By now a decent amount of people have seen the premiere of Attack on Titan season 3. The dub and sub played in select theaters all across the world and it premiered yesterday on Crunchyroll/ VRV. Now, if you haven’t seen the premiere or haven’t read the manga and don’t want to be spoiled, STOP READING RIGHT NOW. With that being said, let’s talk about how Attack on Titan season 3 end.
Attack on Titan season 3 begins with a closeup of Eren’s eye, which is very important. This is how the Attack on Titan Season 3 will end. In the first scene of the premiere, we see an older Eren. His hair is longer. He laments about how Armin always wanted to see the ocean, which is a reference that goes all the way back to season one. Eren’s monologue is awfully melancholic though. As we look from behind at his broadened shoulders, Eren states that he always wondered what was beyond the sea. It’s not a happy occasion though. He sounds so…sad. This is important not only in the grand scheme of the season, but the series as well. Eren has always wanted to see the world beyond the walls, so why does he feel so hollow inside?
If you haven’t read the manga, stop now. Seriously. Just stop. There are major spoilers ahead. Unless you want to be spoiled, like me. Curiosity always gets the better of me, although in this case, I have read the manga.
After the Scout Regiment returns to Shiganshina they have their final showdown with Reiner and Bertholdt, the Armor and Colossal Titans. In Shinganshina, they are finally able to reach Eren’s basement. What they find is shocking. Three books change the direction of the series in a way that no one could have imagined.
The three books are called “The Early Life of Grisha Yeager,” “The Extent of Our Knowledge of Titans and Their History,” and “Information About the World Beyond the Walls.” In short, Grisha is an Eldian born in a country named Marley. The Eldians were Titan shifters and Marley invaded their country, causing the great Titan War. The Eldians lost and were subjugated to horrible terrors and are forced to live in ghettos. Grisha married a woman named Dina Fritz, who was of royal descent. They had a child, Zeke Yaeger. Zeke is the Beast Titan and half-brother to Eren.
Eren actually lives on an island named Paradis. King Fritz fled to Paradis and built the walls. People are turned into Titans by Marley and sent to Paradis as weapons. Humanity is not extinct. At some point, Grisha was turned into the Attack Titan. It’s all very complicated, but the true enemy of the series is “Across the Sea” (see the reference to LOST!?).
Season 3 of Attack on Titan will be much more artistic than previous seasons. This is apparent by the flashforward in the first scene. They have to end with this scene to bring the season full circle. They’ve already set it up.
We will see the confrontation with Rod Reiss. We will see the final battle with the Colossal and Armored Titans. We will see what’s in Eren’s basement, which has been the end goal of the series up until this point. So what’s next? A time skip. Eren, Armin, and Mikasa will finally see the ocean. It’s not the monumental ocassion we all thought it would be though. There is still the looming threat of Marley, who wants to destroy Paradis and reclaim the Founding Founding Titan (which Eren is in possession of, aka “the coordinate.”) This is why he was able to control the Titans at the end of season two. Marley is literally coming for Eren.
The opening of season one
The opening of season 3
The last shot will be a close up on his eye, now teel instead of green (which may signify his development, that he has matured), full of determination, to save his people from eventual extinction. It signifies a massive shift in the dynamic in the series and all of our characters will dramatically changed by it, for better or worse.