So, one thing that’s becoming very obvious in my Brotherhood rewatch is that Brotherhood has an awful lot of convenient coincidences to drive the plot forward.
Many say that Brotherhood’s plot is excellent because it’s a tight story that leads into its end very well and has basically no plot holes. I generally agree. It’s very good for a serial story. However, it does have a lot of plot contrivances.
What I mean by contrivances is convenient coincidences that happen to be important to driving the plot forward. These can take on a few different forms but the most common one in Brotherhood is characters conveniently running into each other.
This is basically the opposite of where the characters are driving the plot forward through their own actions. Sometimes characters find the plot. Other times the plot finds the character through what would appear to be sheer luck.
How about an example? In FMA 03, the Elric brothers are seeking out the Philosopher’s stone. In their searching, Edward meets an alchemist who uses her skills for thievery and after dealing with her she offers a useful tip – rumours of a Philosopher’s stone in a town called Xenotime. They go there and meet a pair of brothers who have been experimenting but haven’t managed to successfully make a real stone. They did see a minor miracle from a doctor though and offer them the name Marcoh. Edward goes to Central and convinces Mustang to reveal his location to the brothers and then the two of them go and track him down.
In Brotherhood, the two are travelling on a train and Armstrong randomly notices him at a train station and points him out to them.
One story had them looking for him, the other had him appear to them at random. It feels very convenient. Now it’s not a problem to have coincidences sometimes and I don’t think Brotherhood needed to have Marcoh be someone the brothers needed to seek out (though I wouldn’t be against it). Sometimes, you need things to help drive the plot forward. 03 is hardly immune to plenty of contrived coincidences.
That said, Brotherhood’s reliance on them has started to grate on me.
- Ling’s meeting with the Brothers was a huge coincidence. Literally they find him collapsed in a random street in Rush Valley. Why is he even in Rush valley? (When it’s in the South and he came from the North-East through the Xerxes ruins presumably with the intention of going to Central as that where he is heading.)
- Sheska just happened to have memorised the book they needed to read. (Yes, it’s in 03 too. It’s bad there as well.)
- Mei just happens upon Scar and Yoki. She is conveniently ignorant of the fact that he is a serial killer. I seriously dislike how she remains ignorant of his actions for so long – rather than choosing to stay with him in spite of what’s done.
- Ling randomly gets arrested and then just as easily breaks out with Maria and Barry the Chopper – perhaps contrived isn’t the word for this one but Ling is so lucky he justs faces no consequences for anything that happens to him.
- Ed just happens upon Maria Ross while she’s breaking out with Barry the Chopper. He is then just in time to see the burned corpse.
- Riza gets attacked by Gluttony in episode 18. Somehow, Mustang gets there in time to save her even though Gluttony is not the type for a fight to be anywhere near drawn-out. He was explicitly on the phone to her sitting at his desk when she’s attacked! She was attacked out on the streets.
- Barry the chopper randomly decides to help out the heroes even though they forbid him from killing (His whole reason for existence with the whole “I kill therefore I am!” thing.)
- Ed goes to the Xerxes ruins and randomly happens upon a group of Ishvalans there. They just randomly start talking about the Rockbells and tell Ed that Scar killed them. Then they disappear after this random encounter, having imparted this information.
- Winry just happens on Ed confronting Scar in an alley about her parent’s deaths.
- Ling somehow having the time to tie Lan Fan’s severed arm to a dog and escape into the sewers while being chased by Bradley. How was he able to run away while carrying her? Bradley literally confronted him in a room at the end of the previous episode. (elaborated more on that here)
- Mei and Scar happening to see Alphonse and Gluttony walking into Father’s lair so they could follow them.
That’s what’s come to light so far in my rewatch. I haven’t gotten past season 2 yet so there is bound to be plenty more. Or maybe it gets better? I can only hope.
I mention these not to say 03 doesn’t also have some seriously annoying plot contrivances and plot holes. I wouldn’t complain about these at all – it’s practically nitpicking – if people didn’t claim that Brotherhood’s plot was a masterpiece.
Zetalial 