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Fool's Mate is the fifth episode of the Umineko When They Cry anime adaptation and the fifth and final episode of Legend of the Golden Witch.

Synopsis[]

Thirteen people have died as per the witch's epitaph, and the culprit is nowhere to be found. Time is running out; the witch shall soon revive, and none will be left alive.

Plot Summary[]

First Half[]

Anime ep1 beatrice maria sing

Beatrice tells Maria to sing

The group stumbles into the parlor, where Genji, Nanjo, and Kumasawa are dead, having been part of the sixth, seventh, and eighth twilights of the epitaph. Upon being pressed about the murders, Maria tells them that Beatrice is the culprit. She says that Genji locked the parlor door, but Beatrice came inside with magic and asked Maria to stand in front of the wall and sing.

Anime ep1 natsuhi dead

The cousins find Natsuhi dead

Battler refuses to accept this explanation and begins arguing with her until Jessica notices that Natsuhi is missing. Maria saw Natsuhi leaving the room reading a letter, and they find that she barred everyone inside the room. Natsuhi stands outside the parlor and demands Beatrice show herself, seeing a golden butterfly. By the time everyone breaks out of the parlor, they see Natsuhi as she drops dead, apparently having committed suicide.

Anime ep1 maria praises beatrice

Maria praises Beatrice

Maria is ecstatic and congratulates Beatrice, announcing that the ninth and tenth twilights are soon to pass. Battler is enraged that Maria is still supporting Beatrice when they're the last four survivors, and picks up Natsuhi's gun. He announces his resolve to defy Beatrice until the very end when Maria points at the clock. The clock strikes 24:00, and golden butterflies begin to fill the room. Battler starts shooting them, only for the butterflies to split and turn into more butterflies. As George and Jessica stare in awe, Battler is still defiant, denying the existence of magic; the scene ends with ominous cackling heard in front of Beatrice's portrait.

Anime ep1 message bottle

A fisherman finds a message bottle

Outside Rokkenjima, some fishermen discover a message in a bottle floating in the ocean. It's a message written by Maria, asking whoever finds it to reveal the truth. Some text on the screen appears, saying "Even now, the truth behind the Rokkenjima Island Witch Mass Murder Case has not been revealed".

Second Half[]

Battler and co. are seen relaxing in a tea room. They all died on Rokkenjima, but have been revived and are now joking about how they should have solved the epitaph, rather than determine who was committing the murders. Shannon arrives with a tea cart and Jessica comments on how awful her death was; Shannon laments it by saying that was her role to fill. Kanon arrives bringing dessert, and Battler notes how he actually got to face off against the culprit. As they discuss the murders, everyone except Battler is convinced that the culprit is a witch. He insists that everything that happened was carried out by human means, even though he has no proper explanations. Maria refutes his theory, asking if he believes one of the family was responsible; Battler doesn't want to suspect anybody close to him, instead believing in a 19th person who isn't a witch.

Anime ep1 beatrice appears

"You're the kind of man I would love to make praise my name and kiss my toes"

Anime ep1 battbeato

Beatrice reveals herself

Maria is still confused, and Battler states that if they want him to believe in witches, they just need to show one in front of him. As if on command, lightning strikes, and ominous cackling is heard. A blonde woman in a dress appears, and Battler is confused as to who they are; Shannon and Kanon introduce her as Beatrice, the Golden Witch. George and Jessica vouch for Battler's stubbornness, but Beatrice is amused. She admires how Battler still refuses to believe in witches even though she's right in front of him. Battler declares Beatrice to be an illusion and that he'll solve every event with human tricks; Beatrice then questions him about things such as Maria's letter and the chain lock in Eva's room. She then asks him to explain the fates of everyone in the parlor; Shannon and Kanon fall over in pain, with the wounds they originally died from reappearing. George, Jessica and Maria start falling apart, saying that Battler's disbelief in magic is making them dissolve. Despite this shock, Battler expresses his desire to solve all of the crimes and deny Beatrice.

Anime ep1 do your best

"Do your best, okay?"

A blue-haired girl in a dress is seen drinking tea when Beatrice appears. This girl is introduced as Bernkastel, a traveling witch who's come to speak with Beatrice. Bern is in awe at how powerless she is compared to Beatrice's power to kill people endlessly; Beatrice compliments her, saying how Bern's "powerlessness" to make miracles happen with a nonzero chance was enough to defeat the Great Witch Lambdadelta, who could kill anybody with certainty. Bern explains that she's come to watch the events Beatrice has set into motion, hoping to be entertained. Beatrice leaves, and Bern begins addressing the viewer, offering to lend her power.

