In a documentary in late 2018, Hajime Isayama, the author of Attack on Titan, revealed a rough sketch of what the final panel of the manga would look like, even though the manga still had a ways to go before finishing. To this day, the manga is still not done, and fans have been speculating on what the panel actually reveals.

⚠MANGA SPOILERS⚠



According to the new documentary, this is the "last panel" that Isayama has in mind for the last chapter! 😱😱😱



「お前は自由だ…」➡ "You're free…" pic.twitter.com/8JPlriY0Ei — Attack On Fans (@AttackOnFans) November 18, 2018

For reference, as stated in the tweet, Isayama’s sketch appears to show a man holding a baby closely and tenderly while stating the words, “You are free.” Most fans, including myself, have come up with two major possible theories.

Spoilers Ahead

One possibility is that the man is Eren holding the baby that he had with Historia, and that the baby maybe a reincarnation of Ymir Fritz. The other likely possibility is that it is Grisha holding Eren. Between the two theories, the one connecting factor is Eren, who would either be the adult man or the baby. Now which theory is correct?

Eren Holding Ymir

Eren’s Ideology, Chapter 121.

Both possibilities sound so likely that I just want to explore them without giving a verdict on the most likely possibility. Why would it be Eren holding Ymir. Here are the possible reasons that I can think of:

Ymir Fritz has been a slave all of her life, and was trapped in a dimension where all she could do was build titan bodies for the royal family and Eldians

To say “You are free” would indicate that, as a newborn baby in the world that Eren is trying to cultivate, Ymir would finally get to live a life where she does not have to obey anyone’s orders

On it being Ymir Fritz: her soul could get reincarnated in the real world, and she could be born as a new baby

On her being renamed Ymir: Eren would want her to keep the name she initially had; if this is Historia’s baby, Historia would want to name the baby after the person that she loved, the freckled Ymir (a different person from Ymir Fritz)

Eren has become a character truly obsessed with the idea of freedom; there are very few characters with that resolve towards freedom

Eren also seems to associate the idea of being “born into this world” with the idea of freedom

Grisha Holding Eren

While I don’t want to speculate on what is the most likely choice, this is the possibility that I like more. Here are a few reasons why it could be Grisha holding Eren:

Visually, in terms of hairstyle and clothing, the man seems very likely to be Grisha

It being a memory or flashback feels like a fitting way to end the manga, given the story’s heavy association with memory; in terms of memories, Grisha would be the most significant character

One of the only other characters that has mentioned the idea of being “born into this world” is Carla, Grisha’s wife; she was referring to baby Eren in this case, and it’s possible that Grisha had said those words to Carla before

In this context, Grisha would be saying “You are free” when Eren was just born; thus the full meaning being that “you are free because you were born into this world”

This could be a memory that Eren has at the end when he either fails his goal or achieves his goal, potentially showing that Eren’s father is stating that he was already free when Eren was fighting for freedom all this time

Grisha may also be speaking to adult Eren in the flashback through the Attack Titan’s special ability

Carla, maybe inspired by Grisha? Chapter 71.

The Endgame

What is Isayama planning to do? We might not know for another year or so. But it is fun to speculate. Some have speculated on other ideas, such as the man being Jean holding a baby with Mikasa (which is actually really funny to me) or the man being the farmer that the characters believe is the father of Historia’s child. Those two options don’t seem likely at all, but again, it’s fun to speculate. Personally, I would like to see it being Grisha holding Eren, but I can absolutely see it being Eren holding a baby Ymir Fritz. We will see.