Chapter 125 of Attack on Titan set up a lot of plot points to be resolved before the story goes into the final battle.
I am now sure that we are in the prelude to the big finale, a calm before the storm if you will.
Although, given that the Rumbling is currently happening, I feel like calling the current situation calm would be the understatement of the century.
In any case, if my belief that the manga will end at Chapter 134 is correct, then the next few chapters will spend most of their time wrapping up certain plot points and character arcs.
We will definitely see this with whatever way the plot point that my first question is about concludes.
How will Jean and Mikasa take down Floch?
“Sunset” proved my prediction that Floch arrested all of the volunteers to stop them from rising up in the aftermath of the Rumbling to be correct.
Thankfully, though, my theory that he would try to execute them all turned out to be wrong.
Still, Floch needs to be taken down and it looks like Jean and Mikasa are being set up to do that.
Jean has been really conflicted since the Rumbling started, trying to convince himself that the fighting is over, while being disturbed by the injustice Floch commits against the volunteers.
As for Mikasa, she has also been struggling a lot with what to do now that the Rumbling has happened and that she no longer understands Eren anymore.
However, both look set to emerge from their states of indecision in an effort to take Floch down.
Jean has had a lot of conflict with Floch previously so it would make sense for him to be involved and, as for Mikasa, Armin told her to think for herself and stopping Floch is the perfect scenario for her to do that.
I just hope that neither of them die in the attempt.
I think Mikasa is safe but Jean defeating Floch, who represents what he could have become, could be the conclusion of his character arc, resulting in his death.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope this doesn’t happen.
Will Hange and Levi team up with Pieck and Magath?
Levi fans everywhere rejoiced when humanity’s strongest soldier himself was revealed to be alive as the cliffhanger of Chapter 125.
Having saved his life, Hange has dragged his unconscious body on a horse to the outskirts of Shiganshina where they meet Pieck and Magath who Hange engages in conversation with.
It will be very interesting to see how these four characters interact because they are meeting for the first time but the outcome of this meeting is anyone’s guess.
Some has suggested that Hange could find a way to feed Pieck to Levi but I am against this for multiple reasons.
For one thing, we don’t even know if Ackermans can become Titans.
Not only this but I would rather see Levi struggle with his injures than become a Titan Shifter, and Pieck being fed to him really does not tie into her arc.
The only Titan Shifter I can see being fed to Levi would be Zeke because it would resolve their conflict but we don’t have any indication of where Zeke is yet.
Therefore, I think it is more likely that Hange will make an alliance with Pieck and Magath in an attempt to stop the Rumbling.
However, I just want to say that this does not mean a Code Geass ending.
Honestly, I have been against that being the ending for Attack on Titan ever since it was first theorized.
But I am not against the Scouts and Warriors teaming up for an attempt to stop Eren.
I just hope that it does not end with it being revealed that Eren’s plan was to become an enemy to unite the world because that would just not work in this story’s context.
In any case, I am excited to see how the four characters will interact in Chapter 126.
Does Falco have Ymir’s memories?
Another big plot point that continued in Chapter 125, is Connie taking Falco to feed him to his mother so she can be revived.
As I have said in previous predictions posts, I do not believe that Connie will succeed in feeding Falco to Mrs Springer and that Armin and Gabi will most likely find a way to talk him out of it.
However, what I do believe is that Falco will see Ymir’s memories in Chapter 126.
Isayama seemed to be hinting that Falco had them when he thought that Connie looked familiar.
Some have speculated that Falco just recognized Connie from the airship when Sasha was killed but I think him having Ymir’s memories is more likely because of the plot significance it could have.
I think right as the two reach Connie’s village and Falco sees Mrs Springer, he will experience one of Ymir’s memories.
And not just any memory, but the one from Utgard Castle where Ymir laughed at Connie for thinking that his mother was a Titan to distract him from the painful truth.
This would both make Falco realise he is now a Titan Shifter because he is seeing someone’s memories, and also make him realise that Connie plans to feed him to his Titanized mother.
However, once Falco realizes he inadvertently killed his brother, Colt, when he transformed, I actually see him deciding to allow Connie to kill him out of guilt.
But, like I said, I think Connie will have second thoughts or be stopped by Armin and Gabi because I don’t see the point in Falco dying here.
