Attack on Titan Season 4, Episode 27 ties together some of the oldest plot threads in the series with two major deaths.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Attack on Titan Season 4, Episode 27, “Flashback,” now streaming on Funimation, Hulu, and Crunchyroll.
The most unlikely duo in attack on titan they sealed the fate of the Jaegerists when Theo Magath and Keith Shadis blew up the only ship, along with them, capable of pursuing the Marleyans and Scouts. Azumabito’s seaplane will take half a day to prepare for the flight, and the group cannot stay on Paradis Island without endless conflict. Planning to tow the flying boat to Odiha to keep it away from the Jaegerists and before the Rumbling, the group would never have escaped were it not for the actions of Magath and Shadis.
As the fighting in the harbor turned in favor of the Jaegers, the train carrying their reinforcements mysteriously exploded. Shadis quickly arrived, confirmed that he had blown up the train, and joined Magath on a suicide mission to prevent stragglers from following the Marleyans and Scouts in hopes of stopping Eren and Rumbling. As Hange and Jean, along with Pieck and Gabi, watched as their respective instructors blew themselves up, attack on titan has come full circle in a heartbreaking way. The students are now the teachers by necessity, as the command structure of Paradis Island and the Marleyan military have completely collapsed.
Keith Shadis is no longer a spectator in Attack on Titan
Former Paradis Island Corps of Cadet instructor, and former Commander of the Survey Corps, Keith Shadis has been part of attack on titan From the beginning. The commander of the 104th Cadet Corps oversaw the training of the most troublesome graduating class of all time, considering that his Top 10 contained three Marleyan spies/Titan Shifters, as well as the world’s greatest enemy, Eren Jaeger. Shadis has long despised himself for being an ordinary man in an extraordinary world. Handing over command of the Survey Corps to Erwin Smith, whom Shadis believed was best suited to save humanity, his inaction has been his defining trait for most of his life.
Shadis has considered himself a bystander all his life as he watched the likes of Erwin, Grisha Jaeger, and even Eren change the world within the Walls in ways he had only dreamed of. Shadis’s story has come full circle now that he has taken decisive action against the Jaegerists, blasting his reinforcements so his former students can save the world. Had the Jaeger reinforcements arrived, the Marleyans and the scouts would surely have been overrun and the world would have been doomed to Rumor. In his final act, Shadis did the bravest and most daring thing he could do by taking on the Jaegerists, even though stopping the Rumbling may doom Paradis Island.
Theo Magath took responsibility for his part in Marley’s horrific actions
Introduced as the commander of the Eldian Unit of the Marleyan army, Theo Magath was initially just like any other Marleyan. Seeing the Eldians, even those who serve Marley, as hideous spawns of the devil who deserve to suffer for the crimes of his ancestors, the renewed war between Marley and Paradis Island forced him to reexamine his own ideals. Magath clearly grew fond of the children in his care through the Marley Warrior Program, particularly Gabi Braun. Gabi’s fanatical dedication to proving that she was a “good Eldian” opened Magath’s eyes to the cruelty of indoctrinating children to fight a bloody and deadly war.
After some growing pains associating with the Eldians, Magath expressed her deepest regret for her treatment of the Eldian race in the past. Like any other Marleyan who has spent significant time on Paradis Island, Magath learned that the “Island Devils” are ordinary people just like anyone else. His final sacrifice is especially heroic because he didn’t blow himself up to save Marley. From Hange’s deductions, Magath knew that Marley was already doomed to the Course no matter what. Instead, he sacrificed himself to atone for the fact that Gabi and Falco never got to have a normal life, and stopping the Rumbling is his best chance to do so in the future.
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