Fairly straightforward resolution to this mystery. Thieves and slavers. Much of the most interesting reveals involved elements peripheral to the main mystery.

Women in this series are STRONG! The waif-like Anastassia hauls Kujo into the carriage like he was a sack of potatoes.

Kujo observes that Avril's scary story was true. Odd about that. She volunteered the story before he mentioned he was going into town. On a shopping trip requested by his sister. Just odd!

The waif (Luigi) states that, "There was somebody like you before." Someone investigating the disappearances? Who?

Kujo does have a tendency to ramble on about Victorique, doesn't he? Heh.

Big Reveal! The magician IS Brian Roscoe after all! (I was wrongo on that one!) Red hair, but seriously green eyes -- that stare at Kujo. Is it Cordelia in the chess puppet? Why does she wish to conceal her presence? She certainly couldn't still be wanted by the law, which I don't believe she ever was anyway. There was never any indication that charges were pressed agaist her for the murder in Seyrun. Is she hiding from Grevil? Or others, as well?

Grevil's ridiculous do was apparently the price he had to pay for Victorique's help on some previous case.

Grevil shows more competence in this episode than we've ever seen before. He works effectively with Kujo to stage their little distraction so the other officers can dope the windows unnoticed. He also handled the kick-ass blonde with little difficulty. Which recalls my question about his lack of action against Herminia a couple of episodes ago. Would having Victorique dead be convenient?

Who is the Jacqueline woman in the parlour, and what's her relationship to Grevil? Another redhead.

Finally, Victorique's dream seems to be a memory of her -- at a significantly younger age -- being taunted by Grevil. If this is indeed the case, and not some misdirection (the voice didn't sound like Grevil to me), then Grevil needs to suffer. I'd advocate grinding his bones to powder -- while they're still in him.

Avril's scary story is eerily (and conveniently) prophetic of the adventure to ensure. (Can't wait until Avril and Victorique finally meet face-to-face.)

A veritable doll-house in the middle of a maze. Could anything be more appropriate for Victorique?

I wonder if the stolen works of art to which Grevil is referring -- which are now reappearing on the black market, are the same ones pilfered by the late, Great Kuiaran?

Young women and children disappearing. Other than a slave trade, what could be the purpose in that?

Two coincidences drive this plot so far. First, Kujo being mistaken for someone else of "Oriental" demeanor. Second, neglecting to get off the elevator on the proper floor. There's no way getting around the second being nothing more than a plot contrivance. Oh well!

Kujo has a good eye for details.

The "Blue Rose" did not shatter or chip when it hit the floor. Probably not glass, then.

Grevil mutters that he has to live up to "their expectations." He's definitely under pressure, but is it a personal thing, a career issue (i.e., protecting his professional reputation) or something darker?

When Kujo had brought Grevil down into the basement, why didn't the girl come out? Was she more afraid of the hulking bad guy than reassured by the unimpressive inspector?

Victorique's dream of her imprisionment was disturbing, despite the lack of overt physical danger or distress. For someone of her intelligence and disposition, the situation protrayed would genuinely be "torturous." No wonder she literally surrounds herself with books. They're not just entertainment. They're comforting -- an emotional shield. I hope the ones who were responsible for this eventually get it -- good and hard. And that may include Grevil.

Victorique REALLY hates pain. Related -- I'm not sure what's being communicated by her continuing regard of her damaged palms. And are those burn marks, or pressure damage from holding onto Kujo? Is she looking at her hands because they're a continuing source of discomfort, or because -- given her aversion to pain -- she's perplexed by her ability to hang onto Kumo despite the pain? As isolated and alone as she's been, that degree of commitment to someone else might very well be...confusing...and threatening to her sense of self-reliance.

Who made off with Kujo?  The store people? The Orientals who were originally supposed to show up? Someone else who also mistook Kujo for the "other" Oriental? Or someone looking to protect Kujo?

This episode finished up the "Village of the Gray Wolves" arc fairly well, I thought. The clues were pretty honest, without any huge red herrings, though I wouldn't go so far as to say that the plotting was actually "tight." The physical confrontation at the end, especially, was not very convincing, but that's not generally been a high point of this series anyway.

The "evidence" that convinced Derek to confess was pretty weak. They were throwing those nuts all over the place, so their presence at both scenes seemed less than definitive. However, I've seen confessions coerced by evidence just as weak in eveything from "Perry Mason" to "Columbo," so I'll cut 'em some slack. I guess what was important is that Derek believed it.

Regarding the Elder's murder, the gold left about was an indication it was not a robbery, which left some type of crime of passion -- which made Harminia stand out. The very fact that she purported to know how the killing stroke was delivered was also a clue -- that I missed. The clock not striking was a clue, though not in the way I thought. There was really no way to figure out her motivation ahead of time, but I didn't find it unbelievable after the fact. It's not clear why she thought killing the prophet would change the prophecy, but 15 year olds are not noted for their cool, rational thinking. (With a...ahem...notable exception, now and then.)

