{"id":3014,"date":"2013-11-12T08:00:05","date_gmt":"2013-11-12T16:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=3014"},"modified":"2013-11-22T15:49:37","modified_gmt":"2013-11-22T23:49:37","slug":"mark-watches-fullmetal-alchemist-brotherhood-episode-63","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2013\/11\/mark-watches-fullmetal-alchemist-brotherhood-episode-63\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’: Episode 63"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the sixty-third episode of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood<\/i>, Father discovers his weakness as Hohenheim discovers his strength. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch FMA:B<\/i>.<\/p>\n

How is there another episode<\/i>?<\/p>\n

\n
Obviously, this is an important episode that I want to treat with the respect and care that it deserves, but can I just start this out by saying HOW DARE THIS SHOW DO THIS TO ME<\/i>. This is the penultimate episode, there are still huge, life-destroying plot twists every second, and my emotions are drained. HOW DARE YOU, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD<\/i>. HOW DARE YOU.<\/li>\n
What a spectacle, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. This episode is one of the show\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most ambitious stories, and I love just how decidedly ambiguous it is about Truth and Father. But we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get to that in a bit, because we must first discuss Father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shock towards Edward Elric. Again, Father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hatred of humanity (which, after watching this episode, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d actually characterize as jealousy<\/i>) leads him to constantly underestimate them. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s simply shocked that a human can cause him such harm with his bare hands<\/i>. (THAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S FORESHADOWING, RIGHT? IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S TOTALLY FORESHADOWING EDWARD\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S CHOICE.) And yet, as much as Father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s defeat relies on Edward Elric, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fascinating to me that one of Father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sons,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Greed, is the one who provides the impetus for Father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s demise.<\/li>\n
Now, this wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the first time I experienced a sudden well of emotions for the death of a homunculus. But this was easily the most emotional and saddening death for me, especially since Greed\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s character grew so much over the course of this series. The unique nature of this story is what also allows us to witness the struggle between Ling and Greed as Greed faces his imminent death. Truthfully, these two had not only grown accustomed to one another, but they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d come to depend<\/i> on each other as a way to reach their own goals.<\/li>\n
And yet, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Greed who sacrifices himself to allow Ling to survive. Yes, this was the first lie Greed told, but it was also his first and only act of altruism<\/i>. When he sucker punches Ling, he does so to save Ling. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t benefit Greed at all, who is sucked into Father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s body for one last counterattack: reversing the effects of his carbon shield to turn Father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s body into a weak form of carbon. IT IS NOT LOST ON ME THAT LAN FAN CUTS OFF FATHER\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S ARM. She didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get her revenge on Bradley, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s my personal headcanon that she got some closure by slicing Father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arm off.<\/li>\n
At least there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something positive that comes of Greed\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death: Ling gets full control of his body! Otherwise, this scene is just 100% NOT OKAY. Those flashbacks to Ed and Ling are so fucking rude<\/i> and not fair and THIS ISN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T EVEN HALFWAY THROUGH THIS EPISODE<\/i>. Just a few minutes into \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Other Side of the Gateway,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and I was a goddamn mess.<\/li>\n
There are just so many things here that are emotionally volatile, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. Seeing the Xerxesian souls pour into the atmosphere was unreal. Father with a hole literally<\/i> punched through his body? The black arms of the Gate pulling Father into himself? Father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s anguished cry that he just wanted to experience life free from restraints??? Whoa, wait a second, you are not allowed to make me feel bad about Father at ALL<\/i>. And seriously, that<\/i> is a bold move on the part of FMA:B<\/i>. As Father appears inside the Gate in his original form, Truth excoriates him for what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s done since the King of Xerxes brought him to life. And this is where things are, thankfully, not overexplained. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a big fan of how ambiguous Arakawa keeps this part, since we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re left to connect the dots on the complicated origins of Father. We know that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a physical manifestation of the knowledge of the Gate, and that alchemy essentially came from him after the King of Xerxes transmutated his country and created the massive Philosopher\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Stone that is within Father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Hohenheim\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bodies.<\/li>\n
So, that made me reflect on what Truth is, and why Truth was behaving as they were with Father. Truth criticizes Father for not growing as a human would<\/i>. The Dwarf in the Flask\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pursuit of perfection and the entirety of knowledge was a selfish power play, and so I think that Truth is essentially a regulatory agent of the Gate. That seems to be the case later on when Edward is in front of his own Gate, so I feel safe suggesting that Truth protects<\/i> all knowledge, hoping that humanity can seek and find said knowledge all on their own.<\/li>\n
Because of this, Father is given an eternity in the very place he once existed in: total despair. It makes me wonder if this dual nature has always been there and how the being that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the Dwarf in the Flask ever came to be in the first place. And I like<\/i> that I can wonder about these sort of things without a definitive answer from the show. Why was the Dwarf in the Flask in this place of despair to begin with, and can we blame Father for wanting freedom from such a place? Could it be that this place of despair and darkness influenced Father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s choices, as horrible as they were?<\/li>\n
