Blogging Brotherhood: Episodes 24-26

Episode Twenty-Four: Inside the Belly

Edward, Alphonse, and Ling find themselves going head-to-head against Envy and Gluttony while Mustang seeks out a general that he believes may be willing to help him out in taking down the Fuhrer.

Oh, so that's what happened to Dr. Marcoh. To be honest I kind of forgot about him. Is that bad? According to Envy, he's got a bit of an ultimatum: Help them and save his village (which means destroy Amestris) or don't and have his village obliterated. I'm not too sure what the heck he's doing for them, but at this point I know better than to question anything because I'm sure it will come up again.

We get our first "glimpse" of Pride here. He never shows his face but has the same voice as both that thing inside The Door and Bradley's kid, so I'm sensing a possible connection...hm. Although where he's speaking from and how Bradley can hear him is a bit of a mystery. I like the image of the butterfly being caught in the web as they have their conversation. Very symbolic, and a little on the creepy side.

Aaaand we also get a nice look at Gluttony's "true form" which includes giant fangs and a scary-looking eyeball. So much for the squishy, kind-of-cute Gluttony. Although to be fair, if I had a stomach that looked like that I would be a bit angry myself.

Gah, doesn't having Shao May clinging to Mustang's face (and his consequent pulling her off that has a distinct suction cup sound to it) clash with the tone? Hawkeye nearly got herself killed and then they cut right to the shot with the panda on Mustang's face...I don't understand these shifts in tone. I know they're part of the "shonen" genre, but...seriously?

Okay, to be honest I'm being a jerk and nitpicking because I DID laugh at it. I'm more concerned about why it's becoming a trend for anime characters to take their gloves off with their damn teeth. At least in Black Butler it was kind of done for the ladies as a sexual thing, but Mustang has another perfectly good hand he could take that glove off with. And isn't it far harder to pull gloves off with your teeth than it would be to just yank it off with your hand? These things confuse me.

How many times has Hawkeye saved your ass, Mustang? I swear, without her you would have been dead way back in episode one because you forgot that fire and water don't mix. YOU NEED HER.

 
Also, why does Ed dislike the colonel so much? So far he's been dependable and proven to know how to handle certain situations, like with Ross. Hawkeye was the one that snatched Gluttony and Ling per his orders. Roy can be a bit of a dope every now and then (case in point: that rain and fire slip-up I just mentioned), but he has a head on his shoulders and is willing to do a lot to help Ed and Al out.

I'm not gonna lie, seeing that dog talk was almost as freaky as Gluttony's current form. Envy had a weird moment of normalcy here, where he/she honestly didn't want to fight Ed. He/she got plenty of characterization in the original, but it feels a little more nuanced here. It's making me interested in what he/she's got in terms of a past, if there's a person's memory behind him/her or if that concept has been removed from Brotherhood.

Bradley's family: I GOT QUESTIONS. There's something up with that kid and I want to know what. What about Bradley's wife? Where did she come from? If Bradley is a Homunculus, what the heck is she? Is she a human that got suckered into marrying him? Is she something else? I'd like to know these things.

Gluttony...swallowed them? He actually swallowed them? So...where did they go?

About the last scene: They're clearly foreshadowing something with the chess game and finishing too weak. It's Mustang's greatest weakness, one that goes so far as to be obvious in a chess game. We see that the Fuhrer reveals himself in that meeting of generals and that pretty much no one can be trusted. Mustang was too quick to assume that certain people would be his allies, and it's only when he realizes how far this corruption has gone that he understands the military isn't concealing the problem--it IS the problem. So will he remember this lesson he's learned and apply it in later situations?

Of course at this point, we've whittled our heroes down to a select group of people: Roy and his entourage, Ed, Al, Ling and Lan Fan (who's more or less out of commission for the time being), and...Armstrong? And he hasn't even been in an episode in a while. Clearly the corruption runs deep. But does that mean the generals know the Fuhrer's a Homunculus and don't care? Do they know what he and the others have planned for Amestris? I imagine it isn't going to benefit them much in the long run, so why side with him?

Episode Twenty-Five: Doorway of Darkness

Edward and Ling struggle to find a way out of Gluttony's stomach. Meanwhile, Mustang discovers that his team is being reassigned to different stations and May Chang continues her search for Shao May.

You know, I think the inside of Gluttony's belly looks a lot like I imagine mine does after eating Mexican food.

I swear, Ed and Al had better not end up developing telepathic powers. That would be too weird. And ridiculous.

They...cooked Ed's shoes...in blood...and...ate them? No, Ed, I'm pretty sure leather is not an edible substance. Your digestive tract is going to hate you for a long time after consuming that. AND IN SOMEONE ELSE'S BLOOD, TOO.

Courtesy of Envy and his bragging (they refer to him officially as a "he," so I'm sticking with that pronoun), we now know that he was the one who started the war by disguising himself as a human and shooting that child, rather than an actual Amestrian. Which...kind of makes the entire war a sham and discredits Scar and his vengeance charade when you put that into context.

There's a lot of commentary in this show, but one of the more prominent themes is the fragility and/or strength of humanity. Envy likes to riff on people and how gullible they are, which can be supported by both Hughes' inability to do anything when he took the form of his wife and the fact that he started an entire war by shooting one child. But then we've also seen an incredible amount of resolve and determination from more or less all of the heroes up until this point. Ling was able to hold his own against the Fuhrer, Ed transmuted his brother's body to a suit of armor as a young kid, and Roy used some quick thinking with the help of alchemy to destroy Lust--an "indestructible" Homunculus.

There's an interesting dichotomy here, which I think is true of real life as well. Humans are both incredibly small and fragile and weak while also being immensely strong and resilient. One of the reasons the relationships, too, are such a big deal is because the support that the heroes have is what builds that strength. No one in this show does anything on their own, not entirely. Not even Edward. Edward needs Alphonse. Mustang needs his team. Ling needs his servants. Everyone has a family, even if it isn't their biological one.

Whoo. There's the English major popping out. Moving on.

We also see Envy's true form, which...you know I don't think a screen shot captures how freaking...bizarre this thing is:

It's like...Godzilla mixed with a Chinese dragon and cobbled together with some sub-par CGI.

But in all seriousness, I'm glad Ling has become a far more tolerable character. Ed needed someone while stuck in what--as Envy explains--is a faulty portal of Truth. He's a bit more nuanced than I thought the show would care to go, so that's nice. He's proving to be a solid ally for Edward, which is something that is sorely lacking at this point in the story.

OF COURSE THEY EXPLAIN WHY THE PANDA IS TINY. Because I'm not allowed to complain about anything in this show, am I? Also, Insert Tragic Back Story Here. I'm not sure how someone couldn't have compassion for an extra tiny abandoned panda IN THE RAIN:

The weird things that Shao May is able to do are still kind of silly (like fighting and carting that massive basket of hay or whatever that was), but at least we get to see why she matters so much to May Chang. Overhearing the conversation, Scar must see a similar relationship between he and his brother and the girl and her panda. Either that, or Scar has a weakness for sweet little girls who lose their best friends. Who knows. Regardless, I'm glad he's got a little bit of compassion left and is willing to offer it to her.

I can't say the same for the idiot that's a part of their...troupe. Why is his character still in this show? What purpose is he serving? All he does is get in the way and spout mean, stupid comments. I kind of feel like the writers put him in the show for a certain purpose and now can't figure out how to get rid of him.

