Eren Jaeger isn't the hero you thought he was. Honestly, by the time we hit the meat of Attack on Titan season 4 episodes, that realization hits like a Thunder Spear to the chest. It’s messy. It’s loud. It’s devastatingly grey. MAPPA took over the reins from WIT Studio and basically told the audience, "Forget everything you knew about good guys and bad guys."
The shift was jarring for some. People complained about the CGI Titans or the brownish color palette. But if you look past the technical debate, the narrative weight of these final chapters is what actually sticks. We went from a simple story about humans fighting monsters to a dense political thriller about generational trauma and ethnic cleansing. It's a lot to process.
The Marley Arc Changed Everything
The first few Attack on Titan season 4 episodes didn't even feature our main cast. We were stuck in Marley. Suddenly, we’re following Gabi Braun and Falco Grice, kids who have been brainwashed to hate their own race. It was a bold move by Hajime Isayama. He forced us to sympathize with the "enemy" before showing us the horror of Eren’s retaliation.
Episode 64, "Declaration of War," is arguably the peak of the entire series. The tension in that basement between Eren and Reiner? It’s suffocating. You have Willy Tybur giving a theatrical performance on stage above them, while beneath the floorboards, the personification of Marley’s chickens coming home to roost is sitting quietly in the dark. Eren's "I'm the same as you" line wasn't just a cool quote; it was a terrifying admission of nihilism. He acknowledged Reiner's humanity and then proceeded to transform and crush everyone anyway.
Why the Pacing Felt So Different
There’s a reason the final season was split into so many parts. We had "The Final Season," then "Part 2," then "The Final Chapters" Specials. It became a bit of a meme. Fans were joking about "The Final Season: The Actual Final Part: For Real This Time."
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Behind the scenes, the production was a nightmare. MAPPA was under immense pressure. But looking back, that staggered release allowed the weight of the Rumbling to actually sink in. If they had rushed through the Jaegerist uprising or the political maneuvering in Shiganshina, the emotional payoff of the finale wouldn't have landed. We needed to see the slow-motion car crash of the Survey Corps falling apart. Watching Jean and Mikasa struggle with whether or not to stop Eren was the heart of the show.
It wasn't just about action. It was about the loss of innocence.
Armin’s face when he realizes Eren is actually going through with a global genocide says it all. You’ve got these characters who just wanted to see the ocean, and now they’re standing in the blood of millions. It’s dark. Like, really dark.
The Problem With the Jaegerists
Let’s talk about Floch Forster. Most people hated him, but he’s one of the most well-written characters in the later Attack on Titan season 4 episodes. He represents the radicalization that happens when a population is backed into a corner for a century. He’s the shadow of Erwin Smith, without the nobility.
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The show doesn't make it easy. It asks: Is Floch right? If the world wants to kill everyone on your island, is it wrong to want to kill the world first? The series refuses to give a "correct" answer. It just shows you the consequences. Seeing the internal strife within Paradis—the drinking of the wine, the military coup—it felt more like a history documentary than a shonen anime at times.
Animation Shifts and Artistic Choices
The transition from WIT to MAPPA remains a sore spot for some "purists." WIT’s 2D ODM gear scenes were legendary. MAPPA, however, excelled at the scale of the Titans. In Attack on Titan season 4 episodes, the Titans feel like actual heavy machinery. They are slow, terrifying, and destructive.
The use of rotoscoping and 3D models for the Colossal Titans during the Rumbling was a necessity. No studio on Earth could hand-draw thousands of 60-meter giants walking across a continent without everyone ending up in the hospital. The result was a sense of inevitable, mechanical doom. It wasn't "cool" animation; it was oppressive. That was the point.
What People Often Miss About the Ending
The finale, "The Final Chapters: Special 2," sparked a massive debate. The manga ending was controversial, but the anime actually smoothed out some of the dialogue. The conversation between Armin and Eren in the Paths was expanded. It made Eren's pathetic breakdown feel more human. He wasn't a 4D chess master; he was a 19-year-old idiot with the power of a god who didn't know how to fix a broken world.
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People wanted a "heroic" ending or a "dark" ending where Eren wins. Instead, we got a tragic ending where nobody really wins, but humanity gets a brief reset. It’s cynical, sure. But it fits the world Isayama built. The post-credits scene showing the cycle of war starting again thousands of years later? That’s the ultimate gut punch.
It tells us that as long as there are two people left on Earth, they’ll probably find a reason to fight.
Actionable Steps for a Rewatch
If you’re planning to dive back into the Attack on Titan season 4 episodes, don’t just binge them for the fights. The experience is much better if you pay attention to the subtext.
- Watch the eyes. MAPPA put a lot of work into the character's eyes. Eren’s eyes specifically change from "determined" to "dead" as the season progresses.
- Listen to the soundtrack. Kohta Yamamoto and Hiroyuki Sawano did something incredible here. The "Ashes on the Fire" theme is the heartbeat of Marley’s tragedy.
- Compare the perspective. Go back and watch the first episode of Season 1 immediately after watching the Marley invasion. The parallels—the flying debris, the screaming children, the giant shadows—are intentional and haunting.
- Track the Titan powers. Pay close attention to how the War Hammer Titan’s abilities were utilized. It’s one of the most creative fights in the series but happens so fast you might miss the tactical brilliance of Eren’s "nutcracker" move.
The legacy of these episodes isn't just that they finished a popular show. They redefined what a "mainstream" anime can be. It challenged the audience’s morality and refused to provide a happy ending. In an era of predictable sequels, that’s actually pretty rare.