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Eren and Cinder: Slaves of Freedom
Many people hate Eren and Cinder to the point that they consider them bad characters and it's one thing to dislike a character and another to be badly written and to be fair, Eren and Cinder aren't bad characters. You might dislike them, very much actually, but one thing doesn't take away the other, they're both well written and I'm writing this because I don't want people to think they're bad characters just because they don't like them.
They both share a strong desire for freedom and in this post I'm going to explore their desire for freedom, why they became obsessed with being free as well as other things they share:
Eren and Cinder suffered since they were children due to situations that were beyond their control. Eren witnessed the destruction of his home and the death of his mother Carla as well as being turned into a titan by his father Grisha and later on he would suffer a series of betrayals and find out that everything bad that happened to him was the product of a war that he did not even know existed and Cinder was mistreated on the farm where she was sheltered until Madame adopted her but this mistreatment went from bad to worse, then Rhodes gives her hope of being free as a huntress but she could not bear the abuse and she kills her abusers and then fights Rhodes and kills him.
Both situations are quite different but the effect it caused on both is practically the same: they hate themselves for their impotence and want to be free because they want to have control of their lives, give meaning to all pain they went through and believe that power and violence is the only thing that can give them what they want. Eren and Cinder are victims of a system bigger than them that failed them and they choose to destroy it but at the cost of being left alone in a toxic and self-destructive cycle.
Basically, this is how they want to be seen by others (powerful and untouchable)
because this is what they really are (pathetic and unsure of themselves)
and they know it better than anyone and they hate themselves for it. They're irrational, immature, angry, cowardly in many ways, yet also a frightened children deep down.
Their desire to be free through violence, to have power, and to have a narrative they're in control of has caused them to enter a self-destructive spiral and ironically they become slaves to their desire for freedom to the point that they lose sight of what that they really want (to be loved) and cut off the few positive relationships they have left, taking them away from what they really want.
Cinder only gets close to others for her own benefit and while she projects onto Emerald and Mercury and feels some affection for them, in the end she chooses to abuse and manipulate them and despite Eren genuinely loving his friends but in turn abusing them, he hits them and forces them to do things they don't want to do, Cinder and Eren both share a main flaw when it comes to their relationships and that is that they're afraid of loving other people, afraid of showing vulnerability, they don't trust others because they don't want to be hurt again. Their relationships are selfish love because they are based on how they feel without taking into account the feelings of others. This is so to the point that they also affect people with whom they have no close relationship because they steal agency because they have been deprived of it.
If you notice, Eren and Cinder seek to have a narrative like the trope of the chosen one: one person is a failure and having a series of horrible things happen to them only to realize that they were special for being the chosen one all along but to Eren and Cinder's disgrace they're not chosen but are a deconstruction of this trope.
Eren experienced a series of misfortunes and betrayals, he receives a power that shortens his life expectancy to 13 years and on top of that the whole world wants to destroy his home because of a war that he didn't know existed but wants to believe that he is the chosen one who was destined to activate the Rumbling and that there was no other solution to save his island. On the other hand, Cinder was abused her entire life and felt betrayed by the father figure who inspired her until Salem arrives and grants her the ability to be a Maiden (which is quite a dangerous position since many seek her power either through the power itself, the relics, or both) being left in an abusive situation with her and Cinder chooses to believe that she was meant to be the one chosen to have the Maiden's Powers.
They seek to be special because they hate themselves and they want power because they want control of their lives. They would rather be monsters that everyone fears
than admit that they're just traumatized and wounded children.
After all, what kind of person wanted to become a monster anyway?
A person pathetically unable to feel good as a human being.
We see that this deconstructed trope, far from being something good and rewarding, is actually dehumanizing. Eren knows that his mother's death was circumstantial but chooses to believe that he caused it and planned it only to feel like he was in control and Cinder chooses to believe that her role as Maiden is her destiny and that she destroyed the kingdom she hated to feel that it was by her own choice when actually everything was planned and decided by Salem.
