is in away the creator of his own tragedy.

The way I see it is Eren didn't change anything, he merely played the role he needed to play, in order to make events unfold as they already had from his perspective. It's just like when Harry Potter cast the Patronus charm to save his past self from the demetors, after having seen the charm be cast by his future self.

EREN DIDN'T JUST INVENT CHESS, HE MURDERED IT.

Dont forget the line “The Attack Titan is always looking towards the future”. Late season 3 or first half season 4, that line is casually dropped and never followed up on, until this big twist

Once thing I love about AoT is how it subverted the traditional shonen trope of the "unwavering dude that gets good done by the sheer power of his will". We are programmed to like these characters because they are traditionally the good guys, fighting and fighting until they win over the bad guys. Well, ¡Eren is just like that! But the genius bit is showing how that personality, in reality, is closer to that of a zealot, someone perfectly set to become a dictator, a tyrant. Pretty much like Star Wars did with Darth Vader, the good guy is so obsessed with hiw own view of "good" that he is willing to make any sacrifice "necessary" to achieve it, even if it means killing childern (like Anakin) or however many Eren kills.

Loved the ending! The reveals in it only makes rewatching this video of yours even more WTF. Like him killing his own mom to start his own path, that literally made my jaw drop.

The scene near the end of season 3 makes so much more sense. When the Owl told Grisha that he must protect Armin and Mikasa. And when Grisha asked who he was talking about, he said "I don't know, it wasn't from my memories"

7:25 Except we already knew this. The owl did tell Grisha to save Armin and Mikasa, Girsha then asks who they were but the owl proceeds to say "I don't know, they aren't from my memories"

I'm not a huge video essay guy normally but this one was incredibly well done, great stuff!

Nicely narrated , can't imagine the planning and work u put in to get this quality of output.

There's several "why am I remembering this now?" moments in the show and it ties really great with this story being molded into place by Eren. It shows that because all of the eldians are connected by paths, Eren can manipulate some other eldians memories and make them do certain things they otherwise wouldn't. Like how Jean remembers Marco's words in order to have his courage up

To grisha’s voice actor, who ever you are, thank you for such an amazing performance

There were a few points in the series that really foreshadowed the true power of the Attack Titan, most notably The Owl saying to save Mikasa and Armin, and that they weren't his memories that made him say that. That could just be Eren's stubborn will reaching backwards in time, but to do so he would have to allow The Owl into the future as well. Either way it's a mind bender.

Great commentary, man! Earned a sub! Now, what I really, REALLY love about this plot twist and all that ties into it, is how Eren's character at the core never changed even one bit. I was very confused when Season 4 rolled in and Eren seemed completely different than before. But when the twist was revealed, I understood that he was still exactly the same as always. Way to subvert the "hero's journey", or the crooked version of it depicted in this story. Eren never had a "real" journey...He always was what he was meant to be. That blew me away for good.

when i saw this episode i was like "what the fucking hell" because of its insanely high quality. i was stunned by the realization that everything was eren's plan. the buildup was outstanding. the music was perfect. i also thought that the scenes before the cave were zeke's time and that he was in control. i was distracted by grisha too. i also want to point out that including the scene where eren and zeke revisit the aftermath of eren killing those child kidnappers with mikasa was so crucial. it reminds us of how dead set eren is in his path to freedom and how strong his worldviews are; he's only a 9 year old there but he has a strict criteria for what constitutes for a human or an animal and who deserves to live. those kidnappers to him were animals for trying to take away mikasa's freedom. iirc he said that he would kill anyone before they took away his freedom. that is a shocking thing for a 9 year old to say; a 9 year old who has just committed murder. it's really important that young eren doesn't really care what grisha says to him to reprimand him for killing those people. it tells us that young eren has killed those men on his own accords and isn't doing it to spite anyone or prove anything. in his mind, it was the right and just thing to do. it tells us just how far he's willing to go for freedom, even as a young child. it helps to prepare us for the reveal that eren planned and controlled everything in attack on titan. this encounter also has an effect on what eren tells zeke. as i said before, eren killed those men for his own beliefs. old eren tells zeke that he's a pathetic man who did everything to go against their father. up until now we've not seen zeke as pathetic. he's a 29 year old man, he's 6ft, handsome, ripped, he's extremely powerful and can deal a lot of damage with the beast titan's rock volley, he's of royal blood, he's the war chief of marley, and in ep1 he'd just come back from the dead, his scream can create an army of titans, and just then it seemed as if zeke held all the power in the paths. but we now realize that all of his accomplishments came from going against his father. when he betrayed his father to the police, he became closer with mr ksaver. he then was able to inherit the beast titan from him and then everything else fell into place. his euthanization plan seems pathetic now. to me, when i first heard it, it seemed noble. these people didn't even have to die like a thanos snap, they just had to live peacefully to the end of their days and then the eldian race would be over. it would benefit everyone, including the eldian kids who would never be born and never have to face the consequences that the old king brought on them. it seemed like a hero's sacrifice. but now, making your entire race of people go extinct, backing down from fighting for your people, just keeping the peace until you go extinct? now eren's rumbling seems a lot more epic and you begin to side with him. we are then reminded in that kidnapper scene that eren is the one in control. though zeke may be leading them through the scenes, and eren taking a passive viewing role, eren is still very much in control and you get a feeling that he's only there because he wants to be, which becomes very important later.