Teaser[]

Beatrice narrates the preview, excited to finally meet the stupid humans sitting in front of their TVs. She knows they've been anxiously awaiting her appearance, and says it'll be her turn forever so they can relax. She wants to begin by casting a spell to turn Battler's breakfast into bread crusts, a spell to prevent George from ever taking his glasses off, and a spell to turn Maria's crown into a can of mackerel. Beatrice then thinks of a spell for Jessica, and settles on one that'll force her to perform an insane character theme song in front of a crowd, cackling as clips of said theme song are shown. She says the next episode title and wonders if she'll have to perform a theme song herself.

Soundtrack[]

Start End Title OST Description
0:00 1:29 Katayoku no Tori Katayoku no Tori Opening
3:29 4:54 N/A N/A Maria claims Beatrice killed the people in the parlor
5:11 5:40 N/A N/A Natsuhi challenges Beatrice
5:41 7:20 Dead Angle N/A The cousins witness Natsuhi falling over dead
7:32 8:55 Scorpion Entrails VN OST The clock strikes 24:00
9:16 9:35 N/A N/A Some fishermen discover a message bottle floating in the ocean
11:26 13:50 Suspicion N/A Everyone except Battler thinks Beatrice really did commit the murders
14:44 15:34 Organ short #600 million in C minor VN OST Beatrice makes her appearance
15:59 17:27 Stupefaction VN OST Battler refuses to accept Beatrice's existence
17:31 18:49 Prison Strip N/A Battler is challenged to figure out the murders were committed
19:20 20:54 Black Lilliana N/A Beatrice and Bernkastel have a chat
21:13 21:44 N/A N/A Bernkastel offers to lend her power
21:45 23:14 la divina tragedia la divina tragedia~Makyoku~ Ending
23:16 24:18 Golden Sneer N/A Teaser

Comparisons to Source Material[]

This episode adapts the visual novel chapters "The Golden Witch", "Notebook Fragment in a Wine Bottle", and the Tea Party and Hidden Tea Party/???.

  • In the visual novel, Battler and the cousins exit the parlor after Natsuhi dies and has already fallen to the ground. In the anime, they watch Natsuhi fall to the ground dead as they break out.
  • In the visual novel, the main story ends once Battler aims the Winchester and the clock strikes 24:00 after Maria runs into Beatrice, who appeared in person. The anime continues a little past 24:00, but instead of Beatrice showing up near the end of 24:00, the golden butterflies show up with Battler shooting at them.
    • In the visual novel, Natsuhi's gun that Battler picked up is unloaded after she fired it. In the anime, it was loaded when Battler picked it up.
  • The anime omits mention of Maria's jaw being found after the incident, along with the witch's game record that listed the fates of the 18 people and the choices of the Golden Land's treasures the survivors made.
  • In the visual novel, the Tea Party opens with Battler thanking the reader for completing the story, in reference to Higurashi When They Cry's All-Cast Review Sessions. This was omitted in the anime, as well as in the manga.
  • Like the manga, the anime omits mention of George remembering the feeling like his body had been eaten apart and dismembered.
  • The anime omits the cousins and servants deciding to try solving the epitaph before Battler felt uneasy at their acceptance of the witch.
  • The anime omits Battler making arguments on how the family was killed by a human.
  • The anime omits Beatrice transporting Battler to the corridor of the mansion guest room, where she summons her 2 stakes of purgatory, Beelzebub and Asmodeus, who flew through the crack of the door and pierced the foreheads of Eva and Hideyoshi.
  • In the visual novel, Jessica, George and Maria turn into unrecognizable chunks of flesh before Beatrice challenges Battler to explain all her mysteries with human tricks. In the anime, the three cousins fell apart before they dissolved.
  • In the visual novel, the ??? opens with Bernkastel having a conversation with Beatrice. In the anime, the ??? opens with Bernkastel drinking tea before Beatrice arrives.

Trivia[]

  • In Chess, Fool's Mate (also known as the Two-Move Checkmate), is the checkmate in the fewest possible number of moves from the start of the game.
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