Episode 55

Let me just apologize for my extreme lateness on these two reviews. Due to some stupidity on my part which resulted in a broken ankle, I’ve been in pain and drugged up, but still keeping track of the episodes. This review will cover both 55 and 56, so it will be a bit longer.

Episode 55 is aptly entitled “The Adults’ Way of Life” and focuses on the grown-ups taking care of things instead of the kids. Thus far, Ed and Al have been in the spotlight for the majority of the time, but it is up to the adults to really start chipping in—an homage to the way they do things. After a bit of bickering between Ed and Mustang, back in Central, brother and sister team Alex and Olivier are still fighting off homunculus Sloth. Unfortunately, he continues to regenerate himself after each attack. It seems as though they will never gain the upper hand when, from out of nowhere, Izumi appears. She’s been sent by Buccaneer to lend them a hand; even taking Sloth down in one go, flipping him over her shoulder. Sig, Izumi’s husband, catches the homunculus on the rebound with a clothesline, sending him straight into the wall. Thus, a display of raw, physical power, brute strength and rippling, bulging muscles commences. Alex and Sig show of the goods for a brief moment before taking Sloth down once and for all.

Meanwhile, below the city, Father and Hoenheim are at a standoff. I don’t know about you guys, but for me, the dialogue—or rather, the translation of the dialogue—came off as a little cheesy (okay, a lot). It kind of took away from the gravity of the situation, what many of us have been waiting for quite some time. Aside from that, Hoenheim does make a good point. Now that many of the homunculi have been defeated, Father has become rather “boring.” Annoyed by this taunting, Father decides to retaliate, to show off his power which requires nothing but thought. Hoenheim finally strikes back with as much power, but it is his words that strike with the most force. Father’s reasoning for creating what could resemble a family was not simply because he wanted to become human, but rather, to become the perfect being. His attempt to take Hoenheim’s Philosopher’s stone is futile.

Back in Central, there is a shot of Yoki, Al, Dr. Marcoh and Heinkel attempting to pull their car out of a rut. All the while, so casually in the background, a familiar figure—King Bradley—walks down the street with his sword in hand. It seems that the main gate has been successful closed, effectively blocking the dolls from escaping. All of the other gates have been taken over as well, but little do they know what lurks around the corner. They learn quickly that celebrating early was a bad idea when a familiar voice comes on over the radio. King Bradley is not dead. He has survived the train attack and is heading their way, through the main gate, intent on taking back his throne.

Episode 56

This next episode begins with Hoenheim traveling through the desert of Xing, I believe. A couple of natives find him collapsed in the sand, thinking he is dead, but they soon find out otherwise. All the while, as they tend to him, Hoenheim continues to softly apologize, but to who? Who is this Sergeance he keeps referring to? Well, in the previous episode, Hoenheim explained to Father that he would never understand why his attack did not work. Sergeance appears to be one of the men that Hoenheim knew in the past and one of the many souls that went into his Philosopher’s stone. For a very long time, Hoenheim has been speaking to each and every soul individually—536,329 people, exactly—asking for their assistance in order to defeat the homunculus. And what a hell of a task that was. He nearly lost his mind doing it, but he’s had plenty of time. Father, however, had never taken the time or the effort to do so; thus, giving Hoenheim the upper hand. He thinks he might be able to destroy Father’s shell, but that idea turns out to be a dead end.

The scene quickly ends and we are taken back to Central where King Bradley takes down a tank firing bullets and missiles at him with just a few swipes of his sword. Pretty outrageous stuff. I feel sorry for the guys in the tank! Unfortunately, Bradley makes it to the main gate where he takes down Buccaneer in one go. Falman is now forced with the decision of whether to open the gate or not, which he doesn’t, declaring that this will be his death. He is reduced to tears as Bradley stands watching him bawl like a baby, but a voice speaks up. Buccaneer has not been fatally wounded. He’s just lost his arm. Yet another voice speaks up, but we are not so surprised to find that it is Greed. The previews from episode 55 had spoiled his return and his fight with King Bradley, so the shock value is not what it could have been.

Even so, the fight between them is pretty epic. I like the way they ‘filmed’ the scene with the shaky camera, giving it an element of chaos and confusion. As the two deck it out, Buccaneer stupidly interferes and gets himself run through with Bradley’s sword. To make things words, there are more soldiers attempting to infiltrate headquarters and little manpower on Briggs’ side, but they think of something, if not for a few minutes, to hold off the attack. In the midst of things, old man Fu appears, racing up the tunnel to join in on the fight. He’s come to help and to take revenge against the man who took his granddaughter’s arm. The episode comes to an end and the credits roll.

There aren’t a whole lot of spoilers for the next episode, just a few scenes and even fewer, rather ambiguous lines—“Farewell, my Lord,” being the most interesting. I won’t spoil it for you guys, though! 🙂

~Blogged by Dee