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:
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| This is one of the few times when his hair isn't braided. Hmm... |
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!
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| I mean c'mon, Roy...just...c'mon. She's perfect. |
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.
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