Well, doomsday has come, and it looks like Father’s plan worked. Essentially, he sought to become God. Well, in the case of alchemy, more so with what is the truth. I guess he is essentially in an enhanced state compared to where he was before. Which is actually quite frightening because he was strong before.
Thankfully, Hohenheim and Mei are dependent on the alchemy that Father has control of in this country. Hohenheim’s plan is very logical because it has been shown throughout the series that the soul is bound to the body. Barry the Chopper showed this well because his body was bound to his soul. Even more, Ed and Al’s souls were linked because of their failed transmutation. These are cases where the transumation occurs and the body and soul are separated for some time. In the case where it just happened, the link to the body and soul is the strongest, so Hohenheim just needed to interfere just enough for the souls to come back to their bodies.
As Scar defeats Bradley, his character arc finally concludes. Throughout the series, Scar has been adamant about getting his revenge against the alchemist of Amestris. As the term vengeance only seeks to create more vengeance. What Scar had to do was not get his revenge but conquer the vengeance he wanted in his heart. By following his brother’s research, he was able to reconstruct when he looked past his revenge and saw what his older brother wanted.
On the other side of the coin, Bradley is an interesting character because he is the most human of the homunculi. For instance, he chose his wife as one thing. He enjoyed battling against humans because, unlike his life, which was planned, human lives are never planned out, per se. That brought him great joy, and in a fun twist, he enjoyed the life he was given when things didn’t go the way it was planned out.
As Scar points out, the issue with alchemy in Amestris. As the purification arts come from within the Earth’s surface, the alchemy of Amestris is not like that. In fact, it is drawn from the Philosopher’s Stone from Father. It makes sense why Father would seek to eliminate all knowledge of the Purification Arts because there is no reason for the people to know that there exists any alchemy besides the one that relies on the Philosopher’s Stone. In a fucked-up viewpoint, the fact that the Elric brothers were constantly using the Philosopher’s Stone when using alchemy beyond the time they tried to bring back their mother.
The culmination of Scar’s brother’s research is to take the Amestris transmutation circle but be able to use it for the Purification Arts. It is the thing that is needed to turn the tide of battle, where now the Elric brothers and others can now fight. It is now a winnable fight.
In the fight between Ed and Pride, it is quite interesting how they viewed their fathers. Ed has constantly rebelled against his father, and it isn’t until recently that he accepted him to a degree. Granted, it doesn’t take away what his absence left to his family. While Pride looks at Father, he looks at it from the point he gave him life. Which is a very human-like outlook. The viewpoint of the homunculus was more human-like, while Ed is more logical.
It is ironic that Pride’s pride is what caused him to lose against Ed. Logically, taking Ed’s body is the right move, but for many humans, our pride can get in the way. So for Pride, accepting taking on a human he looked down upon was what stopped him. It gave Ed the chance to invade Pride and take him down much like with Envy. Though Ed’s kindness is on display, we see him sparing Pride. He knows what it is like to lose a family member, and he wouldn’t wish that on Lady Bradley despite how much of a monster Pride is.
Though the conclusion of the series is at its near point. Curious to see how Ed and company can take down Father, as now he seems to use the humans who are inside him to torment Izumi and Hohenhim.