There is a lot that happens in the latest chapter of Attack on Titan. Some promises are kept, there’s a ton of action, and it ends in uncertainty, which makes Attack on Titan Chapter 137 difficult to review without knowing where the story ends up. We pick up in the PATHS world with Armin and Zeke. The very first page is interesting, as it shows a creature that looks very much like the parasite that is responsible for giving Ymir her powers. It’s all shown with a narration by Zeke, with Zeke stating that in ancient times, creatures would appear and suddenly disappear, but something would always survive, and this eventually lead to life. Zeke and Armin contemplate the meaning of life. Zeke, being the pragmatist that he is, believes that the point of life is merely to reproduce and die; quite depressing. Armin is a stark contrast to Zeke, as the ultimate optimist. He rejects this point of view. He picks up a leaf, which represents memories of Armin, Mikasa, and Eren’s childhood and their time as cadets. He states that the memories he sees don’t have anything to do with reproduction, yet they are not meaningless. While the leaf represents memories of Armin’s time with Eren and Mikasa, the leaf appears to Zeke as a baseball. Zeke comes to understand what Armin means, as he states would rather play catch forever, but that has nothing with reproduction. The dynamic between Zeke and Armin is fascinating because they are stark contrasts of one another. The scene is classic and one of the best character moments in this final arc, if not the series. We haven’t seen Zeke and Armin interact at all, but once they do talk, Isayama strikes gold (as he seems to do quite often.)
Now, this is where it gets very weird. While Zeke looks at the baseball, suddenly, Ksaver appears behind Zeke. He is surrounded by Grisha, Kruger, Ymir (104th), Porco, and Marcel. Both Zeke’s metaphorical and biological parents appear before his eyes. As he now has a more positive view of Grisha, this is quite an emotional moment. Bertholdt appears behind Armin. Because PATHS connects all Eldians, this makes sense; they’re dead, but they still exist. Armin refers to the world of PATHS to the world where there is no death, and that Zeke woke everyone up within that world. Note that this isn’t just every shifter, but every Eldian can be brought back. This will undoubtedly be important in the final two chapters.
Now, the shackles of the physical bodies of the Titan shifters, who up until now have been slaves to the will of the Founding Titan, are broken. Both Zeke and Armin ask them for their help in order to stop the Rumbling. Throughout this arc, I thought that Ymir was the true villain of the story, yet she lets this happen. She’s not involved, but she does not interfere. Perhaps this is a part of Eren’s will, to allow others freedom? He seeks his own freedom, yet he won’t take others’ away from them. We’ll have to see how the last two chapters play out. Who is really in control of the Founding Titan?
Changing gears to the “real” world, Pieck gets her hand cut off and Jean saves her. Reiner is pinned down by spears of the War Hammer Titan and is about to be struck by its giant sickle. Annie is surrounded by Titans. Everything looks as if it’s about to go to hell. Suddenly, Bertholdt’s Titan saves Annie, his former (and maybe still current) crush. Gilliard, Porco, and Ymir also appear, taking care of the Titans attacking Reiner. The odds have suddenly shifted, even if just slightly, to the alliance’s favor. Gabi snipes the Titan who swallowed Armin in the eye, while Mikasa finishes the Titan off, saving Armin from its mouth. As Armin falls, Annie catches him, in a nice character moment for the two of them. Grisha, Kruger, and Kushav then protect Armin and Annie from the horde of Titans surrounding them.
In a somewhat shocking turn of events, Zeke, whose upper body is welded to the Founding Titan, waves to Levi and sacrifices himself in order to stop the Rumbling. He notes what a beautiful day it is to die. We switch to the PATHS world, showing Zeke speaking with Ksaver and Grisha. This is where Armin notices Ymir Fritz in the distance. It’s also when we see Bertholdt. Zeke and Armin ask for the dead to lend them their power. Back in the real world, without hesitation, Levi decapitates Zeke, putting an end to the Rumbling. With the Rumbling stopped, Jean rushes to the head of the Founding Titan and pushes the detonator, causing a detonation and the Founding Titan’s head to separate from its spine. Much like when Eren was decapitated, the spine attempts to re-attach itself to back to the head, but Reiner interferes and stops the spine from re-connecting with the head of the Founding Titan. There is a great shot of Ksaver’s Beast Titan holding Armin, with Bertholdt in the background and Kruger and Grisha on each side of him. The shot is iconic. The chapter ends with the Alliance flying off, with Armin saying his goodbye to Armin as he transforms into the Colossal Titan, going beast mode and creating a nuclear explosion. Armin is finally letting go of the idea of trying to reason with Eren, which is quite a sad and tragic moment for him. This is his best friend. Eren has saved him time and time again, and Armin has done the same for Eren. With that, chapter end.
This chapter was action-packed and had some incredible character moments. It was quite the surprise that the supposedly dead and re-animated Titan shifters actually answered Zeke and Armin’s plea and helped, meaning that they are “alive” and more than just slaves, as Armin points out in PATHS. Even more so, every Eldian resides in PATHS. It is a world without death. Who else may be brought back in these final episodes? The fact that Ymir, the Founder, allows the dead to help the living is interesting. She’s the one who listened to Eren and initiated the Rumbling. Whose side is she on? Or is she just following Eren’s will, not taking away others’ freedom? It feels like the Founder has some kind of motive, given that she led Eren to her. This is confirmed with the titles “To You, 2,000 Years From Now” and “From You, 2,000 Years Ago.” She has to have bigger plans for Eren, and these will have to be revealed in the last two chapters.
Attack on Titan 137 defied all expectations. It was one of the best chapters of the series and had so many great character moments and some of the best action we’ve seen yet. It was top-notch. The return of the dead was completely unexpected. The scenes with Zeke and Armin stand out, as were the scenes with Zeke, Grisha, and Ksaver, as well as Armin and Bertholdt. So much happened, and on paper, it doesn’t sound that great, but the execution was masterful. The only question now is, with the Rumbling stopped, what will happen? What’s the end game? What is Ymir’s goal? We haven’t actually seen Eren in quite a while. When we did see him in the real world, he didn’t appear to be in control of the Rumbling or the Founding Titan, as he was passed out. He had to have seen beyond the current events given the Attack Titan’s powers. What is Eren’s goal? Just the Rumbling? We still don’t know. Isayama has subverted expectations yet again, and with two chapters left, we still have no idea where this is going. But we do know that we’re going to have to prepare ourselves. This isn’t over, by a long shot. Where we head from here is anyone’s guess. But we’re in the end game now…
The journey of Attack on Titan has been nothing short of astounding. It’s been a very special journey that has spanned 12 years, and in just two months, it will come to an end, one way or the other.