The Apothecary Diaries Season 2: Episode 5 FULL LENGTH Reaction!
Added 2025-02-12 14:00:07 +0000 UTC*MOONLIT HEADPHONE WARNINGS*
Lots of set up in this episode, but at least we get to see Jinshi STUN as the Moon Fairy this week! Jinshi and MaoMao have more in common than they realize, not only in terms of their "hidden" presences, but also in their awkward flirting, and letting people not know their deepest secrets...
...but is MaoMao's simple trip this episode possibly going to expose her? And what are these cousins up to?!
LINK TO REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/c3LwGiHq4bjCVrxFEQsLnF?
Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!
Comments
Ahahahaha oh okay!! That makes sense!! I was getting out my Sherlock hat for a second! XD
Romaniablack
2025-02-19 13:24:38 +0000 UTCThe dash was because I forgot which one acted that way and then I forgot to put Ayla's name afterwards 😅
Anime Annie
2025-02-15 16:42:18 +0000 UTCThat is a very good point about the disrespect! That’s a good connection, too, with the laws, so thank you for pointing that out! I don’t know why you put a __ there for Ayla or Aylin, though? That’s a nice point about her dialect as well! I love Jinshi being pouty, more aggressive in his tone, and more like a kid around MaoMao! Poor Gaoshun, though; our poor man has his work cut out for him with these teenagers! That makes sense with the non-eunuchs line; thanks for explaining that! Thank you for the comment and the VA information as well!
Romaniablack
2025-02-15 14:02:18 +0000 UTCI agree - I loved the episode as a whole, but I wish we’d gotten more with the prep and the lead up to the dance as well! Definitely a condensed feel for the episode. Yeah, the whole thing about the rules and this just now coming out feels so bizarre considering that MaoMao has been making medicine for an entire season and no one has said anything…including Jinshi. And yes with the aphrodisiacs as well! And yeah, I think that’s why I was grumpy about it - it just felt like very obvious flags that something is going to happen in the plot, which this show is really usually so smart about - but this just feels very forced. Hopefully, the show handles it more gracefully moving forward! Thank you for the comment and kind words!! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Romaniablack
2025-02-15 13:56:22 +0000 UTCHahahaha, could you imagine Papabro watching his brother/son and being like “good for you, son, good for you!” 😛And poor Gaoshun - another father figure but man does he suffer! And yes, he’s at least there to help MaoMao through the socialization! Thank you for the comment!
Romaniablack
2025-02-15 05:00:58 +0000 UTCOverall, a great episode and I definitely enjoyed it, but yes - this episode feels weirdly condensed - I had that same feeling when the dance just starts out of the blue - even the whole performance for the emissaries does, normally we'd get a setup episode or two. I would have loved more prep focus on Jinshi and Maomao and dancing practice! I feel Maomao is too smart and knowledgeable about the rules and hierarchy of the rear palace AND HAS A FATHER WHO WORKED IN THE REAR PALACE AS AN APOTHECARY (maybe I'm totally wrong but the definition of an apothecary is someone who makes medicines) to be in the dark about this in the 11th hour - Jinshi warning about girls not being allowed to mix medicines? I also feel like she's mixed stuff in front of plenty of people - unless you don't count drugs like aphrodisiacs as medicines. I wonder perhaps it originates from a fear of being poisoned. Not like you need to be mixing medicine to poison someone, so it's very bizarre and just feels like they're trying to throw something in which we can feel is clearly sexist, and have our protagonist be helpless about it. The end of episode, out-of-the-blue medicine rules raised all the flags though! No spoilers (anime only, no future knowledge) - but it seems likely we're intended to be a bit worried over Maomao's standing the next few episodes! I definitely wasn't expecting this plot line, but maybe I'll still get my trial if Maomao has to get arrested for making medicines! Thanks for the reaction and discussion, I enjoyed them!
