The Apothecary Diaries: Episode 7 FULL LENGTH Reaction!
Added 2024-08-28 13:00:02 +0000 UTC*WELCOMED HEADPHONE WARNINGS*
The mystery inside the rear palace continues, but things are getting more complicated and what better time for MaoMao to discover she can take a "break" from it all? LOTS to talk about in this episode, but mannn, Gyokuyou is really enjoying stirring the drama between Jinshi and MaoMao, isn't she?
LINK TO REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/npNSNFoS63StAAHcjvsMk4?
Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!
Comments
Oh, thank you for the kind words - I'm honored and humbled with your praise, so thank you! I feel this series is a lot like Frieren in terms of the themes and the character work and overall "chill" attitude! And yeah, I can see the connections to The Book of Vanitas as well! I was surprised that MaoMao was going back home THIS fast, not that I'm complaining! YESSSS, that scene of MaoMao talking nonstop to her father was my favorite scene in the episode - it was so sweet! And ooh, I can totally see the comparison to Frieren and the elderly friend in that episode as well! Thank you for the comment and kind words!
Romaniablack
2024-08-31 22:01:46 +0000 UTCI am OBSESSED with the jade cabbage! And I will have lots more to say about the Empress and Concubine’s power in the imperial palace as we go through this series! MaoMao’s little cat chibi likeness is probably my favorite, though Jinshi has some great ones, too! I definitely feel that MaoMao is more compassionate than she’d like to let on, but also doesn’t trust someone in authority like Jinshi or someone that puts up such a front - whereas with Gaoshun, it doesn’t feel as “fake” - similar with Gyokuyou. Plus, it could have to do with Jinshi being the one required to “dispense justice,” so she feels she has to tread extra carefully. And MaoMao is here for bargaining! And it helps to have “friends in low places.” I have been in areas in the U.S. with the juxtaposition of the super wealthy next to the impoverished a street down, so that fact that the palace is so close is so intriguing and relatable to me. And MaoMao having to walk it every day helps explain why she’s so sympathetic to those around her that she has seen suffering; she knows how easily it could have been herself. And yes, her father’s attitude explains a LOT of where she got her blase attitude from! I will say, after that “hook” at the end, it’s been hard to not just BINGE, but luckily, waiting for some comments and reading the book chapters on the side has helped with that. ;) The show is DEFINITELY drawing out those darn wooden tablets haha! At least it’s a thread throughout the episodes to string them together! I *wondered* if it was a situation where one cour ended around Christmas and the other picked up around new years! Makes sense! “Wedding Silver” - yes! My great-grandmother had some of that but I’m sure my mom or myself will end up selling it as well if needed – I agree, having a 60-piece cutlery set is not…really necessary in modern times haha! MaoMao would have THRIVED in Game of Thrones, if she could weave in and out of the political games – though, the prospect of Joffrey not dying because of MaoMao…wellllll….hm. I do agree, after this episode, with you on MaoMao knowing the food taster wasn’t the one actually at fault but that she also wanted to scare her from trying to harm Lishu without realizing it in the future. That’s a good point to bring up in that paragraph and it makes sense, now! 🙂 Thank you for the comment and kind words! And yessss, Rule of 8! Rule of 8! 😀
Romaniablack
2024-08-30 21:12:39 +0000 UTCHahahaha, that is a fair point!! Thank you for the comment!
Romaniablack
2024-08-30 13:47:50 +0000 UTCReally enjoying seeing you puzzle through each episode and work out your theories, right or wrong, you're definitely my favorite of any Apothecary reactions I've seen! You mentioned before it was said this show was a good fit for the Frieren slot, I agree - and feel like Frieren, it just doesn't miss! Each episode flies by and generally gives us a nice story with a few key beats and develops all the characters while bringing new plot points to the stage, not unlike say The Book of Vanitas, though not to that extreme! Still, who could have guessed we'd make a visit back home so quicky in the show. And how touching to see Maomao going a mile a minute to her father - telling all her adventures, all her discoveries or whatever she is sharing, she just looks so happy to do so! Similar, perhaps to a lesser extent to the first time Frieren runs into her old dwarven friend who has forgotten his deceased wife's face but remained to protect the village they shared. Frieren just goes off the same chatting it up with him, smiling the whole time.
