By the time Episode 4 aired, many viewers had run out of steam when it came to nitpicking the plot setups.
Because, simply put, the story was starting to get good.
Anyone who had paid close attention to the earlier buildup and transitions could now see some of the intriguing elements beginning to take shape.
Sending a text message to change Lab Member 006, Ruka, from male to female…
Sending a text to resurrect Lab Member 007, Faris NyanNyan's deceased father…
Helping the part-time warrior Suzuha track down her own missing father…
And then came a major development: instead of sending texts into the future, they began experimenting with sending human consciousness — memories, brainwaves, the faint electrical currents of thought — into the past.
In other words, transferring your current self, with all your memories, into your past body.
With that, the series fully realized its concepts of timeline traversal theory and the development of the time machine.
At first glance, these plotlines might seem unrelated. But it's as if an invisible thread is quietly tying everything together.
Then, halfway through Episode 4...
The mysterious time traveler "John Titor" — a name that had been repeatedly mentioned — finally became relevant. His prediction of an organization called "SERN," which would one day rule the Blue Planet with its grasp of time travel technology, suddenly felt very real. The SERN had finally taken notice of Okabe and the team's experiments.
"My head hurts... but this is actually getting interesting!"
"Sure, the setup is completely bonkers — I mean, phones plus microwaves messing with the past? But whatever, once you accept it, the story's actually pretty fun!"
"Started with lottery numbers, then gender-swapping Ruka, then helping Faris reunite with her dead dad… every time they mess with the past, the key item — that vintage computer — just disappears again."
"And now there's SERN, huh? Feels like the final boss. Are we about to get a full-on pursuit arc where the organization hunts the main characters to steal their time travel tech?"
"Wait, wait, wait. Can someone explain how Ruka became female just because her mom ate more vegetables???"
"Where does the power to change timelines even come from? They're just using a phone and microwave combo — shouldn't there be a cost?"
"Just look at Okabe from a 4D perspective — no, 3.5D — and everything will make sense."
"The mood is getting intense... now that SERN is watching the team, what happens next?"
"Makise is so cute. And Mayuri, too. It's a shame the show barely has any romance — it's all experiments."
"But I think Makise kinda likes Okabe, right? She always gets flustered around him. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if this show just turned into a rom-com starting Episode 5. I'm hooked now."
"Wait… Mayuri's pocket watch… it stopped?!"
And then — bang.
The most chilling line from 'Steins;Gate' finally drops, spoken by Mayuri:
"The watch has stopped."
From that single sentence, the show officially enters its main storyline.
In the original anime, it took 12 full episodes to get here.
In the original game, even longer.
But in this live-action adaptation by Jing Yu, they reached this point in just two weeks — nearly five hours of TV time.
Then came the scene that stunned the fan chat into silence:
The door bursts open.
Lab Member 005, Moeka, storms in with a group of armed men.
What was once a hangout spot for a bunch of eccentric college students is now a crime scene.
Okabe, Makise, Mayuri, Itaru — all restrained.
And the viewers, who were just joking around in the fan group chat, go dead silent.
"Wait… what?!"
"Big-boobed Moeka… is the villain?!"
"Huh?! What's going on???"
"Is this show turning from a goofy sci-fi into something serious?"
"Okabe's going to have a breakdown. There's a traitor among them!"
"Moeka's part of SERN? So everything the main team did… was known by the organization that rules the future?"
"Wait… are you telling me the future's time machine that lets SERN rule the world is… the phone microwave they built?! That's insane!"
"Okabe, Makise, Itaru — you three, come with me." Tong Yu said, her tone cold as she pointed her gun. Then she looked at Mayuri.
"Mayuri stays."
"Eh…?"
BANG.
Moeka pulls the trigger.
Blood blossoms from Mayuri's forehead.
The beloved 'Steins;Gate' moe queen, Mayuri, first death occurs at the end of Episode 4, in front of all the viewers.
Okabe completely breaks down.
His eyes fall to the upgraded version of the Phone Microwave — modified by Makise.
Not just a device to send texts to the past.
But one that sends memory, consciousness, or, put simply, your current soul back to your past self.
In the final moments of Episode 4, with the help of the part-time warrior Suzuha distracting the intruders, Okabe seizes his chance.
He puts on the headphone piece of the upgraded time travel device.
"I won't forgive her…" Okabe muttered, looking at Moeka. For the first time, a madness flared in his eyes — rage that couldn't be contained.
He activates the improved Phone Microwave — the one that lets his consciousness jump into the past.
"JUMP!" he screams.
For four straight episodes over two weeks, the show hadn't featured an opening or ending theme.
But right at that moment, the opening theme finally begins to play — and the audience collectively wakes up.
"Mayuri… is dead?!"
"Is that it? Is that… the story now?!"
And then — the infamous cliffhanger.
"No way. Is anyone else wondering if there's another episode tonight? You can't just end it HERE!"
"Seriously! I sat through all that slow plot earlier, and now you hit me with a cliffhanger like this??"
"Nope. According to Yunteng TV's release schedule, starting next week, it's only one episode per week."
"Noooo! Mayuri was so cute! Why did the writers kill her off?!"
"Was I wrong about this show? Is this not a campy pseudo-science comedy?"
"MOEKA MUST DIE!"
"I never liked that smug girl. Always brooding, and now look! She killed Mayuri without hesitation, even though Mayuri was always kind to her. Just kill when no longer useful?"
"Okabe's shattered! If he hadn't kept messing with the Phone Microwave, they wouldn't have been targeted. Mayuri wouldn't be dead."
"Thankfully, he has one more chance. If the upgraded device works, even just sending his mind back a few hours, he could save her!"
"Guys… after watching Episode 4, I feel like this show isn't just some mediocre mess the media said it was. Thinking back on those 'boring' parts in Episodes 1 and 2, maybe they were full of hidden foreshadowing!"
"I dunno, I just came to see Director Jing Yu's face, but now I'm genuinely into the plot. This is nuts."
"Yunteng TV's website just put up Episodes 1 and 2 for free. I'm gonna go rewatch them now. I thought they were boring, but now it feels like there's a deeper meaning behind it all."
"See you all next week. Let's hope Episode 5 keeps up this momentum."
"Support Doodooroo's revival!"
"Doodooroo doodooroo doodooroo doodooroo doodooroo! Doodooroo must live! Moeka must die!"
As for ratings, during the second week:
Episode 3 averaged a 2.29% rating.
Episode 4 climbed to 2.67%.
Meanwhile, its competitor, 'You, Beneath the Cliff', scored 7.03% on its second episode.
Now, 2.67% is a good number — something to celebrate.
But for the 'You, Beneath the Cliff' production team, seeing 'Steins;Gate's rise felt… off.
They all assumed that after the disastrous reception and ratings of the previous week, 'Steins;Gate' would drop below 2%.
And yet Episode 4 rose above Episode 3?
Both episodes this week outperformed the prior week.
What was going on?
Was Jing Yu's fanbase really that loyal?
Or…
Did viewers actually think the show was getting good?
Whatever the reason, one thing was clear: for Huanshi TV, this ratings trend was a gut punch. If 'Steins;Gate' didn't exist, all that viewer share would've likely gone to 'You, Beneath the Cliff'. After all, only these two dramas had broken the 2% mark. The rest were irrelevant.