WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 6 of Higurashi: When They Cry - Sotsu, "Cotton Revealing - Part 3," now streaming on Funimation.
After killing Shion, Mion resolves to put an end to Oyashiro-sama’s curse in a desperate bid to save Keiichi in Higurashi Sotsu's sixth episode. Her paranoid delusions lead her down a path with tons of bodies but very few answers. Having been the one who injected her in the first place, Satoko keeps a watchful eye over the situation but decides to get involved when Rika goes missing, which only ends up adding to the body count.
Following her confrontation with Shion, Mion is convinced that her grandmother, as the head of the Sonozaki family, plays some sort of role in the curse. But Oryou dies before Mion can ask her anything, prompting her to go after the rest of Hinamizawa’s three great families instead.
During Episode 6, after luring Kimiyoshi into the Sonozaki residence, Mion tries to get some answers out of him. Though it’s clear that he knows nothing, Mion is too far deep into Hinamizawa Syndrome to realize. Kimiyoshi also dies as a result of Mion’s interrogation, and so she turns her attention to the last family left: the Furudes.
At school, Mion eavesdrops on Keiichi and Rika’s conversation. Rika’s sudden shift in personality makes Mion suspicious of her to the point that she confronts her shortly after Keiichi leaves. But before Rika can react, Mion strangles her to death and rushes to hide her body.
When the rest of the class learns of Rika’s disappearance, Mion hides her body in the outhouse in what is one of the most brutal sequences of the season so far. Satoko assumes that Rika is already dead, but without a body to confirm it she’s hesitant to move on to the next fragment. She decides to check in on Mion instead, which leads to the confrontation touched upon at the end of the “Cotton-Deceiving” arc in Gou.
When Satoko visits the Sonozaki estate, Mion assumes that she’s part of the conspiracy and tries to capture her off-guard. Satoko is one step ahead of her, however, and uses the gun she bought earlier in the arc to shoot Mion before she can get a shot off herself.
What makes this sequence even more twisted is the way that Satoko seems to enjoy toying with Mion, taking pleasure in inflicting pain on her while slowly extracting information on Rika’s whereabouts. When Mion finally reveals that Rika is dead, Satoko kills her and proceeds to once again chase Rika into Higurashi's next loop.
Satoko has certainly embraced her role as a villain throughout Sotsu’s narrative so far. She’s twice now ruined what seemed to be perfect fragments, all the while showing no regard for her friends’ lives in pursuit of her victory over Rika. Her confrontation against Mion in this episode reveals an especially sadistic side to her personality that is sure to surprise some fans. The upcoming “Curse-Revealing” arc is set to be the longest of the season and should have its own fair share of surprises in-store.
