I always thought that was sort of intentional, putting the viewer in the shoes of the hapless hat girl who was swept up into a world of power and intrigue that

I always thought that was sort of intentional, putting the viewer in the shoes of the hapless hat girl who was swept up into a world of power and intrigue that she had no context or experience to help her interpret what was going on. Yes, the whole "war" plot was confusing and grotesque- but that is how Sophie would experience it, right? The backstory with the witch of the waste is clearly incredibly consequential to Howl, but it's had to figure out until the end. But that's also Sophie's experience.