Read on Twitter
This is one of the things that’s been annoying me and it’s kinda related to my last tweet so I just wanted to quickly talk about it so I can move on
Quick Eren thread
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">
Quick Eren thread
Something that has been a core part of Eren’s character from the start has been his black and white morality and how we saw that evolve gradually throughout the series. This is the first instance of that, but a lot of people (including myself) initially brushed it off
Because it simply seemed like a kid killing kidnappers and wanting to save a girl. That’s definitely part of it, but it’s so much more than that and there’s a reason why this scene is referenced several times during the chapters leading up to the rumbling
Eren saw anyone that tries to take away his freedom or anyone else’s as monsters. “Dangerous beasts” that deserve death. Is this normal for a kid of his age? I don’t think so, but to him these people are the same as the titans. They’re animals that need to be destroyed
And like I said earlier, the reason why it’s so easy to overlook this is because of the actions of the people he killed, but when we get to 130 Isayama makes it very clear that Eren’s mindset hasn’t changed, only the “enemy” has
Chapter 100 was a pivotal moment in the series and it shows us Eren’s maturity, growth and his ability to understand different perspectives. He knows that the people across the ocean aren’t animals and that they aren’t all bad people
BUT they’re what is standing in the way of his freedom and we know that if someone stands in the way of his freedom, he won’t hesitate to take theirs. This isn’t to say that Eren doesn’t feel some remorse about his actions later on because he definitely does
But this has always been the core of Eren’s character and it’s a bit frustrating to see people brush it aside. What initially seems like a moment of Eren’s heroism, gradually comes out as a traumatic memory and a part of him that no one wanted to see
I really do think that Isayama is talking to the readers here as well. I was also quite surprised when I read 122 and saw what Eren’s intentions were, but when you look back across the series you start to realise that the signs were there all along
One of Isayama’s biggest strengths has always been his ability to recontextualise earlier events + this was one of the things. When the narrative is literally telling you that Eren has always been like this, I don’t know how there’s even room to question people’s understanding