In regards to the Fuhrer and his meeting with Mustang, geez. Like, I don't think I could hate this man more if I tried, between his anger at Hughes' child making noise during his funeral, his separation of Mustang's team, and the dismissive way he treated Hughes' death in the first place. Yet...I can't help but agree with him a little bit. As far as soldiers go, Bradley is right--they should be prepared to die for the sake of their country. That's part of the risk of being a soldier. Now, I'm not saying Hughes deserved death or that making a big deal out of it isn't still justified, but I can understand why he would at least have that perspective.

I see he got tired enough of Team Mustang interfering with his plans, so everyone is going to be split up, with Hawkeye designated to be his personal assistant and everyone else in the South, North, and West. I'll be interested to see how Hawkeye handles her new position...whether or not she puts up with the Fuhrer and his BS. And what's going to happen to Mustang? Now that he's had this little chat with Bradley, what does that mean for him and his position? And--potentially--his life?

Episode Twenty-Six: Reunion

Edward discovers a way to get out of Gluttony's stomach by way of a human transmutation. Alphonse goes with Gluttony to "Father's" hiding place in the hopes that he can retrieve the three trapped individuals. The past of Fuhrer Bradley is revealed.

Is...is that Al? OH MY GOSH THAT WAS ALPHONSE.

Okay, let me back up. There's a lot that happens in this episode, so I'm going to try and communicate everything as best as I can.

Let's start with May Chang and Scar who, by the way, win the award for the most hilarious couplet in this entire series. Watching this giant, scary guy walk around with a little girl is far, far more amusing than it should be:

Her and her awesome knives and alchemy are great, and I love the fact that she's so committed to getting Shao May back that she doesn't care about the terrifying dog monsters or the fact that Scar told her he doesn't know if they can take down Gluttony, since he's a Homunculus. Scar has a lot of patience to deal with this little girl, who runs head-first into danger. He's lucky she can hold her own, otherwise he would have ended up carting her on his back while he took out all of those...gatekeeper-things.

We've also got Alphonse and Gluttony, who make their way through the underground tunnels of Amestris. It may be a minor point, but Al is ridiculously brave for being willing to go with Gluttony to meet his "Father." Al has no idea what this "Father" is capable of, what he'll do when he meets him, or if he can even take "Father" on; yet he goes anyway, alone, with no one but an exceptionally tiny panda to help him out.

It's interesting about Gluttony, too, as he doesn't seem to be an inherently evil Homunculus. Yeah, he eats people and enjoys it, but he's doing it more for the sake of his own ignorant satisfaction rather than as a deliberate evil act. He's not like Lust, Envy, or Wrath in that sense. But you'd think that this "Father" guy would make a Homunculus with a little more intelligence so as to not lead the enemy right to your door.

I found Bradley's back story to produce a lot more questions than it did answers. Now we know that he WAS a human at some point and was turned into a Homunculus by way of a Philosopher's Stone transplant, so that's one hole filled. But who are the people in charge of those "prospective fuhrers?" Who was heading the country in the absence of a leader? Was Amestris around at that point? Where do they get the babies? Are they stolen or artificially created or donated or what? Why are the doctors working with this "Father" character? What happens to other candidates once a fuhrer is discovered? If they just killed them, isn't that kind of a waste of resources? If they became generals/part of the military, that would make more sense, but that's a lot of candidates for only so many military positions and not everyone in the military would be a candidate.

And perhaps most importantly: Why the hell is he bothering to tell Mustang all of this? We aren't given much beyond his little diatribe, but based on Mustang's possible "candidacy," it seems unlikely that Bradley will kill him. So why tell him anything? What difference would that knowledge make to him? All Mustang does is get angrier.

Then we have Ling, Edward, and Envy who are all still stuck inside the faux-portal. I had to watch this a second time because the first go-around I got confused. There's a lot of exposition here that honestly is hard to follow, and even having Ling play the part of the audience and ask questions comes off as...awkward. His dialogue is clunky. They do us a favor by providing flashes of the needed imagery to help understand everything that's going through Ed's head, but even with that it took more than one viewing to wrap my head around it all.

What it all boils down to is the giant mural-circle-thing is a summoning circle that allows someone to transmute a person, which is how "Father" managed to wipe out all of Xerxes. He didn't so much "kill" everyone in the traditional sense as he did transmute them. The part about returning them to their own reality and the transmutation bouncing back onto Ed should it go wrong is still fuzzy at best for me, but I'm not going to complain about internal logic and continuity because in all honesty I don't think my understanding of everything Edward said is vital for progressing through the rest of the show.

Now. Back to Al.

I thought initially that it was another version of Edward because they look a heck of a lot alike, and his hair is longer. But yikes that body is a hot mess. If Edward has been supplying nutrients to it, he hasn't done a very good job because Al looks about three breaths away from being dead.

He makes a statement to Edward about not being able to leave unless it's with his own soul, but then how the heck is he able to communicate with Ed? Shouldn't he just be a lifeless body hanging out in that vast whiteness? That's what Nina became in the original. Tucker brought back her body, but he didn't have her soul, so there was nothing much to her. I'm a little confused, but I guess in the long wrong it isn't a problematic enough detail to hurt the story, and given my track record with complaining about things that aren't explained, I'm not going to be so quick as to say it will go unresolved.

But that last bit of the episode, man...Edward's determination to get his brother's body back is amazing. The way they couple it with the ending music is perfect, too.

General Thoughts on Part II

Far more action-heavy than Part I, this "season" has started to fill in some holes here and there while simultaneously creating more questions and setting up more conflict. At this point we've got a lot of different characters running around, several different stories being told at the same time, and so far they've done a decent job of balancing everything out.

Things I hope to see in Part III include:

• Some answers regarding Bradley's family, in particular his son. 
• More information in regards to "Father" which Envy promises to give if Ed gets them out of Gluttony's stomach. Given his track record, I'm not holding him to that, but we'll see.
• I could use some more Ishvalan War stuff. It's the one thing that still feels lacking.
• Google Images gave me some mild spoilers, so I want to know what happens to Ling. It looks like something big does.
• The rest of the Homunculus. We've only seen five so far (with two being eliminated) and there are seven.

Blogging Brotherhood: Episodes 22 & 23

Episode Twenty-Two: Backs in the Distance

Edward and Alphonse continue their fight with Scar until Winry shows up unexpectedly. Scar reflects on his past in regards to his brother and the Ishvalan War.

Oh great, they got rid of the opening narration only to start putting in a summary of what happened in the previous episode. I don't like it. Go away.

I spent a majority of this episode putting my foot in my mouth, because everything I complained about in the previous entry has been fixed or, at the very least, addressed.

Let's start with Ling.

He's finally become worthy of my concern and sympathy, and that's due entirely to his dedication and commitment to his servant. For someone who seemed to see them as periphery, whenever they get hurt he snaps the hell out of his goofball routine and becomes an actual person. Props to him for running and jumping and fighting while carrying what is probably a 130+ pound person on his shoulders. They also let his ability to fight shine in general, as Bradley comments that he's trying to stay in his blind spot while the two of them go at it. I didn't even realize blind spots were a thing in battles. Go figure.

