WEBVTT 00:00:04.459 --> 00:00:07.540 You're listening to the After Hours Arc, your 00:00:07.540 --> 00:00:11.740 new anime podcast. My name is Antai, and I'll 00:00:11.740 --> 00:00:16.519 be your host. Join me as I review, recap, and 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:20.640 relive anime, one arc at a time. And as always, 00:00:20.920 --> 00:00:24.019 these are all manga -free point of views. In 00:00:24.019 --> 00:00:28.179 today's episode, I am really excited to be diving 00:00:28.179 --> 00:00:32.740 into Apothecary Diaries Season 1. This is an 00:00:32.740 --> 00:00:37.189 anime. that I just fell in love with immediately. 00:00:38.049 --> 00:00:44.710 Oh my god it was so good. I do plan on recapping 00:00:44.710 --> 00:00:47.789 the fall season when it starts airing so I'm 00:00:47.789 --> 00:00:51.270 very excited and looking forward to that. I'll 00:00:51.270 --> 00:00:53.270 probably end up working on the second season 00:00:53.270 --> 00:00:56.570 review sometime in the middle of summer. That 00:00:56.570 --> 00:00:58.670 way when the fall comes we can just jump right 00:00:58.670 --> 00:01:03.439 into it. So this anime is definitely one of those 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:07.480 smart animes. I mean it does start off pretty 00:01:07.480 --> 00:01:10.219 insane right off the rip though. We have an immediate 00:01:10.219 --> 00:01:14.680 kidnapping, it spirals into poison attempts, 00:01:15.219 --> 00:01:20.819 political conspiracies, identities, secrecy. 00:01:20.980 --> 00:01:24.599 On top of all of that they also throw in this 00:01:24.599 --> 00:01:28.900 not so subtle subtle romance, you know? I found 00:01:28.900 --> 00:01:31.719 it very addicting once I got into it, and I'm 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:34.159 sure it has a lot to do with the voice actors, 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:38.700 Kaiji Tang, who plays Jinshi, and Emi Lo, who 00:01:38.700 --> 00:01:42.640 plays Mao Mao. I think they are fantastic. I 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:46.659 am a huge fan of them together. Kaiji, I know 00:01:46.659 --> 00:01:49.079 I've brought up plenty of times, but every time 00:01:49.079 --> 00:01:53.120 I hear Emi in an anime, I just smile. right off 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:55.859 the top of my head she plays this co -worker 00:01:55.859 --> 00:02:01.260 in cherry magic the 30 years of virginity made 00:02:01.260 --> 00:02:03.659 me a wizard blah blah blah blah blah blah and 00:02:03.659 --> 00:02:08.979 she is so good and funny in that one oh my god 00:02:08.979 --> 00:02:12.340 getting into the actual show it follows this 00:02:12.340 --> 00:02:16.699 girl mao mao who is an apothecary that was raised 00:02:16.699 --> 00:02:19.879 in the red light district specifically the verdigris 00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:24.240 house which is this high -end brothel i loved 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:28.840 all the verdigris scenes any and all of them 00:02:28.840 --> 00:02:32.780 i love the courtesans i love the concept i was 00:02:32.780 --> 00:02:36.599 sold on their whole dynamic with mao mao poison 00:02:36.599 --> 00:02:41.259 is what fascinates her more than anything i think 00:02:41.259 --> 00:02:46.210 that makes her not only a unique character but 00:02:46.210 --> 00:02:50.310 a really fun one because she also has this very 00:02:50.310 --> 00:02:55.050 anti -social vibe. The show mixes this concept 00:02:55.050 --> 00:02:59.849 with these amazing expressions and reactions, 00:02:59.909 --> 00:03:04.330 especially when her interests are actually being 00:03:04.330 --> 00:03:08.270 brought up. It has been fantastic to watch. There 00:03:08.270 --> 00:03:10.810 is a lot of emotion with this character as well 00:03:10.810 --> 00:03:13.879 on both ends of that spectrum. But the basic 00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:16.740 gist is that she gets kidnapped while she's out 00:03:16.740 --> 00:03:20.379 gathering herbs and whatnot. And she gets sold 00:03:20.379 --> 00:03:25.379 into the Imperial Palace, which is inspired by 00:03:25.379 --> 00:03:28.599 ancient China. The show always makes sure to 00:03:28.599 --> 00:03:32.099 note on the screen that this is a work of fiction. 00:03:32.199 --> 00:03:35.939 And this is a fictional place. But here's what's 00:03:35.939 --> 00:03:40.400 wild to me. She is just able to remain so calm 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:43.879 and collected. Throughout this whole ordeal. 00:03:44.659 --> 00:03:48.560 She keeps a level head. And again. This is where 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:52.879 it is a smart anime. And what I mean by that. 00:03:53.560 --> 00:03:57.280 Is Mao Mao is a thinker. She is a problem solver. 00:03:57.939 --> 00:04:01.060 And unlike a lot of the servant girls. Mao Mao 00:04:01.060 --> 00:04:04.680 can read and write. Which is going to change 00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:08.539 everything for her. She wants to play ignorant. 00:04:08.620 --> 00:04:11.830 And fly under the radar. But you know, that is 00:04:11.830 --> 00:04:14.830 going to be unavoidable. She ends up solving 00:04:14.830 --> 00:04:18.810 this mysterious illness. This illness is killing 00:04:18.810 --> 00:04:22.009 off all the emperor's newborns. And the servant 00:04:22.009 --> 00:04:25.490 girls are all convinced it's a curse. But Mao 00:04:25.490 --> 00:04:28.110 Mao, she can recognize what these symptoms are 00:04:28.110 --> 00:04:32.370 immediately. So to try to stay incognito, she 00:04:32.370 --> 00:04:34.649 ends up writing a note on a piece of fabric from 00:04:34.649 --> 00:04:38.269 her skirt. It was explaining that the face powder 00:04:38.269 --> 00:04:41.579 is poison. I guess something that is used early 00:04:41.579 --> 00:04:45.279 on as a ritual in babies is lightening their 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:49.199 skin by using a whitening powder. So I think 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:51.459 it was just like lead poisoning or something 00:04:51.459 --> 00:04:54.660 along those lines. It is a little funny though, 00:04:54.680 --> 00:05:00.420 because we get the first, I guess, non -interaction 00:05:00.420 --> 00:05:04.259 between Jin -Chi and Mao Mao. And I'll get into 00:05:04.259 --> 00:05:06.970 Jin -Chi real quick. But Maomao is witnessing 00:05:06.970 --> 00:05:10.269 these concubines basically going at it. One of 00:05:10.269 --> 00:05:12.790 them smacked the shit out of the other one. And 00:05:12.790 --> 00:05:15.850 during all this chaos, Maomao understands the 00:05:15.850 --> 00:05:18.629 symptoms of what's going on. So she's going to 00:05:18.629 --> 00:05:21.629 go try to take care of that. Her and Jinchi pass 00:05:21.629 --> 00:05:25.350 each other and he hears her say, if only I had 00:05:25.350 --> 00:05:28.709 something to write on, I believe. Then of course 00:05:28.709 --> 00:05:32.170 he turns around and she's gone though. So Lady 00:05:32.170 --> 00:05:35.709 Gyokyo was one of these concubines, and I actually 00:05:35.709 --> 00:05:38.269 really like her voice actor too. She was this 00:05:38.269 --> 00:05:40.829 wraith in the Brilliant Healer's New Life in 00:05:40.829 --> 00:05:42.769 the Shadows that I watched a little bit ago. 00:05:43.009 --> 00:05:45.189 Pretty much anything I've heard her in, I've 00:05:45.189 --> 00:05:48.149 enjoyed her roles. I'll probably get into that 00:05:48.149 --> 00:05:50.029 anime at some point as well, I thought it was 00:05:50.029 --> 00:05:54.970 cute. But anyway, Lady Gyokyo, her daughter is 00:05:54.970 --> 00:05:58.730 extremely sick. And the other concubine was Lady 00:05:58.730 --> 00:06:03.079 Liwa. And Lady Liwa was the one who had the emperor's 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:06.540 son. And you know, he was about to die as well. 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:10.199 We see this flower with a scrap of fabric tied 00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:14.279 to the stem. And we see this woman shrug it off 00:06:14.279 --> 00:06:18.019 and knock it off the ledge. What I didn't catch 00:06:18.019 --> 00:06:21.860 on in the first season, it was season two that 00:06:21.860 --> 00:06:26.100 I went, oh shit. That woman that knocks the flower 00:06:26.100 --> 00:06:30.029 off the ledge. I thought that was Lady Lihua 00:06:30.029 --> 00:06:33.790 the first time I watched it. It's actually the 00:06:33.790 --> 00:06:36.709 head lady in waiting and we won't be getting 00:06:36.709 --> 00:06:40.470 into her because she comes into play in season 00:06:40.470 --> 00:06:44.389 two. But Lady Lihua's son ends up dying. It is 00:06:44.389 --> 00:06:48.529 super dark and depressing and the show did a 00:06:48.529 --> 00:06:52.750 really good job in showing her pain in this. 00:06:53.129 --> 00:06:56.279 Gokyo ended up taking the warning to heart. and 00:06:56.279 --> 00:06:58.720 ends up talking with Jinshi because she wants 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:02.120 to meet this mysterious saver. And Jinshi is 00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:05.439 so excited because he can tell the fabric is 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:08.720 from the servant girls. So he devises this test. 00:07:09.180 --> 00:07:12.160 He summons a bunch of servants, Mao Mao included, 00:07:12.500 --> 00:07:15.600 and he writes on a piece of paper and raises 00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:19.819 it up. Basically what it says is, you with the 00:07:19.819 --> 00:07:25.160 freckles, stay there. She reacts, but she realizes, 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:28.560 that she just outed herself because none of the 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:31.620 other girls can read. I thought it was so funny. 00:07:31.800 --> 00:07:35.420 I was like, you fucked up. So he ends up bringing 00:07:35.420 --> 00:07:39.040 her to meet Gyokyo. Mau Mau admits how she was 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:41.779 raised and that she is familiar with poison. 00:07:42.060 --> 00:07:45.339 When she asked what their plan was, it was super 00:07:45.339 --> 00:07:49.240 cute. It went like Juan version, that whole bobblehead 00:07:49.240 --> 00:07:52.560 deal. But she basically gets a promotion. to 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:55.980 becoming Lady Gyokuyo's newest lady -in -waiting. 00:07:56.100 --> 00:08:00.000 She was so not expecting this. And it definitely 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:02.319 doesn't seem like this is what she was trying 00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:04.980 to do. She was trying to fly under the radar. 00:08:05.819 --> 00:08:09.600 Now, she is one of the high -ranking concubines, 00:08:09.639 --> 00:08:13.019 ladies -in -waiting. It is her need to right 00:08:13.019 --> 00:08:16.579 what is wrong that just literally couldn't let 00:08:16.579 --> 00:08:20.250 this be. With this promotion, though. She gets 00:08:20.250 --> 00:08:22.670 to do something that is just perfect for her. 00:08:22.850 --> 00:08:26.410 She becomes Lady Gyokyo's food taster for poison. 00:08:26.689 --> 00:08:32.750 She is so excited. This is her passion. She usually 00:08:32.750 --> 00:08:36.610 does like tests and experiments on herself. I 00:08:36.610 --> 00:08:39.850 really enjoy everybody's reactions because it 00:08:39.850 --> 00:08:42.929 drives them to panic and I find it so funny. 