[Oliver]

Having finished my reread-with-notes up to Ep3, I think it's about time to present some select observations and puzzling questions discovered, so here they are, sorted in no particular order, but split by episodes and taking out things I brought up already. I hope at least a few of them are actually genuinely new.

Hidden into spoiler tags because it's bloody long and scrolls off, not that I expect most people to pay much attention.

Spoiler for Episode 1:

• If Maria is connected to Beatrice, why does the shrine disappearance worry her? Why does she proceed straight to the hysterics?
• George tells Maria to name the rose. Up until this moment she does everything George tells her to, but there is no reference to the rose being named ever again. He does not suggest anything of the sort in further episodes. As a side note, naming the rose 'Erika' and carrying it around could provide a perfect vessel for an Erika Ball.
• When Battler tries to fondle Shannon, he does not expect to succeed. Shannon does not resist, which in some interpretations of Shannon makes sense. But no interpretation of George makes sense for what George is doing. There are two normal reactions -- public open: "hands off, mine" and private closed: "quit your inappropriate behaviour". If I were Shannon, I would expect and require a public open one but would make do with the private closed at the time. Neither happens.
• The portrait has been put up in April 1984, but it is never mentioned whom did the artist have as a model, if anyone, or if he had to make do with photos. A portrait of this kind has to have some sort of source.
• Kanon reports on the details of the sibling deal to the dead Kinzo. Even knowing that Kinzo is actually dead, how was Kanon meant to know these details when he could not have been present on this private conversation? Is there some legit way to listen in on the discussion in the parlor for anyone?
• Hideyoshi is the first and ony one to express he wants to see the First Beatrice Letter himself, and even tries to take it away. The first thing he checks is the wax seal. He then apologizes, just in case we didn't notice the first two times.
• Graduates of Fukuin House are said to be not just orphans, but "people disowned by their parents". That's a significant distinction which most people seem to be forgetting. Also note the 'graduates' of Fukuin House. I don't think any kind of orphanage graduates people at 6! Jessica later says "Everyone Grandfather selected [from Fukuin] was young, about the same age as Shannon and Kanon." That, however, is impossible as stated, because Kanon and Shannon would have to have been selected at radically different ages, and since a 6-year old kid is not much use around the household, there's a good chance Shannon is actually not from Fukuin at all.
• The kitchen has gas ovens... and no ventilation. What?!
• Eva immediately suggests looking for the missing people inside the study. She sounds pretty sure Kinzo is in fact dead and essentially calls Natsuhi on it. Did anything happen to convince her during the night?
• Kanon returns from his search right before Natsuhi leaves to make tea. Only when Natsuhi has left, even though he has to have met her practically in the door, Kanon mentions the storehouse and actually tells Eva and Hideyoshi first, while the proper procedure would be to gently brush them off and tell Natsuhi or Genji.
• Upon seeing the pantacle on the shutter, both Eva and Genji immediately agree to destroy the pentacle without letting anyone see it. But instead of seeing what the paint is first and whether it's by any chance water soluble, Genji immediately offers to paint over it.
• While Jessica was present when Kanon reported the storehouse, it doesn't look like she was paying attention, but here she goes running straight there. In speech, Jessica says she is "Pretty sure there's a storehouse for gardening tools or something" but does not explain why she's running there.
• Did nobody honestly check the dining hall when searching for the missing people? Was it locked? Because the parlor is normally not locked like the Ep3 says.
• Just why is Hideyoshi excited about a color TV in the new year's lottery if he plans a vacation in Maldives at the same time? Color television was introduced in Japan in 1960 so they're nothing at all new. Surely he could afford one anyway, so what would be so fun about playing the lottery?
• Two entrances into the mansion aboveground lead to the courtyard, both non locking, and one from the underground boiler room. Otherwise, leaving the boiler room and ending up in the courtyard, there would be no way Battler would be confused which door to take. It is never mentioned where each of the two entrances go. The text does not actually say if the courtyard boiler room door has a lock or not, though, just that the aboveground courtyard doors do not.
• The study actually has a kitchenette. Do you believe Kinzo was cooking himself? Me neither. Who's it for then? There's a chessboard with an unfinished game on it and we're meant to think that Nanjo played with Kinzo yesterday. But with Kinzo dead for a year, why is the chessboard set up at all? Was it like this for a year? It'd be buried in dust, which would be instantly obvious.
• When the bodies in the parlor are discovered next to singing Maria, Maria says that Genji made sure to lock the parlor door. But since Genji just handed the keys over to Natsuhi, he couldn't do that. Kumasawa didn't hand them over and could, but then either Kumasawa gave her set to Genji, who just theatrically gave his over only to get another set, which is very different from Genji's characterisation, or Maria is actually lying... which is very different from her characterisation.
• Natsuhi says that Beatrice 'claims to succeed the head of Ushiromiya family', which is not often brought up again, and has to have been mentioned in the unseen last letter. Immediately after the witch 'raises her golden staff overhead and laughs'. And yes, that is exactly what the Japanese text says. The staff has to be a metaphor for the gun. Only, Dress-Beatrice is never shown wielding a staff, while Suit-Beatrice is always with one.
• Bernkastel immediately hints that Beatrice may not be 'one individual woman'. This has been around since Ep1.