Ling's said before that the reason he's looking for immortality is for the sake of his clan, but it wasn't until he actually showed his loyalty to his people--his willingness to protect and defend Lan Fan--that I started to believe him. When Bradley calls her excess baggage, he gets pretty pissed and I have a feeling Ling's "A ruler's duty is to his people...without them he is no king at all" statement is going to echo throughout the rest of the series. We've already seen that the corruption in Amestris' government goes as far as the Fuhrer, and he tells Ling that there's no such thing as a "true king," so I wonder what the show plans to do with that concept.

I've got an idea, but I'm not sure whether or not it will come to fruition: The show is setting Mustang up to be that kind of king, as his reasons for wanting to become Fuhrer have nothing to do with power or authority. He's interested in protecting others--especially those he loves. His motives are entirely selfless.

Now that I think about it, that's a recurring theme within this show as well. Most of the relationships have been set up in a way that each party involved is willing to sacrifice themselves for the other. For heaven's sake, it's the reason the whole plot got started: Ed gave up part of himself for Al and now he's determined to fix the mistake they made. Both brothers are willing to go to hell and back for each other. Mustang will go to any lengths to protect his subordinates (and I get the feeling that it's especially the case with Hawkeye) and now we have Ling refusing to leave his servant behind even if it would make his escape easier. Hell, you even see it with Scar's brother in the flashback--he stands in front of him to protect him and gives up his own arm so that Scar would live, even if that meant that he died in the process. Then there's that scene towards the end of the episode where Ed jumps in front of Winy to protect her from Scar, but I'll get to that in a minute.

So speaking of that flashback, how 'bout the Ishavalan War?

Actually, I think the correct word would be massacre, as it's pretty clear that any significant amounts of warfare were reserved for the State Alchemists who wiped everyone out without much effort or resistance. We get a glimpse of the alchemist who blows things up (whose name I can't remember) as well as a little bit more in regards to Scar's brother. He isn't much different from his FMA counterpart, if less intense and more selfless. I can't remember if they explained the "right arm deconstructs and left arm reconstructs" concept in the original or if it was left a little ambiguous. I know they had his arm deconstructing things as the explanation for how he was killing state alchemists, but everything else about that is a bit...blurry.

They also establish here that Scar really did kill Winry's parents, and not in a very pleasant way. Not that there's any "pleasant" way to die per se, but he freaking stabbed them with a medical utensil in front of a bunch of other people.

What's curious, though, is the reason he killed them. He obviously wasn't in the correct frame of mind, but he's able to recognize the physical appearance of Winry's parents--blonde hair and blue eyes. The black and white of the flashback help to emphasize those features, since the bright blue eyes and the yellow hair are the only significant bits of color aside from some fire here and there. From what the show tells us, these are standard features of Amestrians. Or, at the very least, they're a common set of features, since just a handful of characters share them. Everyone seems to be a mixed bag rather than the homogeneous red eyes and dark skin of the Ishvalans (on a humorous note, Mustang is the only character who looks even remotely Japanese).

I've already mused about the possibility of a literal connection to WWI, but this would bring in elements of WWII, since blonde hair and blue eyes were the feature of the "pure" Aryan race and all of that craziness went down in WWII. It's possible that Amestris is some sort of distorted version of Germany (even though in the original the "mirror" world that Ed ended up in was England), especially when you look at the Fuhrer who resembles Hitler a wee bit:

Not to mention that Hitler went by the title of "Führer." The details would be mish-mashed and rearranged, kind of like what's happened with the Christian motifs, but it's interesting seeing them there in the first place.

Now.
Ed and Winry.

Like I was saying above, the amount of selflessness with these characters is...high. Part of what gives this show so much drama is the level of love and dedication that everyone has for each other, so you feel the anger and fear and despair when something happens to one of them. It doesn't even matter who it is--you can guarantee someone will freak the hell out over another character getting lost, injured, killed, or even a freaking splinter. In a good way, of course.

As much as Ed can be somewhat of a jerk when it comes to Winry (or people in general, tbh), he loves her probably as much as he loves Alphonse. He's willing to throw himself in front of her, on the ground, completely vulnerable, just to form a barrier between her and Scar--even if that means he dies in the process. And he does it without hesitation:

The only thing that stops Scar from killing Edward is the fact that his actions are exactly what his own brother did back in Ishval. Granted, I'm not entirely sure Ed would refrain from tearing Scar's face off if given the chance, considering how pissed off he is:

...but his protective instincts are admirable.

I also completely adore the way he handles the situation once Scar disappears. Winry is one of the few characters that brings out Ed's gentler side, and that's pretty evident in how he tries to calm her down. He doesn't reprimand her, doesn't yell, doesn't ask just what the hell she was doing there in the first place: He calmly asks her to let go of the gun and when she asks why she wasn't able to pull the trigger on the man that murdered her parents and tried to kill both Ed and Al, he responds in a way that I wasn't expecting:

He says that her hands are made to give life, not kill.

I honestly thought that he was going to say something along the lines of, "Because you're stronger than that" or another predictable statement, but he doesn't. I love how he pulls one of her fingers off of the gun as he points out each good thing she's done.

It's an especially interesting statement coming from someone who tried to recreate his mother and the fact that Winry is a woman. Way back in the episode where Winry helps to birth that baby, the pregnant woman has Ed and Al feel her stomach, and one of them makes the comment about alchemy not being able to do that which a woman can--create life (even though technically she's not the one creating; she's just, uh, housing the baby temporarily and supplying it with nutrients while it develops). It's a neat way to bring the concept back.

And I of course have to give credit to Al, who takes the opportunity to kick Scar in the face while he stands there staring at Edward and Winry on the ground, and then tells Ed to get her somewhere safe while he runs after Scar by himself. Al, you are precious.

Episode Twenty-Two: Girl on the Battlefield

Cooperation between Team Mustang and Ling Yao's band leads to the capture of Gluttony and the reveal of several game-changing details.

ED GAVE WINRY HIS JACKET AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY CUTE.

ALSO HAWKEYE IS A PERFECT BEAUTIFUL HUMAN BEING.

...*cough* Anyway.

To speak my thoughts more coherently, I mean that I can't get enough of the relationships between these characters. I know I've beaten this concept to death, but they're all so wonderfully crafted.  I love that Hawkeye leaves the room that she and Mustang have been hiding out in and then comes back just to tell him to stay out of the field. I really love how Roy is annoyed but also knows that it's just her worrying about him so he doesn't get mad.

I mean, SERIOUSLY ROY, WHY DO YOU NEED ANYONE ELSE. LOOK AT HER:

She's so awesome. You can't help but appreciate it. WIFE HER.

Ling is looking better and better, as is Lan Fan. It's cool how they're bringing back a lot of earlier plot elements, like Edward's trick that he pulled on Lan Fan to make her think he was dead. She does it to the Fuhrer this time and even he is like, "...well played." She's also willing to cut off her own arm for the sake of helping Ling and trusts him enough to know that he'll come back for her as she wanders around in the sewers of Central.

Not to mention that Ling is the one that takes down Gluttony and then lifts his giant body into the car with Hawkeye. That's intense.

I see May Chang is back after like, six episodes of not being around. Scar, for whatever reason, seems to be on board with the whole notion of her following him and is down-right grateful for her help. May Chang is definitely no meek little girl character; those knives she throws and the fast alchemy she performs is cool.

...I will say her panda is a little on the ridiculous side, though. Why is she so small? Is she a baby? Why does she know how to fight?! She's even drawn kind of strange on top of everything else:

I guess I'll file that under the "Because Anime" folder and leave it at that. At least Al has a new friend to pal around with him and his love of animals is so cute.

