Yesterday I made a post about how I was a newcomer to the world of Umineko. I've now finished Episode 1 and would like to give my thoughts!

I am not okay. I am going to go lie down and try to mend my broken mind after witnessing whatever the fuck the ending of episode 1 was.

I'm only slightly exaggerating. For whatever reason, the ending of the first episode from Natsuhi's suicide to the end of the letter in a bottle segment not only confuses me and feel brain-breaking, but actually disturbs/unsettles me a bit. Maria singing while around piles of dead bodies, her running towards Beatrice, the reveal in the letter that the four children are missing and presumed dead, the weird-as-fuck Tea Party segment... it all genuinely makes me feel like I need to take a breather because it made me so uncomfortable.

As for my answers... I'll be honest. *I am not good at deducing mysteries, and this mystery feels much more difficult than most other mysteries I've read.* All of this is to say, I don't have a single clue who the culprit(s) are, or how the murders were performed. I've tried to really think about them, but I've got nothing. However, I do have a few guesses about where the plot is going.

Guess #1: The murders are not magical. They were carried out with mundane methods.

Guess #2: There really is a heavy supernatural element to this story.

Guess #3: Beatrice is a real witch. She is actually on the island and she actually has some sort of magical powers. However, she is not the murderer.

Guess #4: The mystery behind the murders, how they took place, and who committed them are not actually the main mystery of Umineko. They are backdrops to the real mystery, which is explaining how magic in this world works and what Beatrice's actual goals are.