Attack on Titan Ending Chapter 139 Explained!

oyuchan

I am so confused with the ending of Attack on Titan.

tsukachan

Me as well. But I kind of expected this ending.

Attack on Titan finally ended with the release of chapter 139 but received many mixed reactions from its fans. There were a lot of things in the finale that were done really well, but many questions remained unanswered. Most importantly, what shocked fans the most was the brutality and bravery of Isayama(author) in ending the series the way it did.

What exactly happened in chapter 139 of Attack on Titan that provoked such reactions? Let’s dissect the finale of Attack on Titan!

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Is Eren Actually Dead? Who Killed Him?

While fans suspected a bad ending for him, the reality still shook them to their very core.

The last chapter of Attack on Titan saw Eren facing Mikasa, Armin, and Levi in a quick and epic finale.

In the last few manga panels, we jumped back in time to a conversation between Eren and Armin. Here, Eren accepted his apparent death after reasoning that he had done everything to protect Armin and his friends.

Eren died believing that the future he saw through the Attack Titan's power was the only path laid out for him.

In the end, Eren’s death was finalized after Mikasa arrived with his head and buried it under the tree that they cherished.

It was brutal of Isayama to kill his main character, Eren, but even more sadistic of him to make Mikasa do the kill.

oyuchan

tsukachan

Maybe it was a relief for both of them in a sense, but it sure didn’t help stop the tears constantly flowing from the readers’ eyes.

Why Did Eren Start the Rumbling?

After the Great Titan War, King Karl Fritz relocated as many Eldians as he could to Paradis. He then sealed it off from the rest of the world by using his power to form 3 great walls of hardening titans. The potential of Rumbling these titans - now turned walls - had was the critical deterrence factor for the Subjects of Ymir. Well, that is until the year 854 when Eren Yeager willingly freed the Wall Titans and began the Rumbling, killing 80% of humanity.

There are many theories, but I’m going to address the most popular ones.

In the last chapter, we finally somewhat understood how time works in the series, i.e., in a fixed timeline where events and actions are predetermined.

The future showed Rumbling taking place, leading to a world without titans in the end, and Eren could only act in a way that made it a reality.

Other theories state that Eren activated Rumbling because it was the only way to achieve true freedom and peace, which may very well be partly true. In the end, it doesn't change the fact that he did indeed go ahead with Rumbling, no matter what his reasons were.

Is Eren the Father of Historia’s Child?

Historia's pregnancy in the latest chapter has led many to question the unborn child's father and its significance to the ending. While some believe that Eren is the father, it is far from the truth.

She chose to get pregnant to protect Zeke from being eaten by her and delay inheriting the Beast Titan. Another way to look at this is that Historia finally made her own decision by getting pregnant. It is her way of living on, instead of limiting her lifespan to 13 years after inheriting the Titan.

The farmer may be a nameless character to us but shares a history with Historia. He is a childhood bully-turned-friend and most likely the father of her child, as it is unlikely that Isayama is showing us meaningless panels at the very end as a joke.