Oh, and for more cuteness, the whole scene with the three of them telling Winry goodbye on the train is precious. I LOVE THE SAPPY ROMANCE STUFF, I'M SORRY.

Hey, to the show's credit they've done a fantastic job building this romance up so it doesn't feel cliche or forced. When it does pop up they don't overdo it. At least Winry is starting to realize that she probably likes Ed in more than just a friendship kind of way. The question now is: Will Ed figure out that he's in the same boat?

Who knows. They'll probably drag that out like they do in every other story like this, ever (until the end, of course).

But in other news, I'm not sure what the coroner's deal is, as he spends the duration of his appearance being kind of a pit stain. One way to look at it is that he's the jaded, screwed up ex-soldier whose life was ruined because of Ishval, in which case I have some sympathy for him. He is right about Mustang constantly throwing himself into danger or getting into trouble, but Mustang also has the decency to tell the coroner that he doesn't have to help him if he doesn't want to (which of course he will help because deep down the coroner is a good guy).

So now the word is out that the Fuhrer is more than likely a Homunculus courtesy of Ling's little run-in with him earlier. We also find out that his son is adopted, which is interesting. I wonder where he came from.

And is everyone really fighting over who's going to take the stone? I'd imagine bickering is the last thing these guys need to be doing, since it's not like they've got a whole bunch of people on their side in the first place. They need each other as allies.

On the topic of Gluttony/the stone, I Googled what the heck an ouroboros is and there's a great bit of history behind the symbol. A lot of it is a bit on the, uh, pagan and witchcraft side of things (which I tend to avoid to be honest), but there are a couple of different meanings associated with it. The most common and more traditional way of looking at it is as a mark of cyclicality or constant rebirth, in a similar vein as the Egyptian legend of the phoenix. In 2nd century Egypt, the ouroboros drawing in  The Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra contains the phrase "hen to pan," which is translated as "one is the all," and awfully similar to FMA's notion of "one is all, all is one." In alchemy specifically, it's a bit like the symbol for the duality of existence and reminiscent of the Eastern concept of yin and yang. The drawing of the snake eating its own tail is symbolic of creation out of destruction, life out of death.

There's a lot more to it than that, obviously, but most of it is over my head (and some of it is REALLY kind of...out there). Those were the relevant details that I was able to dig out of everything. You can go here and here to read more about it.

General Thoughts

As this "season" starts to hit its climax, we're seeing more and more characters come together. Those that disappeared for a while are coming back and I have a feeling things are about to get real.

Blogging Brotherhood: Episodes 20 & 21

Author's Note: My daily watching is starting to become a bit of a strain, as it takes me--literally--hours to put these entries together. It's unlikely that I'll get any more than two episodes out of each sit down, so I guess a snail's pace and an extra week or so of watching/writing will be the trajectory for this project. I will probably end up submitting other, unrelated posts here and there to take a break from it, but I'm still planning on powering through to the end!

Episode Twenty: Father Before the Grave

Hohenheim returns to Risembool and offers a warning to Pinako about the future of Amestris. Edward discovers that the body he and Al transmuted wasn't actually their mother, furthering his confidence that Al can get his own body back--he just has to re-enter the portal of Truth to do it.

UGH, so Hohenheim is a CREEP.

I'm not just saying this because I've grown to love Edward over the course of the show. I mean this man, who walked out on his kids and wife without ever giving an explanation (at least from what we know) and was gone for years, shows up again and the first significant thing out of his mouth is him berating Edward for erasing the memory of his and Al's mistake by burning down their house. I think Edward deserves a little more like an apology instead of self-righteous criticism.

Even so, I know that Hohenheim is right. I never believed, way back in the earlier episodes when Edward said he burned the house down as a monument to their resolve, that he did it for heroic reasons. Maybe it's because I have this personality flaw myself--that knee-jerk reaction to shove uncomfortable things under the rug so to speak--that I can sympathize a lot with Edward in this situation. It's not that I don't believe he should at some point be called out on it, I just happen to think Hohenheim has absolutely zero place to say anything resembling criticism to him when he's been absent for most of Edward's life. Loved ones get to do it--not a self-righteous douchebag who thinks he knows his son because he's "exactly like [he] was when [he] was that age."

Speaking of, this cliche annoys me. No duh your kids are going to resemble you. Half of their DNA is taken from yours. Hell, look at how much Edward is starting to look like him:

This is one of the few times when his hair isn't braided. Hmm...

This is a lame way to justify judgement of a person's actions. No two people are ever the same, and at this point is feels more like a short cut to give credibility to someone tossing assumptions at another or treating them like crap because "they were the same way."

asdfghjkl; we're two and a half minutes in and I'm already pissed.

Let me be clear: I am well-aware that they're more than likely going to pull the "sad back story sympathy card" at some point with him and maybe some of his behavior and his abandonment of his family will make more sense. I know that Hohenheim does love his kids. We get that flashback with cute baby Ed and Al climbing on his legs and he even pulls an Edward Cullen on, uh, Edward while he's sleeping.

Actually, I want to mention that scene briefly because that whole like, fifteen seconds made me laugh out loud because it's so awkward. Isn't that the kind of thing parents do when their kids are little? Not teenagers? But I guess since he missed out on most of their childhood, he's making up for it now. It's so giggle-worthy though because there's no music or anything in the background; it's dead silent as Hohenheim stares at his kid and then attempts to reach out to him.

Of course Edward doesn't catch a break in this episode when he overhears Hohenheim ask Pinako if she was sure it was their mother that the boys transmuted. This is another prominent deviation from the original, but it's an interesting one.

On a different note, why does everyone seem to think living in a suit of armor is a good thing? Setting aside the fact that you don't have to worry about pain and are (somewhat) impervious to death, Al doesn't get to eat or sleep or feel anything like he would if he was a human. Winry and I guess the alchemists are the only people who understand how much it sucks to not have an actual body, and she stands up for him in that regard here against Ling.

Who, by the way, is still annoying.

But that flashback is pretty sad--Al is so matter-of-fact about finding out he can't sleep and Winry doesn't obviously know what to say. Both Ed and Al are good at hiding their pain, and Al is more distraught by his inability to do "human" things than he lets on, I think. Again, we get to see how much Winry freaking adores both boys and what their own pain does to her as their friend and surrogate family. She's lost biological family just like they have. Neither have parental figures in the picture, although in the boys' case it was because Hohenheim left rather than died. With the exception of Pinako, there are no real adults for them to lean on so they use each other. It's so sad and yet beautiful at the same time.

Ed's dream is interesting. I may be making more out of what's being said, but that weird Truth creature said, "You're the one who tossed his body aside and put him in that armor, aren't you, alchemist?" I'm curious as to what this is implying, if it means that Edward--without really thinking--sacrificed his brother for the sake of either attempting to get their mom back or to make it behind the Door. There are a lot of different directions that statement could take, so I'll keep my eyes peeled for an answer.

Mmm...and there goes Hohenheim, leaving again and offering a rather ominous warning to Pinako about the future.

