I’ve been trying to figure out what exactly Zeke meant by “brainwashing” since the chapter was released, and now have another idea what he may have actually meant. Despite this being a story in which memory manipulation is an actual thing, I’m basing this speculation on a more figurative meaning.
I’ve seen many fans assume that Zeke implied Eren had been brainwashed in the sense that Grisha had misled him into believing he should be fighting for humanity, or something along those lines. And that’s a fair assumption, it sounds plausible. But then, this just now popped into my mind:
Keith:Special. Chosen. It was the first time anyone had ever called me that.
Carla looks so unimpressed with all that “special” talk.
Consider what Grisha called Keith and the rest of the Survey Corps members: Special. Chosen. He tells Keith they are wiser and braver than anyone else within the walls…which is quite a compliment, though a bit much. Keith let this idea get to his head, and in the end only caused him grief. Then, the night the walls were breached and Grisha takes Eren into the woods, we have this exchange:
Keith worries about Grisha “cursing” another person, suffering the same fate as he did. Eren, self-admittedly, also let the notion of being special get the better of him (although there were other important factors involved, such having others put him up on a pedestal).
The fallout of that belief suddenly crumbling away was ugly, to say the least.
And then Eren, after hearing what Keith has to say, has this realization that he may have only been given the titan powers in the first place because he was just the son of someone who was special.
The way he reacts here breaks my heart y’know.
Jury’s out on whether or not there’s more to Grisha’s reasoning, here’s hoping we get a better explanation soon. Probably something bloodline related, but why he couldn’t use the power and take the burden himself remains a mystery. Hopefully not for much longer.
So I just wonder if maybe the “brainwashing” Zeke refers to is actually about Grisha – in Keith’s words – “cursing” others by convincing them they are oh so special. Although Eren is a more extreme case, what with having a terrible burden placed on his shoulders. What’s even more interesting is that when Zeke is talking to Eren, the impression I got was that both of them were victimized in the exact same way (brainwashing), and that’s why Zeke understands Eren – they suffered through similar experiences.
If that’s the case, then by what means did Grisha place improbably high expectations on Zeke, only to have things take a turn for the worse? Could this relate to how he became a shifter along with his coordinate-like abilities? I have seen a few half-baked theories floating around suggesting Zeke is a failed coordinate created by Grisha. Interesting.
Well, spoiler week is upon us, by this time next week we may very well have a better idea of what exactly Zeke was talking about…and just how true it is.
