Perseverence in the face of genuine near hopelessness
is easy to talk about, but deceptively difficult to comprehend the full essence of in the worst
of times. It takes a nearly inhuman, demonic resolve
to keep holding on when everything tells you to give up, and that sentiment is something
that words often fail to capture the significance of. But in a caged world devoid of honesty and
surrounded by darkness, one where you need to sacrifice hundreds of lives for the prospect of potentially gaining a
millimeter, what can possibly motivate you on to keep going? A world where the current hell doesn’t exist. Liberty from all things - from the constant
looming threat of death, primarily, but also from systematic oppression. Bringing forth a society that is free and
right, one that doesn’t force people to avert their eyes from simple truth, nor punish
them for being born into it. A future where humanity thrives and survives. And in the midst of the endless cycle of conflict
that is the story of Attack on Titan, there is no greater cause than that. Yet, in this setting, there is no way to break
that chain without force and bloodshed, and no path towards that outcome that is not comprised
of corpses. So the leaders of this uprising need be possessed
of the fortitude to bear all the sins of the world, to accept hate and pain and misery,
and continue onwards anyway. But what kind of person would be suited for
that? Who on earth would not flinch at that sort
of burden and responsibility? The short answer is someone fueled and possessed
by a purpose beyond reckoning, something deeper and more powerful than pure duty. The long answer is a bit more complicated. Even as a young boy, Erwin Smith constantly
questioned the things posed to him and was never satisfied with accepting information
that didn’t feel right at face value. When provided with knowledge about the walls
and world around him by his teacher and father, something didn’t seem to add up - and he
was not the type of person to let this sort of thing lie. So he pursued the truth from his father, who,
outside of his discretion in the classroom, shared that he believed that those in power
were capable of falsifying collective memories, covering things up and teaching incomplete
and misdirecting information to their people to hide the genuine nature of society. Not fully understanding the weight of these
accusations, Erwin shared these theories with his classmates, which lead to the clear assassination
of his father by the government in order to keep things quiet. And this awoke something within him to compliment
his already vibrant longing for sincerity. Spurred on by guilt, Erwin’s mission in
life became proving his father’s theory correct. The idea of that legacy became his obsession,
and his heart pleaded for him to discover the truth of the world. But while his pursuit of this dream is undoubtedly
entrenched in self-interest, it also happened to coincide with one of his other desires
- freedom for humanity. A cause that is greater than any one person
or one mission - the far-off fantasy of a world where simply seeking knowledge as his
father did would not lead to being silenced in the worst possible way. Transparency, prosperity, and liberation from
the threat of the titans - and perhaps, from others - from those he viewed to be the real
enemy. These two goals contrast one another in terms
of the minute specifics and how they apply to Erwin, but they coalesce beautifully. It’s a combination of selfishness and selflessness,
and the spirit of his father’s will is very much a part of any action that benefits humanity,
so Erwin yearns for all of this so desperately that he’s possessed by a primal defiance
and rage. And due to the unbelievable difficulty of
this task, advancement towards this became his lifeblood - each bit of progress that
gave the smallest taste of potential salvation was exhilirating, because it was a taste that
mankind scarcely ever experienced before, and more importantly, it was one small step
towards validating his father. But this progress could never be achieved
without monumental loss and sacrifice, and this is something Erwin understood from the
start. The one to lead these people kicking and screaming
would have to accept the darkness of this task, embrace it, and optimize it. So while clearly caring deeply for the soldiers
that pledged their lives to his cause, Erwin became a demon, sacrificing people and selling
lies to help humanity inch forward. To combat darkness, he had to embody darkness. And he didn’t want to do this, because that’s
not at all the type of person he was. But those who are unable to abandon anything
cannot change anything, and he took on that burden and kept pushing in tribute of the
souls of those who passed, with his father always at the forefront. Erwin became a brilliant strategist, making
decisions that no one else had the courage to make, planning ahead and gambling lives
with bold yet calculated risks. Calm when he needed to be, impassioned and
inspirational when necessary, every death with a purpose. But he never took this lightly and always
felt the weight of his decisions, which is absolutely vital because this weight represents
the value of the cause he fights for in the first place. Yet he never alliowed this to avert his eyes
