Recap / Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood E 36 Family Portrait

• Cannot Spit It Out: Feeling so distant from his sons due to his fear he's but a monster, Hohenheim finds himself unable to express his love to his boys before he leaves them.
• Death by Irony: Raven is fatally wounded by Olivier Armstrong in an act of vengeance for the soldiers she lost in Sloth's tunnel – the same soldiers who Raven viewed as acceptable losses – and dies while buried in some wet concrete at Briggs' bottom level, placing him quite literally beneath even the lowliest of Briggs soldiers.

• Fallen Hero: Lampshaded by Olivier. When she skewers Raven's hand with her sword, she takes the time to casually remark how, once upon a time, he was an idealistic young man who would've gladly died for his country man. But between his crumbling morals and fear of old age, Raven's become a whole different man, one happily willing to go along with a conspiracy that would sacrifice the country he once loved.
• I'm a Monster: Hohenheim's sentiment about himself. He feels he's an un-aging monster who dare not touch his sons, lest they "catch" what he has.
• Ironic Echo: And how! Moments before his death, Raven tells Olivier how the sacrifice of the weak shall be the foundation of their country. As such, Olivier turns those words against him when she uses those words to describe him before she wounds him and condemns him to drown in cement.
• Once More, with Clarity: On the morning Hohenheim left his family, it's revealed that the glare he gave Ed and Al was not one of hatred or anger, but of determination and resolve.
• Poor Communication Kills: Played with. On one hand, it's somewhat justified why Hohenheim couldn't stick around longer explain to Ed and Al why he was leaving, as it was too complicated for him to tell his motivations to his innocent toddler sons. On the other hand, if he had at least bothered to say a proper "good-bye" or told his sons "I love you", he and Ed might've parted on better terms.
• Trojan Prisoner: Played with. While Briggs isn't exactly enemy territory for Ed and Al, the arrival of Raven and Kimblee compels Ed to invoke this trope. Ed uses alchemy to quickly transmute rope and the brothers are tied up while they are escorted to their cell.
  Edward: It needs to look convincing.

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