Heartbreaking Attack on Titan callback makes the finale even more tragic

Just when you thought Attack on Titan couldn’t rip your heart out anymore, one eagle-eyed viewer has spotted an incredible callback that makes the finale’s most traumatic scene even more tragic.

Earlier in the Final Season, Eren glimpsed a pregnant woman at the port in Marley. It’s a small, insignificant act at first glance – but one that ultimately reminds him of his mother as his humanity begins to fade away.

That woman returns in the Attack on Titan Final Chapters Special 2 in an especially harrowing scene involving the Titans of the Rumbling forcing a large crowd of people to tumble over a cliff-face. While the mother is not so lucky and seemingly dies, the baby is carried to safety. See the moment for yourself below.

But, then, Attack on Titan was never going to be all sunshine and roses. As creator Hajime Isayama told The New York Times, he quickly had to "give up" on the idea of a happy ending.

"I guess there could have been an ending where it was a happy ending and the war ended and everything was fine and dandy. I guess that could have been possible. At the same time, the end of fighting and the end of contention itself kind of seems hokey," Isayama said. 

He continued: "It kind of seems like it’s not even believable. It’s just not plausible in the world we’re living in right now. And so, sadly, I had to give up on that kind of happy ending."

If you need to fill the Titan-shaped hole in your life then check out the best anime you should be watching right now, including Jujutsu Kaisen season 2.