L Freya
2025-02-12 23:38:49 +0000 UTCGiven Maomao's rather maniacal grin when thinking she could make use of the moths it's no wonder Shisui thought it might be something bad 😂 Your talking about Jinshi's involvement in multiple things (like saunas, greenhouses, and moth-breeding programmes) and explaining to his PapaBro about it came at such a perfect time 😆 With the timing of your comment it did make me imagine Jinshi trying to explain the reasoning behind the moth collection to the Emperor 🤣 To approach the Emperor of all people like that is extremely bold of __, but could also be construed as an envoy disrespecting the country's beliefs and norms. The blinds being down for the Emperor's concubines could be to hide them from view of the male guests attending, but for the Emperor in Ancient China it was a disrespectful act to look at the Emperor's face (unless given permission). Such an act could even be punished by death. So by covering his face when in public like this it does protect the others present to watch from accidentally being charged with having looked upon his face. You can think of it as being similar to in Season 1 when Jinshi was performing the ceremony and all those gathered had their heads bowed and eyes closed (or looking down) as he passed by them. I would like to point out one thing I noticed about Ayla. When she's speaking to the Emperor she speaks in a bit more of a pronounced manner, with certain syllables in words having more focus than I've typically heard them spoken by native Japanese. I thought it was a great addition that further highlights that they are foreigners. And I adore that Ayla reverts to her native tongue when shocked by Jinshi's disappearance and questions Maomao on his dance. I'm not the greatest at recognising languages I don't know but some of what Ayla says reminds me of how some Scandinavian words sound, and other things are more similar to some Middle Eastern languages. Jinshi was speaking a little more aggressively (in regards to his tone) with Maomao when complaining about her not thanking him for doing as she requested in comparison to his usual softer tone when he's in his eunuch role. His pouting though never fails to make me laugh 😆 Though it is yet another instance were we could say Jinshi's acting a bit more like his actual age in front of Maomao 🥺 To me Gaoshun's physical response after Maomao said the envoys pride was destroyed I think was his way of agreeing (while not wanting to) that Jinshi is more beautiful than the envoys 😂 I love that when Jinshi isn't overly forthcoming with his response in regards to why the Medical Office isn't established out of the Clinic, Maomao turns to Gaoshun for answers 😆 She knows he's more likely to be straightforward with the why of it. Also Gaoshun saving Maomao by distracting Jinshi with reminding him of the work still to be done 🤣 Definitely a moment of character growth from Maomao to ask for help. But most especially asking Shisui considering she hasn't known her as long as some other people in the imperial palace. I don't believe it was a mistake with the translation. Jinshi wants to come up with a way for non-eunuchs to make medicine in the rear palace. The only doctor there is the quack doctor who it has been established is a eunuch. As the Emperor has banned creating new eunuchs this means there will be no-one able to replace the quack doctor if they ever need to, or new blood joining to ease the quack doctor's current workload. By saying non-eunuchs though this does mean that Jinshi could be looking for a way anyone could make medicine and carry out doctoring no matter their gender, and not just male doctors being permitted into the rear palace without becoming eunuchs as was previously required. I realised when thinking about the seiyuu for the envoys that I hadn't mentioned any of the new voice actors for this season so far. Lingli's seiyuu (now that she's starting to babble a bit) is Tanezaki Akane who is also the voice actor for Consort Gyokuyou. Lady Shin's voice actor is Kinoshita Sayaka. She has also voiced The Public Safety Commission President from Boku no Hero. Shisui's seiyuu is Seto Asami, who has also voiced Michimiya from Haikyuu!!; Higuchi Ichiyou from Bungou Stray Dogs; Kugisaki Nobara from Jujutsu Kaisen; and Kurokami no Onna from Death Parade. Ayla's voice actor is Lynn. She is also the seiyuu for young Serpico from Berserk; young Atsushi from Bungou Stray Dogs; and Miura Shigeru from Death Parade.
Anime Annie
2025-02-12 20:30:48 +0000 UTCMy head cannon is the Papabro is hidden away to watch the moon dance because I cannot imagine him wanting to miss that. Sishsui is someone I think the anime uses to show another character outside of the social norm. I think this anime does a good job of exploring that. Goushin must have a constant headache this episode. I adore the communication him and MaoMao have developed.
LoreleiS
2025-02-12 17:03:53 +0000 UTC
