The Apothecary Diaries: Episode 13 FULL LENGTH Reaction!
Added 2024-10-09 13:00:03 +0000 UTC*SERVING UP HEADPHONE WARNINGS*
Just when MaoMao thought she was finished with life inside the palace, Jinshi shows up to offer her a way back in...only this time, she's NOT working for the Rear Palace...but for Jinshi personally!
Oh, sweet, innocent bean Jinshi...you think that you can set up the perfect "love story" a la Taylor Swift style, but this pragmatic, stubborn MaoMao has newssss for youuuuu! This episode was a wild start to the second half of season 1 and I can't wait to talk about it with you all!
LINK TO REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/eLwmcifMesAX2YnqE2mxuT?
Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!
Comments
I can certainly see that, too! MaoMao can be frustrating because she says things with such clarity that you assume she's all-knowing about what she's talking about, but she's actually an unreliable narrator that doesn't realize it and is oblivious about a lot of things - but then is actually knowledgeable and in denial about others - it can be very frustrating to watch and you just want to *gently* shake her by the shoulders, haha!!
Romaniablack
2024-10-15 19:58:04 +0000 UTCI suppose I can see it as both. I just got the impression that she was saying those things to manipulate the other women into viewing her/things a certain way, rather than actually believing them. After all, she wouldn’t feel the need to give herself freckles if she thought herself truly ugly all on her own. But if you say something often enough I know you can start to actually believe it too. I can also see how it would hurt to hear that talk, especially one finds her especially relatable.
Amalia Jungclaus
2024-10-14 20:29:49 +0000 UTCI think it might be…a bit of both with her? I could see that! Haha! Still, it does hurt when she puts herself down, especially when we see that with makeup on, she IS attractive and DOES fit the cultural beauty standards - she’s literally just not got big boobs, but there are still men attracted to her, so I think she is talking herself down, and as someone that can relate to her in that regard, I felt that. Thank you too for the comment and kind words! The book is SUPER interesting, so I’m glad you all are enjoying it along with me! Thank you again and onwards to next week! 😀
Romaniablack
2024-10-14 20:01:52 +0000 UTCI was SO happy that things were fixed now because the last few weeks with no internet was…not fun for reacting. And yeah, Jinshi and the Emperor – there’s just SO much that can be there and I’d have watched a whole 30 minutes of just the two of them sitting there talking and internally monologuing. MaoMao and her father’s relationship is so sweet and how she’s softer with him? So cute! Jinshi being pouty and jealous - he has it BAD, y’all! MaoMao being neurodivergent makes a lot of sense to me. I’ve actually heard of that 2006 movie! So that’s hilarious - but the idea of MaoMao sucking Jinshi dry to bottle his…appeal…get y’all’s minds out of the gutter - it gave me Negaverse Sailor Moon vibes. MaoMao would unintentionally work for the Negaverse if they offered her poison and booze. I am WAITING for MaoMao to realize the truth about Jinshi’s lineage and for Jinshi to notice that damn arm! But maybe Gaoshun and Suiren will notice first and tell him that way? Suiren is definitely scary! She runs a tight ship! Yes, Monocle Man is SUSPICIOUS indeed! *Red Flag drifting in the breeze* I’m also here for all the Jinshi fan service in the OP and ED - yes please! The book with Sun Yaoting is definitely hitting on some very sad and intriguing ideas! As for the eunuch thing - the book does mention some men were castrated later in life and not as children, or had already gone through puberty, so it affected their testosterone as well. So right now, I’m at a “SHRUGS” moment with it all. We’ll see where the story takes us! Women really are symbolized as flowers throughout this story, so it makes sense for the gardening metaphors. I’ll have to bring up your notes there in a future reaction/discussion! The variety of female characters in this show is so wonderful to see! And Luomen does worry me with how frail he looks - Stay alive, old man! The hair…underwear…I definitely understand Jinshi tossing them away, or at the very least Suiren running them through a blow torch! Hahaha! And yes, Jinshi worked to death like Ling Wen, we feel for him! Thank you so much for the comment and kind words! Onward to next week!
Romaniablack
2024-10-12 17:53:03 +0000 UTCI definitely understand the struggle! Hahaha -- but hopefully, as I get to the future episodes and to where you all can comment on what I've said, you've saved those drafts of what you want to elaborate on, haha! I appreciate the consideration as well; you all are wonderful folks! Thank you so much! Very excited for Wednesdays!!!
Romaniablack
2024-10-12 17:41:06 +0000 UTCAhhh, the second half has been chaotic, but in the best way!! And honestly, the morning shot of Jinshi is SO worthy of a wallpaper or desktop background, I don't blame you one bit! Thank you for the comment!
Romaniablack
2024-10-12 17:39:56 +0000 UTCThank you for the comment and kind words! I am SO excited for Wednesdays this month!!!
Romaniablack
2024-10-12 17:38:48 +0000 UTCYeah, that makes sense -- which is so frustrating for the reader because it's literally (so we think) true. But yes, I really like both OP's and ED's in this! Thanks for the comment!
Romaniablack
2024-10-12 12:56:06 +0000 UTCI could never quite decide if Maomao failed the court lady text on purpose so she wouldn’t have to do that job, or if she honestly is that much worse at studying things that aren’t poison/medicine. The world may never know :P You told her not to talk down about herself when she was talking to the other court ladies, but I honestly never got that vibe when Maomao talks about her looks. I just saw it as her acknowledging that she doesn’t fit the cultural beauty standards she’s grown up with. It’s like…she doesn’t put any of her esteem in her looks, so her saying those things about her looks doesn’t really indicate poor self esteem, you know? It’s like how she acknowledges her standing as a servant and acts accordingly so she doesn’t get in trouble. She doesn’t feel bad about being from a lower social standing. Now if she started talking down to herself about her apothecary talents, then I’d be worried about her self esteem, lol. I actually liked having both the book and anime discussion all at the end. I liked hearing how him doing ‘the right thing’ with the gold turned out to be good for him in the end. Always nice to hear stories where karma rewards following one’s morals despite what is expected Thanks for the video!
