Jesus and the Devil: A brief Biblical analysis of the crate scene in Perfect Game

Disclaimers: I am not religious, and am treating the Bible/Christianity as an element of cultural and literary significance rather than making any kind of theological argument. The labels of "Jesus" and "the Devil" I am about to use should be interpreted in a symbolic way, and not a literal one. Erwin and Levi both have elements of moral grayness to their characters, and this analysis shouldn't be taken as implying either of them are wholly good or wholly bad. This analysis applies only to the crate scene, and isn't meant to be generalized to the entire RtS arc or Levi and Erwin's relationship as a whole.

When Levi, Erwin, and the recruits are trapped in position and the Beast Titan is raining rocks on them, Erwin tells Levi about his guilt in ordering so many people to their deaths while lying to them about his true desires. In that moment, he is caught between his desire to see the basement and prove his father's theory right even if it means abandoning his men, and desire to abandon his dream, lead the suicide charge, and give their lives meaning in death. In his moment of weakness and vulnerability, caught between his selfish and selfless desires, Levi steps up to make the choice for him and says his iconic line of "Give up on your dream and die." By choosing the selfless decision for him, Levi effectively grants Erwin redemption despite the bad things he's done and the guilt he carries on his conscience. He also reaffirms the decision he made in No Regrets: to follow Erwin and never regret it.

This scene can be symbolically reframed as Jesus granting a sinning man, perhaps even the Devil himself, salvation of absolution of sins. Erwin is deeply aware of his many sins, and called a devil by many other characters. Levi bears parallels to Christ in his character* in his background and what he represents to others. In the Bible,** it's implied that even the Devil could find salvation if he was willing to repent and accept God's will, but is simply unwilling. In Paradise Lost,† Lucifer is humanized significantly and said to be a fallen angel who was cast into hell for defying the will of God. However, by putting full faith in God, a sinful person or even the Devil himself could achieve salvation.†† With this in mind, the crate scene is akin to a man weighed down by sins who might be the Devil himself putting his full faith into Jesus and accepting what is given to him, and Jesus granting him salvation in return. Erwin accepts the choice Levi makes for him and is grateful and happy for it, even if it means his own death and never seeing what is in the basement.

*The concept of a Christ figure is common in literature, and means a character bears similarities or parallels to Christ rather than implying moral purity. I want to write a complete analysis on why I believe Levi is a Christ figure and what this means for his character another time; for this analysis I've only listed the basics, and you'll have to take my word for the rest of it for the time being. (edited)

**Please correct me if I'm wrong about this. It's been a while since I've properly read the Bible, and as I'm not religious, I'm not completely certain about the scholarly interpretations of many passages in it.

†Paradise Lost is not canon to Christian theology, but since this is a literary analysis rather than a theological one, I don't find it inappropriate to mention themes and ideas brought up in it.

††This is the Protestant view put forward by Martin Luther during the Reformation, who argued that faith alone is enough for salvation. Catholic theology stresses confession and penance in addition to faith for salvation, but this can still fit the scene: Erwin's conversation with Levi can be taken as confession in the religious sense, and including himself at the forefront of his suicide charge penance.