Apothecary’s Diary volume 4 delves deeper into the journey of talented young girl Maomao as she adapts to her new role in the royal palace. The comedic rhythm and serious moments are conveyed seamlessly from the first three episodes of the series. We also witness an unseen side of Maomao as she deals with the failures of Lady Lihua’s servants, making this one of the most tense and shocking episodes yet.
Threat
At the beginning of the episode, Maomao is surprised to find that her skills are needed for more than just testing for toxins in food. The emperor himself ordered her to monitor Lady Lihua, who had fallen ill perhaps due to grief over the recent loss of her infant child from episode one. However, Lady Lihua’s attendants, or maids, treat Maomao with disrespect because of her social status. This is where we see one of the episode’s running gags—Maomao is thrown out of Lady Lihua’s room and cartoonishly jumps onto the floor with a bewildered look on her face. Maomao is a pretty serious and laid-back character so it’s interesting to see her animated and presented this way, especially since this happens three times throughout episode four.
While we don’t know the extent of Maomao’s personal goals and dreams, (other than wanting to return to a relaxing village life with her father, of course), we can realize that when she She was given orders under the emperor, she pledged to carry out the work. Up until now, we have witnessed Maomao dutifully following orders and using respectful language when addressing his superiors. However, deep down, she might secretly make a sarcastic comment or show a little annoyance. We see Maomao lose her temper and become impatient in a particular scene involving Lady Lihua’s servants.
Maomao finally received the opportunity to closely observe Lady Lihua to observe her condition, and the situation was more serious than she initially thought. What’s truly astonishing in The Apothecary Diaries volume 4 is that Lady Lihua’s face is mysteriously hidden with a layer of white makeup, reminiscent of the same powder that took the life of her newborn child. her tragically in the first episode. To the surprise of viewers, Maomao did not hesitate to slap the waiter who confessed to using this type of makeup for the purpose of enhancing Lady Lihua’s beauty.
This is the first time we see Maomao stand up against her superiors in such a violent yet justifiable way. Maomao cruelly made the servant know that she was foolish to carelessly worry about Lady Lihua’s appearance for her own health. This is where we see an aggressive and adventurous side of Maomao, and it makes me excited to see what else she has in store for her in future episodes.
After two long months passed in just a few seconds in the episode, Miss Le Hoa was back on her feet and recovered quickly. We see a change in her attitude towards Maomao—a gratitude for saving her life. Maomao’s achievements in curing Lady Li Hua’s illness will certainly attract attention in the palace and we will definitely see where this will lead in episode five. After another beautifully animated, well-paced episode, I was just looking forward to more.
The next episode of Apothecary’s Diary will air on November 5. Until then, you can also check out what’s going on in the world of 16Bit Sensation: Another Layer, another series in the season Fall 2023.
Image via Crunchyroll
©Natsu Hyuga, Shufunutomo/“Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” Production Committee