WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 20 ofAttack on Titan: The Final Season, “Memories of the Future,” now streaming onFunimation,Crunchyroll&Hulu.
Zeke and Eren could meet in the previous episode, but at a significant cost. Now just ahead in Zeke’s arms, due to Gabi’s attack, Eren is all but dead. Though there was enough life in him to journey to the pathways tree to meet Zeke, only the brothers had a falling out.
Zeke shows Eren the past, not wanting to lose his brother to Grisha’s madness. As a way to prove Grisha was brainwashing Eren, the same way he brainwashed Zeke. Only Zeke finds something different in these memories. Instead of the cold, calculating manhe believed Grisha to be, he finds a loving husband and father. What Zeke wrong this entire time, or will Eren finally agree to Zeke’s plan?
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“Memories of the Future”
At the start of this episode, Zeke was confident he would find the monster he made Grisha out to be, but this wasn’t the case. Zeke saw in Eren’s memories a kind man caring for his wife and son. Zeke tries to chop all this up to Grisha, blending in and getting close to the royals so that he can take the Founding Titan. Except during one memory in the basement, Grisha thinks he saw Zeke. He’s so happy until he brushes it off. The son he remembers, the one he looks at in his photo, isn’t a grown man.Here Zeke’s resolve wavers; he’s not sure if Grisha is the man he believes him to be. Moving forward, Eren shows him more.
He shows Zeke that Grisha never brainwashed Eren. He was like this from birth. The evidence is the bodies of the traffickers that Eren and Mikasa killed. Zeke is horrified at the scene before him. His brother isn’t brainwashed. He’s acting on his own accord, even if it means killing those who get in his way. At the end of the episode, a recap of Grisha leaving before the attack on Wall Maria and the events of him taking the Founding Titan to play out, but there is something different.Fans see Grisha recognizing Erenand Zeke’s presence, even his he doesn’t acknowledge them. Grisha also refuses to kill the Riese family, especially the children, but Eren forces Grisha to finish his mission. This is because the Attack Titan’s characteristic is seeing the future, so this even has to happen even if Grisha doesn’t want it to.
The ending to this episode is bitter-sweet. Having emerged from the wreckage, Grisha cries over the deaths of the Riess family and calls out to Eren. Only he doesn’t see Eren. Instead, it’s Zeke standing before him. Rushing to Zeke, Grisha embraces his son, apologizing for everything he had done to Zeke.Finally, Zeke weeps, knowing that everything he believed about his father was wrong. He always loved him and apologized for his mistakes, but this is broken by Eren sending them back to the pathways tree.
Break Down
So much happened in this episode, but fans need to remember a couple of key points. The biggest one is the reveal of the Attack Titan’s power. It was speculated before, but Grisha revealed the truth to Frieda that the Attack Titan can see the memories of future users. This explains why Eren Kruger knew the name of Armin and Mikasa and why Grisha killed the Reiss family, but what is the future? When did Eren see the path he needed to take? Based on the evidence in the episode, it can be assumed that when Erenkissed Historia’s hand inseason 3, he saw all the memories of the Attack Titan, including his from the future.
This would mean that every decision Eren made after this point was based on his future memories. It also means he knew what would happen to Sasha and the others. Having such a burden on his shoulders would drive anyone to the brink of insanity, and that is why he pushed. With the next episode not realizing till Sunday, die-hard fans have a small window to dive into the end of season three, and the first have of season four to look for more clues.
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The second thing fans need to be aware of is the change in Zeke.He no longer sees his fatheras a monster, or at least not a truly evil one. There was some form of closure with the two at the end of the episode. Meaning Zeke might change his mind about his plan. However, Zeke’s view of Eren has changed as well. From the memories, Zeke knows Eren was never brainwashed. Eren’s decisions are his own and are so strong that they force Grisha to kill the Riess family. Being a brilliant man, Zeke has likey concluded that Eren’s ambitions and fighting spirit didn’t just influence Grisha but spans the entire line of Attack Titan holders.
To re-watch previous episodes and to catch future episodes, fans can streamAttack on Titanon Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Funimation.
