Rating: A-
One of the major factors which makes this series a top-tier title for both the season and year is its effortless ability to mix its comedic and serious components and still excel at both. Episode 9 is a great example of that. Many other series could stand to use it as a model. (I’m looking at you again, Kingdoms of Ruin.)
On the humorous side, watching someone as elegant and proper as Gyokuyou continue to bust a gut over Maomao’s highly misleading explanation about how she awarded Lihaku for being her guarantor is entertaining in itself, but so is Maomao’s reaction to getting her hands on some alcohol. (Given her background, it’s really not surprising that she would have had opportunities to develop a taste for it young.) Jinshi is a little too sharp to always be the victim in such situations, though, and so seeing him get back at Maomao a bit with the probably-made-up-on-the-spot proposed law about changing the legal drinking age was quite fitting. The explanation for why Maomao isn’t allowed to touch corpses is also fitting, as is everyone’s reactions to hearing it; Maomao even seems to sheepishly acknowledge that her father wasn’t wrong about her on this point.
But two people are also dead this episode, and the series continues to deliver on taking things more seriously when it needs to. Both cases initially look like either accidental deaths or suicide, but neither may be. The first case – involving an older male servant that Jinshi was close to – may be a more accidental homicide than an intentional one, since deliberately killing someone that way would require some extremely specialized knowledge. However, we’ve had no indication that the mystery behind the poisoning at the garden party has been solved, and while that is still outstanding, a possible connection cannot be ruled out. Same with the death of the female servant in the moat. The manga and novel versions clarify that bodies turning up in the moat aren’t that rare, whether from suicide or a failed escape attempt, but as Maomao points out here, women with bound feet in particular would have difficulty making the climb up the wall, and the state of her fingers suggests that she at least tried to climb out of the moat. This more strongly suggests deliberate murder, perhaps the disposal of someone who knew too much, and looks far more suspicious.
The episode’s strongest content spins off of that. Maomao has mentioned matters of mortality in a matter-of-fact fashion on many occasions, and going into a contemplative mode is a staple for her. However, I believe that this is the first time that the two have been connected, especially concerning her own mortality. Seeing whoever it was in the Verdigris House annex last episode and the dead servant in this episode have apparently given Maomao cause to consider how she might die herself, which engenders her unsettling request of Jinshi. That she sees this as a practical request, while Jinshi is clearly upset by having to even consider it, shows the continuing disconnect between the two, but that’s both logical and a storytelling necessity at this point. Even though their paths have intersected, they still come very different worlds.
The bonus at the end of the episode is a new lead on the incident from a few episodes back, the one with the chemically-treated boards and the burnt dress. Now we know who was likely wearing that dress, and that the lady-in-waiting in question was thus likely connected to those treated boards, but not why. That character is scheduled to appear next episode (along with a repeat appearance by Lishu), so the greater plot at work behind the scenes is starting to advance more distinctly. That promises some interesting developments for next episode, too, but this one is still a good one.
USA Anime 