I wish I could give this 5 stars but I kinda had my issues with the first half, it wasn't bad but the pacing was kinda horrible, Anges start was kinda slow and I wasn't too interested and the stuff on Rokenjima was kinda more treading over the same ground that was already done in previous episodes, and there was barely any Battler Beatrice stuff so all sides of the story were kinda just feeling slow and not too interesting for me.

The second half of the Episode, I'm not too sure when I'd say it happened but with Anges story it really started to interest me around when she summoned Mammon and her story very much began to take form, it defintely adds a lot of new mysteries to be solved but the best moment was very much Ange on the Rokenjima with Kasumi and the scene with Marias book was honestly heartbreaking, I actually cried during that scene (the fact it was 3am might've also helped, but it was a very sad scene) especialliy the reveal of Marias uu ing because god damm that destroyed me. The ending with Battler and Ange was great too.

The stuff on Rokenjima was interesting but honestly it wasn't until after George and Jessica were killed that it became like 10/10 it was still good before then but it just didn't feel right, I don't really know how to explain that but like Gaap and Ronove being so easily beat just felt wrong and I mean it's on the player if they decided to trust the game again and I wasn't wrong. The prisoner group escaping was a fun scene and the stupid loser flag bit was very funny, also those rabbit girls are very clearly Marias chess pieces that Rosa broke the 4th one, I don't know what implications this really is going to have other than I guess they're Marias furniture? or magic is all toys? very much a focus on like Childhood and innocene here with magic and Beatos only friend in the golden land being Maria reinforces that, Beato defintley does seem to be kinda stuck in a child like kinda way? idk how to put it but that's my theory for now.

Battler and Beatrice don't really interact much this chapter, blue truth is very interesting but I kinda felt it was introduced super early and then since there's no arguing during the game itself it's just kinda pushed away until the very end of the game in the tea party basically, I feel if maybe it was used a bit in the game it could've been better maybe? but idk not like I forgot what it was I just thought it was odd how little it was used I guess? idk. Tea Party was crazy, with like the real ending being hidden away there, nuts, the bit with Battler alone on the island was really cool and then the game with Battler and Beato at the end was great and it was nice to see what actually appeared to be genuine feelings from Beato even if they were all just being thunk, but she very much seemed like she wanted to die with the intentional provking of Battler, the ignoring the fact the some of the blue was just factually wrong due to the red (as pointed out in the ??? anyway but still) but right now I very much believe she just wants to die, she still confuses me but it feels like Beato is being forced in some way or something akin to that, I can't say for sure but alot of lines kinda make it feel that way, idk if it's lambdatletla(I have ZERO clue how to spell her name) but that would make sense, the punishment game mentioned in the ??? as well seem to point to something like that too. The final scene of Battler and Beatrice was sweet but I still don't trust it, I get Beatrice want's to die, so she lays her heart bare, whatever that means here and the mystery is Battlers own death but I don't fully understand it all tbh, I guess for now I'll interpret it as it seems but I have doubts. also the bombs in the food !! (sucked that I got spoiled on that amazing theory but oh well)

Lots of cool reveals and information and twist and turns etc that I don't have the writing skills or brain to fully write and comprehend in a way that anyone else would care about, which is fine though tbh. A amazing chapter that I feel has ass pacing which kinda ruins the first half but the second half was so good I feel it mostly makes up for it. Very very excited for the Answers arc.
(also uuhhh, Music was insanely good as always, they used some Higurashi SFX which they hadn't before like the phasor lots of cool stuff here, and I played with Umineko project too btw)