Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Episode 61) – He Who Would Swallow God

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Title

Father consumed God. Amestris was dead! Only those in the inner circle remained and one of those was ready for just this occasion. Hohenheim had been waiting for this moment and was ready to counter Father’s plans.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Episode 61) – He Who Would Swallow God

What happened?

Father fell back into his throne a changed person. He had consumed the souls of all of Amestris and then devoured God. Edward couldn’t believe it. Surely, it wasn’t possible. Hohenheim was calmer. He knew that it was possible and was ready for this occasion. Father laughed at his attempts to stop him. He had the power of a god after all.

However, Hohenheim has spent the years preparing for this occasion. Everywhere he went was calculated. Every time, he spilt his own blood on the ground it was to create a transmutation circle that could rival Father’s. He just needed a circle and Father pointed out that would be too much. Of course, Hohenheim had made preparations for that too. He would use the shadow of the moon!

Hohenheim’s transmutation circle ripped the souls from Father’s body, freeing them from the philosopher’s stone and returning them to their bodies. With the power of the philosopher’s stone gone, it was just a matter of time before the power he had consumed from god would destroy Father.

The next step was to free the alchemists from the barrier that Father had created. Luckily, Scar had the answer to that thanks to his brother’s research. He just had to defeat King Bradley to get the chance to activate it.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 61 Fathers new form

What did you think?

This was an amazing episode, however, I feel like it reversed a lot of the things that came together in the last episode a little too quickly. We’d just spent sixty episodes watching Father’s plans unfold and while Hohenheim has been working in the shadows I didn’t think we had enough time to really appreciate the fact that he had killed everyone in Amestris. I would have liked it to be a bit harder than Hohenheim just pulling a surprise on Father like that.

The fight between Bradley and Scar was excellent. It absolutely felt like two desperate men fighting with everything they had. Bradley even caught the shattered blade of his sword in his mouth since his arms had been cut off and drove it into Scar’s abdomen. I’m glad we also learnt what Scar’s brother’s transmutation circle was for. And now Father is on the move, desperate to create a new philosopher’s stone before his is completely depleted.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 61 Edwards powers unleashed

What have you learnt?

Kimblee is a monster, but he sticks to his guns like nobody else. It was amazing that he maintained his awareness within the philosopher’s circle because of his sadistic manner. Even more interesting was how annoyed he was at Pride who was not as committed to his values. Kimblee had more respect for Edward because of his stringent adherence to his beliefs.

It was interesting that Edward left Pride in his original form. At this stage, it’s unlikely that this will come back to bite him, but Edward hasn’t learnt anything from the ordeal with Envy. I admire Edward’s resolve, but I wish he had learnt to distinguish between when to go hard and when to hold back. An arbitrary rule can become a weakness once someone learns of it. If the hero doesn’t learn or adapt through the story that it feels like their development is incomplete. They didn’t need to go on a journey as they were right all along.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 61 Edward defeated Pride

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What did you think?