The sixth episode of the drama series "Good Things and Bad Things" (NTV, Saturdays at 9 PM), starring actors Mamiya Shotaro and Araki Yuko, aired on November 15th. In the episode, it was revealed that Kobayashi (Fujima Sawako), a former classmate and class representative of Takagi (Mamiya), who is investigating the truth behind a series of murders of classmates, had been harboring a personal grudge against Sonoko (Araki). While Kobayashi had previously been portrayed as suspicious, she had no direct connection to the series of murders, which led to a flood of social media discussions about the true culprit.
◇The following contains spoilers.
In episode 6, while Takagi and Sonoko are busy investigating a series of murders, the situation takes a sudden turn. A rival magazine to Weekly Apollo, where Sonoko works, carries a shocking headline: "Beautiful Reporter Saruhashi Sonoko Suspected of Being a Serial Killer!?" The article mentions the time capsule, the yearbook, and the suspicious deaths of classmates who had a connection with Sonoko, all of which make it seem as if Sonoko is the culprit, leaving Sonoko speechless. The editorial department is inundated with phone calls, causing chaos.
Sonoko is viewed with suspicion by the public and subjected to fierce criticism. With nowhere to go, she takes refuge with Kobayashi, the class representative. Worried about Sonoko and outraged as if it were his own fault, Kobayashi urges her to publish a rebuttal article and tell the truth, but if they do that, Takagi and Koyama (Shintaro Morimoto) will become the targets of attack, and neither Takagi's family nor Koyama's company will get away with it. Kobayashi tells Sonoko, who is unsure, to "do the right thing." When Sonoko makes up her mind, Takagi also replies that she should tell the truth. However, Sonoko says she will not write a rebuttal article... and so the story unfolds.
Later in the story, Shinonome (Mai Fukagawa) summons Takagi and the others to the snack bar Imakuni, run by Imakuni (Junki Tozuka), and tells them that Kobayashi had provided information to the former editor-in-chief of Weekly Apollo, who had written a slanderous article about Sonoko. Meanwhile, Sonoko is accompanied by Kobayashi to visit the grave of his younger brother. Kobayashi, who had been harboring a grudge against Sonoko due to the article, attempts to stab her, but fails.
After that, detective Utsumi (Subaru Kimura) made it clear that Kobayashi would be charged with a crime, and with him eliminated as a possible suspect, social media heated up with speculation on who the remaining characters were to be the real culprit. Among them, there were many who suspected Imakuni, with comments such as, "With the class president and homeroom teacher out of the running, that leaves Imakuni, Shinonome, Kantaro, and Mori, his daughter's homeroom teacher? So those are the four options," "The class president is gone from the list of suspects, and Shinonome doesn't seem out of the running either... so it must be the seventh person who hasn't been identified yet, or Imakuni, or Turbo," "They have a total of 150 types of alcohol, and if you drink them all, you get the mythical 151st type. Isn't that like Pokemon? Isn't the professor Imakuni?" and "Even a man would have a hard time dropping Bin-chan to her death unless he was completely drunk. The ones who seem suspicious are the Imakuni store owner, who was able to add the drugs, and Kantaro, who looked after the drunk Bin-chan as he left."
There were also voices questioning the connection with Shinonome, such as, "Do-ko is Moeka's older sister, and she transferred schools due to bullying by King and the other six. Imakuni and Shinonome were classmates at Do-ko's new school," and "Shinonome and Imakuni have had a connection for a long time, but if they were deliberately trying to hide it from King and the others, then the Shinonome-Imakuni line becomes all the more suspicious."
