Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Episode 6) – Road of Hope

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Title

Edward and Alphonse head home for repairs. On the way, Major Armstrong recognises a missing alchemist – a doctor who was working on a philosopher’s stone project for the military before he disappeared!

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Episode 6) – Road of Hope

What happened?

Maes Hughes sees Edward and Alphonse off at the station but has left Alex Louis Armstrong as their bodyguard. With Edward missing his auto-mail arm, he’s unable to use alchemy and would be a sitting duck should Scar show up. At one stop, Major Armstrong thinks he recognised a missing state alchemist. When the person sees them, he runs.

Edward insists that they track him down as he may be able to help them. They find out that Doctor Marcoh has been the town physician since all the other doctors were drafted for the civil war and never returned. When they finally find him, he’s not too happy to see them, believing that they have come to take him back.

Doctor Marcoh had been working on creating a philosopher’s stone and shows them the incomplete one he created. It was almost a liquid, yet it held its form. Edward asked to see his research but the doctor refused, believing it was too dangerous for anyone to have. However, he chases them down as they were about to get on another train and gives Edward the location of the documents.

The next stop is home and the auto-mail shop run by Granny and Winry. They agree to get Edward’s replacement arm done in three days. During that time, Major Armstrong learns what happened to the boys from Granny and is brought to tears.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 6 Armstrong Edward and Alphonse looking at a philosopher's stone

What did you think?

After the last couple of episodes, this was exactly what we needed. A slower episode with some character development and some time to reflect. I thought using Armstrong as the conduit for this information was great and not just because of his emotional reaction. It wasn’t his need to hug Edward either, although that was pretty funny. Armstrong comes across as a genuinely nice guy so it was no surprise that he understood why Edward and Alphonse attempted to do what they did.

I hope we’re going to see more of Winry and Granny as they were fun characters that enable Edward and Alphonse to relax. You could see how much it meant to them and it was nice that Alphonse was able to express his gratitude so eloquently. Of course, we also got to see Lust visiting Doctor Marcoh, so he may have had some hand in the philosopher’s stone that Father Cornello was using.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 6 Winry Rockbell

What have you learnt?

I mentioned in the last episode about having highs and lows in a story and how variety is what makes each one that much more impactful. Well, the same goes for pacing. If you tried to write a book that was all action at a hundred miles an hour, it would be exhausting. Fun, maybe, and it’s something I’ve considered and may do at some point, but it would be a hard read. There need to be moments of calm and reflection to help drive home the message.

So far, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has done a great job at allowing us time to absorb the story. Admittedly, the first couple of episodes really threw us into the deep end and left us unsure as to what was what, but it has slowly and surely revealed more and more about the Elric brothers and the journey they are on. I’m definitely getting into this series and not just because the OP and ED are killers.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 6 Armstrong Edward and Alphonse say goodbye

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