Envy is now a character I really like in FMA. The first time watching the show though, he didn’t really make that big an impression because he honestly feels like a pretty minor character. (Everyone does apart from Ed, Al, Roy, Lust and Scar and maybe Wrath and Izumi).
In the lab 5 arc, Lust is very clearly in charge and Envy’s contribution didn’t stick out much to me. While he was behind Hughes’ murder, Sloth’s role as the one he specifically interrogated and then seemingly arranged for him to die when it was clear he knew too much stuck out more to me than Envy. So yeah, Envy was just another homunculus essentially.
But then one scene came along to change my mind.
Envy’s final scene.
Before this scene, Envy was essentially a thug who enjoyed causing pain and misery. Dangerous and clever, I guess, but nothing too interesting.
Then this scene put him into a whole different light. He’s in front of the gate and Edward tells him that Hohenheim is somewhere on the other side. Without hesitating, he marches straight through the gate. Nothing else matters to him.
Envy is someone nursing a grudge and lives for revenge. He’s basically walking to his death here and yet he does it with a smile. This isn’t some pitiful end, one which a villain like him probably deserves. It’s an end he chooses purely for his own reasons.
Even wrapped up in those creature’s clutches, he seems utterly confident that this is the right course of action. The only time his smile fades in the scene is to order those creatures to do what he wants. Ed warned him against this action but despite how foolish it was, there is no trace of regret – Envy is committed.
The gate closes before a watching Edward.
He’s watched Envy’s end in silence. But one last glimpse of his face shows him starting to cry. Soon enough, he will wake up in a new body and wonder why he’s crying. Is it for the brother he’s just lost? Or perhaps, for the brother he never knew?
Needless to say, I love this scene. It made me view Envy in a whole different way. His hatred stemming from his abandonment issues. His hatred of Edward in particular. His enjoyment in destroying happy families like the Hughes. And Envy is so old -400 years old- meaning he’s had this terrible bitterness growing inside him all that time.
Envy is still a terrible person but you start to see why he is like that. Dante’s been manipulating him for so long but she’s also the closest thing he has to a family. The other homunculi are also like family to him because they’ve also been abandoned by their creators. Is it any wonder he would get along so well with Sloth, created and abandoned by the Elrics when she didn’t come out right? Or Wrath, damned before he had a chance to live?
Edward’s state in this scene is also interesting as he’s so very calm, in stark contrast to Envy’s rage. Envy’s the one who just killed him but he doesn’t show any anger. He just lets Envy walk to his own doom with a softly spoken warning.
Envy is very different to Edward ultimately but Envy is perhaps what Edward could have been. If he hadn’t had his loving brother and had let himself become consumed with hate, he might have recklessly thrown his life away too.
(Okay the dragon form is still really random.) I don’t really like CoS much, and one of the many reasons is that I really like the idea of this scene as Envy’s final scene. I prefer never knwoing what became of him.
Zetalial 