Filial Affection

Determined to lure Hohenheim out of hiding, Pride resolves to seize Edward as leverage while his shadows keep Greed and Lan Fan pinned. Hampered by a misfiring automail arm, Lan Fan can only dodge, and a toothed shadow nearly ends her before Edward knocks her clear, warning her to conserve her strength for what lies ahead. Greed covers Fu so the old warrior can carry the wounded Heinkel to safety, conceding that Pride is a genuine monster.

Elsewhere Alphonse regains consciousness beside his father and realizes he had been possessed by Pride. Hohenheim reveals that each homunculus is essentially a copy of Father's original form, which is why their touch suppresses Alphonse's blood rune. Told that the fight is going badly, Alphonse blames himself and begins shaping a scheme of his own, one he hides even from his brother.

When Pride moves to devour Greed, Hohenheim steps in as bait, then channels an enormous transmutation that lifts the surrounding soil into a sealed dome, blocking off every source of light. Trapped inside with Pride, Alphonse explains that his hollow body needs neither food nor air, so he can simply wait out The Promised Day and leave the homunculus powerless. The plan spares the town of Kanama and had to be kept from Edward, who would have objected.

With only Father and Sloth left in Central, Wrath posted at the training complex, and Pride now sealed off, Greed sets off to claim the capital for himself. Scar's party, including Marcoh, Yoki, Zampano, and Jerso, reunites with the brothers, and Fu slips ahead to scout Central alone, since the enemy has never glimpsed his face. Gathering his coat, Edward declares their own mission underway.

The episode draws on the manga chapters where father and son reach an accord and where the soldiers make their return. Its post-credits scene is unusually vital: the next episode resumes directly from it rather than the main body, so viewers who skip it are left baffled when Mustang's unit suddenly trades fire over Mrs. Bradley, who has just been declared expendable by Brigadier General Cremin. When Adult Swim broadcast the episode, it cut that segment entirely, forcing the confusion on its audience despite usually keeping plot-critical tags.