Attack On Titan Removes A Detail From A Key Season 1 Scene

Did you notice the subtle change Attack on Titan episode 79 makes to a recreated scene from the very first episode? Attack on Titan season 4’s “Memories of the Future” is an episode that demands its viewing audience’s full attention, thanks to a heady blend of timeline-busting conversations, and flashbacks that stretch from Eren Jaeger’s birth into Attack on Titan season 1. Using the Founding Titan’s Coordinate power, Zeke guides his younger brother through their father’s memories, desperate to prove Grisha brainwashed them both into fighting for the Eldian cause.

One of the final memories Eren and Zeke observe is a classic scene from Attack on Titan‘s very first episode. A young Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman return home after collecting wood. Eren (with some unwanted encouragement from Mikasa) proudly declares his intention to join the Survey Corps, horrifying his mother. Grisha, however, promises to answer his son’s curiosity by revealing the secrets hidden inside the family’s off-limits basement. Grisha then leaves, never to see his family home again. Attack on Titan episode 79 recreates this famous sequence, inserting Zeke and adult Eren into the background as time-hopping witnesses from the future.

Attack on Titan‘s modern redo of Grisha’s farewell is an extremely faithful replica of the original. The animation and coloring is visibly different and, of course, you’ve got two grown men loitering in the house but, for the most part, Attack on Titan episode 79’s new additions slot in perfectly. For example, season 1 obscured Grisha’s facial reaction to Eren’s passionate speech, but the new version reveals his horror and surprise upon hearing how closely his son’s beliefs echo his own as an Eldian Restorationist. Despite Attack on Titan‘s impressive fidelity reanimating this sequence from the past, one glaring continuity error couldn’t be avoided – Carla Jaeger’s positioning in the room when Grisha leaves.

In both versions, Grisha walks to the door, then turns to say goodbye while adjusting his hat. When he does this in Attack on Titan season 1, Carla Jaeger is right there in the doorway beside him, wishing her husband a safe trip. In Attack on Titan episode 79’s recreation, Carla has been shoved to the back of shot, standing nowhere near Grisha – and this change is made to accommodate where adult Eren should be. When Grisha is leaving, Eren from the future is standing directly opposite, staring his father in the face. This is likely when Eren showed Grisha a vision of Wall Maria being attacked by the Colossal and Armored Titans, which we know Eren shared because Grisha says so after leaving the Reiss’ cavern covered in blood. Eren ensured his father went to the cavern on the right day by revealing the incoming attack from Marley, so it makes sense that when Grisha is standing at his door wearing the expression of a man who just stepped on a LEGO brick, he’s actually seeing glimpses of the Wall Maria incident. That means Eren needs to be directly opposite him, and Carla, therefore, had to make way.

Whether Carla Jaeger stands next to Grisha or further back into the house doesn’t meaningfully affect how events play out in Attack on Titan, but her mysterious repositioning does create a weird wrinkle of inconsistency between season 1 and season 4. The change also suggests that the Attack Titan’s future sight power – and Eren Jaeger’s retroactive influence upon his father – perhaps weren’t included in Attack on Titan‘s original plans… otherwise Carla wouldn’t have been standing on her grown-up son’s toes.

Attack on Titan streams Sundays on Funimation, Crunchyroll, and Hulu.

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Craig Elvy
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Craig first began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016, several years after graduating college, and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. Having previously written for various sports and music outlets, Craig’s interest soon turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally came into its own.
Craig has previously been published on sites such as Den of Geek, and after many coffee-drenched hours hunched over a laptop, part-time evening work eventually turned into a full-time career covering everything from the zombie apocalypse to the Starship Enterprise via the TARDIS.

Since joining the Screen Rant fold, Craig has been involved in breaking news stories and mildly controversial ranking lists, but now works predominantly as a features writer.
Jim Carrey is Craig’s top acting pick and favorite topics include superheroes, anime and the unrecognized genius of the High School Musical trilogy.

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