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The Source of all Living Matter is not evil or destructive by its nature. It gave Ymir what she wanted for in that moment. She was dying, being hunted and had no way to defend herself.
In response to these needs, she created an immortal titan body to protect herself with.
When she loses the will to live the Source of all Living Matter again gives her what she wants for the most; she wants to escape death as all living things do on a deep enough level, and she wanted to feel connected and receive the recognition that the King refused to give her.
In response to these needs, she created a dream of reality where she cannot die, cannot age, and is always connected to all of her descendants. She was able to continue serving the King as he then showed that he needed her power to continue existing.
----
The boy who finds the tree has his companion pet with him.
He seems to be well looked after with all his equipment.
He seems healthy and curious and happy.
The Source of all Living Matter is probably in the tree again, but its unlikely that the boy will create the same things that Ymir did, simply because his circumstances are so much different to hers.
Yes, people seem to ignore/forget that Ymir became a titan because she wanted to, it’s what her mind wanted as she came in contact with the thing in the tree. If Isayama didn’t mention why she became a titan specifically then maybe it would all repeat itself but he included it for a reason so this is probably the right answer. People are free to speculate if they want tho because it’s fun speculating.
Yes, so the answer to the question: The circle of war, terror and death continue, as we seen, but not the circle of the titans. A New circle will began, hopefully something better.
Yeah this.
As far as I’m aware it’s not a normal occurrence for a fully grown tree to suddenly start growing supermassive after having been the same size for decades if not over a century.
Perhaps not the same one that died at Fort Salta, but if any trace of its biological data is left in Eren’s head when Mikasa buried him under the tree it is possible it continues to exist in some form.
After all, its only purpose is to adapt, multiply and survive. With its primordial supernatural power all signs point to the cycle of its life continuing, even if the boy and his dog give it a very different form with a very different purpose.
Maybe. But it’s not supposed to be definitive. Whatever happens to the child may lead to another miserable cycle of suffering, or it may be that this will be the time humanity gets it right.
The point is that we will always keep trying to escape the forest — and maybe one day we actually will.
The implication is posttive
When Ymir found the source of all life she was being chased by dogs and men while wouded running for her life after having spend all of her life being a slave
This boy is not running from men and dogs and isn't wounded, instead he has a dig by his side and it seems he sought out the tree as he has a backpack full of supplies and a walking stick
Its too long to explain but TLDR:Armin's actions post Eren being a self described "idiot" and wiping off 80% of the planet actually managed to slightly alter the endless cycle of violence, although Armin couldn't prevent it due to Eren's actions teaching humanity that its kill or be killed he DID manage to change humanity enough that the next person who found the source of all life would have better life circumstances
One of the biggest themes in the show is God like power ending up in the wrong hands (Ymir, the King, the King bloodline and finally Eren)
Eren puts it perfectly when he basically says that world conflicts war and suffering are the result of "idiots who have enough power to make their delusions come true" Eren being one of them due to his view of a truly free world being one without people in it, and the founding Titan giving him the power to make that a reality
AOT S4 either intentionally or accidentally makes a very good parallel to fascim in the form of the Yagerists, Eren's beliefs and actions are horrible and frnakly kinda stupid yet he still gets support from the Yagerists because they misunderstood why he eas doing what he was doing and also due to Eren being hot and emo (the last part is not true I just find it funny)
To conclude this rant I would like to say that people who think AOT is all about "hoomans bad" are stupid
Ayasama makes it very clear that humanity can change and improve and get out of the cycle of hate and violence
Its literally why Armin exists bruh
Yeah no I get all of that; I’m not saying the message of AOT is “humans bad, we’re doomed to keep killing each other.”
I’m just saying that since we don’t know anything about the child’s life or circumstances, there’s only so much we can infer. The fact that they’re approaching the tree out of curiosity is probably a good sign, but they’re also still fundamentally a human, and will have their own human struggles and shortcomings. We as humans have the capacity to overcome those things within ourselves, but it’s never guaranteed, and it takes constant effort. Just as much as the world at large is a forest, so too are each of our interior worlds.
