How does Eren and Zeke's Attack on Titan reunion happen in "Two Brothers," and who betrays who inside the Paths? Attack on Titan season 4 is very much a tale of two brothers. On one hand there's Eren Jaeger - Attack on Titan's protagonist, who watched Titans ravage his home and promised every last one would be eradicated on his relentless road toward freedom. On the other, Zeke Jaeger - the Eldian prisoner who betrayed his own parents, then became Marley's Beast Titan to enact a secret plot of his own design.
Zeke's Attack on Titan masterplan is as simple as it is depraved. In order to end Eldian suffering and bring a constant cycle of war and bloodshed to an end, Zeke Jaeger will render his people unable to reproduce, bringing the only race capable of transforming into Titans to an end. Zeke's plan requires two ingredients - his own royal blood, and Eren's Founding Titan. Only by bringing both together and wielding the Founder's power can Zeke's dream be realized, and the Beast believes his younger brother is fully on-board.
The true test finally comes in Attack on Titan season 4's "Two Brothers," as Eren and Zeke Jaeger evade enemy fire (well, mostly) to make physical contact on the battlefield. But how does Zeke and Eren's otherworldly meeting happen? How does Zeke gain the upper hand on his brother? And how did Zeke break Ymir's renouncement of violence?
How Attack On Titan's Two Brothers Reunion Happens (Despite Eren's Beheading)
By this point, every faction knows Zeke and Eren need to make physical contact before they can wreak havoc. The Marleyans seek to prevent this because the Jaeger brothers will (after enacting the euthanization plan) trigger the Rumbling, awakening all Titans within the walls of Paradis Island. The Jaegerists are obviously going along with whatever Eren wants, and the Survey Corps have decided to support them, trusting their villainous friend won't go ahead with Zeke's sick scheme. The Shiganshina battle leads to a mad dash - one side trying to bring Eren and Zeke together, the other doing their damnedest to kill one of them before that happens.
Zeke copies the Cart Titan's trick from Attack on Titan season 4's previous episode - using the Beast's "dead" Titan body to hide his ejected human form. Eren does something similar, suckering Reiner into a Titan-vs-Titan fist fight, then using his hardening power to temporarily glue the Armored Titan in place, giving Eren time to abandon ship and sprint toward Zeke, both in their human guises. The plan would've worked were it not for Gabi. In Attack on Titan's previous installment, Gabi asked Colt about the "metal pipe" he was carrying around, and discovered it was an "anti-Titan rifle." Since Colt perished holding his transforming younger brother the gun is now free, and Gabi uses it to decapitate Eren with a single shot as he runs toward Zeke.
The Jaeger brothers' plan still succeeds because Zeke is fortunate enough to catch Eren's flying head in his hand, meeting the "Founding Titan + royal blood" conditions necessary to call upon the Founder's power. Any ordinary human would've died immediately from Gabi's shot, but Eren's Titan power keeps him (barely) alive, so when Zeke makes the catch (foreshadowed by his years of baseball practice in Marley), the reunion still happens.
Where Eren & Zeke Meet (& How Long Has Passed)
The realm hosting Eren and Zeke's long-awaited meeting is referred to as "the Paths." Glimpsed several times previously in Attack on Titan, the Paths is where the original Titan, Ymir, dwells in solitude. The glowing strands in the center represent connections to every single Titan from the past, present and future, allowing Ymir to exist independently of time, and enact godlike influence over the entire Eldian population. The Paths can only be accessed at will by royal holders of the Founding Titan.
When Eren and Zeke eventually get an opportunity to talk, the older Jaeger brother is sporting scraggy long hair and claw-like nails, indicating a long time has passed since they entered the Paths - a period Zeke says felt "like years." Zeke also claims his wait was down to Eren recovering from decapitation. Back when Zeke was blown to bits by a thunder spear, his remaining head and shoulders appeared in the Paths where Ymir rebuild the rest from scratch. Attack on Titan implies the same has now happened to Eren. After making physical contact in Shiganshina, both Jaeger brothers arrived in the Paths - Zeke mostly fine, Eren not so much. Maybe Ymir reconstructed Eren from the head down, then allowed him to recover while Zeke waited patiently. However long has passed in the Paths, the time would be negligible back in the real world. All this would've happened before the bloody remains of Eren's torso even hit the ground.
How Zeke Stopped Eren Betraying Him (Founding Titan Power Explained)
Zeke drops an important revelation regarding the Founding Titan power in Attack on Titan season 4's "Two Brothers." Whenever a character uses "the Founding Titan," all they're doing is accessing the Paths and giving Ymir an order. Royal Eldians who possess the Founder (also known as the "Coordinate") visit the Paths, and command Ymir to do whatever they desire - erase memories, make Eldians infertile, activate the Wall Titans, etc. During her lifetime, Ymir was a slave to Eldia's royal family, never knowing freedom or independence. For this reason, Ymir obediently follows whatever orders she's given, and this is the shocking true nature of the Founding Titan's "power."
King Karl Fritz - the ruler who relocated the Eldians to Paradis Island over 100 years ago - had Ymir working major overtime. Not only did he command the construction of three massive walls, he also made her erase the Eldians' memories. Most importantly, however, Karl Fritz ordered Ymir to prevent his successors using her power, ensuring future rulers couldn't undo his truce. Attack on Titan's so-called "vow of renouncing war" means Zeke, as a man of Fritz's royal bloodline, shouldn't be able to make requests of Ymir in the Paths.
This is where Zeke rewrites the rulebook. During the long period Eren spent recovering from decapitation, Zeke sat alone with Ymir. He used that free time to make her drop Karl Fritz's restrictions ("I managed to nullify the vow renouncing war"), suggesting any past royal Founding Titan could've done the same, but Zeke was the first who actually wanted to, since he wasn't "tainted by the first King's ideals." Zeke still needed Eren, as owner of the Founding Titan, to reach Ymir and the Paths, but whereas Zeke was initially relying on his brother to give the order, he can now enact the euthanization plan himself. Eren's usefulness has expired.
Did Zeke ALWAYS Plan To Betray Eren In Attack On Titan?
Eren Jaeger takes delight in letting Zeke know he was never intending to follow his brother's "messed up" plan. But did Zeke know about Eren's duplicity, and was he always plotting to control the Founder's power for himself?
In Attack on Titan season 4's "Two Brothers," Zeke confirms he long suspected Eren was putting on an act, admitting, "I thought as much, Eren." Nevertheless, Zeke couldn't be certain, and kept hoping his brother would come through right up until the last moment - hence Zeke's look of horror when Eren drops the facade. Despite harboring suspicions about Eren's intentions, however, Zeke couldn't have possibly planned his Ymir contingency in advance. Zeke had no way of knowing Eren would be decapitated before reaching the Paths, giving him the time necessary to undo the First King's renouncement. Zeke also didn't understand how the Founding Titan power worked until getting up close and personal. Only after catching Eren's head and meeting Ymir properly did Zeke realize he could enact the plan without his brother.
Not knowing whether he could actually break the renouncement, Zeke's Attack on Titan plan was heavily flawed - but so too was Eren's. Zeke hints that Ymir will only listen to those with royal blood, meaning Eren, despite being the Founding Titan and unbound by the vow renouncing war, perhaps couldn't have commanded Ymir anyway. Having said that, we now know the "Founding Titan" is nothing more than asking a very powerful young girl for a favor. If Zeke can convince her to break the rule renouncing war, can Eren present an equally worthy argument to make her follow orders from a non-royal?
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