Actually, I’m the one who has been played for a fool. However, I’ve probably deserved it. From DAY ONE I thought Feanor was a werewolf. Her behavior that day and sometimes subsequently has been puzzling, as I noted before. She attacked both Saucepan Man and bilbo_baggins on the first day and was supported in her assertions by Anguirel. Now, we know all too well that Saucepan Man and bilbo_baggins were innocent and Anguirel was the werewolf. Feanor never did retract her vote from Saucepan Man that day, even though she had plenty of time to do so.
On DAY TWO Feanor looked like she was going up the steps. I thought this was a perfectly rational thing to do. However, mormegil was the seer and convinced us (more or less) to hang Firefoot. This turned out to be correct. However, notice on that DAY Feanor couldn't resist returning to beat on poor bilbo_baggins...again. However, she did not actually make a vote for some time, almost as if she’s taken a hint from something. She finally did cast her vote against the phantom, who we now know to be innocent. Is anyone else seeing a pattern here? Notice how after Mithalwen voted for Firefoot, Feanor changed her vote as if she saw a way out of her little mess by hopping on the bandwagon.
Now, lets take a look at the pattern of the last couple of victims. On DAY FOUR, we awoke to find that the phantom had absconded. On DAY THREE, even though he voted for Primrose, the phantom actually built a case against Feanor which at least seemed plausible. (Would that I had listened at the time.) The summary of his remarks on the subject is that mormegil may not have dreamed about Feanor. He may have just assumed Feanor was innocent or, as the phantom suggested, he was trying to let us know that he did not know about Feanor. Low and behold, the next morning the phantom is dead.
On DAY FIVE, what happens but Feanor’s favorite old whipping boy bilbo_baggins turns up in the dock. While, I must admit that it seems a little suspicious that Oddwen put him up, Feanor’s contribution to the situation piles onto a mountain of suspicion much greater than Oddwen’s. Feanor certainly acted with the utmost alacrity to add her vote to one who we now know to be innocent. Then we had Mithalwen, the dissenting voice (forgive me Mithalwen, for I have yet again done something
incredibly stooopid) who returned with a reinforced argument that contained bits and pieces of my original arguments. I’m beginning to think that the reason why I’ve lasted this long is because I’m so obviously stone deaf that I can’t hear a thing that is said to me. Well, I’m listening now and I hope it is not too late.
Then we have this lulu of an exchange…
Mithalwen-
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If one of them is guilty then I salute you for playing a blinder
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To which Feanor responded-
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I'm not sure what a blinder is (presumably someone or something that intentionally messes with how people see things?), but I will gracefully accept that salute.
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Now I wonder if Feanor is really so very ignorant of what Mithalwen said. On the face of it, Feanor just confessed to being the werewolf we’ve all been looking for. Now, she may really not have known what “blinder” means. (In case anyone does not know, it means doing a really good job and such like). In this context, Mithalwen was referring to the werewolf. I begin to think it is possible that Feanor said that sarcastically, attempting to cover it, but still sarcastically believing that Mithalwen was in bed and would not be up again until too late.
Then, what do we find on DAY SIX? Mithalwen is unceremoniously (and I do mean unceremoniously) slain, who had been so dangerously persuasive on DAY FIVE. Someone apparently did not want Mithalwen’s brain to be working on this problem any farther. And, what does she do but accuse me who has done nothing but attempt to exercise patience throughout. She's probably mad at me because I failed to seal bilbo_baggins' fate hours before Mithalwen could have intervened and tried to direct us onto the true course. Also notice that there is no explanation as to why I am guilty. Just an implicit demand to go along.
Well, here at last, on the shore of the…uhhh…town pond, I come again to the same puzzlement that has beset me from the beginning. Why would Feanor go charging off at anybody and everybody without any knowledge of the situation? The obvious answer is that she is the last werewolf. No other explanation makes nearly the sense that this one does. And here we are, three of us left and one of us is a werewolf. One of the three is the one we’ve suspected from the very beginning. She's been incessantly howling her innocence to anybody and everybody. As Shakespeare said "I think she doth protest too much." I should have never abandoned my belief in the simplest answer always being the best. I think we should have done this a lot sooner.
++ FEANOR OF THE PEREDHIL