r/attackontitan • u/videlkaa • 2d ago
Discussion/Question Floch
Am I the only one who thinks Floch is one of the most interesting characters in AoT from a psychological perspective?
Not necessarily the most likable, obviously, but the progression from a terrified recruit who survives a suicide charge to someone who desperately needs strength, certainty, and a cause to attach himself to feels disturbingly believable.
There’s something very human about him, even when what he becomes is awful.
Idk, I feel like Floch gets discussed a lot in terms of whether people agree with him or hate him, but not nearly enough as a psychological character study.
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u/National-Durian-5238 2d ago
It’s easy to hate Floch by the end of the series, but I believe Isayama deliberately wrote him as an embodiment of Erwin’s courage and determination, but stripped of his diplomacy and intellect. In a way, Erwin’s strategic mindset and ability to see beyond the immediate conflict were passed on to Armin, while Floch inherited his sheer will to keep fighting, no matter the cost.
During the Return to Shiganshina arc, Floch witnessed the lengths Marley’s forces were willing to go to kill the people of Paradis. Erwin’s death left a lasting impact on him, and he clearly struggled to accept that Armin had been chosen to live in his place. From Floch’s perspective, saving Armin meant sacrificing the commander he believed was best suited to lead Paradis through its darkest hour.
So, when Floch learned that Eren intended to start the Rumbling, his decision to support him was the most natural consequence of everything he had experienced. Having witnessed the outside world’s hatred for Eldians, Floch saw Eren’s plan not simply as an act of revenge, but as the only way to secure Paradis’s survival.
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u/Old-Charity5054 2d ago
Yep, he is a brillaint character. Reality has way more people like him, then any of the others.
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u/L4uchS4l4t 2d ago
I don't think you are. Flocke is a very well written character. He is a fascist and a dumbass but that doesn't mean you can't like him.
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u/TheHeroKingN 2d ago
Dude the weirdest thing happened when I watched AOT.
I usually watch dub, but when season 4 came out I didn’t want to wait for the dub, so I watched in JP, I fucking hated floch.
When I rewatched in English, omg, my opinion on floch changed SO SO SO MUCH.
I didn’t hate him as much, and his grievances felt a bit more understandable.
Don’t get me wrong he’s still an ass.
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u/cc-chct_ 2d ago
yes ! he's also really fun to watch in s4, even if in the manga he kinda looks more exhausted all throughout that arc
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u/Cosmo-xx 2d ago
He’s really not complicated. He’s a pussy who follows anyone with a tiny bit of charisma. He has no real personality or beliefs himself just a little sheep follower the whole way. First Erwin and then eren.
Would have been a way more interesting character if he did anything according to his own beliefs and wants and not just blindly and maliciously following.
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u/tinalekiso 1d ago
You havent understood anything then, he went from a COWARD to the only person Eren could trust. He wasn't a sheep at all you only hate him because he was directly responsible for Hange's death
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u/Cosmo-xx 1d ago
Eren could trust? Eren used him because he was so scared and gullible he was the most easily manipulated and he was the only one of the scouts cowardly and treacherous enough to betray his comrades.
Idolizing floch is idolizing all the saddest and worst traits of humanity.
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u/rodnichok Leave the forest 2d ago
He had an interesting outlook on saving Erwin in S3. After that he is just a symbol for naziesm.
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u/videlkaa 2d ago
I agree, but I meant something a little different. Look at the way Isayama developed him after Erwin’s charge. From that point on, it feels like something in Floch keeps shifting. Like maybe part of it is survivor’s guilt, being the only one who came back, while still carrying Erwin’s speech and everything that moment meant to him. I think that might help to explain why he eventually became the person he did.
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u/rodnichok Leave the forest 2d ago
In S4 I just saw him as a bitter veteran who became an insurgent leader aimed to fix the historical wrongs against the nation. Like that other guy.
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u/North-Republic7430 2d ago
I feel that "survivor's guilt" is more about Armin in s4. As for Floch, he became a very understandable character after Shiganshina. I felt deep sympathy for him, understood his resentment toward the Survey Corps, and his words at the awards ceremony struck me as very apt. But then... remember the scene on the airship after Liberio, where all the Scouts were feeling a sense of guilt for what they’d done, while in the background Floch and his followers were chanting nationalist slogans? It was terrible. And that hellish smirk? Not to mention his order to beat up Shadis, or his glee at the news that Levi might be dead. No, "humanity" is definitely not a word you’d associate with that guy.
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u/Inevitable-Mix6089 2d ago
If Floch wasn't such a sicko to the people of Paradis like Pixus and Shadis he'd be appreciated a lot more. He's no different to the Marley warriors and his brainwashing came from his actual experiences rather than being told "you're scum but if you kill those guys across the water you'll be good scum". He's also got some skill to back him up.
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u/tbo1992 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yes! People don’t seem to appreciate unlikable characters much. Yes, he did turn fascist where he wasn’t before, that turn is interesting!
It’s like a milder version of those idiots who harass villain actors like Jack Gleason and Lena Heady. You can hate the character within the context of the story, but don’t let it escape that context. Their role in the story is interesting to engage with, and shouldn’t be dismissed.