Ep 26 was a Winry character building ep. I like how they titled it "Kanojyo no riyuu" (Her reasons) and applied it to both Paninya (whose storythread put us in perspective on the true purpose of auto-mails) and Winry (which give us insight on how she specifically viewed Edward's auto-mail). Yes, plenty of Winry goodness and it didn't stop there! The new ending sequence was also totally Winry-centric! For a moment (I emphasize just for a teeny weeny moment), I wanted to be the dog in the ending sequence. (I'm sure it's the secret wish of many Winry fans out there ) Looks like Winry's going to quite central in the latter part of the series, or at least I hope so!

Now ep 27 was a rollercoaster ride of emotions. It began with a lot of violence. These are the times when Al is probly thankful that he doesn't have sensory neurons. Edward got it real bad though. Anyway, after that inital bout of violence, the ep mellowed a little. Some flashbacks followed, then a death, more violence and finally it ends with a moving moment of the sensei embracing the brothers. A simple act but I could really feel Izumi's heart connected to the brothers' loss/pain. I'm full of respect for Izumi sensei. Not only is she a Class A alchemist, a top-notch pugilist, she also exhibits great wisdom (Anime quote for April comes from her). But it seems that her wisdom was earned at a great cost. Possibly something to do with her child/children which even people around her are evasive about. Yeah she probly has tried human transmutation, resulting in her ability to transmute w/o a circle, like Edward. State Alchemists are likely to have played a role in some past tragedy, resulting in her hatred of them. I wonder if the next ep will reveal some of her backstory. In the meanwhile, I'll try not to get too attached to her... Ep 25 still stings my heart.