Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood 54- Beyond the Inferno Early Reaction!
Added 2020-09-15 12:00:03 +0000 UTCCommentary begins at 11:20
Comments
Loved the episode and loved your thoughts on it!
Eric Reacts
2020-09-16 22:18:20 +0000 UTCThis is such a great episode. It's amazingly powerful - from the opening scene where Riza asks Roy to burn her back, to the final confrontation with Riza and Roy, to Edward having his defining moment in his relationship with Mustang. What we saw in the previous episode where Mustang demonstrated his control over his alchemy by protecting his allies and killing all of the Immortal Legion gave Ed some idea of just what his commander was capable of, but if you really watch Ed's face when he intervenes between Riza and Roy, you can see the sweat running down his face, and you can see he's afraid, but he still does what he has to do. It's why this show is so damn good. The author knew her characters and knew how to write them in a way that their arcs made sense - they could grow and chance within the confines of the story. Up until now, Ed's really been a little immature about a lot of things. His language, his attitude when he's challenged, etc. This is the point where he really steps up though. And Roy and Riza...they are SO good together. The courage it must have taken Riza to a) show Mustang the tattoo in the first place, b) watch him use that power to destroy Ishval, c) ask him to permanently scar her back, d) agree to serve as his second in command for fifteen years (since I think the official timeline has the war ending when Ed is around 2, and I believe he's supposed to be about 17 at this point of the story), and e) possibly having to face making good on her promise to shoot Mustang if he strays... that is an amazing arc for her character. It's so clear that the two of them rely on each other for their emotional and mental support given their shared experiences in Ishval. It makes me wonder if she only decided that she would end her life while she was facing that possibility of having to shoot Mustang, or if it had been her plan from the beginning and he just forced her to admit it. Envy's death... it feels like he sort of breaks the established mood when Mustang finally lets go of his rage, but even his death turns into a powerful moment. One nice touch is his final words "Goodbye Edward Elric" - I think even as he's dying, it's a mark of respect to Ed - until now he's only ever called him "Pipsqueak" - this is the first time he's called Ed by name. And the Armstrongs continue to rule. Major Armstrong is determined to protect Olivier, and when he starts getting beat up by Sloth, the other soldiers want to help him and she's just like "Leave him! That's my brother! He's trained better than this!" And that inspires him. Another nice mark of respect when she's only ever treated him with derision. We're in the final stretch - can't wait to see your reactions to the rest of the series!
Megan Saunders
2020-09-15 15:18:20 +0000 UTC
