Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Episode 36

Episode thirty-six of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood kicks off with a flashback to the days of the Elric brother's childhood - Don't worry though, it's a hugely important one, which reveals a big secret about Ed and Al's father and the life he's lead up until that point, as well as the reason for him abandoning his children at such a young age never to properly return. If you've been thinking of Hoenheim as purely a bad guy up to this point, this may well skew your perspective at least a little.


From here however we return to the present, as Major General Armstrong continues in her attempt to pull the wool over Lieutenant General Raven's eyes by pretending to aid him in the military's top secret mission involving the Homunculus, an act she manages to keep up even as news comes in that the party sent out to investigate the tunnel dug underneath Fort Briggs are missing and most likely in peril, if not worse.

Armstrong's devious plan ends in a shockingly bloody way once her immediate mission is accomplished, but to assume that everything will be smooth sailing from here is to reckon without both Kimblee and the military as a whole, and needless to say a new joker is smuggled into the pack of cards which threatens to undermine all of those efforts, while proving to be a card that both Ed and Al understandably greet the appearance of with horror. What twists and turns remain at Fort Briggs? There's certainly plenty of story left to tell here.

As per usual, this is an episode of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood par excellence, from its opening which basically acts as an example of "flashbacks done right" (in other words, adding important information in a compelling way rather than filling time and being lazy) through to Major General Armstrong's fantastic display of cold, calculating ruthlessness which was both terrifyingly evil and a joy to behold at the same time. Things certainly show little sign of abating at this point either, which as per usual leaves me waiting impatiently to see how the story progresses. Chances are I won't be disappointed if this instalment is anything to go by.