WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 13 of Higurashi: When They Cry - Gou, "Curse Deception - Part 5," now streaming on Funimation.
Much of Higurashi Gou's “Curse-Deceiving” arc has played out like an answer arc from the original series would, with the hopeful series of events mirroring the “Massacre” arc in many ways. Episode 13's Part 5 brings this particular story to a much-unexpected end in a way that both suits Higurashi’s narrative style while leaving the viewer to wonder what exactly Gou has in store for the remainder of the season: Sakoto may finally be saved, but there's a nasty surprise in-store for Keiichi concerning her, Shion, Mion and Rika at the episode's end.
With support from the village elders guaranteed, Kimiyoshi tells Keiichi to expect a sizable crowd of protesters at the next rally to save Satoko. Sure enough, a massive group of supporters from Hinamizawa and the neighboring Okinomiya show up to protest child services’ handling of Satoko’s case. Seeing the massive crowd, the child services administration attempts to have the police disband the protests, which is when Ooishi appears and insists that the group disperse or face legal consequences.
As the group thinks about their next plan of action, they are greeted by two men from the Sonozaki family. Ooishi once again states that the group is infringing on the law and insists that the protesters head home for the day, but is called out on the validity of his claims by one of the Sonozaki men and eventually concedes the point.
As the administrative workers inside the child services center wonder why the police aren’t taking care of the protesters, they receive a call from the mayor who insists that they handle Satoko’s case right away. This is when it's revealed that Oryou and Akane Sonozaki are both visiting the mayor, having used their political connections to speed the process up. One of the child services employees is sent to take Satoko away from her uncle and Ooishi offers to escort him to the home alongside his partner, making it impossible for Teppei to refuse them entrance into his home.
At the Watanagashi Festival, the group of friends meets up with Rika and a chipper Satoko, but it isn't long before things take a typically dark turn. During the ceremony, Satoko calls Keiichi aside and asks him to accompany her to her home, stating how thankful she is for his help, and offering him something that was important to her brother.
The two go to Satoko’s house and Keiichi is instructed to wait inside a room while she retrieves his present. But just as Keiichi goes to turn on a light, he is struck in the head by a bat. Bleeding and in severe pain, Keiichi looks up and sees Teppei standing over him with glowing red eyes. Satoko returns to the room and is shocked to see her uncle back. As Teppei continues to attack, Keiichi gains momentum and knocks him over, returning the favor and collapsing in front of a horrified Satoko who quickly runs off.
Keiichi wakes up in the hospital with a bandage covering his head wound. Kumagai, Ooishi’s partner visits him and inquires as to what happened on the night of the Festival. While trying to remember, Keiichi experiences severe head pain and ultimately fails to give the detective any useful information. When Keiichi asks about Ooishi’s whereabouts, saying he wants to thank him for his role in saving Satoko, Kumagai brushes him off and leaves the room.
But the real shock is yet to come: Keiichi later meets with Rena on a nearby bench outside and asks why she’s the only one who visits him, as well as what happened on the night of the festival. Rena reveals that sometime after Keiichi had gone to Satoko’s house, Oiishi opened fire on the crowd at the festival, killing Mion, Shion, Rika and Satoko. Keiichi is horrified to hear that his friends are dead, and Rena laments losing their friends following everything they’d worked so hard to achieve.
Just when the “Curse-Deceiving” arc seemed like it was going to break away from Gou’s formula and send the show in another direction, things once again come crashing down for Keiichi and friends. Though this feels very much like an answer arc for Higurashi veterans, Part 5 of “Curse-Deceiving” leaves viewers with more questions than they had to going in. Ooishi’s sinister role in this arc was briefly teased a couple of episodes ago, and while a bad ending won’t surprise anyone at this point, the overall pessimism that this arc leaves you feeling might signify what fans should continue to expect from Gou going forward.
