Saka no Ue no Akai Yane Eps 2~5 spoiler review

I have finished Saka no Ue no Akai Yane and I have a lot to unpack. The five episodes have been an exhilarating ride. The twists and turns were really well done but I need to  talk about spoilers.

The preview at the end of episode 2 spoiled that Ogura Sana (Kurashina Kana) was Sayako. While it was very exciting and creepy, I was worried that the story had fired its best bullet so early in the story.

Fear not because the truth is even better, Ogura Sana was no Sayako. Sana is who she said she was, a writer who won the newbie prize years ago but hasn't recovered from some mental illness and somehow starts to identify with Sayako the longer the works on the novel.

I really like this twist because there are so many layers to it. At the heart of this story is class divide/envy. Sana's parents being doctors, buying the house on the hill acting all superior and Sana acting out because she can do no wrong.

The host Obuchi and the editor Hashimoto both looking up from the bottom of the hill and wanting to burn the house down. A yes, Hashimoto. The other twist is that he is the one confessing the crime in Obuchi's autobiography and he actually wrote that book. 

The one thing I cannot understand is Obuchi's motivation. Obuchi wants people to treat him like a person instead of women falling down at his feet all the time. 

Hashimoto resents his mother and sister who was nice to him but I am not sure of his motivation of using Sana to impersonate Sayako and causing the deaths of Sana and Reiko (Renbutsu Misako). His motive isn't revenge. I guess Reiko and Sayako were both from uber rich families?

Did Hashimoto induce Sayako to murder her parents in the first place? I need a rewatch. I have a feeling a lot of things are implied and when I rewatch the show knowing everything, the clues will become apparent. Maybe Hashimoto's motivation goes back to the opening line of the fake autobiography. Like Sana said, maybe it was already predetermined.

I really enjoyed watching Renbutsu Misako as Obuchi Reiko. Her character has no redeeming traits but there is this humanity in her that is so warped that she cannot see the truth. She is a mirror of Sayako, both to families living on a hill (figuratively) but she cannot help but resent her family.

I was going to see I am not ready to proclaim Saka no Ue no Akai Yane a must watch yet until a rewatch but writing this spoiler review made me realise how good show was. I am sure I am going to love it after a rewatch and everything will be clear as rain.

If Saka no Ue no Akai Yane has one weakness is that it never addressed the fact that seeking a retrial requires some new evidence coming to light that was not considered in the first place. I guess Reiko is not that bright and just accepted everything the lawyer told her.

Saka no Ue no Akai Yane is the reason why I continue to watch jdoramas. Most jdoramas are to promote johnnys but WOWOW is about entertaining with great stories. Must watch.