00:08:43.850 --> 00:08:46.429 Jinchi's reactions are probably some of the best. 00:08:46.730 --> 00:08:51.210 I'll get into him now. He is described as the 00:08:51.210 --> 00:08:55.309 most beautiful person in the nation and is said 00:08:55.309 --> 00:08:58.889 to be the emperor's favorite. He's supposedly 00:08:58.889 --> 00:09:03.309 a eunuch and the whole storyline made it a little 00:09:03.309 --> 00:09:06.830 confusing for me. It wasn't enough to turn me 00:09:06.830 --> 00:09:12.009 off from the series. Jinchi is a very smart and 00:09:12.009 --> 00:09:15.549 calculated character. He uses his beauty and 00:09:15.549 --> 00:09:18.440 his charm As a way to navigate the different 00:09:18.440 --> 00:09:22.559 challenges he's facing. He is essentially running 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:26.299 the rear palace. Essentially looking after the 00:09:26.299 --> 00:09:30.600 Emperor's flower garden, sort of speak. As the 00:09:30.600 --> 00:09:33.779 series goes on, I think they did a fantastic 00:09:33.779 --> 00:09:39.000 job with his back and forth between this fake 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:43.580 age persona and his real maturity. And I found 00:09:43.580 --> 00:09:46.840 it really refreshing. to see these scenes with 00:09:46.840 --> 00:09:50.379 him being like this with Mao Mao. The moments 00:09:50.379 --> 00:09:54.480 they shared, they came off very slice of lifey 00:09:54.480 --> 00:09:57.659 and I liked it. I thought it was cute. After 00:09:57.659 --> 00:09:59.899 she starts getting a little established as Lady 00:09:59.899 --> 00:10:03.019 Gyokuyo's newest lady -in -waiting, during the 00:10:03.019 --> 00:10:05.860 Emperor's visit with his lady, he says that he 00:10:05.860 --> 00:10:09.419 wants to meet this infamous apothecary. At first, 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:12.919 I wasn't sure how to take him. I didn't know 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:15.860 if he was going to give off these villain vibes. 00:10:16.379 --> 00:10:19.840 I had no clue. But as the series went on, and 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:24.200 very much so in season two, he is so real. He 00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:30.860 is funny. He grew on me so much. Oh my god, he 00:10:30.860 --> 00:10:33.799 has such a personality. You can't say he doesn't 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:37.259 know what he likes. He has a type. And we'll 00:10:37.259 --> 00:10:39.899 get into that real quick. But the Emperor wants 00:10:39.899 --> 00:10:43.789 Mao Mao. to go to Lady Liwa's and treat and heal 00:10:43.789 --> 00:10:47.370 her. This is not something that Mao Mao can refuse. 00:10:48.409 --> 00:10:51.730 Refusing the emperor can be cause for beheading. 00:10:51.809 --> 00:10:55.710 We have to remember this is a very tense time 00:10:55.710 --> 00:10:59.049 period that is being portrayed. It doesn't look 00:10:59.049 --> 00:11:01.549 like she has an easy task ahead of her because 00:11:01.549 --> 00:11:04.669 Lady Liwa's ladies -in -waiting are basically 00:11:04.669 --> 00:11:08.350 blocking and denying Mao Mao the ability to treat 00:11:08.350 --> 00:11:12.000 her. I think one of the biggest reasons is because 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:15.120 she's another high -ranking concubine's lady 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:18.279 -in -waiting. That is suspicious. They're also 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:21.659 definitely not looking at this as a direct request 00:11:21.659 --> 00:11:26.059 from the emperor. His word is absolute. The other 00:11:26.059 --> 00:11:29.879 reason I think is because the food that Mao Mao 00:11:29.879 --> 00:11:33.580 is having the cooks prepare are so basic and 00:11:33.580 --> 00:11:36.940 essential for someone who is malnutritioned. 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:40.659 But they consider it to be slop. They refuse 00:11:40.659 --> 00:11:44.700 to feed it to their lady. They're basically considering 00:11:44.700 --> 00:11:48.440 it made for peasants. And Mao Mao sees the problem. 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:54.000 Lady Lihua cannot handle such heavy food. With 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:57.240 the death of her son, she has been bedridden 00:11:57.240 --> 00:12:01.500 and has zero energy. I do think at this point, 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:06.179 the story did a really good job showing... the 00:12:06.179 --> 00:12:09.980 pecking order and how that works within the palace. 00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:13.980 Jin Shi is actually the one who comes and saves 00:12:13.980 --> 00:12:18.399 the day. He steps in and uses his beauty to get 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:21.860 Mao Mao her shot at treating the concubine. If 00:12:21.860 --> 00:12:25.000 she is not able to treat her and Lady Lihua dies, 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:28.919 that means Mao Mao is going to die too. Her life 00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:32.710 is very much on the line here as well. But Mao 00:12:32.710 --> 00:12:36.549 Mao was very amazing throughout this whole treatment. 00:12:36.889 --> 00:12:40.309 She is overworking herself. She ends up having 00:12:40.309 --> 00:12:43.769 Jin Shi and Gao Xun, who I'll get into him real 00:12:43.769 --> 00:12:47.809 quick. She has them build this sauna box. She 00:12:47.809 --> 00:12:51.490 is working herself to the bone. And this treatment, 00:12:51.529 --> 00:12:57.389 it is paying off though. Lady Liwa, who was extremely 00:12:57.389 --> 00:13:00.450 busty. That is one of the Emperor's preferences. 00:13:01.610 --> 00:13:03.929 She starts to actually gain her weight back, 00:13:04.149 --> 00:13:08.370 becomes healthier, and is able to walk and take 00:13:08.370 --> 00:13:11.549 strolls in the garden. It was becoming a really 00:13:11.549 --> 00:13:15.230 feel -good moment. At the end of her time with 00:13:15.230 --> 00:13:18.289 the concubine, Mao Mao ends up snoozing on this 00:13:18.289 --> 00:13:21.269 bench, and you see a hand stroking Mao Mao's 00:13:21.269 --> 00:13:24.529 head. Well, it was Lady Liwa's, and she's just 00:13:24.529 --> 00:13:29.830 sitting with Mao Mao, and it was so heartwarming. 