The Attack on Titan manga was completed nearly a year ago now, and its final anime season is close to finishing as well. This means that the fate of all our favorite characters are now set in stone.
While everyone else is busy talking about the fate of more central characters Mikasa and Eren, perhaps you are wondering about how it all ended for some more minor yet still beloved characters like Connie and Jean? How did their stories end?
To find out what happened to Connie and Jean in the final chapters of Attack on Titan, then keep on reading below! To avoid spoilers, come back once the anime is complete to see if anything was changed from the original manga.
Jean Kirstein and Connie Springer are both characters who have been with us since the very start of Attack on Titan.
They are old comrades of our main protagonist Eren Jaeger and trained alongside him in the 104th Training Corps. Although Jean and Eren butted heads, he along with Connie and many others of the 104th joined the Survey Corps and followed Eren as they unravel the mysteries of the titans.
Over time, as Eren drifted further and further away from his comrades and chose a destructive path that would lead to the Rumbling, Jean and Connie were part of the team against Eren leading up to the final battle. Alongside many others, they both headed to Fort Salta in order to confront Eren and stop the Rumbling.
Putting everything on the line, Jean and Connie both fought courageously in the final battle. Once Armin was prepared to use his Colossal Titan power to destroy Eren and the parasite behind the origin of the titans, Jean and Connie retreated to safety and watched the explosion from afar.
Heading into the penultimate chapter of the Attack on Titan manga, it seemed as though Eren and the Rumbling had finally come to a stop.
But, there were still two upcoming chapters left, and everything could still change at a moment’s notice.
Chapter 138
As Chapter 138 began, we can see Connie and Jean both alive and well. The Rumbling appears to have stopped – but the fight against Eren is not yet over.
The parasite that caused the creation of titans is lying weakened at the bottom of Fort Salta, weakened and separated from Eren but still very much alive. The same is then said of Eren – he transforms into a Colossal Titan and begins to approach Armin, intending to continue the fight and restart the Rumbling.
While Armin turns to confront Eren, the parasite releases a strange smoke that is inhaled by everyone at Fort Salta. Connie then comments on how the gas could be similar to what happened at his home village of Ragako.
Zeke had used a gas made from his spinal fluid to create a whole village of pure titans under his command – and the group realized that the parasite is doing the same thing.
Those immune to the gas (such as Ackermans and Titan Shifters) all board Falco’s flying titan form and escape just before those left behind transform into pure titans. Connie and Jean, both who are Eldians but not Titan Shifters, are left behind.
It seems like the end for Jean and Connie.
They both wrap an arm around the other, lament their oncoming fate, and talk about how they saved the world.
Then, both are transformed against their will into mindless pure titans.
The now titan Connie and titan Jean attack the Armored Titan as he tries to kill the parasite. They, along with all the other Eldians who were transformed into pure titans, were not part of the parasite’s mindless titan army that it had created in an act of desperation.
Luckily, this is not the end for Connie and Jean. As their titan forms attack Reiner and the other Titan Shifters like Pieck the Cart Titan and Annie the Female Titan, Mikasa Ackerman gives the killing blow and puts an end to Eren Jaeger’s life – and ends the existence of Titans.
With Eren now dead, the power of the titans dies with him. All the titan forms of both Titan Shifters and pure titans begin to dissolve in steam, returning all the Eldians back to their human forms.
Connie and Jean return to their usual selves, amazed. They also regain their lost memories of their final moments with Eren, who visited each of his friends in turn to explain his plan and apologize in advance for his action before wiping their memories.
Connie mentions that Eren had told him in his forgotten memories that his mother (who had been transformed into a pure titan years ago but was still alive) would also be transformed back into a human once the power of the titans ended.
Together they both mourn Eren and see a vision of Sasha in the clearing steam – she salutes them, and they know that their fight against the titans is finally over.
What Happened After
In the aftermath of what is later known as the Battle Of Heaven and Earth, Connie and Jean are both alive and well.
However, tensions still rise between the Isle of Paradis and the rest of the world. As those on the Isle of Paradis live in fear that those who survived the Rumbling would come after them for retribution, they quickly build their armies now they cannot rely on the power of the titans to save them.
Three years after the Rumbling, Connie and Jean (along with everyone else involved in taking down Eren and stopping the Rumbling) act as peace ambassadors to try and ease the tensions.
They are last seen on a ship heading to the Isle of Paradis to discuss peace talks between Queen Historia Reiss, representing Paradis, and the rest of the world. They both joke around with Reiner and mention how Historia has both Connie’s mother and Jean’s family under her protection.
So, with the final chapter concluded, we can assume that Connie and Jean went on to live long, happy lives with their families.
A Little Twist: The Additional Pages of Attack on Titan
After the final chapter of Attack on Titan was released, the ending was received by fans with rather mixed opinions.
A couple of months later, the anime’s creator Hajime Isayama released a few extra pages that showed the far future of the Isle of Paradis.
In a series of scenery shots, we can see the tree Eren’s grave is buried under, growing taller and taller until it is identical to the same tree that hosted the parasite until it absorbed itself into the first titan, Ymir.
While this also suggests that titans are fated to return to the world, fans also noticed a small detail that could reveal more about the fate of Jean.
Jean has always had a huge crush on Mikasa and in a previous chapter, he was seen having a daydream about marrying and having children with her.
In these few final panels, we see Mikasa revisiting Eren’s grave as she grows old and in one panel, she is accompanied by a small child and a man with long, shoulder-length hair that is styled very closely to Jean’s.
Could this mean Jean got his wish and eventually married Mikasa?
Although this is unconfirmed, and we never see the man’s face, more could be revealed in the final episode of the anime. If this panel is animated, we might be able to get an alternative angle of the man and potentially see his true identity. But – for now – we can only theorize if this man is Jean or not.
Conclusion
So – What Are Jean And Connie’s Fates?
If the anime follows the manga, they will both live long and happy lives after the power of titans has ended.
Although they came close to death and were even transformed at one point into pure titans, they both regained their former selves and became peace ambassadors for the world. Both of their families are confirmed to be safe and well, and Jean even potentially marries Mikasa – although this is only a theory.
But the anime still has the potential to change things. It can always go an alternative route, so the fate of Connie and Jean in the anime is still undecided.
