LogFAQs > #920448525

For what it's worth, I've been thinking about it, and I kind of want to move Shannon up in my mastermind likelihood rankings. Or at least, I want to increase the strength of my suspicion there.

When I think about all the themes of the game and her arcs, she's the best fit, narratively.

She represents the theme of social divide and cycle of abuse really well - Social divide because, of course, she is a servant, and is therefore treated as "lesser than", even though she deserves more. Just like how all the adults got treated badly by Kinzo and all their kids get treated badly by them as a result.

And she also represents the theme of "choosing" a better world for yourself, even if it's just in your imagination and/or your perspective - We have a chapter, chapter 2, where she specifically showed how she is willing to create an imaginary narrative (her whole thing with Beatrice) to make herself feel better about her crush. And also, she continually explains to Kanon her "growth" and how she is able to see the world with color now because of her PoV change. Which is a perfect representation of the themes Ange and Maria taught us so much about in episode 4.

So she's a great intersection of both of these core themes, and beyond that, she shows really strong convictions about it, because she explains them in depth to Kanon, and also she confronts Beatrice about them in episode 2. She proves that she's someone willing to stand up for herself, and even do whatever it takes to hold on to the "better" world she's made for herself.

Remember we also have the theme of "things in life are only worth it if you struggle for them" and/or "things in life have meaning even if they don't last forever", like the rose that blooms only for a while and then dies to the rain. She represents both of these themes in episode 2 as well, when she tells Beatrice that she's happy to have had what she had with George, even if it ends. I think a psycopathic killer (if she were one) would be able to justify killing the people she loves if she believes it's for a greater purpose and/or if she believes that the time they had together still counts even if she kills them. This could be the killer's PoV even if it's not her.

And she also shows in episode 2 that she is willing to do whatever is needed to achieve her goals. She travels to an island and smashes a mirror to release an evil witch so that she can get the boy she likes. No, that's not real, Beatrice doesn't exist, but, I think the false stories we're told still highlight aspects of the characters that do matter. And also, (and this isn't my main point, since I'm really just looking at this thematically atm), even if she didn't really smash a mirror because that's fake, she did go to a small island for some reason... and do something there... maybe...?

And again, like I said, Shannon's conflict with Beatrice in episode 2 is sort of the closest any of the human characters have come to having... really the most complex relationship with Beatrice. Kanon sees Beatrice as an evil foe. Natsuhi sees her as a friendly ally. Etc etc. Shannon goes from having her as a friend to having her as a foe who she has long complex debates with about the meaning of life. And I just got the sense that there was something notable about that.

So, when you put all that together, I think she's the perfect person to have a motive that represents all the core themes of the game - If she's the mastermind, then she is perpetuating the cycle of abuse that was forced onto her her whole life, and she's doing so to create a better world for herself because she can decide her world for herself, regardless of reality, and that may mean ignoring the bad things she does, or it may mean valuing those lives but still being able to move past it.

I'm aware I could be totally wrong here and look really silly, but if I'm right I hope I seem really smart.