This review contains spoilers
note: this will be less of a direct review and more of a comparison with the manga adaptation's "confessions of a golden witch" chappters. i want to make this review readable to people who haven't read those chapters but i will warn that they open the catbox and reveal a lot more about sayo's backstory than in the game. imo these chapters shouldn't be treated as the final word on umineko's questions but i thought i'd give the warning to anyone who rly values the ambiguity of this episode.
i found ep 7 of umineko a little frustrating as i read it as i'm sure many people have. i'll admit to being a bit of an impatient reader and just wanting some direct answers. the episode definitely answers a lot but it does so in a way that's vague and complicated - if you've already gotten to the answers as i had it feels a little annoying that they're hidden behind layers of magic, while anyone waiting for the mystery to be solved for them must have had a pretty bad time. i wanted to be emotionally devastated and i think the episode's "magic filter" over the backstory puts you at a bit of a distance from it. once i finished the episode i was able to appreciate its choices a lot more, and i especially respect it after reading "confessions of the golden witch". confessions is a retelling of sayo's backstory without the magic filter. i think david lynch said in an interview that he does have specific meanings in mind for each of his films, but he has no interest in explaining them. i believe ryukishi writes in a similar way and the confessions chapters feel like a direct explanation of what he had in mind. it definitely has value for ppl curious about that, but the "Umineko Episode 7 EXPLAINED!!" video vibe is hard to shake off. reading the chapters gave me even more respect for his decision to explain sayo's backstory in the way that he did.
by the end of higurashi you basically feel like the characters are your own friends, but umineko's characters remain fundamentally unknowable all the way to the end. all that exists of the 18 people on rokkenjima are interpretations of them, and we don't have access to who they truly were. ep 7's presentation remains true to denying the reader the lack of direct access. we can interpret sayo's choice to tell the story in multiple ways - the way i see it is that she hasn't actually processed the events herself yet and is still holding onto false hopes in interpreting things like the scene where kinzo tells her the 'truth' in such an optimistic way. i can see issues with this reading but for me i find something resonates about the portrayal of someone who doesn't completely understand themselves and has not had the time to fully process. the sayo we see in confessions writes about her situation with clarity and self-awareness, which is a necessity for the adaptation's more literal approach, but it loses the power of this perspective.
another thing i struggle with about the "confessions" chapters is that they border on being the kind of misery porn that ryukishi usually avoids. when i use that term im not saying it to criticise stories simply for being miserable - misery is a part of the human experience and some stories are going to need to go into upsetting and ugly territory to capture it. 'misery porn' has less to do with depicting miserable events and more how they're framed. the events are the same in both tellings but confessions really places the suffering upfront and plays it in a very heightened way, emphasising the more shocking aspects of the backstory. in contrast episode 7 is far more tasteful in the way that it conceals information and lets the reader recognise the more extreme aspects on their own. it's told in a way that prioritises sayo's feelings first and foremost, and it's explained later in the episode that keeping the catbox closed is a means of honouring her.
finally, i think episode 7's narrative choices are some of ryukishi's strongest engagement with empathy. i've talked about this a few times in my WTC reviews but i think one of ryukishi's most interesting qualities as a writer is that he engages with empathy in a way that's integrated into his narrative form and which actually pushes the reader. many stories have the takeaway that we should be more kind and empathetic, but few recognise that doing so is often a challenge. part of the reason why "empaths" come off as so silly is that they treat empathy as a magical power that allows you to understand someone perfectly. empathy is not that - it doesn't inherently grant understanding. there'll probably always be aspects of the other person that are inaccessible to you, and i think a truly meaningful engagement with empathy is done with the acceptance that your understanding could be completely wrong. but you still should try and make that attempt at understanding, even if you can't be certain of its truth. ryukishi's denial of access to sayo's backstory is key to this. episode 7 requires the reader to look beyond what they're directly shown and try to understand sayo, and it's written knowing that the reader could finish it with a very confused/shallow takeaway of her motivations. it isn't a satisfying experience if the reader never makes that attempt, and as a result it pushes them to engage with empathy in an active way rather than a passive one. i think confessions exists in part because so many readers struggled with that. on one hand i kind of understand the motivation behind that, but on another i find ryukishi has the issue of feeling a need to appeal to parts of his readerbase that he doesn't need to. im glad that issue didn't appear for the VN itself, and that ryukishi had enough confidence to take the risks that he did. it's one of the most rewarding WTC chapters as a result.