I don't really understand what the deal was with Herminia's confession. I guess her sense of guilt made her hear what she was afraid of hearing???? 'Cause it didn't seem to be what Kujo actually said. I think we could've used a few more details there.

I was right that Mildred was simply following Victorique and "reporting in," but I would have bet she was NOT reporting to Grevil -- so I blew that. Though they even gave us a clue when Kujo earlier noted, in reading the article in the paper, that Grevil had not arrested the criminal. Still...I just find it hard to believe that Grevil was sharp enough to "catch" Mildred at anything...unless, she wanted to get caught? Nah, probably over-thinking things again. Just like I'm sure it's a complete coincidence that both Mildred and the Magician have flaming red hair.

Speaking of the Magician, I have little doubt who the petite blond standing beside him on the cliff was, but I'm fascinated as to what their relationship with each other is. Is he someone she met during the war? Husband, lover, or just a comrade-in-arms?

I don't think the Magician is Brian Roscoe. Roscoe was supposedly a native son of Seyrun, and so one would expect him to be a blond, though there are always exceptions to every rule.

For being so athletic in tackling the fleeing thief at the beginning of the episode, Grevil was totally useless against a girl with a sharpened stick. Was that poor writing, or because he wouldn't have been displeased with a tragic outcome? I really have no idea what his true motivations are (or his level of intelligence). On a related note, Kujo's father should have been giving him lessons on how to fight girls. He's REALLY bad at it. This is the second time a girl's whipped his butt. Hell...I think Victorique could take him.

I was rolling my eyes at MOST of the action at episode's end. Why didn't Grevil take a part? Why didn't he have a gun? Why didn't the three of them rush Herminia simultaneously? Could Victorique really have held Kujo's weight, even momentarily? Why didn't someone come to help her pull him up? (Yes, regarding the latter, I know it was an important "dramatic moment" -- which often suspends the rules of logic -- but I wish they had choreographed it less unrealistically somehow.) This was the weakest part of the episode, in my mind.

The very ending was just a little bit corny, but it worked for me. Big time.

Both the "magician" and the "sister" single out Kujo. Coincidence? Maybe, but I'm skeptical. Is it possible the magician wanted Kujo to give the hat to Victorique for the express purpose of trying to unsettle Gravil?

Victorique's reaction to the plunk on the head was extreme. She seemed to be reacting to something other than the simple physical pain. Is this just a quirk of her rather extreme nature, or is it possible that she's been treated much more harshly in the past than we presently have reason to believe?  (I HOPE it's the former rather than the latter.)

Was the "Sister" -- Mildred -- really planning on going to the village? Or was she perhaps simply following Kujo and Victorique, and then playing it by ear?

Victorique's dream of the squirrel -- there are some scenes in the opener that show her in the presence of a squirrel. Perhaps a new-found pet. So...was her dream a premonition of things to come? Some have suggested this mysterious power of the Gray Wolves may have to do with precognition. This would tend to lend credence to that. And also help to explain why she's so good at what she does.

It's so CUTE when she's struggling to throw the chair! (Sorry.)

Victorique says her mother "threw herself into the war that had just begun." Threw herself into it how????? Did she become a Mata Hari? The Great War keeps coming up in different contexts -- and impinging on the present.

Many things about the Elder's story don't make a lot of sense, but the statement that the "others" he was with at the time of the murder "all" reported different times is especially weird. How does that happen? Diverging parallel timelines? I don't really think this is THAT type of story. Were these other people really there to witness this event at all? Or were people later coerced into providing alibies?

What was hidden in the compartment beneath Cordelia's house? And why replace it with a picture of her and Victorique? What purpose does that serve? It doesn't seem like something that would've been done by someone hostile to Cordelia -- it seems rather sentimental.

Victorique's reaction at the grave of the murdered Elder shows a side of her that we haven't seen before. (We also learn something else important about Victorique in this episode. She can't sing.)

The three "tourists" ask Mildred how it went with the phone. She also made a phone call from the hotel in the village of Horvitz. She sure seems to make a lot of phone calls, especially at a time in history when this was not all that common an activity. Could she be 'checking in" with somebody? If so, who? Good guys? Bad guys? My gut feeling is she's not a bad guy. (And that could be REALLY wrong.) Could she have been reporting to Miss Cecile? (See my speculations in Episode 1 concerning Miss Cecile being more than she seems.) And could Miss Cecile be working for/with...Cordelia Gallo????? (Kudos on that one, SDB.)

Brian Roscoe, who -- ten years ago, at the start of THE WAR -- provided money to the village and had electricity installed. Could he have been Maxim/Kuiaran, the mummified thief from episode 5? The time frame fits, at least. And Maxim was blond haired. (As was the rather petite second Kuiaran.)