Spoiler for Episode 2:

• Strangely, both Eva and George are not quite right about Earl Grey tea brand, as while Eva thinks it's a place, and George knows he's a person, neither seems to be aware what an Earl is.
• When talking to Shannon, Jessica curiously 'pretends to faint in agony' multiple times. But when Jessica goes on stage, even though Jessica is dressed up as the anachronistic Marisa, Kanon recognises her even before her stage clothes are mentioned. Her voice does not change. This doesn't seem to be a disguise hint as such.
• When Piece-Battler uncharacteristically speaks like he's aware that he's on the defensive and is waiting for the witch's move, immediately afterwards, Jessica looks out into the rose garden in an inner monologue referencing 'memories she didn't want to remember', and wondering whom Battler believes to be the main character currently on stage. The backround for this sub-scene is, strangely, the window in Beatrice Room.
• Kyrie paradoxically behaves like she's running the Anti-Krauss plot and at the same time, is not aware of Rudolf's financial troubles, which would be the motivation for her to start the plot. Then, during the discussion with the siblings, Kyrie looks out of the same Beatrice Room window.
• Rosa always tells Maria to keep her promises. Rosa actually makes promises with Maria but frequently breaks them. But Maria is the only character who makes a point to say she keeps promises besides Beatrice.
• I wonder, how do the serving carts with food get over all the way to the second and third floor? Is there a dumbwaiter somewhere? Because you can't actually carry the cart up the stairs -- certainly Shannon or Kanon would have huge problems.
• Nanjo claims that absolutely everyone has been engaged in minor Beatrice-affirming pranks for the sake of Maria. George sorta-admits. Interestingly, everyone seems to completely ignore that Maria is in the same room and nearby when talking about her, and this actually persists through all episodes.
• When examining the Beatrice Room, Suit-Beatrice is not found after moderate search, but the bed is clearly described as having been used. If that is true, could anyone have actually slept in it? Moments later, Kanon finds a note, but does not read it aloud - Jessica does, crumples it and discards it and we never see it again. While the note is added to the tips, there is no reliable detective confirmation it even existed.
• Jessica's wound 'reaches as far as her lungs' but such a wound is not necessarily nor obviously fatal, as the lungs aren't actually all that deep.
• George notes that 'MARIA' may reference Virgin Mary and expands on that, but to Battler's question 'did you hear this from Maria', he answers just 'Something like that.' George clearly has an independent source of occult knowledge.
• Rosa tries to call the study but stops herself (!) remembering that phones are broken. This sort of thing actually happens often, as having been told the phones aren't working, nobody thinks to actually pick one up and check for the dialtone to see if the internal PBX is alive. Generally someone speaks out about this, but in this case Rosa actually reaches out and only stops then. A scene or two later, George tries to call Jessica and is actually stopped by Gohda before he can get a dialtone.
• Rosa finds a key with a mascot keychain on the side table in Jessica Room. Rosa confirms it is Jessica's key by leaving, closing the door, locking, unlocking, opening, entering. There's no way to tell which one did she insert when doing so, as she was unobserved at this moment, so it could be any key -- and also, it would still open and lock the door if it were Kanon's master key. Later, Nanjo recovers something from Jessica's pocket, and Genji claims it is a master key. Nobody tests it. Beatrice refuses to repeat 'The last time it was locked was due to the master key' and derails the conversation when Battler asks her why.
• Shannon says Jessica wasn't in the habit of locking her room and would only do that when leaving for school so that Krauss doesn't look inside. Why Krauss, who apparently doesn't actually care that much, but not Natsuhi, who probably does? Why can't Krauss do that while she's out of the room for an extended period for some other reason? Regardless, the previous Jessica Room scene clearly states the door was indeed locked, so what Shannon says raises a suspect flag. Speaking of suspects, why is Nanjo speaking out to support Rosa? Why is Shannon surprised he is?
• Rosa makes an interesting argument that she could kill George and Battler right now and blame Beatrice. However, that would only work if forensic ballistics is not an argument or if Rosa can switch her gun later, and Rosa cannot possibly be unaware of that.
• The only characters to use ahaha.wav are the witches, and Eva, but here, Rosa goes and does it. Then, she goes on to offer to Shannon, "Tomorrow morning, ...let's make up, drinking some delicious coffee." I doubt any other first generation Ushiromiya can even imagine fraternising with the servants in such a manner, and Rosa obviously knows Shannon closer than we are otherwise supposed to think. A bit later, Battler just cries rather abstractly and George suddenly replies, "I know better than anyone how pure your heart is, Battler-kun. ...No one will blame you. No one." Blame for what, specifically? Just for staying with Rosa? Really? Or does George know something we don't? Once everyone's out of sight Rosa instantly goes twoface and uses the word 'furniture'. I don't think any other Ushiromiya used that word ever as a pejorative.
• When comparing magic to gambling, it is stated that risking big offers a chance to win big. But in a gamble, risking big gives a chance to win big because payoff rules are dependent on the stake size. What exactly could a murderer possibly win, assuming the murderer owns the gold, if he risks having the gold found?
• When leaving the parlor to observe the corpses of Nanjo and Kumasawa, before leaving, Rosa rechecks the locks on windows. If Battler was napping, and Rosa wasn't, why would she do it a second time?
• Natsuhi Room, with the dead George, Shannon and Gohda in it, instead of a pantacle, has handprints on it, which makes pretty much no sense whatsoever this time. Maria is awfully certain that she can prevent Battler from being killed by the witch for fun. Or even selected by the roulette, apparently.

