In the forty-sixth episode of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the Promised Day is ever closer, and that means EVERYTHING IS SUPER MESSED UP. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch FMA:B.
Holy shit, y’all, this is actually happening.
•   You know, it’s not that I feel like the show is ending, as there’s clearly a lot of the story left to tell, but the lead up to the Promised Day just feels massive. This is it, y’all. This is what Father and the Homunculi have been planning for for hundreds of years, and it’s happening, and they can’t stop it, and help me I am so scared.
•   I’ve been critical of large time jumps in the past, but I do think that the show did a fine job with many months passing over the course of two episodes. The fact that we don’t see what the troops in the north and the east do in the interim is what adds to the shock of the final moments of “Looming Shadows.” By only giving us random pieces, we’re surprised by how those pieces start to fall into place.
•   Let’s first discuss the Rockbell residence, which is the scene of a lot of comedy and a lot of emotions.
•   I have to bring this up again: It’s so neat that the show and the writers acknowledge that different sets of characters have different sets of knowledge about what’s going on. When Winry steps into her room to find Edward, it becomes apparent quickly that it’s going to take a lot of explaining to justify why Ling is there, why Ling isn’t Ling, and why two of Kimblee’s men are guarding Edward. Within Winry’s house. And we often get scenes where one character has to sit down another and say, “Yo, dudes, here’s everything you’ve missed.” This lends the show a sense of reality. We get the idea that this is a multi-layered, complex world with a vast stage of characters, and that’s awesome.
•   Y’all, Edward and Al were so close to being reunited. SO CLOSE.
•   Even the reunion between Edward and Winry is confusing and complicated. Winry has information of her own to pass along to Ed, including the fact that she saw his father. So what’s in the Kanama slums? Why is he going there? I DON’T GET IT.
•   But what overshadows this whole conversation is doubt. Edward urges Winry to take her grandmother and her dog and leave the country, and while it might be a nice thought in his mind, Winry is outraged that he seems so pessimistic about the outcome of the battle with Father. Sure, this is all overwhelming, but is Ed really convinced that he’s not going to win? I mean, you have to think about how Winry has just spent a lot of time with Al, who is missing HIS ENTIRE BODY, and yet Al still believes that they can win in the end. So why is Ed so reluctant to admit the same thing? Well, not only that, but he lashes out rudely to Winry when she’s desperately trying to get him to let go of his doubts.
•   Ultimately, he does change his mind, telling Winry that he is going to put an end to Father’s plans, and that she should have an apple pie waiting for him. Did you feel that wave of feelings washing over you once Winry smiled? Because I sure did. Oh god, too many emotions for these two, I swear.
•   Oh shit, SCAR AND DR. MARCOH ARE BACK. Like Zampano and Jerso, I’m fascinated by this rag-tag group that’s formed, especially given Scar’s history. I was also perplexed as to why Scar had such a vested interest in saving Amestris. However, I had misinterpreted his intentions. Scar doesn’t want to save Amestris so much as get them to acknowledge their role in the genocide of the Ishvalans and prevent them from ever doing the same thing again. I have no idea how he’s going to do that, though I wonder if this is meant as a reference to how the Homunculi and Father have orchestrated all these conflicts behind the scenes.
•   OF COURSE FÃœHRER BRADLEY IS WATCHING OVER THE JOINT TRAINING EXERCISE. OF COURSE HE IS. So does that mean it was Lt. General Grumman who came up with the plan that we see enacted at the end? OH GOD, HE TOTALLY DID, DIDN’T HE? Who knew he had it in him?
•   Can we just… can we just pretend that Alphonse wasn’t overpowered and kidnapped by Gluttony and Pride? Can we pretend that Al isn’t losing connection with his soul? Can we imagine that Pride’s creepy shadow arms weren’t reaching towards Al’s Blood Rune? CAN I JUST PRETEND ALL OF THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN, BECAUSE I AM EXTREMELY UPSET.
•   I AM SO UPSET.
•   AL AND ED WERE SO CLOSE TO SEEING ONE ANOTHER AGAIN 🙁
•   NOW ALPHONSE IS GONE 🙁
•   I AM REALLY UPSET.
•   Okay, I seriously can’t parse whether Olivier’s behavior is a show or if it is genuine. Does she actually hate Alex, or is she performing? I understood that her dramatic rejection of Mustang’s flowers was a way to draw attention away from the secret message that Mustang passed to her. But oh my god, she is the most mysterious character now.
•   More on Olivier at the end, I swear. Because oh no NOPE NOPE NOPE.
•   So. I fell for it. I FELL FOR IT SO HARD. As Bradley watched over Grumman and Major General Hakuro arrived to spoil THE ENTIRE REBELLION/COUP, I felt deflated. HOW? HOW HAD HE FIGURED THIS ALL OUT? HOW HAD THE RESISTANCE ALLOWED SOMEONE TO DO SUCH A THING? HOW WAS THIS POSSIBLE? THEIR ENTIRE PLAN UNRAVELED IN SIXTY FUCKING SECONDS BECAUSE OF THIS DOLT BRIGADE AND I WAS SO UPSET.
•   Of course, I should have applied a second of critical thought to that. Hakuro knew everything. How could one person know the plans of every group???
•   BECAUSE THEY TOLD HIM.
•   ON PURPOSE
•   AS A TRICK
•   TO LURE BRADLEY AWAY FROM GRUMMAN.
•   OH MY GOD THEY BLEW UP BRADLEY
•   Now, I don’t assume he is dead. He can heal himself, and an explosion wouldn’t have extinguished the energy from the Philosopher’s Stone within him. But I can already see how this is a brilliant diversion. Bradley can’t just show up unharmed after HIS TRAIN WAS BLOWN UP. And with rampant speculation about his death spreading in Central, it’s clear that the panic and chaos will work for the coup. I just wonder what other ramifications there will be. Will Bradley stay in hiding? How will Pride react? How will Mrs. Bradley react???
•   Oh my god, Fuery and Breda abandoned their posts to support Hawkeye. EVERYONE IS CONVERGING ON CENTRAL.
•   THIS IS SO EXCITING.
•   Olivier realizes that a power vacuum has been left behind in Bradley’s wake, and she is so close to snatching up all that power. This was an example of her true ambition coming into play. She craves power; that’s not something she is faking for an ulterior motive. However, she’s blocked from doing anything by FATHER HIMSELF, WHO ARRIVES WITH SLOTH. NO. NOPE. NOPE NOW, NOPE LATER, NOPE FOREVER. Holy shit, WHAT IS HE GOING TO DO???
•   THIS IS SO TERRIFYING.
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