Firstly, before I get into anything, I would like to address an important issue. As many of you may already know, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Chile which generated a  tsunami across the Pacific Ocean. Japan was affected by this, as made apparent by the images above. There is an icon of the country outlining the effected areas which flashes non-stop through the episode. However, the Eclipse sub team has announced that they will be releasing a version 2.0 when they are able to get their hands on a clean raw.

That being said, let us jump into the episode summary. Now in Resembool, Miles has managed to bring Winry safely home where she discovers the house to be empty. As she makes her way into her room, she is about to remove her top when she notices a presence – Ed – whom she shrieks at causing everyone to rush upstairs. The boys, except Ed, are booted out and Winry has a talk with our previously missing protagonist who has no reunited with the rest of the cast. She tells Ed that Al has gone to the train station and that they crossed paths with Hoenheim in Lior. Now that he is in the know, Ed asks Winry to leave with Pinako and head for safety. Winry does not take well to this and clocks him on the head with a wrench. She tells him she will not run away and that she should have no reason to if Ed intends to protect the country and beat the bad guys.

As Ed is leaving, there is a bit of a conversation between him and Greed about what the sin truly means, and how humans tend to order their avarice on a scale from not as greed to extremely so. The four of them then set out to Central in the darkness; thus, bringing us back to Lior where the other two Chimera are reunited with Dr. Marcoh and Scar. On their way to Central, they run into a group of Ishvalans who intend to fight along side their brethren and the Amestrians despite their differences. Back in the East, where episode 45 left off, the military forces have come together under the façade of a few exercises. The two discuss how everything is in place and about how they must devise a plan to fool King Bradley who has decided to observe them.

At the train station, Al – who is experiencing another bout of unconsciousness – he has finally awakened and is attacked by Gluttony and Pride. Meanwhile, in Central, Mustang has gone back to the Armstrong estate to visit Olivier, but to also deliver the message that Selim is, in fact, a Homunculus as well. She tells Roy that if anything happens to her, the estate is his as it, “will not fit in my coffin anyway.” In this scene, we also learn a bit about their past and why Olivier is particularly stingy towards Mustang. Apparently, he had promised to treat her to dinner, though the promise was never fulfilled. I’d be pretty pissed too if I was blown off!

Back at the training grounds, Grumman suggests they should just point the cannon at Bradley’s tower and get things over with; a capital idea, though much too risky. Bradley is informed of the coup d’état and decides to return to Central. On the way, his train cab is stopped and left alone on the bridge. An explosion rocks the tracks, sending the cab plummeting into the river below. News about the explosion reaches Central and sends everyone informed into a panic. During the credits, we see Hawkeye, Breda and Fury preparing to make their move.

Following this, while the higher ups are arguing about what to do, Olivier considers making a move into Bradley’s seat, but before she can do anything of the sort, both Father and Sloth appear and the episode comes to an end.

Quite an interesting turn of events, I must say. Although I have to confess that it sucks knowing what’s going to happen and not being able to spoil anything!

Head on over to the forum to discuss the episode in depth.  The thread can be found here.

~By Dee