But if Sekitani Jun hadn’t actually wanted to be a sacrifice, what does that say about his own feelings? And so he resolves to actually find out the truth behind the mystery, for all the reasons he’d previously been engaged and for his own identity besides. Oreki wasn’t just being led into the light by his close associates – he’d even been idolizing Sekitani Jun, seeing his brave sacrifice as an emblem of the cost and glory of a rose-colored life. Oreki-sis’s framing of the incident as a tragedy makes Oreki realize what he’d been doing, and raises new doubts. “Do I want to be like Sekitani or Chitanda?” he thinks, and then pulls in the words of his sister with “I’m sure I won’t regret it ten years from now.” Oreki’s sister pushes him forward as insistently as anyone in this series, so it’s no surprise that a call from her reveals Oreki hasn’t quite solved the mystery without actually giving away the answer. The rest of this episode contrasts the Classics club figuring out the rest of the story behind the mystery with Oreki debating the merits of different lifestyles, and directly comparing himself to Sekitani Jun. Of course, this is Oreki we’re talking about, so him just admitting the rose-colored life tempts him doesn’t mean he’s going to change his identity all at once. And so Satoshi follows his friend into the sunlight, far more uncertain, possibly even unchanged, but still willing to take a chance on Oreki’s newfound brilliance. But just as Satoshi’s false confidence inspired Oreki, so too can Oreki’s real investment inspire his friend in turn. The crow takes flight, sunlight bathes his face basically every visual element imaginable screams that this is the moment, this is Oreki’s chance, this is him entering a new world. Caught in the glow and acknowledging he’s ready to engage with the world, Oreki switches positions with Satoshi, and the lighting shifts to match. Oreki admits his fascination with and even envy of his friends, and the sunlight arrives. And yet in spite of the tenuous nature of what each sees in the other, they still successfully push each other forward. Each of them see something different and true in the other, but each of them are responding to things the other doesn’t necessarily believe in.
Oreki and Satoshi often act as mirrors of each other, with Oreki’s false shadowed affectation leading into light just as Satoshi’s feigned happiness hides darkness.
Oreki is surrounded by light, and as he begins to embrace this thought, his lines start to echo Satoshi’s own feelings. The contrast grows between Oreki’s thoughts and the world around him, the world he’s beginning to acknowledge.
Then, as Oreki begins to admit he’s been influenced by Chitanda and really does want to change, the palette lightens. Oreki’s self-reflection is even cutely emphasized with a shot of his reflection, as he considers who he’s been and who he wants to be.
The sunlight emerges slowly over the course of their conversation, as shots are framed to emphasize the environment and put us exactly in their headspace. Distant shots of the overall scene shift to highlight a black crow huddled in the rain, and then the conversation between the two begins. Early shots establish the rainy but not unpleasant atmosphere, a mirror for Oreki’s gloomy, shadowed everyday life. This is a key turning point for Oreki, and the show sells it wonderfully. “You had your chance to escape,” he says, this time moving beyond “you’ve made a mistake relative to your persona” to “you really are interested in Chitanda, aren’t you?” And as the rain begins to stop, Oreki turns back to Satoshi, and for once doesn’t disagree. Oreki and Satoshi head back from Chitanda’s in the rain, with Satoshi once again needling Oreki about his inconsistent actions.
#Brave and beautiful episode 5 series#
Hyouka’s fifth episode opens with one more of the series’ most iconic sequences (directed and storyboarded by Yoshiji Kigami, in what would be his single largest contribution to the series – though he’s done plenty of other excellent work).
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