Thread by @whofavoredfire

Armin Arlert: Conflicting Lessons

Thread analyzing Armin's dynamics with Erwin and Levi and the antithetical lessons he learns from each

#aotmangaspoilers

Armin has dynamics with both Erwin & Levi that have important roles in his arc as he learns to see the value in himself and gain confidence

These dynamics and "mentorship" are antithetical to each other & serve to set up Armin's inner conflict that he must resolve for his arc

Erwin's Non-Mentorship

Armin & Erwin have a fascinating dynamic; Erwin empowers Armin to lead & listens to his POV while Armin greatly admires Erwin & thinks of him as inspiration multiple times

This seems like the obvious makings of a mentor-mentee relationship, but it's not

While Erwin and Armin have strategic mindsets & other base similarities that could've led there, they don't develop a personal bond; Erwin leverages & believes in him as a soldier with value & Armin reveres Erwin's image

But neither of them are connected on a more personal level

Partially because they don't have a personal bond, Armin doesn't actually understand Erwin well at all

Armin has something of arc words, inspired by Erwin & that Armin himself thinks back to with his mind's image of Erwin throughout the series, from the FT arc to the Rumbling:

But the irony here is Armin is inspired by the idea of Erwin, not Erwin himself.

While Erwin was completely capable of understanding the necessity of sacrifices to advance the cause and also action on these hard calls, he struggled to give up what actually mattered to him most

Erwin's character conflict is rooted in secretly having this personal, selfish dream that conflicted with his "inspirational leader" image-as his dream with his father is what he viewed as most important, what he was enslaved to

Before the charge, even as Erwin identified the right course of action and wanted to make that choice, he couldn't quite bring himself to because it meant throwing away his dream, so he reached out to Levi for help because Erwin wasn't devoid of personal desires that he clung to

The "lesson" that Armin learns from Erwin is neither true to Erwin nor taught by him to Armin directly; Armin's image of Erwin is what drives him, but crucially, as Armin didn't really know him, it's this image of an emotionless, almost inhuman, being rather than the man himself

As he feels he failed to act on his own instincts- like suspecting the truth of Annie's identity in the FT arc & Eren's intentions in WfP, but hesitating on actioning on that because of his personal feelings- he increasingly believes in this need to give up more of himself

Armin takes this to mean he needs to throw away his idealism, humanity, himself- like this perfect image of Erwin he has in his mind

But Erwin was only ever able to find the strength to give up his own wants through his connection to Levi (& the Scouts' idealistic mission)

Moreover, as RtS shows, Armin was always a strong tactician capable of laying everything on the line to get an edge in an otherwise lost battle, his fight with Eren vs. Bertolt demonstrates that clearly

What Armin needed to learn to grow was trust in his own instincts and self

But because this image of Erwin is so perfect, Armin agonizes over reaching it & thinking he needs to "replace" Erwin following serumbowl

But Erwin couldn't even match this image Armin's created- no human could

And regardless bringing Armin back was never about becoming Erwin

Levi's Mentorship

While the others discuss this idea, Levi sees Armin's upset and cuts in to make it clear: Armin's not replacing Erwin, but he can also make an impact going forward with his own power and choices, so he needs to find a path for himself to make regrets impossible

Levi's famous adage of "no regrets" isn't about perfect choices or outcomes, it's about focusing on what you can still change, the future, and accepting the past -

To focus forward as opposed to dwelling on what-could-have-beens

This isn't even the first time Levi's said this to Armin when he was upset and dwelling on choices already made

Levi's mentorship pushes Armin to find a path for himself and accept his strengths and what he's done, to embrace himself as he is:

"Accept who you've become"

In that same conversation, while not denying the weight of the choice, Levi ensures that Armin sees the benefit of what he's done and hears that Levi is "grateful" and knows he's "smart"; he doesn't let Armin condemn himself and twist his own choices into a self-loathing spiral

Both times Levi says this to Armin, it's in direct response to Armin visibly becoming upset and self-loathing

In contrast to the lessons Armin infers from his image of Erwin, Levi's words are based on an understanding of what Armin needed to hear then and personal connection

And when Armin starts to spiral about being the wrong choice after Floch's words, Eren in response shares back Levi's own lessons to him on how no one can know the future, so who's to say whether (only) Erwin and not Armin can get them out of this mess everyone's in?

Notably, Levi's mentality of accepting you can't know the outcome of a choice and moving forward is similar to what Armin says to Jean here ↓

Armin's smart enough to appreciate the logic of this but he can't apply it to himself because of his own self-doubt and inner conflict

His Arc's End

All of this is key to Armin's arc as someone who lacks self-confidence, the ability to see his own value/trust himself, & tortures himself over survivor's guilt

Especially post-time skip, he fixates on the past, the idea of if-only Erwin were chosen instead of him

That's why 136 has a purposeful contrast of Levi connecting Armin to Erwin (& the other Scouts) in the real way it matters, not by being "Erwin" but looking toward an idealistic future, reaffirming his choice in serumbowl vs. Armin's self-confidence at rock bottom before the turn

Armin's recognition of the preciousness of his own life's experience irrespective of accomplishment ties to the message everyone's special for having been born

Embracing his humanity & the value of his personal connections here, not casting them aside, is how he connects to Zeke

It's also why Armin "surpassing" Erwin is never framed as part of his arc

Armin didn't need to justify his own life like he thought by being "useful" or "Erwin", his life had meaning and was precious just for having been born- and moments like running to the tree on the hill

The closure of Armin's arc leads him to accepting the person who he is (as Levi once said to him), finding value and confidence in that, rather than chasing the image of an "Erwin" who didn't exist to find his own value as Armin and a forward-facing path of no regrets