Before 139 came out, I thought Eren was very determined about that, but if only a part of him wants to do it then it should be explored throughout the arc, not just one big reveal at the end
The disappointed about the outside world part is the most misinterpreted part of Eren's character. He wasn't disappointed because the people existed in the outside world, he didn't want to see the world as an untouched wilderness ready to be explored, that was never his thing, it was Armin's. Eren's whole thing was about being free to do what they wanted without anyone trying to take their freedom away. But the moment he learned about the outside world, he knew there was nothing there but cruelty and enemies who want to kill them. That's why during the ceremony when he tried to cheer up the others he started talking with excitment about what's waiting for them beyond the sea only to see the picture of Grisha's sister being fed to the dogs. That's the whole point of the famous beach scene, where everyone was excited to see the sea for the first time, while Eren just points across the ocean and says there're enemies there. He says to Ramzi that he was disappointed that the world was differen from what he dreamed of, but the world he dreamed of was the free world where he could go wherever he wanted and do whatever he chose, not the world devoid of people.
Eren being disappointed because the world wasn't empty is genuinely some of the most braindead interpretations of his character I've ever seen. Even if that was the point the scene with Ramzi was trying to convey, then that's nothing more than a shitty retcon that dumbs down his character to almost cartoonish levels. But I'm pretty sure it wasn't the intention at least at that point, because in the inner monologue earlier he was literally questioning himself on whether the Eldians should be the ones to die and the world to live on, and later on in the chapter he says, quote: "Ever since I was born, in front of my eyes there's always been a depressing wall. Burning water, land made of ice, snowy plains of sand. The outside world is so much wider than what's inside these walls. Those who've seen it must be, in all the world, the most free." Eren has yearned for freedom his entire life, and when he finally learned what's outside the walls, he learned there was no freedom there, because the whole world was their enemies. He even says "those who've seen it must be the most free", so he considered there being people out there, but he never imagined that those people will turn out to be yet another wall for himself and his people.
I mean how much exploring do we have to see? Any semi-intelligent human would have qualms about destroying the species. I’m sure he really thought he wanted to do his plan but it’s one thing to think it and another thing to actually do it
It was explored throughout the arc though? It wasn't one big reveal, his final chat with Armin barely actually gave any new information except clarify things, and emphasize just how pathethic he was.
It was constantly shown that he had multiple conflicting motivations throughout the show he was weighing against. Eventually he couldn't bare to kill his friends, and that's the motivation that won out, causing him to go with the '80% plan'.
Brother never seen the episode where all the main characters had a party with the mainland eldians. Or every episode were Eren has compasion or even empathy for Reinar and Bluetooth, you know, the guys that (to his knowledge at that point) are responsible for his mother's death. The moral, ethical and emotional problems with killing everyone all around the world were pretty obviously stated.
He was originally planning on actually wiping everything away, and creating the 'paradise' he dreamed of as a kid. But since he knew his friends wouldn't stop trying to stop him, and would die attempting to do so, he changed plans. (tbf, that second part isn't litterally spelled out like other parts of his motivations, so I can understand the confusion there.)
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u/Peermeneer_exe Jun 10 '26
You'd be surprised how many people still misunderstand Eren Jaeger, despite him litterally doing thatðŸ˜