Maomao Does NOT Mess Around! Psychologist Reacts to The Apothecary Diaries Episode 4

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Edited: silversouluser
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#psyculturists #reaction #anime #psychology #disucssion #indepthanalysis

[@Faerun.]

Badass Maomao be like: "I'm here to kick ass and drink poison. And I'm all out of poison". That slap scene was sooo satisfying!

[@Taneth]

In the dub, what Jinshi said was "If it helps, I could come inside", and that makes the reaction much funnier.

[@ruinadotime8374]

What every Medic wants to do to Someone who endangers someone else Life because they didn't listen.

[@siph0r154]

What i adore in this scene. Especially since someone brought it up in chat is, that, since he doesn't step in, Maomaos actions have the tacit approval of Jinshi. Since he is thr highest rank there Maomao can basically ignore the hierarchy up to him. It is a great way of closing that loophole. But it still was a risky move, since Maomao couldn't anticipate Jinshi's reaction. Meaning it also tells us a lot about her personality as well as her values and boundaries.

[@williamg5495]

42:25 I love the non-spoke dialog in this scene where she clearly asks "I would like to serve ou again, can I have our trust ?" and Lihua understand and just answer "no need to talk, start to serve me" ... that is beautiful, peak writing

[@beyondviolet]

I _love_ that this show isn’t afraid to be hard on people that do terrible and ignorant things just because they mean well. And even then they are still given the appropriate level of empathy. It seems to be an incredibly rare occurrence these days to have both included in stories.

[@MysticLuka]

I'm really glad to have seen that particular lady in waiting to get the punishment she deserves *and* the redemption she's allowed to have. People generally deserve the chance at redemption if they're truly sorry.

[@sunnysunsins_4920]

The slap heard around the world

Ed's crazy predicts compliation: 13:50 Makeup predict 24:18 result 26:18 Maomao rage 36:47 Why not let me die 46:06 huge personality 47:59 t**tjob

[@gideoncheung8731]

yeah lmfao🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 especially the last two 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@loblo5542]

THE SLAP

[@Bliquexshi]

Flagellation as mentioned in this instance likely refers to caning. And not “self-” but that’s already mentioned further down in the comments; I think the confusion is that the word “flagellation” in English is often seen in combination with “self-”, and self-flagellation as we know it often refers to self-whipping. In Imperial China (not that this is “China”, but close enough), flagellation as punishment was a common low-level punishment for servants and was carried out by others. It involved a thin bamboo cane and the location was usually the buttocks, not the back. There was a higher level punishment (level two of the Five Punishments) for more severe crimes that involved thicker bamboo, and in those cases, buttocks, back, and legs were all options. How painful the punishment was would depend on the number of lashes specified, as well as how much strength was put into the lashing. Depending on the connections you had, you could in theory adjust just how much you wanted to punish someone regardless of what their “official” number of lashes was, by assigning the person carrying out the punishment to be particularly weak or particularly strong, or by telling/bribing the person to use less or more strength. It’s hard to say how much the eunuch who mishandled the makeup retrieval would’ve been punished, as on one hand it’s not entirely his fault that the maidservant hid it, but on the other hand, the consequences of not being thorough ended up being dire, and it was commonplace in that environment to enact harsh punishments in order to serve as a warning and example to others.

[@psyculturists]

I was going to say ooooooooooooof and thanks for the explanation!!!

[@john99bg]

Another episode out? This fast!? Truly blessed editors! 🙏🙏

[@ElianaMCP]

26:55 The scene we've all been waiting for

[@Nichols_Santa]

41:40 - they don't know how to do laundry because the Inner Palace has a whole division that just does laundry. they put out baskets, they get collected, washed, folded, and returned to the palaces they come from. That's where MaoMao was working in ep one before she was noticed by Jinshi.

[@IZEASGT]

And I think it was mentioned that the Jade Pavilion is a little different from the others, in that the ladies-in-waiting there were handling all that work themselves, instead of farming it out to the hundreds of servant girls in the palace. So Xiaolan, for instance, might’ve spent some time doing Crystal Pavilion laundry, or laundry for a mid-level concubine like Fuyou, but probably not the Jade Pavilion’s.

