I WENT FROM LAUGHING TO DEPRESSED! | The Apothecary Diaries Ep 9 Reaction

[@DragonSword35d]

For reference, Maomao was 17 at the start of the series. And it's been about 10 months by this point. So she is either 18, or just about. And she clearly likes her drink. He just threatened with about 2 years of a dry spell.

[@CinJyxxe]

There's a lot of existentialism wrapped in blatant criticism of power hierarchies in this episode. A high-ranking alcoholic official's death by alcohol poisoning was carefully investigated to find out it was murder, when it would have been very easy to brush it off as an unfortunate accident. A poor servant girl was found dead in a very unlikely situation, and everyone is quick to mark it off as a suicide, rather than the much more likely odds of it being foul play. And at a moment's notice and for no reason, Jinshi could order the execution of Maomao.

[@adamjenkins7653]

In defence of the servant, it was suicide. The reasons are spoilers though.

[@chrisdowney427]

I think that the scene between MaoMao and Jinshi about mortality was a really important turning point for the dynamic of their relationship and Jinshi really starts to care for her as a person than a plaything. Up until now Jinshi has really just been playful with her, but now he’s been confronted head-on with the reality that they are not in control of things within their social stations. MaoMao remains alive only because she pleases the emperor, and the moment that changes Jinshi can do nothing to save her. I just love how this show deals with social classism and how people survive it.

[@TheNakedFishy]

Man, I took away a whole other sentiment. Not that yours isn't correct. I thought that when she told him that it was not a matter of would but could, he finally realized that every interaction with him was under duress. He's realizing that because of her social status, every day, especially in the palace surrounded by nobles, was one where she was risking her life

[@Birthday888]

​​@@TheNakedFishy I think both readings aren't exclusive. Jinshi both truly realizes the weight of how expendable someone Mao Mao is within their social hierarchy, and how his position and power dynamic with Mao Mao distances her from him. Though, I disagree that this is the moment he goes from treating her as a plaything to a person, I think that already happened all the way back in Epiosde 5, though I doubt that was a conscious change (he only starts stopping her from ingesting poison from the banquet onwards.)

[@wisefelipe]

This interaction shapes so much of how they act even far past the anime's ending. It is a fundamental scene.

[@chrisdowney427]

@@Birthday888 Yeah that's a fair statement to make and it is very true that this wasn't the first time he changes from treating her like a plaything to an actual person. I did not mean to word it like that, and I agree, he does certainly treat her very respectfully earlier in the show like in episode 5. I simply meant to say that I think its from this episode on that it becomes considerably more of a conscious choice on his part especially if we're talking in terms of how much more concerned he is for her opinion, attention, and wellbeing.

[@IZEASGT]

Maomao loving her booze is Top 10 Least Surprising Character Traits Ever. Humanity’s favorite drug/poison since the dawn of agriculture! And as with Lishu, we return to “you do not know someone else’s medical situation; do NOT tamper with their diet”. Also Maomao’s emphasis on her “cowardice”, and reluctance to be a party to someone else’s execution. Leading into that whole reckoning with the reality of how cheap a commoner’s life is. Nobody wears an obsidian tassel for that servant girl with bound feet, after all.

[@Nour-db7ig]

18:36 damn now i know who that is 😭 looking back at older episodes, they leave so much foreshadowing

[@especedelapin]

Even at the beginning, the guy that put the salt, we technically know who it is since last episode.

[@jaredtheastralartist2510]

Their conversation of mortality and this is a conversation I have with myself every now and then. I’ve seen a lot of death in my life. Particularly in my family. Whenever that happens, you always gotta wonder to yourself what happens when you die. What’s keeping you going on this earth instead of just killing yourself? And always hard thing to grasp. The idea of death. I’ve come to terms with it and I’m living my life with a purpose to create and draw, But that feeling still slips in every hour and then. So I relate to mao in this episode

[@Syco07-pm3iz]

Hey same here, though I am a very optimistic person still sometimes that feeling slips into my mind where I think about death and I get really anxious and frightened

[@yuiyui6159]

Lol, when Alicia lost audio and started making sounds to test it out, anybody else start thinking about that one guy from Jojo who makes the phone noises?