i found ep 7 of umineko a little frustrating as i read it as i'm sure many people have. i'll admit to being a bit of an impatient reader and just wanting some direct answers. the episode definitely answers a lot but it does so in a way that's vague and complicated - if you've already gotten to the answers as i had it feels a little annoying that they're hidden behind layers of magic, while anyone waiting for the mystery to be solved for them must have had a pretty bad time. i wanted to be emotionally devastated and i think the episode's "magic filter" over the backstory puts you at a bit of a distance from it. once i finished the episode i was able to appreciate its choices a lot more, and i especially respect it after reading "confessions of the golden witch". confessions is a retelling of sayo's backstory without the magic filter. i think david lynch said in an interview that he does have specific meanings in mind for each of his films, but he has no interest in explaining them. i believe ryukishi writes in a similar way and the confessions chapters feel like a direct explanation of what he had in mind. it definitely has value for ppl curious about that, but the "Umineko Episode 7 EXPLAINED!!" video vibe is hard to shake off. reading the chapters gave me even more respect for his decision to explain sayo's backstory in the way that he did.
by the end of higurashi you basically feel like the characters are your own friends, but umineko's characters remain fundamentally unknowable all the way to the end. all that exists of the 18 people on rokkenjima are interpretations of them, and we don't have access to who they truly were. ep 7's presentation remains true to denying the reader the lack of direct access. we can interpret sayo's choice to tell the story in multiple ways - the way i see it is that she hasn't actually processed the events herself yet and is still holding onto false hopes in interpreting things like the scene where kinzo tells her the 'truth' in such an optimistic way. i can see issues with this reading but for me i find something resonates about the portrayal of someone who doesn't completely understand themselves and has not had the time to fully process. the sayo we see in confessions writes about her situation with clarity and self-awareness, which is a necessity for the adaptation's more literal approach, but it loses the power of this perspective.
another thing i struggle with about the "confessions" chapters is that they border on being the kind of misery porn that ryukishi usually avoids. when i use that term im not saying it to criticise stories simply for being miserable - misery is a part of the human experience and some stories are going to need to go into upsetting and ugly territory to capture it. 'misery porn' has less to do with depicting miserable events and more how they're framed. the events are the same in both tellings but confessions really places the suffering upfront and plays it in a very heightened way, emphasising the more shocking aspects of the backstory. in contrast episode 7 is far more tasteful in the way that it conceals information and lets the reader recognise the more extreme aspects on their own. it's told in a way that prioritises sayo's feelings first and foremost, and it's explained later in the episode that keeping the catbox closed is a means of honouring her.
finally, i think episode 7's narrative choices are some of ryukishi's strongest engagement with empathy. i've talked about this a few times in my WTC reviews but i think one of ryukishi's most interesting qualities as a writer is that he engages with empathy in a way that's integrated into his narrative form and which actually pushes the reader. many stories have the takeaway that we should be more kind and empathetic, but few recognise that doing so is often a challenge. part of the reason why "empaths" come off as so silly is that they treat empathy as a magical power that allows you to understand someone perfectly. empathy is not that - it doesn't inherently grant understanding. there'll probably always be aspects of the other person that are inaccessible to you, and i think a truly meaningful engagement with empathy is done with the acceptance that your understanding could be completely wrong. but you still should try and make that attempt at understanding, even if you can't be certain of its truth. ryukishi's denial of access to sayo's backstory is key to this. episode 7 requires the reader to look beyond what they're directly shown and try to understand sayo, and it's written knowing that the reader could finish it with a very confused/shallow takeaway of her motivations. it isn't a satisfying experience if the reader never makes that attempt, and as a result it pushes them to engage with empathy in an active way rather than a passive one. i think confessions exists in part because so many readers struggled with that. on one hand i kind of understand the motivation behind that, but on another i find ryukishi has the issue of feeling a need to appeal to parts of his readerbase that he doesn't need to. im glad that issue didn't appear for the VN itself, and that ryukishi had enough confidence to take the risks that he did. it's one of the most rewarding WTC chapters as a result.