EPISODE 3 : Banquet of the Golden Witch
We open with a scene at some point in the past. A young girl inside the mansion has broken a vase, and is afraid of her grandfather's reaction. She invokes her friend the witch Beatrice, who fixes things so that the girl is not blamed. Impressed, the girl asks to become Beatrice's apprentice, and the witch accepts.
This is a very intriguing scene : we're not shown the girl's identity, and this isn't the Beatrice we know. She looks completely different, and moreover has a completely different behaviour (she's kind and humble). Also, she's a lot less powerful (she's quite far from the "Endless Witch" status she has in our main story). I have the sneaking suspicion that this happened a very long time ago, and that the unnamed girl actually usurped Beatrice's name and role at some point.
We cut to the boat on the way to Rokkenjima, which is mostly an excuse for Eva to reminisce over her childhood. And it's not pretty. She was an overachiever, trying to surpass big brother Krauss on every opportunity. But Grampa and Krauss will have none of it : she has to prepare herself to being a good wife for her future husband. I know this flashback takes place around the 50s or early 60s, but the misogyny is grating. Interestingly, Eva doesn't even come off very well from this scene : her arrogance and horrible sense of timing make don't do her any favor.
And now we learn that Eva has the ghost of her child self always egging her on to be more assertive and screw those misogynists bastards. That can't be good for her temper... I'm a bit suspicious about this "young Eva" : has she been around since the beginning, or is this someone else meddling ? I really wouldn't put it past Lambdadelta, for example.
Anyway, we're now at the "Maria has lost her flower" incident. (This episode is skipping a lot of the boring setup stuff that we've already seen twice. I approve.) Again, we see Beatrice helping her (sans Rosa this time), and actually bringing that flower back to life. There are yet more hints that Beatrice was indeed the little girl in the beginning.
Battler calls a time out ! Well, whatever. We're introduced to Ronove, Beatrice's demon butler. I hate the smug bastard already. His only redeeming value is that he often shows no respect for his boss, which is quite entertaining. Anyway, his appearance brings up an interesting point : the more Battler doubts himself (such as last chapter, when he nearly gave up), the more powerful Beatrice becomes, and the more servants she can use. Well, that's what she says. I suppose Ronove could just have been hiding in the background all along.
Then we cut straight to Maria reading Beatrice's letter at dinner. Wow, that was fast. The mandatory bickering between the siblings goes on for a while before the children are dismissed.
The discussion between the adults goes in a very interesting direction (mainly thanks to Kyrie's sharp reasoning). The letter states that anyone that finds the gold will become the new family head. This is an obvious ploy to put the younger siblings (who have everything to gain) against Krauss (who has everything to lose). But wait. The letter's author claims to be Beatrice, Grampa's mysterious financial backer. So she may already know where the gold is, and be using this to become the family head in exchange of the gold. Which wouldn't be that bad of a deal for the siblings, actually : the family's finances are far from healthy at this point. But does the gold really exist ? What is "Beatrice" trying to accomplish by giving the siblings a chance to find the gold themselves ? Is it just arrogance ?
Then there's some speculation that the "Beatrice" person may actually have been on the island all along. The rumors about Grampa's mistress have always been strong, and there's a suspicion he built her a secret hidden mansion somewhere on the island, decades ago. Nobody's ever found it, but that's no proof. Also, was Krauss's failed resort project on Rokkenjima (the "guest house") just an excuse to look for this hidden building ?
Of course, if Beatrice was still alive, she'd be pushing at least 60 by now. But then I remember some speculation from episode 2 : maybe "Beatrice" had a daughter ?
Switch to the mysterious parlor where Beatrice and Battler are starting their game. Battler's opening move is the "Devil's Proof" : there's no way to prove there isn't a 19th person on the island, so he'll chose to believe that this 19th person is the culprit, and that the 18 known people are innocent (and there's no witch involved, of course). Beatrice counters with "Hempel's Raven" : it's far easier to prove the 19th is not the culprit (if they're a victim, or have perfect alibis), than to do the same for all of the other 18 people. Battler counter-counters by pointing out he can add other people on the island infinitely, which would make them innocence unprovable.
Of course, at this point Beatrice could wheel out her red "truths" to limit the number of people of the island. But for the moment, she's reluctant to do it. Battler tries to trick her into saying "The culprit is one of the 18 known people", but then bungles it by acknowledging it's a self-defeating move (since it removes the possibility of a witch). Battler, don't prevent your opponent from making stupid moves ! Of, course, she refuses. She also refuses to state how many people really are on the island.
Beatrice gives the reason for this decision : there was a time when she lived on the island as a human. She didn't know who she was at the time, or why Grampa kept her confined in an isolated building. The only way out was suicide (of course, death is far from the end for witches). Ronove helpfully confirms in red that there is indeed a hidden building on the island, and that such a scene between Grampa and "Beatrice" did happen about 20 years ago. Well, thanks.
Meanwhile, in the siblings' argument, Rosa has seemed more and more uneasy as the existence of "Beatrice" is discussed. (She's already been trampled over and over by Krauss and Eva in this conversation.) Finally, she drops the bomb : she killed Beatrice 20 years ago !
Next part : Hopefully I'll resolve this cliffhanger and actually finish the first day before going on vacation. Then, the murders will probably start.
