Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Episode 48) - The Oath in the Tunnel

Ling and Lan Fan take the fight to Gluttony, but he keeps regenerating. Meanwhile, some villagers found Heinkel attacking Pride, however, their torch soon turned the fight on its head. In Central, Mustang makes his move.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Episode 48) – The Oath in the Tunnel

What happened?

It’s been less than seven months since Lan Fan lost her arm which is too soon for her to fight with an automail arm. There’s no way she’ll be able to keep it up. Edward was about to rush to her aid but was blown back by a grenade. Fu informed him that they had many weapons and can sense the homunculi by using their chi.

Edward asks Fu to lead him to Heinkel. It’s just a matter of time before the lights are back and then Pride will have the upper hand again. Amazingly, Edward arrives in the nick of time and saves Heinkel. His carbon fibre plated automail is pretty good at deflecting Pride’s attacks too. That’s when Pride brings Alphonse back into the fight, knowing that Edward won’t be able to fight his brother.

Fu throws a flash grenade, severing Pride’s grip on Alphonse. Darius grabs him and runs to safety. Pride is getting frustrated, but then Gluttony returns and gives him a chance to power up. He eats Gluttony, devouring his philosopher’s stone. How will Edward stop Pride now?

Meanwhile, in Central, Mustang has learnt about Selim from his adopted mother, Madame Christmas. In order to escape from this tail, they blow up her bar and escape into the sewers. Mustang meets with Hawkeye, Breda, and Fuery. They have no choice but to go through with the mission and the first step is capturing King Bradley’s wife!

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 48 Edward WTF

What did you think?

It was another good episode, although it did jump about a little too much for us to really get caught up in the fight. Pride devouring Gluttony was a great moment. It’s one of those moments that show you just how crazy the stakes are and just how far their opponent is willing to go to win. It also serves as a warning to Greed. What could Pride do with a third philosopher’s stone?

I getting curious as to Olivier’s game plan. It looked like she gave away what Mustang would do next, but that’s got to be part of the plan. I can’t really see her going rogue. She may be merciless, but she knows what is at stake and won’t abandon her men. There is one night until the Promised Day and sixteen episodes to go. This is going to be a long day!

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 48 Pride devouring Gluttony

What have you learnt?

We learnt that Hohenheim has a bigger and far more terrifying chi than either Pride or Gluttony. At some point, he’s got to enter the fight and start showing what he’s made of. For too long, he’s been this passive, quiet man who reflects on the past too much. I know he has a lot of past to go through, but still. I’m surprised he sat back and allowed Edward and Alphonse to get this involved, but then he did abandon them.

Pride eating Gluttony and acquiring his powers reminds me of two other occasions where a villain consumed his allies to make themselves stronger. First, there was Wapol in One Piece who ate the Munch-munch Fruit. He ate his men and added their powers to his own. The other was Overhaul in My Hero Academia who simply rebuilt himself with his friends’ bodies. There are lots of legends of people gaining powers from eating others, which makes it an interesting inclusion. Plus, it breaks a lot of taboos which shows us how much they want to win or how damaged their moral compass is. It’s safe to say Selim doesn’t even have one!