Hunting an Attack on Titan season 4, part 2 begins January 10, 2022, and adapts the final chapters of Isayama's manga.
Attack on Titan began with humanity's last surviving remnants hiding behind three massive circular walls, separating those within from a barren land littered with mindless flesh-eating giants known as "Titans." As the concept evolved and more details emerged about the Titans' creation, Isayama's narrative performed a 180-degree flip, and Attack on Titan ends with humans waging war against each other, rather than the titular Titans earlier seasons assured us were the main threat.
With each ing season, Attack on Titan has added more mythology, more backstory, more history, and more factions. Since Attack on Titan season 4, part 2 is now nigh, dig your 3D maneuver gear into this recap of the story so far.
Attack On Titan's History & Backstory Explained
The Attack on Titan story begins with a young Eldian girl called Ymir, commonly known as the "Founder." Via means the War Hammer Titan.
At this point, s diverge. According to Eldian history books, Ymir's descendants were kind and just rulers whose Titan powers benefited all mankind. The people of Marley have a very different recollection, accusing the Eldians of ruthlessly invading their homes and enslaving non-Eldians by force. Whatever the truth, Marley tired of Eldian leadership and waged war against their overlords. By stirring infighting among Eldia's noble houses, Marley took the upper hand and seized seven Titans for themselves. Karl Fritz - the Founding Titan and Eldian king of that era - chose peace. Fritz gathered as many Eldians as possible onto Paradis Island and used the Founder's abilities to construct the aforementioned three walls out of giant Titans. As per the of his secret truce with Marley, King Fritz bound himself and all successors to a pact of non-aggression, then allowed his enemies to take credit for winning the war. But should Paradis Island ever come under attack, the army of Titans housed inside all three Eldian walls would be unleashed with cataclysmic results.
That tenuous peace held for a little over 100 years, during which time Marley became the same very imperialist nation it overthrew. Eldians left behind became second-class citizens, forced to either live as slaves or the military. A select few recruits would inherit Marley's Titans and fight on their oppressors' behalf in exchange for slightly less abhorrent treatment. Any Eldians who strayed out of line were transformed into mindless Titans using the Beast's spinal fluid, then sent to roam aimlessly outside the three walls of Paradis Island. On Paradis itself, King Fritz's Founding Titan wiped his peoples' memories, erasing all recollection of Eldia, Marley, and the world before. Three military units formed - the Garrison (regular peacekeepers), the Military Police (guards of the rich inside the innermost wall), and the Survey Corps (responsible for exploring beyond the walls and investigating the mysterious Titans).
Nevertheless, Marley couldn't live forever under the shadow of a potential Titan apocalypse, so sent a team of undercover shifters (Bertholt, Annie, Reiner and Marcel) behind the walls to steal Eldia's Founding Titan, which would effectively neutralize the last remaining threat posed by King Fritz. This is where Attack on Titan's story begins.
Attack On Titan Seasons 1-3 Recap
Attack on Titan season 1 begins with Bertholt, Annie and Reiner (Marcel died during the journey) infiltrating the district of Shiganshina. Bertholt's Colossal Titan smashes the gate, while Reiner's Armored Titan breaks through the inner door to invade Wall Maria and force Paradis' population behind two walls instead of three. The trio masquerade as orphans and the likes of Eren, Mikasa and Armin - who lost their loved ones in the attack - training for the Survey Corps. Marley's Titan-shifter spies grow genuinely close to their fellow trainees, but never lose sight of that central mission to locate and seize the Founder. To that end, Bertholt, Annie and Reiner launch their second assault, but abandoned their plan after realizing Eren Yaeger possesses the Attack Titan. Following an intense debate, the Survey Corps decide to utilize Eren's newfound power, and his Attack Titan successfully plugs the hole Bertholt's Colossal Titan knocked through Trost district's outer gate. An encounter with an unusual Female Titan rouses suspicion that if Eren can transform, other Titan-shifters may be hiding in plain sight. Armin hatches a plan to expose Annie as the Female Titan, leading to her capture.
