Discussion The Power of Command

[Sigma]

So apparently Erin, like the Ape Titan (and maybe Annie to a much lesser extent), has the power to mentally dominate and command other titans. This is an interesting development.

So it raises a few questions:

Can Erin command a shifter? It was clear that his use of this power visibly and significantly affected Reiner, Burtholdt, and Yimir. If he put his mind to it, could he mentally dominate them?

Was the fear of falling prey to such an ability part of the reason Yimir decided to stick with R&B, even if it meant being separated from Krista?

What will Irvine, being the genius that he is, do with this new power at his disposal? This could really give the Scouting Legion a major advantage when outside the wall if Erin learns to control this power.

Can Erin use this power to force Annie to come out of the crystal and disclose information?

 

[teioh]

erEn.

 

[eton]

erEn.

Hah kind of a pointless answer...

The idea Eren could control the other shifters is a pretty horrifying concept. If it were possible, it really tips the scale for Eren in giving him power not only over mindless eating-machines, but other human beings, to take away their free will, which is a monstrous power to have. It would be very hard for the most morally pure sort of hero to wield this kind of power, let alone someone as already-damaged as Eren.

The thing about the ape titan and Reiner and Bertholdt, was that Ymir called attention to their reaction, looking at it with 'twinkling eyes' or whatever. I really wonder what that means. If they were afraid of the ape titan because they knew it had the power to control titans, so it could potentially control them if they shifted? It's really unclear if they feared the ape, or if where they come from the ape is a god-like mythical figure or something?

 

[zenbon]

I dont think, that Eren could controll all kind of titans.

Maybe there is a classification within the titans and he can only control the low levels.

 

[Zasz]

From what I've read in the chapter, it seems that Eren can only command the normal Titans, while the shifters only seem to "feel" when this power is used.
Anyway this is indeed an interesting fact...

 

[kannazuki]

I agree with what eton said about Eren's character, and with Zasz about it probably only being felt by shifters.

Beyond that, what about the possibility that the wall titans could hear Eren and *wake up* if he happens to be standing close enough when he screams out of anger about some minor thing or another. Could he idly go "I'll kill you!" to someone and then suddenly the colossal titans have a "target" to go after? Yikes...

Summing up Eren's temper:

Spoiler

 

[nesean]

Does that mean non-shifter = mindless titan (controllable), and shifter = conscious titan? I'm not sure which type the wall titans would be.

 

[kannazuki]

I used to think they were shifters, but now I think they're mindless ones that were ordered (possibly by ape titan) to form a wall.

 

[epictoads]

So apparently Erin, like the Ape Titan (and maybe Annie to a much lesser extent), has the power to mentally dominate and command other titans. This is an interesting development.

So it raises a few questions:

Can Erin command a shifter? It was clear that his use of this power visibly and significantly affected Reiner, Burtholdt, and Yimir. If he put his mind to it, could he mentally dominate them?

Was the fear of falling prey to such an ability part of the reason Yimir decided to stick with R&B, even if it meant being separated from Krista?

What will Irvine, being the genius that he is, do with this new power at his disposal? This could really give the Scouting Legion a major advantage when outside the wall if Erin learns to control this power.

Can Erin use this power to force Annie to come out of the crystal and disclose information?

I think he can send out commands to shifters as Reiner and Ymir felt it, but being sentient and in control they can ignore it.

 

[Sigma]

It would be very hard for the most morally pure sort of hero to wield this kind of power, let alone someone as already-damaged as Eren.

That's a good point. Considering the fact that Erin is a psychological mess, it will be interesting to see how he handles such incredible power. We don't know much about R&B's motives or the motives of the organization they work for. Maybe there will be a major plot twist and Erin will turn out to be the "villain" due to his obsession with killing the Titans.

I think he can send out commands to shifters as Reiner and Ymir felt it, but being sentient and in control they can ignore it.

At this point he can't command shifters, that's been proven. But the thing is, he really hasn't mastered this power yet, it simply manifested from an emotional reaction. As he becomes more able to control this power, who knows what he can accomplish.

That being said, I wonder if Reiner and Burtholdt are already under this power used by the Ape Titan (or others like him). Maybe they literally had no choice but to attack humanity and were powerless to resist his orders. Burtholdt said he had no will of his own, and Reiner ended up adopting a near split personality to cope with the trauma and guilt of what he did after all.