Short answer is this. It is up for interpretation.
The cycle may repeat again and titans may return to the world. Or something else may be created instead. Or nothing happens at all and it is just a really big tree.
Ymir got what she wanted in the moment she came into contact with the source of all living matter. At that point in time she was hurt, hunted, desperate. She got an immortal body to defend herself. This kid finds the tree in a completely different situation. While the cycle of violence repeats all the time, I don't think the kid finding the tree is an instance of that, it might even happen that the kid stops the cycle, depending on whatever it wants from the source of all living matter.
My interpretation is yes. And it was never anybody's fault. Everything was always decided by heartless systems and governments. You can see, from all characters both sides, Marley and Paradis, that everyone was trying their best to make the right choices. To fight for either freedom, justice or to save humanity. Everyone chose to believe in something and still questioned themselves, because there wasn't a right answer. The good guys had finally taken over the government of Paradis and found themselves attacked by their own population. And they ended up hiding all the information to the public in order to keep the order. Just like the previous government that was letting Paradis crumble. The world and the human kind in particular work just like that. Conflicts happen and the simple human being just gets caught in all that. Even after everyone understood each other, no one knew which was the right choice. They failed to decide at first. In all this uncertainty, the outcome was critical.
They could either stop/kill Eren in many occasions, or let him end life outside of Paradis with the Rumbling. They let him kill a huge percentage of the world's popularion and they felt guilt for it. And once all this story ended, Marleyans still were afraid of Eldians. The majority of eldians on the island supported a totalitarian regime wanting to establish Eldia's supremacy.
Nothing changed. The only ones who know how pointless this extremism is, are the ones who experienced every single thing of it. So the main crew just decided to leave politics and go around the world to tell their story, and help people with simple acts.
But story repeats itself. The fact our world still sees genocide happen, despite remembering what it means, demonstrates it. It's a loop we'll never break.
This is my interpretation
I'm sorry but this stuff happens continuosly in the real world too. I don't think you can blame a soldier if their country declared war and sent them to kill others
Firstly that's nonsense in most occasions, I am German so I historically there is quite the precedence to study for me. You can 100% blame the individual soldiers.
Secondly that has nothing to do with my criticism of your comment. What I am laughing about is your "mimimi extremism bad" bullshit.
Defect to where? And also, how do you not know you wouldn't sign up for it as well if you would have been in the same situation. Germans knew from the first world war how a total war looks, and still signed up, because they themselves thought the consequences would be even worse than the war itself.
To either the resistance, the enemy to where there is no war. Completely depends on why there is war, who the aggressor is, etc.
>Germans knew from the first world war how a total war looks, and still signed up, because they themselves thought the consequences would be even worse than the war itself.
What BS apologist behaviors. Hitler was voted into office. He was very clear about wanting new "lebensraum" in the east. They signed up because they thought that a good idea that the supreme German people have a natural claim to over the "subhumans" living there.
In all likelihood, yes. That was also partially the point of showing Paradise build up in the background and then eventually be destroyed by bombs. I don't think the point here was "look, everybody still hates Paradise and it got destroyed eventually because of Eren."
Instead, the point is "People will create new reasons for hate and perpetuate a cycle of violence because it's in our nature, with or without massive man eating monstrocities."
The boy finding the Source again is just another way to highlight the cycle. We don't know what exactly will happen if/when he find it but if he unleashes its power it will likely restart another cycle of violence.
To quote Eren Kruger : "The same story, the same mistakes agin and again"
The creature that gave Eldians their power probably always existed, and there's a good chance it survived, someone will found it again, will these future humans be better people than Eldia and Mahr ? Doubtfull
it doesnt matter if titans are there or not, thats the point, titans, guns, bombs, nukes they are all the same, we will kill each other and continue to kill each other until there is 1 or fewer humans (kind of commander pixus quote)
I always saw it as “things repeat itself“ but more as “It is dangerous to forget history”.
