The finale of “Attack on Titan” certainly delivered a conclusion that many fans found difficult to digest, with the fate of Eren Yeager concluding in what some might call an unconventional manner.
After decapitating Eren and taking him back to where everything started (the tree), Mikasa dug a grave under the tree and buried Eren.
Fast forward three years, and we find Mikasa at Eren’s graveside, engaging in a one-sided conversation with him. She updates him on their friends, all while struggling with her enduring grief, evidenced by the tears she sheds.
In a moment laden with emotion, as Mikasa’s scarf begins to slip from her shoulders, an unexpected visitor, a bird, swoops in, deftly wrapping the scarf back around her.
This begs the question: has Eren’s indomitable spirit found a new vessel in the form of a bird?
Let’s take a closer look and see what this particular scene signifies.
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The Role of Birds in “Attack on Titan”
“Attack on Titan” introduces us to a bird in flight right from the start, as the Colossal Titan initiates the catastrophic events that would unfold.
In a twist of fate, the series concludes with a bird, this time interacting with Mikasa’s scarf, ascending into the heavens. This parallelism seems to carry a deeper meaning.
In the series’ final episodes, we observe Eren experiencing a vision of himself flying, a representation of “freedom.”
At the beginning of the Final Season Part 1, Falco, while lying on the ground, speaks to a bird, urging it to fly away to freedom.
Birds have consistently symbolized “freedom” throughout the series. As the episodes progressed, these symbols of freedom began to interact more with the human characters, suggesting a closer connection to this ideal.
Birds have thus been a key symbolic element in “Attack on Titan,” contributing to the series’ compelling narrative.
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Did Eren Get Reincarnated as a Bird?
Addressing the speculation of Eren’s reincarnation, it is not the case that Eren has literally become a bird. Rather, the bird is a symbol of the freedom that Eren’s actions have brought to the Eldians.
Eren’s monumental struggle against the world, resulting in a staggering loss of life, was all in pursuit of a peaceful future for his friends. The bird is a representation of Eren’s spirit and his aspirations, not his physical form.
Remember Eren’s pledge to Mikasa when he first unlocked the power of the Founding Titan: to always be there to wrap the red scarf around her. The bird at the series’ end is a metaphor for Eren’s promise, not an indication of his transformation into a bird.
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What are your views on this interpretation? Do you also see the bird as a symbol rather than a literal reincarnation? We welcome your thoughts in the comments below.
