FMAB 20 Full Reaction
Added 2025-07-11 19:00:05 +0000 UTCFull uncut reaction to Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 20
Comments
People who watch this series for the first time will of course hate Hohenheim at first because it's easy for him to tell facts now that he wasn't there when the boys lost their mother and as for Ed feeling guilty about what happened to him Al and Nina it's really deep
Guru_Rick_
2025-08-07 11:26:08 +0000 UTCTo me I think ed hate his dad but like a “I don’t wanna see you Anymore” type of hate and not a “ I wish you was dead” type of hate, deep down ed still care but he just doesn’t wanna admit it.
Luhbabytay
2025-08-04 21:00:51 +0000 UTC"There’s so much to chew on." Yes, yes indeed!
Bethany and Ken
2025-07-14 22:03:50 +0000 UTCVery well said! Going to need to remind myself of this from time to time.
Bethany and Ken
2025-07-14 21:55:47 +0000 UTCOoooo, great call back to Sokka!
Bethany and Ken
2025-07-14 21:55:18 +0000 UTCLove this episode. I mean, that's not uncommon, since I really love a lot of the episodes in this season. But after the previous episode which is right up there in my favourite, action-packed, I-want-other-people-to-get-to-this episodes, I often forget that this one comes right after. This quieter episode also feels really impactful to me, and really marks a turning point for the characters. "I love sleep." Me, too. Absolutely, me too. I feel like my mind's ready to go a little crazy if I don't get some moment of unconsciousness between one day and the next. Reminds me of Sokka in that one episode (S2E8 The Chase). "Are you sure [we'll be OK]? I've never not slept before!"
thanners
2025-07-12 05:38:57 +0000 UTCI think Ed feeling sick while excavating the body is probably due to the emotional turmoil and stress like you said.
Pdrs
2025-07-11 20:41:55 +0000 UTCAnother great reaction! I do think learning that made Ed feel a lot better. No need to feel guilty over messing something up if there’s no way to do it right in the first place.
Chris Collier
2025-07-11 20:22:02 +0000 UTCOk, I’ve got a LOT to say about this one due to how dense it is. Hopefully I can avoid my natural rambling tendencies to cut it down somewhat. So the first thing that’s important to bring up about this episode is how it was changed from the manga in how it portrays Hohenheim. You comment a few times that you don’t really feel like he actually cares about his family and why he’d bother to come back now or ask for the photo, and while I think it’s apparent that those acts in and of themselves do show SOME level of affection, I can’t blame you for writing them off so easily. The first thing we see of Hohenheim here is him being stern and condescending to Ed over a situation he doesn’t fully understand after having been missing for years. I think in the anime’s attempt at focusing on how suspicious he is, they really dropped the ball on his more endearing traits (and in a few episodes they straight up cut an entire scene about him, which I’ll cover in depth when said episode occurs). See, in the manga, Ed meeting Hohenheim starts off very different. He’s a lot more awkward and unsure of himself. He knows he doesn’t have the right to talk to Ed as a father, but feels compelled to help regardless, which leads to him being really unsure how to proceed and how to actually talk to his son. He seems to be in disbelief at first, and spaces out a bunch because he’s in his own head too much trying to figure out the best way to approach the situation. It’s only after Ed rebukes him repeatedly that Hohenheim takes the “tough love” approach and puts on that stern and condescending attitude. So in ramping up the nefarious implications they ended up removing the silly and endearing moments. That all said, while his words were irrefutably harsh (and without the added context of the manga come off as indignant and self-serving, especially with the house) they were exactly what Ed needed to hear to push him toward what would help him heal. Hohenheim couldn’t just tell Ed the truth straight up because Ed’s stubbornness and (justified) resentment would lead him to reject any advice or encouragement his father could offer. The only way he could accept the truth is if he came to that conclusion himself, so Hohenheim pushed him that direction. After all, Hohenheim did say that Ed is “just like I was at his age.” Speaking of which, I’ll just come out and say right now that’s just flat out untrue. Hohenheim’s life situation when he was 16 could not have been more different from Ed’s, hahahaha. I’ll give him that he had the same attitude and stubborn nature, but hoooo boy do their lives not compare at all. Though, that does bring up the question, when was Hohenheim Ed’s age? That picture of him when Granny Pinako says he hasn’t changed a bit, where he’s drinking with a hot young woman? Pinako has said previously that she originally met the boys’ father as “an old drinking buddy,” so the implication is that the young woman in that photo is Granny Pinako. If that’s the case, he really HASN’T changed a bit, to an absurd degree. Then there’s his wife’s final message for him: An apology that she died before he did. Why on earth would they have a promise for her to die before him? The only thing we’ve seen regarding immortality or extended longevity has been the homunculi, via their philosopher stone. Could Hohenheim be a homunculus? It would explain his absurd youth. But then their promise that Hohenheim should die before his wife indicates he doesn’t *want* to be immortal. If he sought it out, he regrets it. If he was created, he should be able to just keep killing himself until it finally sticks. So either he isn’t a homunculus that is also immortal, or he has some reason to keep living. At least for a while. How long has Hohenheim been alive? You’ve already seen that the homunculi have been around for hundreds of years, so could he be the same? Which brings the discussion over to the father of the homunculi, er, Father. Is Hohenheim? Or does he just look the same for some reason? As the creator of the homunculi he is clearly a master of alchemy, and so is Hohenheim (all the books Ed learned from were his father’s, and his mom asked him if his father taught him). Where else have we seen something about nearly identical figures with a mastery of alchemy? Two episodes ago in the ruins of the ancient kingdom of Xerxes, which vanished in a single night, you learned how Amestris has the tale of the Sage of the East who appeared one day from the direction of Xerxes and taught the Amestrians alchemy. At the same time you learned that Xing has a nearly identical tale of the Sage of the West who taught Xingese alkahestry. Could these mythical figures be related to Father and Hohenheim? Are all 4 people the same individual? There’s so much to chew on. Moving on to Ed and Al, this episode I think really emphasizes one of the biggest differences in who they are as characters while giving them common ground. While Al is the one who got the worse deal of the two, he’s also the one who recognizes the importance of living in the moment and enjoying life. Ed is fixated on the past, on trying to fix his mistakes, and on the future in which he’s succeeded. He’s practically blind to living in the present, while Al understands how important it is, likely because he doesn’t have the luxury of enjoying things. He’s always pushing Ed to take better care of himself and enjoy the little things that Ed tends to bulldoze over. While I was never doubtful that living as a suit of armor sucked, it was this episode (well, chapter since I read the manga as it was releasing) that really sold it to me how awful he had it. “I can’t take all the nights by myself.” That one line breaks my heart so much. It’s a great reminder that even though he’s a big imposing fighter, an accomplished alchemist, and a well mannered gentleman, Alphonse is still just a child who ended up this way because he was lonely without his mom. As for Ken’s question of why Ed was throwing up, Pinako points it out herself. “Don’t push yourself too hard, Ed.” He was overcome with anxiety and pushing himself to work too hard and too fast. It’s that simple.
Hell Yeah Gaming
2025-07-11 20:14:44 +0000 UTC
