Secrets of the Silent Witch

Episode 6

This episode of Secrets of the Silent Witch focuses on two trivial-seeming events in Monica's new school life. The first of these is her learning how to dance. These scenes exist to show us once again how Monica's trauma affects her in her everyday life. It's not that she's physically uncoordinated, it's that she's entirely too much in her head—worrying about people's thoughts and judgments to the point that it negatively affects her ability to function. It's only when she is no longer fixated on her deep-seated worries—be that because of someone acting out of character or a gem cut with mathematical beauty—that her subconscious is free to act as it should.

The second focal event is her first tea party. However, rather than having a concrete structure for what you're expected to do, like dancing, tea parties go the other way and only have taboos that you must avoid. In other words, Monica only knows what she's not supposed to do—leaving her with far too much freedom for comfort.

The trial tea party is doubly tense due to the inclusion of Claudia, a young lady who can read between the lines in the way a country noble or nouveau riche cannot. While she comes off as callous or even bullying to Monica and her friends, this seems to be far from intentional on her part. She is trying to show the other girls that a tea party is not just drinking with your friends—it is a social event full of subtext. Starting with a strong or uncommon tea, for example, overshadows everyone to come after—stealing the spotlight for yourself. Meanwhile, using an expensive tea can look like you're simply throwing your money around to show your superiority over the others at the party. In other words, the key to a successful tea party is not just choosing tea but also making sure you're sending the right message to your guests—especially if there are newcomers to the group.

However, this tea party situation allows Monica to assert herself in ways she never has before. She can see the lessons that Claudia is trying to teach, but also understands that, in the end, a tea party exists to make the attendees happy. While she is more than happy to follow the unspoken rules, she also instinctively understands when it is safe to break them. Yes, serving coffee at a tea party is surely a bit of a faux pas, but doing so doesn't insult the newbie to the group (Claudia) and comes across genuinely heartfelt as she is sharing something she truly loves with her friends.

Yet, there is also another layer to the tea party: the mystery of Monica's tea leaves. The episode plays a bit of a narrative trick on us here. The visual direction puts in our heads the idea that the culprit is either Claudia (by crash cutting from Claudia's sly smile to Monica discovering the missing leaves) or the bully girl who previously—though accidentally—pushed Monica down the stairs (by reminding us of her existence in the previous scene).

However, this is all clever misdirection. After Casey gives Monica a scrap of paper to mark her tea, Monica does not sign it like Casey does. Instead, she folds it into perfect squares. To us who know of Monica's true nature, marking something of hers with geometric perfection makes total sense. However, neither the bullies nor Claudia would have any reason to associate the folded piece of paper with Monica. In other words, only someone who saw where Monica placed her tea and how she marked it would know which tea was hers. And that leaves us with only one possible culprit.

However, the 'whodunit' is only half of the mystery. We still have the 'whydunit'—the motive—to uncover. Why would Casey bully Monica by throwing away her tea? Does she have a grudge against Monica? Does she simply wish to have the upper hand in their friendship by both embarrassing Monica and then “saving” her? We don't have enough information to conclude, but there's still plenty to speculate on as we wait for the next episode.

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Secrets of the Silent Witch is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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