Unfortunately the somewhat garish visual style of the premiere episode(s) was back this week. But that was what I expected, so it’s baked in at this point. I still think that look is ill-matched to the material but at least the whole proposition doesn’t come off looking cheap. The Apothecary Diaries is a bit of an unorthodox series to me in general, and not in an unappealing way. It tends to amble rather than race wherever it’s going, and this episode was no exception. In fact there was really no payoff at all, unless you count that twist towards the end.
For starters, we have Matsutake mushrooms, one of the great delicacies of Japan (they have them in China too, obviously). This serve as a bonding device between Maomao and the “quack doctor” (I’m assuming that consuming something she harvested on palace grounds would be considered a crime). Here we get the tie-in to the cliffhanger last week as a eunuch comes in claiming to have been cursed. Maomao immediately diagnoses the rash on his hands as just that, a rash, caused by some material on the wooden tablets he was burning as trash (which flames spectacularly). But to herself she notes that this is odd, and they might perhaps be some sort of code.
Interestingly, this seeming MacGuffin is largely ignored for the rest of the episode, as the focus turns towards the upcoming garden party with the Emperor. All four top concubines will be in attendance (including two we’ve barely seen so far), and all ladies in waiting are expected to attend. This of course includes Maomao, who has absolutely no interest but can’t get out of it. Her immediate reaction is to sew pockets into her underwear for warmers, but the other ladies have their own ideas about preparing her for the event (though everyone including Jinshi does come begging for warmers of their own).
The big bomb dropped here, to be sure, is the freckles. The ladies in waiting are determined to get Maomao in makeup (among other things), including covering her freckles. But this blows her cover, as it turns out the freckles are makeup. When Jinshi asks for an explanation, Maomao tells him that she did it to make herself less attractive to men unsatisfied (for various reasons) after their visit to the brothels. I think she looked cute with the freckles, but that’s beside the point.
Jinshi’s reaction to this revelation seemed very much genuine (which is not a mode we’ve seen from him). I read it as a man sheltered enough that the reality of life outside the bubble truly shocks him. I would suppose this is the last we see of the freckles, as there’s no need to maintain the ruse (unless Maomao wants to avoid the attention of the Emperor). Does it truly change the dynamic between she and Jinshi? That remains to be seen. Also of note is that the rashes and such on Maomao’s arms from her experimentation may be about to bring her some unwanted attention as the MacGuffin is tied back into the plot.
Nicc
November 5, 2023 at 8:01 pmIndeed, it seems it was very much a set-up episode. We see Maomao harvesting some of the bounty around palace. You’re right that it’s probably something that’s not allowed, though I’m guessing that she’d personally get a bit more leeway compared to others. That leads to the eunuch that we saw at the end of the previous episode stopping by and his story about a curse on his hands. As with the not-really-sleepwalking concubine from a previous episode, there’s no supernatural cause here. His hands reacted to something that was on the tablets and caused the rash. They did look like flames from fireworks and Maomao decides to keep that in the back of her head. About Maomao’s left arm, Jinshi was shown to be seeking out people who have burns on their arms and hoping that the garden party goes well. I wonder if he is expecting something might happen.
The rest of the episode is dedicated to preparing for a garden party with all of the top concubines in attendance, which includes two more we haven’t seen yet. One of them, Lishu, looks rather young. The other one, Ah-Duo, has androgynous features. All of their ladies-in-waiting are also required to attend and so Maomao can’t wriggle out of this one. There’s a lot of preparation to do and she’s occupied with making warmers. The garden party is outdoors in the fall and so there’s a need to stay warm. The big day comes and everybody is all dressed up to the occasion. That also includes jewelry and makeup. Yes, the big reveal is that her freckles aren’t natural and is her regular makeup. Jinshi is taken aback not only because of her different look (Sans freckles, but did put on some eyeshadow), but also her reason why she put on those freckles. She reasons that she got kidnapped because the freckles were worn off that day and was presentable enough. He also gives her a hairpin, which appears to be something of a big deal. We’ll be seeing the garden party next week and it appears there might be at least one party crasher.
KlingKlang
November 6, 2023 at 2:11 amCute reveal on the freckles. Of course we see the OP every week showing us that Maomao will grow into being as attractive as any lady in the palace.
The only point of the sword play scene is to show how ripped Jinshi is. I wonder if he really is a eunuch?
Monymous
November 6, 2023 at 7:12 amI just caught up on this show. Aoi Yuuki is fantastic as Maomao (unsurprisingly), and I don’t think this would work nearly as well without her performance.
The freckle revelation seemed to really catch Jinshi off guard. In the rear palace, physical beauty is currency and perhaps the most valued asset one can possess. For Jinshi who lives in that environment and flaunts his beauty as a tool/weapon, it must be a paradigm shift to find out this woman he respects hides her beauty by choice, because she sees it as a liability.