Eren’s Plan vs. Zeke’s Plan: Which Was Better?

One of the things that fans of Attack on Titan often discuss is the two plans that two of the most important characters wanted to put into motion during the events of the final season. We know that both Eren and Zeke agree that the Power of the Titans needed to end because it only caused endless wars and conflicts between the Eldians and the people of the world. But they had different plans in mind to achieve this goal. So, which plan was better?

Neither plan is better from a subjective standpoint. But, objectively, Zeke’s plan was better because it didn’t involve the deaths of millions or even billions of people and wouldn’t cause the destruction of the entire world. However, Eren’s plan is better for giving Paradis Island and his friends true freedom.

The truth is that neither of these plans was good in terms of whether they would bring true peace to the world. They both involved sacrifices and destruction, and peace could never be achieved through death and violence. However, both Eren and Zeke had good reasons for wanting their plans to succeed. And now, let’s talk more about the plans of both Eren and Zeke.

What Is Eren’s Plan?

While appearing to be agreeable to Zeke’s plans, Eren actually had a different plan in mind when he made contact with his half-brother and could access the power of the Founding Titan. His plans were very different from Zeke’s, although they also aimed to eradicate the titans while keeping the Eldians safe.

In truth, Eren wanted to use the Rumbling to destroy major parts of the world to ensure the people of Paradis Island were safe. He committed mass genocide by destroying the world outside of Paradis Island. And the reason for doing so was to make the world see him as the one and only enemy of humanity while forcing his friends to act so that they could stop his genocide.

But the truth was that this was his way of diverting the world’s hatred from the Eldians toward him, as he knew that his friends, who were Eldians, would never agree to what he was doing. As such, by allowing the Eldians to kill him, the world would see that they weren’t as bad as they thought they were. On top of that, his death would mean the end of the Power of the Titans.

What Is Zeke’s Plan?

Zeke’s plan involved euthanasia and sterilization. Essentially, the plan involved mercy-killing the Eldians slowly so that the titans would never be a threat to the world again. As such, he wanted to make the Eldians sterile so that the entire race would end with the current generation.

However, Zeke also wanted to mount a limited Rumbling against the allied forces of the world so that the militaries of the major superpowers would crumble and fall. This would also cause the world to fear the Eldians and leave them alone because of the threat of the Rumbling. And because a small-scale Rumbling would have destroyed their military forces, they would need a long time to recover before becoming threats to the Eldians again.

Meanwhile, while the rest of the world left the Eldians alone out of fear of the Rumbling, the remaining Eldians could live peacefully and die of old age. Due to their sterilization, they would no longer be able to procreate and produce more Eldians that would pass the Power of the Titans on to the next generation. As such, the Power of the Titans would end with their generation.

Eren’s Plan vs. Zeke’s Plan?

Kill Count

Eren’s plan had an estimated kill count of 1.6 billion because he killed 80% of the world’s population with the wide-scale Rumbling he mounted. That meant that he was responsible for the near-extinction of the human race, as he wanted to kill the entire world while keeping the people of Paradis Island as the only humans left on the planet.

Zeke’s plan involved a limited Rumbling that would have killed thousands of soldiers because he wanted to use the Rumbling to destroy the military force of the allied forces of the world. However, innocent people would have been spared from the effects of the Rumbling, and that meant that those who were living their normal lives wouldn’t have had to die.

Eren killed millions or even billions of lives. Meanwhile, Zeke’s plan would have only killed thousands of soldiers.

Eren 0, Zeke 1

Destruction Scale

Eren’s Rumbling flattened the entire world and destroyed almost all of the cities outside of Paradis Island. The steam coming from the Wall Titans burned entire cities and left forests barren. In that regard, Eren’s plan not only affected the human race’s population but also forced society to revert to the stone age as he destroyed almost all of the remnants of human civilization with his Rumbling.

As mentioned, Zeke only wanted a limited Rumbling that wouldn’t have destroyed the world. Instead, he only wanted to destroy the allied forces gathered in one place. In that regard, Zeke’s plan would have only destroyed a small part of the world as it would have only eradicated the military forces of all nations in one fell swoop. 

This is another no-contest because Eren destroyed almost the world with his plan. On the other hand, Zeke’s plan would have only destroyed the allied forces’ military.

Eren 0, Zeke 2

Is It True Freedom?

Eren didn’t agree to Zeke’s plan because it was similar to completely giving up. It might be true that the world would have left the Eldians on Paradis alone with Zeke’s plan, but the island’s people weren’t entirely free because they couldn’t procreate and were only safe due to how the rest of the world feared them. In that regard, Eren wanted true freedom for his people.

Zeke’s plan didn’t resemble true freedom, but it would have allowed the Eldians to live in peace before they all died out due to old age. But they wouldn’t be free because the entire world would have hated the Eldians out of fear of the Rumbling. As such, this was an artificial form of freedom that Zeke wanted.

While Eren’s plan involved death and destruction, it gave the Eldians true freedom from the world’s hatred and the Power of the Titans.

Eren 1, Zeke 2

What Will Happen to Eren’s Friends?

Eren’s plan allowed his friends to become heroes of the world by working together to defeat him. It also allowed them to be free from the Power of the Titans and from the hatred of the world. as mentioned by Eren during the flashback scenes before the attack on Liberio, he cherished his friends more than anything in the world, and that meant that he wanted nothing more than to give them peace, freedom, and security.

Zeke’s plan would have, in a way, kept Eren’s friends safe because it would have forced the allied forces to stay away from Paradis Island. But the problem here is that the Power of the Titans would persist for several more decades until all Eldians died out. As such, Eren’s friends weren’t free from the curse of the titans, as even Armin would have died in nine years due to the Curse of Ymir.

Eren’s plan all but guaranteed freedom and peace to his friends. On the other hand, there was no guaranteeing the safety and peace of Eren’s friends if he had agreed to go with Zeke’s plan.

Eren 2, Zeke 2

Aftermath

After the death of Eren, the entire world saw that the Eldians weren’t entirely bad people, allowing the people of Paradis Island to live lives free from the hatred of the rest of the world. However, Eren’s plan didn’t guarantee true world peace because different nations went to war to get their hands on the limited resources left over in the wake of the Rumbling. As such, Eren’s plan never guaranteed world peace.

Zeke’s plan would have allowed the entire world to go live as if nothing had happened. But his plan would have caused the complete extinction of the Eldian race. So, from the outsiders’ perspective, Zeke’s plan would have simply allowed the continuation of the status quo. However, all of the Eldians would be forced to die of old age without the opportunity to find happiness in the form of their children.

We can’t decide which of the two aftermaths would be better. While Zeke’s plan would have been better for the world, it wasn’t good for the Eldians. Meanwhile, Eren’s plan didn’t work at all as far as world peace was concerned.

Eren 2, Zeke 2

Which Plan Was Better?

The truth is that neither Eren’s plan nor Zeke’s plan was better than the other. Objectively, Zeke’s plan was better when you look at the number of people that would have been spared. He would sacrifice the Eldians for the sake of the rest of the world. But Eren’s plan, as destructive as it was, gave freedom to the Eldians while causing the Power of the Titans to disappear from the face of the planet.

So, if you look at it, it becomes a subjective discussion that boils down to the perspectives and opinions of different people. That is why we can’t say which of these two plans is better than the other, and that open-ended conclusion makes Attack on Titan so beautiful.