Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Attack on Titan and its ending.
With the final season of Attack on Titan having come to a close, fans are once again reviewing the series and trying to make sense of that convoluted series finale.
After engaging Eren’s Founding Titan in a devastating fight over the skies of Marley, the newly formed alliance managed to defeat Ymir’s minions with the help of Zeke. The organism known as “the source of all living matter” tried to make its way back to Eren to restore his powers, but the remaining characters banded together to stop it.
In the end, Mikasa, Armin, and Levi work together to bring Eren down. Levi gave Mikasa an opening, and she let go of her feelings and killed Eren by cutting off his head from the Titan. After his death, Eren invoked memories of taking his friends to the Paths one last time to explain the truth to them.
Indeed, a major section of the series finale once again takes us to the enigmatic location known as the Paths, where the consciousness of all Eldian subjects collides and connects the entire race to their founder Ymir. But what are the Paths and what function do they serve in the last episode?
What are the Paths in Attack on Titan?
In essence, the Paths are a plane where every person from the Eldian race is connected to their ancestor, Ymir. The founder herself, who is an immortal being of immense power, resides there and manifests the power of the Titans in the real world.
For instance, when a Titan is wounded and their body tries to regenerate, it’s actually the founder Ymir who allows this to happen through her labor. She also bestows random Eldians with the power of the Nine Titans when their former hosts die.
It appears that those with a connection to the royal blood have more influence on the Paths. When Armin convinced Zeke — who was the vessel for Eren in his onslaught — to fight back, he brought back many Titans from across the ages to help the alliance. In a way, that also implies that the Eldians, or at least their consciousness, lives on in the Paths, and that they can be brought back through Ymir.
That’s also how Eren managed to have a conversation with his friends one last time before the end, though it’s uncertain whether or not the Paths are still there following Ymir’s passing.