Perhaps the only thing “Endless” about Beatrice is the gallons and gallons of blood she gushes after being gashed by Battler’s truths. Otherwise, if anything, the last episode of the question arcs should be how limited Beatrice is, and how far under Lambdadelta’s (and Bernkastel’s) thumb she’s pinned.

So I’ll eventually get around to the real post, most likely after Christmas. But here’s my initial stream of consciousness.

Remember when Umineko was about the battle between logic and magic, between Battler and Beatrice? No? Well, that’s alright, because it’s been a while. The latest episode wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t a fan. It feels like we’re straying further and further from the core battle. Maybe they’ll tie it back together in the last episode, but I kinda doubt it. And with the second season in doubt, I can’t help but wonder if Umineko is going to feel like a lonely orphan.

I’ve gotta say, it’s nice to type in regular English. Just when I get the hang of explaining the murders (pretty easy this time around), they go and change the game up completely. But does this potentially final checkmate get us closer to the truth?

It’s weird, this arc feels like it’s being paced at a fairly leisurely level, especially any Ange or Maria background scene, but then the whole George & Jessica "Head of the Ushiromiyas" game felt a little rushed and compressed. Which is which? Also, this was the first episode without Beatrice throughout the whole episode. And we only got a couple lines from Battler too. George and Jessica are all well and fine, and George especially surprised me in this episode, but the game is a lot less interesting without the Battler vs. Beatrice back and forth. They’re the two main characters, why is the final arc of the season minimizing them so much?