Thread by @vincent5126, My Attack on Titan 139 long thread:(Try to guess how I feel [...]

My Attack on Titan 139 long thread:
(Try to guess how I feel about it)
#AoT139Vincent

I gathered enough thoughts about Attack on Titan's ending. While it is still an 8/10 and suffers from awful execution, the themes that I could clearly gloss from and were better presented, however, are worth talking
What I do is go by page and say what I can see, like, dislike

And in this disclaimer, I want to make known that I respect contrary opinions but I also want to break some of the negative critiques and implications brought for specific messages (such as for racism) while showing what Isayama might mislead readers to thinking (the Fritz thing)

Feel free to add your thoughts on this thread and know that I will probably add up more throughout the coming weeks. So if you want to catch up, know that I use the #AoT139Vincent hashtag and I might make a shorter writeup to this.
Hopefully this contribution helps

Firstly, I will cover each page, rate their content both individually and how they connect to the whole story. In this way, we might have some appreciation for what it conveys.
After going through all pages, I will give my impressions on the whole structure
#AoT139Vincent

Page 1: By itself, it was good. The content it presents is nothing special but starting us with a Paths talk into memories shared between Eren and Armin was a cool way of visualizing it.
Especially knowing later on when this takes place it s cool
#AoT139Vincent

P2: Nothing special in presentation but I do notice some will ask if Eren intended for them to come out as heroes or he accepted it as their freedom to do so. But I will say that the emphasis on Eren INTENDING for it to be an outcome leaves me with questions
#AoT139Vincent

This is both a problem and a potential opportunity
For this page, examine ch133.
If Eren wanted to be stopped, as Reiner hypothesized, mainly by pushing them away, why put the people he loved through so much risk for a chance of it happening
#AoT139Vincent

Some people compare Eren to Lelouch and while the end results are somewhat similar, I do think they are vastly different.
Lelouch had every intention of being martyred and needed to be hated by the world via his conquests.
In AoT, I question Eren's intent to die
#AoT139Vincent

The Rumbling was made to kill everyone. Even if he pushed everyone away, he knew better than to just lie. Ch. 133 provides a more nuanced answer to me. He simply allowed them to act freely. However, it is open enough to suggest he also permitted them to stop him
#AoT139Vincent

What 139 does is clearly state this was all laid out. I have no problem with that reveal. In fact, I like the idea itself. Yet it also puzzles me how foolish, for lack of a better term, it would be to count on a chance that could mean salvation or Alliance's death
#AoT139Vincent

Also on how he concluded it in the page, Eren believed stopping him would ensure his friends live good lives by virtue of being hailed as heroes. This is where it appears like a Zero Requiem, basically telling Armin their role is to be heroes, to be Tyburs
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Again, with 133 and 108 for context, I have no issues with the "role-giving" Eren places. Now what will it say to Eren's overall character? We will read through.
I think the best part of 139, p2 is a given answer but at the same time, it comes with some holes/risks
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P3: I really like this page. Equating the Alliance to the Tyburs as balancers and peacemakers, as well as the fate of humanity, leaving only 80% alive. With further pages, this second part will also come with risks and holes. Yet Armin's expression was perfect
#AoT139Vincent

P4: This serves more as a transition. To answer Armin, he would talk about Ymir and her wishes. If the Rumbling was done with the INTENT of helping his friends, Eren wishes to answer with some contextualization about Ymir.
#AoT139Vincent

P5: Presentation was breathtaking. A volcano. Different reactions. Eren looks on calmly but with resignation, as though he will not see it. Armin sees with wonder. Eren's look at it affirming his belief that Armin has the most hope out of all humanity
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Before I go on, I would also imagine that this was one of many scenes. They probably witnessed the other wonders of the world as they were talking because they had a lot to talk about. Likely the Paths reveals
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P6: Yeah I hate this part. But I want to dissect how it works, how it should not, how it can be presented wrongly and what could have helped it.
The whole point is that in Paths, Eren realized Ymir loved her oppressor.
Lemme talk about how I think of this
#AoT139Vincent

For me, this part should have been removed entirely.
It comes out of nowhere and really makes the pain of 122 unusual. 137 gave us a pretty ballsy yet fitting explanation as to why Paths and the Curse exist: Ymir was alone for 2,000 years, bound by Fritz in life
#AoT139Vincent

But 137 itself was open-ended bec it seemed like Ymir wanted something from them. However, 139 provided an answer that, for me, left me more puzzled than any other point in the story. It was probably like a battered wife situation or something but I have some ideas
#AoT139Vincent

I call it "loving the unlovable"
I am not sure if this was the intent but this is key to understanding the next two pages.
So hope you can follow along
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P7: Absolutely beautiful. The aurora feels like it is from Paths. The presentation is marvelous from start to finish. As for the reveal, this is where I feel "loving the unlovable" as a theme works more for Mikasa to Eren than with Ymir to Fritz
#AoT139Vincent

We go to 123 bec this is where Eren's feelings for Mikasa, for me, were at their strongest
Eren was already aware of the doom of the Rumbling. He felt trapped by a choice he freely made for the sake of his friends. All fitting 139 now, it seems.
#AoT139Vincent

Easily one of the most emotional chapters, 123 highlights Eren being trapped for me. He was never really free and makes 131's content even more haunting and chilling.
He sees the happiness of his friends and those of innocent non-Eldian refugees
And he is alone
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123 is surprisingly relevant for showing Eren's arc for 139. I find it interesting that he reflected and absorbed where he was, seeing the people whose future deaths he would accept. And he cried.
He knew what they were like, freedom taken away by war and violence
#AoT139Vincent

To talk about Mikasa's love for Eren, we must understand that her bond with Eren was, as 139 seemingly implies, similar to Ymir's enslavement at Fritz's hands. Ymir wanted to be freed from a psychological burden that she carried along with the Source's powers.
#AoT139Vincent

The way WfP telegraphs that "slave-like" bond via her headaches and the Eren talk is way too intentional bec it would be subverted via prior context and ch 123
Mikasa loved Eren for saving her and giving her a beautiful life after her parents' loss.
#AoT139Vincent

It all makes sense that the direction conveyed lies and Mikasa's headaches were not Ackerman-related but came from her trauma when she lost her parents and how her view of Eren gradually shattered until she accepted reality
#AoT139Vincent

Looking back through many tweets and manga pages I can see why Isayama intended for the parallels to happen
This thread makes sense of "Ymir loving Karl Fritz". It was not authentic love but she was enslaved by her need of what she never had
#AoT139Vincent https://twitter.com/takasugii3/status/1380197993467555840?s=20

https://twitter.com/takasugii3/status/1380197993467555840?s=20

Put it another way: Mikasa was not enslaved by Eren via a plot mechanic or cursed biology. She was wrapped by the beauty of his scarf, giving her a home full of love, which also protected her from trauma and Eren's primal desire for freedom. Ymir was shown love
#AoT139Vincent

P8: I am glad Isayama chose this image of Mikasa to show, the one where she thanked Eren for putting the scarf on her. It may be an object that is valued by two people but it holds so many meanings for the story
And it is key to why she freed everyone
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