Recap / Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood E 61 He Who Would Swallow God

• Achilles' Heel: One of the central, unavoidable flaws of Ed and company's Promised Day battle plan has remained Father's ability to cut off Amestrian access to alchemy with his Philosopher's Stone at any time. He finally plays that trump card here and now, but his own alchemy can still be overridden with Alkahestry (both May's and the array Scar's Brother designed before his death).
• Adaptation Distillation: In the manga, the characters standing on the floors directly above the transmutation circle's center ^note  Hawkeye, Darius, Zampano, Jerso, Scar, and Wrath explicitly did not have their souls absorbed into Father's Philosopher's Stone. In the anime, it's left ambiguous since they're never seen in this episode until after the transmutation is undone. Adding to the uncertainty, they were all seen being engulfed in the black energy during the previous episode.
• All for Nothing: Father invested nearly 400 years of preparation and sacrifice in his plan to attain apotheosis...and while it technically succeeds, Hohneheim still robs him of that victory in a matter of minutes.
• Anti-Magic: The fruits of Scar's brother's research is a reverse-transmutation circle that renders the Philosopher's Stone under Amestris ineffective.
• Break Them by Talking: While Wrath was already doing this earlier in his fight with Scar, he dials it up to 11 for the final phase of the battle. He calls out the hypocrisy of Scar embracing alchemy against his religious teachings and questioning if he's abandoned Ishvala. It doesn't work, as Scar's not phased (and it's also clear a lot of this is really just psychological projection from Wrath given his pre-established views on religion and divinity).
• Crazy-Prepared: Hohenheim set up the contingency so it could self-activate in the event he was indisposed or killed...by using the moon's shadow cast on the earth by the eclipse as a natural alchemical circle.
• Deus ex Machina: An almost literal example. Wrath has Scar dead to rights and takes the time to badmouth his God to the warrior priest. At that exact moment, the eclipse ends and the light from the sun blinds Wrath just enough for Scar to defeat him. Remember, it's stated repeatedly throughout the series that in alchemy, the Sun represents God. Wrath even lampshades that this might have been divine justice.
• Didn't See That Coming:
  • Father never expected that the puny humans (or at least the one most dangerous to him and who knew his moves and game-plan) would be able to set up a counter for his ascendancy.
  • Pride never anticipated that Kimblee's soul would be able to maintain its individuality rather than being subsumed into his Philosopher's Stone.
• The Dog Bites Back: The Xerxesian souls Father harvested for his and Hohenheim's Philosopher's Stones end up being crucial to the activation of the Reverse Nationwide Transmutation Circle.
• Everyone Has Standards: No matter how badly May wanted a Stone to secure the Xingese succession for the Changs, she's absolutely horrified when Roy confirms 50 million people were sacrificed to create this one.
• Hypocrite: Kimblee's soul calls out Pride on this. Not one minute ago, Pride was declaring that he prided himself on being a homunculus and nothing else mattered. But then, he tries to force himself into Ed's body for self-preservation, rather than let himself die with pride as a homunculus.
• Heroic Sacrifice: The Xerxesian souls Hohenheim strategically planted all over Amestris willingly sacrifice themselves to activate the Reverse Nationwide Transmutation Circle. They won't let Father do to the Amestrians what he did to them and their country 400 years earlier.
• Killed Off for Real: Wrath and Pride (or at least the Homuculus aspect of Pride). Kimblee's soul is destroyed with the latter, killing him for good too.
• Near-Villain Victory: Father had already achieved The Bad Guys Win status and would've kept the Amestrian Souls if Hohenheim hadn't made a back up plan for this precise occasion.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Father is indirectly responsible for Wrath's death at Scar's hands. After the Nationwide Transmutation Circle is reversed, he attacks Hohenheim with energy blasts. Hohenheim deflects the first one and it's redirected trajectory takes it through the upper levels of Central Command where Scar and Wrath are still fighting. The resulting hole in the ceiling leads to the aforementioned 'Blinded by the Sun' Deus ex Machina.
• No Endor Holocaust: Played straight. While Hohenheim triumphantly confirms the souls of the Amestrians have been returned to their bodies it's unrealistic to expect there weren't at least some casualties from the Nationwide Transmutation Circle's activation and subsequent reversal. There were almost certainly some unavoidable deaths, such as anyone who was driving a vehicle in traffic or operating heavy machinery. This may be one reason why Hohenheim was hoping they'd be able to stop Father's endgame by conventional means rather than falling back on his Plan B: He knew that while it could be reversed, the price for that reversal would be unpreventable deaths on a smaller scale.
• Once More, with Clarity: Hohenheim's travels across Amestris throughout the series — especially him planting Philosopher's Stones in the ground during "Episode 36" — are revisited as we finally learn just what exactly he's been doing for the last 13 years to counter Father's endgame.
• Rasputinian Death: Wrath was already heavily injured before this and still gives Scar the toughest fight of the series. Even when Scar defeats him, he manages to grab the blade of his sword with his mouth and stab him. Wrath went down fighting.
• The Reveal:
  • The exact nature of the countermeasure Hohenheim's spent the last 13 years setting up to stop Father.
  • Before his death, Scar's brother deduced both the existence of the Nationwide Transmutation Circle and Father's barrier for blocking Amestrian alchemy. He devised an Alkahestry-influenced countermeasure for the latter before Kimblee killed him. This countermeasure is what Scar and company discovered in his notes while they were in the North and this is what Scar's Ishvalan allies have been setting up throughout Central City throughout the Promised Day's climax.
• Suddenly Shouting: Pride during his final conversation with Ed. The shouting also signifies the beginning of his Villainous Breakdown.
• Tempting Fate: Wrath insults Ishvala while battling Scar, including questioning the existence of his God. That's just asking for divine intervention.
• Time for Plan B: Hohenheim was aware that the heroes' victory wasn't assured and so set up a second nationwide transmutation circle (points marked by the Xerxian souls inside him, with the moon's shadow from the eclipse acting as its circle). This transmutation undoes Father's and strips the Homunculus of his power.
• This Cannot Be!: Father has this reaction when Hohenheim turns the tables on him
• Villain Has a Point: Kimblee's the last person one would ever cheer for, given his role in the Ishvalan War and then some. Yet, he makes a very satisfying point to Pride that despite his claims in being proud to be one of the Homunculi, he would sooner stoop to inhabiting a human's body for self-preservation.
• Villainous Breakdown:
  • Father goes from smug to enraged after being stripped of the Amestrian souls.
  • Pride's not far behind Father. Ed correctly points out Father's abandoned his oldest 'son' and doesn't care he's been run ragged, breaking down, and is close to death. Pride realizes he's right...and does not take it well at all.
• Xanatos Gambit: Hohenheim was hoping they'd be able to stop Father's endgame by conventional means, but he had a Batman Gambit ready and waiting as a backup plan just in case.