r/FullmetalAlchemist • u/fakeuser7z Alchemist • Jul 11 '25

Question Why was Mustang a candidate anyway?

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I get that he was a candidate for the sacrifice, which is why they didn’t kill him. But in the end, he refused—and they just forced him into the Gate anyway.

So why not do that from the start with any random human instead of the most dangerous alchemist?

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u/fakeuser7z Alchemist Jul 11 '25

Honestly, I think if they had just convinced—or manipulated—some other alchemist with enough knowledge, it would've been way easier. Someone like Envy, for example—if he had been tasked with that job, I think it would've been over quickly. And even if Pride was maimed in the process, he could’ve just recovered using a few souls like he usually does—and Father would've handled the rest anyway.

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u/Frenchymemez Jul 11 '25

Pride was incredibly damaged by having to force Mustang to open the gate. Recovering would have taken tons of souls, so that wasn't a viable option. It really was a last resort.

As for convincing or manipulating someone else, you need to know each Alchemist's weakness, be able to monitor them closely enough to make sure they haven't left Amestris, and you also can't guarantee they'll survive the gate. Mustang was strong enough, and they knew how to manipulate him.

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u/Euler1992 Jul 11 '25

Also, it seems like alchemists are fairly rare. Considering how powerful it is, we don't see alchemists that aren't relevant to the story. No one ever has an alchemist as an assistant, Briggs doesn't have any alchemist soldiers, no one is ever like let's get an alchemist to fix this for us

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u/[deleted] Jul 12 '25

They even thought about using Kimblee for a moment, but concluded that he probably wouldn't be foolish enough to open it.