L Freya
2024-08-29 00:32:08 +0000 UTCThe jade cabbage is gorgeous, and definitely an eye-catching and interesting piece to be included as part of a dowry. I agree that, despite circumstances, such women could hold quite a bit of political power. In some ways their lives are constrained, but they definitely have more power and safety in the imperial palace than the eunuchs and servants; as we see both in reality with the eunuch being killed whilst the Concubines were given house arrest, and within the show with the eunuch who failed to gather up Consort Lihua's make-up being kicked out of the palace after being beaten when the lady-in-waiting who put the product on her mistress was only given house arrest. You know I have a soft spot for chibi moments, but I absolutely adore the chibi moments in this series. It definitely adds a little bit of levity to moments like Maomao making an aphrodisiac or creating a way to reveal finger marks on a silver bowl. Maomao's reaction, and thinking of Consort Lishu's food taster, when she realised four people had touched the bowl I feel was because she realised there was no way of her hiding such information, like she avoided telling Jinshi and Gaoshun in the previous episode when asked why she asked for the food taster. It definitely shows Maomao's more compassionate side for someone else (who is also a stranger to Maomao) in the same role as her within the imperial palace. Also I do feel it noteworthy that she's willing to tell her conjectures to Gaoshun, but not Jinshi when he questioned her about the food taster in the previous episode (just as she told Consort Gyokuyou about Lady Fuyou but wouldn't make such a supposition to Jinshi). Maomao isn't about exploitation, she's all about equivalent exchange 🤭 At least from Lihaku's perspective it's an exchange. For Maomao there is definitely a smidge of exploitation with the "item" she's bartering, and casually showing that she has other, richer options as a final nail on Lihaku's coffin 😆 I love the setting that the pleasure district is so near to the imperial palace. The idea of each tends to bring certain connotations to mind that don't always interlap but, like Maomao said in Episode 1, there are a lot of similarities with both places. And then for a single street away from the brightly lit brothels is the darker side that Maomao has to walk through to get to her home. That is still fairly close to the imperial palace, so it feels a little jarring for me that there is that juxtaposition between rich and poor so near to one another. I also like Maomao having to walk through that area to return home. It feels symbolic of her momentarily leaving behind the opulence of both the palace and brothel, and persevering through the 'darkness', to get to the cosy and safe place that is her home with her father 🥺 Her father's response "You were out for a while" to her being gone for ten months honestly makes me see where Maomao gets some of her blasé attitude from. Like in Episode 1 when she just shrugged off being kidnapped. This felt very much the same kind of vibe. But yes I love that their relationship provides us with another side to Maomao with the way she babbles away to her father. As for the "twist of fate" this anime has to leave you with that hook to make you want more 🤣 Honestly made watching week to week a little frustrating because I just kept wanting more. The last two episodes with your belief we'd get some closure on the wooden tablets has made me giggle a little. I do blame the show though for that. Because of how all the previous 'cases' were set up and solved within one or two episodes, it can lead your brain into a bit of a trap in thinking that's how all the 'cases' will go. You are right that it was two cours when it aired. But there was not a long break between the two cours like with some series. The first cour finished airing on Christmas Eve (24th December) last year and then the second cour started airing again two weeks later on the 7th January this year. Those dates though are the Japanese air dates so with time zones for me in the UK, and you in the US, it would have been the 23rd December and 6th January consecutively. Silver is a bane for getting marks on it. My Mum still has her "wedding silver" that she got as a wedding present when she married my Dad, and she kept it in the divorce. She plans for it to go to me, even though I've told her I'd keep it for a bit and then try to sell it on because I just consider it as clutter 😅 Thankfully she doesn't have an issue with that plan and understands that me having a case containing a 60-piece cutlery set when I will not be hosting fancy dinners for six people that will require me to "bring the silver out". In her thirty-five (or more) years of having it she's used it on two occasions 🤣 Your mentioning of Lady Olenna and poison did make me think how excited Maomao would be in a Game of Thrones AU. We'd potentially have had to have more King Joffrey if Maomao had been his food taster! 😂 To me I think Maomao always knew that the food taster wasn't the poisoner and instead just thought her to be a malicious bully to someone of a higher status than her, otherwise I do think she'd have made some comment to Jinshi about it in the previous episode rather than cover up what was purposely done (the switching of the bowls to make Consort Lishu eat something she was allergic to). Instead Maomao worded her warning to the food taster in a way that would scare the food taster not to try something so mean again, but not make anyone realise she was the one to switch the food so as to make Consort Lishu eat what Consort Gyokuyou was supposed to be served. It's also why that food taster had the reaction she did at the garden party when Maomao announced there was poison in the soup. Her malicious actions unknowingly saved her in a way because it was Maomao that ate the poison then instead. For swapping of the food, I believe (considering in the previous episode Maomao confirms to Jinshi that if no other dish was poisoned then the intended victim was Consort Lishu, not Consort Gyokuyou) Consort Lishu's food taster would have swapped all of her consort's dishes with that of Consort Gyokuyou, not just the one with the blueback instead of jellyfish. Great reaction as always and I look forward to more! We shall see how your favourite Episode 8 does with this anime next week 😁
Anime Annie
2024-08-28 22:53:45 +0000 UTCThis anime is a 24 parter lol
William Pina
2024-08-28 17:45:52 +0000 UTC