 

[eton]

I like the 'ape made them do it' theory! It does sort of absolve them to a bit too much of a degree however? Something about BAR's story seems to suggest they did what they did believing it was unpleasant but absolutely necessary. The way they talk about destroying mankind doesn't sound like they totally did it against their own free will. There are a few instances that give me that impression, like Bertholdt's reaction when Eren asks him what he was feeling when Eren told the story of his mother being killed. 'At the time, I felt sorry for you'. Just doesn't sound like the words of a guy who was forced to murder thousands of innocent people.

 

[Utsune]

I think it's too early to say Eren can "command" the Titans. If you think about this on a fundamental level, all Eren does is (1) somehow getting the titan mob to attack the smiling titan when the smiling titan is about to eat Eren, and (2) somehow getting the titan mob to attack RB when they decide to chase down Eren.

What I get from these is, the titan mob attacks those who are hostile towards Eren himself. That's all these two examples have shown. Not saying there can't be more to it, but any further explanation would only be deduction and speculations rather than what is straightforwardly presented to us.

 

[kannazuki]

I don't think Reiner and Bertolt are specifically hostile toward Eren except maybe in his mind. He's designating the target by shouting at the ones he wants dead.

 

[xxCagedRiotxx]

I don't really see why everyone tries to over analyze everything on this forum lol, maybe for the purpose of sparking a discussion. Anyway, his power is very clearly the ability to command the normal titans. It seems like they will totally focus on whatever target he decides to kill (similar to Annie letting out the death scream but clearly more dangerous). He cannot control shifters, or else the ones in the area would have also attacked the titan as well. I believe they R&B, and whoever else they work with, think that Eren possessing this ability is dangerous not because of the possibility of him controlling shifters, but simply because he can control all the other titans. That is more than enough power at his disposal to deal with the shifters, and that coupled with the fact that he is on humanity's side and wants to kill all the titans makes him an extreme threat to R&B's faction. In this situation the relatively small number of titans there were enough to somewhat overwhelm Reiner, although he was trying to protect Bertholt at the same time. So imagine Eren in control of an entire army of titans like the numbers they faced in the forest. That kind of power along with the humans using 3D gears is pretty scary. Eren is clearly extremely unstable and his first reaction to anything seems to be anger and destruction. Being in possession of a power like that, with that type of attitude is very dangerous, even to his allies. I also feel like R&B have other intentions than destroying humanity, as they could have easily done that at any time. However, I dont know if these intentions will ever be realized when you have humanity unrelenting hatred for titans going against them. Especially with Eren on an all out warpath (hes said more than once and very sadistically that he wants to kill all titans, R&B being viewed as traitors, and now this ability) Im interested to see how things unfold. Hopefully, its less mindless action and more development. Because I would have much preferred to see R&B return to their village with Eren and perhaps shed some insight on who they're working with and what their goals are.

 

[Core D. Roy]

So apparently Erin, like the Ape Titan (and maybe Annie to a much lesser extent), has the power to mentally dominate and command other titans. This is an interesting development.

So it raises a few questions:

Can Erin command a shifter? It was clear that his use of this power visibly and significantly affected Reiner, Burtholdt, and Yimir. If he put his mind to it, could he mentally dominate them?

I think it has something to do with the Ape titan's ability to not only command, but the scramble. People say RB were just being obstinant to Ymir when she questioned them about the Ape, but they looked utterly dumbfounded, like they couldn't remember what was just right in front of their face. Kinda like a perception filter / the Silence from Doctor Who.

Was the fear of falling prey to such an ability part of the reason Yimir decided to stick with R&B, even if it meant being separated from Krista?

Might be part of it, but it looks like Ymir is still running the long gambit. "With a power like that, life in the walls might be possible" doesn't really sound like she's afraid of anything, just weighing out what is the best option. If I were to guess, it's that she's going with RB to distract their faction from attacking the Walls that Christa lives at. I'm 99% positive there are numerous 'Wall cities' dotted around the world that don't know about each other. I wouldn't doubt it if we saw her with RB attacking an unrelated Wall city with a totally different population of people. Maybe the mystical orient? Would be cool if that Asian titan wasn't just a cameo but real foreshadowing.

What will Irvine, being the genius that he is, do with this new power at his disposal? This could really give the Scouting Legion a major advantage when outside the wall if Erin learns to control this power.

Well we know that Irvine said he 'has a replacement', so there's a chance he might be killed unexpectedly or taken out of the political equation due to higher ups not wanting the Scouting Legion to succeed in finding shit out. As for what the government/police will do with/to Eren, who knows. I doubt the legion will be able to keep this information under wraps.

