Eren’s true colors are revealed in Attack on Titan Season 4 part 2 Episode 4, Zeke gets a rude wake-up call

Episode 4 of Attack on Titan Season 4 part 2 was perhaps the most stunning and informative episode so far in the season. It overshadowed last week’s episode in terms of shock factors, and cleared up some of the more complicated questions from earlier seasons.

MAPPA’s animation has kept up the quality from the earlier episodes, however, the transitions between scenes were a little too abrupt. Although that fits the narrative of Attack on Titan and might be a directorial choice.

[Article contains spoilers from Attack on Titan Season 4 part 2 episode 4]

The truth behind Grisha’s slaughter of the Reiss family revealed in Attack on Titan Season 4 part 2 episode 4

In Attack on Titan season 4 part 2 episode 3, Zeke used his scream to turn the compromised people into Pure Titans, including Falco, who tried to eat Reiner. Porco sacrificed himself to save Reiner, and a horrified Gabi shot Eren’s head clean off, which landed in Zeke’s hand.

Eren had a vision of memories from the past and the future, before he woke up in the World of the Paths. Zeke tricked Eren into revealing his true intentions of betraying Zeke, and put him in chains by commanding Ymir Fritz, the Founder. Zeke forcibly touched their heads and seemingly acquired the powers of the Founding Titan.

Attack on Titan Season 4 part 2 episode 4, episode 79 overall, is titled “Memories of the Future.”

Eren’s Childhood

With the powers of the Founding Titan, Zeke and Eren arrive in the past through the connection of the Paths. While they are essentially specters who are invisible to the common humans and unable to interact with anything, it is later revealed that there are certain exceptions.

Zeke, believing that Eren was still under the influence of their father, planned to show Eren that Grisha never loved his second family, just like he never loved his first family, and was only doing it to realize his Eldian restoration ideals.

To this end, the brothers arrive at the moment of Eren’s birth, and go through subsequent moments of his childhood. Grisha is shown making his connections with the high-ranking officers of Paradis, including Kenny Ackerman.

At this point, Eren admits to Zeke that their father had brainwashed him and he sees things from Zeke’s point of view now. It’s clearly a false confession, and even Zeke doesn’t believe it. Especially, since the next moment shows that Grisha had found the base of the King inside the Wall, but decided against entering it because he truly loved his family.

Zeke’s realization

After seeing his father be affectionate with his second family, and cry in his sleep while apologizing to his eldest son, Zeke understands that Grisha was not the monster he thought he was, which clues him in that Eren was not a product of their father’s propaganda.

In this moment, Grisha wakes up and he almost seems to be able to see Zeke, calling out his name, before deciding that his son could not be the old, bearded man he saw. As Zeke stands dumbfounded, Eren nudges them towards the next moment.

While Zeke asks why Eren followed Grisha’s narrative even when he was not brainwashed, they arrive at the moment when Eren killed two of Mikasa’s kidnappers. Eren tells a horrified Zeke that he did what he did to ensure his own freedom, that he has been this way since he was born.

Eren tells Zeke that it is Zeke who has been enshrouded in their father’s legacy, and Zeke replies that it is that legacy which inspired his Euthanasia plan. Eren takes a moment to watch his younger self wrap his scarf around Mikasa with a pensive expression.

Eren and Zeke watch Grisha finish his diary and leave it for Eren in the basement, before an enthusiastic younger-Eren expresses his desire to be a member of the Survey Corps. Grisha leaves to confront the King within the Walls, Frieda Reiss.

Memories of the future

The scene plays out as it did in Eren’s recollection of Grisha’s memory in Attack on Titan Season 3. Grisha pleaded with Freida, who denies him. Grisha implores that the Attack Titan can see the memories of the titans from the future, and thus he knows what is going to happen. This information shocks Zeke.

Grisha goes to shift in order to kill Frieda, but in the end, he is unable to go through with it because he could not kill children. As Zeke is shocked because that is not how it went before, and they cannot change the past, he is proven wrong when Eren coldly directs their father towards the slaughter, dredging up old hurts and reminding him of how many people he has lost.

At the end of his speech, he utters the infamous words:

“Keep moving forward. Even if you die, even after you die.”

Successfully manipulated, Grisha picks up his knife and stabs himself, letting the events play out as we saw them in Attack on Titan Season 3. It is revealed that Eren saw all of this when he kissed Historia’s hand during their medal ceremony four years ago, and has presumably been preparing himself ever since.

Grisha’s breakdown

After the slaughter, Grisha stumbles through the forest, screaming and sobbing that he killed the children. He asks Eren if he is happy, and comes face to face with Zeke. He can both see and touch Zeke, and emotionally hugs his eldest son. He apologizes, and tells Zeke that he has always loved him.

Zeke clearly has a hard time processing the events, and Grisha tells him that he has seen the future, that nothing will go the way Zeke thinks. Eren is in control now, and Grisha urges his eldest son to stop his youngest.

Zeke is jolted out of the past, only to see Eren looming over him in the World of the Paths, where they started.

Final thoughts

Clearly, Eren has a far more sinister and complex plan in mind. What Attack on Titan Season 4 part 2 episode 4 established is that the series exists in a closed-loop. In a cyclical way, the events of the future influence the events of the past, and vice versa.

The link between the two is the Path, and Eren has clearly been an instigator. This explains how Eren Kruger knew Armin and Mikasa’s names, and also how Eren had the vision at the very beginning of the series.

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The preview for Attack on Titan episode 80, titled “From you, 2000 years ago”, shows Ymir Fritz, Historia Reiss, and Frieda Reiss. The title of the episode is complementary to the title of the very first episode of Attack on Titan, “To You, 2000 years from now”, and seems to complete a cycle.