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. |
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.
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