Don't be so sad. It was a long overdue haircut anyways.
Summary:
Upon entering the fortress, Ed and Al are taken to the medical room where Ed is treated for frostbite. One of the workers reveal that the northern automail used by Buccaneer is made of aluminum and carbon, and Ed's normal steel automail does not work well in the cold. The brothers then are visited by Olivier who demands the brothers tell her about their intentions. The Elrics tell Olivier about their quest to get their bodies back and their search for May, but they don't talk about their dealings with the homunculi. Olivier knows that Elrics are hiding something from her, but she agrees to help search for May and also orders the brothers to go to work, since there's no food for the lazy.
Miles being of Ishvalan heritage doesn't surprise me. What I'm wondering is how he can get his sideburns like that?
After the talk with Olivier, the Elrics are led around the base by Olivier's second in command Major Miles. The Elrics are surprised to find that Miles has Ishvalan ancestry, and Miles states that Olivier doesn't care about the race of her subordinates as long as they do their job. Miles leads the brothers to an exposed walkway to knock off icicles from the ceiling, and here the brothers run into Falman, who has been transferred from Norther HQ and is now a second lieutenant.
This is why nobody dares to mess with the Major General.
Falman's unlucky streak continues.
The Elrics are too dull to keep Sloth awake.
Later in the day, Falman leads the brothers to the lowest level of the fort where the HVAC systems are located. Nearby, a couple of workers are investigating strange noises coming from one of the pipes, and one of the workers discovers that someone is digging underneath their feet. Suddenly, the pipe explodes and the huge homunculus Sloth emerges from a hole in the ground. The Elrics thinks that Father sent the homunculus after them, but after a short talk it becomes apparent that Sloth doesn't know the Elrics and has some other business in mind. Buccaneer and some soldiers arrive and starts shooting, but the bullets have not effect on Sloth. Sloth then wanders on to a lift to the upper level, and both Buccaneer and the Elrics give chase.
Olivier knows how to handle the big guns...
... and the big tanks as well.
On the upper levels, Sloth steps out of the lift and is immediately hit by a bazooka round from Olivier, but the round does little to stop the huge homunculus. Olivier then calls up a trio of tanks which starts firing at Sloth, but the shells only manage to slow Sloth down slightly. At this moment the Elrics arrive and tell Olivier that Sloth cannot be killed by conventional means. Olivier and Buccaneer wonder why the Elrics know so much about the homunculus, but the brother refuse to elaborate. Instead, Ed does reveal that the composition of a homunculus should be similar to a human's. With this knowledge in mind, Olivier gets an idea on how to stop Sloth and orders Buccaneer to dump tank fuel onto the homunculus.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This episode consists mainly of introductions since so many new characters showed up, but there was some decent action as well. In the first half, we learned more about Olivier, Miles and the workings of Briggs through the Elrics chatting with various characters. It's not the most exciting part of the manga, but it's necessary to give the new characters a bit more substance. We also Falman reintroduced into the storyline, and it seems despite the promotion, Falman's bad luck continues and he's now stuck doing menial work.
The second half of the episode was the action packed segment with Sloth's debut. Sloth is digging a tunnel for some other purpose, and it is quite coincidence for him to break into the fort just as the Elrics are visiting. Sloth during his debut is not all that interesting since he's just a big, slow, and nearly invincible lug that's hardly awake, but his appearance gave Olivier an opportunity to show off her skills. Olivier might not have Alex's strength and alchemy, but she is very formidable in her own way, capable of firing bazookas, commanding tanks, and thinking up plans on the fly. There is a very good reason why she's in charge of defending the northern borders. It's too bad that the episode ended just as the battle was reaching the climax, but I guess they ran out of time because of all the chatting in the first half of the episode.
Last note: I liked the focus that this episode had on the tension between Ed and Olivier due to Ed's reluctance to reveal the secrets of the homunculi. This episode did a good job emphasizing Ed's psychological dilemma. On one hand Ed wants to stop Father and the homunculi, but he knows he can't make any false moves because the people he cares about are basically being held hostage. I don't remember this part of the manga too well, but I'm guessing Ed's insistence on keeping his mouth shut is what gets him locked up in the next episode.
No comments:
Post a Comment