This arc finishes up uniquely, as it plays out more like a detective series. As illustrated before, there was a connection between Setsuko’s death and the mayor. We learn that she dug up a major scandal. As she was a reporter struggling so hard to find a scoop, she finally found it. But her superior, Moriya, got in the way. Simply put, they were working together. It is fucked up that his words from before were that he was doing it for her. More than likely that was his justification for his actions of killing her.
One element in this arc that was very interesting is how it handled those who were directly responsible and those who were indirectly responsible. As we had witnesses in the state of the crime. The boy saw it but tried to ignore what he saw. The woman who didn’t want the affair to be found out shut the noise out. The waitress who lied. Finally, the detective who didn’t do his job.
How the episode goes to the epilogue is interesting because perhaps as the apothecary exorcises the Mononoke, he allows the woman to pass on. In this case, what if those witnesses did their jobs? As them being at the site where she died implies that. We don’t see Setsuko’s boss or the mayor as we learn that the scandal is brought to light.
