Rating: A
The Apothecary Diaries is undeniably Maomao’s series, though Jinshi has increasingly had his viewpoint represented of late. That makes episode 23 a major aberration, since not once during the episode is Maomao’s perspective used. However, despite our adorable little freak being limited to what essentially amounts to a supporting role, and despite the episode primarily focusing on a character who’s certainly not a fan favorite, the writing and production still delivers a quality story, one which shows how badly Lakan has been (deliberately) misrepresented up to this point.
That’s not to say that Lakan comes off as a good or “merely misunderstood” character by the end of the episode. However, as the lengthy flashbacks following his Chinese chess matches with his daughter show, his situation is a lot more complicated, definitely more tragic, and at least a bit less seedy than what it originally appeared to be. The most important revelation is that Lakan’s interest in Fengxian (Maomao’s mother) was reciprocated. Despite her attitude as Lakan has remembered in earlier flashbacks, Lakan probably caught her interest for much the same reason that she caught his: he was an intellectual equal. She probably enjoyed her games with Lakan much more than she let on, and knowing that she wouldn’t get that kind of mental stimulation from her other suitors, was desperate enough to not be bought out by someone else that she was willing to do something very risky in order to make it possible for Lakan to do it; in other words, it was her scheme, not Lakan’s, to devalue herself. Unfortunately for everyone, the scheme didn’t work because of nothing more despicable than truly horrible timing.
In other words, Lakan’s only blame here is that he didn’t realize what Fengxian was doing. He had no power to resist effectively being exiled, and because he (most likely) didn’t have enough context to understand right away what Fengxian’s buyout failing meant, he didn’t send her a letter explaining his prolonged absence – assuming, of course, that he was even able to do so. (If he was abroad, that might not have been possible.) That means his exchange with Jinshi is based on things he learned after the fact, not that he did or considered doing himself, so he was pitching complete BS to Jinshi a few episodes back.
The reason he couldn’t come back quicker ultimately doesn’t matter, though. Fengxian’s failed gambit did result in Maomao being conceived but cost her everything else. Not knowing that Lakan wasn’t away by choice, she doubtless though Fengxian has just abandoned her. (There’s doubtless plenty of precedent for that in the pleasure district.) Hence, her trying to curse Lakan doesn’t sound strange at all, nor does taking off the tip of infant Maomao’s finger as part of it. The immense irony here is that it’s strongly implied that Lakan’s uncle – the one who taught him how to recognize people – was Luomen, which means that the man Maomao calls her father is actually her great-uncle. I’m betting she’s not aware of that, but I’m also betting that Luomen does know. In fact, him taking Maomao in may not have been an irony at all; he might have done it because he felt responsible for the situation. (Even though that really wasn’t his fault, either.)
Other little details deliver a boatload of world-building and explanations:
- The beginning of Lakan’s flashback confirms that he really does have prosopagnosia (i.e., face blindness), and so seeing faces as Chinese chess pieces is a coping mechanism rather than an anime affectation.
- Maomao once mentioned she didn’t have a mother. At the time, it seemed to be because she couldn’t think of Fengxian as her mother, but the flashback shows that courtesans aren’t allowed to be mothers, so being born in a brothel means you don’t have one (as Fengxian herself didn’t).
- The reason why Meimei tolerates Lakan is now clear: he taught her games – and she was generally on good terms with him – when younger. She presumably doesn’t hold anything against Lakan over Fengxian because she’s probably heard or pieced together the whole story over time.
- Madam may even to this day blame Lakan for what happened to Fengxian (even if it’s not fair), and she clearly did back then, hence why Lakan was never told the truth about Fengxian’s presence or condition. Very possible that she’s looked after Fengxian all this time because she blames herself for contributing to the mess by running up Fengixan’s price.
- This explains why Maomao has conspicuously looked at her pinky finger on a few occasions over the course of the series, and what was going on in her dream about her mother hovering over her with the knife.
- This also means that Maomao’s resolute insistence on calling herself a commoner takes on a much broader meaning. Even if she is illegitimate, she could make fair claim to being a noble, so she’s specifically rejecting Lakan by making that claim.
- Most of the women in the series have a signature flower. Fengxian’s appears to be balsam, and we can now identify the little yellow flower that Maomao has been associated with in the past as woodsorrel (or perhaps more specifically, yellow woodsorrel). In one scene, Fengxian claims that it’s also known as cat’s foot, which does provide a thematic connection for Maomao, but doesn’t seem right; everything I’ve looked up says that cat’s foot is an entirely different plant.
Maybe the biggest question left by the episode is if Lakan understands and appreciates how completely he got played by Maomao. She knew he wouldn’t resist the game, she banked on him deliberately losing because he wouldn’t risk her killing herself with poison, and she knew that he was weak to alcohol. Making the “poison” just be extremely-high-proof spirits was a dirty trick but (mostly) not a lie, since it would, indeed, be a medicine in small doses but poisonous in bigger ones. Exactly who she expects him to buy out should be obvious, and I have no doubt that the withered rose Maomao left for him was meant to be a metaphor for Fengxian. Add in the business with the fingernail polish and it’s a scheme worthy of an evil mastermind. Jinshi should be careful to stay on her good side.
Certain visuals are also worthy of recognition here. The black rain that Lakan runs through (and later despairs in) is a brilliant touch. So is a shot of a garden at the 1:50 mark, where woorsorrel (Maomao) is shown in the background while unopened buds of why I presume is balsam (Fengxian) is shown in the background. The lullaby Fengxian sings here is also the same one she hummed back in episode 18.
Overall, this is another fantastic episode for a series on a terrifically-strong run.
USA Anime 