WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Attack on Titan Season 4, Episode 25, "Night of the End," now streaming on Crunchyroll, Funimation and Hulu.
Attack on Titan is good at setting things up. Much of what happens in the earlier parts of the series ends up coming full circle in ways few can expect. Planning out the full story ahead of writing is natural, but few authors can pull it off as well as Hajime Isayama. A good example of AOT's setup can be found in Marco Bodt's death.
The death of Marco has a surprising amount of meaning, especially by Attack on Titan standards. This isn't just about inspiring Jean to join the Scouts or indirectly helping Annie avoid suspicion, either. His final words carry a surprising amount of relevance to the ongoing events of the anime, particularly the war between the Eldians and the rest of the world. It's hard to tell whether his words were meant as foreshadowing, but if they were, it wouldn't be surprising. To determine the relevance of Marco's final line, here's a look back at what he said, why he said it, and how it relates to what's been going on in the anime recently.
The details of Marco's death aren't revealed until Season 3 Episode 15, "Descent." In this episode, a flashback of Eren plugging the hole in Wall Rose is shown from Reiner and Bertholdt's perspective. As they were talking about their next course of action, Marco overheard some things that might have led him to realize they were the Armored and Colossal Titans. Reiner, not wanting to take any chances, subdued Marco and had the nearby Annie remove his ODM Gear. The three Marleyan spies then left Marco to be eaten by an approaching Titan.
While Marco was certain of the trio's treachery, he never learned why. He only got vague hints through their esoteric dialogue. As such, his last words were spent begging them for answers. His very last and most poignant line was "We haven't even had a chance to talk this through." In the end, all he wanted was for them to have a simple conversation to work out their differences.
Marco's last words could also be applied to the Subjects of Ymir's conflict with the rest of the world. While the Eldians' ancestors were rightfully vilified, the modern Subjects of Ymir were expected to suffer the consequences without even knowing the crime. This culminated in the world's unilateral decision to go to war with Paradis no matter what they said or did in their defense. It might be optimistic, but perhaps if the modern Paradis "devils" were given a chance to plead their case, then Eren would never have had to resort to the Rumbling.
A good example of how far a little friendly interaction and dialogue can go comes in the form of Gabi Braun. She started off brainwashed by Marley into believing that the Eldians were irredeemable monsters who deserved to die out. She represented exactly what everybody else in the world was made to think of the Subjects of Ymir due to Marleyan propaganda.
Despite her firm kill-them-all mindset regarding the Eldian devils, even Gabi was able to see reason. After spending some time living behind the walls, she was shown that the so-called devils have the capacity for kindness and empathy. Her worldview was further shattered when questioned by Kaya, whose mother was brutally devoured by a Titan. It took some time, but Gabi's brainwashing was steadily undone and she could finally hold a conversation with the Eldians without wanting to murder them. If Gabi really is a representative of the world's views of Eldia, then communication isn't all that far-fetched.
Of course, there are also examples of how talking might not work. In Season 4 Episode 25, "Night of the End," the main cast tries to talk reasonably with General Magath, but they aren't able to get through to him. Where they see 2000-year-old sins not worth getting upset over anymore, Magath sees a 2000-year history that can't simply be overlooked. Differing opinions like these are certainly an obstacle when it comes to finding peaceful solutions. However, with enough time, patience and compromise, even these issues could eventually be overcome.
The rest of the episode also speaks to the importance of working out differences. Armin still wants to believe that he can talk Eren out of the Rumbling. Everyone present sits around a fire, talks about their past sins, and "airs out their grudges." Reiner even brings up Marco's last words. By the end of it, all these would-be enemies grow comfortable enough around each other to work together to stop Eren.
Marco's last words are by no means unrealistic. They're just really difficult to follow, which is why many would rather just continue hating each other. Whether conversation can stop the Rumbling remains to be seen, but negotiations and dialogues should never be ruled out.
