The final season, Attack of Titan, continues to provide a lot of information about the Titans and Eldians as well as their interconnected history.
We also get to see Eren, once idealistic and naive, come to terms with the larger picture.
Episode 5 addresses some of the unanswered questions and poses some more troubling queries.
Let’s just get to it. SPOILERS BELOW
Season 4 Episode 5: Review
Reiner and Eren start to talk as Tybur gets ready to take the stage. Reiner and Eren encourage Falco to stay, even though he wants to go.
Annie’s father and Reiner’s mother, both in the audience, talk about their children’s sacrifices. Reiner believes his daughter is still here today.
A soldier summons the young children and states that Commander Magath asked for them.
Tybur begins his speech by talking about 100 years ago, how the Eldians used the power of the titans to rule.
He then talks about the story of Helos, and how the hero defeated the “villainous King Fritz” to achieve peace.
The king then went to Paradis Island, where many titans were kept.
Pieck and Porco are led by a soldier to a room where they are placed in a hole.
While Tybur talks about their history, Reiner and Eren discuss the motivations behind the actions they took and the events that occurred a few years back.
Tybur eventually reveals the truth to be different from the widely accepted narrative.
Helos is a fabrication since King Fritz was the one who secured peace in the region.
Fritz pledged to stop the war, and this is why the ideology has been passed down from his family.
Is Willy Tybur dead?
Tybur states at the end of his speech that Eren, who currently holds the Founding Titan, is not of royal blood and therefore is not bound to follow King Fritz’s vision.
Tybur describes Eren as a threat to peace and emphasizes how dangerous the protagonist is. Reiner and Eren continue their conversation in the basement.
They talk about Reiner’s attack on the wall. Reiner stated that his mission was to retake Founding Titan and save all of the worlds.
Eren claims that he is also Reiner’s and absolves Marleyan of any guilt. Reiner says he was given a choice.
He chose to continue following Marcel’s death because he wanted Bertolt to see him as a hero. Reiner asks Eren for his life, and it is obvious that he still feels guilty about his actions.
The audience upstairs is moved by Tybur’s speech and cheers him on as he declares war. Then Eren transforms into a titan and moves to eat Tybur.
Naturally, this begs the question: Is Willy dead?
The last scene shows that Tybur is just surrounded by blood and that Eren is eager to eat him. It seems that Tybur has died. First, Eren has no way for him to escape now.
But, we will argue our point with relevant scenes from the manga and anime.
First and foremost, because of the manga, we know Willy Tybur will die and that he anticipated it before he even stepped on the stage.
Tybur accepted his fate, and this was the price he had to pay to declare war on Paradis Island.
Tybur is also comforted by Magath by talking about security risks, but he continues with his plan.
There is an anime scene in which Willy looks back at his family and believes that telling the truth will bring him peace.
Although death is a common theme in anime, few people have the opportunity to consider how they would atone for their lives and sins.
Tybur has made peace with the future, and some parts of him may even consider it necessary.
It is a thrilling scene when Eren transforms into a titan to devour Tybur.
Why does Eren do this?
Eren believes that Tybur, the War Hammer Titan, is his protagonist and that by consuming him Eren will also get those powers.
If you are familiar with the manga, you will know that this is false.
We won’t spoil anything, but we will say that it appears as though the battle is just beginning.
