There were several adorable moments in this episode. As a series, The Apothecary Diaries does an excellent job balancing out dark and dramatic content with moments of joy, wonder, and cuteness. I think this episode is a good example of that tendency of the show’s writing. I haven’t read the manga, but I assume that the anime follows its writing closely, so we probably owe this narrative trend to the mangaka, Natsu Hyuuga. Then again, that’s just speculation.
Back to the point, the adorable moments in this episode included scenes of toddler Lingli bonding with her mother, Gyokuyo; the girls eating icecream together; and the way Maomao sometimes has cat ears in comedic shots. I don’t know if this made any sense since I’m stoned. But hopefully you get the point. The Apothecary Diaries features a mix of serious moments and cute moments. Today, the latter stood out to me more.
Episode 39: Ice
Episode Rating: 8/10
First we had to solve the dilemma with the broken ice. I thought Xiaolan would only be fired, but as a reader pointed out, her punishment could have been much worse than that. It was so sad to see her crying and panicking. Naturally, I was very happy Maomao intervened and proposed a solution. With the leftover broken ice, Maomao prepared a fancy icecream dish for the concubine who was supposed to receive the ice. It was concubine Loulan, incidentally.
The matter was resolved since Loulan accepted the replacement treat. I suspect that the Loulan who requested the ice was a body double who took over for the original, who we know as “Shisui.” It was incredibly cute and sweet when Shisui and the other girls ate the leftover icecream. Also, the icecream looks fucking amazing. But before we get carried away in adorableness and deliciousness, we should also discuss the more serious elements of this episode, such as the conversation between Maomao and Jinshi.
This scene encapsulates the main dynamic between Jinshi and Maomao – at least, the part that appears on the surface. Maomao is seriously worried about very real concerns such as her friend’s livelihood, so she bargains for favors from a spoiled, privileged prince who is fascinated with her. Jinshi has his own share of concerns with keeping his identity secret and fearing assassination, but he doesn’t understand anything Maomao is going through. Nevertheless, he relentlessly teases her like it’s all fun and games – as if they are on equal footing.
In reality, it would not be healthy to have such a power dynamic in a romantic relationship. In fiction, however, the toxicity of it doesn’t bother me as much. In addition, despite Maomao’s well-reasoned judgements against Jinshi, I believe she actually likes him. She’s at least into him physically, and spends much of her time thinking about him. Maomao may not even be aware of it herself, but on some level, she’s charmed by Jinshi and grateful to him in a genuine way.
(Side Note: Also, what would Maomao even do if she admitted to herself that she liked Jinshi? It would only create heartache because of the class difference between them. Better to stay in denial and pretend nothing is going on. <– Maomao’s point of view.)
In other news, Gyokuyo’s fetus was kicking downwards, which meant that a breeched delivery would be likely. That’s when the feet come out first instead of the head during birth. It makes the delivery extremely dangerous. When it was revealed that no doctor was overseeing Gyokuyo’s delivery, Maomao suggested bringing in her adopted father, Luomen. Though Hongniang objected, Gyokuyo made the final call and took up Maomao on her offer. Luomen would oversee the delivery of Gyokuyo’s new baby.
Gyokuyo is a great character and I never spend any time talking about her for some reason. She deserves a whole post at some point probably. But for now, sorry Gyokuyo – I care a lot more about Luomen as a character. I’m pleased to see him again and excited that he’ll be around for an episode or more. Also, it was funny how the ladies reacted to him with such surprise. They couldn’t believe someone so kind and wise had raised someone like Maomao, who they saw as weird and lacking in common sense.
I’ve got one final note on the subject of Luomen. I think he was banished because he knew the secret about the babies being switched in the rear palace. The babies of Ah-Duo and the Empress Dowager were switched out. In other words, Luomen knows the secret about the true mother of Jinshi. He might have even been the one directly responsible for the switch. In service to Ah-Duo, he then left the palace willingly, intent on taking her secret to the grave.
We saw “the good-looking eunuch” at the end of the episode for a brief moment. He (or she, assuming it’s actually Suirei in disguise) was staring grimly at a gravestone. It was a slightly eerie ending. That’s all for today’s post.
~Thanks for reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
