The Apothecary Diaries Season 3 ‒ Episode 52
People grumble at me every time I say it, but I really do think that Maomao exists somewhere on the aromantic spectrum. Perhaps this belief comes from novel information that's lost in the transition to the anime; certainly this is the case with this week's scene with Joka. Pairin is the only one of Maomao's sisters at Verdigris House we've really gotten much information on; Joka's scene this week, which takes place after what is basically an intervention to get Maomao to “admit” she likes Jinshi, is interesting in that she mostly just stands by quietly, watching while Granny and Pairin gang up on Maomao. But once they've left, Joka's words to Maomao seem to indicate that she understands something about Maomao that the other's done; she all but says that the two of them are alike before pointedly noting that she's a harlot and Maomao is the daughter of one. What she seems to mean is that society will have certain expectations of them based on where they work and who their parents are. (Maomao's refusal to acknowledge her father is implied in Joka's mention of her mother; Maomao's life would be very different if she was “daughter of the La family” instead of “daughter of a harlot.”) Joka's implication is that even if Maomao does return Jinshi's interest, her road will be difficult. He's a prince and this isn't Pretty Woman.
But it's also worth noting that being a courtesan didn't mean sex work as in the act of sleeping with patrons. Pairin does, but the show has been very clear that she does it because she likes it; she has a high libido and she enjoys sex. But she's not required to; if you recall, Maomao's mother entertained with her intelligence and go skills, not sex. Joka may not be sleeping with anyone, but her place of employment conveys the opposite to the unworldly. Maomao's an apothecary, not a courtesan, but as the daughter of a sex worker, that may not matter to the ignorant masses. Joka's demeanor and delivery of her lines speak of anger and resignation at the blindness of the general public to this truth.
Maomao, of course, knew precisely what Granny and Pairin were doing, and she may even have expected it after she basically tormented Jinshi with the grasshoppers. (Poor Zulin, brought to tears by Jinshi's scary faces.) Her list of “desirable” looks are the exact opposite of Jinshi, as if she's making a point to the busybodies; if Maomao ever decides to throw him a bone, it'll be on her terms and no one else's. And right now she's got bigger bugs to fry than romance; there's a brewing locust issue and she still hasn't figured out who gave Zulin and other residents of the slums ergot-laced cake. Love is great and all, but you can't eat it and it won't cure ergotism.
The link between these two plotlines is food. The people in the slums ate the ergot-laced food because they were starving, and if the locusts Shisui foretold do come, people will be even more vulnerable to bad actors like the mysterious white lady. That raises the question of whether or not the white lady is aware of the coming swarm. Shisui wrote it all down in a book that, while not easy to access, could still have been seen by others at some point, possibly when it was in the clinic in the rear palace, although an albino concubine would certainly have been noticed. But Shisui was probably not the only person with enough knowledge to spot a threatening infestation – she's painted as preternaturally gifted in her insect knowledge, but that's just because it's not something Maomao and her associates know much about. It doesn't mean that Shisui's information is unusual in other circles.
The idea that the ergot may be tied to human experimentation is another potential link between the Shi clan and the white lady. When Maomao visits Suirei and Ah-Duo this week, Suirei admits that her master is still alive – he figured out the immortality potion by testing it on himself, but it destroyed his mind so he may as well be dead. But Suirei knew about his experimentation, and once again, she may not be the only person. We need to know if the white lady is at all connected to the Shis (something Suirei is either unaware of or hiding), because if the white lady's actions are born from the clan's destruction, it could have even more alarming implications.
There was concern that the void left by the loss of the Shi clan could be filled by bad actors. It looks like that may be coming true.
Rating:
The Apothecary Diaries Season 3 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
discuss this in the forum (16 posts) |
back to The Apothecary Diaries Season 3
Episode Review homepage / archives
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.