I don’t think that’s entirely fair. She figured out who the thieves were, which was more than Interpol had been able to do. She just didn’t figure out how they did it. And her one stupid move- failing to join forces with Clair and Lottie- may not have been entirely her own doing.
“Extremely impressive detective prowess,” just like she told Shauna and Linton.
Actual answer, I’m sure there was a reason – probably something they let slip when Claire was lighting their cigarettes with a disturbing number of lighters. But the investigation was seen from Beate’s point of view, where Lottie and Claire just pulled it out of their hats by magic. So I’m going with a narrative choice rather than an omission.
Now if they get to the political dissident chess grand master, I will demand all the details.
If only they could have solved the case BEFORE going on the ski trip, Lottie wouldn’t have had to sell her face to afford going on the ski trip. Or would that have caused some sort of temporal paradox?
mmm, jewels do not float very well. They might be caught in bend or p-trap? The Ultra-Rich Jewel-Owning class could consider it pocket change for a team of plumbers to rip up the required piping. Unless they consider the baubles so tainted as to wish them forgotten :}
Just imagine what these thieves put them through! To go in the blink of an eye from having an absurdly expensive piece of jewelry to not having it! It’s too much to bear.
Great job Lottie and Claire, but Bea… I feel so much Bea’s rage. It’s a good thing that evil spirit, or whatever Evilottie is, are not so common. Or maybe they are?
Also, she didn’t work hard and do her best. She mostly just stalked Claire and Lottie and left them nasty notes over brunost. Maybe if she had focused on the task at hand, she’d be the one pawning medals.
No kidding. She’s delusional. No one even noticed she was there hiding behind the curtains or failing to impress. She wasn’t publicly shamed because no one had any idea she was attempting to beat the duo. A completely one-sided made-up self-inflicted heel turn. So many times we are our own worst enemies. Good writing, I’m disgusted by this villain.
I feel pity for her. It’s not like she *decided* to have a demon inside her head, is it? And hey, she’s just a kid. She did try her best to find out about the nihilists’ modus operandi, she just wasn’t cut out for the job. And when she wanted to accept Claire’s offer of hot chocolate and friendship that might well have led to a joining of forces, it was her demon that prevented it. Poor thing.
I lived in (then West) Germany for a few years and had conversations with young people, many of them striving to accomplish because of their parents and friends who expected them to excel. This is culture working to demand they be the best! Failure is unthinkable shame!
Tbh when part 2 dropped, I was partially expecting the killer to be the OTHER blonde German girl that Lottie obliviously caused heartbreak/anger. That is, when I wondered if Bad Charlotte was someone we might’ve seen before.
But there’s plenty of reasons why that would not have worked in terms of logistics and story themes, so I’m glad Beate took the fall instead.
It’s a pity she feels this way, she could have used her power of insane jealousy and red-hot vengeance for good, somehow. An outstanding flashback sequence!
1st, you’d have to change it to devotion to a cause (hopefully a Good Cause.) It might be possible to simply explain to her how wrong she got everything and why that’s making her so upset and angry.
Possible typo: should maybe be “a continent OF potential mischief”.
(Great work as always)
Also it should be nincompoop, not nicompoop. Missing N.
The Case Of The Missing Letters
(my guess: it was *upper*)
If it were an actual Bad Machinery case, there would be twice as many suspects.
A “Nicompoop” is when you record a Nico cover in a lavatory because of the nice acoustics.
the earliest spellings of nicompoop lack a second N. So not so much a typo as a variant spelling / pronunciation.
A couple of small typographic missteps which fortunately didn’t hamper the story in any way.
I see what you did there.
Is there an “of” missing in Lottie’s second sentence?
Sorry, Beate, the only one who made you look like an incompetent nincompoop boob was you.
… Actually, it looks like there’s an ‘n’ missing in “nincompoop”, too.
I don’t think that’s entirely fair. She figured out who the thieves were, which was more than Interpol had been able to do. She just didn’t figure out how they did it. And her one stupid move- failing to join forces with Clair and Lottie- may not have been entirely her own doing.
One thing I didn’t get so far: How did Lottie and Claire know what the nihilists would do with the jewelry
Please imagine a “?” at the end of my upper comment.
“Extremely impressive detective prowess,” just like she told Shauna and Linton.
Actual answer, I’m sure there was a reason – probably something they let slip when Claire was lighting their cigarettes with a disturbing number of lighters. But the investigation was seen from Beate’s point of view, where Lottie and Claire just pulled it out of their hats by magic. So I’m going with a narrative choice rather than an omission.
Now if they get to the political dissident chess grand master, I will demand all the details.
-?-
Beate, no!!
If only they could have solved the case BEFORE going on the ski trip, Lottie wouldn’t have had to sell her face to afford going on the ski trip. Or would that have caused some sort of temporal paradox?
If she hadn’t sold her face to go on a ski trip, she’d have had to sell it to go to Vegas. Paradox averted.