Ed's frequent vomiting in the scene where he digs his mother's body up is...gross. I don't think they needed to animate actual puke coming out of his mouth. But I like how they show you he still cares what his father thinks of him, as evidenced by the flashback of his saying "You ran away" and his resolve to avoid doing just that. Props to Pinako for both helping and trying to encourage Ed to slow the heck down and not push himself, even if it doesn't work. Despite the fact that he's not her biological family, she's been a solid rock for both of the boys and that's pretty great.

We've got a couple of big plot points that have cropped up in regards to transmutation:

1. Al is convinced his body is going to eventually reject him because it's not his own. Ling mentions that couldn't you theoretically transmute a soul into another one if that one starts to deteriorate. Based on the direction the story took in the original, I'm wondering if this is foreshadowing what is actually going on in regards to Hohenheim. He looks at his hand at one point when reaching out to Edward, and there's that cryptic message that Trisha asks Pinako to deliver to him about dying before he did.

2. Edward finds out that the body he and Al transmuted wasn't actually their mother and calls Izumi to see if that was the case with her. It was. So now we've got the added bonus of the transmuted bodies not being the people they intended and having black hair--like the Homunculus.

3. Al's body is potentially floating around inside the portal. At least they make use of Barry's presence in the story by having Al reflect back on the fact that they saw both Barry's soul inside of a suit of armor and his actual body with the...soul of a feral animal in it I guess.

With all of this, the conclusion that Edward reaches is that human transmutation--returning someone from the dead--was never possible to begin with. Whatever they created inside the barn that night wasn't their mother and Izumi's baby wasn't her child.

So that's quite a revelation.

Oh, and that thing I mentioned above about Al hurting more than he lets on? Yeah. That last scene between him and Ed, when he speaks his mind about everything that's happened, speaks for itself. Al makes an interesting point, too, about how a real body is just as prone to destruction as his suit of armor, since no one ever knows when it will give out on them or something will happen.

Awww and we're getting the first official inkling of the romance between Winry and Edward! They've made jokes about it in the past, but her statement at the end of the episode about Ed's shoulders being so broad (even though--ha ha--they're really not) was a legit moment of feels. AND I LIKE IT. Romance is a challenge to accomplish, especially in a show like this that has ten thousand other things going on, but they've managed to build his and Winry's relationship up in a way that this feels like a natural conclusion rather than a forced female-audience-baiting tactic.

Episode Twenty-One: Advance of the Fool

While recovering from injuries sustained from their fight with Lust, Mustang and his team realize that Havoc has become paralyzed and Roy works to find a way to restore his subordinate's ability to walk. Edward and Alphonse decide to use themselves as bait to lure in Scar, hoping to both get the attention of the Homunculus and ask about his involvement in the murder of Winry's parents.

The opening, pre-credits scene for this episode is hilarious.

MUSTANG YOU DO NOT NEED YOUR OWN ROOM. OR A HOT NURSE. You have Hawkeye instead!

I mean c'mon, Roy...just...c'mon. She's perfect.

They seem to be playing up the Homunculus' attachment to each other, as I don't remember Envy caring all that much when other Homunculus were killed in FMA. She's pretty pissed off at Wrath in this scene, though. And they do make it clear why Wrath decided not to kill Mustang, Hawkeye, or Al back in episode 19, which I had been wondering about. It's still ambiguous ("we can use Mustang"), but that's to be expected. Gotta keep some of the story wrapped in shadows.

The exposition doled out by Ed between Al and Winry gets a little bit complicated and I had to re-watch it to make sure I was following everything he said. From what I understand, the mixing of their blood is what tangled their spirits--or souls, I guess--rather than something that happened out of nowhere as a plot contrivance. It's still a little...weird...but I'll let it play out and see what comes of it.

That part where Ed says that their bodies may be connected which could explain why he's so short? I legitimately thought my computer froze. I couldn't hear the faint sound of the fan spinning in the background the first time around. That was hilarious. Then, of course, he and Winry get into a shouting match while Al considers the fact that Ed is always sleeping, which may have something to do with the idea that his body is essentially trying to acquire nutrients for two people. He's a big eater in the original, too, but they haven't brought that detail up much in Brotherhood.

Anyone else think Hawkeye's  ability to deduce where the basement and Central Command are located is a little far-fetched? No? Just me? Okay.

Aw damn, and Havoc's paralyzed. That makes sense, given where Lust impaled him, but I still hope he manages to come back at some point and help out a la Barbara Gordon as Oracle. He claims he's going to retire, but who knows. I can hope. The rest of Team Mustang seem pretty much in denial about Havoc retiring so maybe their frustration will influence him to change his mind.

The scene later on between Mustang and Havoc was both sad and encouraging. It's sad because of the situation everyone is in, but encouraging because it sheds some light on the character of Havoc who, up until now, hasn't been as fleshed out as Mustang and Hawkeye. We get to see a little bit more into the relationship that Roy has with Havoc in a similar vein as we have with Hawkeye. Havoc assumes that the look Roy gives him is pity, and while some of it might be, to me it's more guilt than anything else. Someone he's responsible for has lost use of his legs and there's nothing he can do to fix it. Even so, he isn't willing to give up on him, whereas Havoc just wants to retire in peace rather than be seen as a burden on anyone else.

Of course NOW they explain how the heck Mustang was able to bypass the doctor ID'ing the body as Maria Ross. How many episodes ago was that? That probably could have at least been hinted at sooner, rather than the ambiguous "I've got it all under control" statement he made to Braeda. Although the coroner himself seems a bit jaded and bitter and I'm surprised Mustang got him to lie about the body in the first place.

We get another glimpse at how much Roy cares about those close to him, and every time one of these scenes pops up I want to give him a hug. Nothing much is said, but they show a shot of the book Mustang is reading which has pictures of the spinal chord and the look on his face is so completely worn out:

Not to mention Travis Willingham's performance (along with like, 99% of the rest of the cast) is so good that you feel his pain when he tells the coroner that one of his men was injured.

Edward explains that the Homunculus are looking for human sacrifices, specifically alchemists that have opened the portal, although that doesn't clarify why Lust thought Mustang would be a good candidate, since--as far as I know--he hasn't done that. Maybe there's more to it? Wrath did say they could use him, which could mean just about anything. Ed's also made the connection between the description of the guy who killed Winry's parents and Scar, but to be honest I kind of thought that he had done that already. Of any character, he would be the first to jump to conclusions about someone.

On the topic of Scar, though, there has been a shockingly low level of information regarding the Ishvalan War. I thought that by now there would have been more flashbacks or exposition given out to fill us in on what the heck happened. They're giving us snippets here and there, but most of the time it's an alchemist reflecting on the atrocities they committed that aren't ever fleshed out. Even though I more or less get the general idea, there are probably changes made considering how much Brotherhood has trailed off from FMA at this point.

Thank God for Al and his practicality. Edward's plan to lure out the Homunculus by baiting Scar IS a bit on the extreme side. It also shows that Al thinks a little more logically and less rashly than Edward. He isn't going to jump into something without a little bit of information if he can help it.

I'm still not convinced that Ling is a good character worth liking and investing in. I get that he's not a bumbling idiot, but I haven't warmed up to him yet quite like the writers may have been hoping. At best, he's offered some decent information and at worst he's a nuisance who wracks up a huge bill for Edward wherever he goes. I guess it's nice that the boys are getting some help, but my concern for his character is still low.

And does anyone else think this scene is a complete WTF moment:

I don't understand why they decided to go that far out with a joke. I mean, it's funny, but it feels like a bit much considering that all Ed is really doing is pointing out that Scar beat, Roy, too.

