Board Thread:Manga/@comment-7278867-20171215101651/@comment-24407809-20171219050731

RuneLai wrote: AhmedHadi1 wrote: I also feel like he's dead, but I don't entirely exclude the possibility of him getting resurrected the next chapter or two, looking back at BBQ Armin and brainless (literally) Reiner. Brainless Reiner I figured was still alive. But BBQ Armin I was sure was dead, until he wasn't. So with Willy... I'm not counting him dead until I'm reasonably certain he's not secretly regenerating.

Part of me thinks he ought to be dead because his own dialogue indicates that he expects to be sacrificed. But on the other, I still don't feel like I know what his plans are/were (like he has more up his sleeve than we've seen), so his story feels unresolved. Killing him now feels like he's exiting too soon.

Armin's dialogue also indicated that he expected to die when facing down Bertolt in Shiganshina...

I completely agree, it feels like Willy's story has not been suitably wrapped up yet, especially if he is the much-touted War Hammer Titan. Killing him now would feel like a cheap attempt to surprise readers on Isayama's part, and it would also raise questions as to why the Power of the Titans seems to only be able to selectively save certain characters (any answer other than "for the plot" would be lazy). The only feasible way Willy could be dead at this point is if he is, in fact, lying about being the War Hammer, which... is sort of a possibility, I guess? Having it be revealed that Willy is not the War Hammer is certainly a more plausible plot twist than saying that he is the War Hammer, and for whatever reason isn't able to use his regeneration abilities to save himself.