Besides, if Falco does experience Ymir’s memories, it sets him up for another big plot point; meeting Historia who I believe is in Ragako.
Why I think Historia will be in Ragako.
With Attack on Titan supposedly in its last prelude before the final battle, I think this would be the perfect time to reintroduce Historia to the plot.
And what better way to do that than for her to be in hiding at Ragako village?
Now, you might be wondering why she would be hiding out there because of the Titan but that is why I think she probably is there.
No one in their right mind would put the queen near a dangerous Titan and it is this thought that would keep people from suspecting Ragako.
However, since the Titan cannot move, it poses as no threat to Historia, so the village serves as both a safe place for Historia to hide and a place that no one would expect her to be.
Also, Historia being in Ragako village would be perfect for the plot because she could interact with Falco, who might have Ymir’s memories.
This could give Historia closure and also motivate her to name her child after Ymir.
And if her child really will be the reincarnation of Ymir Fritz, like I think, then this moment will have huge plot significance.
Speaking of the child, Historia showing up here would also be a good point for Isayama to reveal exactly what the hell is going on with her baby and how Eren is involved.
We know from the memory flash in Chapter 120 that he met with Historia and I really hope we get to see that interaction soon.
Is Eren really planning to destroy the world?
After reading Chapter 122, I was certain that Eren’s plan is to destroy the world with the Rumbling.
However, each following chapter has raised my doubts about this and I am now wondering if Eren has some alternate plan that only he knows about.
One of the biggest questions about Eren’s supposed plan is that, if he is trying to destroy the world, why would he announce this to all Eldians, including the ones in Marley and other countries in the world?
Wouldn’t this just allow these Eldians to warn their captors of the oncoming apocalypse and give them time to prepare?
Unless, of course, Eren wanted them to hear this message so they would act.
In Chapter 125, Annie’s father was one of the many Eldians in Liberio who tried to convince a group of Marleyan guards that the Rumbling had been activated.
However, because of the racist beliefs of the Marleyans, Mr Leonhart and the other Eldians were placed under arrest, causing Mr Leonhart to fight back, supposedly starting an uprising in the internment zone.
Perhaps this is also happening in other internment zones around the world, as the Eldians panic about the Rumbling and their captors not listening to them.
If this is what is happening then Eren may have sent out his warning to motivate the Eldians to fight against their oppressors.
Maybe this was so there would be too much chaos for the world to stop the Rumbling or maybe Eren wants to help the Eldians by doing this, in which case his plan is something other than destroying the world.
Again, I hope this is not Eren pulling a Lelouch, I would much rather his plan be something more original and actually make sense in the context of Attack on Titan’s world.
An idea for a tragic ending.
Back in Chapter 110, when Darius Zachary was assassinated, a crowd of Eldians were shown chanting, “devote your hearts!”
And so a phrase that was once meant to inspire hope for humanity’s survival was turned into a fanatical slogan.
However, until the most recent chapter, this was not brought up again so I thought Isayama may have forgotten about it.
Then, in “Sunset”, we saw these fanatics again, cheering on Eren, despite him killing some of their own people by unleashing the Rumbling.
But, instead of everyone present being fully on board, many citizens who had lost loved ones were disgusted by Eren’s actions and argued with those in support of him, almost starting a riot.
There were other signs of division in Chapter 125, like when Keith told the recruits to act like they supported the Yeagerists but to never lose sight of themselves.
All of this points towards a possible way for the story to end that has tragic implications.
My new theory is that, whether or not the Rumbling actually destroys most of the world, the cycle of hatred against the Eldians will end.
However, this does not mean the cycle of hatred ends, it is merely redirected to something else.
Instead of it being Eldians against the rest of the world, by the end of the story it will be those who support what Eren did vs those who don’t.
So, while the Eldians are now free from racial discrimination, ideological discrimination grips the world and threatens to tear it apart once more.
This could be the tragic ending for Attack on Titan.
Eren frees all of his people from persecution, only to inadvertently start a new cycle of hatred and persecution based off people’s opinions and beliefs.
This would create a bittersweet finale that speaks to our current world on a thematic level as cycles of hatred regarding things like race and politics are constantly regurgitated.
And, even if this is not where the obvious ideological differences people in the series are having leads, it will be interesting to see where this plot point goes.
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