Since finishing the ending of SNK, I have browsed around the internet to see various perspectives on the ending. Something that caught my attention, a lot of people have the misconception that Eren has only ever lived for his childish sense of freedom, and is possibly a psychopath (I can't blame you for this perspective as CH131 created a lot of division among Eren opinions, as well as 139). However, I believe Eren has been misunderstood as a character and will attempt to begin discourse into changing that view. Feel free to agree or disagree, I would love to discuss further in the comments.
Pre-Timeskip: Eren begins SNK as this rowdy, loud child with the internal conflict of feeling like a bird stuck in a cage. He longed for freedom, and this even distorted his view of self-respect. Eren felt those who were okay with being caged like livestock as long as they were fed and safe, were foolish.
Eren is regarded as a suicidal maniac by his closest comrades, yet he pushes forward, seeking to destroy their captors and seek freedom. However, Eren himself admits he was not aware of his own reality, as it took for Armin to show him a book of the outside world before he realized just how caged he was.
Eren was not born with some childish sense of freedom he could never understand, he was very much human. He developed into the kind of man he longed to be. Eren may claim he was born this way, and that is very true, but it's not so much that he was born to kill and raze away the world outside the walls, its that he was born to seek freedom. He clings onto the phrase "I was born into this world" as a remembrance of his mother, when he was unsure about the RTS operation, it took his mothers word to instill courage in his heart once again. Eren has shown time and time again that he doubted his own nature, that is not the way a psychopath nor a child thinks. The core values instilled into his growth all resulted as a part of his connection to his loved ones. He isn't psychotic, nor does he lust after murder, Eren has shown time and time again he feels empathy for the deaths of others and laments his own weakness when he cannot prevent those deaths.
Pre-timeskip, Eren was idealistic about their situation. He viewed himself as humanity's trump card, someone who will liberate the people of the walls from the titans, protect his friends, and see the sights of the world beyond the walls. He even grows in maturity consistently throughout the pre-timeskip arcs, even calling out his own hypocrisy when he felt he was too immature to shoulder that burden.
A consistent theme Isayama nails into our head from the moment Eren begins his journey as a scout, is the difficult choice of believing in his own power, or relying on his comrades. We see this time and time again, from the decision to believe in Levi squad in the forest against Annie, to Eren's successful hardening in the basement. He doesn't know how any situation will turn out between the two choices, but he understands that believing in himself means he does not have to risk the lives of his loved ones.
Pre-timeskip Eren is an immature angry child in the beginning of his arc, yet by the end of it, he grows into an experienced soldier. He has grown accustomed to facing difficult choices, and the pain those choices bring. He seeks out freedom, not only for his own sake, but for the people he loves and believes in. He understands his own weakness will mean the death of his comrades and loved ones such as Mikasa and Armin. He cannot avoid this fate because after all, he is the one who pushed his own back into it. He found comrades he cherishes beyond all else, even the fate of the world. He longed for freedom, and to see the sights in Armin's book (this one is important as CH131 has created a big misconception about this) and be free from the tyranny of being captive. However, then came the sea, and an ocean of memories. Eren finds the truth of their world, they aren't just restricted by titans, the ENTIRE world views them as enemies.
Eren becomes completely jaded about all of his previously idealistic beliefs upon discovering the truth of the world. Not only does he realize freedom is beyond their reach, the cost of liberating the island will come at the loss of countless lives. This is where the misconceptions surrounding Eren's character begins. Eren had seen Grisha's memories, yet remained quiet about the most important connection of royal blood accessing the founding titan. This was to protect Historia, as well as find alternatives to the future he saw in her hand. Furthermore, when everyone was excited about seeing the sight of the sea for the first time, Eren was numb to the excitement, having seen a future where he destroyed the entire world, as well as understanding their bleak situation in the walls more personally than his friends could. This is why he had to push them away, and will conclude that decision with his final choice in the manga to paint them as heroes (more on that later).
Eren understood that peace was never an option, afterall Karl Fritz (First of the Wall Kings) had placed Eldia in an escapable situation. This was not the result of Eren's twisted sense of freedom nor some childish delusion. Karl Fritz placed MILLIONS of colossal titans on Paradis Island, threatened the outside world with the rumbling if they disturbed their paradise, and then locked away the founder using the vow renouncing war. He felt this would be the best way to have a temporary peace by united the world using Eldia as a common enemy, as well ensuring the people of the walls would be wiped out one day as the world could not ignore the lingering threat of the walls. Many fans of the work are divided on the rumbling, yet Eren understood he had no other choice. And yet, he also did not want to drag his own friends into that choice. However, despite that choice, it was not as if Eren lied down and commenced that decision without considering alternatives.