Now I will say when Roy and Riza infiltrate the radio waves from Fuery's house is legitimately funny. Deep down, beneath all of that anger and seriousness and determination, Roy Mustang is just a big, dopey goofball.

We've got another cliffhanger with this episode, but as I said above, I'm having a hard time caring much about Ling and his people. There isn't much to them yet, so the sudden danger to the woman bodyguard (whose name escapes me) doesn't strike me nerve-wracking like it would if that was another one of the cast members.

General Thoughts

Plot threads and complications are starting to pop up and we're getting deeper into the story. Based on what these two episodes offer, it's possible that Hohenheim has something to do with the Homunculus, even if he's not the literal figure of "Father." There's also more to the story of transmutation that we didn't get in FMA. I'm hoping that the story doesn't start to disappear up it's own rear-end in an attempt to explain everything away. The (relatively) simpler these kinds of stories, the better.

Blogging Brotherhood: Episodes 18 & 19

Episode Eighteen: The Arrogant Palm of a Small Human

Ed and Armstrong are taken to the Xerxes ruins where they find out the truth about Lt. Ross' murder. Team Mustang discover Barry the Chopper's real body and chase him through the streets of Central.

You know what.
Screw you, Brotherhood, for abusing my emotions.

I feel like, at this point, my heart has been jostled around so much that it's a miracle it's still in the correct place inside my rib cage.

So this is the episode we find out what the hell happened with Roy and Ross--and as I expected, we weren't given the whole story in the previous episode. It turns out that Roy created a dummy that resembled a human and burned it bad enough that no one would bother to take a second look to check. He stuffed her in a nearby dumpster and had Havoc (I'm assuming) whisk her off to the Xerxes ruins where she could hide in safety. Meanwhile, Roy stayed back in Central to make sure no one suspected anything as well as began the next "phase" of their plan in finding Hughes' killers. Edward and Alphonse running into him wasn't part of the plan, so he improvised and made himself look like a complete freaking tool so even Ed would be convinced he had actually killed her.

There are a couple of details in this plan that weren't explained well, which tends to come with the whole "let's put a situation out of context so that a good guy looks bad" trick. Braeda told him that a burned-to-bits body wouldn't stop the doctor from doing a dental check to which Roy says he's got everything under control. But...they never explain how he managed to bypass that detail. The doctor did, in fact, check the teeth and identified the body as Maria Ross, but it's never stated what Roy did to either bribe the doctor into saying it was her or trick him into thinking it. As easy as it is to assume that Hawkeye was in on the whole thing, her involvement is kind of vague and she put on one heck of a good show when it came to being pissed off at Roy even when there was no one else around.

Overall, though, it was a decent twist. Like I said, I wasn't ever convinced that Roy killed Ross, but the initial shock and, frankly, the balls he had to be a complete pit stain for the duration of that episode after her "death" was what hit me.

And I thoroughly enjoyed Armstrong's reaction to finding out Ross is still alive. Him ripping his shirt off and her running away as he tries to grab her into a giant hug...that's great.

I kind of think that dragging Ed and Armstrong out to Xerxes may not have been necessary, even though they say that it was done so that Ed wouldn't get in the way of whatever Mustang was planning back in Central. Yet, Ed doesn't stay there for very long. At least, that's not what I'm led to believe. They have their little powwow in the ruins where Ross appears to prove she isn't dead, Braeda explains everything, and Ed runs into the Ishvalans--then he gets back on a train for Risembool. It felt more like they put him there for the sake of having an excuse for some exposition because there is a LOT of it in this episode.

I'm not complaining. Sometimes exposition has to be given out and at least here it's done in an interesting fashion and not simply regurgitated by someone for the sake of it. We get some more information regarding the origin of alchemy--legend though it may be--and Ed finds out how Winry's parents were killed. Oh, speaking of, there's another deviation from FMA: Mustang isn't the one responsible for their death. It was Scar or, potentially, Scar's brother depending on how this story is using that character.

Ed still looks bizarre with his shirt off and those many-toned muscles. Just saying.

Not to mention I see some ribs poking out on the side there and it makes the whole thing even worse.

I can't say enough how glad I am that Roy and his team in general are more prevalent in Brotherhood. Every time they're on screen it's guaranteed to either be funny or interesting and I friggin' love it. The fact that they all disguise themselves as women working in a shop as a code for when they're communicating over the phone is hysterical.

"A customer was getting fresh with Jaquelin." That is...that is beautiful.

I'm having a bit of a hard time following how Barry's human body appeared in the story and why Team Mustang know about it. I'm sure there was something about it in a previous episode, but I can't remember. I still think keeping Barry around is a silly idea.

We've also got quite a cliffhanger for this episode. The prologue for the next one implies that something happens to Hawkeye and I'm kind of not prepared for that so let's not, Brotherhood. Let's not.

Episode Nineteen: Death of the Undying

Mustang and his team have their first run-in with a Homunculus and Al joins them in searching for Hughes' killer. While chasing Barry's human body into Laboratory Three, they meet up with Lust, who is prepared to wipe all of them out.

I'm...not sure where to begin with this one.

I guess I'll take this from the top.

The opening scene certainly succeeds in getting our attention. They don't shy away from blood and Hawkeye is legitimately terrified of Gluttony (who wouldn't be?). There's a great moment with Roy as he hears the gunshots coming from the other line and when he gets no response, a flashback of Hughes' body in the phone booth pops up and he slams the phone down. It's obvious what he's going to end up doing without him having to say a word.

One of the central traits of Mustang as a character is that he is incredibly protective. It's the main reason why he wants to become Fuhrer--not for the power or opportunities it presents him. He just wants to be able to protect those he loves from being hurt. It's probably one reason why Hughes' death affected him so deeply; he wasn't able to prevent a close friend from being killed and I guarantee there's some blame that he puts on himself, even though he never says as much. So when he knows that one of his close subordinates--who have established an odd type of family within themselves--is in danger, the last thing he's going to do is sit around and let them get hurt.

...and then Hawkeye shuts him down by yelling at him for leaving his post. Right after he scorches Gluttony to oblivion and saves her ass and Fuery's.

That entire lecture moment was hilarious, especially looking at Roy's reaction and how he lets it happen. He doesn't even fight it--he tells Hawkeye that she's right. You get the impression that these kinds of things have occurred before and he lets it ride out without making her even angrier.

Al gets some action in this episode! Well, sort of. I love how he hitches a ride with Mustang's unit while Barry runs on the outside. Poor Al barely fits inside the car.

Side note: if you pay close attention, you'll notice that the car has its steering on the right, as the Japanese drive on the left side of the road.

But yes, it's nice to see Al having his own moment of being useful apart from Ed. This entire scene in the car is a lot of fun, and part of that is the quippy dialogue from both Hawkeye and Mustang:

Mustang: I doubt it. I scorched him off the ledge.
Hawkeye: Yeah, and I shot him in the head. But he didn't really seem to mind.

Mustang: Hold on. I rendered fat boy into a bubbling puddle back there. Are you telling me he's still alive?
Al: Probably.
Mustang: Wonderful. Just a never-ending parade of freaks lately, huh.

