Attack on Titan: Why Did Eren Become Evil?

Updated:

28 Sep 2024

In the famous anime series; Attack on Titan, Eren Yeager is the main protagonist. He's the character that has won all hearts since the anime's beginning. He joined the Survey Corps, hoping that one day he would be able to get rid of all Titans and avenge the losses humanity suffered. Well, that was until the story took a sharp, dark turn.

Throughout the anime, Eren is willing to help all innocents from the wrong they suffered. He saved Mikasa from the bandits though they were strangers at that point and Armin from being bullied. He always risked his life to protect others.

For a boy like him to VOLUNTARILY commence a genocide and kill millions of people- rationally doesn’t make any sense.

His character development lasted only a short time as a heroic protagonist- though he had the typical lead-up. He drastically transitioned into a debatable villain as the plot unfolded. By the end of the manga, he became the antagonist, leaving many fans disappointed and sad.

Nevertheless, in this article, we shall discover and understand why Eren plummeted into the dark side. Did he ever become evil? Was he ever good to begin with? What were the breaking points that turned him evil? Let's find out.

Eren Always Hated the Existence of Titans

Even before Wall Maria was breached and he lost someone extremely precious to him- Eren always dreamed of a world where there wouldn’t be any walls or threats to humanity.

He was aware that the only way to have a world without that lethal threat would be when all Titans would be killed and disappear off the face of the earth. However, his hate for the mindless monsters went up a notch when he saw his mom being devoured in front of his eyes by a hideous, terrifying Titan- which was barbaric.

Primarily, what horrific end reached his mom rendered Eren to join the Survey Corps and learn to fight tactfully against their enemies, eventually made him the hero. Alas, that didn’t last, and he later indulged in dark ways.

Later in the series, when he realizes that he’s a Titan Shifter, it changes how he thinks about everything. Though he initially considered himself an asset for Paradis Island- he did become what he hated the most.

The discovery of the mindless monsters being former humans deeply shocked all humanity, including Eren himself, and he realized that not everything is as it seems. Though he had a violent and reckless personality- essentially red flags from the beginning, he was determined to reach his goal, which turned him into quote-unquote evil.

His Mother’s Death Is What Forced Him to Take Revenge

What truly manifested Eren’s unflinching hate and resentment towards Titans was because of what happened to his mother. Eren was portrayed to be immensely attached to his mother and deeply loved her.

Unfortunately, his mother didn’t stick around him for too long. After the Colossal Titan blew a strategic hole in Wall Maria, hundreds of Titans infiltrated the walls and took many innocent lives. They consumed the civilians as they screamed in horror for their pain to be spared.

Eren’s mother- her name was Carla, died right in front of Eren’s eyes. Mikasa and Eren tried to save her as she was stuck beneath the piles of huge rocks, but the Smiling Titan, aka Dina, arrived, pulled her through the debris, and proceeded to consume her. She sacrificed herself so that Eren and Mikasa could be safe.

As Hannes took Eren on his back and Mikasa in his arms, Eren saw what one of his most gruesome memories as a child was. However, in the later seasons of the manga, Eren was responsible for Carla’s death- which was another shock for the fandom to deal with.

Nevertheless, Eren was filled with rage to the brim after his mom's death. He wanted revenge, even if that meant him becoming the bad guy or following the evil path. It is important to note that his mom's death was one of the few imperative reasons as the story progressed.

Eren’s Thirst for Freedom

Since he was a child, all he wanted was freedom. He wanted freedom from the walls, freedom from the threat of Titans, and freedom from all that stopped them (humanity) from living their lives to the fullest.

As he grew up, striving for freedom became his only drive against an imprisoned world. His hatred for Titans doubled as they destroyed his family, childhood, and innocence. At the beginning of the anime, the story unfolding led fans to believe that the only enemies were the Titans. However, with the addition of the Titan Shifters, things became even more complicated as it was revealed that there were more enemies beyond the walls.

As Eren became a Titan Shifter himself, he inherited the Founding and Attack Titans from his father, Grisha Yeager. He didn’t even know that he ate his father to possess these powers. His Attack Titan could see the future and keep moving forward, never to bow down in front of anybody or their commands.

Even by the end of the manga, though he didn’t get to witness that freedom and died as someone evil, he made sure the people he loved got their freedom and wouldn’t have to live in a world where they were constantly threatened because of the Titans.

Eren Learnt the Truth of Humanity Existing Beyond Walls

After the battle that took place in Shiganshina, Eren went with a few members of the Survey Corps to the basement. Using the key his father gave him, he came across something disappointing.

Discovery of Grisha’s journals under his abode’s basement was a shell-shocking revelation for all those who lived on Paradis Island. Eren always thought that the elimination of man-eating monsters was their answer to his freedom.

However, it turned out that the people living beyond the walls hated Eldians because of the actions of their King thousands of years ago. The entire world wanted Eldians to have vanished off the face of the earth as retribution for their ancestor’s crimes.

Eren also learned how the people of Marley had been brainwashed to believe that the people behind the walls were pure demons and that this propaganda had now reached the whole world. There would come the point when all the forces across the world would join hands to attack Paradis.

To protect his people against Marley, Eren infiltrated Liberio and unleashed his Titan, taking matters into his own hands and killing hundreds of civilians. He ate Willy Tybur, consumed the War Hammer Titan, and caused collateral damage.

This was his first act of massive crime, and Eren went down into a complete downhill spiral. In his eyes, those people couldn’t be saved through any salvation he granted and had to be removed.

Eren Wanted His Friends to Have Peaceful Lives

Eren adored and loved no one more than his friends; that was all left for him. He proved that he would do anything to keep them safe, happy, and protected.

Following the attack on Liberio, all his friends were angry and confused. They hadn’t approved of this assault, and Eren had called in to fight without letting anyone know his true intentions. He hurt them and started acting as if he didn’t care about them at all, and pretended to follow Zeke’s plan of Eldia never being able to reproduce.

Early on, Eren realized that he could only be stopped with certain death. This is why he continued pretending to be the evil guy and killing all those who hated his homeland. He activated the Rumbling through the Founding Titan's powers and destroyed around 80% of the world's population. He didn't want his loved ones to suffer any hate or have blood on their hands.

“A hero would sacrifice you to save the world, while a villain would sacrifice the world to save you.”

That’s exactly what Eren Yeager did for his friends. In the finale, he admits he became the bad guy so that the Survey Corps could kill him and become humanity’s heroes. That way, nobody would hate Paradis Island anymore. With Eren’s death, all Titans would finish, and all the Pure Titans would become human again.

By eliminating the Power of the Titans, he ensured that no one would ever dare to misuse these powers for war, battle, or conquest. He gave his friends that peaceful life; he never got to live. He gave his friends the freedom; he could never have.

Eren Yeager truly went out of his way for the people he loved. He was willing to become evil and die if that meant his friends could grow old together.

Conclusion

Even though Eren became “evil” and killed billions of people, he ultimately freed Ymir from her curse, saved all humans who were wrongfully turned into monsters, and gave humanity a fresh new start, to begin with.

His methods may have been wrong, but in his mind and eyes, that was the best he could do for humanity.

Attack on Titan’s final season will be coming this year, showing us the dreaded end of Eren- that, honestly, I never wanted to see as a fan.

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