from the ultimate goal, a synthesis of both his responsibility, and his dream. But while I describe these two aspects as
nearly synonymous, they aren’t entirely so. Because there are certain points in the story
where making steps towards learning the truth of everything and making steps towards securing
humanity’s victory seemed to not be compatible with one another. At times, Erwin’s one path split and his
two driving motivations became mutually exclusive, so he had to prioritize. And it is in these moments where we see what
his number one goal is, the thing his heart longs for more than anything. Here, he doubts that what he wants personally
is what’s best for humanity - but what he does know is that it’s best for his dream,
and that Eren’s basement represents his entire life’s work. He needs to be there to witness this, and
that spurs him on. So in this sense, his selfishness overpowers
his selflessness and he doesn’t flinch or hesitate to put the Survey Corps at a disadvantage. While he seeks prosperity for mankind, the
thing that drives him most is not a hope for humanity’s survival, but his ultimate dream. Again, it’s those little tastes of it that
inspire him to keep going. It’s an almost childlike fixation, and the
times in which he imagines a reality with that mystery solved and the times where he
gets closer to it are a genuinely joyful respite for him. Almost as if he is getting the rare chance
to allow that idealistic young boy who had his childhood stolen from him resurface and
feel for a brief moment (S2E12), before once again steeling himself for the next struggle. Yet, ironically, perhaps without that selfish
drive, he wouldn’t have been able to take everyone as far as he did. It’s this furious determination borne out
of a monstrous need that drags people forward, so a leader without this who thought only
for the good of humanity may not have been able to go this far. There is a duality to him and his desire to
carry forward the wills of his fallen comrades is unbelievably strong too, but unadulterated
responsibility without a selfish dream may not have been as strong and powerful as Erwin’s
fixation. And that is why his conflict during the Return
to Shiganshina is so devastating. Given his priorities, the full scale of his
intentions, and his willingness to charge into the belly of the beast, his purpose was always unlikely to be one
that he served in the long term. Erwin was tailor-made to live and rage and
fight in this pocket of history, to have his rebellion recognized, screaming out to stimulate
his comerades to carry on his legacy. And without a doubt, he made himself heard. At times a devil, at times a hero, but always
a commander, always driving humanity, himself and his father’s soul towards the truth
and the key to breaking this oppression. His existence was consistently a painful one
only made worthwhile to him by tiny moments of joy and the potential of a pure dream that
he never got to reach, and Erwin only came to be this way because of the sad nature of
war. And everything surrounding his fixation on
this dream - what he did to try to reach it, how he centered everything around it - all
of this is why Levi laid him to rest. But him allowing Levi to make the decision
speaks volumes of his selfless nature - how much he valued the spirit of what his father
strived for, and what he was willing to do for his duty when it came right down to it. While Erwin’s dream was stated to be the
biggest influence in his decisions and thoughts, his actions instead tell a story of a man
who constantly put his life, and thus, his chance to learn the truth, on the line for
the betterment of his people. Some of these calculated risks, some of these
genuine sacrifices. But the most telling sacrifice was here against
the beast titan - when faced with the possibility of total defeat, he comes up with a plan for
humanity’s benefit through potentially killing it and gaining a titan power, at the likely
expense of himself. But for that to happen, it would mean that
he’d never learn the secrets of the basement. And here he weighs the importance of his dream,
his father’s legacy embodied through him, with the overall significance of the cause
that he has consistently championed his entire career. And despite his so-called selfishness, he
cannot choose. This indecision speaks volumes, because it
is clear that if he were totally self-interested, he’d want to live to fight and reach the
basement another day. And specifically, he’d want to witness this
himself. But he can’t just forego his duty for that,
he can’t just disregard the hopes and weight of the fallen. So he is torn, and while he said himself that
humanity is not as important as his dream, this internal stalemate in itself is an example
of his commitment to mankind being ABOVE his own wishes when the stakes were at their highest. He is able to have Levi choose for him, and
in the end, there is a small look of peace on his face, satisfied with his role in this
fight in despite of him turning away from his foremost endeavor. And appropriately, he uses the familiar propaganda
he hates to inspire his terrified troops to charge right into hell with him. Those who cannot abandon anything cannot change