Mustang's face when Al says they're up against Homunculus is great, too:

The only complaint I have about this episode is the boob joke, and not because it's...a boob joke. It comes at another point in time where, like the cartoony tentacle moment back in a previous episode, it feels out of place. It stops all of the momentum of the scene and takes away some of Lust's intimidating presence for a moment. I don't have an issue with jokes about boobs, but I'd prefer they made them at a time when Mustang and Havoc's life wasn't being threatened.

As for Lust's character...holy crap. They amped up her villain qualities even more than I realized. She's ruthless here--and downright gleeful about it. She's enjoying the violent and twisted things she has to do and even though she laments having to kill a "candidate for sacrifice," I get the impression that she's not that torn up about it in the end. Not to mention this shot is incredibly disturbing:

By the time this scene is over, she's stabbed both Mustang and Havoc and left the room all but giggling to herself.

Then we get the plot point about souls being incompatible with bodies that are not their own--which freaks Al out. I don't know how much he has to worry about in the scheme of things, since his body isn't even human, but who knows. This show has thrown enough curveballs at this point that I'm not willing to toss the notion to the side.

My favorite moment of this episode comes when Hawkeye finds out that Lust "killed" Mustang, and not because I'm a sick person and enjoy other people's misery. The emotion that this scene conveys is so damn powerful it leaves you speechless. She goes from shocked to furious to filled with despair in less than a minute and you feel every single one of those emotions. It works for a couple of reasons: One, the show has done a great job of building that bond between Mustang and his underlings, Hawkeye in particular. Two, the animation of her facial expressions is just amazing. The bigger budget was SO not wasted:

And three, Coleen Clinkenbeard does such a wonderful job voicing her. She gets all of that emotion out even in only a few words.

Oh, and they say the word "bitch," which I wasn't expecting. I think it's appropriate given the situation.

Al has one of his best moments so far when he stands up and protects Hawkeye who is too stricken with grief to do much of anything. He stands his ground even when she tells him to get out and save himself, and I think Al speaks for the audience when he says he's sick of watching people die. It's wonderful to see him take initiative when Ed is often the character that does so. Al shines the brightest when he's given the opportunity to help people.

Now that fight between Mustang and Lust.
Good. God.
It's not even so much a fight as it is a barbeque.

And if I was being honest, I'm not sure how he managed to kill her with that fire--why it was so special that it had the ability to do destroy her more or less impervious body. That may just be me, but it wasn't all that clear.

Even so, I'm not sure what's more disturbing in this scene: Lust's agonizing screams as she being scorched to death or the actual physical representation of it. I mean, holy crap WHAT IS THIS:

That's not for children, that's what that is.

Props to the voice actress for her, though, who does a wonderful job of making her sound so incredibly twisted and sultry at the same time. I love that last bit of dialogue that she says to Mustang: "You killed me. I hate losing. But there are worse ways to die than at the hands of a man like you. I love how cold and focused your eyes are. I look forward to the days those eyes will be wide with agony." It's so creepy and unsettling but said in such a beautiful way.

You know, I'm beginning to think I have an issue with the way abs look on anime characters in general and it may not be only Ed. Something about Mustang's abs don't come across as appealing at all and in some ways not even anatomically correct (though I know they are). They remind me of Dragonball Z and I hate the style of that show. He's drawn in such a stocky fashion that seeing that amount of muscle on him registers "BS" in my brain.

I don't know. At the end of the day, it's a total nitpick, but I can't help but look at that and think "No."

Then there's that shot of the Fuhrer putting away his sword and walking off after he realizes that Lust is dead. I have no idea what on earth is going on with that, but I guess I'll find out later. My assumption is that since two of the three people in the room are "candidates" he wouldn't bother killing them.

That last scene with Winry and Ed is so sweet. It cracks me up how she screams "Moron! Welcome back!" at him and poor Al has no idea how to respond. It's nice to see the two of them have a moment together without Ed, since it doesn't happen that often.

AND THEN HIS ARM FALLS OFF AND BREAKS THE WHOLE MOMENT AND IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY FUNNY.

After the emotional roller coaster this episode presents us with, that last joke is one place where breaking the mood doesn't feel jarring.

Geez, they even manage to get some emotion out of Barry when his human body finds the blood seal on the armor and, while bawling his eyes out, destroys it so they both die. You can see that the soul transmutation isn't a good thing regardless of where it's put--in a suit of armor or in someone else's body. I imagine the soul that had been put in Barry's body was in agonizing pain, enough that the chance to kill himself brought him to tears. That's horrible.

BUT OH BOY IT'S DADDY ELRIC COME BACK TO RISEMBOOL.

Again, I want to make a note of the wonderful facial expressions that this show conveys, with Ed in particular. You see so much go across his face as he's watching his father stand by their mother's grave until it all builds up into Edward's anger:

It also says a lot that Ed calls him Hohenheim and not "Father" or "Dad."

They blended the OP song with the twenty seconds or so of this episode, which is a nice touch. There's been so much sad orchestral music in the twenty three minutes that I imagine the director was like, "For the love of God, please put something else there besides a melancholy string piece."

This cliffhanger leaves me in great anticipation for the next episode. I'm looking forward to what Ed will do when he speaks to him.

Blogging Brotherhood: Episodes 16 &17

Author's Note: It's been a bit crazy over the past few days due to a personal issue, so if these entries sound a little incoherent I apologize in advance. 

Episode Sixteen: Footsteps of a Comrade-in-Arms

Ed, Al, and Winry return to Central and discover the truth about Hughes. Roy figures out the information that got his friend and comrade killed.

This show is toying with my emotions like no other.

There isn't much that happens here in terms of plot, but the writers certainly go out of their way to make up for that by cramming in as much emotional turmoil as possible into the twenty-four-minute run time.

I say that as if I'm complaining, which I'm not. Brotherhood likes to take moments (and sometimes entire episodes like this) to slow down for a second and hammer out the humanity of the characters, whether it's in pleasant way or, such as here, horribly depressing. You could argue that, in the grand scheme of things, this episode isn't all that necessary, but for me I enjoy getting these cannonballs of emotions flung at me because I'm a masochist.

Honestly, if you should feel bad for anyone in this episode, it's Ross. She completely screwed herself when she thought that Ed and Al knew about Hughes' death.

But let's back up.

Ling redeems himself ever so slightly when he says, "Something about this country doesn't feel right." It gives the impression that this guy is far more intelligent than he lets on; not to mention we're getting to see an outsider's opinion on Amestris. Now he needs to prove that he's more than just a guy playing the buffoon for fun, because otherwise he'll be the 10,000,000 type of character like that and I'm just not in the mood to deal with him when everything else is so good.

...and of course he tries to con more people into getting food. Although I will say the joke about him being an illegal alien is kind of funny.

Of a more pressing concern, however, is why on earth Roy and his underlings are keeping Number 66 locked in a room and having Falman guard him. Heck, he's not even so much guarding him as he is babysitting. They play chess together and Number 66 seems more than willing to hold casual conversation. Havoc even talks to him like they're buddies. He's the friendliest psychopath I've ever seen in media.

I also find it amusing that Roy knew exactly what Falman would ask and therefore sent Havoc with the exact response that he was anticipating. They make him look so much scarier than he probably is.

Speaking of Roy, I love the conversation he has with Armstrong in the, uh, men's room regarding the Elric brothers and Hughes. It's clear to Armstrong that Hughes' death is hitting Roy harder than he's letting on. They even draw him with bags under his eyes. But above everything else, we get to see the close of a friendship the two of them have. Roy trusts Armstrong not to tell anyone about what he's figured out regarding the stone and both of them are protective of the Elric brothers. Despite all of the corruption and suspicion, the alchemists (and their associates) certainly have a solid bond that allows them that trust. It's like a secret club, except the people in it can basically perform magic and there's far more danger involved.

