What Did Griffith Do? Berserk’s Biggest Betrayal Explained

Griffith betrayed the Band of the Hawk, sacrificed his comrades during the Eclipse, became Femto, and committed one of the most infamous acts of cruelty in Berserk. His actions destroyed the found family that once followed him and permanently changed Guts and Casca’s lives.

So, what did Griffith do? The direct answer is that Griffith chose his dream over the people who loved and trusted him. During the Eclipse, he offered the Band of the Hawk as sacrifices so he could be reborn as a member of the God Hand.

On KunManga, readers can explore manga character guides, dark fantasy explainers, and story breakdowns before starting complex series like Berserk.

This guide explains what Griffith did, why the Eclipse matters, how his betrayal affected Guts and Casca, and why Griffith remains one of the most controversial characters in manga.

Major spoiler warning: This article discusses the Eclipse, Griffith’s transformation into Femto, the fate of the Band of the Hawk, Casca’s trauma, Guts’ revenge, and major Berserk story events.

Quick Answer: What Did Griffith Do?

The short answer to what did Griffith do is that Griffith sacrificed the Band of the Hawk to become Femto, one of the God Hand. He betrayed the people who fought for him, caused most of his comrades to die, and traumatized Guts and Casca.

Action	Meaning
Sacrificed the Band of the Hawk	He offered his comrades during the Eclipse
Became Femto	He was reborn as a member of the God Hand
Betrayed Guts	He destroyed the trust between them
Traumatized Casca	He committed sexual violence against her
Destroyed the Band’s future	Most members were killed by apostles
Returned as a savior-like figure	He later built power and influence in the human world

The simplest answer is this: Griffith chose power and his dream over loyalty, love, and human connection.

Who Is Griffith in Berserk?

Griffith is the leader of the Band of the Hawk, a mercenary group that rises from battlefield success to political importance. He is beautiful, intelligent, charismatic, and almost impossible for others to ignore.

At first, Griffith appears like a heroic figure. He has a dream of owning his own kingdom, and his confidence makes many people believe that dream is possible.

Guts joins the Band of the Hawk after Griffith defeats him in battle. Over time, Guts becomes one of Griffith’s most valuable fighters and one of the few people who truly challenges Griffith’s emotional control.

That relationship is central to understanding what did Griffith do. Griffith’s betrayal hurts so much because he was not just an enemy. He was once the leader and dream of the people he destroyed.

What Was Griffith’s Dream?

Griffith’s dream was to have his own kingdom. Everything he did before the Eclipse was connected to that goal.

He built the Band of the Hawk into a powerful mercenary force. He used strategy, charm, beauty, political skill, and violence to climb toward nobility and power.

Many members of the Band followed him because his dream gave their lives meaning. They were not only fighting for money. They were fighting for a future that seemed impossible before Griffith.

That is what makes his later betrayal so cruel. Griffith’s dream gave people hope, then became the reason they were sacrificed.

Why Did Griffith Fall?

Griffith’s fall begins after Guts leaves the Band of the Hawk. Guts wants to find his own dream instead of only living as a sword for Griffith.

Griffith cannot accept losing Guts. His emotional control breaks, and he makes a reckless choice that leads to his imprisonment and torture.

After being rescued, Griffith is physically ruined. He can no longer lead the Band, fight as before, or achieve his dream through normal human means.

This broken state prepares the path to the Eclipse. When the chance to regain his dream appears, Griffith makes the choice that defines him forever.

What Happened During the Eclipse?

The Eclipse is one of the darkest events in Berserk. During this supernatural ceremony, Griffith is offered a choice by the God Hand.

He can give up his dream and remain broken, or he can sacrifice the Band of the Hawk to be reborn as something beyond human.

Griffith chooses the sacrifice. The people who trusted him are branded and attacked by apostles. Most of the Band of the Hawk are killed in a horrific massacre.

This is the main answer to what did Griffith do. He did not simply fail his comrades. He used them as the price for his transformation.

Why Did Griffith Sacrifice the Band of the Hawk?

Griffith sacrificed the Band of the Hawk because he valued his dream above their lives. He had already built his identity around reaching a kingdom, and losing that dream felt worse than losing his humanity.

The God Hand forced him to face the cost of his ambition. Griffith had already sent many people to die for his dream during war. The Eclipse made that truth literal and final.

By sacrificing the Band, Griffith accepted that his comrades were steps on the path to his kingdom. He chose not to turn back.

