isn’t this the entire point though?

Eh? Felt like the entire point was him breaking out of that and not "being a slave to freedom" or whatever. Kind of like when Erwin choose to take his final stand rather than pursue his own personal goals. I know Kenny was the one to say "Everyone's a slave to something" but I felt like that was also the crazed but somewhat sesible PoV of a deranged megalomaniacal killer
I felt that the ending was kind of a somewhat successful pivot into that type of theme that worked but I think wasn't "right" like a puzzle peice that "fits"but "doesn't go there."

his entire life he has been reaching for freedom.

And that's kind of my reason why.
We saw how he saved that kid he was just gonna off later so it's not like he was heartless for the world or even the Eldians (the blamed the island Eldians anyways) and he did try peace talks for 4 years too. The 50 year plan was risky and would've turned Eren into a mini King Fritz and contradict his whole "sins of/surpassing the father" them with Historia and the euthansia plan would've denied his people's right to life and contradicted his mother's "special because born" ideal.

Armin and Hange couldn't come up with any plans and Marley and the rest of the world as invading at the present moment. Eren doesn't trust himself while trusting others instead and Levi Squad get's stomped. But he does the opposite with in the cave and they stop Rod. He gives up and kisses Mikasa and every dies. He doesn't stop fighting no matter how it seems like "nothing's changed" and he and everyone else survives.
Eren already said he didn't believe in a common enemy uniting humanity because it too optimistic and simplistic, given that the titans didn't unify humanity within the walls in the Trost arc. In the Uprising arc Eren along with Jean, Sasha and Connie were all horrified at Armin's jokingly suggest plan to let titans in the wall, let the Miltiary Police take the fall and make the Survey Corps look good at the potential cost of innocent lives.
So there's no reason why Eren would just do the Rumbling expecting to be stopped but not knowing if he was going to be but also knowing it was 80% but also just wanting to kill and possibly doom the rest of the world without knowing why. Because that makes sense I guess.

The Rumbling was ultimately the most extreme act of "self-defense" and Eren had every reason to go through with it to the end narratively speaking. He cared for his people and his primary goal was to end the current circle of voilence and hatred and hopefully live long lives with his friends if possible but considering Sasha, we know what his choice was.
I thought that the whole metaphor for things being in their rightful place with the Armored Titan defending and the Attack Titan attacking kind of symbolized what Eren's roll in the story had become. I just feel that there was a thematic pivot into what his character

he finally has the power to choose and be free he chooses to enslave his own past

This is essentially what happened yes. I just don't think it's how it was supposed to be. Pathes didn't come off like "time travel" per se but more like just "time shenanagans" in actuality. The current user of the Attack Titan could send memories to their past self and previous inheritors in the form of a 3D space built by pathes. Eren had to stand behind his past father while looking at current Zeke in front of him in order for his past father to even see him.
That felt like clever writing. But having the ability to make the titan that ate his mom not just eat Bertolt felt like it was introducing a potential split or overwritten timeline through implication. Not a deterministic singular timeline in which all events that had already taken place were set up to unfold regardless of "time shenanagan" interveining. Not that it would've mattered since the truthes Eren had discovered and Grisha dooming everyone (and potential the advantageous postion Eren would be in the future) by not finishing what he started wouldn't have been what the current Eren would've wanted anyway.
On top that even Zeke brought up that despite Grisha telling him to stop Eren, He still wound up giving Eren the Attack Titan so there must've been something Eren had yet to show him that convinced him to which I don't remember that plot thread having much of a follow-up. (Unless it was implied to be the same thing Eren showed his friends last, I guess.)

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Pub: 05 Dec 2025 01:54 UTC

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