Previous Umineko Episode Reviews

As I expected, this episode’s focus was pulling back the curtain on the game’s biggest mysteries, though as usual, it’s difficult to tell how much of this episode was truthful. Since Bernkastel was the Game Master this time, we have to rely on her as a narrator, and though she uses the truth to inflict cruelty and harm onto the characters of this episode, it’s still difficult to say how reliable of a narrator she is. This episode was very good. The revelations were powerful and presented in a very captivating manner. I’m truly surprised at how a good amount of my past theories regarding the big mysteries of this game weren’t entirely off base. I’ve very much been on the right line of thinking with a lot of them, only getting some minor things wrong.

Will and Lion are introduced as the primary protagonists during this episode, and I liked them a lot. They’ve got a great dynamic with one another. Will is your typical reluctant hero that’s unwillingly dragged into Bernkastel’s game. By the end of the episode, he becomes fully invested in what’s going on, and it’s a great transition. Lion is really cute from what I’ve experienced. Unfortunately I don’t think we’re given enough time with either character for me to form particularly strong opinions of them as people.

This episode primarily served as a way to explain Beatrice’s origins and just what the hell she is. It also goes into detail regarding the true origin of Kinzo’s gold as well as what truly happened during the murder spree on the island which led to the outcome of the third Game where Eva is the sole survivor.

This is what Beatrice is as I understand it: Beatrice is not a singular person, but an identity/concept. There is a real life Beatrice, and she was originally an Italian woman that Kinzo met during World War II. Rokkenjima used to be a military base and she was originally part of a separatist military squad from Italy who had a stockpile of gold that was meant to be used to rebuild her country after the war. This separatist group took refuge on Rokkenjima, where the two met and fell in love. After a bloody battle over the gold between the remaining Japanese and Italian soldiers, everyone was killed except for the two of them. This is the origin of Kinzo’s gold, and where the original Beatrice concept came from.

Together the two conceived a daughter, whom Kinzo’s wife gives birth to shortly before her death. Their daughter was also named Beatrice. This is the Beatrice that lived in the mansion where the gold is kept and was hidden from the Ushiromiya family, as well as the Beatrice that would eventually fall to her death on the cliff after meeting a young Rosa. As the years go by and Kinzo gets older and older, his deteriorating mind and grief over the loss of his wife causes him to see his daughter as his wife. This leads to what I believe to be the most disturbing revelation of the entire game: Kinzo, in his grief-stricken madness, advances on his daughter and impregnates her. She later gives birth to a child. This child is in fact the child Kinzo provided to Natsuhi that later falls from the same cliff as its mother along with the unnamed servant. The child had survived, was rescued by Genji and Dr. Nanjo, and made to work for the Ushiromiya family as a servant named Yasuda. This is the present day Beatrice, the one we’re most familiar with, and the person who likely commits the murders over the course of October 4th-5th, 1986 in most Fragments.

In one of the theories I formed reading past episodes, I had guessed that Kinzo and witch-Beatrice had eloped and conceived a number of the four siblings together, namely Krauss, Eva, and Rosa, since those three shared similar physical traits with Beatrice. While I was wrong about those three being the children of Beatrice, I wasn’t wrong about the concept of Kinzo and Beatrice conceiving a child… but god damn I wish I was. I truly did not comprehend the sheer depraved madness of Kinzo until now. At the very least, Kinzo recognized his mistake and it tortured him for years up until his dying moments. I do question if he deserved to die peacefully and without regrets like he did. It’s like I said in my review of episode 4: Kinzo Ushiromiya is a selfish bastard. He cheated on his wife and fathered a child who he showed more love and affection for than any of the children that he had with his actual wife. He would later go on to force himself on his own daughter and impregnate her. I understand that he did it while he went mad but… you can’t just overlook that. At the same time, he never wanted the life that he had. If he could, he would’ve preferred to live his life his own way without being forced into his position by his family. He likely would never have committed the sins he’s done if it weren’t for that fact. He’s an extremely complex character that leaves me with such conflicting feelings. It’s once again a testament to how tremendous the character writing in this game is. I can’t forgive him for what he’s done, but at the same time I can acknowledge that his circumstances forced him to live a life that was mostly out of his control.

It’s hard for me to give my complete thoughts in regards to Beatrice’s origins because I feel like there are still some aspects regarding Yasuda/Beatrice that I’m not clear on. What has been explained has been extremely tragic and definitely moved me. The idea of Beatrice being a concept and an identity with different meanings assumed by multiple people is very well executed, and makes complete sense. However, I don’t know how the fantasy stuff like Gaap and Ronove tie into Yasuda quite yet. I’m also not really sure how this affects Shannon and Kanon. If Kanon was a manifestation of magic, does that mean he even exists in the real world? Honestly, I’d say that he probably doesn’t. His fate in Episode 6 and the whole “furniture don’t count as a single person” fact that was used to beat Erika might even be foreshadowing this.

Then there’s the Tea Party, and man… we have witnessed the “ritual” countless times at this point. We’ve seen the Ushiromiya family murdered in so many horrible ways… yet none have made me feel more sick to my stomach than watching Rudolf and Kyrie murder almost the entire family. In the end, even though the siblings managed to find the gold together, they couldn’t get past their selfishness and greed and distribute the wealth evenly amongst each other. The fact that Bernkastel forced Ange to watch the whole thing… god, that was painfully cruel. I really hope that Bernkastel and Lambdadelta get some form of comeuppance. This was a phenomenal ending.

We’re on the cusp of the final game now, and based on the “????”, it seems like it's going to be a showdown between Sorcerer Battler and Bernkastel, with Will and Lion also playing an important role as well. If this review seemed rushed, it’s because I’m eager to get my thoughts written out so I can hurry up and get back to it.I really want to come to an understanding of the game’s mysteries and I also just want to see this whole conflict resolved. More than anything I want to see a future where the Ushiromiya family lives in peace and harmony with one another. Surely Bernkastel doesn’t win. I know there’s going to be a happy ending and I’m chomping at the bit to see it.