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Ere-Mika shippers were in for a nasty shock in Attack On Titan, when Eren Yeager told Mikasa that he hated her ever since he was a child. Even though Eren‘s character has been on a downward spiral, this dialogue came out of nowhere and was too harsh on both Mikasa and Armin.
But then why exactly did Eren say he hated Mikasa? Because she was just like tamed cattle waiting to follow orders. He hated Mikasa because she was not free.
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Why did Eren say he hated Mikasa?
According to Eren, Mikasa only clung to him because of her Ackerman blood. The Ackerman clan was an accidental byproduct of Eldia’s Titan experimentation on subjects of Ymir. These experiments ended up creating a bloodline that could partly manifest the strength of Titans in human form.
However, the downside was that the Ackerman clan had an innate instinct to protect the Eldian king, or rather protect a certain ‘host’. This host is the reason why they awaken their powers.
In Mikasa’s case, Eren is the host she is trying to protect. Eren tells her as much. In short, she is not protecting him out of her free will.
She was doing so because of her Ackerman instincts. The headaches that Mikasa gets are because of her true self trying to resist this instinct of wanting to protect the host.
As far as Eren was concerned, this meant that Mikasa was never free. She was akin to a slave who was created to follow orders. And Eren hated anyone who did not act according to their own free will. But then, does he really hate Mikasa?
Does Eren really hate Mikasa?
To answer in short, no; Eren does not hate Mikasa. In fact, he cares a lot about her. There are multiple instances in the series which prove this.
To begin with, Eren has saved Mikasa whenever the latter was in trouble. He rescued her from the robbers who had kidnapped her.
Eren was also ready to put his life on the line to protect Mikasa while Titans were about to eat them at the end of Season 2.
He has taken extreme care to see that his friends, especially Mikasa stays out of trouble. There are multiple other examples where Eren has taken Mikasa’s side and shown concern for her.
When he was under trial for being a titan, Eren still defended Mikasa from the accusers in the court without a second thought. He was concerned when Mikasa joined the Survey Corps. Eren actually wanted her to join the Military police where she could stay safe.
If you still find it hard to believe, look no further than the question that Eren asks her the night they met Ramzi.
It is true that Eren did not understand why Mikasa would put her life on the line for someone like him. Or why she would choose to follow him to the ends of the world. Choosing Survey corps, not abandoning his side even at the darkest times, what made her go so far for him? What was he to Mikasa?
This question was Eren’s sincere attempt at trying to understand what Mikasa truly felt about him. If Mikasa’s answer were any different that night, would the situation have been different now?
It is true that there are very few Ere-Mika moments in the series altogether. He has never shown any romantic interest in her. Or rather Isayama has not. But there are very subtle moments, which show that Eren DOES CARE about Mikasa.
So, we can say without the slightest doubt that Eren definitely does not hate Mikasa.
However, one could argue that this was the situation before Eren came to know about the truth behind the Ackerman clan; before he met with Zeke. Well, here’s a surprise for you, that isn’t true either. The reason why Eren said he hated Mikasa was something totally different.
WARNING: The following part of the article contains spoilers from Attack on Titan manga. Read ahead at your own discretion!!
The real reason behind Eren’s statements:
If you believe Eren began hating Mikasa because he learnt the secret about the Ackerman clan and their host instincts, then you are very wrong.
It is true that Eren and Zeke talked about the Ackerman clan while they met in Marley. Zeke revealed how the experimentation caused them to wield superhuman physical abilities. However, the whole about being drawn to a host and the headaches was something that Eren made up.
When Eren asks Zeke if Ackerman’s were drawn to a host or if they had an instinct to protect a particualr person, the latter completely rejects the notion. There was no proof for Ackerman being compelled to obey a host nor about the headaches that were unique to them.
The reason why Mikasa followed Eren was because she loved him. She would even snap a Titan’s neck into two to save him. And this was not due to some Ackerman instinct. Infact, there was never such Ackerman instinct to begin with.
So, if Eren knew that Mikasa followed him out of her own volition, then why did he say that he hated her? The answer is simple. Its because he did not want Mikasa to get her. This was his way of pushing her away, because he was going down a path of death and destruction.
Eren’s choice of actions:
It is pretty clear in Attack on Titan Season 4 that Eren has chosen to go down a dark path. He went against the chain of command and met with Zeke, in order to enact a secret plan to save Eldia. He sacrificed innocent women and children as he pushed forward to achieve his goals.
One could argue that Eren was pushed into a corner; that he is forced to make these choices for the survival of the Eldians on Paradis Island. But even from Eren’s moral point of view, his actions were wrong (just take a look at his depressed face).
He knows that there is no coming back at this point. And that’s one of the main reasons why he is trying to push away the people he cares about the most.
In addition to that, Eren knows that he has only four more years left to live, thanks to Ymir’s curse. He knows that if Mikasa were to be with him, she will not be happy. He wants her to live a long and happy life and he wants her to do so by forgetting him.
By telling Mikasa he hated her, he hoped to make her hate him too. This was his way of pushing her away. Knowing how attached Mikasa was to him, she would have mourned for him the rest of her life.
We believe that Eren did not want her to waste her life like that. He wished for Mikasa to live a happy life, a life where would spend cherishing what she had and not mourning what she had lost.
Do you think Eren is doing the right thing by pushing Mikasa away? Does he really hate her? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Eren’s action is wrong but i know when loveones have to Do when try to break the relationship, we Indian always do the same, try to ignore or start the fight when we can’t better for her/him. But Eren’s action gonna make suffer mikasa very bad. I love her??
Nice Explanation 🤩