That choice is why Griffith is so disturbing. He loved, needed, and used the Band, but in the end, he still placed his dream above them.

What Did Griffith Do to Guts?

Griffith betrayed Guts in the deepest possible way. Guts had fought for him, respected him, and built part of his identity around the Band of the Hawk.

During the Eclipse, Guts watches the Band collapse into death and horror. He loses comrades, suffers severe physical injury, and sees the person he once followed become something monstrous.

Griffith also targets Guts emotionally. His actions against Casca are done in a way that forces Guts to witness his complete powerlessness.

After the Eclipse, Guts’ life becomes consumed by rage, survival, trauma, and revenge. Griffith’s choice turns Guts from a warrior searching for meaning into the Black Swordsman.

What Did Griffith Do to Casca?

Griffith sexually assaulted Casca during the Eclipse after becoming Femto. This is one of the most infamous and painful scenes in Berserk.

The act is not only violence against Casca. It is also a deliberate emotional attack against Guts, who is forced to witness it while unable to stop him.

Casca’s trauma after the Eclipse becomes one of the central emotional wounds of the manga. Her mind breaks under the weight of what happened, and Guts spends much of the story trying to protect her while also struggling with his own rage.

Any answer to what did Griffith do must include this moment, because it shows the full cruelty of his transformation into Femto.

What Is Femto?

Femto is the form Griffith takes after the Eclipse. He becomes one of the God Hand, a group of powerful supernatural beings connected to causality, sacrifice, and human desire.

As Femto, Griffith is no longer a normal human. His beauty remains, but his humanity is gone or buried beneath his new existence.

This transformation is the reward Griffith receives for sacrificing the Band of the Hawk. It gives him power beyond anything he could have reached as a human mercenary leader.

Femto represents the final result of Griffith’s ambition. He becomes closer to his dream, but only by abandoning the people who made that dream possible.

Did Griffith Regret What He Did?

Griffith’s regret is complicated. Before the Eclipse, he is emotionally broken and forced to confront the people who died for his dream. There are moments where his pain and dependence on the Band seem real.

However, when the choice comes, he still accepts the sacrifice. After becoming Femto, he acts with cold distance and cruelty.

This is why many readers argue that Griffith’s regret, if it existed, was not enough to stop him. His dream remained stronger than his guilt.

The manga leaves readers with a disturbing question: if someone feels pain over betrayal but still chooses it, does that pain matter?

Did Griffith Love the Band of the Hawk?

Griffith’s feelings for the Band of the Hawk are one of the reasons Berserk is so complex. He did not treat the Band only as random soldiers. He depended on them, inspired them, and built his dream with them.

But Griffith’s love, if it can be called love, was always tied to ownership and ambition. He needed people around him, but he also saw them as part of his path.

Guts was especially important because he was one of the few people Griffith could not fully control. When Guts left, Griffith’s emotional balance collapsed.

That is why his betrayal feels personal. Griffith did not sacrifice strangers. He sacrificed the people closest to him.

Why Griffith’s Betrayal Is So Shocking

Griffith’s betrayal is shocking because Berserk spends a long time showing the Band of the Hawk as a real community. Readers see them fight, joke, suffer, celebrate, and survive together.

The Golden Age arc makes the Band feel like a found family. That makes the Eclipse more devastating because it destroys something readers have come to believe in.

Griffith also feels heroic for much of the early story. He is ambitious and morally questionable, but he is also magnetic and inspiring.

When the betrayal happens, the reader understands that the signs were always there. Griffith’s dream was beautiful, but it always demanded blood.

What Did Griffith Do After the Eclipse?

After the Eclipse, Griffith eventually returns to the human world in a new form. He gains followers, military power, and a public image that makes him look like a savior.

This is one of Berserk’s cruelest contrasts. Readers know what Griffith did, but many people in the world see him as a heroic figure.

He later creates Falconia, a powerful city that offers safety in a world filled with monsters and chaos. To ordinary people, Griffith can look like the answer to their prayers.

This makes the question what did Griffith do even more complicated. Griffith committed terrible crimes, yet the world later rewards him with admiration and power.

Why Do People Still Follow Griffith?

People still follow Griffith because he gives them hope, protection, and a vision of order. Many characters in Berserk do not know the truth of the Eclipse.

To them, Griffith appears almost divine. He wins battles, inspires loyalty, and creates a place where humans can survive against supernatural threats.