Eren and Cinder are fascinating because of how contradictory they are, they want to be free but at the same time they want to adjust to a narrative where everything is decided for them. They both think that way because they believe that freedom consists of doing what they want without consequences, but what they don't know about freedom is this:
Here Ezio is explaining the meaning of "everything is permitted" from the assassins creed which is basically the meaning of having freedom. Freedom consists of making choices and taking responsibility for the consequences of those choices, but Eren and Cinder don't make their own decisions and when they do they don't want to take responsibility for them. They want the feeling of power and control that comes with choice, but they don't want the responsibility for it.
Eren knows about the world situation regarding Paradis and he wanted to protect his friends and home but deep down he just wanted revenge against the world and the system that hurt him. He didn't want the world to be destroyed but he wanted to be the one to make that choice.
Cinder knows about the situation of the world of Remnant with the classism and discrimination that she and many others suffered and decided to perpetuate the cycle because she wanted revenge against a system that failed her. She doesn't care about the state of the world but she wanted to be important and Cinder, like Eren, is going to make a choice about the world but in turn she has the opportunity to make a different choice than Eren.
In a sense, Eren represents what could happen to Cinder if she doesn't realize her way of thinking that she has to be the chosen one to prove her worth as a person and not acknowledge her pain and the pain she caused others will get her nowhere. She needs to realize that she doesn't need to prove her worth but to acknowledge that she is already valuable and special just by existing, which Eren failed to do. Eren was called to realize it by his friends but he failed because he prioritize his self-loathing and anger against the world while Cinder will be called (possibly by Emerald and Mercury) to realize this and she will listen.
While Eren condemns himself by wanting to continue with his flaw (being afraid to love others, wanting to feel better about himself by hurting others and being special because his childish delusions of grandeur and his inability to let go of his childish feelings of entitlement) and not being able to grow, Cinder will grow as a person and overcome these same flaws. Both are very related to the final destiny of the world, except that Eren ultimately chooses to destroy his while Cinder ultimately will chooses to save it. Eren's choice was selfish and Cinder's will be selfless. Eren chooses to die because he cannot deal with the responsibility of his choice while Cinder will choose to die to save the world and will hold on to her final choice even knowing the consequences of taking it.
Eren died as a slave to his need to seek freedom and to feel better about himself in a chosen narrative but Cinder will die truly free for the first time in her life by recognizing what she really wants (to be loved, make her own choices and hold on to them with all the responsibility that entails).
Eren and Cinder: Slaves of Freedom
Many people hate Eren and Cinder to the point that they consider them bad characters and it's one thing to dislike a character and another to be badly written and to be fair, Eren and Cinder aren't bad characters. You might dislike them, very much actually, but one thing doesn't take away the other, they're both well written and I'm writing this because I don't want people to think they're bad characters just because they don't like them.
They both share a strong desire for freedom and in this post I'm going to explore their desire for freedom, why they became obsessed with being free as well as other things they share:
Eren and Cinder suffered since they were children due to situations that were beyond their control. Eren witnessed the destruction of his home and the death of his mother Carla as well as being turned into a titan by his father Grisha and later on he would suffer a series of betrayals and find out that everything bad that happened to him was the product of a war that he did not even know existed and Cinder was mistreated on the farm where she was sheltered until Madame adopted her but this mistreatment went from bad to worse, then Rhodes gives her hope of being free as a huntress but she could not bear the abuse and she kills her abusers and then fights Rhodes and kills him.
Both situations are quite different but the effect it caused on both is practically the same: they hate themselves for their impotence and want to be free because they want to have control of their lives, give meaning to all pain they went through and believe that power and violence is the only thing that can give them what they want. Eren and Cinder are victims of a system bigger than them that failed them and they choose to destroy it but at the cost of being left alone in a toxic and self-destructive cycle.
Basically, this is how they want to be seen by others (powerful and untouchable)
because this is what they really are (pathetic and unsure of themselves)
and they know it better than anyone and they hate themselves for it. They're irrational, immature, angry, cowardly in many ways, yet also a frightened children deep down.
Their desire to be free through violence, to have power, and to have a narrative they're in control of has caused them to enter a self-destructive spiral and ironically they become slaves to their desire for freedom to the point that they lose sight of what that they really want (to be loved) and cut off the few positive relationships they have left, taking them away from what they really want.