[@ZigZagKangaroo]

I'm happy these episodes are coming out at such a fast rate. These reactions are great and this anime is amazing.

[@hewstonwehaveaproblem]

Just an aside. The scene with Lihua patting Maomao as she's resting, that's an anime original scene as far as I know. The adaptation is so good, covering only 2 LN volumes of material across the 2 cours

[@The_CodFish69]

Peak episode peak Story Peak content as usual just simply Peak. The Rat is also Peak

[@GGABueno]

I empathize with your surprise at how popular/good Apothecary Diaries is. I thought just another seasonal mid show and was hesitant to start it, but I'm glad I did.

[@vianneyb.8776]

I was ready to comment on how incredibly smooth and cute Maomao's hand wave at Xiaolan (gossip girl) is, but right before that, you mention that if the show wanted to hurt us, it would kill her off, and it hit me more than I expected. I guess it really shows how attached to her I've become. In the four episodes you've published, I've commented about Xiaolan three times, and I'm not doing it on purpose, just commenting when I think it's worth mentioning. Anyways, my heart melts whenever I see Maomao wave her gossip friend goodbye. Man, this whole episode is probably my favorite in the whole show yet (I haven't finished it). So many beautiful things happening. Lady Lihua becoming one of my favorite characters. The boing boing to relieve the seriousness of the situation. That incredible slap. And Maomao being an amazing protagonist. There's just so much goodness in all this.

[@MysticLuka]

Xiaolan is a great friend for Maomao to have made in her time in the rear palace, and it seems to me that she really values her friendship with her. I also value her screen time because she's such a sweetheart

[@reader111089]

Im weak, Jinshi would be able to rizz me.

[@R0ary]

32:35 I hate to be that guy, but "Um, actually..." there's a reason that when someone is super critical of themselves, it's referred to as "Self-flagellation." Because flagellation is not, innately, self-performed. Flagellation was just the act of whipping. So, in this case, he was probably tied to a pole by his arms, while a different eunuch beat him with a whip. EDIT: I know, Ed was just reading a twitch comment, not making that claim himself. I was actually more directing the correction at the twitch commentor, and posting this just to make sure the correction was mentioned.

[@psyculturists]

🤣🤣 Actually love this correction bring forward some clarity

[@megamisera]

Enjoyable as always and I'm glad these are coming out a bit faster! I missed the second stream so I've been anxiously hoping the vods will catch up so I can catch a live stream without missing a reaction!

[@amberenergy3927]

wait.. what??? a really long reaction for maomao!? I'm in!!!!

[@assimilater-quicktips]

46:14 this guy straight up quoting from 2 seconds in the future 🤦‍♂️

[@wombat4583]

I'm scared how many people in the comments things recognizing some social patterns (patterns in general being a stereotype of what ASD people are good at even if its not stereotypical math) and not being anti-social inherently (not that Maomao really goes out of her way either) means that's a disqualification of ASD. (Also, a view from outside treated like a case study and being in a situation can yield different results) For one, not every potential symptom will effect each person with ASD and even then the way it manifests can look differently, even more so if that person has good guidance (not always but certainly an influential factor). These are the type of people who deny real diagnoses because it's doesn't 'look like' what they imagined and it's incredibly frustrating. I couldn't care less if people personally associate Autistic traits or autism with Maomao but the logic should at least be rooted in reality. So many awareness initiatives over decades and the general population still misunderstands it.

[@kaisap112]

Do note that these VODs are edited and you're not seeing the entirety of the Twitch-chat on the video there. It wasn't said that Maomao can't be on the spectrum because of XYZ: the discussion was about how ASD is diagnosed (there are doctors who see a socially functional ASD and refuse to diagnose it as ASD), if a diagnosis matters and if self-diagnosis is valid (some issues with both were listed) among other related topics. The people in the Twitch-chat hardly constitute the general population: they're inclusive and fair about these topics and there's ASD-folks around, too. Lumping them all into some "they don't believe socially functional ASD exists!!" category based on partial flashes of a busy chat really isn't fair.

