AOT 137 MANGA SPOILERS

There’s definitely a lot to unpack here and I’m still unsure about certain things.

In saying that though I really liked the chapter so I’m going to break it down the best I can.

Thread below #aotchapter137

First off, the dialogue between Armin and Zeke was just masterclass and it really hit home. Life feels completely meaningless a lot of the time, but it’s the small moments that make it worth living, no matter how trivial they are. And I think that’s a really beautiful message

For Armin the leaf signifies the bond between his friends and the memories they shared together, the moments that made life worth living. For Zeke it appears as a baseball and being able to play catch with Ksaver represents the things he never got from Grisha. The special moments

It might all be completely meaningless in the end, but it’s these moments, these memories that we keep close to our hearts, because it gives us a reason to exist in a meaningless world.

Zeke willingly giving his life to give others the opportunity to experience their own precious moments is really touching and honestly he’s moved up in my favourites. I can’t get over how beautiful this dialogue is and just how relatable it all is.

I would have preferred just a tad bit more buildup to it, but it was nothing that takes away from just how amazing this moment was.

Thank you Isayama for creating such an an amazing character, with an equally amazing end

Now let’s move on to Ymir which is something that I was really looking forward to talking about. I truly believe that Ymir is a fascinating character despite not speaking a single word. The way that Isayama frames her scenes are so impactful and just full of thematic work

I’ve seen some people ask why Ymir didn’t use her new powers to turn on King Fritz and the answer is that she simply wanted to be loved (imo). That’s why she did all of his bidding. The reason Eren understood that and Zeke didn’t is, because he was never shown the love Eren was

She waited so long just to be seen as a human and to feel loved by someone. Even if it’s not romantic, Eren’s words are clearly what she wanted to hear for so long and he gave her the opportunity to free herself from the fate she was bound to

I hope this gets expanded on, but Ymir making it so that every Eldian is connected to her, just so that she isn’t completely lonely (this is how I interpret it) is honestly pretty sad. Also, Maybe she saved Zeke in 115, because it was important in getting what she wanted?

Now the question I have is, who’s side is Ymir on? Did she see the struggles of the alliance and change her mind? Or does she simply recognise the struggles of the alliance, but is willing to fight them anyway? I definitely need the next chapter ASAP to know how I feel overall

Actually there is one more thing I can add to this. This preview says, ““A girl has a dream. She dreams of a world free from curses and fate.” Like I said, I need this to be expanded on, but like the S2 ending shows, the curse is broken. So something big is going to happen

When I first read the leaks I was really unsure about this, but Levi’s look really gives me the feeling that this is going to be expanded upon. This doesn’t look like the face of one who feels satisfied/fulfilled. And him killing Zeke might even have some repercussions

It’s been foreshadowed since chapter 85 that shifters don’t die after death, and this chapter went as far as saying that it’s not just shifters, but ALL Eldians. We can deduce that every subject of Ymir that was born after her death, ended up like her eventually. Trapped in Paths

To reiterate, Zeke didn’t resurrect anyone. All he did was wake up the Eldians in the paths + gave some of the Titans Ymir created their ‘will’ back (Temporarily ofc).

Just to touch on this a little more though. I believe this also clears up why Ymir was able to save Zeke. Firstly, the way that their deaths are shown is so similar. And the way that both Zeke and Ymir (freckles) experience paths is basically identical

From what I can tell. Being consumed by one of Ymir’s titans, can bring you directly into the Paths, but there’s a small divide here. You physical body remains in the world of the living, and I guess you could say your ‘consciousness’, is transported to the paths, as seen here

Armin’s real body is inside the titans mouth and Zeke’s is inside the Titan. But this allows them to be transported to the paths dimension. So there’s two ways of interpreting this. Either Ymir saved Zeke before he completely died OR she was able to resurrect him

Because every Eldian that dies ends up in the paths and they exist there. Also, Ymir rebuilt Eren’s body in the paths like she did Zeke’s after he was seconds away from dying. Which makes me believe that she did in fact save both before they died. (Plz add on to this if you can)

The reason Paths is so tricky to follow is, because none of our characters really know how it works. Which ofc does allow Isayama to twist it in any way he wants, but things have been pretty consistent from the start and there’s plenty of hints that less us put things together

I do have some questions though. Why did the rumbling stop when Zeke died? Wasn’t the point of Eren freeing Ymir that SHE was the one to choose how the power is used? He was the key for the rumbling to start, but Dina was also the key and even after she died the order didn’t stop

In fact, Eren was still able to use the power for a brief moment after that. Need this to be expanded on for sure, because imo the rumbling stopping like that contradicts several moments before where the founder was used.

Zeke was necessary to get into the paths, but Ymir is the one who ultimately has the power. Eren told her to use the power any way she wanted, whether it was for him or against him. Did she change sides? But if she did, why not stop it herself? Why the need to kill Zeke?

I need 138 to to expand on certain things, because my rating for this chapter could go down if things aren’t addressed. For one, how did the alliance fight literal gods, but no one died? The alliance felt invincible the last 3 chapters and it’s a shame because things should be

More tense than ever. Did Eren or Ymir simply allow them to win? But if that’s the case, why were there so many fake outs in 135? Ah I need answers, because rn this battle really was TOO perfect for the alliance. 8.5/10, could go up or down depending on the next 2 chapters