Cinder only gets close to others for her own benefit and while she projects onto Emerald and Mercury and feels some affection for them, in the end she chooses to abuse and manipulate them and despite Eren genuinely loving his friends but in turn abusing them, he hits them and forces them to do things they don't want to do, Cinder and Eren both share a main flaw when it comes to their relationships and that is that they're afraid of loving other people, afraid of showing vulnerability, they don't trust others because they don't want to be hurt again. Their relationships are selfish love because they are based on how they feel without taking into account the feelings of others. This is so to the point that they also affect people with whom they have no close relationship because they steal agency because they have been deprived of it.
If you notice, Eren and Cinder seek to have a narrative like the trope of the chosen one: one person is a failure and having a series of horrible things happen to them only to realize that they were special for being the chosen one all along but to Eren and Cinder's disgrace they're not chosen but are a deconstruction of this trope.
Eren experienced a series of misfortunes and betrayals, he receives a power that shortens his life expectancy to 13 years and on top of that the whole world wants to destroy his home because of a war that he didn't know existed but wants to believe that he is the chosen one who was destined to activate the Rumbling and that there was no other solution to save his island. On the other hand, Cinder was abused her entire life and felt betrayed by the father figure who inspired her until Salem arrives and grants her the ability to be a Maiden (which is quite a dangerous position since many seek her power either through the power itself, the relics, or both) being left in an abusive situation with her and Cinder chooses to believe that she was meant to be the one chosen to have the Maiden's Powers.
They seek to be special because they hate themselves and they want power because they want control of their lives. They would rather be monsters that everyone fears
than admit that they're just traumatized and wounded children.
After all, what kind of person wanted to become a monster anyway?
A person pathetically unable to feel good as a human being.
We see that this deconstructed trope, far from being something good and rewarding, is actually dehumanizing. Eren knows that his mother's death was circumstantial but chooses to believe that he caused it and planned it only to feel like he was in control and Cinder chooses to believe that her role as Maiden is her destiny and that she destroyed the kingdom she hated to feel that it was by her own choice when actually everything was planned and decided by Salem.
Eren and Cinder are fascinating because of how contradictory they are, they want to be free but at the same time they want to adjust to a narrative where everything is decided for them. They both think that way because they believe that freedom consists of doing what they want without consequences, but what they don't know about freedom is this:
Here Ezio is explaining the meaning of "everything is permitted" from the assassins creed which is basically the meaning of having freedom. Freedom consists of making choices and taking responsibility for the consequences of those choices, but Eren and Cinder don't make their own decisions and when they do they don't want to take responsibility for them. They want the feeling of power and control that comes with choice, but they don't want the responsibility for it.
Eren knows about the world situation regarding Paradis and he wanted to protect his friends and home but deep down he just wanted revenge against the world and the system that hurt him. He didn't want the world to be destroyed but he wanted to be the one to make that choice.
Cinder knows about the situation of the world of Remnant with the classism and discrimination that she and many others suffered and decided to perpetuate the cycle because she wanted revenge against a system that failed her. She doesn't care about the state of the world but she wanted to be important and Cinder, like Eren, is going to make a choice about the world but in turn she has the opportunity to make a different choice than Eren.
In a sense, Eren represents what could happen to Cinder if she doesn't realize her way of thinking that she has to be the chosen one to prove her worth as a person and not acknowledge her pain and the pain she caused others will get her nowhere. She needs to realize that she doesn't need to prove her worth but to acknowledge that she is already valuable and special just by existing, which Eren failed to do. Eren was called to realize it by his friends but he failed because he prioritize his self-loathing and anger against the world while Cinder will be called (possibly by Emerald and Mercury) to realize this and she will listen.
While Eren condemns himself by wanting to continue with his flaw (being afraid to love others, wanting to feel better about himself by hurting others and being special because his childish delusions of grandeur and his inability to let go of his childish feelings of entitlement) and not being able to grow, Cinder will grow as a person and overcome these same flaws. Both are very related to the final destiny of the world, except that Eren ultimately chooses to destroy his while Cinder ultimately will chooses to save it. Eren's choice was selfish and Cinder's will be selfless. Eren chooses to die because he cannot deal with the responsibility of his choice while Cinder will choose to die to save the world and will hold on to her final choice even knowing the consequences of taking it.
