Synopsis: The truth behind Setsuko’s death comes to light.

Ah… the final episode. I hate to see Mononoke end. It was a such a wonderful and unique episode.

Anyway, Moria goes inside the first car. His eyes are bloodshot. He regains his senses and asks where the other passengers went. The Medicine Seller tells him they got off. He says it’s his turn next. I wonder why Moria is still there. Supposedly, he disappeared in the previous episode. Maybe the Mononoke returned him because it isn’t done with him yet.

Moria sits down. The Medicine Seller tells him the train will never stop. The journalist replies he doesn’t care. The Medicine Seller asks if he will stay. Moria shouts he won’t. He asks the Medicine Seller to do something about it. He says he just wanted to help Setsuko. He was sorry she died. Moria suddenly screams. The scales have tilted to one side. Ichikawa appears, seated. She says Moria is terrible.

Cats attack Moria. The Medicine Seller wonders if it’s all the cats’ doing. He says memories are tied to a single place. They bring Regret and it is through it that fates are intertwined. He says with Form, Truth and Regret, all will be revealed. He asks Setsuko, who is bringing a cat, her regret.

The scene when Setsuko reported to Moria, at the Morning News office, is shown. She said that Fukuda, the mayor is corrupt and that she has proof of it. They talked in private. Moria asked her if her information is reliable. She said it is. She has information that the mayor has been meeting with executives from the railroad company on a regular basis. Moria told her that there’s nothing illegal about it and that they aren’t running a tabloid. Setsuko insisted. Moria told her that she doesn’t have enough information for a proper article. Setsuko commented that he must be jealous of her because she got a huge story. Moria said it’s ridiculous. Her story can’t be published. He said it was a mistake to send her into the field, Setsuko is biting off more than she could chew. Moria then told her that he’s putting her back to the advice column. Setsuko said she won’t give up and that she’ll get to the bottom of it.

Setsuko went to the Kisshou Hotel where the mayor met with other bigwigs. When the mayor went out, she took pictures of him with the others. She showed the pictures to Moria, asking if isn’t proof enough. Moria told her that it’s just as he thought. He said he knew she could do it. He apologized for being hard on her.

Moria, in private, asked Setsuko when she took the pictures. She replied that she took it the previous night and that she developed the photographs herself. Moria told Setsuko that they should discuss more of it outside as it’s a big scoop, they can’t afford to let anyone else know about it.

They met at the Cancan Cafe. Setsuko showed Moria a picture of the mayor with the Touto Railway’s board of directors. There was also a picture of the mayor with someone from Nihonbashi Construction. Setsuko said that the mayor recently passed a city ordinance at the rail company’s request. She believed he got a considerable amount in return. Moria asked her where the mayor banked. She replied at the Ichii Bank. The mayor’s uncle is the bank’s president.

Moria then told Setsuko that she has more than enough information to move on. He said it’s front page material. He told her to have the report on his desk by the following night. He asked her if she can make it, given a short time. Setsuko could not believe she will be writing the whole article. Moria told her that since she did all the work, she should reap the fruits.

Setsuko cried and thanked Moria. She said she misjudged Moria and that he must have thought of her as a weak and worthless woman. Moria said she is wrong. He instructed her to go to Hichiriki Zaka’s Konata Inn and write the report there to prevent any leaks.

A man called someone on the phone. He said that he has a proposition though it isn’t very pleasant. They planned on meeting.

The Medicine Seller who is watching the scene comments that Setsuko’s Regret is close. The hands of a man holding a stanchion is shown. It looks like the detective’s. Another hand, possibly Chiyo’s, holds another stanchion.

At the place where Chiyo worked, an establishment which doesn’t seem respectable, she discussed with someone about becoming famous. She said she doesn’t want to stay and rot in that place.

Another hand, the mayor’s perhaps, holds a stanchion.

The person whom the man called earlier was actually the mayor. The man who called visited his office.

As Chiyo continued to write her report at the Konata Inn, Haru waited at the Kirigahara bridge. Her lover lived across. She could not believe her mother-in-law. Haru did not want to watch over an invalid for the rest of her life. Because of her mother-in-law, Haru cannot do what she wants to do.

Haru holds a stanchion.

A woman interrupted Setsuko and told her that she has a phone call. The woman didn’t leave right away and Setsuko thought she was waiting for a tip. She handed her a bill and a few coins. When the woman left, Setsuko thought that the woman is pitiful, working at such a place. She was glad she is different from that woman.

It was Moria who called Setsuko. There seemed to be a problem. Setsuko went out of the inn right away.

Back to the Cancan Cafe, Chiyo was flirting with a man. She said she wanted to be a singer. Setsuko passed by. I’m not sure if Chiyo was referring to Setsuko but she said she wonder what happened.

Setsuko waited for Moria at the bridge. When he arrived, he asked her if she wasn’t followed. Setsuko replied that she wasn’t. She asked if something happened because Moria looked afraid. Moria said that they’re in danger. Setsuko didn’t believe it.

The present Moria who is watching the scenes from the train tells the Medicine Seller that he only went to see if Setsuko was alright.