00:13:30.590 --> 00:13:35.490 Mao Mao is just a real character. And I think 00:13:35.490 --> 00:13:39.149 that is appreciated by a lot. I mean, definitely 00:13:39.149 --> 00:13:43.429 not by all, but by a lot of characters in the 00:13:43.429 --> 00:13:47.269 show. She is this type of blunt character where 00:13:47.269 --> 00:13:50.870 it's refreshing. It really made me wonder what 00:13:50.870 --> 00:13:55.350 she was going to do or say next. I really was 00:13:55.350 --> 00:13:58.049 kind of on the edge of my seat with her. I will 00:13:58.049 --> 00:14:01.730 say. When she finds out from the initial examination 00:14:01.730 --> 00:14:07.450 that the face powder is still being used, this 00:14:07.450 --> 00:14:11.110 is what is keeping Lady Lihua so sick. Mao Mao 00:14:11.110 --> 00:14:16.149 fucking loses it. Ugh. And it was so satisfying 00:14:16.149 --> 00:14:20.389 to watch. She let them all have it. She smacked 00:14:20.389 --> 00:14:23.529 the shit out of this one lady in waiting who 00:14:23.529 --> 00:14:26.309 hid the face powder. She's even saying to her, 00:14:26.779 --> 00:14:29.480 Why would she want to be covered in the same 00:14:29.480 --> 00:14:32.740 toxic chemical that took her son from her? It 00:14:32.740 --> 00:14:38.539 was such an intense scene. Mao Mao can get extremely 00:14:38.539 --> 00:14:43.059 terrifying, especially when it's going in the 00:14:43.059 --> 00:14:46.779 direction of her whole right versus wrong mentality. 00:14:47.379 --> 00:14:49.620 After that whole arc, though, we start getting 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:53.580 ready for this garden party. This is a very political 00:14:53.580 --> 00:14:56.990 type of event. All four of the concubines are 00:14:56.990 --> 00:15:01.830 going. I guess both ladies Gyukyo and Liwa were 00:15:01.830 --> 00:15:04.309 both pregnant the last time and they weren't 00:15:04.309 --> 00:15:09.570 able to attend. So this is a big deal. And one 00:15:09.570 --> 00:15:12.990 of Gyukyo's ladies -in -waiting, she is so funny. 00:15:13.110 --> 00:15:16.090 She is like, this is the princess's first public 00:15:16.090 --> 00:15:21.789 appearance and this is war. Like she was so passionate. 00:15:22.730 --> 00:15:26.629 There is some really great bits of humor in this 00:15:26.629 --> 00:15:29.830 thought -provoking anime. I thoroughly enjoyed 00:15:29.830 --> 00:15:33.129 it. Moving on to the garden party though, part 00:15:33.129 --> 00:15:36.590 of this event is that there is a hairpin type 00:15:36.590 --> 00:15:40.769 of ceremony where men give women hairpins. Funny, 00:15:40.909 --> 00:15:44.070 and I don't know if I've said it yet, but the 00:15:44.070 --> 00:15:47.210 rear palace is essentially for making babies. 00:15:47.769 --> 00:15:51.500 It is the Emperor's Flower Garden. And there 00:15:51.500 --> 00:15:55.340 are no men allowed, other than the Emperor, the 00:15:55.340 --> 00:16:00.539 Emperor's direct kin, and eunuchs. So this event 00:16:00.539 --> 00:16:05.960 is sort of how to find a baby daddy. And Mao 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:09.320 Mao is so confused. She doesn't actually understand 00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:13.659 what it means. In her defense, I mean Lady Gyukyo 00:16:13.659 --> 00:16:17.200 gave her one, Lady Liwa ends up giving her one. 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:20.940 She ended up leaving with quite a few pins. Part 00:16:20.940 --> 00:16:24.120 of her character design is she has these freckles 00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:28.720 and apparently it makes her completely unrecognizable. 00:16:28.779 --> 00:16:32.320 I do not understand how nobody can tell it's 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:36.179 her because of a few light freckles. The ladies 00:16:36.179 --> 00:16:38.559 in waiting tackle her because they are about 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:41.179 to apply makeup and cover up the freckles and 00:16:41.179 --> 00:16:44.580 get her garden party ready. So we find out from 00:16:44.580 --> 00:16:47.720 them, like wiping off her face, that Mao Mao 00:16:47.720 --> 00:16:50.929 paints on her freckles daily. When we find out 00:16:50.929 --> 00:16:55.610 why, it is really sad to think about. She grew 00:16:55.610 --> 00:16:59.350 up in the red light district, in a brothel. I 00:16:59.350 --> 00:17:01.730 mean, she was already kidnapped once and sold 00:17:01.730 --> 00:17:05.109 to the palace. So this is all a safety measure 00:17:05.109 --> 00:17:08.589 for her. So with the garden party, again, this 00:17:08.589 --> 00:17:12.630 is a very political event. On the surface, it's 00:17:12.630 --> 00:17:16.910 a party and celebration. They had beautiful music, 00:17:17.190 --> 00:17:22.420 dancers. food, all of the concubines are attending. 00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:26.279 This is based on their status and influence with 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:29.559 the emperor. So I was really interested in seeing 00:17:29.559 --> 00:17:32.220 the different interactions between the emperor 00:17:32.220 --> 00:17:35.039 and the different concubines. They didn't give 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:37.900 me that but I was really looking forward to it. 00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:41.920 And at this point Mao Mao is sort of this background 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:45.210 character. She, in the grand scheme of things, 00:17:45.430 --> 00:17:50.529 is the bottom of the pecking order, even though 00:17:50.529 --> 00:17:53.250 she actually has way more pull than she realizes. 00:17:53.490 --> 00:17:57.390 But I won't jump ahead. I will say being this 00:17:57.390 --> 00:18:02.190 background character really gives her a serious 00:18:02.190 --> 00:18:05.069 advantage because she's basically invisible. 00:18:05.250 --> 00:18:10.240 This gives her such a strong position. She is 00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:13.700 focusing on where people are sitting, who they 00:18:13.700 --> 00:18:17.819 are sitting next to, their body language, facial 00:18:17.819 --> 00:18:22.980 cues. It is amazing to watch her go into this 00:18:22.980 --> 00:18:28.480 detective mode. During tasting for Gyokyo, Maomao's 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:31.819 dish ends up being poisoned. What we find out 00:18:31.819 --> 00:18:34.759 later is that it was actually meant for one of 00:18:34.759 --> 00:18:38.750 the youngest concubines, Lady Lishu. and Lady 00:18:38.750 --> 00:18:43.009 Lishu was the mother -in -law at some point, 00:18:43.150 --> 00:18:50.569 and it is this really wild clusterfuck. Lishu's 00:18:50.569 --> 00:18:53.369 taster is super suspicious, but when Mao Mao 00:18:53.369 --> 00:18:57.190 says that hers is poisoned, she is shocked and 00:18:57.190 --> 00:19:00.509 nerve -wracked. This dish was one she was supposed 00:19:00.509 --> 00:19:03.990 to eat. She ended up swapping it as some prank. 