Bro-fist.
Wow, I can't believe Hohenheim has such a puny son!
Summary:
Gluttony leads Al into Father's room and Al is surprised that Father looks like Hohenheim. At this moment, Envy, Ed, and Ling suddenly burst out of Gluttony's stomach, and Al is relieved that his brother is alright. Ed is also surprised by Father's appearance, and Father is rather surprised that Ed and Al are Hohenheim's sons. Father then notices Ed's injuries and Al's damaged left arm, and he uses some sort of strange alchemy to heal Ed and repair Al without thinning out Al's armor. Father states that Ed and Al need to stay healthy as they are important human sacrifices, and the brothers are shocked Father can do alchemy without using any obvious gestures. Ling has a bad feeling about Father and pulls out his saber, and Father tells Gluttony to dispose of Ling. Ed and Al ask Father spare Ling, but Father explains that he doesn't care about the business of humans since humans are merely ants to him. Ed, Al, and Ling are angered by Father's words and they attack, but Father easily fends them off. Tired of wasting any more time, Father stomps on the ground and activates a mechanism that is felt by Scar, May, and even Hohenheim from far away.
No more fun and games. Time to get serious.
Yes, bow down to your evil overlord!
After Father activates the mechanism, the Elrics discover that their alchemy doesn't work anymore. The brothers are easily pinned by Envy, and Envy laughs at the Elrics for not knowing the origins of their alchemy. Ling is also pinned by Gluttony, but Father changes his mind and decides Ling is good material to make a homunculus. Father retrieves a Philosopher's Stone from the third eye on his forehead and is about to inject it into Ling. Ed and Al demand that Father stop, but Ling declares that this is what he was looking for. Father injects the Philosopher's Stone into Ling and Ling immediately begins to react and struggle. In the mental realm, Ling's soul is met by the presence of Greed. Greed tells Ling to hand over his body, and to Greed's surprise Ling wants to hand over his body in exchange for the power. Greed likes Ling's attitude and takes over the body, and in the real world a new Greed is born.
Lol looks like Greed can do the People's Eyebrow... except he doesn't have eyebrows.
Given that both of you are puny, you are a perfect match for each other.
Greedo is the name; skin-hardening is the game.
As the new Greed introduces himself, Ed and Al wonder if he is the same as the old Greed, but apparently the new Greed does not have any of the memories. Ed calls for Ling to respond, but Greed states that the body is completely his. Suddenly, Scar and May barge in through the front door. May has a bad feeling about Father and she is quickly reunited with her mini-panda Xiao May. Scar spots the Elrics and conclude that the brothers aren't in cohorts with the homunculi, while May is very disappointed by Ed's lack of size (she was fantasizing about him). At this moment Gluttony attacks thinking that Scar can't use alchemy, but Scar blows Gluttony's head open with his right hand, and May uses her Xingese alchemy to knock Envy off of the Elrics. Unfortunately, the Elrics' alchemy still doesn't work, and so they are forced to hide. However, Ed sees an opportunity to use Scar and reveals that the Ishvalan War was sparked by Envy. Scar is enraged by the revelation and starts destroying the room. While Scar is battling Envy, Ed confronts Ling/Greed while May is being chased by Gluttony. After watching in puzzlement for a while, Father sneaks in behind Scar and wonders how the Ishvalan is about to use alchemy. Scar grabs Father's head and tries to decompose, but Father is unaffected and Scar barely dodges Father's alchemy attack.
Go fetch your helmet Al! Go fetch!
Nice armbar.
Meanwhile, May is knocked into the rubble by Gluttony and is too injured to fight, but Al comes to her rescue and carries her out of the room only to run into a horde of chimeras. Scar runs out of the room being chased by Gluttony and Envy and he and Al stand back to back. Al tells Scar to take May and escape since the homunculi won't do anything to their human sacrifices. Scar responds by saying that he is in no condition to carry May and also doesn't plan on leaving. The Ishavalan then decomposes a nearby stream of water and uses Al's helmet to spark an explosion. After the smoke clears, Envy grabs Al, but Scar and May are nowhere to be found. Envy tells Gluttony to track Scar, but Gluttony has sustained too much damage and is on the verge of death. Back inside the room, Ed is fighting the new Greed and trying to get Ling to give him a sign. After mentioning Ran Fan, Ed is able to get a reaction from Greed/Ling, but Greed promptly locks Ed in an armbar. Father orders the Elrics be brought to the surface to Wrath. After the Elrics are brought away, Father absorbs Gluttony's Philosopher's Stone and promises to remake Gluttony with all memories intact.
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An excellent episode as expected, since this was one of the most exciting parts of manga. There are some very interesting developments in this part of the story, and the most of notable of which is the introduction of the new Greed. The new opening sequence already spilled the beans, but it's official: Ling is the new Greed. The process was similar to how Wrath was made, and the new Greed has the personality and abilities of the old one but without all the memories. Ling is obviously not gone though; he is still hiding in body waiting for the right moment.
The other interesting details are all related to Father, who was actually kind of funny in the beginning when he was inspecting Ed and Al. Aside from his obvious connection to Hohenheim, in this episode Father showed that he can use alchemy without using gestures, also he has the ability effectively neutralize Amestrian alchemy. Note that Father's alchemy is colored red, which makes sense since his alchemy is probably powered by Philosopher's Stones and people's souls. I don't think Father violates the Law of Equivalent Exchange; he just uses the Philosopher's Stones/souls in his possession to pay for the alchemy. As for Father's ability to neutralize Amestrian alchemy, it's probably because all Amestrian alchemy came from Father. The whole country of Amestris was probably created by Father for his grand plan, so it's totally possible that Father controls the source of power for all Amestrian alchemy. Since Xingese alchemy uses a different power source (something from the ground), the neutralization field doesn't work on May or Scar (who uses Xingese/Amestrian hybrid alchemy), but most of the other alchemists are essentially screwed. I guess eventually Ed and Al will have to learn some other type of alchemy to combat Father.
Another interesting fact about Father is that Scar is unable to decompose him. Scar's alchemy requires that he knows the composition of what he is trying to decompose, so the fact that it didn't work on Father means that Father is not made with same stuff that normal people or even homunculi are made of. So what is Father made of? Wax lol?
After the big battle in this episode, the next episode will be some downtime and maybe the transition to the next part of the story. Oh well, we can't exactly have big development every week.
Last note: the part where Envy and company came out of Gluttony's stomach was pretty freaky and the action scenes were very nice. Got to give props to Bones for the animation.
Last last note: there was that scene with Ed and the pistol that Riza gave him, but that didn't turn out to be very important. Shooting Envy's arm wouldn't have done much anyways. Besides, Ed already sacrificed quite a few souls as his ticket out of Gluttony's stomach, so whether or not he shoots one soul with the gun seems like a moot point.
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