It was clear that something was going on with memory because of Kruger mentioning Mikasa and Armin. What WASN'T clear, was that Eren could interact with things throughout time

Thank you for putting into words how amazing this plot twist was! I was shocked as well, but had a hard time understanding the whole context. I didn't think this show could get any better!

bro the way you explained the whole plot is f**king amazing 💯 GOT GOOSEBUMPS🖤🖤🖤

This may be the best show of all time. I still can't tell if Eren is the true villain, a victim making the best choices with the circumstances he was giving, or an innocent dragged along by fate. Can't wait till the end!

One of the moments that also struck out to me was when Sasha was killed. It felt like Eren tired to prevent her death and tried to change what was about to happen but when she did die because of Gabi, it seemed to have solidify his beliefs even more and maybe that was why he laughed when Sasha was shot.

Rewatched this 2 years later, wish I could like it again. Amazing video

I’m so glad they decided to continue this anime I remember watching it in elementary school and thinking how amazing it was and wish it continued. Better late then never, but I really believe this will be the anime of the decade. I was so excited for every episode. My sister and I being stunned by the beast titan baseball scene I don’t want to spoil it so I’ll use that title. There were so many amazing scenes, they did great.

I'm an anime only and I'm genuinely heartbroken that I accidentally spoiled this plot twist for myself. It still blew my mind to see how it was executed, so I couldn't imagine how great it must have been to experience this in full effect like the basement scene and Reiner and Bertholt twists. Even the twist, then reverse twist, with Zeke was amazing to me. I hope this series inspires a new generation of Mangaka and writers to think outside the box and plan their story from beginning to end in as much detail as Isayama. Truly a Grandmasterpiece.

One thing about the Attack Titan's ability to see future memories is... we never thought this to be a unique or all that special power that it was. The scenes where we learned about memories of the titans were mostly with the Attack titan, Kurger, Grisha, Eren. When Kruger said memories can transcend time we assumed it was something that went for all titans, but didnt think of them as something you had that much control over. Like in the scene of Kruger saying "For Mikasa, Armin, and everyone else.... who's memories are these ?" even that actually adds to this massive reveal, of who was using the power to shape history all along

The plot twist is just so beautiful because it transcends questions of morally right or wrong and focuses simply on the absolute resolve of Eren. You just can't help but be amazed.

2:36 "just a naked dude who can fight and learns how to harden" 😆

Zeke: I have formulated the perfect plan to make sure I get exactly what I want Eren: Actually, that's my plan, I made sure everything went the way I wanted it to so you'd make that exact plan so MY OWN plan would work.

Eren’s entire life and is a paradox, everything that has happened in history has led to this moment, while he also influences those moments to line up the way they needed to reach where he is now. It’s just incredible story writing again about how eren is still not free from others choices, not even his own

The most insane thing for me is how the "I'll wrap the scarf around you as many times you want" scenes. Back then i thought the scene was rather forced, unimportant, and kind of cringe. Turns out even a small detail like this is actually important and contributed the plot and character building all the way to the end. It's spectacular writing.

Absolute masterpiece. On of my favorite shows , anime or otherwise. Amazing storytelling. I can't wait for the final chapter. Great analysis.

So does this mean that Eren allowed Grishas sister to be eaten? Since the owl was the attack titan at the time, eren could’ve had him stop her from dying, but eren needed her to die.

The plot twists are genuinely some of the best I’ve ever seen. I don’t think I’d even be that enthralled with this story if it wasn’t for those juicy drops. I’m so excited to rewatch the series after it ends.

During this entire anime I did not once predict the next episode let alone the next few minutes. LIKE DUDE.

this is mind blowing, the fact that grisha's hate was not enough to complete the task, he was not chosen by the owl for it but for eren. it was all him from the start.

Man, This is the first time I'm coming across your channel and the quality of this video was insane. Most famous youtubers throw aside their creativity and blabber on without putting in as much effort because they know they'll get views. This video is perfect. It really had me hooked. It's proof that creating youtube videos is also an art form.

It's just crazy how Grisha is seeing himself getting manipulated by Eren in a third person perspective by the powers of Attack Titan of seeing the memories of future inheritor of the Attack Titan (Eren). Everytime Eren is standing behind Grisha, he's just giving Grisha a good view of his current memories. Watching past or future memories is like watching videos, they're basically recorded already but what Grisha is seeing are the latest memories of Eren in the paths seeing him, it's like Eren is watching a live stream and Grisha also is watching the same live stream but with Eren's eyes.

I really loved this ending of the manga and series, the authors vision and purpose was amazing, not to mention he drew the rumbling! The art was crazyyyy good. I was shocked to see online so many people disliked it but the comments on this video have restored my faith 🙌

Just you quoting that scene gave me goose bumps so great

I think this story is a great example of why good writing happens when you figure out the end first in your plot, instead of figuring out the story as you go, like we see in many anime

It goes even further back, to the flashback at the end of season 3 when, during Grisha's last conversation with the Owl, the Owl slipped up and mentioned Armin and Mikasa, two people he had never met and who hadn't even been born yet. At the time, it seemed strange, but we had no way of knowing how big a deal that would end up being.

Your story telling skills are amazing and I loved the whole video ❤

Bro when that OST kicked in at 1:14 just hit me with all the feelings from the past 9 years at once

I will literally never shut the Fuck up about how Attack on Titan is a masterpiece.

this show made me go through so many phases