Chapter 132 was an Attack on Titan chapter that hit really hard emotionally, delivering the tragic death of Hange, oh, and also Floch too, I suppose.
In all seriousness, Hange’s death proved that we really are in the final arc of the story and, right now, the Alliance are on their way to try and stop Eren from destroying the world.
The final battle is almost upon us, meaning the end of the story is also, and, once again, I will try to (and probably fail to) predict what will happen in the next chapter, 133.
Starting with…
Will the Alliance Reach Eren by the end of the Next Chapter?
“Wings of Freedom” ended with the plane that is carrying the Alliance escaping the Rumbling, following Hange’s sacrifice.
So, the question is, “when will they reach Eren?”
Given how quickly it took for the story to get the Alliance on the plane, once they reached Odiha, it only being one chapter, I honestly don’t expect we will have to wait too long to see their confrontation with him.
In all likelihood, we will either have the Alliance catching up with him as the cliffhanger next chapter, or the following one.
Personally, I think Chapter 134 would be a more appropriate point for this to happen because it would end the volume off on one hell of a cliffhanger and also leave the entirety of the last volume to depict the final battle.
Whatever chapter this happens though, I can definitely see that chapter ending just like the final audio, with Armin rushing to Eren using the ODM Gear and screaming his name to get his attention.
But, once the Alliance reach Eren, that raises another question about what will happen.
How Will the Alliance Deal With Eren?
Eren is practically a literal god at this point.
He not only has control of the Founding Titan, and thus all Titans, but he can also physically alter the bodies of all Subjects of Ymir, including the Alliance.
Therefore, I don’t think a fight would go in the Alliance’s favor.
Of course, this is not their plan, at least for now.
Right now, the Alliance’s plan, or at least the Scout part of the Alliance because I doubt Reiner and Pieck would stay true to this plan if it failed, is to talk to Eren in an effort to convince him to stop the Rumbling.
But, I also don’t think that Eren would just be willing to stop.
Like it or not, him and the Alliance are going to come to blows.
I’m not sure if Eren would try to kill any of them, considering that he is doing all of this to keep his friends safe, but we’re still not sure of everything that is going on inside his head.
In any case, if it does come to fighting, Chapter 132 gave the Alliance a small way of doing so, the bombs that the Jaegerists tried to use to blow up the plane.
Armin insisted that they take the bombs with them but is currently unsure if he wants to use them on Eren.
He may have no choice if he wants to save the world, though.
I can see the Alliance using these bombs to attack Eren’s nape in the hope of pulling him out of his gigantic Titan form.
However, given that he is in possession of the Warhammer Titan power, I can see Eren being located elsewhere in the Titan, making the Alliance’s job even harder.
Although, this my be where their trump card comes in.
Will Zeke Show up?
Zeke has been missing from the main story ever since Eren transformed in Chapter 122.
Since then, many have speculated about where he is.
One of the prevailing theories is that he is currently fused with Eren’s massive Titan and is being used to make sure Eren’s connection to royal blood, and thus the Founding Titan powers, stays in place.
Another part of this theory also states that his consciousness is in the Paths Dimension and he is now the one building the Alliance’s Titans in an effort to stop Eren.
However, if Zeke is the one who is keeping Eren’s hold on the Founding Titan power, then the Alliance’s best bet to stop Eren would be to remove Zeke or kill him.
This is where Levi could come in, bringing and end to the rivalry the two have had ever since the Return to Shiganshina Arc.
Another character that could play a role in Zeke’s downfall is Connie, whose fight with the Best Titan was possibly set up in the Uprising Arc, after he learned that Zeke had turned his entire family into Titans.
I can see Levi and Connie teaming up to take down Zeke, which could bring an end to both of their arcs.
Let’s just hope that, if this does happen, then their arcs don’t end with them dying, like Hange did last chapter.
Another option for Zeke’s story going forward though is that he could actually meet up with those in the Alliance who stayed behind and give them the motivation to go to the final battle.
Speaking of…
What Will Happen to Those Who Stayed Behind?
One thing that really concerned me about the story when I read Chapter 132 was that Annie, Gabi, Falco, Yelena, and Kiyomi, five characters who I consider to be far from having their character arcs completed, stayed behind while the rest of the Alliance went to stop Eren.
This disappointed me because I would like all the members of the Alliance to play some role in the finale, and get their chance to shine, and that can’t happen if they stay behind.
Annie still has her relationship with her father to be resolved, it felt like Gabi was being built up for something, Falco just got the Jaw Titan, Yelena’s obsession with Zeke needs to be concluded, and Kiyomi hasn’t done anything substantial except provide the plane.
I feel like these characters need to appear in the finale somehow and Zeke could play a role in that.
Maybe he knows something that those who went to stop Eren don’t and him telling the group that stayed behind this could encourage them to get back into the fight.
This could also be really interesting, considering Zeke’s connection with these characters.
Yelena is completely devoted to Zeke and Falco probably hates Zeke because he deliberately transformed Falco into a Titan, causing him to kill his own brother Colt.
This could lead to more compelling character interactions that we haven’t seen before.
Another viable option that could motivate those left behind to go after the rest of the Allince is the surviving Eldians from Liberio, including Annie’s father.
The last we saw of them, they were leading a revolt to escape the internment zone and flee from the Rumbling.
Maybe they escaped by boat and they will reach Kiyomi’s ship next chapter and Annie can finally reunite with her father.
These surviving Eldians could then convince them all to keep on fighting.
However, even if Annie, Gabi, Falco, Yelen and Kiyomi do decide to go help out the Alliance, how are they going to reach them in time?
I don’t think they could take the ship that far inland and, even if they could, there is now way they could catch up quickly enough.
They would need something that could fly, which leads me to the next theory.
Will Falco Fly?
I know, I know, this sounds extremely far fetched.
Granted, it’s not as far fetched as the theory I brought up in my last predictions post, that Eren could see using birds, but its still pretty out there.
Falco becoming a flying Titan has been speculated ever since Chapter 93, when Calvi asked the other Marleyan officers if they had any flying Titans.
As for Falco himself, he has been linked with birds right from his introduction.
The first time we see him he is deliriously telling a bird to fly away from the battle, his name is extremely similar to Falcon, and even his Titan looks like a bird, beak and all.
So, what if, somehow, Falco finds out that he can make his Titan fly and uses this to carry Annie, Gabi and the others to help the rest of the Alliance fight Eren?
I’ll admit that I always found the idea of Falco flying to be a little too contrived but, now that so many characters are out of the picture and we’re about to enter the final battle, I’d accept any way to get them back in the story, so long as it makes sense.
No matter what happens to these characters though, I hope Isayama can find a way to bring a satisfying end to their arcs, whether they are involved in the final battle or not.
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