Eren is revealed to be the one who influences the major events from the first season by exploring and manipulating his father’s memories through Attack Titan’s powers, causing him to attain Founding Titan's powers. This happens when Zeke himself asks Eren to witness their father’s actions by looking through his memories in the Paths realm (which only Zeke can access because he's the true successor to Ymir). He sets in motion everything that happened after Wall Maria fell at his own will, even his own mother's fateful demise. Eren always acts on momentary impulses. His entire motivation never goes beyond “no one can hurt my friends”, even after it evolves to him rambling about freedom through the most radical measures. This season (and whatever follows) dives into his character, showing that he has always been immature and impulsive through flashbacks and exposition. His brother, Zeke, is just as radical, with his goal to effectively euthanise Eldians by rendering them unable to procreate. Grisha and his kids love talking about their sacrifices for humanity while making insane decisions. The real offence is how chatty and full of exposition the entire thing becomes. AOT used to change the perspective through real-time events, but this season just focuses on two maniacs talking about the past, their experiences and motivations, that is, you guessed it- a shitload of exposition. The way Eren attains Ymir's approval is laughable, which makes the plot twist even more abysmal. Such a structural change in the plot demands better execution, which wasn't provided through the Paths realm.
The Jaegerists are the “threat” this season instead of the Titans, but they come off as more annoying than menacing. The storytelling is disjointed, especially compared to the quality of the previous two parts. All the characters have lost whatever appeal they once had- an indecisive Armin, an irrelevant Mikasa, an absent Levi, and the rest are either redundant or dislikable. Erwin and Pyxis are gone. All that’s left are the Cringe-vengers who go up against the Jaegerists.
