#disclaimer that this is all my speculation and if you disagree that's perfectly fine lol this is just what's been going on in my brain toda

[yeah-w-r-i-t-e]

Okay so I was thinking about the stark difference between the first three Mission: Impossible films, and while this is obviously due to the fact that they were directed by three completely different people, I think there could also be a good in-universe explanation as well.

This'll be a pretty long analysis post so more under the cut:))

In M:I1, Ethan is more contemplative, more prone to talking instead of fighting, etc. There are stunts like the train scene and the one where he steals the NOC list, but they aren't up to the scale of the stunts in later films (and the NOC list theft is extremely quiet and drawn out, relying on suspense rather than action).

But in M:I2, Ethan is reckless and flashy. He's in his famous bad boy era. Our first shot of him is him rock climbing with no safety gear whatsoever. He keeps himself up with just his thighs at one point and it's fucking insane. And don't get me started on this shot of him riding a motorcycle in possibly the worst way ever, which has not left my mind since I saw it the first time:

Also he seduces a woman by almost pushing her off a cliff with his car?? Listen we all know M:I2 was ridiculous so I don't need to explain that to you. What I think is interesting is the implications for Ethan's mental state.

In M:I1, Ethan's entire team dies. These people who he trusted, who he loved, all died. Two of them betrayed him and then died. We see a little bit of the effect of this M:I1, but Ethan is still essentially in shock throughout the whole movie. We don't see what inevitably happens afterwards: the breakdowns, the therapy (or, more likely, the avoidance of therapy), the first missions he takes without his team.

What we do see is Ethan, several years later, displaying previously unseen feats of recklessness. I think it's incredibly likely that Ethan, in the aftermath of the most important people in his life dying as well as multiple betrayals, became a little unconcerned for his own life. Up until Ghost Protocol, the only person we see Ethan really close with (other than Julia, who he can't be truthful with) is Luther. So Ethan hasn't healed from the loss of his team and found new friends; he just has Luther, who seems to be off on vacation half the time? The point is: he doesn't have much of a support system, he can't really trust the IMF considering how it keeps suspecting him of treason, and he has become a daredevil of sorts.

I know what you're thinking. How does this then connect to M:I3? (Okay, maybe you weren't thinking that. But you are now.)

In MI:3, Ethan is in his family man era. He's trying to be a normal guy and has to come to terms with the fact that...he can't. There's always going to be a new world-threatening event for him to rush off to prevent, and even when there isn't, there will always be someone ready to take away his world—the people he loves. We all know that, but how did Ethan get to this point? And what happened to Nyah?

They never tell us what happened to Nyah. At the end of M:I2, she and Ethan meet up in the park to have a cute little date. At the beginning of M:I3, Ethan is engaged to another woman. Nyah is never mentioned again, not even to say that she is dead.

Obviously, there are multiple things that could have happened. Nyah could be dead, killed by someone looking to hurt Ethan. Or maybe she died in a regular car crash. It's completely possible that the relationship just didn't work out, and they broke off. Maybe Nyah is travelling the world, living her best life. We all have our theories. The truth is that it doesn't really matter what happened to her; what matters is that she's gone.

I personally don't think Ethan has much experience with relationships. He's a skilled honeypot and knows how to manipulate people's attraction to achieve a mission, as shown in Ghost Protocol when he gets that one rich guy jealous over Jane. But we've only seen him have three canon "relationships" so far (and even that is stretching it).

In M:I1, he kisses Claire. This isn't a relationship, but it's apparent that Claire and Jim used Ethan's attraction to Claire to manipulate him. This is sure to have fucked him up.

In M:I2, he falls in love with Nyah pretty much instantly. He's guilty over the fact that he has to basically pimp Nyah out to her evil ex-boyfriend, and she almost dies because he involved her in this whole mess.

In M:I3, he's with Julia, a regular civilian woman who knows nothing about the IMF. This could just be due to a lack of interest in anybody he knows from work. But it could also be because of Nyah.

Nyah knew about the IMF. She knew about Ethan. She saw firsthand the danger that came with his job. And she wasn't exactly a "normal" civilian from the beginning; she was a master thief. She was about as embroiled in Ethan's life as a lover could be without being part of the IMF herself.

