Attack On Titan Finally Dug Into Grisha’s History and Secrets: Watch

Attack on Titan‘s anime series finally dug into the history and secrets of one of its most pivotal characters: Grisha Jaeger. The father of series protagonist Eren Jaeger and his nemesis (ally?) half-brother Zeke has always been a peripheral player (except for some key flashback arcs) but in episode 79, Grisha fully stepped into the spotlight and was revealed to be… not at all what we thought. The revelations about Grisha Jaeger, his children, and the line of Titans they’re connected to put some of the series’ deepest mysteries in order while creating some mind-blowing new perspective, in the process! 

What we learn in Attack on Titan Episode 79, “Memories of the Future” is that the actual picture of Grisha Jaeger’s life is much different than everything we (and his sons) have come to believe. Grisha left the horrors of his life in Marley on a mission to take the Founding Titan – but that fervor didn’t last. Grisha eventually settled down and married Carla and had Eren and was ready to let his obligation go. 

In fact, when the time came for Grisha to annihilate the Reiss family, we learn he truly didn’t have the heart to do it. He simply pleaded with the Reiss to use the power of the Titans to help free the Eldian people suffering in Marley – but that’s where the real turn in Grisha’s story comes in. 

The Attack Titan that Grisha inherited from Eldan spy/Marley commander Eren Kruger came with its own unique power: the power to see the memories of every user to ever inherit it – past and future. The connective memories of the Attack Titan’s users allow for a mind-bending new perspective on how Attack on Titan’s core lore works. 

The big twist is that Eren Jaeger uses the Attack Titan’s connective memories to be present at the moment his father falters in front of the Reiss family: it is Eren who pushes his father to kill all the Reiss’s except the father. Grisha only goes along on faith that he’s helping Eren build a better future for all Eldians. 

This Attack Titan power and the double-sided reach of its users memories now explains another key moment in Grisha Jaeger’s origin story. Attack on Titan’s season 3 episodes “That Day” and “Attack Titan” detailed Grisha’s origin story in Marley and transformation into the Attack Titan. However, one of the last scenes between Grisha and Kruger had Kruger suddenly rambling off about saving “Mikasa” and “Armin.” now we know, for sure, why. 

Could Kruger’s memory connection be one of the first clues that Eren isn’t the twisted villain he now looks like?