[@Charvale]

About two years ago, I lost my passion for writing. For me, looking at a blank document and filling it with descriptive words to write a cohesive story was all I felt I needed. Then I was uprooted from my home, and thrown into a place with an old roommate who, sometimes, has trouble with boundaries. Over the course of a year, I tried to commit to writing, but it wasn't long before I was sitting there, looking at a blank page - for hours on end - and not a single thought came to my mind. From that point forward, all I would do is watch KZbin videos, or play video games. Over the course of two years I would repeat a mantra of giving up anything to feel the same passion I had for writing again, but something deep inside me tells me it's gone forever... and now, I no longer care.

[@j.d.1856]

It's going to be alright bud, maybe you need an inspiration to spark your interest again or just some time to recoup? I know there was a period where I felt like going out of bed was the hardest thing in the world and everything just lost its color but slowly things began to become better, it was grueling and slow but change is a certainty especially when your in a dark place

[@TragerM]

Do what I do... don't create the story... Tell It.... Play around with relaxed random brainstormed "characters"... and just... and I mean this LITERALLY... and just watch........................... listen to them, watch what they're doing.. what's happening near them... "don't stop them" either... if one of em, even the one that makes the least sense, is about to or is in the middle of something "naughty" (like, safe for youtube, will say sticking their foot out, so someone trips) just let em.. and remember, record, and describe... become a REPORTER about that world in progress.. not its God... Basically you're looking DOWN on the page, for things to put there.. shift your view, 180, and look up FROM the paper, and "see what ends up there"...

[@pieperson444]

sounds like artists block. i heartily reccomend the book "the artist's way", it has a bunch of stuff to help you unblock. you can and will get better.

[@Nax_uthala]

Gyoukuyo laughing is one of the cutest things in this anime imo

[@shadowshy]

13:46 I thought for a minute that my phone was glitching out lol

[@sirMYOMIN]

i have exams at the moment and although i know these are streamed prematurely, i still really really appreciate coming home after work and knowing i can grab tea on my sofa and watch your apothecary diaries reactions!

[@TalasDD]

just for those who dont know why the servant woman didnt swim out of the moat. the moat of the forbidden palace´s waterline is 3 meters below streetlevel and has no stairs even to the outside. once your in there the only way out is if someone helps you since the vertical walls are unclimbable. the moat does however flood when it rains.

[@9Godslayer]

Considering how easy it is to imagine Maomao as a Chinese Dr. Frankenstein, I think her dad's concerns are warranted.

[@fatboy7609]

Being fair, dude set the terms of their relationship early on. Maomao can't help but look at their relationship as transactional. Especially given how fatalistic and analytical she can be. 'He's useful to me, and I am useful to him. Thus, the relationship is satisfactory to all parties.' He plowed this rut with her. It will take effort to get out.

[@thoughtfulfreespace]

Continuing to catch up, but yeah I really did enjoy the scene discussing mortality. A lot of death/malicious circumstances happen in the show, and we're all aware of it, but seeing it all at once shows how much there is. A very cool way to reflect on the show.

[@nataliereeves3594]

Spoiler Blink, and you miss it. In the flash back, you see mamos mom holding a knife over babby mamo. It gives you a very dark glimpse into her early life.

[@saytaylor3603]

I'm glad I'm not an elf; I'd be too tempted to poke my ears in power sockets and stuff.

[@eizy1010]

Some say Gyokuyou are actually a foreigner .....Don't know if it's true or not

[@nayussysuccer]

They did say that early on in the series. Pretty sure she's japanese

[@hannessteffenhagen61]

She is, yes. I don't know if it's ever mentioned more than off-hand in the Anime. In the LN it's mostly just mentioned because she looks 'exotic' by the local standards.