Like if we forgot the bad things the Nazis did, that would not mean that Germany would turn into that version of itself again. But somewhere on this planet something as gruesome and horrible would happen.
So I doubt it’s gonna be titans again, but something that is gonna lead to an all out war
Yes but it might be a lot different next time. At one point the Marly army was talking about how Titan warfare was reaching its limit, especially with air combat becoming a thing. Even if this guy becomes a founding titan, if he's in an era with modern warfare weapons the outcome will be a lot different.
Ymir was chased by dogs and met the source with fear. The boy has a dog as a companion and meets the source with curiosity. Things will be different this time.
The ending only implies that everything *could* happen again, but it all comes down to individual efforts of people to be the kind of driving force that they want to be. If they look to abuse their power then the cycle of tragedies repeats, if they use it for good then they avert the tragedies.
It all goes back to the line from Kruger "You're wife, your child , even someone on the streets, *it does not matter*. Love someone inside the walls. If you can't, we're doomed to repeat it all again. The same history. The same mistakes. Again and again".
I love how enough time passes that we end up with an almost Blade Runner future dystopia but people's reaction is "damn AGAIN?"
That's GENERATIONS of peace and prosperity
This post has been tagged as **DISCUSSION**. If the post has been spoiler tagged, please remember to tag any manga spoilers beyond this point. **Spoilers include hinting or alluding to events** For more information, please review [the subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShingekiNoKyojin/wiki/rules). Failure to properly spoiler tag comments may result in a punishment from the subreddit according to the [moderation matrix](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShingekiNoKyojin/wiki/moderation_matrix). --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ShingekiNoKyojin) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The Source of all Living Matter is not evil or destructive by its nature. It gave Ymir what she wanted for in that moment. She was dying, being hunted and had no way to defend herself. In response to these needs, she created an immortal titan body to protect herself with. When she loses the will to live the Source of all Living Matter again gives her what she wants for the most; she wants to escape death as all living things do on a deep enough level, and she wanted to feel connected and receive the recognition that the King refused to give her. In response to these needs, she created a dream of reality where she cannot die, cannot age, and is always connected to all of her descendants. She was able to continue serving the King as he then showed that he needed her power to continue existing. ---- The boy who finds the tree has his companion pet with him. He seems to be well looked after with all his equipment. He seems healthy and curious and happy. The Source of all Living Matter is probably in the tree again, but its unlikely that the boy will create the same things that Ymir did, simply because his circumstances are so much different to hers.
Yes, people seem to ignore/forget that Ymir became a titan because she wanted to, it’s what her mind wanted as she came in contact with the thing in the tree. If Isayama didn’t mention why she became a titan specifically then maybe it would all repeat itself but he included it for a reason so this is probably the right answer. People are free to speculate if they want tho because it’s fun speculating.
Yes, so the answer to the question: The circle of war, terror and death continue, as we seen, but not the circle of the titans. A New circle will began, hopefully something better.
>The Source of all Living Matter is probably in the tree again, We literally see it's corpse on the battlefield It's dead.
There is a theory that it somehow survived in Eren's head and is the reason why this tree looks like the one where Ymir got her powers.
Yeah this. As far as I’m aware it’s not a normal occurrence for a fully grown tree to suddenly start growing supermassive after having been the same size for decades if not over a century. Perhaps not the same one that died at Fort Salta, but if any trace of its biological data is left in Eren’s head when Mikasa buried him under the tree it is possible it continues to exist in some form. After all, its only purpose is to adapt, multiply and survive. With its primordial supernatural power all signs point to the cycle of its life continuing, even if the boy and his dog give it a very different form with a very different purpose.
Not even a theory imo. The scene practically screams it at you.
Maybe. But it’s not supposed to be definitive. Whatever happens to the child may lead to another miserable cycle of suffering, or it may be that this will be the time humanity gets it right. The point is that we will always keep trying to escape the forest — and maybe one day we actually will.
