Thread by @cactuzz4nf

explanation of the time mechanics in paths and how they contribute to eren’s character

attack on titan episode 79 ‘future memories’ thread

the first thing to understand is that they are not technically travelling back in time, zeke is using the power of the founder to go through and watch grisha’s memories. this is possible because all subjects of ymir are connected to the co-ordinate (the founding titan) through +

paths that transcend physical space and time. we know eren and zeke are not truly there so how is it possible for grisha to see zeke or be influenced by eren? the answer is relatively simple - through the power of the attack titan. the attack titan has the ability to see the +

memories of future inheritors and this is how grisha actually sees zeke. note that he only sees zeke when eren is standing behind him and looking at them both, hence he is seeing zeke through the perspective of eren and that’s how he is able to note his appearance or interact.+

for this it’s also important that eren figures this out after the time when grisha first sees zeke, as he is notably surprised at first but then allows grisha to see zeke and interact in the finale by standing behind them. +

this is also how he is influenced by eren despite not being able to see him. he is experiencing eren’s memory of the event (hearing his words) simultaneously alongside his own perspective of the event. this also makes sense of why his expression is so crazed - imagine having +

to deal with multiple perspectives of the same events alongside each other and the emotions that belong to eren added to his own at the same time. it also brings up an interesting point regarding the attack titan. dealing with time or memories has always been an ability +

that was more a part of the founding titan’s domain that anything else, so why does the AT have this ability? it’s not 100% confirmed, but the most likely explanation is the ‘path’ that transcends time and space is only possible because eren holds both the attack & founding +

titan together at the same time. zeke with his royal blood did in fact end up being the key to open up this path to the past. some evidence towards this idea is the nature of the AT itself. the attack titan has ‘always moved ahead, seeking freedom. it has fought on for freedom’.+

more than anything else the AT is eren’s nature manifested, his will and drive to keep moving forward and find freedom. through this we can see how it is eren’s will that transcends time all the way back to the first AT, just like how kruger told grisha to save ‘mikasa, armin’. +

eg in this episode grisha states all AT’s have been led to this memory, they’ve all fought to get here, a time where EREN directly influences the past in order to go against the kings ideology of submission. by holding both the founding/attack titan together & using zeke as the +

key to unlock the full power of the founder this path is made a possibility and then retroactively affects all attack titan holders throughout time. now to explain how eren could influence grisha when the event he is influencing must occur in order to influence said event. +

this is a causal loop: a theoretical proposition in which, by means of either retrocausality or time travel, a sequence of events is among the causes of another event, which is in turn among the causes of the first-mentioned event. this is the case for the reiss family murder.+

as shown with this diagram eren manipulated grisha to kill the royal family & steal the power, giving said power to eren. this power allows him to enter paths where he manipulates grisha, starting the cycle again. this cycle loops infinitely to the point no specific origin +

can be determined - this is given the name the ‘bootstrap paradox’. how this use of time & memories applies to eren’s character is also very interesting. the first is that eren, the boy who seeks freedom above all, is inherently trapped in a self-repeating causal loop. +

despite it being the result of his desires (he wants to go against the king) it’s still a representation of a cycle with no specific end or starting point. eren’s embodiment of the cycle is thematically opposed to his desires in the story, an extension of the chained god motif +

that was brought up in s3 & will become more clear as time goes on. eren being inherently trapped is also emphasised by another thing - the nature of his memories and how they affect him. when he talks to zeke in marley he states that he didn’t just see memories, he ‘felt’ them.+

by using the word ‘felt’ it’s as if eren is truly living these experiences instead of only viewing them & that adds another layer to his actions. a big part of eren’s character is this desire to go ‘beyond’, to experience new things and not be trapped by your environment. +

the way his memories work actually robs him of this integral part of who he is, and it’s most obvious through the ocean scene. ‘this is all like my father’s memories’ - he is robbed of experiencing the thing that used to hold so much value to him and can’t find any joy in it. +

there will be more examples and this will become more cohesive as new episodes release but i don’t want to spoil. one final thing is how the mechanics of eren’s memories create a second layer to his final line to grisha - ‘you started this story’. +

it refers to the guilt that grisha feels surrounding faye’s death but since we know eren is experiencing what grisha experiences fully, it’s also as if eren is telling that to himself. he ‘started this story’ by manipulating grisha but he also needs to be given that push +

to finish what he started which we see by the softer moments in this episode - looking at himself wrapping the scarf around mikasa or looking at the dead bodies with guilt. this is quite literally eren pushing his own back into ‘hell’, which is exactly what he says to falco +

during their talk in marley.

finally it’s important to note eren doesn’t ‘change the past’. attack on titan exists with a fixed timeline and he’s merely keeping that timeline intact. since paths exists separate from our usual perception of ‘time’ these mechanics are possible.

since people might ask:

grisha isn’t actually hugging zeke here, merely hugging the space where he sees zeke is standing through eren’s pov. this ‘fake’ hug is symbolic of how it’s just too late, grisha failed as a father to zeke and corrupted his childhood. +

however despite the hug being ‘hollow’ it still holds incredible weight for zeke who has always craved this affection from grisha above all. it’s too late, yes, but eren allows the brother he despises to get the connection & love he’s needed above all.