As the battle rages on against Father. One of the biggest things for Ed and Al was to get their original bodies back. However, Ed ends up in a position where he is pinned down after the automail on his right arm breaks. Normally this would spell doom for Ed. But Al makes the move in trusting his brother. He transmutates and offers his soul for Ed to get his arm back so he can continue to fight. For Al, he always felt like a burden to Ed, and this provides him with another huge opportunity. At the same time, this showcases Al’s trust in his brother that he will come back for him. Plus, it actually might be easier to bring Al back if his soul and body are together.
Greed finalizes his character arc greatly because throughout the series, Greed has been shy about what he truly wants. He says he wants the world, but in reality he wants friends to depend on. The family that Father created clearly wasn’t a true family for him. While he did have to trick Lin to get Father vulnerable for Ed, it has him going for what he truly wants. To protect the allies that he failed to protect at the beginning of the series, looking back.
Now that Father is taken down, he now has to face the consequences. He wanted power and to become God, but he was just a thief who used whoever he needed for his goals. As the series has always been Law of Equivalent Exchange, Father always sacrificed what he stole. Finally, the thief has to pay back what he stole when he has nothing left to give. Thus, that means his existence.
In contrast, Ed now has to bring back Al with his soul and body as one. He refuses Hohenheim and Lin’s offer of their Philosopher’s Stone. For Lin, he needs that when he goes back to Xing. While Hohenheim’s argument is about taking responsibility because he wasn’t the father that could have prevented Ed and Al losing their bodies. It would make for a great moment.
However, for Ed and Al, they never wanted to use a Philosopher’s Stone to get their bodies back. Ed’s answer is very interesting in that he gives up alchemy. What does alchemy mean? For Ed, that has been his work; it holds so much value. But value is relative, and alchemy isn’t a superpower when we think of Heroes. Using alchemy always comes at a cost, and getting Al back is far more important than what alchemy is to him. Plus he still has Al and his friends with him. He just has to work hard, but Ed has never shied from hard work before.
As the series concludes, it is great to see the paths the characters take from here.
- We get a confession from Ed as he confesses to Winry. He also keeps his automail leg. It’s a sign of him to remember the past and how far they’ve come. In contrast to them burning their home at the beginning of the series. As Hohenheim mentions, part of it was them not being able to accept their failure. By keeping his leg, he embraces the success that he made.
- Despite Ed giving up on alchemy, it is really cool to see Al still using it for people. Loving the line that it shouldn’t be the law of equivalent exchanges, but you should be giving 1 more than you take. As society should be in the position to help and guide each other rather than to simply take away.
- Dr. Maroch allowing Roy to have the philosopher’s stone for him only if he aims to build back relationships with the Ishvalan people. It’s his way of not dwelling on the past but rather moving forward. For Scar, this is the next step for him because now he has conquered his desire for revenge, but now he can do good for the Ishvalan people, which is what his brother would be proud of him doing.
- For Lan Fan, her request was for them to take Mei with them. As it satisfies the request of Dr. Knox of kids of her generation to not fight. Shows that Lin is willing to unite his people rather than have them opposing each other, which seems to be the common thing.
- Quite interesting to see Selim back in Lady Bradley’s care, but she embraces taking care of him even if he is a homunculus. It will be quite interesting here to see if humans and homunculi can coexist. Though unlike King Bradley, who had a path chosen for him from birth, Selim will not live as a human who chooses his life. Considering how well the relationship between Greed & Lin was, it should be certain to be possible for Homunculi and humans to coexist with each other.
- Lastly, Hohenheim finally dies in front of his wife’s tomb. While he wasn’t the best father, he was able to guide his sons quite well and be the father he wanted to be. For a man who at first wanted nothing more than to die but finally lived and had a family he was proud of. He can reunite with his wife as they watch over their sons.