00:19:04.589 --> 00:19:07.569 Because Lady Lishu doesn't like a certain fish. 00:19:07.970 --> 00:19:10.390 Well, come to find out, this girl is allergic. 00:19:10.529 --> 00:19:13.130 So, I mean, they could have literally killed 00:19:13.130 --> 00:19:16.529 her. It was pretty intense, though. Mao Mao is 00:19:16.529 --> 00:19:19.809 talking to Jin Shi and has him call up Lady Lishu 00:19:19.809 --> 00:19:24.009 and the taster. She gets into it real quick with 00:19:24.009 --> 00:19:28.609 the glares and the tone. Oh, my God. She definitely 00:19:28.609 --> 00:19:31.549 scared the taster straight. I was totally here 00:19:31.549 --> 00:19:35.490 for it. It was very much the same vibes we had 00:19:35.490 --> 00:19:38.990 with Lady Liwa's Ladies in Waiting and that whole 00:19:38.990 --> 00:19:42.769 conflict. Mao Mao runs off and I'm not entirely 00:19:42.769 --> 00:19:47.150 sure why because I do not think that she is someone 00:19:47.150 --> 00:19:50.569 that would spit out the poison. Cut to Jinshi 00:19:50.569 --> 00:19:54.109 who's arriving to the party and he is in some 00:19:54.109 --> 00:19:58.430 pretty official dress. His status isn't known 00:19:58.430 --> 00:20:02.059 to anybody in the show. Just us that is being 00:20:02.059 --> 00:20:05.220 toyed with. I guess some minister guy didn't 00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:08.180 believe that Mao Mao's dish was poisoned. So 00:20:08.180 --> 00:20:10.740 he tried the soup anyways. I guess the party 00:20:10.740 --> 00:20:14.619 goes into a full on frenzy. Well Jin Shi catches 00:20:14.619 --> 00:20:18.299 up with Mao Mao and she is all sparkly eyed and 00:20:18.299 --> 00:20:22.039 cheery because again, she just got to taste poison. 00:20:22.619 --> 00:20:26.279 He gets all over protective. He starts dragging 00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:29.339 her to the infirmary for meds to make her puke. 00:20:29.789 --> 00:20:33.890 It's these interactions that are extremely cute 00:20:33.890 --> 00:20:40.250 and are the start and formation of the romance 00:20:40.250 --> 00:20:44.609 we're expecting. It was really nice to watch 00:20:44.609 --> 00:20:47.289 them almost real time throughout the series. 00:20:47.829 --> 00:20:50.690 After that, we do get some more mystery type 00:20:50.690 --> 00:20:54.589 episodes ranging from suicidal servants jumping 00:20:54.589 --> 00:20:58.049 into freezing water to this one about a ghost 00:20:58.049 --> 00:21:01.930 and This one was really interesting. I liked 00:21:01.930 --> 00:21:05.150 how they did it because they teased little clips 00:21:05.150 --> 00:21:08.509 in the previous episode. Basically, there was 00:21:08.509 --> 00:21:11.490 this concubine, obviously not as high ranking 00:21:11.490 --> 00:21:15.410 as our main four. This concubine was allegedly 00:21:15.410 --> 00:21:19.910 sleepwalking and dancing on the palace wall in 00:21:19.910 --> 00:21:22.789 the moonlight. I mean, she was super beautiful. 00:21:23.490 --> 00:21:28.640 And of course, busty as fuck. But we find out 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:32.039 when we learn her backstory that she had fumbled 00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:36.000 doing a dance for the emperor. This is what initially 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:38.740 made them consider this to be the cause of the 00:21:38.740 --> 00:21:42.420 sleepwalking. Mao Mao is so smart though. She 00:21:42.420 --> 00:21:46.640 connects that this is an anxiety and fear -based 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:50.480 reaction. This concubine, she is being given 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:54.339 away as a reward. And this one got so emotional 00:21:54.339 --> 00:21:57.480 because the person she's actually getting given 00:21:57.480 --> 00:22:00.539 to is somebody that she grew up with from her 00:22:00.539 --> 00:22:04.960 village. She gets to leave this prison palace. 00:22:05.460 --> 00:22:10.200 She gets to be free. And I was really happy for 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:13.400 her. When we move on from that, we end up having 00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:16.680 this guy showing up in this medical office. This 00:22:16.680 --> 00:22:20.019 is where the quack doc, as Mao Mao calls him, 00:22:20.200 --> 00:22:23.960 resides. They have become buddy -buddy throughout 00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:27.240 this series and it was really sweet to watch. 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:33.339 His story is a little sad. I just want to say 00:22:33.339 --> 00:22:38.099 he is a good big brother. That's all I'm going 00:22:38.099 --> 00:22:41.779 to say because we get into his story in season 00:22:41.779 --> 00:22:44.640 two, so I really don't want to spoil it. But 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:47.339 the guy coming into this office is freaking out. 00:22:47.819 --> 00:22:50.720 He has these burns and he's thinking that he's 00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:53.960 cursed because there were these colored flames. 00:22:54.259 --> 00:22:59.339 And again, our smarty pants, Mao Mao, she starts 00:22:59.339 --> 00:23:02.500 to explain the science right behind it. I guess 00:23:02.500 --> 00:23:05.900 with different compounds like salt can make this 00:23:05.900 --> 00:23:08.940 color, et cetera, et cetera. She ends up making 00:23:08.940 --> 00:23:12.599 this medicine for him for the rash. I mean, she's 00:23:12.599 --> 00:23:16.240 really not supposed to be doing this. I can't 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:19.400 believe they all just turn a blind eye and allow 00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:22.319 her to just do whatever she wants. It is so funny. 