Rating: A-
If you’re an anime-only viewer, this episode is one you might want to bookmark to come back and watch again later on, as it drops a mountain of hints about certain bigger pictures in the series. And those hints are coming on two different fronts that may or may not be related.
In the first half of the series, Maomao dealt with several mysteries that still seem entirely unrelated, though at least one of them – the matter of the chemically-treated boards – still lingers. This half has started off with a succession of them, too, but it’s harder to shake the impression that, this time around, there may be some connection. Last episode, the matter was the warehouse fire and the mysterious, out-of-place pipe which probably triggered it. This episode, the initial mystery is a rather clever poisoning scheme, one involving a type of seaweed that’s only safe to eat if prepared a certain way. Only someone like Maomao, who is deeply steeped in poison knowledge, could probably figure out that deliberate rather than accidental shenanigans were going on here, which only makes someone telling the culprit about it in a bar all the more suspicious. Could someone have been deliberately targeting this particular merchant? If so, the circumstances being similar to the incident 10 years ago certainly suggest a connection, perhaps even the same method having been used twice. I found it a little too convenient that the writing just let that point slide away. And it looks like the next case to fall in Maomao’s lap will be about the legacy of an Imperial metalworker. If someone’s plotting someone here, they’re burying their moves deep.
The other front involves Lakan, who has briefly popped up in each of the last two episodes and is now taking center stage in the back third of this one. Maomao’s reactions to Jinshi talking about it, and the way the camera focuses on her in that scene, certainly suggests that she knows Lakan (or at least knows of him) but would rather not. Just as interesting is the story he spins to Jinshi about the courtesan at Verdigris house that he knew, one who was smart enough to match even an imperial strategist at games and had an attitude much like one might imagine Maomao having if she ever became a courtesan. Jinshi thinks of Maomao in a joking fashion at the point, but how much of a joke is it, really? After all, the one brief shot of the courtesan in question showed that she has the same hair color as Maomao, and this would hardly be the first time that matching hair color has been used in the series to imply mother/child connections. If Maomao is, indeed, this courtesan’s daughter, then that explains a lot of comments, relations, attitudes, and actions which have transpired so far, including why Lakan is interested in Jinshi’s new servant.
If Maomao is aware of Lakan’s connection to the courtesan who may well be her mother, then that also explains her negative reaction and desire to avoid the subject. That’s especially pertinent in light of Lakan’s cryptic comment about lowering the courtesan’s value. That sounds unsavory at the very least, and downright ugly at worst.
Naturally, this series can’t go a full episode being completely serious. Jinshi accidentally walking into Maomao’s giddy “welcome home” gets a reaction from him which may be the single funniest moment to date in the series. (At the very least, it’s on the level of his reaction to Maomao describing how she rewarded Lihaku for escorting her to Verdigris.)
In any case, one of the best features of this series has always been that its cast is stocked with highly-intelligent and/or perceptive people (Lihaku aside). Plenty of that is one display throughout this episode, and Lakan represents an intimidating presence on that front. That well help the series stay lively.
USA Anime 