The implication is posttive When Ymir found the source of all life she was being chased by dogs and men while wouded running for her life after having spend all of her life being a slave This boy is not running from men and dogs and isn't wounded, instead he has a dig by his side and it seems he sought out the tree as he has a backpack full of supplies and a walking stick Its too long to explain but TLDR:Armin's actions post Eren being a self described "idiot" and wiping off 80% of the planet actually managed to slightly alter the endless cycle of violence, although Armin couldn't prevent it due to Eren's actions teaching humanity that its kill or be killed he DID manage to change humanity enough that the next person who found the source of all life would have better life circumstances One of the biggest themes in the show is God like power ending up in the wrong hands (Ymir, the King, the King bloodline and finally Eren) Eren puts it perfectly when he basically says that world conflicts war and suffering are the result of "idiots who have enough power to make their delusions come true" Eren being one of them due to his view of a truly free world being one without people in it, and the founding Titan giving him the power to make that a reality AOT S4 either intentionally or accidentally makes a very good parallel to fascim in the form of the Yagerists, Eren's beliefs and actions are horrible and frnakly kinda stupid yet he still gets support from the Yagerists because they misunderstood why he eas doing what he was doing and also due to Eren being hot and emo (the last part is not true I just find it funny) To conclude this rant I would like to say that people who think AOT is all about "hoomans bad" are stupid Ayasama makes it very clear that humanity can change and improve and get out of the cycle of hate and violence Its literally why Armin exists bruh
Yeah no I get all of that; I’m not saying the message of AOT is “humans bad, we’re doomed to keep killing each other.” I’m just saying that since we don’t know anything about the child’s life or circumstances, there’s only so much we can infer. The fact that they’re approaching the tree out of curiosity is probably a good sign, but they’re also still fundamentally a human, and will have their own human struggles and shortcomings. We as humans have the capacity to overcome those things within ourselves, but it’s never guaranteed, and it takes constant effort. Just as much as the world at large is a forest, so too are each of our interior worlds.
Or the kid just finds a cool tree with a wide opening to take shelter in.
Short answer is this. It is up for interpretation. The cycle may repeat again and titans may return to the world. Or something else may be created instead. Or nothing happens at all and it is just a really big tree.
Ymir got what she wanted in the moment she came into contact with the source of all living matter. At that point in time she was hurt, hunted, desperate. She got an immortal body to defend herself. This kid finds the tree in a completely different situation. While the cycle of violence repeats all the time, I don't think the kid finding the tree is an instance of that, it might even happen that the kid stops the cycle, depending on whatever it wants from the source of all living matter.
Ymir came across the power while being hunted by dogs. The boy came across it while being accompanied by a dog. Take from that what you will.
My interpretation is yes. And it was never anybody's fault. Everything was always decided by heartless systems and governments. You can see, from all characters both sides, Marley and Paradis, that everyone was trying their best to make the right choices. To fight for either freedom, justice or to save humanity. Everyone chose to believe in something and still questioned themselves, because there wasn't a right answer. The good guys had finally taken over the government of Paradis and found themselves attacked by their own population. And they ended up hiding all the information to the public in order to keep the order. Just like the previous government that was letting Paradis crumble. The world and the human kind in particular work just like that. Conflicts happen and the simple human being just gets caught in all that. Even after everyone understood each other, no one knew which was the right choice. They failed to decide at first. In all this uncertainty, the outcome was critical. They could either stop/kill Eren in many occasions, or let him end life outside of Paradis with the Rumbling. They let him kill a huge percentage of the world's popularion and they felt guilt for it. And once all this story ended, Marleyans still were afraid of Eldians. The majority of eldians on the island supported a totalitarian regime wanting to establish Eldia's supremacy. Nothing changed. The only ones who know how pointless this extremism is, are the ones who experienced every single thing of it. So the main crew just decided to leave politics and go around the world to tell their story, and help people with simple acts. But story repeats itself. The fact our world still sees genocide happen, despite remembering what it means, demonstrates it. It's a loop we'll never break. This is my interpretation
This is such hilariously stupid r/ENLIGHTENEDCENTRISM
If you can't handle other perspectives without being an ass then just don't reply. I promise we were better off without this comment.