00:23:22.920 --> 00:23:25.859 Another thing this anime is doing at this point 00:23:25.859 --> 00:23:30.279 is it is basically showing Jinshi starting to 00:23:30.279 --> 00:23:33.440 test her less, but he's starting to rely on her 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:38.019 more, which for Mao Mao means she is going to 00:23:38.019 --> 00:23:41.900 get dragged into this whole political conundrum 00:23:41.900 --> 00:23:45.329 unbeknownst to her. because she remains super 00:23:45.329 --> 00:23:48.849 ignorant to Jinchi's true identity, which honestly 00:23:48.849 --> 00:23:53.609 I think is more of a smart tactic. We find out 00:23:53.609 --> 00:23:56.750 that one of the concubines, the emperor's oldest 00:23:56.750 --> 00:24:01.829 friend, Lady Adwa, she was the first one to birth 00:24:01.829 --> 00:24:05.369 a son. I believe the emperor was still a prince 00:24:05.369 --> 00:24:10.920 at the time, but the son died. So they say. This 00:24:10.920 --> 00:24:15.779 is where it got really confusing for me. Because 00:24:15.779 --> 00:24:21.099 they kept alleging Jinshi was Adwa's child. But 00:24:21.099 --> 00:24:23.599 Jinshi must have been swapped with the emperors 00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:28.900 because... I mean, they are identical. You would 00:24:28.900 --> 00:24:32.480 have to be blind to not be able to tell that 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:36.039 they are mother and child. I don't actually know 00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:39.880 what is known by the other concubines. or even 00:24:39.880 --> 00:24:43.339 the emperor. I'm still fairly in the dark on 00:24:43.339 --> 00:24:47.380 who knows what. So one of Oddwa's ladies in waiting 00:24:47.380 --> 00:24:51.420 is this older woman. She's our head lady. She 00:24:51.420 --> 00:24:54.819 has been with her for a long time. Long story 00:24:54.819 --> 00:24:58.799 short, her family owns some sort of apiary. I'll 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:04.259 get real personal. I hate bugs. I am terrified 00:25:04.259 --> 00:25:08.599 of flying insects, especially bees. I'm not allergic 00:25:08.599 --> 00:25:11.319 or anything. I am just a wimp. I would not have 00:25:11.319 --> 00:25:13.920 been able to handle growing up in this family. 00:25:14.660 --> 00:25:17.839 But I guess honey is such a luxury item in this 00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:23.460 era. So it kind of explains some of her own status 00:25:23.460 --> 00:25:27.359 going into it without knowing her. So it's common 00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:31.380 practice that honey is healthy. But in newborns, 00:25:31.380 --> 00:25:35.259 I guess it can be deadly. Especially... when 00:25:35.259 --> 00:25:38.640 it is mixed with some specific flour. I forget 00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:41.480 what the flour was, but it's poisonous if ingested. 00:25:42.019 --> 00:25:46.500 This was all an accident, but the head lady -in 00:25:46.500 --> 00:25:49.240 -waiting is the one who's feeding Adwa's baby 00:25:49.240 --> 00:25:54.460 the honey and flour mixture. The baby dies, so 00:25:54.460 --> 00:25:58.180 she has been carrying this whole burden and secret 00:25:58.180 --> 00:26:03.240 for like 17 years, or however old Jin she is. 00:26:03.769 --> 00:26:07.470 It's just insane to me and it was so intense 00:26:07.470 --> 00:26:12.029 to watch her break down. That is almost two decades 00:26:12.029 --> 00:26:18.390 of mental torture. They did such a good job animating 00:26:18.390 --> 00:26:21.829 the scene. I did think she was going to go after 00:26:21.829 --> 00:26:24.410 Mao Mao during like the beginning of their conversation. 00:26:24.769 --> 00:26:28.490 They had a cleaver in the scene, but Mao Mao 00:26:28.490 --> 00:26:31.500 was prepared. I guess she wrapped herself up 00:26:31.500 --> 00:26:34.799 in some really thick type of paper. I'm not entirely 00:26:34.799 --> 00:26:36.500 sure, but I'm pretty sure that's what she did. 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:41.900 But we really find out that the suicide and the 00:26:41.900 --> 00:26:46.859 poisoning, all of those situations are because 00:26:46.859 --> 00:26:51.819 of Lady Lishu. And Lady Lishu, of course she 00:26:51.819 --> 00:26:53.720 knows about being allergic. This bitch is allergic 00:26:53.720 --> 00:26:57.299 to everything apparently. But honey is something 00:26:57.299 --> 00:26:59.980 I guess she almost died from. when she was a 00:26:59.980 --> 00:27:03.759 baby. Her being so young, being pulled from her 00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:08.599 family, and the contrast of Lady Adwa being this 00:27:08.599 --> 00:27:12.640 woman who, she ended up losing her uterus during 00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:14.980 the delivery. So she could not birth another 00:27:14.980 --> 00:27:19.319 child. So it is not hard to see how an almost 00:27:19.319 --> 00:27:24.059 mother -child type of relationship could form 00:27:24.059 --> 00:27:26.500 between them. And that would have been really 00:27:26.500 --> 00:27:29.359 bad for the head lady. Lady Lishu becomes this 00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:32.680 public enemy number one. So Mao Mao ends up telling 00:27:32.680 --> 00:27:35.779 her pretty much how to put all her motives into 00:27:35.779 --> 00:27:41.759 one. The poisoning and the suicide. She's doing 00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:45.059 this to put the shift on wanting to keep Adua 00:27:45.059 --> 00:27:49.480 like with a position of power. I guess it was 00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:52.240 already confirmed that she was going to be heading 00:27:52.240 --> 00:27:55.720 out. There was a new concubine coming in. Concubine 00:27:55.720 --> 00:27:59.539 Lolan. I definitely was excited to see this power 00:27:59.539 --> 00:28:04.819 shift start to shift. Again, she is literally 00:28:04.819 --> 00:28:08.599 the spitting image of Jinshi. I don't know how 00:28:08.599 --> 00:28:12.839 nobody can see this. Even Mao Mao sort of sees 00:28:12.839 --> 00:28:16.420 it. But again, she is dismissing this as nonsense. 