You have a point, but my guess is still that it's actually Al in the armor. To take my three reasons out of order:
(3) Ed thinks Al is a real person. It's possible that he doesn't *know* that he made a mistake. Of course, if Ed doesn't know he made a mistake, I don't know how anyone else is going to tell the difference between a memory-Al and a real Al.
(1) Barry the Chopper is not a trustworthy source and is clearly trying to upset Al. Okay, I *think* that he's making up the possibility that you can fix something other than a soul to armor, but I don't know that. If the possibility exists, then it _might_ be possible that Ed affixed something else by mistake.
(2) It would fuck over the viewers. This is a meta reason, but I think it's solid. We, the viewers, have invested hours in getting to know Al, worrying about him, sympathizing with him, treating him like he's a real character. If we found out now that he's not who we think, then it would be a complete betrayal of the viewers' trust. Smart creators don't betray the trust of their audience, and I think the FMA creators are very smart.
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(3) Ed thinks Al is a real person. It's possible that he doesn't *know* that he made a mistake. Of course, if Ed doesn't know he made a mistake, I don't know how anyone else is going to tell the difference between a memory-Al and a real Al.
(1) Barry the Chopper is not a trustworthy source and is clearly trying to upset Al. Okay, I *think* that he's making up the possibility that you can fix something other than a soul to armor, but I don't know that. If the possibility exists, then it _might_ be possible that Ed affixed something else by mistake.
(2) It would fuck over the viewers. This is a meta reason, but I think it's solid. We, the viewers, have invested hours in getting to know Al, worrying about him, sympathizing with him, treating him like he's a real character. If we found out now that he's not who we think, then it would be a complete betrayal of the viewers' trust. Smart creators don't betray the trust of their audience, and I think the FMA creators are very smart.
But I guess I'll find out pretty soon!