At long last, we finally reached the conclusion of Attack on Titan Final Season and it's over. But with so much stuff going on, you might have missed some key elements during the tragic climax. But here we explain the ending in detail, so nobody feels left out, and take a closer look at the price Mikasa has to pay.
After running almost an entire decade, Attack on Titan reached its tragic and devastating end. Those of you who already read the manga, the conclusion is nothing new. But for those who focused entirely on the anime, the ending definitely has a deeper impact.
With the last episode length of around 1h 30 minutes, there is much to take in. Especially with the high quality animation, Mappa served once more. We'll focus on a recap before venturing forth to the ending and how Mikasa saved everyone. Proceed with caution if you haven't watched the episode on Crunchyroll.
Be aware: Major Attack on Titan spoilers ahead
Attack On Titan: What Happened So Far
Before we dive deep into the ending of Attack on Titan Final Season, I'd like to summarize the major key elements, so we're all on the same page:
Season 1
Here we get introduced to Eren, Mikasa and Armin and the titans. A Colossal and Armored Titan invaded Shiganshina District (part of Paradise Island) by forcing their way through Wall Maria, which should protect the humans. After Eren saw his mother get eaten by a Titan, all three joined the 104th Cadet Corps, to ultimately join the Survey Corps and eliminate every Titan.
After five years of training, the humans need to defend themselves once more against the titans. During a fight, Eren tries to rescue Armin and gets eaten alive by a Titan. At this moment, Eren awakens his own Titan powers.
With a Titan among their ranks, most people questioned the loyalty of Eren. He gets placed with the Survery Corps under the watch of Erwin and Levi, which placates those living inside the walls.
The climax is held in Shiganshina District once again, as humanity tries to reclaim this part of the city, as it also holds the key to the secrets behind the Titans. Besides the Colossal and Armored Titan, a Female Titan takes the stage and everything centers around her and Eren.
The Female Titan is Annie, a fellow Corp member and a friend of Eren. Both of them fight inside the walls. Before Annie dies, she uses crystallization to save herself and it's revealed there are multiple gigantic Titans trapped inside the Walls that should keep humanity safe...
Season 2
During the second season, we get a lot of background stories of the other Corp members and also get introduced to an intelligent Beast-like Titan. After this new Titan attacks the Corp member, Ymir reveals she's also a Titan, trying to rescue everyone that got attacked by the Beast Titan.
Not long after the fight, the Armored and Colossal Titan also return once again, revealing they were also part of the Survey Corp: Reiner and Berthold. With Eren completely overwhelmed by his emotion, he tries to kill Reiner and Berthold, which only leads to his kidnapping.
After the Survey Corp catches up to Reiner and Berthold, they finally rescued Eren, only to be faced with many other titans called Abnormals. This made it almost impossible to escape from the clutches of Reiner and Berthold.
After Eren channels his frustration towards the Titans, he has awoken his power to control the Abnormals and send them directly to Reiner and Berthold. Both of them escape with Ymir together, and it's revealed all Titans were humans from the start...
Season 3
After all the battles, Season 3 starts off with a lot of backstories around the outside walls, the tortured Eldians (humans) who can turn into Titans also called Marlians, the Royal Family and Historia – another member of the Survey Corp. It's also thematized how the Titans became to begin with.
It also revealed how Eren got his Titan powers to begin with. It turns out Erens father (Grisha Yaeger) had the power of the Attack Titan, and after he transformed Eren into a small one, Eren ate his father, in order he gets the power of the Attack Titan.
Furthermore, it also turns out the Beast Titan is Erens half-brother, called Zeke Yeager. And he has been ordered by the Marlians of the outside world to capture Eren, in order to control the Titans once again.
The final climax is, again, in Shiganshina, where Commander Erwin loses his life after making his most ambitious speech – I get goosebumps just thinking of it. Levi also almost killed the Beast Titan as well.
At the same time, Eren and Armin fought the Colossal and Armored Titan, which led to Armin being almost burned alive. Eren turns Armin into a smaller Titan, who then eats Berthold – after he transformed back to his human-form – just to become the next Colossal Titan.
At the end of Season 3 the rest of the Survey Corp went outside the walls and reached the place the Marlians call their home...
Season 4
Several years went by, and the former Corp got used to the new world they are in now. Eren, almost completely eaten by hatred, confronts Reiner for his misdoings of the past. After Reiner apologizes for everything he has done wrong Eren transforms into the Attack Titan and kills countless Marlians. Amidst the people was also the Warhammer Titan, whom Eren kills, taking his powers as well.
Beside another fight between the Beast Titan and Levi, it turns out Eren joined forces with Zeke Yaeger, but only to get access to his Royal Blood, in order to get the Founding Titan's power.
Erens ultimate goal was to unleash the countless Colossal Titans in the walls of Paradise Island and destroy the world outside the walls. There are multiple people who support Eren in this genocide, putting all the burden upon Eren's shoulders, but there were still those who opposed Eren's plan.
By the end of the fourth season, those closest to Eren, especially Mikasa and Armin, had to fight Eren himself. He'd almost succeeded in wiping out all Marlians when the final moments took place, with Mikasa taking center stage.
She breaks through to Eren, who is in the mouth of the Attack Titan, and beheads him to end this madness. Just before this happens, Eren confesses Mikasa his true feeling towards her – an absolutely devastating scene...
After Eren is killed by Mikasas hands, all Titans transform back to their former human form. Mikasa returns to Shiganshina to bury Eren's head under the tree where the Anime began in Season 1...
Attack On Titan Final Season: Ending Explained
With the recap of every season completed, we got a general idea how the story unfolded in Attack on Titan. During the ending scenes, we get to see how Mikasa visits Eren countless times, being haunted by the past events. She is also accompanied by a mysterious other man, leading to the suggestion she moved on, with Eren still being close to her heart.
Ultimately, she dies, and her own grave is sitting next to Erens. During the seasons, it was always clear how Mikasa feels towards Eren, and how she deeply loves him. Even after she had to choose between the humans and her true love, she kept him close to her, until she could join him in the afterlife...
As the post-credit scene rolls, the already tragic ending gets another dark twist: Once upon a time, Ymir Fritz fused unintentionally with a spine-like creature under a large tree and became the first titan. And with a boy finding Erens grave, with the spine-like creature resting as well, it suggests history will always repeat itself and a new cycle of terror will rise anew, as humanity tends to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.