More truths emerge in Attack on Titan season 2. The Survey Corps learn the three walls are constructed entirely of dormant Titans, and Conny tragically discovers "regular" Titans were once people. Paradis Island's leadership begins openly opposing the Survey Corps at the royal family's behest, stemming from King Fritz's declaration of peace 100 years prior. Meanwhile, Marley sends the Beast and Cart Titans to assist Bertholt and Reiner. Pushed to action, the Colossal and Armored Titans kidnap Eren, exposing themselves as Annie's Titan-shifter allies. Eren unleashes his Founding Titan power in order to escape, confirming his importance to both sides.
In Attack on Titan season 3, the Survey Corps launch a coup to free themselves from King Fritz's enforced vow of pacifism. The King is replaced by the Survey Corps' own Historia Reiss - a soldier revealed as a illegitimate royal child. Through flashbacks, Eren discovers how his father used the Attack Titan to steal the Founder from King Reiss at the beginning of Attack on Titan season 1. Grisha Yaeger ed both Titans down to his son, along with a key to their family basement where the truth about Eldia, Marley, and the Titans is documented in full. With Eren now in control of his abilities and the Survey Corps' future secured, a mission is launched to retake Wall Maria, which was lost in Attack on Titan's opening episodes. Following an intense battle against the Armored, Colossal, Beast and Cart Titans, the Survey Corps emerge victorious. Bertholt is killed and Armin inherits the Colossal Titan, but Reiner, Zeke and Pieck (the Cart) escape. Eren and the Survey Corps kill every remaining Titan on Paradis Island, setting their sights on the mystery enemy across the ocean.
Attack on Titan season 3's basement reveal also confirms Grisha Yaeger's backstory. As a subjugated Eldian in Marley, Grisha married a member of Fritz's royal line and formed a rebellion movement called the Eldian Restorationists. The resistance was betrayed by Grisha's own son (Zeke, the future Beast vessel), and all found themselves sentenced to become mindless Titans on Paradis Island. Though the other Restorationists died, Grisha was liberated by Owl - the rebels' secret leader and his Attack Titan predecessor. Grisha goes on to start a new life behind the walls.
What Happened In Attack On Titan Season 4, Part 1
Between Attack on Titan seasons 3 & 4, the Eldians on Paradis Island made an alliance with Zeke Yaeger, who's revealed to be playing the long game after selling out his parents as a child. Paradis has also built bridges with the Azumabito family, who are sympathetic to the Eldian cause. The new allies hatch a plan to defeat Marley by instigating a mini "Rumbling" with the Wall Titans, while ing on the Founding Titan's power through Historia's future children and using the time bought to build up their military. Unable to accept his friends being stuck in the same cycle of misery for decades, Eren goes rogue and makes his own deal with Zeke, who also disagrees with Paradis Island's plan. Instead, the Beast Titan intends to use Eren's Founding Titan alongside his own royal blood (since King Fritz's vow binds Zeke also) to make all Eldians sterile, ending the presence of Titans in the world.
Eren infiltrates the Marleyan mainland alone, forcing his friends in the Survey Corps to reluctantly follow behind in . Despite mass innocent casualties and the death of Sasha, Eren successfully takes Zeke back to Paradis Island, while also adding the War Hammer Titan to his ever-growing collection of powers. Marley's Tyber family (the house previously in possession of the War Hammer) announces Eren is now public enemy number one, and invading Paradis Island is the only way to avoid a Titan apocalypse. Reiner convinces his military superiors to launch a counterattack immediately, and they agree, acknowledging Paradis island sits above an immensely valuable fuel source that could revolutionize their military and negate the need for Titans completely.
Back on Paradis, the Yaeger brothers trigger their secret plan. Eren forms the "Yaegerists" - a group of soldiers loyal to him exclusively - and violently seizes control of the government. In a bitter twist, Eren assaults Armin and tells Mikasa he always hated her for being biologically compelled to protect him, claiming the Ackerman family were genetically bred to serve their "host." Eren's theory is heavily suggested to be false. Zeke plays his part by tricking Levi's squad into drinking wine tainted by his spinal fluid, transforming them and numerous other drunken officials into Titans. Before Eren and Zeke can combine their powers and complete their t plan, however, the forces of Marley arrive via airship, bringing Attack on Titan season 4, part 1 to a dramatic end.