A Long Dream (Episode)

"I can't say I don't have regrets. Still, what we did was right, wasn't it? We did stop the Rumbling."

- Conny Springer after seeing the remains of the Founding Titan

A Long Dream (長い夢) is the 34th episode of the 4th season and the 93rd episode overall of the Attack on Titan anime, produced by. It is the third of four episodes, available only on Japanese streaming services, that constitute the episodic version (各話版) of Special 2.

Overview
Levi Ackermann decapitates Zeke Jaeger, severing Eren's connection to the Wall Titans and stopping the Rumbling. Shortly thereafter, Jean Kirschtein gets to the detonator and sets off the explosives around the Founding Titan's neck, decapitating it. However a glowing centipedal creature emerges from its neck and attempts to reconnect the head. Armin Arlelt attempts to use the explosive power of the Colossal Titan's transformation to stop it, but fails.

The creature releases a mist that causes all the nearby Eldians, including the Scouts who have neither Titan powers nor Ackermann heritage, to transform into Titans. Eren has also survived the explosion and moves to engage Armin's Colossal Titan in a new bipedal version of his Founding Titan. Levi tries to get Mikasa to hold it together since they are now the only ones with a clear shot at stopping Eren. Mikasa sees a reality where she and Eren have run away together, but when he asks her to forget about him after he dies, she realizes she cannot. Tying her scarf around her neck in resolution, she has Falco Grice and Levi clear a path for her to the mouth of Eren's Titan, where she finds his head inside. She smiles gently as she cuts his head free.

Summary
Armin Arlelt explains to those around him that the Titans helping them are thanks to Zeke Jaeger, who awakened them in the Paths. This was possible due to the Paths connecting all Eldians, and he suspects that Ymir Fritz is seeking connection as well.

Still connected to the Founding Titan, Zeke marvels at how nice the day looks and wishes that he had felt this way sooner, but understands that would be too much to ask given the amount of people he had killed. In the next instant, Levi Ackermann beheads him.

With Zeke's death, Eren Jaeger's connection to the Wall Titans is severed and the Rumbling stops. Eren's Founding Titan, however, keeps moving. Reiner Braun throws Jean Kirschtein towards Eren's nape and Pieck Finger clears a path. Jean grabs the detonator and with a final look at Eren, calls him a suicidal blockhead before depressing the plunger and setting off the explosives.

The Founding Titan's head falls, but a glowing centipedal creature emerges from its neck and attempts to reconnect the head. Reiner tackles it to stop it, and Conny Springer yells for everyone save Reiner to get on Falco Grice's back because Armin is going to transform and the Armored Titan should be able to withstand the resulting explosion. As most of their group flies clear, Armin thanks the deceased Titans who aided them and says good-bye to Eren before transforming in a massive explosion.

Falco takes his passengers to Fort Salta, where the refugees are confused about what happened. As they wonder if Eren is dead, Mikasa Ackermann gets one of her headaches, which reminds her of the last time she spoke with Eren. He had claimed the reason for her headaches was her imprinting on him as her master because of her Ackermann heritage. Eren had told her he hated her.

As Mikasa recalls her memories, Gabi Braun spots her parents among the refugees. Falco and Pieck are reunited with their families as well. Conny says he has regrets, but seeing the tearful reunions he thinks the Scouts did the right thing in stopping the Rumbling.

They go to the edge of the cliff and to their delight they see Reiner and Armin's Titans emerge through the dust, but the giant centipedal source of all living matter is writhing at the foot of the mesa. As Reiner and Armin move to engage it, another transformation explodes behind them and Eren emerges in a new bipedal version of his Founding Titan. They realize that Eren and the source cannot reconnect or the Rumbling might start again, and Levi suggests they go after Eren, both because the wriggling entity has already survived an explosion from the Colossal Titan and because Eren is the driving force behind the Rumbling.

As the centipede begins releasing a mist into the air, Müller helps Leonhart to his feet. The gunshots he had previously made had been into the air to stop the fighting between his soldiers and the refugees. The soldiers are now helping the wounded. The two men agree to cooperate as Annie Leonhart runs up to reunite with her father.

The Scouts speculate on the purpose of the mist and Conny realizes to his horror that it could be like the mist used to transform the villagers of Ragako. Levi immediately orders Mikasa and Pieck to get on Falco so they can leave, because Ackermanns and inheritors of the Titans are immune to its effects. The four of them escape, but Pieck has to be held back by Mikasa as she does not want to leave her father.

Jean, Conny, and all the Eldian refugees transform into Pure Titans and join the squealing source of all living matter in a charge towards Reiner and Armin. Seeing this, Armin turns and his Colossal Titan grapples with Eren's equally sized Founding Titan.

Annie and Pieck join Reiner in trying to stop the giant centipede as Mikasa suffers from another of her headaches. Levi tries to get her to pull herself together since they are now the only ones who can kill Eren, but all she wants is to go back to a home where she and Eren are together.

She wakes up on a porch outside a mountain cabin. Eren begins cutting wood and tells her that she must be exhausted, but she says it feels more like she had a long dream. He begins to tell her to take it easy when he notices that she is crying. She initially does not know why, but feels like she should not be here. Eren says they cannot do anything about that now. They had given up everything when they fled Marley. He says he could not bring himself to condemn Historia Reiss to becoming a Titan or commit genocide on all humanity outside of Paradis Island. Eren asks to live out his remaining four years with just the two of them, without anyone else, just like Mikasa wanted.

After a moment, Mikasa agrees, and he asks her to make another promise, to throw away her scarf once he is dead. She will have a long life ahead of her and he wants her to be able to forget about him. As he asks her to forget, lines appear on his face as though he has been using his Titan.

Meanwhile, Eren and Armin's Titans fight, with neither getting the upper hand. On Falco's back, Mikasa apologizes and ties her scarf securely around her neck, telling Eren that she cannot forget him. She tells Falco and Levi that Eren is in his Titan's mouth and to help get her there. Falco drops them off close enough that Levi is able to shoot a Thunder Spear at the mouth of Eren's Titan, creating a hole through which Mikasa enters.

There she finds Eren's head, suspended from a long spine. She smiles to him as she cuts his head free and cradles it. Mikasa gives him a kiss as behind her, Ymir watches with a smile of her own.

Looking like children, Eren and Armin talk. Armin understands that Eren saw the future with the Attack Titan's ability, but is less sympathetic about Eren giving him a knee to the stomach. Eren sullenly admits he was doing whatever he could to push Armin and Mikasa away, even though he thought it was crazy too.

Eren's plan is to make his friends into heroes who killed him and saved humanity from annihilation. That way every human who survived would owe the "island devils" who went against Paradis. Armin stubbornly tells him that he and the others will not play the hero roles that Eren intends.

Instead of answering, Eren gets up and says he will take them to the places they wanted to go as children. As they watch lava that flows like a river, Eren tells him about Ymir and how much she had suffered under King Fritz but always remained subservient. When Eren touched her in the Paths, he realized that Ymir loved Fritz, and that is what kept her bound all this time.

The Doomsday Titan - Colossal Titan Ver.
''A Doomsday Titan whose user turned into a Titan after losing most of the Doomsday's body. Since it is the same size as a Colossal Titan and has the same head as the Doomsday Titan, it is thought that it has at least the abilities possessed by the Attack Titan. Even after losing the body, the royal blood, and the Rumbling, it still keeps going. Even if what lies ahead is hell.''