Board Thread:Theories/@comment-34796618-20180223214838/@comment-30069705-20180225044634

In the past, Isayama once talked about maybe giving his story an ending similar to "The Mist", where pretty much everyone, except maybe one or a few, die pointlessly, just for the sake of getting everyone worked up for laughs. Because of this, some people, even to this day, fear it will have a dark ending where practically no one lives.

He has since largely abandoned this mindset due to the series' popularity and just maturing all-around in general, as well as maybe even getting attached himself, and he now says he wants his story to have a better and more peaceful ending more similar to "Guardians Of The Galaxy".

A pointless bad ending would lack value in the long run anyways, especially once the desired angry reactions largely die down, people stop investing in the franchise in general, potential would-be newcomers refuse to even start getting into it, and it basically gets left behind (especially in favor of other works).

That being said, you can bet there's still going to be some degree of tragedy and some deaths (including major ones), even in the ending, just like there always has been here and there since the beginning. It just won't necessarily be excessive and/or pointless. The ending will likely be rather "bittersweet" in nature instead.

Now don't get me wrong. It's not my intention to get hopes up needlessly high, nor is it my intention to act like I own his story. On paper, he technically could still go back to the "Mist" route if he really wanted to, but that doesn't automatically mean that he wants to end it that way, or let alone that he will in practice.

Based on what he's said as of latest, I'm just going to go along with that and have faith in him until further notice. And if it does get a pointless bad ending, I won't let that beat me down. I'll just abandon it and move on to other things as well as not recommend it to others if they ask for my input.