[@gprovidakes]

Foreigner is complex term in Imperial China. She is from a distant “province” in the West, but I think still technically part of the Li Empire. However, her bright red hair and green jade eyes marks her as not genetically close to Central Region where the Imperial Palace is located. Therefore, people especially political and consort competitors would characterize her as “foreign.” I think this is different from Barbarians who seen as outside the Empire, hostile to the Empire, and not well trained or adoptive of Central Region culture.

[@drewbrueckl8555]

Man I love this show

[@Alte.Kameraden]

To be honest, referring to Maomao like a Toy isn't that far off. You may have not noticed but women are kind of 'assets' traded around like capital, you see it in the first few episodes with the Ghost Lady for example. This was a different time. I know it was common for women and even their children to be handed off to another man say if a husband died, or even sold. There were not lets say "Free Women" in this time period in Asia. Definitely if you had any social status whatsoever you were a commodity. Not as sure about China in particular but I know Japan it was definitely that way. As I mentioned about a husband dying, the wife/children and home could be sold to another man, even one that may already have a wife or two.. and they'd get the property including the mother/children. You see this when the Emperor died and the new emperor got his concubines, minus his mother of course who was kind of the defacto queen. Maomao throughout the show is literally property, from the very first episode. She is a servant/slave by contract. Yet the show doesn't make a big deal about it when it could have, and I like the fact it didn't because Maomao is smart enough to know what might happen if she made a big deal of it. It's why I love the hairpin scene because Jinshi for the first time 'cared' for someone who normally wouldn't' care about.

[@speedydukesgaming6079]

5:42 This part makes me think you’re a nurse or doctor. You picked that up pretty quickly.

[@goldenpaladin]

Hey alicia i have a anime suggestion its called a genius princes guide raising a kingdom out of debt its pretty fun to watch im sure youll enjoy it weather you record it or not

[@Nichols_Santa]

hypernatremia is very hard on the organs

[@adamjenkins7653]

Back again, yet again... For those curious, film and anime depictions of drownings are almost never accurate. Leaving aside the bowls issues that everyone is happy to skip over, drowning is not a good way to go. Partway through suicide attempts the persons will to live will drive them to attempt just about anything to survive. Double suicides, such as those performed by lovers who tie themselves together are amongst the worst as the two claw at each other in their attempts to escape. One of the most common signs, especially in salt water cases, is a foamy substance leaking from the mouth, caused by the water interacting with the lining of the throat. In addition; though Maomao makes a comment on the resultant posture changes, the foot once bound does not stop growing. Unable to grow normally the bones tend to deform upwards resulting in the need to keep binding the foot in order to prevent injury from walking. The corpse in this episode actually has normal feet, true binding would leave her with feet the size of a child's if it was done early. The shoes become a necessity as well. As for the salt case, it wouldn't have been dehydration,. Organ failure perhaps, but one of the things salt is used in the body for is increasing blood pressure. It is quite possible for the cause of death to be a brain haemorrhage, from the blood vessels there simply bursting. You would almost never encounter a case like that IRL, due to the inane amount of salt needed to kill in that length of time.

[@aku896]

Writing a comment

[@mariajrgensen8475]

Please React To Record Of Ragnarok Or Hellsing Ultimate Please

[@ZenkiDias]

Warframe

[@JohnCena-tp4gh]

Day 202 of asking Alicia to play Nier:Automata!!

[@edzbaesa2237]

Second

[@Nah_I-ll_Win]

17:51 hot take maybe, but I think these insert song moments past episode 3 are really awkward and almost cringy, don't know why it's literally just a feeling, never got it from the manga so it's definitely something to do with the anime adaptation.

[@Pochitaman30]

Too much never leads to something good no matter what it is. Legal poison would be chemicals used in our daily lives