YES I LOVE THEM BOTH SM!! They Had Sm Chemistry Towards The End

YES I LOVE THEM BOTH SM!! they had sm chemistry towards the end

I have so many thoughts (and feels) about Jean and Reiner’s relationship, but I find them hard to put into words.

Anyway, what strikes me the most about them, is the fact that they both started off as rather minor, but well fleshed out side characters (instant faves), who eventually underwent tremendous changes and, at least for me, set the tone for the entire story.

Reiner’s shift from the toughest solider around to the most vulnerable victim of war, and Jean’s shift from a self-absorbed asshole to the most caring and selfless leader, tie in very well with how their own bond was shaped in the grand finale.

What can I say, Jean is Jean because of Marco’s death. So, when he tells Reiner he’ll never forgive him, he can’t forgive him, this is what Reiner surely expects to hear, just like the rest of us.

But then, the moment Jean realizes why Reiner did what he did, and that their motivations are exactly the same, Jean backtracks on what he said — does not forget (because it's still about Marco to a great extent), but does forgive, if you ask me.

Jean then proceeds to be visibly alarmed whenever Reiner is in any kind of danger and comes to his rescue time after time. And Reiner? Well, he is still the same suicidal man who has for a long time considered himself to be the biggest piece of shit, unworthy of anyone’s forgiveness. And here comes the best friend of the man he helped to murder, the one that should despise him the most, and shows him that Reiner’s life is important to him. Jean doesn’t spend the final battle shouting Conny’s name like a maniac or worrying about Mikasa (as if she needs that, ha) — he instead focuses on Reiner, because he gets him now and because he regrets dealing damage to the man who has been already damaged enough.

In the final chapters Jean’s mission, aside from the obvious one, is to keep Reiner alive.

So, Jean shows Reiner how much he cares. He single-handedly saves him from the Colossal Titan. Tells him he is still one of them.

Once Reiner realizes Jean really means what he says, something shifts. It must be strange for Reiner, to acknowledge this kind of concern for his person — taking into consideration not only their rocky past, but also the contrast between his own mother and Jean. One telling him he is only as valuable as his Titan power. The other telling him to stop transforming because he's afraid Reiner will get hurt again.

From that specific moment shared with Jean, Reiner no longer seems as much resigned to his fate. On the contrary, he’s focused and determined. And to shamelessly quote Gojo Satoru (hehe), he knows that dying to win and risking death to win are two completely different things.

(and Jean continues to worry)

What I’m getting at is that along the way, Reiner and Jean have become the hidden heart of the story. Together, they shifted from the sidelines to the very center of the action.

Even if they are just one piece of the puzzle, drowning in the bigger picture that are Eren, Mikasa and Armin, Jean and Reiner are the ones that, quite possibly, have the most to say about humanity itself in the AOT universe. They are the bridge between the two sides of that war.

Isayama’s decision to pair them up for the final showdown and to continue placing them next to each other in almost every following panel is a very nice touch. (They are his faves too, after all)

Not to mention this cover variant:

One of them is a child turned into a weapon of mass destruction. The other almost a toy soldier in the grand scheme of things.

It's good they managed to save each other.