Recap / Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood E 53 Flame Of Vengeance

Tropes present in this episode include:

• Adaptational Achilles Heel: Downplayed. In the manga, Mustang is only able to incapacitate the Mannequin Soldiers by using his flame alchemy to burn their legs off. Here, he's able to incinerate them completely and reduce them to ash.
• Cassandra Truth: Played with. Envy confesses their role in Hughes' murder, but Roy doesn't initially believe them. It's clear Roy wants to believe. But as this is the first time he's actually met Envy, he's having trouble believing that, to paraphrase his words, a moron like this could've taken out his best friend (or alternately, he does believe Envy, but is goading them to get irrevocable confirmation). It's only after Envy transforms into Gracia and Roy understands how they got the drop on Hughes that the Flame Alchemist finally accepts it's the truth.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Deconstructed. Bar none, the most one-sided "fight" against a homunculus in the entire series... except that Mustang is so enraged with Envy that he loses all restraint and his remaining friends worry that he will lose himself to his hatred.
• Didn't Think This Through:
  • Sure, Envy, boast about how you killed Hughes in front of his best friend, one of the most powerful alchemists alive. That won't backfire in any way whatsoever.
  • Sure, Envy, shapeshift into Hughes after having remorselessly confessed to murdering him in such a sadistic manner as to send said murdered man's best friend into a blind fury. It's not like he would actually attack his friend when he knows it's an imposter.
• Epic Fail: Envy actually forgot that Mustang killed Lust when they gloated to him about how they murdered Hughes. While they were in the very room where Lust met her end.
• Everyone Has Standards: Darius and Jerso, who never met Hughes (as he was long dead by the time Kimblee's Chimeras were introduced), are nonetheless visibly sickened by Envy's remorseless confession and gloating.
• Gone Horribly Right: Envy decides to piss off Mustang by gloating about how they killed his best friend Hughes in front of him. Envy succeeds with flying colors... and to say that they get themselves seriously injured would be an understatement.
• Internal Reveal: Roy, Ed, Hawkeye, and the others finally learn who really killed Hughes.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Downplayed example. By pursuing Envy and trying to avenge Hughes, Roy is wasting valuable time the heroes don't have as Father's countdown nears its end. He and Hawkeye also split off from Ed's group to pursue Envy, leaving the heroes' forces divided in the heart of Central Command.
• Oh, Crap!: Envy, after they remember several moments too late that Mustang is the one who incinerated Lust to death.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Envy tries to pull his usual Shapeshifter Guilt Trip schtick on Mustang by approaching him as the late Maes Hughes, an enraged Mustang barely hesitates to use his flame alchemy to burn him. Envy sorely wonders how he could burn the very likeness of his late friend. A livid Mustang ominously growls "Maes Hughes is dead..." This drives home how Mustang feels such hatred and rage towards Envy that he'd willingly burn the very memory of the fallen comrade he grieved not months ago.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Mustang becomes consumed with rage towards Envy when they not only remorselessly confess to murdering his friend Hughes, but boast about how they did so.
• Sanity Slippage: Mustang, after Envy shamelessly gloats about how they killed his best friend Hughes. Ed, Hawkeye and even Scar worry for his psyche.
• Talk to the Fist: Envy transforms into their One-Winged Angel form. Instead of immediately attacking Mustang, they indulge in a battle-introduction speech, apparently believing that Talking Is a Free Action. Mustang isn't having any of it and incinerates their eyes mid-sentence.
• Too Dumb to Live: Envy boasts about how they murdered Maes Hughes to Roy Mustang, a Person of Mass Destruction who has already incinerated another homunculus, Lust, to death. For bonus stupidity points, Envy remembered that Mustang is the Flame Alchemist... and forgot that he killed Lust.
  Mustang: That's enough! You were stupid enough to confess, and even more stupid to boast. Everything you've said is fuel on your funeral pyre. So then, I think I'll begin — by burning out your tongue!
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Envy transforms into their One-Winged Angel form... and begins making a battle-introduction speech instead of just attacking Mustang. It does not go well for them.
• Would You Like to Hear How They Died?: Envy gloats to Mustang about how they murdered Hughes by shapeshifting into his wife Gracia to keep him from striking back. It... goes every bit as well as you can imagine.

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