What, they didn’t flush them down the toilet?
mmm, jewels do not float very well. They might be caught in bend or p-trap? The Ultra-Rich Jewel-Owning class could consider it pocket change for a team of plumbers to rip up the required piping. Unless they consider the baubles so tainted as to wish them forgotten :}
Beate begins the journey down the grayscale path.
YES! ha ha ha, Yes!
15 Shades of Grey – the non-BDSM, psycho thriller starring Nora von Waldstätten as Beate
(https://www.filmaffinity.com/en/name.php?name-id=567214810)
The Beate goes on.
It’s Buh-ah-teh
More like Bay-ah-tuh, if it’s German.
At least everything worked out for the jewel owning ultra-rich. I was worried about them.
Imagine how tough life is for them, constantly being at risk of having slightly less money than they have.
Necks unadorned at social occasions. It chills the soul.
Or worse, adorned with faux jewelry!
Zut alors!
Unlike the rest of us, they’re always wanting to get their rocks on.
Just imagine what these thieves put them through! To go in the blink of an eye from having an absurdly expensive piece of jewelry to not having it! It’s too much to bear.
It’s even worse, because they still have all their OTHER absurdly expensive jewelry lying around, to constantly remind them of what it was like.
On the other hand, working for them is good since they can actually pay you!
Problem is, they mostly never want to pay you what you’re worth. It is, after all, one of the reasons why they are so rich!
Great job Lottie and Claire, but Bea… I feel so much Bea’s rage. It’s a good thing that evil spirit, or whatever Evilottie is, are not so common. Or maybe they are?
“A doppelgänger opens up a continent of potential mischief”? Man, even her revenge plan was ripped off from Lottie.
Also, she didn’t work hard and do her best. She mostly just stalked Claire and Lottie and left them nasty notes over brunost. Maybe if she had focused on the task at hand, she’d be the one pawning medals.
No kidding. She’s delusional. No one even noticed she was there hiding behind the curtains or failing to impress. She wasn’t publicly shamed because no one had any idea she was attempting to beat the duo. A completely one-sided made-up self-inflicted heel turn. So many times we are our own worst enemies. Good writing, I’m disgusted by this villain.
Knowing this makes me more hyped for part 4
I feel pity for her. It’s not like she *decided* to have a demon inside her head, is it? And hey, she’s just a kid. She did try her best to find out about the nihilists’ modus operandi, she just wasn’t cut out for the job. And when she wanted to accept Claire’s offer of hot chocolate and friendship that might well have led to a joining of forces, it was her demon that prevented it. Poor thing.
I lived in (then West) Germany for a few years and had conversations with young people, many of them striving to accomplish because of their parents and friends who expected them to excel. This is culture working to demand they be the best! Failure is unthinkable shame!
I’m firmly anti-Beate, but I’m loving all these wildly different, completely valid takes on her. That’s a sign of a well-written villain.
That wink in panel 3 looks like it’s evil and directed straight at Beate, which is I guess is how John wants us to see it (from Beate’s point of view)
I think in the last penal Evilottie Bones is dragging Beate away for a nice cup of tea and a lie down; everything turns out ok after a lie down
penal = ‘panel’ with not as much sleep as I should have had, despite the end of daylight saving in NZ giving us an extra hour
Maybe I need that lie down more than Beate
Evil bones girl’s fate SHOULD be penal.
To be fair, that IS how we pronounce it.
They may be ultra wealthy but there are super cheap.
At least there’s a little delicious chocolate inside those medallions!
No Beate Sweetie! How could Lottie and Claire have made you look like an incompetent nincompoop? I mean hardly anyone noticed you at all!
Dang.
Another nihilist is born.
Is it the Barbra Streisand one, or the Lady Gaga one?
Could be Judy Garland. But considering no one ever notices Beate, let alone remembers her, I’m gonna say Janet Gaynor.
Or Marnie Nixon!
Thus is the Conservation of Nihilism maintained! And, look! It is three times stronger in her!
Tbh when part 2 dropped, I was partially expecting the killer to be the OTHER blonde German girl that Lottie obliviously caused heartbreak/anger. That is, when I wondered if Bad Charlotte was someone we might’ve seen before.
But there’s plenty of reasons why that would not have worked in terms of logistics and story themes, so I’m glad Beate took the fall instead.
Unless they needed the money immediately, Lottie and Claire should have waited a while. Gold is going UP!
It actually took a tumble, along with crypto and the rest of the world markets, in the last few days.
It’s a pity she feels this way, she could have used her power of insane jealousy and red-hot vengeance for good, somehow. An outstanding flashback sequence!
You know what they say- “It ain’t over until the fat lady sings!”
I would really like to know how the power of insane jealousy & red-hot vengeance can be used for good.
1st, you’d have to change it to devotion to a cause (hopefully a Good Cause.) It might be possible to simply explain to her how wrong she got everything and why that’s making her so upset and angry.