#i could probably make a rant about the tragedy of any of the homunculi but greed is my favorite problem child

[definitelynotarabbit]

You ever think about how tragically flawed all the homonculus from fmab are? They all have their special abilities but when it came right down to it their abilities failed them.

Like specifically Greed. He had his ultimate shield and for 99% of the show it did exactly what it was supposed to. Or at least it looked like it did. But then in his final moments this bastard gives his life to protect Ling and by extension literally everything and everyone else. Something very telling about this is that he's finally satisfied. That single act reframes everything.

At Greed's introduction we're given the impression that Greed is selfish, that his shield is there to protect himself. But when you reframe this with his reaction to Wrath killing the chimeras and his final act, you get a very different picture. Greed valued his possessions above anything else. He wanted to protect them at any cost, including himself.

So with that knowledge, his ultimate shield becomes a goddamn tragedy. This man just wanted to protect those he cared for but was given a shield that could only protect himself.

By extension this also reframes his line to Ed about being the type to brush off a threat until the threat was to a loved one. In this context it suddenly seems a whole hell of a lot more likely that he was speaking from personal experience.

Why else would he leave his body exposed for his first fight with Wrath? It seems to me that he didn’t want Wrath going anywhere near the chimeras and so he made himself a target. He could have just thrown up his ultimate shield (up to his neck, wouldn't want to cover up that face) and fought Wrath a way more effectively. Instead this self sacrificing piece of shit keeps the attention on himself until he physically can't anymore. This guy couldn't bear the idea of losing his loved ones possessions so badly that he was willing to die for them. He literally would prefer death to watching his friends die.

And then the cherry on top is that despite trying to fight to the death with Wrath, Wrath intentionally leaves him alive.

Tldr

The curse of Greed's ultimate shield is that he is forced to survive when others do not. He can only truly protect himself, the last possession he would consider protecting.