Spoiler for Episode 3:

• Little-Beatrice refers to a Grandfather. There is actually only one Beatrice-candidate that would refer to Kinzo as a grandfather, and that would be Jessica. Much later, Beatrice, identifying herself with Little-Beatrice once again, (a third time) says, "The smashed vase wouldn't return back to its original form... A lost life will not return to normal no matter what happens. I was frightened that even though my careless actions had been thoughtless, ...they had stolen a life that would never be revived again. Then, I pitied the lost life, and cried. I was frightened of myself, who had made it become lost, and cried even more. I'm sure that Grandfather also cried at the loss of his precious vase. I'm sure that all of the people who valued Grandfather and saw him like that cried.". Would you cry over seeing an old man crying? I don't think so, but crying over seeing an old man die readily happens. This could well be interpreted as Jessica killing Kinzo by an accident, and being a Beatrice. In the same vase scene, the servants say that a 'black cat' sneaked up from somewhere and broke the vase. But if it's Rokkenjima, it's very unlikely to have cats at all, so the servants may be shifting the blame as well.
• Eva was sleeping on the boat and thinking that solving the epitaph will give her headship quite seriously long before the Beatrice Letter appeared.
• Shannon remembers Battler saying as he left, "I'll be back, <see you again>. I'll come to greet you riding on a white horse." Kyrie later refers to the white horse regarding Rudolf, and Ange uses the same English phrases. Since Battler's contact with either in the past six years has to have been rather sparse, it is much more likely that this is actually a Rudolfism that Battler picked up early and eventually got rid of.
• Maria: "A witch that I know said it. Happiness, if everyone doesn't believe in it, won't be granted." That is, apparently, the only time Maria mentions a specific witch without actually saying it is Beatrice.
• In the narrative, the scene with Kinzo throwing the ring out (and Ronove picking it up and bringing it to Beatrice) is actually presented well after the scene where Maria receives the sealed First Letter, and Beatrice is shown to still be standing in the rose garden when she actually receives the ring.
• Hideyoshi seems to always be the first supporter of the "I wouldn't put it past Kinzo!" line. In fact, most times when it comes up he is the one suggesting it, as if he was on the receiving end of most of Kinzo's pranks. In this episode, Hideyoshi does this twice.
• According to Meta-Beatrice, a disemodied soul is damaged by 'strong winds of the sun'. If discarding the cage of flesh was any sort of suicide, it had to be abrupt to succeed. According to Beatrice, Kinzo immediately restored the shrine with the mirror to prevent her from running away while Kinzo was making the body and binding the soul to it. Yes, the shrine is important. Also, Beatrice clearly states that the contract with Kinzo terminates when he dies. Which means it should have terminated last year.
• Ronove remarks, "That is why furniture is so frightening. Sometimes they even become witches, and treat demons as butlers." but soon afterwards, Beatrice says to Shannon, "Like I said, you're furniture, you don't even smell like a humaaaaaan!! Look at me, I am a human!" and follows with a battery of Kinzoisms.
• When the bodies of the first twilight victims are discovered, paradoxically, everyone first mentions that the rooms are locked and only mentions the pantacles on the doors later when seeing one again.
• It is never clear throughout this episode who has been holding the entire array of master keys.
• Kinzo wanted a very different name for Maria, bur Rosa made it into Maria on her own. I suspect this means a single kanji or a few strokes difference that makes another name which is probably quite meaningful. Unfortunately that requires someone far more versed in Japanese than I am to confirm.
• Just why does Battler seem to think that George would keep living with his parents? Surely, George has his own money, is an adult legally, is in opposition to Eva who would not take his marriage to Shannon lightly. Battler is aware of all that as he speaks. Is there any special reason he thinks that Battler would strike out on his own and George would not?