How Falco’s Foreshadowing Misled Attack on Titan Fans

Summary:

• The beginning of the Final Season of Attack on Titan confused some fans.
• They thought Falco was going to inherit the Attack Titan.
• In reality, Falco’s line was not so important.

Remember when the Final Season of Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) started and we were all not sure if we had clicked on the correct link? But it turned out to be the introduction to the Marley Arc and all the new characters that went with it.

(Not) Foreshadowing

The first episode of Season 4 starts with Falco lying on the ground and looking at a bird in the sky (Eren, is that you?). After being saved by his brother, he’s in the trenches with Gabi and his friends, and he says he saw himself flying with a sword, and titans were around him. Which confused a number of viewers back then, since it all reminded them of ODM gear that the Survey Corps use. But confusion was not the only emotion; some actually believed that it was a huge foreshadowing of Falco inheriting the Attack Titan and taking Eren’s place in the future.

The point is that the Attack Titan can view the memories of its owners. And not just the past memories of previous shifters, this titan is capable of looking into the future. That’s why a number of fans suggested that he could just see Eren’s memories at that moment. On top of that, Falco was the core of the ending theme for the first part of the final season, which also led fans to believe that he was destined to play a significant role in the future. But it wasn’t like that.

It’s much simpler

Instead, when Falco saw himself flying, it might have foreshadowed his inheritance of the Jaw Titan. As we know from the finale, Falco’s titan was capable of flying, so it might be the dream he had back at the beginning of the season. It wouldn’t explain the swords part of his vision, though, but maybe he just means that he saw other scouts flying with swords during the final battle.

Other fans say that we shouldn’t be imagining things that are not there. And this line was in the series just to serve a much simpler purpose: to let the audience know that they were indeed watching Attack on Titan, since the sudden change of narration and the absence of familiar faces could easily confuse a viewer. Or maybe it’s even simpler: just to add a humorous effect to play with the audience.