Random Thought #163: Unequivocal Exchange

At the end of Fullmetal Alchemist, Ed loses his ability to perform alchemy. I always thought it was a bit of a bittersweet ending. Something felt off about a genius who dedicated his life to perfecting his craft, his science, his art, his whatever – losing the ability to do the thing which no one else could ever hope to achieve.

But I’ve recently had a realization. Him losing his ability to perform alchemy is the happiest ending he could have received. Because the thing about alchemy is that it’s all about “equivalent exchange;” you only get what you give first.

And so the thing is, this genius is alchemy losing his ability isn’t really do to any lack of skill. In reality, the genius realized, he finally had everything he ever wanted, so there’s no reason to even consider trading away his happy ending for something bound to be less than the perfection born out of the mess…