Moria asked Setsuko for the article. She handed it to him. Moria lit a match and burned Setsuko’s report. Setsuko was shocked. Moria said he can’t let it out and that he is just following orders.

Setsuko told him that she’ll tell their superiors. Moria said it’s no use, he has already spoken to them. Setsuko said that Moria planned it from the beginning. Moria remembered his conversation with the mayor (he was the one who called). Setsuko continued to yell at Moria. She rushed to him and tried to hit him but Moria pushed her. Setsuko fell to the ground. Moria told her that he being jealous of her would be a joke. He said that she is a woman to the end, never able to catch on when it really counts.

Setsuko realized that Moria is working for the mayor. Moria admitted it. Setsuko stood up and laughed. She said that she’ll have the article printed somewhere since she still has the proof. Setsuko ran but Moria chased her. From her lover’s room. Haru could hear Setsuko and Moria quarreling.

The driver now holds a stanchion.

Moria managed to put Setsuko in such a position that one more push would make her fall over the bridge into the railway below. He told her that he gave her a fair warning but she made him kill her. Setsuko tried to struggle. Moria dropped her. Haru heard her scream.

A cat approached the fallen Setsuko. Masao, who was about to do his rounds, saw it all happen.

He now holds a stanchion.

Closer and closer the train came. In her mind, Setsuko begged not to be hit. She begged to be noticed but the driver was sleepy. Setsuko despaired. The cat licked her blood and the train passed.

Moria, trembling, thought that Setsuko wasn’t good enough, not even for the back page.

Chiyo said she wanted to be an actress.

The mayor gave Moria his payment.

The detective who investigated Setsuko’s death thought it was surely a suicide.

Haru didn’t say anything.

The cat said it’s unforgivable.

The Medicine Seller explains that Ayakashi reside in a host and humans reside in the physical plane. A Mononoke is formed with an Ayakashi as its host. It is fed by the fates of men. However, when a Mononoke comes into the human plane, it must be killed. He says it is certainly a Bakeneko. He releases his sword.

In the train, Moria snaps out of something, as if from a dream. The other passengers are no longer portrayed as mannequins. He hears the mayor discussing something to a passenger. Moria feels relieved. In his mind, Moria told Setsuko he had no choice. The people around become mannequins again.

Time seems to stand still. Moria is alone in the train. He sees the mayor’s dead body on the floor. A ghostly Setsuko says she will never forgive him.

The Medicine Seller’s sword strikes.

After the events, Setsuko’s case was reopened. I don’t know if the driver was arrested for anything but the detective came to him. The mayor’s involvement in a corruption scandal came out in the open but he was missing, along with Moria.

Haru returned the key to her lover’s place. Perhaps she decided to end her affair once and for all. Masao visited the bridge and laid flowers for Setsuko. Haru came and so did Chiyo.

The Medicine Seller is at the bottom of the bridge. He says that men are born into the world and that Ayakashi simple come into being. If birth and being are accompanied by Truth and Regret, they gain a form. If they gain a Form, they become a Mononoke, which should not exist. However, they can be cleansed and put to rest. And so there must be a sword and hands in which it might rest.

I was puzzled at how Moria got back when he disappeared in the previous episode. Where was he then? As I wrote above, perhaps the Mononoke returned him because it still had business with him.

In the end, only Moria and the mayor disappeared. The others were alive. They weren’t key players in Setsuko’s death as opposed to Moria and the mayor. Though I don’t think the mayor specifically ordered Moria to kill Setsuko. As Moria said, Setsuko made him kill her. As for the driver, I don’t know if he could be blamed. True, he was sleepy and he did not stop, thinking it was only a cat. He said he could not stop for every cat on the track, otherwise, the train will not make it on time.

Masao, Chiyo and Haru’s case were different because what they did or didn’t do was an obstruction of justice. I think that’s why their representations, with the mouth, ear and eyes respectively, were emphasized. As for the detective, he was merely investigating the case. It was ruled out as a suicide because no one objected him then.

I wonder why Setsuko’s ghost had to gather all these people in order for her revenge to be carried out. Maybe she wanted to be noticed. When she was alive, she wanted to be seen. When she lay in the train tracks, she wanted the driver to notice her and have the train stopped. But Moria didn’t notice her. Though he acknowledged Setsuko’s talent, he thought she was worthless. He even played on her emotions by telling her to write the article but in the end, burn it. He was jealous all along. The driver didn’t notice Setsuko either.

I think Setsuko’s pride and impulsiveness also contributed to her demise somehow. When she first handed her report to Moria, instead of telling his boss he was jealous of her, Setsuko could have handled it in a better way when Moria turned her down. Also, when Moria burned her report, she could have kept quiet about the proof she kept and came out when the time was right. Maybe Setsuko felt superior because she was a newswoman, a position which was rare for women at that time.

I wonder how this arc relates to the Bakeneko arc of Ayakashi. The characters bear some resemblances. Chiyo looks like Kayo, for example. Also, I wonder how Haru’s lover is related to the Sakai family. I stilled haven’t seen Ayakashi though so I’ll reserve the comparisons and such for another post.

Also, this post is long enough on it’s own so I’ll reserve my final thoughts regarding Mononoke for another post too.

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