Any attention-paying viewer will probably have caught this episode’s major plot twist unsubtly foreshadowed in the OP. I did not.
Seriously, I thought that that pony-tailed guy was that bomb dude, the one who kept blowing up his comrades in the first season. Don’t as me why, but I never expected this episode to turn LIN into the new Greed, but it really came as a surprise to me when Father popped up a Philosophers’ Stone and used it on the guy. Now this explains a lot about why Ishbal needed to be sacrificed: they were intended to be the bait for the next Greed, since the previous one ran off. Now apparently, you need to get rid of first Greed’s body first, before you can create a new one.
Also: Father. How completely different from an evil overlord he started out, personality-wise. He’s actually behaving like a nice grandfather, until Ed and Al make clear that they have no intention to cooperate with him. What’s even more peculiar is that while he knows Hohenheim, this guy seems more like some sort of distant relative to him, even though Hohenheim’s dream hinted that the two hate each other.
That room had even more unexplained things: for some reason, Ed and Al’s alchemy didn’t work, and for that matter no alchemy was supposed to work, and yet Scar wasn’t bothered by it at all. Then there’s also Father’s Philosopher’s Stone-like alchemy, but my theory of that is that he’s got a whole bunch of Philosopher’s stones living inside of him, which also keep him immortal.
What’s also interesting: this episode introduced a second door-thing. Lin’s case isn’t just a matter of simple brain-washing, and something tells me that like with the Heaven-like door in which Al is still waiting for Ed, Lin is also still somewhere inside that Hell-like door. If that’s true, then what about the first Greed? And Wrath?
Also, in this episode I discovered that this show has been showing plot twists after the ED. And it’s a good thing I did this time, because Gluttony died inside of it. Agh, I hate it when series pull these things, because I always skip next-episode previews. Did this series do this more often, or was this the first?
Rating: ** (Excellent)
Hm….I’ve read the manga and I’m pretty sure that Ishbal had nothing to do with Greed…
What you saw as the door is actually ‘Greed’, its original form, or soul or whatever its core is. Ling was talking with Greed and then his body was taken over.
For that dude who keep blowing thing up, you might be surprised again. Either you will like him, or love to hate him. This series is best for making you like everyone even for the bad guys. XD
Oh you misunderstand Psgels. Do you remember when Father killed the old Greed, he ended up drinking the old Greed’s philosopher stone and taking it back into his body. This way he was able to revive Greed and turn Ling into a human based homunculus like Wrath.
Also I am not sure if non-manga readers (or even some manga readers) realized this. But you can see slight foreshadowing that Ling would turn into Greed as soon as he was introduced. First of all Ling was introduced the episode after Greed dies. And what was the one thing both Greed & Ling wanted…the secret of immortality.
Anyways one of your theories is close but I won’t say which one. 🙂
the ponytail guy in the opening is kimbly The new Greed is only seen in the opening at the 19 secand with the other homuculi
i have never read the manga so this is not a spoiler but i think i have figered out fathers plan. i think he is going to transmute amstris like xerxes into a phiosher stone then use the stone as a tribute for the gate because his plan is related to the gate somehow but i dont know what the sacrifces are for
Oh, I’m glad you didn’t miss the post ED scene, because this time it’s kinda important. This series had done this twice before, in episode 6 and 8. I think it’s easy to tell when they do this though, just pay attention to the time remaining when the credits starts!
Since a lot of people are confused, I will try to explain it.
Father destroys Greed’s body living only the Philosopher’s stone core. Father drinks it returning Greed back to him.
Father than takes Greed back out, but makes sure that Greed has no memories, and implants it into Ling. Greed, and Ling than talk it out and make a deal where Ling will accept Greed.
This is still the same Greed but he simply has no memories because Father took them away.
The reason Ishval was destroyed was the exact same reason that the Homunculus started a Riot in Liore. I can’t tell you that reason but it involves creating crests of blood in certain spots. Hughes found out about this and so he was killed before Mustang could learn about it.
