Episode 25 of Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the most emotional yet. With Ed and Al seemingly giving up their search for the Philosophers Stone this episode concentrates quite a bit on Hughes' investigation into lab five leading to considerable danger for him. The episode also has some interesting flashbacks explaining some of his relationship with Mustang. Episode 26 is a lighter hearted episode than the last with Ed, Al and Winry taking time out in the town of Rush Valley, home of the best auto-mail in the world. While their Ed cheats a couple of conmen out of their winnings and Winry decides to teach Ed a lesson about good auto-mail. In episode 27 the brothers' hardnosed former teacher Izumi catches up with them and takes them back to her home village to explain themselves. This is a nice episode with some good back-story on the brothers. Episode 28 is another back-story episode. Having discovered the brothers' secrets involving human alchemy, Izumi decides they need to relearn a lesson they learned in their original training. Stranded on a seemingly deserted island the brothers' relive their previous experiences there.
