Board Thread:Manga/@comment-5774380-20160808233126/@comment-31940900-20160809191738

Here's how I view Bertl. I now there are multiple ways of interrupting this character, but here's my way of viewing him. The meek shy Bertl we see is the real, genuine Bertl. This "i'm going to kill everyone and anything and I don't give a damn" is just a facade he uses to cope with his surroundings. When everyone except your best friend, your crush, and your boss thinks you're an absolute monster, how can you not start to believe that's what you are?

It's kinda like Reiner with his split personality. you have the soldier, and then the warrior.

With Bertl, I believe he developed his split identity during the Clash of the Titans, where he seemed to be unsympathetic to Eren and comapny. But this facade hadn't fully developed yet, as evidenced by his breakdown to connie.

During the time skip between the Clash of the Titans and Return to Shiganshina arc is where he began to embrace the facade of the monster. I have no proof, but I believe Zeke did terrible things to both him and Reiner to get them to embrace their inner demons.

And when all is said an done, and when Reiner and Zeke aren't there to enforce this identity, the real Bertl breaks out and pleads for his comrades to save him.