Eren died as a slave to his need to seek freedom and to feel better about himself in a chosen narrative but Cinder will die truly free for the first time in her life by recognizing what she really wants (to be loved, make her own choices and hold on to them with all the responsibility that entails).
Selfish is Eren’s trait.
No matter how much time changes.
Many people has been saying that Eren is selfless, how the Rumbling is the only choice to save Paradis so he had to set aside his emotion for greater good. While yes, that is true, it’s not quite right. Remember chapter 131?
Eren himself said he was selfish. He was disappointed the world is not as beautiful as in Armin’s book. He was disappointed humanity outside the walls exist. He wished to wipe them all away. But still, no matter how much he wished for it to happen, it’s still wrong. Just like Eren said in chapter 130, all the future he saw is still far away. Maybe things could change. Maybe his wish won’t come true, but at least things would turn out to be morally right. That’s why he decided to sit back and watch.
But no. Even after Zeke (another royal blood) and Azumabito (the mediator to the outside world) entered Paradis, they’re not giving him a great option. They’re blinded by their own selfish desire. Azumabito just wanted to use Paradis as a cashgrab, while Zeke wished for Eldia’s euthanasia. Paradis doesn’t give him another option either, even though the time is running out.
Of course Eren would snap.
Fuck them all. Fuck them all, who won’t give Paradis a chance. Fuck them all, who choose to stay in their comfort zone. Time is running out. All lives matter, including Paradis. If the world refused to see Paradis as a part of humanity, then he’ll reject them as parts of humanity too. If Paradis refuse to move, then he’ll force them to move. Better bring out his dream to life if that’s the case.
It was all too convenient; the time, the circumstances. It was all matching with his dream to exterminate his enemies; to become free from shackles; to expand his horizon outside the walls.
He has the power, and he only have a few years to live, what’s the more appropriate time than now?
But still. He’s painfully aware it’s wrong. What’s he about to do is a one-sided massacre.
If I had to say, Eren has several options:
Wipe out the rest of the world
Let the world trample Paradis
Run away and forget it all
Share his future memories, and decide things with his friends.
Option #4 is already out of the window, because he doesn’t trust his friends enough to let them decide their future. He believes all the hatred and bloodshed will not stop until he buries the world to the ground, to avoid them laying a hand on Paradis ever again. He believes if he doesn’t do this, his friends would continue to live in misery until they die.
Option #3 is also out, since he had to move forward no matter what, so he’s left with 2 choices.
Again, he throw away option #2, because no matter how much he think about it, there’s no way he’d let his own people being trampled by the world.
So yeah, option #1 is to go, then. But he knew, it’s wrong. He will take all the lives of innocent people. He will drag his friends into danger, he will hurt them, he will disappoint everyone. He will become a monster. There’s no guarantee Paradis will strive once this is all over. There might be another hell, he knew.
That’s why, even though he knows what to do, even though things is going according to his dream, he broke down. He still asked for forgiveness, even though he knew full well he’s the one at fault.
He couldn’t take it anymore. His guilt is eating him alive.
At this time, he wished for an escape. He’s starting to reconsider option #3. And that’s where Mikasa came in.
Mikasa, the girl who sticks to him no matter what. Mikasa, who saved him, no matter how hopeless the situation is.
Maybe this time, she could save him too. He relies on her, he clings to her answer for dear life. Maybe he could stop him. Maybe things would turn out okay if she give a different answer.
But no. Things didn’t work out as he wished for. Mikasa didn’t see through his suffering, she is clueless as ever; so he had to move on with his initial plan. When Eren said it’s a perfect timing, he really meant that, since he could snap out of his emotional self and focus on what he needs to do. Back to option #1.
This is one of the moments where Eren’s half-assed-ness selfishness shine. If he truly cares for the rest of the world, if he truly cares for his friends’ feeling, he should’ve open up more. He should’ve told Mikasa his dream, because only then, she could understand where Eren is coming from. If so, maybe Mikasa could told him to give up his dream, just like Levi to Erwin.