The three tourists seem very interested in investigating "objects." Examining a pitcher, plinking a goblet, dropping a vase in (holy) water. And one also expressed concern about being chased out of the village "right away" or "right now." I think it's possible they may have been there looking for treasure. Possibly the gold coins that the previous Elder was reputed to have "collected." (Which gold may have been melted and formed into other objects.) Are they being killed to protect the treasure, or for other, more devious reasons?

Finally, towards the end of the episode, Victorique is standing in the study were the previous Elder was murdered. The clock strikes three, scaring birds outside the window, and suddenly it all comes together in her mind. Why? The one obvious thing is that, had the murder genuinely occurred at precisely 12:00, as the present Elder testified, the clock in the study should have been striking -- something which everyone would have heard. There should have been no doubt as to the time. And yet, that appears not to have been the case.

The introduction to the first episode points out that the Academy where most of our action takes place is "THE educational institution for the children of the aristocracy." Important? Dunno. Maybe.

Despite being presented as primarily a well-intentioned air-head, Miss Cecile seems to be at the right place at the right time to get a lot of things moving. The first thing we see her say to Kujo is, "I think you should read ghost stories." Gee, now...where would he find those, do ya suppose? Victorique tells Kujo he'll return the next day at the stroke of noon, and the next day Miss Cecile "just happens" to be talking to Kujo on a bench by the library with a stack of handouts for Victorique right around noon. In Episode 4, it's Miss Cecile who directs Kujo and "Avril" to the crypt, the scene of the next incident. Then in Episode 5, it's she who "just happens" to find the discarded book and keeps Kujo around the crypt long enough for a noise to attract his attention. Maybe this is all just chance, or maybe it's a benign conspiracy, in that she's just trying to get the lonely Victorique a friend...or maybe it's something more involved.

Miss Cecile's line that "Even the political world has a Ministry of the Occult," strikes me as a seeming throw-away line that might have deeper implications later on.

Victorique was NOT hiding from Kujo. Does Miss Cecile talk much to her? What kind of relationship do THEY have? Could they have coordinated the "maneuver" on Kujo? Victorique tells Kujo that he was "chosen." That may be literally true. Victorique may think he was chosen by her. That may only be partly true.

According to Grevil, on the night of Roxanne's murder, the granddaughter "just happened" to drop by for a visit.

A mirror was shot. Victorique calls it a "magic mirror." She uses a similar phrase when first talking to Kujo, speaking of her "premonition" of his arrival.

The same granddaughter who is so greedy that she forbids the manservant from using the axe on Roxanne's door because it might now be her property, the very next day simply gives away to Grevil what must be a very expensive yacht. The same yacht which "just happens" to have Roxanne's invitation on it.

Kujo mentions that the Inspector "seems uneasy about something."

Victorique doesn't get permission to go outside without Grevil's "influence." She is allowed to accompany Kujo to the yacht, from which the Inspector is conveniently called away by the maids "escape," allowing Victorique to investigate the yacht unhindered.

Why did Victorique want to take so much stuff? Was she considering escaping her "prison?"

In the dining room on the ship, there were no plates or glasses close to Kujo. Why was he rendered unconscious if all he ate was a roll?

How could Julie have moved all of those unconscious males all by herself?

Ned specifically holds Maurice from going into the lifeboat.

Maurice asks Victorique if they've met somewhere before. She clearly reminds him of somebody. (Her mother, perhaps?}

Kujo is stopped from going into the elevator by a shout from someone (Maurice or Ned?).

Julie seems very interested in the relationship between Victorique and Kujo, especially at a time when one would expect her to have other matters on her mind.

Why doesn't Julie shoot Ned, or at least prevent him from picking up the pistol? She knows he was the hound the last time. All the other malefactors are dead. Why not deal with him then and there? Why throw away HER gun?

Why doesn't Ned use the axe on Julie? Why does he just throw her aside?

We don't actually see the stroke when Julie puts the axe into Ned's back. There's certainly not a LOT of blood. Then he conveniently falls over the side.

In the flashback to the first incident, it appeared to be Julie who checked that Ned was dead.

The young girl Julie helps on-board the ship - Lee - turns out to be the maid who murdered Roxanne. What a coincidence that she chose to act at precisely the same time as Julie's plot unfolds. Tenth anniversary motivation? Well, maybe....

Victorique's mother was seen as a "dangerous figure" by "the government." Why? Illegitimate offspring of the aristocracy were generally considered embarrassments at that time, but hardly worth the kind of treatment Victorique received. (The days of successor-assassinations had pretty much passed.)

Victorique was originally "isolated deep inside the Blois family mansion," but then eventually allowed to attend the academy. Something doesn't add up there.