Thread by @whofavoredfire

Bookends - Why Mikasa, Armin, and Levi?

Thread on why I feel Mikasa, with support from Levi and Armin, were the perfect choices for the the climatic moment that ends Eren's life and the titans threatening humanity

#aotmangaspoilers

I absolutely love this panel & find it very fitting on multiple levels that Mikasa is the one to ultimately kill Eren with emphasis on how Armin and Levi specifically are bracketing her on either side

I feel these roles were built up for a while & it could only be the 3 of them

There's many layers at play here imo making these 3 fitting:

1. Who they are to Eren
2. Their intrinsic freedom in contrast to Eren(/Ymir)
3. The culmination of their individual arcs and various aspects set up by the story (Ackermans, dreams, etc.)

#1 Dynamic with Eren

These three all have unique dynamics with Eren and major impact on him in different ways, which makes the fact that it's these three specifically involved in his ultimate end more fitting and poetic imo

Mikasa

Eren's love interest who vowed to always protect him and and originally joined the Survey Corps, who want to save humanity from the titans, only for Eren; the person Eren wants nothing more than to be with

Armin

His best friend who inadvertently set Eren on this path by being the one to inspire Eren's dream, which directly ties into why Eren's doing the Rumbling; he's also Eren's hope in many respects, the person who Eren views as the one who could save humanity

Levi

Eren's mentor figure, who took responsibility for him, pegged his nature early on, serves as the embodiment of "choice" in the narrative & influenced Eren in this way, and was the one to "accept" him into the Survey Corps, the org that fought titans to free humanity

#2 Freedom

Freedom is core to why Eren's doing this, the story as a whole, and the impact this moment has.

Eren calls all three "slaves" (Levi indirectly as an Ackerman), but they freely oppose him at the end and they all have their own internal "freedom", unlike Eren

The three of them foil Eren's ideas of freedom that he's pursuing despite disappointment, fittingly for the "everybody's a slave" theme

Because there's this contrast between real freedom (that comes from inside) vs. a freedom that is more superficial (and ineffectual)

Like Ymir is both extremely "free" because she's so powerful she could technically do whatever (superficial freedom) and also extremely powerless because she's unable to be her own person and is trapped by her past (the inherent, internal freedom she lacks but needs).

Eren's similar in some ways. He chases this goal of freedom & yet can never really reach it because despite being literally free (not enslaved), nothing satisfies his unquenchable desire for freedom or feeling that he isn't free- he lacks that internal feeling of freedom

These two are sharply contrasted by Mikasa, Armin, & Levi, who are all also tied to this idea of freedom in different ways-

Mikasa embodies the freedom Ymir lacked because she has the inner strength to do what she thinks is right, even if it means opposing the one she loves, and in turn, overcoming her own trauma, a sharp contrast to Ymir who never could act against Fritz to action on what she wants

Moreover, Levi and Armin contrast Eren's disappointment & feelings of being unfree even after seeing the outside world because both can accept limitations, can be pragmatic (Levi - "life out there is hell") or optimistic (Armin - "there's still a place") about the world outside

Which is very fitting because Armin inspired and shared Eren's dream with the book of the outside world and Levi represents the "wings of freedom" (literally introduces the term to us), tying into Eren's desire to join the Survey Corps to explore outside and action on his dream

That disappointment Eren had with the outside world was a path he was set upon by Armin sparking this desire of his & Levi accepting him into the Survey Corps

It's coming full circle, especially since Eren's actions are contrary to Armin's innocent dream & the SC's mission

Moreover, Mikasa and Levi are Ackermans, the most "free" despite the Ackermans are slaves rhetoric- unaffected by the Founder's influence & able to wield the power of the titans but not bound by the curse of Ymir

#3 Payoff

It also is very meaningful for each characters' arc and pays off some kind of running theme for them to participate in this specific moment, either because it's killing Eren or because it led to the end of the Cure of Ymir (aka the titan threat)

Mikasa

It's the culmination of overcoming her childhood trauma that led her to be so overprotective of Eren as well as accepting that losses in life are inevitable and we can't go back or get back what was lost (childhood innocence and home)

We all must move forward

Also Mikasa is supported by Armin and Levi, which in turn I think reflects the growth into her alignment with-

Armin's more "globalist" POV vs Eren as Isayama discussed

Growing into the Survey Corps mission that Levi represents & that she initially only joined to protect Eren

There's other reasons why Armin and Levi supporting Mikasa is poetic for Mikasa's character/arc, but since @oldsouleunoia has already said it so well, I'll include this here:

Armin

He's grappled with this idea of those who can't throw away anything can never enact change & claims he's a coward, but Armin finds the strength to let go of "naive hopes" of saving Eren to fight for what he believes in

Levi

His arc centers on making the Survey Corps' sacrifices have meaning- which he ties to ending the titans (his goal) in his intro & later questions the sacrifices for Eren after Eren goes rogue- and vowed early on to "put Eren down" if he ever betrayed them (the Survey Corps)

Bookends

The full circle feeling with the Ackermans- they began serving the Founding Titan as bodyguards and later were persecuted to near extinction because they opposed the Founding Titan’s holder’s will that would doom many-
And now here the last of the Ackermans once more

Furthermore, this also feels like the culmination of EMA's hopes and dreams, to explore the outside world as shared by Armin/Eren and return home/go back for Mikasa, as witnessed by Levi- who is very much impacted by this moment, recalling it as late as 136

Lastly, the first chapter centers on EMA's childhood home attacked by titans, discussing the Survey Corps & going beyond the walls vs. the climax of EMA clashing EMA & the most featured OG Survey Corps member in the outside world ending the titans & achieving what they fought for