But no. Until the very end, he didn’t told his friends anything, because he already decided. He didn’t want his friends to stop him at this point, not yet. He has to do what he needs to do first. Not even in the moment of weakness he’d let Mikasa stop him. Because he knew. If he let his emotion and moral get the better of him, he’d never find a solace. Sure, maybe he could live the rest of his life with Mikasa in peace, but he wouldn’t be able to live with another greater regrets.
He chose the solace instead of salvation from his sins. So he turned his back from SC and never came back.
Eren infiltrated Marley. He experienced it firsthand how, even outside the walls, bad and good people were all the same. Reiner’s confession surprised him in a good way, because of how similar they are than he originally thought.
Both of them are moving with such selfish desire, under the pretense of “for the greater good.” Reiner destroyed the walls because he wanted to become a hero, while Eren is about to destroy the world because he wants humanity to perish. Their guilt is eating them alive to this day.
But Willy’s speech reminding him once again, that, in the end, they’re all the same, they’re just one side of the coin.
Willy reminded him why he’s doing all of these in the first place. He reminded him of his initial motivation.
It resonates with him so much that it hurt. Listening to Reiner and Willy gave him comfort, that everything is not his, nor everybody’s fault. There’s no right or wrong. Maybe, everyone is born this way. Even if he moves with selfish desire, the world really doesn’t give him much choice so it doesn’t really matter. It’s just the matter of who will keep going until the very end.
He keeps moving forward until his objective is fulfilled, no matter how much he suffers, no matter how much his friends suffer. But deep down, he wanted to be saved. So much that during the Rumbling, his mind regressed into a child, because it’s easier for him to kill “bad people” to reach his “freedom.” This is why he didn’t fight the Alliance seriously. If Eren really wanted the Rumbling to continue, he could’ve eliminated them on the get-go, or sent one of his titans to remove the explosives around his neck, or prevented Armin from reaching out to Zeke, anything. But he didn’t. Because now that his objective is fulfilled, as Reiner said, he wants someone to stop him. He decides when is the right time to stop; and that’s after he destroy Fort Salta, humanity’s last weapon.
TLDR; Eren is selfish for letting his dream get the better of him; for deciding what’s best for Paradis himself; for dragging his dad and his friends into this mess; for choosing this bloody path; for wanting to be saved after everything he had done. But if he hadn’t done this, who knows what hell will await Paradis. He won’t take that risk, ever. Eren is aware of all of this; thus why, he asked Mikasa to forget about him.
His selfishness makes him a true monster, yet at the same time, a really flawed human being.
Eren Yeager decides where to start, and where to end his journey. He really is selfish until the end.
What Mikasa is seeing...
Armin's struggling in the penultimate physical head to head against Eren.
Reiner, Pieck & Annie are all on the verge of death getting mangled by their own blood, family and sworn brothers.
Everyone she cares about and loves are dying in front of her.
This is her Last Stand and she is the only one with full physical powers & a hardened resolve who is capable of saving everyone.
From the looks of it, Ymir has finally found the truest, purest meaning of life: love. Through Mikasa's pure, selfless action, persevering through the pain of her unattainable dream; of letting go, Ymir is finally fulfilled and at peace, apparent from the smile on her face. She is seeing that humanity deserves the life it's been given.
Mikasa chooses to sacrifice the person she loves the most to save humanity and the other people she also loves & cares about from dying - that is the True Ending & the final route that completes Ymir's story.
It was a tremendous price to pay but Ymir has finally seen the beauty in this cruel world through Mikasa's eyes.
EDIT: Mikasa seizes control and fought against the very same person she loves and who has influence over her will, dreams and desires. She did what Ymir wasn't able to do against the first King Fritz despite this tremendous power that she wields. Mikasa is truly free. Ymir is witnessing it. Apart from Armin, Ymir has also been observing Mikasa in 135 but this deserves its own post!
Allow this poor, unfortunate girl the panel she needs for her closure & the space to say her farewell to the person she has built a world for in her heart and in her mind for the last 10 years.
I’ve recently seen some misinterpretations regarding this scene so I wanted to share my thoughts.