[@SmthPositive_]

Bro im dying at the predictions this episode 🤣

[@SuperiorPosterior]

25:55 In the manga, Lihua's Head Lady in Waiting _was_ executed for continuing to poison Lihua out of ignorance and pride, with Lihua's cousin(? iirc) being brought in to take her place. The anime has the cousin/replacement as her Head Lady in Waiting from the start, so she's forgiven instead. It honestly feels more like a cop-out/plot hole the anime introduced so they wouldn't have to pay for two characters/VAs. That said, this is probably my biggest gripe with the anime, and it's a nitpick at best, so easily shrugged off.

[@R0ary]

In the manga, the one in charge of the make-up was _dismissed,_ and kicked out of the rear palace, being sent to her family in shame. What that family would have done with or to her after that is not discussed, as far as I know. But remember, Lihua is a "high-ranking concubine," one of four, which means she's probably of a similar social status as Gyokuyo. That means, she's likely the child of someone who rules a large chunk of the empire under the emperor. As such, her ladies-in-waiting are likely the daughters of some of the prestigious families under Lihua's family. How do you think you'd be received if you were dismissed from serving your father's boss' daughter for poisoning her during this time? If she's lucky, she would have an unfavorable marriage arranged quietly for her, to both get her out of sight, and get whatever little advantage they could from her continued existence. If she's unlucky, Lihua's father might get her head as an apology.

[@IZEASGT]

Looking at the light novel, it says “the young woman Maomao had upbraided seemed to have learned something from it”. And LN3 says the cousin had entered the rear palace with Lihua, so I think she was head lady-in-waiting from the beginning, though the same sequence also says “a single lady-in-waiting had been forced to leave” after the makeup incident. So I’m pretty sure the lady-in-waiting with the makeup isn’t the one in charge, in either version - the only difference is that her fate is a little kinder in the anime.

[@meganmartin3373]

I'm just saying, predicting stuff like dietary needs of the infirm or how Lihua could regain the emperor's favor is one thing, but the part about dumping the can of poison onto the servant's head was a little _too_ on the nose. (Personally speaking, Jinshi isn't my type, even a hypothetical lady Jinshi, so that's a hard "no" from me.)

[@WuYixiang]

EQUAL RIGHTS, EQUAL FIGHTS!

[@raimuriki]

Wizard moments: 8

[@AnaPradosA]

As a Spanish speaking person, who lives in the UK. anyone's around me can vouch that when my level of annoyance reach the level of, start randomly swearing in Spanish, is better to leave me to calm down. So I have feel that language change...

[@Drakno2]

Can't wait for Ed to get to the later parts of the season, especially stuff regarding a certain strategist

[@Mirthy0902]

Me preguntó, si hablas español, No considerarias agregar subtitulos al capítulo, porfa? La verdad es que mi nivel de inglés es bajo😢

[@Shiraori999]

When English left chat.

[@ky8252]

I'm starting to feel like this guy has read the manga or watched the anime before, there are something called predictions about the overall plot but he's too specific about the scene, so I'm starting to doubt it. Sorry Ed, I don't want to doubt you but I can't shake that feeling. Of course I hope I'm wrong

[@beyondviolet]

I think sometimes chat can lead him down a certain path unknowingly, and also he pauses very often and looks at every detail. When you do that you are bound to pick up on a lot, especially in stories that have foreshadowing elements. Sometimes I wish he wouldn’t pause so often but eh, he does what he does. Plus after you watch a bunch of shows you sort of understand how things play out lol.

[@psyculturists]

Not to mention I do get things wrong. Again it's not about prediction but the analysis of behaviors, scenes, logic, and so on. Also not to mention that this anime was voted on by the community to fill the void of Oregairu. Were watching them back to back on stream since it wont the vote. That and for situations like this just look at any other series the same techniques are used there to breakdown scenes and everything. From Mushoku Tensei to Oshi No Ko and Arcane 👍 Even random shows that chat sometimes selects on stream if you pause and analyze a lot of things really become clear