Attack on Titan Finally Reveals the Origin of the Founder Ymir and the Titans
Published on February 11, 2022
Attack on Titan has finally revealed what fans have been speculating over for years: the origin of the Titans. While the history of the Titans was only recently revealed in the latest episode, it has been well known throughout the series that the first and original Titan was a girl named Ymir, who lived 2,000 years ago. Like the people of Paradis, we had little knowledge about her story until now. However, Attack on Titan Season 4, Episode 21, "From You, 2,000 Years Ago," gave us the answers to all our questions about Ymir. As it turns out, the birth of Titans was the outcome of a "slave" girl being punished for an offense she didn't commit.
Two thousand years ago, a young girl named Ymir lived in a small village invaded by a tribe called the "Eldians." Everyone who survived the invasion was turned into a slave, with their tongues cut out. It seems that it all began when a pig escaped its pen. Fritz, who was the leader at the time, declared that if the perpetrator who freed the pig did not come forward, every enslaved person would have an eye cut out, resulting in the villagers using Ymir as their scapegoat. Thus began the story of the founder Ymir, and just like everything else in the AOT universe, it's a tragic one.
The Origin of the Founder and the Titans
After being blamed for a crime she did not commit, Ymir kneeled in front of the chieftain Fritz, who not only takes one of her eyes out but also orders his men to hunt her down. Injured from the arrows that struck her while running from the soldiers, Ymir stumbled upon an ancient tree with a hollow entrance. As she walked in, she fell into a tunnel and landed in a pool of water where a spindly fluorescent creature could be seen aligning its tendrils to her spine.
Ymir then transformed into what became the first Titan in history. Fritz, pleased upon hearing of Ymir's transformation, changed his mind about having her killed and decided to use her powers for the tribe's benefit. As a Titan, Ymir helped the Eldians build roads, fight wars and cultivate lands, pleasing Fritz, who decided to make her his concubine. Ymir then had three children with Fritz: Maria, Rose, and Sina. (Sound familiar?)
Enslaved as a young girl, Ymir obediently followed every command Fritz gave her and, in the end, sacrificed herself to save him. However, you are mistaken if you think Ymir's death might have softened Fritz. Not only did Fritz not care about the girl who served him all her life and gave her life in turn for his, but he also did the unimaginable. Determined not to lose Ymir's Titan powers, Fritz had his daughters devour the body of their mother.
In addition to this atrocity, Fritz also declared that their children continue the bloodline and have their spines fed to their children in hopes that Eldia would continue to dominate the world. As the Eldian empire rose to prominence, Ymir Fritz stayed in "the Paths," carrying buckets of sand to build Titans at her descendants' command, expecting to do so for all eternity.
What We Learned From The Story
Unlike our villainous protagonist Eren Yeager, Ymir didn't choose her fate; she was a victim of a cruel man and a barbaric tribe. For 2,000 years, Ymir has been enslaved in "the Paths," carrying out the will of the Fritz family bloodline, as well as building and repairing the Titan bodies of every Titan Shifter, the mindless Titans, and even the Wall Titans. Through the years, it seems that Ymir has developed a hatred for the world, like Eren.
In the latest episode, we see Ymir awaken after 2,000 years and finally do what she wants rather than what a "royal" desires. Ymir's hatred for the world is evident when Eren tells her that she's not a slave or a god but a person who deserves to make her own choices. Eren, whose entire motivation for doing everything has always been freedom, offers Ymir the chance to be free as well.
Ymir Fritz then grants Eren the full power of the Founding Titan, as evidenced when the same creature that saved her 2,000 years ago appears from Eren's decapitated head back in Shiganshina. It's not clear what happened to Ymir after Eren took control of the Founding Titan. It is unknown whether she still exists in the Paths or has finally been put to rest. However, Eren has begun "the Rumbling" and plans to exterminate all life beyond the island. While we don't know what will happen, we know that Eren finding an ally in the Founder Ymir can't be good for the world's future.
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