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Mari_Marx said: Once again, Maomao was the MVP Sherlock, uncovering the cause of the incident along with the evidence, the crime scenes and attempts, and even the Palace itself 😂😂. Maomao is crazy, how can she like those mushrooms lol! how maomao felt after that  |
| Took a bit of a detour from the previous episode, but it was still good as a whole that truly felt like Apothecary Diaries from the first season, and those detours could collectively pile up and create a complex web of scenarios again like the first season did. It was fairly enjoyable to watch as a standalone case. |
| a new case resolve, a jealousy and a fungus are the keys! kekeke |
| This felt like somewhat of a bait-and-switch after the last episode when the unspoken implication seemed to be that the death of the middle-ranking concubine, Concubine Jin, from poison, was somehow a result of or directly connected to the broader plot to bring an assortment of potentially poisonous substances into the rear palace and possibly target Gyokuyou and her unborn child by conspirators who may be aware of her pregnancy - the one with all those garments doused in rose/rose-scented oil. There was also obviously a heavy implication and intended misdirect in the last scene of last episode when cutting away just after Jinshi receiving the shocking news of Jin's poisoning death to Hongniang slowly pouring tea for Gyokuyou looking some mixture of saddened, regretful, and conflicted. Yet unlike how employment of the tactic of false cliffhangers like that irritate me to no end in some other lesser shows, it doesn't actually irk me too much here because I think in the long run the series has strong enough writing to justify its self-indulgence. There will probably be follow-up on individual aspects of that mystery and plot line last episode, whether in the next episode or two, or not for 18 episodes or next season. But the series has shown itself both capable of and very willing to play the slower burn and long game on some of the overarching mysteries. And it's realistic too. Plots and conspiracies can go on and simmer in the background for many months or years before either making their ultimate move or being conclusively foiled and brought to light, and having all involved perpetrators identified. I'm just glad that for the time being, it does look like nothing more than an apparent misdirect and Hongniang is in the clear, at least as far as loyalty to the Jade Pavilion goes (her statements and phrasing about a definite feeling of - if not joy and satisfaction, then at least relief at news of Jin's demise - indicate that she could definitely possess the mentality to support the elimination of rivals and potential threats outside of Gyokuyou's camp, but whether she would be either willing or have the means and skill to be able to actually act on it is a separate matter). All I care about in regard to her is that she remains on Team Jade. Now, even the Jade/Gyokuyou loyalism on her part could itself flip on its head by season's end or next season, but if that were to ever happen, again I trust the series at this point would find a way to have it make sense and be relayed organically. One thought that did come to mind during a scene of Maomao's internal monologuing was that "Wow, after a 24 episode full first season and a few episodes into the second, I think this is the first time she has truly seemed like at the potential center of a conflict rather than more just as an aide and observer, even when it involved her immediate family members like her biological father." And by that I meant the moment when she suspected that Jinshi suspected her as the culprit, as someone knowledgeable of poisons and friendly with and presumably at least somewhat loyal to Gyokuyou. I don't know if it's true what she was thinking, that she was actually under suspicion and investigation herself by Jinshi, but if so, it did seem like suddenly she wasn't just on the periphery of all these cases any longer and circumstances forced her under the spotlight. It brought back and made the conversation in episode nine of season one feel all the more real - that one day she could very well find herself at the center and on the perceived wrong and losing side of a political conflict which could end with her execution and as a target of collective punishment. She isn't just sipping fragrant teas and munching on bao buns, occasionally offering some expert advice or insight, while remaining insulated from it all (even if her generally cool, calm, and collected, unexcitable personality and way of speaking gives off that impression). She's still very much at risk of danger and with real stakes. I could very much even envision a scenario down the line where she ends up being framed for some offense. |
WatchTillTandava5 hours ago
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