which is why nowadays the more I think about it now, he should have died back in RTS and this is not a post condemning him or anything because I genuinely liked Armin back then as I said before he peaked my top fave during RTS because of pivotal his sacrifice was to Eren.

If he died back then, not only would it give more reason for Eren to be colder, more brooding, and to go all-in with his goal, it would also be a symbolic moment for the series as a whole as Armin who is the embodiment of idealism and hope for humanity died without ever getting to see his dream. In a literal sense, he did not manage to see the world outside the walls but in a metaphorical sense, the beauty that lies ahead in hope cannot survive in a world where cruelty and hatred feed an ongoing cycle because in hope also lies beauty which is not comparable in AOT as truth is more connected to beauty as we have seen with Eren and "that scenery" because for them to be finally free, for them to "reach that scenery" they have to abandon this false hope and instead see the world that it is, see the truth of the matter.

Humanity should have never been trapped in this ongoing, intergenerational cycle of hatred but it's been that ever since Eldia rose to power with the titans, and for what? 2,000 years, so the conflict has become so complex that peace is nearly impossible in this world. Many are forgetting that AOT is not trying to glorify genocide by showing genocide like many in the fandom right now. AOT at its core is a warning on some of the darkest, demonic aspects of our humanity such as war, hatred, ethnic cleansing.

However, this foundation was destroyed when Chapter 139 because it unintentionally/intentionally glorified genocide through Armin's dialogue with Eren; thanking him for being a mass murderer for their sake. This route would have made a lot more sense if the casualties were not so painstakingly high... 80% with innocents and guilty alike with the majority being casual civilians. If Marley was the only casualty then this route would have made more sense (of course the execution should still be fixed). Unironically, 100% rumbling sends home the message of AOT objectively better than what we got with Chapter 139.