Is Mikasa Ymir’s savior? Was it her sacrifice that finally ended the war?

Attack on Titan’s finale bids farewell to its main protagonist, Eren Jaeger, in the most heart-wrenching way. While fans had a brief moment of joy when Eren received his first kiss from Mikasa, it wasn’t long before despair that it was also his last set in.

But through our tears, we see Ymir smiling in the background, seemingly relived and in admiration of what was unfolding before her. Following this, the Power of the Titans completely vanishes, restoring the titanized Eldians to their human state.

However, these turn of events have fans pondering a ton of questions, with the most notable being – Was Mikasa Ymir’s chosen one all along? Did she set the Founder free?

Chapter 139 has Eren confirm that Mikasa was indeed the one to set Ymir free. During his chat with Armin in the Paths, Eren explained that the Founder finally found the savior who would free her from her prison of love in Mikasa. However, the reason was still unknown to him.

How does Mikasa free Ymir Fritz?

All this time, we were led to believe that Ymir was finally set free through Eren’s wish. But in reality, she always had her eyes on Mikasa and only found peace after her sacrifice. But why was that the case?

Ymir was inspired by Mikasa’s decision to put the fate of humanity before the love of her life. She found a kindred spirit in Mikasa as their lives mirrored each other in every way.

They were both powerful women who would do anything to protect the person they treasured the most.

In Mikasa’s case, she adored Eren all her life. She even credits him for her strengthever since he helped awaken her powers and avenge her parents.

While the red scarf initially represented an unbreakable familial bond, Mikasa soon imbibed it with her love for him as time went by.

Manifesting itself as a fierce desire to always be by his side and protect him at all costs, her love was downright intoxicating at times. It would even prompt her to disregard everything and everyone around her, especially if Eren was in danger.

Even though she was shaken and devastated by Eren’s indifferent persona and horrific plan of genocide, she refused to accept his death as a solution, instead opting to talk him out of it.

Even when it was evident that Eren would not back down, Mikasa was still paralyzed with indecision, torn between her love for him and the world’s fate.

However, the fact that she mustered the resolve to push forward and bring down her blade on Eren to save the rest of the human race despite her innate desire to protect him struck a chord in Ymir.

Having been shackled to the Paths with the same deep yet agonizing love, Ymir could not free herself no matter how much she tried. But when she found Mikasa, she intently followed her life, believing that she would be the one to relieve her of her chains.

And she was right, as Mikasa put an end to Eren for the greater good, which motivated her to free herself in turn.

Does Eren hate Mikasa?

Even non EreMika shippers were stunned by his blunt and brutal statement in Chapter 122 and Episode 14 of Season 4.

But given how disheartened he was in Chapter 123 when Mikasa refused to confess her true feelings for him, it does make you wonder – Did he really mean it?

Chapter 139 clarifies that Eren not only loves Mikasa, but he also couldn’t bear the thought of her moving on in life with someone else, even if it was in her best interests.

Additionally, in his actual conversion with Zeke in Chapter 130, it is revealed that even his half-brother acknowledged Mikasa’s love for Eren, stating that her actions weren’t the result of her fined tuned Ackermasn instincts.

So, why did he spew such vitriol when he was deeply in love with her?

First off, he was well on his way to committing the grave sin of genocide for his friends’ sake and that of his home. He knew that they couldn’t bear the guilt of being why he needed to resort to mass murder.

So, he did everything possible to conceal his motives and distance himself from them so that they would have no option but to side with the world’s hatred of him.

Even though he let them know of his intentions for a momentary reprieve, he quickly erased their memories so they would only remember the conversation once he was dead, thus absolving them of any guilt.

Secondly, he wasn’t long for this world. Since he inherited the Attack Titan, a sizeable chunk of his lifespan was gone because of Ymir’s curse, leaving only four years. And that was hardly enough time to settle down and live a peaceful life.

Moreover, he couldn’t bear the thought of stringing Mikasa along for only a short while and then leaving her to live the rest of her days alone. Even though it pains him to admit it, she deserved to have a life of her own.

Ultimately, his vicious lies pained him as much as they did her. But despite his grieving with Armin, he loved her enough to let her go.

Can the Ackermans turn into Titans?

Even though we’ve got fantastic fan-arts of our favorite Ackermans as Titans or Titan Shifters, it still doesn’t appear to be canon in the AOT universe.

Chapter 138 provides conclusive evidence of their inability to turn into Titans as the source of Titan power, the Anomaly could only turn the surrounding Eldians into Titans, leaving Mikasa and Levi unaffected. Hence, they were able to press on and defeat Eren.

While the Ackermans have Eldian blood, it’s tainted with Titan’s spinal fluid due to the genetic modification to create an elite task force used to service the Eldian kings.

Their altered DNA not only granted them a mini Coordinate, which allowed them access to previous generations’ combat skills of a battle-hardened warrior, but also immunity against the Founding Titans powers.

Since they were shielded from the Titan’s memory-altering effects, they were hunted down to prevent them from exposing the Royal Family machinations to the public.

However, all these scenarios are devoid of exposure to Titan spinal fluid. While their genetic makeup may have portions of it, it would be interesting to see what would happen if they were to consume it.

Considering their Eldian blood and resistance to the Founder’s control, we could get a reversible transformation or have the first conscious Pure Titans. So who knows? Maybe those talented fan artists are actually onto something.

About Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. Kodansha publishes it in the Bessatsu Shonen Magazine.

The manga began serialization on September 9th, 2009, and ended on April 9, 2021. It has been compiled into 34 volumes.

Attack on Titan follows humanity settled within three concentric walls to protect themselves from the terrifying titans that prey on them. Eren Yeager is a young boy that believes that a caged life is similar to that of cattle and aspires to go beyond the walls one day, just like his heroes, the Survey Corps. The emergence of a deadly Titan unleashes chaos.