Attack On Titan Season 2 is a conundrum on its own. A lot of fans say that Season 2 is the simplest season in the whole series, but that is very subjective. On the other hand, a lot of viewers also enjoyed Season 2 as it was a breather that helps you gear up for Season 3.
Attack On Titan Season 2 is confusing as the story is presented in fragments. There are half-truths involved and the same are used for story progression. Even though it is not that meaty in terms of mystery compared to other parts, you are still left with a bunch of question marks after an episode.
The half-truths are so prevalent that even the viewers no longer believe what they are seeing unfold on the screen. We are left to think about other explanations and possibilities besides what we are actually watching. This is exactly what Attack On Titan wants their viewers to feel in Season 2 to gear up for Season 3.
Why Attack On Titan Season 2 Is Confusing
Confusion, a sense of dread, and even false hope. That about wraps up Season 2, only to experience an amped-up version of these feelings in Season 3.
Note: If you are confused about other seasons as well, check out our article on them here:
- Why Attack on Titan is so confusing (general things explained)
- Why AoT Season 3 is so confusing
- Why AoT Season 4 is so confusing
Why Are There Titans Inside The Wall?
The latter part of Season 1 brings the mystery of the titans within the walls of Paradis. It was then continued in Season 2, however, they just spur on the mystery with just a few crumbs for clues.
So we are going to finally answer this completely to spare you the trouble of cross-referencing Seasons 2 to 4.
Spoiler warning! Big spoilers ahead.
The titans in the wall are actually the foundation of the wall and the very existence of Paradis. Therefore, the great walls are made of titans, the very thing that the humans inside of the walls fear. Surprising stuff, right?
We mentioned earlier the rift between Eldians and Marleyans, and how King Fritz decided to just move to an isolated place to enact peace between the countries.
Most of the Eldians by this time are Subjects of Ymir and have the ability to turn into titans.
There are Eldians who stayed in Marley despite the relocation of the majority of their people. Needless to say, these Eldians were heavily persecuted by Marleyans as they are viewed as scum.
So King Fritz called for peace by leaving and used Colossus Titans to create the walls so that finally, the Eldians can live in peace.
He threatened Marley that if they come under attack, he will unleash the Colossus Titans so that they can flatten the earth.
The truth is, this was never meant to be, as King Fritz himself swore to peace with the Founding Titan.
In fact, this vow is powerful and is passed on to other holders of the Founding Titan that they can never use its power for war. This truth was only revealed in the later seasons.
How Did Ymir Become A Titan?
Before anything else, we have to make it clear as this is usually a source of confusion. The Ymir that we are talking about here is the Ymir who is friends with Krista. This Ymir is different from Ymir Fritz.
She was only named after Ymir as she was used by an Eldian in Marley who branded her as someone who has royal blood. In turn, some Eldians worshipped her.
Her back story is really tragic so we recommend that you focus on her tale, now that it is clear that she is different from Ymir Fritz.
So, how did Ymir become a titan? Was she with Reiner and the others? Spoilers ahead!
Ymir became a titan shifter purely because of coincidence. Due to what happened in her past (again you need to watch her story to understand this in detail) she was one of the Eldians whom the Marleyans punished by way of injecting the titan serum and leaving them to wander the desert.
So after getting the titan serum, Ymir became a mindless Pure Titan for 60 years. It was only when she chanced upon the group of Reiner who was sent by Marley to infiltrate Paradis, that she was freed from being a Pure Titan.
She ended up attacking the group and eating Marcel who at the time was the holder of the Jaw Titan. Therefore, Ymir turned into the Jaw Titan. Keep in mind, she was never in cahoots with the Marleyans.
How Did Eren Control The Other Titans?
There really is no way around answering this question without mentioning spoilers. So again, here is your spoiler warning!
In an adrenaline-heavy sequence, Eren found himself face to face with the titan that ate his mother in the first episode. This titan with the blonde hair came to be known as the Smiling Titan.
We do not need to spoil you any further by narrating the happenings in this sequence as well as the terrible death in this episode, but what is confusing is the fact that Eren was able to order other titans to attack the Smiling Titan.
How did he do it? Is the Attack Titan within Eren, special?
As we discussed earlier, Eren is also the holder of the Founding Titan. At the time, no one knew about this, not even Eren. We also discussed that since Eren is not of royal blood, he cannot utilize the full power of the Founding Titan.
An exception to this absolute rule is the fact that if a titan shifter who is also the holder of the Founding Titan, comes into contact with a descendant of the royal family, he can make use of some of the Founding Titan’s power. How is this relevant to Eren?
If you have had enough of the spoilers, better skip to the next part because the next paragraph is such a huge spoiler!
This is relevant to Eren as he came into contact with the Smiling Titan, who is in fact, Dina Fritz. Yes, you got that right, from the royal Fritz family.
More shocking than that is the realization the Dina Fritz is actually Dina Jaeger before she was turned into a Pure Titan in Marley.
Wait… Jaeger? As in Grisha Jaeger? Like, Eren Jaeger? Yes. That is right! Dina Fritz was the wife of Eren’s father when he was still living in Marley. In sum, the ex-wife of Grisha ate his current wife. The drama of it all, I tell you!
Attack On Titan Season 2 At A Glance
As we mentioned earlier, Attack on Titan Season 2 does not really have a lot of shocking revelations. However, the sequences leave the viewers at the edge of their seats simply because of the unanswered questions.
If any, Season 2 gives us the inkling that we should expect that worse things are yet to come when we finally learn some of the truths in Season 2.
The horrifying fact that the titan who ate Eren’s mother was actually Grisha’s first wife, can make the viewers feel that the world of Attack on Titan is unforgiving and gruesome. (And it is one of the reasons why people hate Attack on Titan. Read our article on that here!)
Add to that the tragic life of Ymir and how in her entire life, there was absolutely nothing that she can ever be proud of, except for when she became friends with Krista.
At this time, we are simply accepting the happenings on the screen.
You might also notice that at this time, we are no longer shocked if a major character dies or if they die via a titan eating them.
By Season 2, we are already desensitized with all of the hopeless killings. This feeling is exactly what the creators want us to feel, in order for Season 3 to have more impact.