Yes! I’ve finnallly found a consistant blogger for Brotherhood that hasn’t read the manga. I’ve read/am reading the manga but it’s more interesting to see what someone has to say who hasn’t. Particularly their speculations that I have bite my tongue about XP
But I will say this, that wasn’t a second door…it was just Greed.
FMA 2009, man oh man, things are starting to look/get alot chaotic in this series then it did in the old one. Im glad i held off reading the manga, makes watching so much better. but when its all over or close i’ll start the manga.
Hm your theory well is rather off with regards to creation of Homonculus, its better to look at what happens to Gluttony for the answer regarding Homonculus.
-pgsl
“Also, in this episode I discovered that this show has been showing plot twists after the ED. And it’s a good thing I did this time, because Gluttony died inside of it. Agh, I hate it when series pull these things, because I always skip next-episode previews. Did this series do this more often, or was this the first?”
better watch out, apparently in all the episodes of the new Darker than Black also have plot twists after ED.
Wow I completely didn’t see this episode coming this show keeps leaving like =0
I’m happy I decide to not read the manga so I can be surprised like I was with this episode; I think that somehow “Father” is the reason humans can use alchemy like Prometheus giving fire to man.
It’s really cool that Lin becomes the new Greed. I personally liked his character and I had high hopes for him so that was a bit of a plot twist to say the least. When you look back on it Lin was all about GAINING immortality and more power. He was greedy when it comes down to it, a perfect match.
I’ve never read the manga, so this is just my guess…
The reason why Scar can still use alchemy is because he’s also using rentanjutsu (the eastern alchemy, since scar’s brothers hand was a combination of both eastern and western alchemy) and the same thing goes for the girl who only knows rentanjutsu and not renkinjutsu.
The Elric brothers on the other hand only uses western alchemy.
@aegd
My thoughts exactly. I also thought that Ed and Al should have also tried doing alchemy the old fashioned way. It probably wouldn’t have worked, but it was always worth a try.
I was thinking that maybe the reason they weren’t able to use alchemy was that somehow ” father” closed or blocked or somehow cut off the gate. Because we know that you have to have seen the gate in order to use alchemy without drawing the symbols. The gate and maybe the ‘energy’ attached to it have been blocked.
Lin = Greed, perfect! 😛 now the only thing to find out if he’s as greedy as the first greed. 🙂
i saw the subbed ending and what happend to gluttoney was the same as greed father said that he would remake him with his memorys as there are. so gulttony is have is phiplosoer stone recharged like a battery the new greed is the same but he was like a computer that lost all of his files. greed is the same greed just with no memoreys to aviod him rebeling agian
I’m not sure where the idea that the new OP is a major spoiler for Ling keeps coming from– I’ve watched it several times and he seems to be only in one scene near the beginning for a second? You’d have to be paying attention to catch it…
I think you might have gotten a little confused. Ishbal’s objective was not to create a stone for Greed. And it’s not that they needed to destroy the first Greed. There’s only one Greed. He ran off, because of his greed, and so, they captured him now, they are going to give him life again, inside Ling. The same way that Father took Gluttony and is going to revive him. The difference here is that he will put all of Gluttony’s memories back in him. Of course he had no intention of doing the same with Greed.
about alchemy not working, it’s just that Father stopped normal alchemy, and the process through which it happens. Scar and May can still do it because their alchemy works through different processes, they are from Xing and Ishbal, it is still alchemy but developed from the ground up by different people, it turned out differently.
It’s like giving the concept of television or phones to two groups of people and have them develop it. Even though the end result would be the same, they would probably invent different means of achieving it, it would be much luck and coincidence (improbable) if they came up with the same method.
the bomb guy is Kimblee, he’s still around lol I guess they do look alike
I was very irritated when I found out they were showing plot twists at the end of the episodes because I had been skipping too. Well, until the one time I let the episode run its course and then saw one of ending scenes. And yes they’ve been do it for awhile… which is what make it so irritating! 🙁