In the ending of Attack On Titan, why did Mikasa kill Eren?

In the ending of Attack On Titan, why did Mikasa kill Eren?

I'm sure there are many Vicigers loyal fans Attack on Titan (AoT) who are still curious why Hajime Isayama close the series with a plot Mikasa kill Eren.

After all, they seem so compatible... It should have been a happy ending, right? Surely most fans would agree. So, if you need an explanation, check it out!

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The Turning Point of the Attack on Titan Plot

If we want to talk about the reasons why Mikasa killed Eren in detail, the explanation will definitely be too long and very complex.

The reason is that this cannot be separated from the long adventures of the Survey Corps members, especially the 104th Training Corps (Eren, Armin, and Mikasa's military academy class).

So, to provide parameters so that the discussion doesn't become too broad, VCGamers will summarize it from the point where the AoT story plot turns in a much more complicated direction.

In the manga, this coincides with the conclusion of the seventh arc, "Return to Shiganshina," and the transition to the eighth arc. In the anime, this coincides with the beginning of the Final Season.

Continuing the story from the last episode of Season 3, it can be seen that Eren and his friends finally succeeded in achieving their dream of exploring the entire land of Paradis Island and visiting the sea.

The final season begins by showing the state of the world outside Paradis. It turns out that global conflicts and wars between nations are still raging.

And this heavily involves the subject of Ymir, who is often marginalized under Marley's might. That's where Isayama Sensei changed the nature of his main character (MC)…

Eren's Transformation from MC to Main Villain

Yes, the biggest change comes to Eren. It's revealed that the protagonist has much deeper roots and is destined to resolve them.

From initially appearing as the bearer of hope for Paradis and a symbol of freedom from thousands of years of conflict, he ultimately transformed into the ultimate disaster.

Through various confrontations with Zeke, he begins to plot to realize the Euthanasia plan. However, there's a plot twist: Eren is only using his half-brother.

As a result, Eren uses Zeke's royal blood to activate Rumbling! This is supported by the special power of Shingeki no Kyojin that can control the future.

This gave rise to the phenomenon of the birth of a super villain: an ending that was widely criticized by AoT fans. So much so, that Isayama Sensei even apologized for his choice. 

Mikasa's Refusal to Kill Eren

Killing Eren to stop Rumbling In fact, this has been proposed several times by those involved in the Global Alliance for Doomsday Prevention.

The first was in Chapter 108, when Mikasa and her friends were discussing the worst-case scenario. Connie loudly stated that Eren's death should also be taken into consideration.

Then, the second time came in Chapter 127. On the night the Global Alliance was formed, Annie directly asked Mikasa and her friends whether they were ready to kill Eren.

The third time this happened was in Chapter 133. Eren brought the Alliance into the Paths and explicitly said the way to stop the Rumbling was to kill him.

In all three moments, Mikasa was the most vocal in opposing the idea, wanting to find a non-lethal method. However, this changed during the climax of the final battle.

The Reason Why Mikasa Killed Eren

So, after understanding the background details above, now it's time to get into the main discussion, namely the reason why Mikasa finally decided to kill Eren.

So this happened in Chapter 138. Right at the moment of the final battle at Fort Salta, Eren, who was already in the form of the Colossus Titan, once again brought Mikasa into the Paths.

But instead of being stuck in the desert "Ymir's cage", he was taken to an alternate timeline! There, he lives a life together - a scenario if Eren is reluctant to run Rumbling.

Eren said that this reality is what would happen if on the night they arrived in Marley, Mikasa had the courage to declare her love, when Eren asked about their status together.

In fact, this is something Mikasa has been deeply regretting. And in that timeline, Eren spent the remaining four years of his life living alone with Mikasa.

After returning to the real world, Mikasa suddenly knew where Eren was. She asked Levi for help, asking him to open the way to the Colossus Titan's mouth, as that was where it was located.

With Ymir as her witness, inside the Colossus Titan's mouth, Mikasa then cut off Eren's head while giving him a final kiss – stopping the Rumbling once and for all.

AoT Ending Analysis

From the explanation above, of course there is quite a lot of speculation regarding the reasons why Mikasa ultimately killed Eren. Here are some theories from the community about it:

Mikasa still wants to confess her love to Eren

In fact, many people have been seen trying to explain things to Mikasa. They believe that killing Eren is the only way to stop the Rumbling.

But Mikasa always "stubbornly" still wants to have a dialogue with Eren and believed he could change. Well, fans believe, that was also the moment Mikasa wanted to express her feelings.

Because that night Mikasa was reluctant to be honest, she believed that all this tragedy was her fault and hoped that Eren would still be willing to "repent" if they could talk together one more time.

He has let go of Eren after experiencing four years in the alternate timeline.

In the real world, it only lasted a few minutes. But the life experience Eren gave Mikasa in that timeline felt like four years.

Although Isayama Sensei did not detail what happened in that timeline, one thing is certain: Mikasa was “satisfied” with the experience of accompanying Eren for the rest of his life in peace.

The community even believes that Mikasa also laid Eren to rest in that timeline. And the location she chose for Eren's grave in the real world is the same as the one in that timeline.

Because in the end Eren's last message to Mikasa was to forget him, that's where Mikasa was sure that she was the person Eren wanted to end his life.

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So that's a complete discussion of why Mikasa killed Eren. If you found this article helpful, please share it on social media and with your friends!

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