Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Episode 33

By the end of the last episode, the destination for various important parties to the Fullmetal Alchemist story had been set, and that destination was North on all counts. So it goes then that this episode chronicles that journey, setting us up to see the results as the series progresses.

Essentially, this instalment is split into two halves - For the first part of the episode we see Scar's continuing journey alongside Doctor Marcoh (or is it?), with Crimson Alchemist Kimblee in hot pursuit despite Scar's best efforts to throw anyone off their trail. Needless to say, these two parties soon come face to face in the kind of whirlwind of nightmarish memories and hatred you'd expect, making for a relatively brief but intense battle between the two that was only ever going to end in bloodshed one way or the other. Meanwhile, May Chang's journey looks to be somewhat easier, as she reaches her particular goal without any such military attention in her way.


For the second half of the episode, it's time to see how the Elric Brothers are coping on their own journey as they head North towards Fort Briggs - While their trip to its proverbial front door is straightforward enough, things soon prove to be tricky once it comes to both finding and entering Briggs itself. From a hulking brute of a soldier with some decidedly impressive automail at his disposal through to Major Armstrong's "big sister", who is chalk and cheese compared to her curmudgeonly brother, Ed and Al have plenty of difficulties of their own set before them, leaving few clues as to what the immediate future holds for them.

While all of this is just a continuation of last episode's story building in many ways, it keeps that easy yet occasional brutal viewing experience that makes Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood watchable - If nothing else, it's well worth checking out if only for the brief scrap between Scar and Kimblee which has been holding some promise for a little while now. With some of the pieces in this latest round of chess coming into place, no doubt things will only continue to become more interesting, and as always I look forward to see where we're headed in the grand scheme of things.