Full Metal Alchemist E3: Mother…

If you have not read my review of episode 2, you may do so here: Full Metal Alchemist E2: Body of the Sanctioned (Part 2)

Ed and Al are at the library talking about Cornello’s fake philosopher’s stone.  Al finds an introduction to alchemy book which leads to a flash back of them first using alchemy to make Winry a doll.  The process terrifies her.  It’s explained to Winry that Ed and Al were just trying to do something nice for her and everything is okay.  Outside, the boys talk to their Mother, who is curious as to when their Father taught them alchemy.  They said they didn’t learn it from him, but from a book.  It’s amazing they can understand it at their age.

Ed and Al retrace their journey of learning alchemy.  Competing with each other and trying to impress their Mother.  They head over to Winry’s home, only to find her crying.  Her parents have been killed.  Ed starts talking about human transmutation, trying to bring someone back to life but he is shut down quickly as it is a forbidden form of alchemy.  Ed and Al head home and hug their Mother while crying (thinking about the possibility of losing her).

Sometime later, Ed and Al are running and playing.  They come home and find their Mother collapsed on the floor.  The Doctor says this isn’t something new, she had been sick for a long time and had just hiding it from them.  They talk to her while she is in bed and she dies in front of them.  They come to realize that the reason their alchemy always made her smile was because it reminded her of their Father.  They find a stack of letters from their Father from various locations and decide if they send something to each place, someone will get the information to him and he will come home.

After studying their Father’s notes and hiring a teacher, Ed and Al try to perform a human transmutation to bring their Mother back to life.  Something goes terribly wrong and Al’s body is destroyed after being pulled into some sort of gateway with black hands coming out of it.  Ed loses both his arm and his leg during the process but did manage to attach Al’s soul to a suit of armor.  Al carries Ed’s severely damaged body to Winry’s home to try and save his life. Colonel Mustang shows up (following the letter to their Father) because he knows how talented these boys are and wants them in the military.

Ed decides to meet with Mustang and try to join the military, because of their funding and access to research no one else has.  Winry attaches Ed’s automail, which is a very painful process.  Ed and Al decide to do some martial arts training to test out their new bodies and see what they can do.  While training, Ed says he wants to return them to their original bodies.  That is now his goal in life.  Before leaving to start their new journey, the boys burn down their old home and with it, the painful memories of their past.