But...that didn't work out, for whatever reason. Whether she was murdered or she left Ethan, their relationship didn't last. So maybe in Ethan's mind, he can't have a relationship with someone who is so involved in his life.

That brings us to M:I3, where Ethan is with a normal civilian Julia. He doesn't like keeping secrets from her, of course, but it's better than the alternative—her knowing all of him, and the relationship ending.

Of course, this happens anyway, but that's not the point of this.

The point is that while the first three Mission: Impossible movies are disjointed and completely unconnected, so much so that they could be set in completely different franchises if not for the fact that the main guy is named Ethan Hunt—there are links if you try hard enough to make it make sense! Which is something I enjoy doing. Ethan doesn't really become a solid character until Ghost Protocol, but if you think about where Ethan is at mentally in between each of the first three movies...you can see why he turned out the way he did by the end.

[dirtylevi]

My friend and I were stuck on something in the anime that I don't quite recall in the manga. Reiner says "if I had known there were people like this." Or something like that. People like what??? The survey corps? Ackermans? Eren???? Ehhh??? (Connie??? Lol)

This is pure speculation on my part and how I view what he meant, but this is easily debatable so don’t full on quote me here. This is just my interetation of Reiner’s monologue.

DISCLAIMER: This is my personal opinion. In no way am I stating what I say here is canon or completely accurate. if you disagree with my opinion, that’s perfectly fine! Everyone has a different point of view, but if you are going to send me messages trying to argue points of view with me or send me hate messages, do me a favor and please just don’t even bother.

First, he says he’s been surrounded by nothing but idiots for three long years, and on that tip I think he meant the walled people’s ignorance to the bigger picture. They’ve all had their memories wiped and Reiner is aware of this once he goes back to his Warrior self. They know nothing of the real world, so having to keep such large secrets close to his chest on top of realizing they have no clue how severe his struggle or his woes makes him upset because he knows they’ll have no sympathy. He has that harshly confirmed when he tries to get Eren to leave with him, and Bertl, and Eren point blank refuses. Basically implying he wouldn’t just run away with the “Enemies of Humanity”.

The people of the walls do not understand his position and he can’t speak to them about it because they’d kill him. He was forced to cope by himself and as a result, his personality split into two. When he realizes what’s happening to him, he becomes angry and upset with himself and blames the people of the Walls for this occurance. So therefore, they’re idiots to him.

So when you ask what “people” he was speaking of, I think he meant it as a way of referring to all of the Eldians of Paradis as a whole. Because he then goes on to say “We were just stupid kids… We didn’t know anything.” As in, they were all taught that the Eldian people inside the walls were evil children of the Devil. When in fact, they’re all simply people who desire their own freedom, just like them. People who share the same blood and the same curse as them.

Then he says he wouldn’t be such a half-assed piece of shit if he’d never known they existed. Meaning He became a half-assed warrior because he sympathized with those he was meant to kill. He went to Paradis with the full intent of fufilling his mission, but ended up caring for the people inside the walls and taking the role of a soldier to try and cope with his mixed feelings and the henious actions he’d commited as a part of his Warrior duty. He broke himself in two, and he is saying the ignorance of their existence would have been better than knowing the truth and having to cope with it the way he did. 

Then he says it’s too late and that he doesn’t know what’s right anymore and that he has to face consequences for his actions while carrying out his mission as a warrior to the bitter end. Then he chooses to shift and give away their identities to try and take Eren. 

So I believe this was Reiner realizing his personality was broken in two, and trying to understand them both at the same time. Facing the fact that he didn’t actually hate the people he was around in the walls, but also knowing he was supposed to and knowing they’d never forgive him for what he’d done. Knowing his mission as a Warrior, and knowing he had to follow through with it regardless. The way I interpret it is him saying if he’d never gone to walls, and never accepted the mission of destroying Paradis; he wouldn’t have become so mentally broken and he wouldn’t have lost himself in his two personas. His life would have been better in the ignorance of still believing they were evil people who deserved the death he helped reign on them instead of breaking himself in two to cope with the reality that some part of him cares for the people he was keeping secrets from, and actively killing.