The True Enemy

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It has come to light in the most recent chapter that Zeke, a.k.a the Beast Titan, believes that he and Eren are victims of Grisha Jäger and that Eren has also been brainwashed by him.

Spoiler: Chapter 83

With the page above that brings Zeke and Grisha’s faces together, you can see that they share some remarkably similar features.

Whether this means that Zeke is a close or distant relative of Grisha, we have yet to find out, but in any case it does mean that Zeke believes he has a strong connection to Grisha and that their shared past was not filled with pleasant memories.

So what does Zeke mean by being victims of Grisha? (Note that the translation uses the present tense, so he possibly still considers himself to be a victim.)

But victims of what? First, let's talk about Grisha.


Grisha's Background:

Spoiler: If You Need To Refresh Your Memory

Grisha was known to be a doctor living in the Shiganshina district, and by reputation he was a very good doctor at that.

He was the victim of apparent memory loss, found to be wandering outside the Walls by Keith Shadis many years ago when he was still a member of the Survey Corps. Despite the memory loss and lack of knowledge about the current situation inside the Walls, one of the few things Grisha remembered about himself was that he was a doctor.

In the time that followed, he was able to cure a disease that ravaged Shiganshina's people:

Spoiler: Chapter 71

It is also known that before the fall of Wall Maria he made visits into town to give checkups to patients, but also out of town to people like Mikasa and her family.

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Although Grisha was a well-known doctor, this new revelation about his past brings him somewhat into doubt- not that he hasn’t shown to be of questionable morals and character in the past.

Spoiler: Various Examples

For one, the mysterious basement he promised he'd show Eren in Chapter 1:

And later, the key to the basement he gave to him before his death:

Spoiler: Chapter 62

And just take a look at Chapter 63, you'll find many instances...

Spoiler: Chapter 63

Grisha treated his son as being "different", willing him to take revenge for his mother's death, and to save mankind from the Titans and the memory wiping caused by the First King of the Reiss family, by turning him into a Titan with Titan serum- then letting himself be eaten by Eren to give him the Coordinate power he stole from the Reiss family.

He believed it so important to steal the Coordinate ability that he was willing to kill others and give up his own life for his son to take up the role.

Spoiler: Chapter 71

So from this, it appears the idea that Eren has been brainwashed by Grisha to believe in his goals is not such a far-fetched claim for Zeke to make.

However, even Historia believed it was necessary sacrifice for her family members to be killed by Grisha, as the royal family only wanted to continue leading their subjects to live in a falsely peaceful world using the Coordinate's ability to wipe the memories of great masses of people.

Spoiler: Chapter 67

So then what about Zeke?

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Zeke's Past:

There is not much we know about Zeke's past whilst in his human form besides his name and his supposedly high status in the community he comes from outside the Walls, being called a General by Reiner and "War Chief Zeke" by the Quadrupled Titan. Although, Zeke did mention that he has or did have a father in Chapter 81.

In recent chapters:

• He devised the strategy to regain the Coordinate power in a huge assault against the Survey Corps which caused a great loss of life at his own hands in Titan form.
• He knows Annie's personality and abilities well and puts her in high regard despite not knowing her current circumstances or precise location.
• He called Levi a monster for killing Titans that were under his command.

He also knows that humanity had their minds wiped by the First King of the Reiss family.

Spoiler: Chapter 81

All this and more that we know about him truly makes him a formidable foe.
But now that he's revealed to Eren that he has a connection to Grisha, saying what he has to him, what could this mean for both Eren and the rest of humanity?

From the orders Zeke has given to Annie, Bertolt and Reiner in the past and from his own words, he wants to wipe out humanity.

In contrast, Grisha believed in saving humanity through Eren, so how could Zeke believe that he and Eren are on the same side? (Especially since he has said his goal is to take the Coordinate, and has tried through various methods to take it.)

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My Theories:

• If Zeke thinks he's a victim, then have Grisha's actions in the past caused Zeke to do the things he has done now?
  
  For one, we do not know why Grisha was wandering outside the Walls, and his name was not in the birth records so if he originated from Zeke’s homeland then he probably had the same beliefs that Zeke has.
  
  So if memory loss is to be believed, then how and why did he lose his memory?
  
  
  Spoiler: Theory

  If Grisha did something to Zeke in the past to make him feel the way he does now, then maybe it was because he began to believe in the hope of saving humanity and Zeke considered that a betrayal.
  
  Option A: Grisha’s mind was wiped as punishment and sent to wander the world without a memory to eventually get eaten by a Titan or to die slowly.
  
  Option B: Or, maybe he was transformed into a Titan as punishment for betrayal, forced to wander the world without a memory. (But of course that brings forth the question of how he was able to turn back into a human.)
  
  When Grisha was then found and taught about the world inside the Walls, that is when he started to remember his past life and his belief in saving humanity.
  
  However, if he did not have memory loss:
  
  
  Spoiler: Theory

  Grisha was sent on a mission to infiltrate the Walls by Zeke or someone else of a high standing, pretending to have lost his memory in order to gain access to the inside or was genuinely unaware of how life was in the Walls before he infiltrated the Walls.
  
  Although, as he listened to the way the world worked inside the Walls and experienced how people lived their lives, he began to sympathise with them. His knowledge as a doctor was praised and he felt good about saving people's lives from a disease that killed many, his original mission pushed to the back of his mind by then. He even got married and had a child later.
  
  But then when Wall Maria fell in Shiganshina and he found out about his wife's death, he remembered his original mission to kill the Reiss family and gain the Coordinate ability to take back to the homeland.
  
  However, he wanted to stop the loss of life by the Titans because he believed humanity was worth saving and ultimately made the decision to give the Coordinate power he stole to his son since he was not tainted by the Reiss' past.
• Grisha has saved and killed people and forced a future on his son by giving him the ability to turn into the thing he hates the most- all for the sake of saving humanity, but if this is the brainwashing that Zeke is talking about then perhaps Zeke believes that it is in Eren's best interest to join his side because he thinks his belief in exterminating humans is right.
• It has also been said by Reiner in Chapter 75 that it will be too late for them if Eren is able to fully master the Coordinate power, because in doing so Eren would be able to alter memories and order Titans to do his bidding, so that fact would certainly motivate Zeke to take action.

Does Zeke believe his cause to wipe out humanity is righteous and genuinely wants to free Eren because he believes Eren is being controlled by Grisha? And so since they are both "victims" that makes them alike?

Or is Zeke actually just trying to manipulate Eren into coming over to his side to take the Coordinate in a more direct and personal approach because his plans to capture Eren by proxy have failed in the past?