Al sacrificing himself to bring Ed’s arm back and for the greater cause of saving Amestris is a more incredible moment and a perfect example of Arakawa’s genius writing IMO.

[THREAD] https://twitter.com/bullet_gm/status/1346537889253961730

Firstly, Ed loses his automail for the fiftieth time this year. But doesn’t it show how much he develops that he just gets back up and tries to keep fighting a Godlike creature even without his alchemy? (Episode 62/2nd last chapter btw)

Remember how he just gave up and accepted death when Scar smashed his automail back in episode 5? What a long way he’s come since then- he’s really taken Al’s words to heart and isn’t giving up on fighting back and keeping alive even in a much worse situation.

But now everything’s awful because Ed is trapped & Father’s going to kill him and everyone’s too stunned & injured from the explosion to help him but Al. First, Ed’s arm breaking completely is a clear parallel to episode 5, & his different reaction to it shows how far he’s come.

The parallels to episode 5 hold true for Al. Once again, Al is unable to move and pleads desperately as his bro is about to be killed (and ditches polite language in his frustration). Only this time? Al realizes he can do more than plead. He realizes he has the power to save Ed.

It’s easy to miss Al’s growth because it’s more subtle than Ed’s. But Al was very much weighed down with his own feelings of guilt, inadequacy and self doubt. He was also tended to follow Ed’s lead at first. Imagine how he must have felt as he watched Scar approach Ed- inadequate

Like he could do nothing to help. But then his sacrifice really symbolically shows how much he’s grown from that point. He’s dealt a lot with his guilt & self doubt (explaining to Ed how he felt to blame for their bodies, his little freakout over “what if i’m not a real boy!”)

and he’s also been apart from Ed for a while, and knows he can function independently, that he can do stuff without Ed’s help. So this time, when Ed’s in danger. He realizes there is something he can do besides plead, even if he can’t move.

He can save his brother, he doesn’t have to just watch. And with the help of May. he saved Ed. And it is also symbolically significant of his development he had May to help them, before, he really had only himself to rely on in this sort of situation,

But now he’s made so many connections outside Ed and Winry and grown so much because of that. While we’re talking about how Al struggles with his guilt, let’s talk about how Al finally resolves that struggle here by sacrificing for Ed and giving him his arm back.

As mentioned before Al feels terrible about and responsible for what happened to Ed too. Even though automail isn’t really that terrible to live with compared to what Al has to deal with, Al feels bad that Ed and went through all this pain for him.

He feels how immense that was, and how much love motivated that. So he’s convinced that he has to make it up to Ed by getting Ed restored too, cos that’s the only thing that will make it okay. So whenever Ed tries to make it about Al,

Al would be like “NOPE NOPE WE’RE GETTING YOU BACK TOO RIGHT” and Ed would be like like “oh okay”. 

As shown below (mind the shitty scan)

It doesn’t make sense for Al to be more worried about Ed because his situation is so much worse than automail.

But no he IS more worried about Ed because he feels so terribly guilty Ed lost an arm for him he wants to fix it. 
Which is why I think it was really significant for Al that he was able to give Ed his arm back.

Al finally got to take the weight off his soul by giving this demonstration that he was willing to sacrifice for Ed out of love too. Now he’s able repay his brother, to feel useful to protect him for once. Being able to give Ed back what Ed gave up for him allows Al to make peace

with what happened and not feel that guilt anymore. He no longer feels like he took something from Ed, that he’s HURTING Ed just by being there. He just borrowed it, and now he’s returned it with life-saving interest. This was all he needed.

He just wanted to help his bro like his brother helped him-he doesn’t have to hate himself. And while Al sacrifices himself, it’s a very different kind of sacrifice. He isn’t planning on dying or giving up hope. He’s still vehemently against giving up and choosing death.

He wants to keep living and to be happy with his brother. He’s doing this with the full belief that his brother will find a way to rescue him from this place without sacrificing himself, that they’ll be able to live & move forward together. His sheer faith in his bro is beautiful

Also notice that Truth appears as soon as Al retakes his body. That implies that Al’s version of Truth is what was possessing his body this whole time. But wait, this ties to May Chang here. Consider this, May doesn’t even like Ed. He pisses her off. In contrast, she adores Al.

Yet when Al asks her to assist him in sacrificing himself to save Ed, she does it. Here she is, insuring the boy she likes is going to disappear from her life. Just because she knows in her heart that it’s right thing to do.

Because she GETS Al, & understands how much Ed means to him, and how unhappy he would be without Ed. She also respect that this is Al’s choice and this is the right thing to do by him.

This isn’t some shallow crush, It may have started out that way, but now it’s clear that May understands Al on a deeper level. She likes him because he’s the kind of person who puts others before themselves, who loves so deeply & fiercely that he will give all of himself.

She completely understands & will help him because that’s how she is too She’s really come to realize it, that she is the exact same way, about anyone she meets. She’s always putting helping other people above her own personal wellbeing and desires.

She knows it could come to this, and that Al would do the same for her and respect her choice. May helps this boy she has been crushing on for so long, even though it’s ripping her heart out, because she does what her heart tells her is right for the world and people around her

and puts that above her personal feelings- for Al and anyone else. She is so strong. This girl has developed into one of the most staunchly and bravely moral, most selfless, most awesome heroes of this story, yet sadly goes unnoticed.

Appreciate that she is the key to saving Ed and possibly all of Amestris even while she’s
So fucking injured she can’t even walk. If it weren’t for her badass skills, her ability to throw knives with perfect aim, Al wouldn’t have been able to do jack.

He wasn’t exaggerating when he said she was the only one he could rely on, who could help him. She saved Ed as much as she did.

This 12 year old with 2 smashed-up broken legs who has lost half the blood in her body at this point and can barely move a couple feet STILL managed to contribute to saving Amestris with her unbelievable skill.

God, the look on Ed’s face when Al does it though, it breaks my heart. I really appreciate the detail that his new arm is scrawny looking and malnourished, with scraggly fingernails, compared to his other one- it has been stuck at the gate all this time.

I also like that you can still see the bits of automail and his scar from the surgery, they didn’t magically disappear or anything.

Maximum Ed rage. YOU DO NOT FUCK WITH ED’S LITTLE BROTHER. So intense. HE’S BEATING UP FATHER WITH THE POWER OF REALLY ANGRY BROTHERLY LOVE.

Ed’s line “Get up here, you third-rate fraud! I’ll show you the difference between us!” is what he said to Father Cornello, way back when. It’s the last panel of the first chapter of the manga and also the last panel and line said in the second-to-last chapter of the manga.

WHICH MAKES IT AN AWESOME CALLBACK.

The great thing about this line is that is means Father, this ultra-powerful being who’s live a thousand years- is basically considered by Ed to be the same as Father Cornello (they even both go by Father!).

An imitator, a fraud, trying to rise above other humans when in reality he is more pitiful that most of them, taking advantage of people’s attachments while having no real attachments of his own, manipulating people from behind the scenes, desperately envious,

puffing himself up to try to seem more powerful than he is when in reality he’s really just…pathetic. 

And the difference between him and Ed? Ed’s risking everything fighting for those he loves.

Anyways, this was like a chain of events that not only showcased major development and a defining moment in Al but many other significant characters too. This story is so tightly woven & circles back around so beautifully to show development in characters & consistency in themes.