My bet? There will be a military coup to overthrow the corrupt government/police and force the Wall cult to spill the beans. Irvin will lead from the shadows and Levi will be his 'replacement' he mentioned earlier, to deal with everything on the front lines.

Can Erin use this power to force Annie to come out of the crystal and disclose information?

I hope he can somehow at least mentally force her to undo the calcification or something.

---------- Post added at 01:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:19 PM ----------

I like the 'ape made them do it' theory! It does sort of absolve them to a bit too much of a degree however? Something about BAR's story seems to suggest they did what they did believing it was unpleasant but absolutely necessary. The way they talk about destroying mankind doesn't sound like they totally did it against their own free will. There are a few instances that give me that impression, like Bertholdt's reaction when Eren asks him what he was feeling when Eren told the story of his mother being killed. 'At the time, I felt sorry for you'. Just doesn't sound like the words of a guy who was forced to murder thousands of innocent people.

Or more like killing the wall civilization is the greater good for humanity outside of the walls. They walls were almost certainly erected by titans commanded perfectly to stand in concentric circles for miles before calcifying into each other by some other entity, most likely the Ape titan. RBA were probably sent by the rebellious 'Warrior' faction because of their exotic abilities and the absolute necessity of killing the Wall people... it certainly isn't because of their mental fortitude lol. Annie's got daddy problems, Reiner was so not-ruthless his brain resorted to dissociating his identity, and Bert acts pretty cowardly for a guy assigned to do the things he's doing.

It would take too much away from the story if everything was just 'and the Ape made them do it because mind control'. The 'command' ability seems more like a perception altering ability than anything. The titans suddenly responded as if Smiley was a great, big, delicious human.

 

[MajiinX]

Really good theories out there. I actually went back and reread chapter 46 when Eren and Ymir first woke up after being captured. And noticed some interesting things. For one Eren had the gills around his eyes and anytime Eren yelled at RB they would get intimidated. Also the titans were exhibiting very odd behavior, a few of the titans were just laying down and watching them not being aggressive at all, and another titan was hiding behind a try almost stalking and waiting for something to happen. I wonder if their behavior has anything to do with Eren.

 

[Nanozom]

Really good theories out there. I actually went back and reread chapter 46 when Eren and Ymir first woke up after being captured. And noticed some interesting things. For one Eren had the gills around his eyes and anytime Eren yelled at RB they would get intimidated. Also the titans were exhibiting very odd behavior, a few of the titans were just laying down and watching them not being aggressive at all, and another titan was hiding behind a try almost stalking and waiting for something to happen. I wonder if their behavior has anything to do with Eren.

Well, maybe Eren affected them unconsciously?
Like "Keeping his emotions in check"?
It spread to the others and that´s why they just relaxed around the tree.
They kept themselves in check.

 

[Utsune]

I don't think Reiner and Bertolt are specifically hostile toward Eren except maybe in his mind. He's designating the target by shouting at the ones he wants dead.

Well, not particularly 'hostile,' but certain kinds of emotions/ thoughts towards Eren. "Targeting" Eren would be a good description.



Also, I don't think his "Power" has ever been activated as far as we have seen. Every time it is activated, the other shifters in the vicinity would get some sort of signal, and we've only started seeing that in this recent Chapter (50).

 

[kannazuki]

Also, I don't think his "Power" has ever been activated as far as we have seen. Every time it is activated, the other shifters in the vicinity would get some sort of signal, and we've only started seeing that in this recent Chapter (50).

Now keep in mind I'm not 100% convinced he was able to use the "power" before either, but just to play devil's advocate for the validity of that possibility, the only times I can think of before this that we have to go by (i.e. that other sentient titans were around),

1) Eren himself was mindless (Trost)
2) We didn't get the other titan's POV (forest/Stohess with Annie)
3) Eren was able to scream (twice), but he was *interrupted* by blows so severe they put holes in his head (by Reiner in ch 42 or 43)

Say Reiner, Bert, and Annie suspected there was something special about him from the get-go, but again, he was mindless at the time and they couldn't be sure. This was their moment of confirmation.

 

[DarkLordOfKichiku]

Also, I don't think his "Power" has ever been activated as far as we have seen. Every time it is activated, the other shifters in the vicinity would get some sort of signal, and we've only started seeing that in this recent Chapter (50).

But keep in mind that if the other shifters had been shown reacting before, it'd have revealed who the Shifters were far earlier. Remember, when it was time for everyone to choose whether to join the Scouting Legion or not, there were five people whose POV we didn't see. That's right, what RBAY really "thinks" has only become available to us recently - we didn't see things from their POV at all during, say, the Battle of Trost...