Episode 47, "Messenger of Darkness"
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Edward, Greed, Darius, and Heinkel arrive in the slum town of Kanama, where they meet up with Hohenheim. That evening, he tells them all his story, which Edward has a hard time dealing with. Edward tells his father his mother's last words, which provokes Hohenheim to cry. Feeling akward, Edward goes to eat, and then creates a new red jacket for himself. Walking towards the woods, Ed, Greed, and the chimeras are approached by Alphonse. However, Ling detects a homunculus, and it becomes clear Pride has posessed Alphonse. In the east, Grumman oversees the search for Bradley's body, but Miles has his suspicions over the lieutenant general's motivations. Pride attacks the group, but Edward uses all the lights in the village, sending the whole lot into darkness. Heinkel finds Pride's container, attacking Selim. Gluttony attacks and Darius tries to take him on, while Greed gives Ling control of his body again due to his ability to detect homunculi. Gluttony gets fed up and transforms into his fake Gate form, but Ranfan arrives, with an automail arm, attacking him. 
Comments:
Edward's second meeting with his father is a bit less hostile than his first, though it does start out with him punching the guy (much as he did in the first series). Now like Alphonse, Edward knows Hohenheim's full back story, and it seems like he's having difficulty coming to grips with it. Well, any normal person would. I think the big problem with Ed is, especially after he sees his father's tears, is that he's finding it hard to see his father as anything but "that bastard" who abandoned him, his brother, and his mother those years ago. That there was a reason for it, that there was something going on he had no clue about, that his father actually loved his mother deeply is something he can't deal with, because he has to work out his hostility, and seeing his father as a person conflicts with that. Ed's a very sensitive person. You might say that Alphonse is the stronger, emotionally, than his older brother.
Hohenheim is an interesting character, and one of my favorites from all three major incarnations of Fullmetal Alchemist. You can sort of share in Edward's frustration with him, but ultimately he did have his reasons, and is very sympathetic. In the manga, and here, probably moreso than in the first series, since you had no idea where he was in that first series, and here he's clearly on a journey to stop Father. I'm not trying to say that he's a better character in this series per se, but he does come across as more "filled in". Whereas in the first series he's more about his guilt over having been responsible for what Dante was doing and how it affected his sons, here he's much more of an active character who takes an active role in the progression of the story itself. So, they're different approaches.
The big fight with Pride starts in this episode. It went on for quite a while in the manga, almost a little too long for my interest. He is, however, quite a difficult opponent. It's good to see Edward actually do something to combat him, but I wonder how it was that Edward so soon seemed to know how to combat him. I mean, this is his first time even encountering him and it seems convenient that Edward should so early on come up with the strategy he did of putting the lights out. I guess I can't be too choosy though, since Ed is actually doing something. Though, not for long, as Greed/Ling, Darius, Heinkel, and others dominate most of this fight.
Speaking of others, we see the return of Ling (Greed giving him control of his body again) and Ranfan in this episode, and we'll see Fu again in the next (it's not that big a spoiler). Badass as they may be on their own, I still dislike them and their convenient, "Oh yeah, we can detect the homunculi, and we're also the ones who can actually fight them without much difficulty" status (except when it comes to Wrath, apparently). If their talents weren't so exaggerated at times, I'd be more inclined to enjoy the action they stir up. Still, Ranfan did make quite an entrance, especially thanks to some new music by Akira Senju.
Edward gets a little more into the fight in the next episode, forcing Pride to make an interesting diet choice. 
Overall Score: 3 out of 5