And no privacy in the bathroom, apparently.

Then you've got Mustang and Hawkeye's relationship which...good grief I love that to death. Hawkeye manages to be a tough woman kind of character without being a heartless bitch. She can tell Mustang straight without fear of offending him, but even when she does it's not done with malice but respect.

Their conversation in the hallway after the run into the Elrics and Mustang tells them Hughes retired from the military and moved out to the country is so good. Mustang has a weird moment of self-absorption thinking that he's being such a nice guy by keeping the truth from the Elrics and Hawkeye calls him on his bull. But even when she says: "I see nothing soft about it. It's cruel, Colonel," she doesn't say it with anger or self-righteousness. This is entirely credited to the actress playing her, who I think is fabulous, but there's something in it that is wanting him to understand what it is that he's doing rather than take her at her word. That sometimes, as much as the truth will hurt, it's always better than putting a lie in its place.

To be fair, Ed and Al handle it as expected. Ed does exactly what Mustang said he would do and blames himself. What I like is that Al doesn't let Ed take all of the responsibility for it. He straight-up tells him outside of the Hughes' complex that it isn't just his problem--Al is as much a part of their journey as he is. It's also interesting to note that Al is, at heart, the humanitarian and says to Ed that if getting their bodies back means they have to sacrifice people along the way then he's not willing to go through with it. I don't think it's that Ed would cut others down, but he'd come much, much closer than Al ever would.

I'd also like to point out that the way they get across the grief of Ed, Al, and Winry is never melodramatic. In fact, they get the most emotion out of silent scenes--whether it's the small montage of the three of them sitting in different parts of the complex or Winry grabbing Ed's automail arm.

When they do go for the tears, it's grounded in something substantial, like Winry saying that she had gotten good at baking Gracia's apple pie and hoped that Hughes would some day be able to try it.  It's nice seeing the softer, kinder side of Ed and Winry brings that out in him like no other.

One last thing of note: the lighting in this show (and FMA) is phenomenal. It's used so well to communicate mood in certain scenes and it blows my mind.

Episode Seventeen: Cold Flame

Ross is broken out of prison with the help of Number 66. As she tries to find her way to safety, she runs into Mustang who kills her with his flame alchemy. Mustang's associates resent him for his cruel actions.

WHAT.
THIS EPISODE.
WHAT.
I CAN'T
I JUST
ROY
WHYYYYYYYY.

UGH. God, I am so mad. I know it's irrational and I shouldn't be this annoyed, but how much of an asshole can they make Mustang into?

Let me back up. I had a feeling, based on the description of the episode, that something was going to happen to Ross courtesy of Mustang and that more than likely that something was that she would die. I don't know why I thought that. I just did. My brain automatically clicks to Worst Case Scenarios whenever I'm coming up with conclusions for things. It's my mental process, I guess. So I had my teeth in my nails entering this one and LO AND BEHOLD my assumptions were correct.

Or so this show is leading me to believe.

To be honest, I don't believe Roy actually killed Ross. I can't. I don't think it makes any sense and is in complete contrast to the character we've seen of him so far. Roy would need far more than a sketchy-at-best interrogation to kill someone like that, even if it was orders. I mean, for crying out loud they make him look like a damn demon as he's standing in the alleyway:

It's a cool image, but Mustang has never, ever looked that twisted. Not even in the flashbacks we've seen. My first that is that it could easily be Envy who made itself look like him and killed Ross in his place, but it becomes apparent that that probably isn't the case. The way Envy and Lust speak about it afterwards doesn't sound like that was their plan of attack. Roy is also around a large majority of people over a considerable span of time, and had Envy been disguised as Roy the actual Roy would have noticed at some point. I'm not saying it definitively couldn't have been Envy, but the way they've structured the events doesn't lead me to that conclusion.

But I mean, damn. Roy is a complete freaking asshole throughout this entire episode. Between punching Edward, making some stupid speech about disrespecting a superior officer, the cold way he explains his decision to kill Ross, his heartless comment about fatigue getting the better of Armstrong, and then his ridiculous flirting on the phone with some chick as if nothing happened...no wonder everyone is two breaths away from kicking him in the balls. His behavior is so against his general character that I'm shocked Hawkeye hasn't slapped him in the face yet and tried an exorcism to rid him of his demon possession or something. Everyone around him his rightly pissed the hell off, and I don't blame Ed for wanting to tear his face from his skull. Look at how mad he is:

I'm assuming--praying--that there is a calculated reason why Mustang is behaving this way, and I am dying to find out what it is. This episode produced such rage in me that I had to scribble down my thoughts before moving forward.

So here are some good things.

Something that Brotherhood has that I appreciate is a stronger presence for Winry. FMA--as I've pointed out before--didn't use her as much as I thought she could have been used, but here I swear she's had almost as much screen time in sixteen episodes than she did in the entirety of FMA. And most of the time it doesn't feel forced, like the writers wanted to shove her into as many scenes as they could get because feminism. But even if her tagging along with Ed and Al is a little contrived, none of her appearances are tedious. Winry is such an emotional touchstone for both of those boys that you can't help but enjoy her conversations with them. She brings life back into them whenever she's around.

When Ed asks for her opinion on whether or not they should continue their "quest" for the Philosopher's Stone, considering everything that's happened, her reaction is priceless. Ed and Al both seem shocked that she's so, you know, shocked, which is the kind of thing I would expect from everyone involved in this little trio. Ed and Al don't like to ask for help from anyone, but when it comes to Winry, they trust her opinion enough that they would openly seek it. But the best part for me is that, instead of lift up her chin and toss out some grand perspective on the issue, Winry gets her thoughts out and then tells them, "I don't know."

Because frankly, who would know what to do in this situation?

She's got her own selfish wish for them to stop and come home so they'll be safe, but she also understands how much they want their bodies back. And because they want that, she wants it for their sake. It's a ridiculously tough situation to be in and I love that they give her humanity by leaving her without an answer.

The melancholy music box-type tune that plays in the background of this entire conversation is beautiful. There's something so inherently either creepy or sad about music boxes, which is strange since they're often associated with children. Use of it here amplifies the sadness of the moment but almost feels like a nudge at the fact that these guys are still kids despite everything that they've been through. It's not the first type of music that would come to mind, but it makes so much sense and works great in the context of the scene.

There is something that I don't think is a good idea and that's the use of Barry the Chopper. It doesn't make any sense--they've turned someone who is a convicted killer into a good guy (at least for the moment) and let him run free, despite the fact that he could turn on them at any moment for whatever reason. It feels a heck of a lot like a plot contrivance. Barry was never interesting enough as a character in his own right to warrant keeping him around this long and doing so without a legitimate basis is kind of dumb.

One last thing I want to point out is that I'm a big fan of the ED song here. I liked SID's "Uso" a lot, and the cutesy cartoon animation is a lot of fun, but there's something about the tune and music to this particular ending song that feels like it suits the show well. They're continuing this theme of wind blowing throughout the animation which the first OP had.

General Thoughts

Well, I'm looking forward to my explanation of Roy's douchebaggery in the next episode. Or whenever they decide to explain it.