00:28:16.900 --> 00:28:21.160 I think is more of a strategy. The less you know, 00:28:21.319 --> 00:28:25.200 the safer you are. So her replacement is going 00:28:25.200 --> 00:28:27.740 to be Lolan. But we won't be getting into her 00:28:27.740 --> 00:28:31.680 that much. The second season is really her story. 00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:36.559 I will say she does give off this very wearing 00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:40.019 a mask type of vibe. She will play an important 00:28:40.019 --> 00:28:43.480 role later on, so we'll get into her then. But 00:28:43.480 --> 00:28:46.579 after the head lady gets the axe, so to speak, 00:28:46.779 --> 00:28:50.240 so do the people within her clan. The merchants 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:53.700 that kidnapped and sold Mao Mao, they are a part 00:28:53.700 --> 00:28:56.960 of that whole deal. So Mao Mao basically gets 00:28:56.960 --> 00:29:02.039 fired. And it was really funny. Her and Jin Shi 00:29:02.039 --> 00:29:05.259 both wanted the results to be Mao Mao staying. 00:29:05.640 --> 00:29:09.460 And neither one of them wanted to admit it. So 00:29:09.460 --> 00:29:12.599 it ends with her negotiation failing and Mao 00:29:12.599 --> 00:29:16.380 Mao being fired. I do think it was really funny 00:29:16.380 --> 00:29:19.980 though. Because apparently she took her sweet 00:29:19.980 --> 00:29:22.960 time saying all of her goodbyes to her contacts. 00:29:23.920 --> 00:29:26.039 I guess this would be a good time to bring up 00:29:26.039 --> 00:29:28.980 that during the garden party, she had gotten 00:29:28.980 --> 00:29:32.180 a hairpin from this up -and -coming commander, 00:29:32.559 --> 00:29:35.660 soldier. I don't actually know what his official 00:29:35.660 --> 00:29:39.400 title was. He definitely brings this whole big 00:29:39.400 --> 00:29:44.019 dog energy. I think it is so cute. I think his 00:29:44.019 --> 00:29:47.740 name is Lihaku. When Mao Mao realizes that these 00:29:47.740 --> 00:29:50.319 hairpins are a way for her to leave the palace, 00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:54.940 she realizes she can go visit home. So when she 00:29:54.940 --> 00:29:59.000 goes to meet with Lihaku, it was so funny. She 00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:01.859 shows up with all her freckles and very ordinary 00:30:01.859 --> 00:30:05.759 attire. Again, she is unrecognizable like this 00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:08.819 apparently. When she tells him what she wants 00:30:08.819 --> 00:30:11.960 though, that she wants to go home and visit, 00:30:12.240 --> 00:30:15.339 he thinks he is about to get nothing out of this. 00:30:15.559 --> 00:30:19.799 He is tapping his foot. He is just visibly upset. 00:30:20.410 --> 00:30:23.970 The best part though is she lays down these like 00:30:23.970 --> 00:30:27.950 three wooden intro tokens and they're for the 00:30:27.950 --> 00:30:30.789 verdigris house. They're so you can meet any 00:30:30.789 --> 00:30:35.029 of the three pretty princesses. They are so sought 00:30:35.029 --> 00:30:38.769 after. They cost like a year's salary just for 00:30:38.769 --> 00:30:43.369 like one night and they are technically Mao Mao's 00:30:43.369 --> 00:30:46.549 adoptive sisters. They're the ones that raised 00:30:46.549 --> 00:30:49.799 her in the brothel. So Lihaku falls in love with 00:30:49.799 --> 00:30:53.839 one of them and he does become a serious player 00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:58.339 within this anime as we get deeper into the second 00:30:58.339 --> 00:31:01.700 season. But getting to Jinshi for a minute, he 00:31:01.700 --> 00:31:06.519 is regretting his decision immediately. After 00:31:06.519 --> 00:31:10.019 she left, we see Lady Gyukyu talking to Jinshi 00:31:10.019 --> 00:31:14.960 and she is pissed. She is like biggest blunder 00:31:14.960 --> 00:31:18.400 of the century and she was so mad. He's like 00:31:18.400 --> 00:31:21.759 a kid who just lost his favorite toy. I love 00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:26.740 how much they gave him this childish undertone. 00:31:26.759 --> 00:31:29.880 It keeps reminding me that he's only pretending 00:31:29.880 --> 00:31:33.880 to be a eunuch and older. That he's still a teenager. 00:31:35.119 --> 00:31:38.579 Gaoshuin, I'll finally get into him. He is Master 00:31:38.579 --> 00:31:42.019 Jinshi's personal assistant. But it's a lot deeper 00:31:42.019 --> 00:31:45.359 than that. He has looked after Jinshi like in 00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:49.539 the palace since he was born. His solution is 00:31:49.539 --> 00:31:52.839 we end up having this big bash. All the pretty 00:31:52.839 --> 00:31:55.140 princesses from the verdigris house are invited 00:31:55.140 --> 00:31:59.440 out. Mao Mao being home ends up going along to 00:31:59.440 --> 00:32:02.519 help serve drinks and stuff like that. Well cut 00:32:02.519 --> 00:32:06.059 to her offering a drink to this sulking man. 00:32:06.599 --> 00:32:09.980 I don't know if all these characters are just 00:32:09.980 --> 00:32:13.819 blind or if they don't pay attention, but it 00:32:13.819 --> 00:32:17.039 wasn't until she sat down next to him. That she 00:32:17.039 --> 00:32:20.000 could tell that it was Jinshi. And it was super 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.740 awkward. But really, really funny. He tries to 00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:28.220 touch her. And she just backs off. He's all confused. 00:32:28.400 --> 00:32:32.839 And she explains that we have a no touching policy. 00:32:33.779 --> 00:32:38.019 He's like, what are you doing here? And she responds, 00:32:38.539 --> 00:32:44.619 I'm working. He's just like, what? Like, like 00:32:44.619 --> 00:32:48.759 a courtesan? I found it so funny. She's obviously 00:32:48.759 --> 00:32:52.019 semi -annoyed with him questioning her chastity 00:32:52.019 --> 00:32:56.039 and whatnot, but it was cute. He tells her that 00:32:56.039 --> 00:32:59.839 he's going to buy her. Cut to her being, oh, 00:32:59.859 --> 00:33:03.660 this is perfect. Now I can go back and work in 00:33:03.660 --> 00:33:08.019 the rear palace again. Jinchi is so confused. 