For now, though, Father is gone. Forever<\/i>. But that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean that all is well in Central, and that abrupt cut to everyone standing around the still and lifeless shell of Alphonse is so fucking gut-wrenching. How??? How is Edward going to get his brother back? What the hell<\/i> could he sacrifice that would make this worth it?<\/li>\n
Oh, I was not prepared for the succession of heart-punching scenes that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Other Side of the Gateway\u00e2\u20ac\u009d gave me. NEVER PREPARED<\/i>.<\/li>\n
First, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got Hohenheim, who offers up his own long life as a sacrifice for his son\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life. I mean\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i>. He apologizes for not being in his son\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lives, knowing that this is probably what got them into this mess in the first place. What if he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been there when Trisha had died? Would the Elrics have broken the alchemy taboo?<\/li>\n
HE JUST WANTED TO MAKE HIS SONS HAPPY<\/li>\n
HOLD ME<\/i><\/li>\n
But I absolutely love<\/i> that Edward rejects this by stating that he still refuses to take another human life. Even when it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s his brother\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life at stake, Edward doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t become a hypocrite. I adore that.<\/li>\n
(HE CALLED HOHENHEIM \u00e2\u20ac\u0153FATHER.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d !!!!!!!!!!!!)<\/li>\n
(ISN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T IT PERFECT THAT AFTER FATHER IS BANISHED TO DESPAIR, EDWARD CAN NOW RECLAIM THAT NAME OF FATHER FOR HIS ACTUAL DAD.<\/i>)<\/li>\n
(SO MANY EMOTIONS)<\/li>\n
Oh god, I had forgotten that Edward had once drawn that same transmutation circle: WITHIN GLUTTONY\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S STOMACH.<\/li>\n
IS HE SERIOUSLY GOING TO DO THIS.<\/li>\n
Of course he is, because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Edward Elric. His title \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Fullmetal \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is merely that, and I love the message this sends, especially when you think about what it was that Greed wanted this whole time. Edward sheds his alchemy to pay the toll for his brother\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s body because to lose your alchemy doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make you less of a person<\/i>. Not only that, but his life is now full of interesting, wonderful people, all of whom consider him a friend, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all he can ask for. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so beautiful, then, that what Edward earns at the end of this painful, traumatic experience is the companionship of his friends and his brother.<\/li>\n
HIS BROTHER.<\/li>\n
ALPHONSE GETS TO COME BACK WITH HIS BODY.<\/li>\n
I admit that it is absolutely surreal to see Alphonse with a physical body, and even when he talks, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not used to hearing him speak without that adorable metallic echo of his. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s back. Alphonse is back<\/i>.<\/li>\n
HE TOUCHES HIS FATHER\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S HAND.<\/li>\n
I CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T.<\/li>\n
IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S WARM OUT.<\/li>\n
HE CAN FEEL WARMTH.<\/li>\n
none of this is okay<\/i><\/li>\n
There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a brief summation of sorts that follows this, which quickly provides us with certain aspects of the aftermath of the defeat of Father. Yeah, like Edward returning Mrs. Bradley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s son to her, and HOW THE FUCK DO YOU EXPLAIN THAT TO SOMEONE? <\/i>My god, even in the few seconds I saw her face, I was utterly heartbroken by Mrs. Bradley.<\/li>\n
So, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not telling the citizens of Amestris the complete truth? It was an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153alchemical experiment.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bradley and Selim simply died, and no one knows they were actually homunculi. Mustang is now in control! Oh god, he got his wish!<\/li>\n
I found it very fitting that despite that I had a million questions about how this was going to be wrapped up, the end of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Other Side of the Gate\u00e2\u20ac\u009d focuses entirely on Hohenheim. After hundreds of years on this earth, he stands at the very spot where this disaster ended, and he can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help but feel sad<\/i>. God, could you imagine living with the guilt of knowing how things ended up how they did? It was nice that Alex Armstrong arrived to remind Hohenheim that his sons saved the entire planet because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a way of re-directing Hohenheim\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s thoughts. What little parenting he did for those two boys turned out brilliantly, and so he returns back to Resembool to say goodbye to the one person he hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t spoken to in years: Trisha Elric. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s painfully ironic that in his last hours of life, Hohenheim feels a desires to keep on living. Wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you<\/i> want to? He could have played a part in his son\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lives.<\/li>\n
Instead, he slowly dies while kneeling before his wife\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grave, a smile on his face. I like that Pinako is the one to discover him, too. She knows what this means.<\/li>\n
Hey, you know what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not okay? The montage of Hohenheim scenes during the closing credits. NOT OKAY.<\/li>\n
HOW IS THERE ANOTHER EPISODE<\/i>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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!<\/a><\/p>\n
Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n
– If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running, I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!<\/a>
\n– Please check out the MarkDoesStuff.com<\/a>. All Mark Watches videos for past shows\/season are now archived there!
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In the sixty-third episode of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Father discovers his weakness as Hohenheim discovers his strength. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch FMA:B.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[554],"tags":[555],"class_list":["post-3014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fullmetal-alchemist-brotherhood","tag-mark-watches-fmab"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3014\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}