In my opinion, Chapter 126 is one of the weakest chapters in all of Attack on Titan.
The alliance between the Scouts and the Warriors was incredibly rushed and the entire Connie and Falco subplot was pointless.
Since the manga is set to end this year, having a bad chapter this close to the conclusion is very concerning.
Granted, everything since Chapter 110 has been incredible, if you ask me, so this bad chapter may just be a fluke.
Not only this, but maybe the chapter will be a lot better when it is adapted in the anime through its connection to the other episodes; who knows?
Still, if Chapter 127 is going to be good, I think Hajime Isayama needs to do a few things to get the story back on the right track.
What Needs to Happen.
Usually, I don’t say something needs to happen in a story for it to be good because it can be seen as unreasonable and putting unnecessary expectations on that story.
However, I believe these expectations are entirely warranted this time with the rushed nature of the alliance in the previous chapter.
In order for this alliance to work going forward, there needs to be two things.
1. There needs to be a flashback explaining how the Scouts and Warriors came together and what their plan is.
2. There needs to be tension between the two groups in the alliance.
In Chapter 126 it felt like there were a lot of missing scenes, like Annie’s discussion with Armin and Connie, everyone in this new alliance meeting up and deciding to rescue Yelena and Onyankopon, and the alliance deciding what their plan is.
The second and third missing scenes in particular are needed as flashbacks or there will be huge gaps in the story.
For one thing, we have no idea what the alliance plans to do about Eren and they can’t have decided to work together with no plan because that would be stupid.
Another thing that bothered me about Chapter 126 was the lack of tension.
For example, when Annie ran into Connie and Armin, Connie laughed at her for eating pie when he was shown to be angered by her previous betrayal in Chapter 118.
It felt very out of character for them and the rest of the characters to team up while seemingly forgetting all they have done to each other.
Now, I know the Scouts and the Warriors have to set aside their differences to stop Eren but are they really just going to forget everything?
They have been at war with one another for years for god’s sake.
I want to see Levi angry at Annie for killing his squad, I want to see Jean angry at Reiner and Annie for murdering Marco, I want to see Reiner and Annie angry at Armin for eating Bertholdt.
In order for this alliance to make any sense there needs to be tension between the group and we need an explanation for how they came together and decided their plan.
Let’s hope Isayama does not drop the ball this time and actually delivers on these things.
How Will The Alliance Reach Eren?
And now, for the speculation part of the post.
At the end of Chapter 127, Connie, Armin, Mikasa, Gabi and Falco went to collect Reiner, with Connie telling him it was time to save the world.
This definitely means they are going to take a stand against Eren but the question is how do they reach him since his Titan form is the tallest of them all?
Well, with Kyomi’s plane of course.
In Chapter 109, we see that Kyomi has a plane that uses the Iceburst stone as fuel, which she calls a “flying boat.”
She plans to use it to view the Rumbling experiments, however, now that the Rumbling has been activated to its fullest extent, this plane would be perfect for reaching Eren to try and stop it.
Sure, Kyomi could have fled in it but she said she wants to protect Mikasa so I find it reasonable to assume that she would stay to try and find her.
Mikasa will probably remember this and suggest that use Kyomi’s plane to reach Eren. So, Chapter 127 will most likely include the mad dash to reach the port and take the plane.
What Does Magath Want With Yelena?
Although I did not like Chapter 126, there were some things about it that I enjoyed like the multiple mysteries it set up.
One of these mysteries is why Magath requested that Yelena be rescued from the Yeagerists.
There could be a number of explanations for this, ranging from wanting to punish her for the crimes she committed against his country to thinking she will have some information about Zeke.
Although, maybe these explanations seem a little too simple.
In all honesty, this is one mystery that I actually have no idea where it is going.
But I am interested to see play out.
There is one mystery that I am positive I know the answer to, though.
Who is The Mysterious Man in The Window?
The second big mystery of Chapter 126 is who the man in the window who watched Armin, Annie, Mikasa and the others escape was.
There seem to be three characters that the fandom are predicting it will be, Historia, Zeke or Keith.
While it would be great for it to be Historia, I think we can rule her out pretty quickly.
The figure in the window does not look like a woman, let alone a pregnant one.
That leaves Zeke and Keith and I have to go with Keith here.
The man just doesn’t look like Zeke at all.
He does, however, look a lot like Keith, being bald, having the same facial structure as him, and even appearing to have the same shirt he was wearing in Chapter 125.
Therefore, I am certain that the figure in the window who is watching the alliance escape is Keith Shadis.
So, if it is him, then what role does he have to play in the story going forward?
Well, what with his identity being kept a secret at this stage, I can firmly say that it will undoubtedly be important and I, for one, am looking forward to it.
Shadis has really grown on me as a character in this final arc with his progression from bystander to active participant.
I am sure he will lead the recruits that now follow him in a battle against the Yeagerists for the fate of the island.
Speaking of…
What Will Floch and The Yeagerists do?
In one of the few good scenes of Chapter 126, the alliance rescued Jean, Yelena and Onyankopon from the clutches of the Yeagerists.
They made it appear like the three of them had been eaten but the final panel of the scene suggests that Floch may be onto them.
And if he realizes that Jean and the rest of the 104th, along with Levi and Hange, have teamed up with the Warriors to stop Eren then it is certain that he will lead the Yeagerists in an effort to stop them.
This is why I think we may be getting a few big character deaths pretty soon.
Eren is doing the Rumbling to save his friends so I don’t see him killing them but Floch definitely would.
However, like I said earlier, I feel that Shadis may have a central role in their downfall.
But, as for Floch, I think it would be much more fitting for Jean to be the one to end up killing him because they are two sides of the same coin.
Where are Zeke and Historia?
It seems like every chapter we are wondering when a missing character will show up.
Thankfully, recent chapters have brought back Annie, Levi and Hange but characters like Zeke and Historia are still missing.
Of the two, Zeke’s role in the story is a lot more obvious, I think.
He will most likely show up somewhere in the final battle in a last ditch effort to stop Eren as his father begged him to do and initiate his Euthanasia Plan.
It is through him and Yeagerists fighting the alliance for their own ends that we will see most of the deaths.
We will also probably get a final fight between Zeke and Levi, with Connie also taking part.
Zeke will most likely die, along with Levi, paralleling one of the many battles of Ragnarok in Norse Mythology.
However, while I think I have a good grasp on what Zeke’s role will be, I am currently struggling to think of something for Historia.
I was so sure that she would show up in Chapter 126 but she just didn’t.
Honestly, Historia is in the story so little now that she might as well be the new Annie.
Yet, Isayama keeps bringing her up so she has to be important somehow.
Sadly, I don’t think we can expect to see Historia until Eren’s P.O.V is finally revealed, which should be around the end of the story, where we will learn who the father of her child really is and what role she has in Eren’s plan.
I just hope she can stand out when she does return with how little story there is left.
THE REVIEW MONSTER 