WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 4, Episode 11 of Attack on Titan, now streaming on Crunchyroll, FUNimation, Hulu and Amazon Prime.
At first, Attack on Titan's Eren Yeager served as a compelling shonen protagonist, a hotheaded young man who burned for revenge against the flesh-eating Titans. For three seasons, Eren fought hard and risked it all to save his friends and all of humanity from the Titan threat, but in Season 4, that changed. Eren has a fan club, and not because of his good deeds in the past.
Now, the battle lines are redrawn. It's no longer humanity vs. Titans any longer; instead, this is a battle between Paradis Island's Eldian inhabitants and the imposing Marley Empire, and Eren will do anything to win -- even at the expense of his friends. And not everyone hates him for that.
Anything For the Future Of Eldia
Paradis Island's people now understand that they are the Eldian people. This group fled to Paradis Island when King Fritz dissolved the old Eldian Empire out of guilt and to free the world of its Titan-based tyranny. Fritz's family used the Founding Titan's power to modify everyone's memories and led them to believe that they stood alone against the Titans -- an illusion that colored the first three seasons of Attack on Titan.
However, the Titans are not the real enemy, but instead, friends since they are all Eldians, the countrymen of Paradis Island's inhabitants. The Marley Empire was using its hapless Eldian minority as Titan weapons against their fellow Eldians on the island, and this revelation has shocked and outraged Eren's countrymen. The people of the walled city are proud and stubborn, and they are turning their fury away from the Titans and to the Marley Empire that unleashed them in the first place.
Eren Yeager's Extremism
Paradis Island's people, Eren Yeager in particular, are fiercely nationalistic, with their anger directed at Marley and the desire to resurrect the old Eldian Empire -- though that's not a universal view among all Eldians. Still, Eren has become a patriotic symbol of Eldia's revenge, especially now that he has the power of three Titans -- having consumed the War Hammer Titan during his recent foray into Marley's territory.
The Titans are unique to the Eldians, and if Eren keeps stockpiling Titan powers like nukes, he can find success where conventional troops might fail. While Marley has advanced warships, airplanes and machine guns on its side, only Titans can fight back and hope to win. However, the Paradis government is reluctant to use that power, despite having access to the Titan serum. So, Eren has taken matters into his own hands to launch this patriotic counter-offensive -- causing many people such as Floch to flock to his and Zeke Yeager's banner.
The Paradis Leaders Are Too Slow To Handle Marley, Evidently
Right now, the people of Paradis Island are becoming divided into two camps. One camp -- which includes Mikasa and Armin -- defers to Pyxis and the other officers' bureaucratic, military leadership. After all, these leaders helped the Eldians survive the Titan onslaught, and they have all earned their ranks. Rebelling now will cause chaos, or at least Mikasa and Armin think so. Zeke's plan is reckless and scary in their eyes, and just because power exists doesn't mean it should be thrown about.
Other Eldians are impatient and frustrated, longing to take down the cruel Marley Empire and show off what they can do. If Pyxis and the other officers are dragging their feet out of caution, then a true leader must take their place -- leaders who get quick results with action and power like Eren and Zeke. Both brothers are patriotic symbols of Eldia's strength due to their radical ideas and Titan powers, ready to use the ominous rumbling to terrify the world. This has inspired Floch and others to rally around Eren. Plus, when Pyxis's military detained Eren out of fear, this drove "Yeagerists" even further away from Paradis Island's established authority.
Eren's followers took the radical step of bombing a government building to assassinate premier Zachary, along with a few other officers. Pyxis knows that he has a crisis on his hands, but he won't react in kind. Instead, he'll try and negotiate with Eren and the radicals while taking covert steps to re-assert control over the situation. However, it may be too late as Eren has broken free, and his followers have surrounded him. So, a Paradis Island civil war may already be underway.
