February 18th, 2010 
AstroNerdBoy Hagane no Renkinjutsushi – Fullmetal Alchemist Ep. 44
鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST Episode 44 review
SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:
In Lior, Al and Hohenheim are reunited and after working together, Al lets his father know some things, leading Hohenheim to come clean about his own past. Winry gets a long-awaited bath and afterward has a talk with Rose about Ed and how Lior came to know self-reliance because of him. Meanwhile, a recovered Ed is being sought by the military, leading Darius and Heinkel to have to get him to safety while 
Ed attempts to figure out were Al would have gone in order to reunite with him.
In Central, Bido makes it to the storage facility where the created human army awaits awakening as General Armstrong and her superior enter the facility. Armstrong learns that the military plans to ensoul the army from slain soldiers on the battlefield, making this new army an immortal 
one and completely obedient. Bido attempts to flee but is found by Greed, who attacks him. Bido comes to realize this is his Greed despite a different appearance but Greed kills him. However, Bido’s death makes Greed remember his past as Ling forces Greed to come to terms with what he’s done and his past before heading to Bradley’s mansion to attack Wrath.
Thoughts/Review:
We haven’t seen Greed in quite some time, so it was nice having him brought back into the story. I didn’t expect for Bido to be killed though after Bido went through the trouble of finding Greed. However, I do like the notion that Bido’s death triggered an emotional response within Greed that superseded the traditional notions of greed and selfishness. Having Ling be a part of Greed may help in this but the way 
this is being played, it appears to me that Greed will now go rogue again and not be the simple, obedient soldier of Father. We’ll see though.
Additional: I have been informed that I missed a bit at the end of this episode (that’s what I get for cutting things off at the ED credits to avoid spoilers) and sure enough, Greed attacks Wrath. Very interesting and also foolish since Pride 
is there as well.
The Al and Hohenheim reunion was nice because in effect, Hohenheim now knows he has two allies (Ed as well as Al). I found it interesting that despite the transmutation circle being complete, the day of activation has not arrived. What does this sun god Leto have to do with whatever Father is planning? Is this some character that has yet to be 
introduced? And why look to the sky?
Nice to see Ed up and around again. If the military is looking for Ed, then that means that Kimblee has let Bradley know Ed is “out of control.” Since Darius and Heinkel are still working with Ed and helping him keep away from the military (and likely helping themselves as well), I kinda wonder if he’ll hook up with Al and Hohenheim in Lior. That does seem 
logical to me that he might head there as well since Al made that choice. It would be nice to see Ed, Al, and Hohenheim working together.
As an aside, I had to laugh at how Ed transformed the car they were in. *lol*
While not as intense as previous episodes, there were still plenty of good and interesting things happening here as the table is being set for whatever is coming next. Fun, fun. ^_^
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let the climax begin
A thought experiment for you. Not spoilerific, just a thought train from know facts.
There is a circle around of all of Amestris. It is likely identical to the Xerxes one due to the stone tablet. Yet, unlike the Amestris one, the 5 people around the center had not opened the gate, but were just higher alchemists closer to the king. And they weren’t even around the center of the circle anyway as we learned.
Next point is the final outcome. Last time was a giant philosopher’s stone in essence. Doing that again would increase Father’s lifespan, but it’s been shown to be long and able to be pasted to his ‘kids’. As Envy said, close, but not quite. So what?
Lastly, if the 5 are meant to be sacrificed, why would they need to be able to open the gate? They obviously won’t open it compliantly. Or is there something of value they gained inside? Or is it just that people who haven’t opened it lack some ability?
So, the question is, why need these people this time? What is different with this activation? What does father have left to gain?
And thus, there is much to be answered (in the anime, we saw the answer in the manga this month).
@Anonymous (the second) – we don’t know if the alchemists in Xerxes has opened the gate or not. Even in the manga, the events in Xerxes were a little bit fast forward. So, there might be some stuff that the mangaka just didn’t bother to tell us (or forgot).
On the other hand you might be right and there is a difference in the Xerxes’ and Amestris’ circle. Or even in the alchemy itself.
As the first Anon said: CLIMAX BEGINS!
God, I’m excited.
@evgenidb
The only problem is the anime and the manga (more the manga) hint at alchemy usage in Xerxes being real world alchemy and FMA alchemy only being created by the 2 ‘philosophers’ after the annihilation of Xerxes. Never directly said or shown, but who knows…
Ah, you broke the streak Astro! You’re the only FMA Brotherhood blogger I know of that did include that screenshot of Winry in the tub. 😉
Argh…I meant “didn’t”
*headdesk*
I knew what you meant. *lol* I was going to say something about that scene, but I forgot to do so. Oh well. I imagine there are some folks with Photoshop “fixing” that image even now. ^_^;;;
Winry Fanservice?
blech….fanservice I dont like for once
and soon enough theres going to be a small scene of it
booooo..