The criticism, which I personally find so unfair and wrong considering Levi’s character arc in the final battle mostly revolves around: “Levi didn’t even care about leaving the kids behind to the point he ordered Mikasa, Pieck and Falco to depart without any final/farewell words to Jean, Connie, etc” or “I knew it!!! Levi only cared about killing Zeke post-time skip. It was obvious he’s gonna have NO motivation to fight”
I’m going to explain both claims from my own perspective.
1) About the first one, I think it is important to remember Levi’s rational motivation in such critical moment. So the situation is as the following >>> The alliance figuring out the steam released from the hallucigenia is poisonous just like Zeke’s spinal fluids and as many pointed out the reason there was suspect of them turning into titans came from the fact hallucigenia is the source of the titan power so it only makes sense for Levi to believe the Eldians exposed to the steam would transform immediately after. Did they have time to process the situation? No. Did they even have time to say goodbye? Hell no! It only took Levi, Mikasa, Falco & Pieck a few minutes before their comrades/families were titanized. There was absolutely no time for hesitation and as I’ve seen some people pointed this out Levi was the only one who thought rationally and was able to make such cruel decision in that moment. Was it painful for him? Of course it was! Was it hard for him to leave his comrades behind once again without even being able to say goodbye? SURE IT WAS!
Is this the face of a person who doesn’t care about leaving his family? I’m gonna leave the obvious answer to you guys.
Now let’s get back to even the more logical part. You gotta ask yourself why Levi decided what he did. Had Levi, Mikasa, Falco & Pieck aka the last hopes of humanity’s survival been caught in a horde of titans and eaten then who were going to defeat Eren? Marleyans who didn’t even have enough cannons to face Eren (oh well the cannons had no effect on the founding titan either way) or Armin was supposed to take him down single-handedly? Think about it, who else but all these people together could kill Eren?
It’s also worth mentioning what Levi tells Mikasa right after they had to abandon their comrades and people
“We’re the only ones that can kill Eren”
I think this part’s even more proof of Levi’s rational decision. Do I not love Jean and Connie? Of course I do. I’m not gonna lie, I’m still in denial about what happened to them and I’m hoping there’s a way they’ll revert back to being humans and if they really die I personally will find their deaths meaningless at this point of the story. However, I understand that they had no time for emotional talk. They had to defeat Eren and end this nightmare as soon as possible.
2) Now regarding the second claim, I think there are already many great meta writers who pointed out the obvious but I’m just gonna leave some panels and notes to emphasize how much such criticism about Levi’s not but a misinterpretation.
Let’s get back to chapter 135 where Levi literally told Mikasa he will act as bait in order for them to defeat the titans the founder Ymir sent their way
He knew Zeke’s still alive somewhere from Hanji’s words so if he only cared about killing him why would he try to sacrifice his life for the kids to proceed with their plans before taking down the monke?
Levi risking his life to save Jean’s in the same chapter right after the above panel
“Levi’s all about killing Zeke at this point. He doesn’t care about his kids any longer” is what the criticism says. I don’t think I need to explain this further because the panel is proof enough how much he cares for his kids.
Right after saving Jean Levi’s injuries worsen but he still continues fighting to protect them
The reason for his leg injury is saving Connie
And lastly, about him caring for humanity
“We’re doing both”
Levi’s the first person who actually said they have to kill Eren and save Armin among the corps. If he only cared about killing Zeke why would he suggest they have to consider both options? Why would he repeat himself in the very recent chapter again (about killing Eren) in order to end this nightmare? As I’ve said many times before Levi could’ve killed Zeke and fulfilled his promise a long time ago but he prevented himself from doing so because he assumed keeping Zeke alive was the best option for saving humanity.
Bottom line Levi’s promise to Erwin was never even about mere revenge. The man said it himself, “I will give meaning to your deaths” and he’s only able to do that through saving humanity. I’m not saying he didn’t hate Zeke considering all the suffering Zeke brought to Levi’s comrades. However, it is important to remember Levi was always ready to give up on killing him if his existence benefitted humanity. Killing Zeke wasn’t his sole purpose in life as some like to put it.