anything. And so Erwin abandons the one thing that pushed
him onwards for a chance at freedom for those who would carry the torch for him. He gives it up, and it’s one of the most
admirable things he could’ve done. But from Levi’s perspective, it was also
an understandable decision to make. Erwin never really looked beyond the idea
of the basement. It was his drug, and when all seemed to close
in around him and when he began falling into despair, he’d think about that key and it
allowed him to push onwards. But there’s only so far that someone can
go when their experiences make it so that they’re so dependent on short-term fumes. There’s only so much misery they can bear. Without Erwin Smith - not just without someone
like him, but without him specifically - the Scouts would not have gone nearly as far and
there would have been no progress. But war makes it so that people of pure obsession
willing to lay everything out on the line rarely ever make it to the end, and so his
legacy and advocation of truth was passed on through his comrades. And in that way, he can glean some sense of
satisfaction and peace from that. In that way, Levi does him a kindness, and
he wholeheartedly appreciates the prospect of a quiet repose. And while it is true Levi’s second monumental
choice, the decision to save Armin, once again relinquishes a second chance for Erwin to
reach the basement, it’s a decision made with utmost thought. The commander’s readiness to risk and bear
everything made him become a devil in the eyes of many. Against his will, he bore this terrible burden
for what seemed like an eternity - and as Levi puts it, once he had been free from this
hell, they wanted to bring him back. But would he have really wanted all of that,
in his heart of hearts? The most fitting reward for Erwin’s sacrifice
here was not the chance to sacrifice even more and aimlessly push forward after achieving
his goal, but the honour of being able to rest, to let go of both his dream and his
burden, and be free of it all. And possibly, being forgiven. In contrast, Armin is someone who always looked
at the world and saw possibility. He allowed himself to reach further and further
beyond the walls to a horizon of idealism. He had dreams of immense scale that could
never be shaken, and those dreams would fuel him post-basement in a way that threw Erwin’s
agonizing struggle into sharp focus. Again, Erwin impacted this specific pocket
of history, and his life began and ended with this idea even in spite of his sacrifice being
nearly altruistic. Armin’s potential reached beyond truth,
beyond anyone’s reckoning. And that idealism is something that cannot
be valued enough. In a sense, allowing such a dreamer and asset
to humanity to continue on and fight is a near perfect extrapolation of Erwin’s decision
to let Levi tell him to die. It is the logical outcome and it is done in
the spirit of Erwin’s ultimate decision to put his duty ahead of everything else. In a world past the basement, aiming for something
in the beyond is what is necessary. It is one seamless, continuous decision carried
through in that way, a selfless one, where Erwin put his dream to rest for the future
of mankind. Once of my favourite scenes in the entirety
of the series is the one immediately prior to the mission in Shiganshina, where the public
passionately laud our protagonists and wish them luck and success on their journey. The importance of this for all involved is
unbelievable, but none moreso than Erwin. The Survey Corps have been mocked and derided
for most of their existence. Their high death tolls and consistent failures
meant that they were a constant target for public vitriol, frustration and negativity. And Erwin knew that this would happen from
the start and resigned himself to it for the sake of his goal, but that doesn’t mean
that he was infallible or incapable of feeling pain at this hate. Because while he became this symbol of near
invincible perseverence, everything about him was always genuinely human. Despite never flinching, he was still hurt
beyond reckoning by the burden he took on, and I think this is most obvious through his
reaction here here. Erwin was under no illusion - he never intended
to become a universal hero and knew that it wasn’t a possibility. But in this moment, he is one. He’s loved by the people, and they wholeheartedly
support them all. He’s never experienced anything close to
a moment like this before, and he knows he never will agaIn. So he takes full advantage and savours all
of it. It’s a beautiful thing, because moments
like these ensured that his life, while clearly monumental for the uprising of the oppressed,
was not a meaningless, joyless waste for him personally. And along with his satisfaction in passing
on his father’s torch to Levi and the others, these sorts of things gives me hope that he
found some semblance of fulfillment in his existence. Fittingly, Erwin Smith was a man who found
his own solace, happiness and exhiliration in small bursts to push himself on.. until
the end, where, inches from his nirvana, he relinquished everything for the benefit of
all. He shaped history, and his impact can never
be overstated. Many thanks for watching.
Thanks for posting. Awesome video.
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