Amalia Jungclaus
2024-10-12 03:16:51 +0000 UTCYou have NO IDEA how hard it is this episode to NOT tell you my commentary on YOUR commentary this episode :) You've touched on so many good ideas. Can't get to the next episodes fast enough :)
Zeekutar The Immortal
2024-10-10 15:46:03 +0000 UTCHello Could you please edit the part about the comments ? It’s almost confirming what those commenters say because they saw the whole show and thus they know 😄 Thank you for your understanding
Be Happy
2024-10-10 07:32:10 +0000 UTCI'm always excited for more Apothecary Diaries, hearing how your theories develop and all the ways you see yourself developing sympathy for Jinshi, can't wait for next Wednesday!
L Freya
2024-10-09 22:35:20 +0000 UTCWelcome to the chaos of the 2nd half of the season. I adore MoaMoa makeshift family. I am a weak person and created a screenshot of morning Jinshi.
LoreleiS
2024-10-09 20:59:49 +0000 UTCI imagine using a hotspot on top of stormy weather conditions does not make it easy to do reactions. At least they finally fixed it though 🥺 Great way to start the cour is to give us that small interaction between Jinshi and the Emperor, especially with so much of it giving us a glimpse into the inner workings of JInshi's mind when it comes to the Emperor. I really adore the relationship between Maomao and her father, especially how it's portrayed. Maomao is definitely one of the tougher female characters in anime, but when she's with her father (and in part with the Three Princesses) she has a much softer side to her that we only get glimpses of every now and again with other situations [for example, her cute interactions with Princess Lingli, Consort Gyokuyou's daughter]. Pouty/overprotective/jealous Jinshi over others seeing Maomao so pretty never fails to make me laugh 😂 All your theories with the previous episode on how/where Maomao could go back to in the palace left me in anticipation for you to see she's working directly under Jinshi this time 🤭 But I do think it's good they give an explanation about why she can't just go back to her old role. Maomao though has definitely got the smarts, just none of the drive to learn things she doesn't care about. With this trait I could definitely see the idea of Maomao being neurodivergent. First time I saw that scene with Maomao thinking of bottling Jinshi's sex appeal I had two thoughts: 1) Poor poor Jinshi; looking so dishevelled and leaving Maomao so completely unaffected; and 2) the 2006 movie, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, popped to mind with the idea of bottling people's scents 😅 They really do be teasing us with so many others noticing/seeing Maomao's arm but not Jinshi. Old ladies in anime can be downright terrifying. Think Suirin is all the more scary for the sweet, soft, grandmotherly voice she has 😅 That chilling piano for Monocle Man [which by the way my dubbing him that moniker randomly put the Village People's "Macho Man" into my head (I'm blaming lack of sleep on that random brain moment) 🤣] as he observes Maomao from the shadows definitely heightens your intrigue but slight worry about him. Definitely a great way of building interest in a new character. Jinshi-centric Ending is a definite feast for the eyes. Whilst the Opening is way faster paced than the first cour's Opening, flashing through so many scenes so quickly. My heart breaks for Sun Yaoting questioning if his life would take the same turn as the lives some of his fellow eunuchs are living. Bamce mentioned about the testosterone thing on the discord (behind spoiler tags) back at the end of August. My response was that the little bit of biology I remember, Jinshi's well-built form would still be possible as a small amount of testosterone is produced from the adrenal gland. I do believe in some cases eunuchs' adrenal glands did also shut down (though in others it didn't), but if Jinshi's were still in working order then his body would still be able to produce some testosterone. The garden/gardener metaphor is equal parts a fitting description for the inner palace, whilst also giving us modern females a bit of the ick factor. Women being likened to flowers (objects that are momentarily admired and then typically removed/binned when they wilt) definitely adds to the idea of women being an abundant commodity in the palace. I love flower symbolism, and I'm all for certain flowers representing certain characters, but there isn't the same kind of feeling of objectification as there is with the emperor's turn of phrase with Jinshi at the beginning. I agree that I love the variety of voices we got with all the female characters in this anime. But especially with the Three Princesses. They each have very similar statures, so having such vastly different voices for each definitely adds to Meimei, Pairin, and Joka being individuals and not just the collective "Three Princesses". Luomen definitely looked on the frailer side this episode. I also thought Maomao's first glance at him was her focusing on his bad knee, because now she knows the background of how he got his injury 🥺 In regards to the choice of hair for the, um, material to use to make said underwear, it could have some cultural and philosophical relevance. I know certain Chinese ethnic groups had very strong beliefs about hair, which is why they had such long hairstyles. As to the philosophical relevance, I believe there is a teaching by Confucius that hair is given by your parents and so you should not damage it. There is the possibility they made the underwear with strands of their hair that just naturally came out with brushing. Potentially a way of showing great devotion and loyalty, but definitely a strange kind of gift to give your crush 🤣 Yes, with those piles of work Jinshi is very like Ling Wen!
Anime Annie
2024-10-09 20:59:14 +0000 UTCBy the end of season 2, the 2nd OP became my favorite, despite how good the 1st one was. Maomao came up with the theory that Jinshi is the Emperor's brother/son lol... but she dismissed it immediately as something so ridiculous that could not be true. That's why she acts the way she does.
William Pina
2024-10-09 17:31:00 +0000 UTC
