What If Eren Had Chosen Peace Over Conflict in AOT’s Final Act?

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home January 18, 2025 2 Views 10 Min Read
What If Eren Had Chosen Peace Over Conflict in AOT’s Final Act?

Summary

  • Eren’s decisions in Attack on Titan led to the catastrophic Rumbling and a moral conundrum for fans.
  • Alternate scenarios explore what could have happened if Eren chose peace over violence, with repercussions.
  • Eren’s extreme actions to protect Paradis Island highlight the complexities of seeking peace in a hostile world.

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The complexity of the moral perspective has one identity in particular—Attack on Titan is well known due to the twisting plots and the main character, Eren Yeager. Eren’s decisions in the final act of this story essentially set the world on a path leading to the start of the Rumbling. This genocidal act that aimed at eradicating human beings outside Paradis Island created confusion for the fans about the right or wrong decisions that they made and the catastrophes that resulted from these decisions. But how would things be if Eren decided to follow another way?

Introducing an additional angle makes for an interesting thought experiment for those viewers who might have thought that Eren might seek out the path of peace, not violence. Was it possible for the story not to have ended up with such a tragic loss? Therefore, what would have become of Paradis Island, the Titans, and the world powers? This is clear; we should discuss two other hypothetical scenarios where Eren stops the Rumbling and looks for the solution for him and the world.

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Choosing Love Over War

A Fragile Peace Through Sacrifice

Eren Yeager in the Attack on Titan Manga

In the second instance, the final aberrant, Eren, begins the Rumbling, which will involve deploying numerous Colossal Titans to wipe out the majority of the world’s population. He is to protect Paradis Island from continued threats of external forces that consider it a threat. Still, Eren goes as far as challenging his friends—Armin, Mikasa, and others—into stopping him. In quite a tragic ending, Mikasa is the one to finally kill Eren and to stop the attack.

Thus, what Eren does, while full of destruction, manages to at least provide Paradis Island with temporary peace. There’s nothing out there except a few groups of people threatening Paradis less but still harboring hatred and suspicion. The ending poses the fans some uncertainty, and they wonder if Eren got what he wanted to do or just delayed the war.

Scenario 1: Eren and Mikasa’s Escape

In an alternate scenario timeline, Eren tells Mikasa that he loves her and decides to run away along with her from the battles and wars. Together, they exist in complete isolation, far from Paradis Island and the remainder of the globe. This path saves millions of people as the rumbling never happened, but it’s not without its own repercussions. That is why Eren had to go to extremes to prevent any kind of threat from coming to the territory of Paradis Island. Marley and other nations that still control the majority of the Titans in the world could invade the island to get their supplies.

In this case, Paradis has no favorable future because it probably suffers from dominant global powers that employ revenge. The happiness that Eren and Mikasa were able to set themselves up for would be quick, and the pain of their homeland would always catch up. Not to mention Paradis probably being wiped out anyway, since there is no real power besides Armin’s Colossal titan to defend it.

Scenario 2: A Truce Built on Fear

Eren

In this other case, Eren threatens the other nations, especially Marley, and the leaders of the world, with the Rumbling. He does not unleash the Colossal Titans but shows what might happen if people keep fighting against Paradis—everyone will die. When faced with such a horrible reality, Marley and those that support it may change their tendencies.

This path could lead to a fragile peace, of sorts, where Marley and Paradis Island don’t continue to attack each other in exchange for the Titans not waking up. However, assuming such an agreement, it would rely a lot on trust—a value that is scarce between both parties. It does make what Eren is doing seem like it will delay some conflicts, while the threat of Rumbling keeps everyone in check. This would also not be without its difficulties, as inclusive lasting peace cannot be bought through the barrel of a gun, although in the short run, this seems to be the general idea.

Eren’s Ultimate Gamble

There’s Always A Way, Sadly Not A Good One

eren and armin

While the two branches give the possibility to see how the attempts at attaining peace in the world of AoT are a precarious endeavor. Eren’s decision to look for an opportunity to either run away or make peace has its consequences. The hatred between Marley and Paradis is too bitter to think of any possibility of achieving endless peace. Without the Rumbling, Paradis would have a hard time defending its territory, and, consequently, its people would be defenseless against the rest of the world.

If You Win, You Live. If You Lose, You Die. If You Don’t Fight, You Can’t Win!

The decision by Eren in the original story is an adaptation to the current situation in a world where survival comes first. However bizarre his methods might be, they show the kind of lengths one might take in order to ensure that your home and family are safe. In any other circumstances, the way to achieve peace is shrouded in losses and ambiguity, which helps explain Eren’s role as a haven for change, constructive or destructive.

The Lessons of Freedom and Sacrifice

The Weight of Freedom

Attack on Titan The LAST ATTACK Visual Cropped-1

As for the main character, Eren Yeager, his actions left fans wondering about the ethical side of the hero and what it could have been. The original ending puts into question tragedy, war, sacrifice, and liberty in a more profound way. While options that have Eren choosing peace do well to entertain the mind through what might have happened if scenarios, it brings to bear the reality that in such a world, peace is far from a walk in the park.

The story of Eren is a sad story showing that free civilization is the price of attempted freedom and that no choice is resultant of the attempt at freedom. As a character who goes to extremes of violence and ends up nearly destroying the world, either through rage or through desperation, Eren’s story is one that begs to be discussed with other fans of the series.

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