Mark Watches ‘Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’: Episode 26

In the twenty-sixth episode of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, no. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch FMA:B.

i have run out of ways to express everything

  • I just spent twenty minutes avoiding this review by scrolling through my Tumblr dash. I did this on purpose because I am out of ways to say that this show constantly surprises me and is super fucked up.
  • So let’s just start there and keep going, shall we?
  • Because this episode shocked me and it is EXTREMELY FUCKED UP.
  • Envy’s body is made up of human souls from Xerxes. He opened a massive portal there and killed every single human living in Xerxes. Envy’s body is made up of thousands upon thousands of human souls.
  • I imagine if you’re following these reviews without watching the actual show, you must think I’m just making shit up at this point. “That can’t be a thing that a show did.” Oh, but it is.
  • That’s half this show, I swear. “No, they wouldn’t do that.” This show did that and a thousand times worse.
  • Did I think Scar and May would follow Al and Gluttony down to Father’s lair? Nope.
  • Did I expect the underground passage to where Father is to be guarded by hundreds of chimeras? Nope.
  • Did I anticipate May sensing that there were countless people crawling beneath their feet? Not in a million years.
  • DID I GUESS THAT BRADLEY WOULD EXPLAIN TO MUSTANG ABOUT HOW HE WAS CREATED???
  • NO
  • NO I DID NOT
  • I AM NOT GOING TO BE OKAY AFTER THAT.
  • He used to be a human, but was conditioned into being a logical, apathetic human who was bred to lead a country into a genocidal war for the sake of a scientific experiment. H E L P 
  • (I still love that this show analyzes the morality of science and how it can be used to better the world and destroy it. It’s fantastic.)
  • Like, the logistics of such a program horrify me. How long were they all planning this? How many young boys and grown men were exterminated to make the perfect leader? Granted, eleven people died from the Philosopher’s Stone within Wrath alone, but how many were killed in training before that? How many died of exhaustion or exposure or committed society? Why would they do all of this to benefit Father? That’s the ultimate goal, isn’t it?
  • It has to be! If we accept everything we learn about Envy, Father, and Xerxes, then it stands to reason that Father is trying to overpower and usurp god, to become the most powerful entity in all of existence. That’s why Xerxes was exterminated. All those souls were used for the stone within Envy, and look how powerful Envy is. So will doing the same thing to Amestris give Father even more power? Why assist him? I DON’T GET IT.
  • I admit that this is exciting because it means there are still more mysteries to unlock in this show.
  • Well, and we don’t see what happens when Gluttony opens the door to Father’s hiding place. Did Scar and May make it, too? WHAT THE HELL WOULD AL SAY ANYWAY?
  • Instead, the final scene of “Reunion” is a haunting and surreal experience, and I’m glad that we get so much time with Ed’s human transmutation of himself. We now know you can’t transmute a soul that no longer exists, which gives me hope that they can still get Al’s body back.
  • And then Ed passes through the gate.
  • And there are two gates.
  • WHICH MAKES NO SENSE.
  • EXCEPT
  • OH MY GOD
  • IT’S ALPHONSE’S BODY.
  • AL’S BODY IS STILL ALIVE.
  • OH MY GOD, AL IS SO MUCH OLDER AND HE’S MALNOURISHED AND THIS IS THE WORST/BEST/WORST AGAIN THING EVER.
  • HE CAN’T COME BACK UNLESS HIS OWN SOUL TRAVELS THROUGH THE GATE.
  • OH MY GOD EDWARD FORCED HIS WAY BACK THROUGH THE GATE TO PROMISE AL THAT HE WOULD RETURN FOR HIM.
  • I AM SO FUCKING DONE WITH THIS SHOW.
  • Why must I wait a week to see more of this? I’ve made my own nightmare doing this.

The video commission for this episode is now archived in my store for just $0.99! You can purchase the entire show at once for only $49.99 for 64 videos!

Mark Links Stuff

– I have redesigned MarkDoesStuff.com! Check out this post explaining the new changes, which includes the start of a permanent archive of all Mark Watches videos!
The Mark Does Stuff Summer Tour is happening now! Check out the posted dates, suggest new ones, help bring me to YOUR TOWN.
- Mark Reads Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is now published and available for purchase! It’s available in ebook AND physical book format, and you can also get a discount for buying the ENTIRE SET of digital books: $25 for 7 BOOKS!!!
- Video commissions are open, and you can commission a Mark Reads/Watches video for just $25!

About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
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