Staff Writer: Eve Ergler

SPOLIER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SEASONS 3 & 4

Floch Forster is one of the most hated characters, alongside Gabi Braun, in Attack on Titan, and continues to anger fans as part 2 of season 4 comes to a close. Even though he is loathed by viewers, it goes to show the audience that Floch is one of the most well written characters in the show that started off as a side character and became a major character with crucial importance to the storyline.

Image source: https://attackontitan.fandom.com/wiki/Floch_Forster_(Anime)/Image_Gallery?file=Floch_stops_by_Jean%2527s_table.png

Floch Forster makes his appearance in season 3 of Attack on Titan when he becomes one of the new recruits for the Scout Regiment. At a first glance, anyone watching the show would believe that Floch was eventually going to meet a gory end considering that the side characters have a history of being killed off by the creator.

Floch along with the other recruits go on a mission to retake Wall Maria and is placed outside the wall with captain Levi and commander Erwin. During this mission, the scouts get ambushed by Zeke, who is the beast titan, which results in them being trapped outside of the wall by a boulder with no real way to get back inside.  Zeke used more boulders to take out the remaining scouts on the outside, which causes Floch to go into emotional destress. While this happens, Levi urges the scouts to take the surviving horses and move them closer to the wall for cover from Zeke.

Image source: https://attackontitan.fandom.com/wiki/Floch_Forster_(Anime)/Image_Gallery?file=Floch_laments_joining_the_Scouts.png

Erwin and Levi end up making the decision to lead a suicide charge to take out the beast titan by using Erwin and the remaining scouts as bait, and to use their flares as a form of cover to aid Levi’s sneak attack. Floch is against the plan but has no choice in the matter since everyone would share the same fate regardless of if they participated or not. Fans tend to forget that Floch is only 15 years old when this event occurs, so of course he wouldn’t want to participate in this suicide mission. The mission ends ironically with Floch being the only surviving recruit outside of the walls, which leaves him with survivor’s guilt and PTSD that develops his character later in season 4.

While Floch looks for survivors, he stumbles upon Erwin clinging to life and believes if he can make it back to Levi in time, he could save the commander with an injection. Floch carries Erwin inside the wall to find that Armin is also badly injured as well. Floch and Eren debate over who gets the syringe, and that comes down to Levi making the decision to save Armin.

Image source: https://attackontitan.fandom.com/wiki/Floch_Forster_(Anime)/Image_Gallery?file=Floch_asks_Levi_why_Armin_was_chosen.png

With the mission over, only 9 scouts survived Floch spirals into a moral dilemma of who should have been chosen to live, and sulks in his self-hatred believing to be a coward as a result from his survivor’s guilt. This guilt carries over to season 4 which manifests into his deteriorating sanity.

Image source: https://attackontitan.fandom.com/wiki/Floch_Forster_(Anime)/Image_Gallery?file=The_surviving_Scouts_line_up_before_Historia.png

Season 4 takes place 4 years after these events and with that, Floch goes from being an unimportant side character to one of the most reoccurring leads with him being involved in the Yeagerist movement that is a rebellion against the Paradis military.

Image source: https://attackontitan.fandom.com/wiki/Floch_Forster_(Anime)/Image_Gallery?file=Eren_and_the_Jaegerists_rendezvous.png

Floch takes on the role of being the savior of humanity similar to Erwin, both wanting to protect the same homeland, since the island of Marley wants to wipe out Paradis. Eren is the only one who can end the war with the two nations, so Floch works alongside him to make sure his plan, the Rumbling, goes into effect.

Image source: https://attackontitan.fandom.com/wiki/Floch_Forster_(Anime)/Image_Gallery?file=Eren_tells_Floch_about_his_intentions.png

The effect of Floch’s trauma shines through while as the leader of the Yeagerists, he takes over Paradis’s military as well as taking hostage of Marleyan officials. Floch’s survivor’s guilt and PTSD progress into insanity. This leads to Floch attempting to murder anyone who stands between Eren’s ideals that he believes will save Paradis. The end of season 4 part 2 leaves fans believing Floch died after falling injured into the ocean, which was caused by Gabi shooting him out of the sky to stop him from attacking the boat that his enemies were aboard. His motives for this are because of the deaths of his fellow Yeagerists, which could also be connected back to when all of his friends died 4 years prior.

Image source: https://attackontitan.fandom.com/wiki/Floch_Forster_(Anime)/Image_Gallery?file=Floch_rallies_the_Jaegerists.png

Floch Forster is at the top of the list of the most hated characters in Attack on Titan, however he is complex, and is extremely well written with the way his ideologies manifested into the person he became in season 4. What the audience can learn from Floch is that one of the most unimportant side characters can become one of the most reoccurring main characters. Viewers can only theorize what will happen to Floch while waiting for part 3 to come out in 2023.

Featured Image source: https://attackontitan.fandom.com/wiki/Floch_Forster_(Anime)/Image_Gallery?file=Floch_acknowledges_his_survival.png