There was a particularly intense scene with Reiner near the end of Attack on Titan Season 4 Episode 3 that fans are still talking about it. And it’s spawned a lot of theories about Reiner’s next move and his plans for the future. What did he mean when he said, “I still have those guys?” What is he planning next?
This article will have spoilers for Season 4 Episode 3, but the article itself and the theories are manga-spoiler-free.
Please don’t add spoilers from the manga in the comments. Thanks. 🙂
Reiner Almost Killed Himself, But Why?
We saw Reiner almost kill himself and then change his mind at the last second. Just what was going through Reiner’s head when he put the gun to his head? Was he feeling guilty about all the people he had killed in the past, including Eldians? Was he feeling overwhelmed by the Marleyan brainwashing and the fact that his life would just end with either his cousin or Falco taking on the burden he had borne? I think a key clue is the simple fact that he was going to kill himself. The implications are huge. If Reiner killed himself, then his cousin and Falco would be free. There’d be no one to inherit the power and it would just go to a Subject of Ymir’s baby (as we learned in Season 3 Episode 21.) The Marleyans would likely lose the power, and Gabi certainly wouldn’t get it. (Note: This article originally mistakenly guessed the power would die with Reiner, but I learned that was wrong after re-watching Season 3 Episode 21.)
We saw him about to pull the trigger just as he had a flashback where he reminded Eren of his plan to take out every single last titan. In essence, he would be doing part of Eren’s job for him, at least as far as removing the titan from Marley’s control.
But then he stopped, saw Falo, and said, “That’s right. I still have those guys.”
Some think that he was thinking back to the people of Paradis, while others think that he was thinking of Falco and the kids (I lean toward the latter.)
Reiner could either be going one of two directions. He could have seen Falco and decided to keep staying the course, keep destroying Paradis for the sake of Falco and the other kids. This is what he’s done in the past – almost changed his mind and then convinced himself to go back to Marley’s plan.
But he might also be seeing things differently this time. He knows that Falco wants to save Gabi from the titan fate. They both recognize that the path they’re on is ultimately only going to lead to a painful end. So something has to change, right?
One Redditor wrote the following assessment of Reiner:
Last week we saw that Reiner knew the people of Paradis truly weren’t evil, like they had already been portrayed. The worst example he could come up with was the potato moment with Sasha. He’s obviously seeing through the brainwashing, but will it be enough?
Some people think that Reiner is going to become the new “Owl” and start working on a way to overthrow Marley from the inside.
Others think that he will become the Owl, but in a different way. He will choose to let Falco eat him and gain his power, but with the understanding that Falco will be more like a Grisha Jeager that rebels, rather than a new titan to fight for Marley.
It’s tough to know what Reiner’s next move will be. He’s been a bit unpredictable, and I’ve gotten my hopes up before that he’d change only to be disappointed.
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