Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Episode 56) - The Return of the Fuhrer

Hohenheim tries to use the souls trapped within his philosopher’s stone to defeat Father, but he’s stronger than before. Fuhrer Bradley charges the main gate as he attempts to regain control, however, a familiar face is waiting for him.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Episode 56) – The Return of the Fuhrer

What happened?

When Hohenheim left Xerxes after the tragic event that wiped out the entire city, he found his way to Xing and no doubt had an influence on the culture there. One of the things that he was able to do with his long life was to talk with each of the souls trapped inside him. He had been able to learn things about them and one of those things was their desire for revenge. They wanted to stop Father as much as anyone.

The trapped souls entered Father’s body when he attacked Hohenheim and sought to destroy his container. Unfortunately, Hohenheim wasn’t the only one with time to adapt. Father no longer needs his container. This is looking bad for Hohenheim and everyone else in Amestris.

Fuhrer Bradley’s return has put Mustang’s men in a tricky position. They may have saved his wife, but it wasn’t supposed to go this way. Now, they’ll need to pin everything on Olivier Armstrong and her soldiers. Even then, it may not be enough to save them…

Meanwhile, Fuhrer Bradley storms the front gate, taking out the soldiers in his way and a tank. At the top of the ramp, he finds Buccaneer standing in his way. However, he’s not much of a challenge either. Bradley approaches the gates and demands they are opened, but then Greed appears and challenges Bradley. It would appear that Ling has a grudge too. Things were looking bad for Greed too, but then Fu arrives and he’s even more pissed at Bradley.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 56 Greed and Fu

What did you think?

I mentioned in my last post that I was expecting Greed to show up and want to fight King Bradley… Looks like I was right again. Half of the fun with this show is that there’s a great balance between things being predictable and others completely out there. Amazingly, as they happen each feels just as believable as the other. Anyhow, this episode was amazing and felt like it was only a couple of minutes long.

King Bradley is a great villain. Unlike Father, he’s not about deception and using others to do his dirty work. He’s simple. If he wants to have you killed, he’ll do it himself. If he wants to storm the front gates and destroy a tank in the process, he’ll do it. I love that about him, as much as I can’t wait for the time that he falls. That said, I’m not too impressed with the way Mustang’s men threw Olivier in front of the train. I can’t imagine Olivier will be too happy too…

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 56 Buccaneer versus King Bradley

What have you learnt?

Earlier in the story, we learnt about how alchemy came from Xerxes and how someone travelled to Xing and another travelled to Amestris. That kind of explained how their alchemy was similar but different. I loved that it turned out that Hohenheim was the one that went to Xing and that meant that Father created the alchemy of Amestris, which is why he can turn it off whenever he wants.

It may seem like a small detail to get excited about, but this is one of the things I think a lot of poor storytellers forget. You have to follow through on your promise. It’s like Chekhov’s gun. If you show a gun in act one someone will need to have used it by the end. We were given hints at how the two nations developed differing alchemy and now we have an answer. I think there’s more to come, but it gives us something to work with, even if there isn’t any more. Plus it adds to the world and I’m certain it will become important in the final battle.