This contrast is part of what makes him such a powerful villain. He does not look like a monster to everyone. In fact, many people see him as the only person capable of saving them.

Berserk uses this contradiction to ask whether a beautiful dream can erase the horror used to build it.

How Griffith Changed Guts’ Story

Griffith’s betrayal becomes the central wound of Guts’ life. Before the Eclipse, Guts is a warrior trying to understand friendship, independence, and purpose.

After the Eclipse, Guts becomes marked by trauma. He carries the Brand of Sacrifice, fights apostles, and struggles against his own rage.

His journey is not only about killing Griffith. It is also about whether Guts can keep living, protect Casca, and hold onto his humanity despite everything that was taken from him.

For readers who want a broader story introduction, what is berserk about gives more context about Guts, Griffith, Casca, and the dark fantasy world around them.

Is Griffith Evil?

Many readers consider Griffith evil because of the Eclipse, the sacrifice, and what he did to Casca. His actions are cruel, selfish, and impossible to excuse.

At the same time, Berserk does not write him as a simple villain who was always openly monstrous. Griffith is charismatic, inspiring, wounded, and deeply human before he becomes Femto.

That complexity does not make his actions acceptable. It makes them more disturbing. Readers can understand how he reached that choice without forgiving it.

Griffith is terrifying because he shows how a dream can become more important than people.

Why Griffith Is So Controversial

Griffith is controversial because he is both beautiful and horrifying. He has the appearance of a savior, the charisma of a king, and the history of a traitor.

Some readers focus on his ambition and tragic fall. Others focus on the fact that his final choice destroyed people who trusted him.

The debate continues because Berserk makes readers sit with uncomfortable contradictions. Griffith can inspire loyalty and still be unforgivable. He can create safety for many people and still be built on betrayal.

That is why the question what did Griffith do remains one of the most searched questions about Berserk.

Why the Eclipse Matters So Much

The Eclipse is not just a shocking scene. It is the turning point that defines Berserk’s emotional and moral world.

Before the Eclipse, Berserk is a brutal medieval story about war, ambition, friendship, and survival. After the Eclipse, it becomes a story about trauma, revenge, demons, fate, and the cost of dreams.

Griffith’s choice changes every main character. Guts becomes the Black Swordsman. Casca is shattered. The Band of the Hawk is erased. Griffith becomes Femto.

The Eclipse matters because it reveals the true price of Griffith’s dream.

Final Answer: What Did Griffith Do?

The final answer to what did Griffith do is that Griffith sacrificed the Band of the Hawk during the Eclipse, became Femto, betrayed Guts, and sexually assaulted Casca.

He chose his dream of a kingdom over the lives and trust of the people who followed him. Most of the Band died because of his choice, while Guts and Casca survived with lasting trauma.

Griffith later returned to the world as a savior-like figure, making his character even more disturbing. He is admired by many people who do not know the full cost of his rise.

FAQs

What did Griffith do in Berserk?

Griffith sacrificed the Band of the Hawk during the Eclipse, became Femto, betrayed Guts, and committed sexual violence against Casca.

Why did Griffith sacrifice the Band of the Hawk?

Griffith sacrificed the Band because he chose his dream of having a kingdom over the lives of his comrades.

What did Griffith do to Guts?

Griffith betrayed Guts, destroyed the Band of the Hawk, caused him severe trauma, and turned him into someone driven by rage and revenge.

What did Griffith do to Casca?

Griffith sexually assaulted Casca during the Eclipse after becoming Femto. The act deeply traumatized her and became one of the manga’s most painful events.

What is Femto?

Femto is Griffith’s reborn form as a member of the God Hand. He becomes Femto after sacrificing the Band of the Hawk during the Eclipse.

Is Griffith the villain of Berserk?

Griffith is one of Berserk’s central antagonistic figures. His actions during the Eclipse make him one of the most infamous villains in manga.

Is Berserk manga finished?

For a separate status guide about the manga’s publication, read is the berserk manga finished.

Conclusion

So, what did Griffith do? Griffith betrayed the Band of the Hawk, sacrificed them during the Eclipse, became Femto, and destroyed the lives of Guts and Casca.

His choice is one of the darkest betrayals in manga because it turns a dream of glory into a nightmare built on the bodies of his comrades.

Griffith remains unforgettable because he is not only a monster on the surface. He is a beautiful, charismatic figure whose ambition exposes the terrifying cost of choosing a dream over human life.