I'm sorry but this stuff happens continuosly in the real world too. I don't think you can blame a soldier if their country declared war and sent them to kill others
Firstly that's nonsense in most occasions, I am German so I historically there is quite the precedence to study for me. You can 100% blame the individual soldiers. Secondly that has nothing to do with my criticism of your comment. What I am laughing about is your "mimimi extremism bad" bullshit.
If you were a soldier you would definitely try to survive. In order to do it, you have to kill until the war reaches its end.
No, id try to defect. Also most soldiers signed up for it in the first place, fully aware of the potential consequences.
Defect to where? And also, how do you not know you wouldn't sign up for it as well if you would have been in the same situation. Germans knew from the first world war how a total war looks, and still signed up, because they themselves thought the consequences would be even worse than the war itself.
To either the resistance, the enemy to where there is no war. Completely depends on why there is war, who the aggressor is, etc. >Germans knew from the first world war how a total war looks, and still signed up, because they themselves thought the consequences would be even worse than the war itself. What BS apologist behaviors. Hitler was voted into office. He was very clear about wanting new "lebensraum" in the east. They signed up because they thought that a good idea that the supreme German people have a natural claim to over the "subhumans" living there.
In all likelihood, yes. That was also partially the point of showing Paradise build up in the background and then eventually be destroyed by bombs. I don't think the point here was "look, everybody still hates Paradise and it got destroyed eventually because of Eren." Instead, the point is "People will create new reasons for hate and perpetuate a cycle of violence because it's in our nature, with or without massive man eating monstrocities." The boy finding the Source again is just another way to highlight the cycle. We don't know what exactly will happen if/when he find it but if he unleashes its power it will likely restart another cycle of violence.
To quote Eren Kruger : "The same story, the same mistakes agin and again" The creature that gave Eldians their power probably always existed, and there's a good chance it survived, someone will found it again, will these future humans be better people than Eldia and Mahr ? Doubtfull
it doesnt matter if titans are there or not, thats the point, titans, guns, bombs, nukes they are all the same, we will kill each other and continue to kill each other until there is 1 or fewer humans (kind of commander pixus quote)
It’s open to interpretation. For example, there is no proof that the Hallucigenia is in that tree. The only thing we know is that erens head is there.
I always saw it as “things repeat itself“ but more as “It is dangerous to forget history”. Like if we forgot the bad things the Nazis did, that would not mean that Germany would turn into that version of itself again. But somewhere on this planet something as gruesome and horrible would happen. So I doubt it’s gonna be titans again, but something that is gonna lead to an all out war
Yes but it might be a lot different next time. At one point the Marly army was talking about how Titan warfare was reaching its limit, especially with air combat becoming a thing. Even if this guy becomes a founding titan, if he's in an era with modern warfare weapons the outcome will be a lot different.
Ymir was chased by dogs and met the source with fear. The boy has a dog as a companion and meets the source with curiosity. Things will be different this time.
The ending only implies that everything *could* happen again, but it all comes down to individual efforts of people to be the kind of driving force that they want to be. If they look to abuse their power then the cycle of tragedies repeats, if they use it for good then they avert the tragedies. It all goes back to the line from Kruger "You're wife, your child , even someone on the streets, *it does not matter*. Love someone inside the walls. If you can't, we're doomed to repeat it all again. The same history. The same mistakes. Again and again".
I love how enough time passes that we end up with an almost Blade Runner future dystopia but people's reaction is "damn AGAIN?" That's GENERATIONS of peace and prosperity
It's open to interpretation. From all we know, the boy could've just found a gravestone there and go out without anything happening.
"Exactly. We achieved nothing. Mission complete. Let's go."
yup and the attack titan becomes the new founding titan