Post-Timeskip: when we are re-introduced to Eren's character a few years later, we see a cold, calculated, more reserved version of Eren. A hard contrast to the foolhardy hero of Shiganshina a few years prior. For the sake of continuity however, we will observe Eren's decisions regarding the rumbling first, and a peaceful alternative for Paradis. The first is the 50 Year Plan, using the rumbling as a deterrent, Paradis would continue to be restricted to the walls, and parent-child cannibalism would continue for generations to come. This plan was full of uncertainties and extremely questionable, even Hange understood the lose-lose situation it would place them in. Not only due to the threat of assassination but also pushed the problem to future generations. This plan was disregarded by Eren, as he felt it would not only repeat the same cycle the people of the walls are currently in, sacrifice Historia which he was absolutely against, and contradicted his personal beliefs. This is freedom, not some childish delusion many paint his ideals to be, freedom from persecution, freedom from the threat of death, freedom from tyranny.
Next up, Eren is approached by Yelena and Zeke about the euthanization plan. As we are aware, this plan was never going to work for Eren either as he wanted to give his friends and people the chance to continue their lives as they wished. Furthermore, as part of this plan, we are presented with the choice to target military bases around the world. However, this plan would also have the exact same drawbacks Hange noticed in the 50 year plan. Eren could not allow this to happen, as activated the rumbling and keeping it on the island for years was not only a gamble (as future inheritors could always be assasinated), but the island would pay the price of broken walls and trampled lands while the world recovered from financial ruin. This plan would also be direct in targeting bases rather than the infrastructure of various countries, we know this because the attack was designed to target the global alliance, not the infrastructure of various countries. Finally, the final straw was the scout expedition to Marley, where the scouts explored diplomatic channels of cooperation. Prior to this expedition, they seek diplomatic trade with nations through the Azumibuto and discover that human greed and fearmongering will always prevail in Paradis' situation: see below
The scouts travel to Marley, while residing in an Azumibuto estate, the scouts attend an international forum on the rights of Eldians. We are once again confronted with Paradis Island's bleak reality, even NGO's will refuse to speak up for their rights. The world NEEDS Paradis to remain the root of all hatred, and Eren understood change would never come about through diplomatic means nor any other alternative to the rumbling: see below.
A Remorseful Leader: From this point onwards, Eren was resolved in his fate, he understood that there was no other choice. Thus, he entrusted everything to Zeke in order to trick him into accessing the founder for the purpose of the Rumbling. Despite years of searching for alternatives, and Marley's attack on the island approaching, they had come up empty-handed. Eren knew, he had to destroy everyone and everything. He wasn't happy about that fact, he was distraught emotionally as a result of the lives he would one day be forced to take. In fact, Eren is very cognizant about the decision he would have to make, the lives and dreams he would extinguish.
Human Enemies: A lot of people hold misconceptions about this chapter in particular, confusing the intention behind the childlike state of Eren and his words about the world inside Armin's book. Eren was disappointed about the fact human beings existed outside the walls. Due to the context being far in the past, many misconstrued the meaning of Eren's words, but we see him for ourselves in the aftermath of discovering humanity outside the walls. Eren was not disappointed because it wasn't some fantasyland like Armin's book, the truth requires us to remember their reality prior to the basement reveal. Up until that point, Eren was under the impression that Paradis WAS the last of civilized humanity left. He had suspected there was something more, but consider this for a moment. After fighting that long, and losing everything he had, Eren realized their countless years of suffering and oppression was coming at the hands of human beings. While the Eldians within the walls fought tooth and nail to survive and expand outside the walls, HUMAN BEINGS were activating titans outside their walls to jail them in. HUMAN BEINGS were the reason they were inside those walls. HUMAN BEINGS were holding them captive for the sins of their ancestors. THAT is why Eren was so dissapointed. Eren even takes on a childlike state during the FREEDOM panel, because it's a dream him and Armin came up with as a child. In fact, we realize Eren was asleep, ignorant to the damage and mayhem he was wrecking below as a result of his utter remorse. It was not his twisted sense of freedom nor hatred for his enemies. Eren was human, he was flawed, but he was never psychotic nor was he childish at this point. He did not hate humanity outside the walls anymore, the proof is right there in the Marley arc.
Conclusion: However... despite his pursuit of freedom, his obligation to Eldia, the pressure of guaranteeing his friend's future. Eren is a broken man by the end of the manga, he admits the founder's power has made his head clouded. I will not bother touching on the Grisha manipulation as we can chalk that up to Eren prioritizing the future of his friends over his own. By this point, Eren knows no boundaries and will move forward at any cost. He decides at the end, he will give up on that dream, die, and allow his friends to be the heroes that saved the world. He makes this choice, regardless of the fate Paradis would be left to. He sacrificed quite literally everything for his friends, his freedom, his dreams, his people. Despite constant reminders to believe in himself for their sake, Eren contradicts all of his previous actions, and plays the role of the martyr for his loved ones. All of his actions seem contradictory, and I personally disagreed with the writing he had in this chapter (139), as it seems to not be coherent with Eren prior to that point. However, we can establish one thing, Eren was not some psychopath nor some childish twisted moron who began the rumbling for no reason but his own selfish desires. In fact, Eren's final decision is completely contradictory to any notion of that fact. To the boy who sought freedom, goodbye.