00:33:08.339 --> 00:33:11.579 He thinks that she didn't want to be there. He 00:33:11.579 --> 00:33:14.720 thought she wanted to quit. Oh my god, it was 00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:18.460 so good. She does end up letting him touch her 00:33:18.460 --> 00:33:22.240 though. And what he does is he takes his finger 00:33:22.240 --> 00:33:25.859 and he presses it to Mao Mao's lips. And then 00:33:25.859 --> 00:33:29.039 he puts his finger to his lips. And there's a 00:33:29.039 --> 00:33:31.279 little bit of lipstick. And it was like an indirect 00:33:31.279 --> 00:33:37.920 kiss. It was scandalous. I mean, everybody in 00:33:37.920 --> 00:33:41.099 the room was looking. The pretty princesses were 00:33:41.099 --> 00:33:45.769 living for this moment. I loved it so much. Mao 00:33:45.769 --> 00:33:50.210 Mao was so uncomfortable and confused. Cut to 00:33:50.210 --> 00:33:54.329 Gao Xun standing behind her with this giant grin. 00:33:54.630 --> 00:33:58.549 Even Mao Mao was like, there is no way I was 00:33:58.549 --> 00:34:03.309 solving whatever this was. It was so good. Now 00:34:03.309 --> 00:34:05.069 is where the show starts to take a different 00:34:05.069 --> 00:34:08.170 approach though. Because didn't she just bought 00:34:08.170 --> 00:34:11.599 Mao Mao? She is under the impression that she 00:34:11.599 --> 00:34:14.739 is going back to the rear palace. That can't 00:34:14.739 --> 00:34:18.219 happen. I mean, she was already fired once, which 00:34:18.219 --> 00:34:21.679 wasn't her fault, but whatever. She is going 00:34:21.679 --> 00:34:24.900 to work in the outer court. And this is where 00:34:24.900 --> 00:34:28.619 we get introduced to Tsure, who reminded me of 00:34:28.619 --> 00:34:31.639 a taller Mao Mao. She is familiar with medicines 00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:35.159 and seems to be able to move more freely than 00:34:35.159 --> 00:34:38.039 the other court ladies. We also start getting 00:34:38.039 --> 00:34:43.039 some scenes with Lachan, who is this master strategist. 00:34:43.460 --> 00:34:47.260 He's starting to bombard Jinshi daily. It is 00:34:47.260 --> 00:34:51.179 ever since he bought Mao Mao. So Lachan is Mao 00:34:51.179 --> 00:34:57.139 Mao's biological dad. The story is so dark with 00:34:57.139 --> 00:35:02.000 that storyline. And I didn't really like how 00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:04.000 they made him go along with it in the beginning 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:08.510 of the series. How it is in the end, oh my god. 00:35:08.670 --> 00:35:11.269 I'm sure I'll get into it more, so I don't want 00:35:11.269 --> 00:35:15.429 to ruin it yet, but it sort of made me mad. I 00:35:15.429 --> 00:35:18.389 felt like I got rage baited a little. He starts 00:35:18.389 --> 00:35:21.130 to ask Jin Shi for all of these different requests. 00:35:21.670 --> 00:35:25.469 He has this metal worker who passed away, and 00:35:25.469 --> 00:35:28.369 there's a trade secret left for his sons, but 00:35:28.369 --> 00:35:31.110 the will is a riddle. This is right up Mao Mao's 00:35:31.110 --> 00:35:33.769 alley. There's another one where he wants blue 00:35:33.769 --> 00:35:36.150 roses, but of course it's in the off season. 00:35:36.769 --> 00:35:40.510 As much as I know that he was just fucking with 00:35:40.510 --> 00:35:44.269 Jinchi, I think at the same time, he was also 00:35:44.269 --> 00:35:48.230 testing how capable his daughter is. So we end 00:35:48.230 --> 00:35:51.269 up having all of these different situations that 00:35:51.269 --> 00:35:55.170 end up being connected. I had no clue this was 00:35:55.170 --> 00:35:58.469 happening. I think the show did a great job in 00:35:58.469 --> 00:36:01.690 keeping me blind to it. I had no clue until they 00:36:01.690 --> 00:36:07.170 told me. I had an idea that Sue Ray was a villain 00:36:07.170 --> 00:36:11.250 character, but these went from being coincidences 00:36:11.250 --> 00:36:15.250 to strategically planned. While Mao Mao has been 00:36:15.250 --> 00:36:18.550 researching more, I think she's at this archive 00:36:18.550 --> 00:36:21.829 at this point. She's looking at these blueprints 00:36:21.829 --> 00:36:24.679 for the ceremonial temple. And the librarian 00:36:24.679 --> 00:36:27.760 dude is showing her some blueprints and telling 00:36:27.760 --> 00:36:30.460 her what his concern was with the integrity of 00:36:30.460 --> 00:36:33.480 the structure. He also adds how he was fired 00:36:33.480 --> 00:36:37.320 as soon as he like made comment of that. So she 00:36:37.320 --> 00:36:40.219 is connecting the dots and she finds out that 00:36:40.219 --> 00:36:44.320 a ceremony is happening today. The stakes are 00:36:44.320 --> 00:36:47.000 getting really high and I mean she is hauling 00:36:47.000 --> 00:36:50.760 ass. When she gets to this temple she is of course 00:36:50.760 --> 00:36:54.349 stopped by these palace guards. And this one 00:36:54.349 --> 00:36:58.590 specifically, he was such a dick. And she is 00:36:58.590 --> 00:37:01.050 instigating him because she wants a commotion 00:37:01.050 --> 00:37:04.269 to happen. She wants the ceremony to be stopped. 00:37:04.909 --> 00:37:08.030 Somebody in her position and within her rank 00:37:08.030 --> 00:37:12.630 has no place and no business. And she's not stupid. 00:37:12.690 --> 00:37:16.409 She knows that her life is essentially dispensable. 00:37:16.550 --> 00:37:20.570 So she instigates him and gets hit really hard. 00:37:21.280 --> 00:37:24.920 Like falls down a dozen steps and her face is 00:37:24.920 --> 00:37:29.820 smashed in. She's bleeding. It was really intense, 00:37:30.139 --> 00:37:34.340 but she doesn't give up. She is trying to right 00:37:34.340 --> 00:37:39.579 a wrong. This is such a major theme in her whole 00:37:39.579 --> 00:37:43.179 character concept. And I love it. Then we have 00:37:43.179 --> 00:37:46.599 Lachan who shows up right behind her. And as 00:37:46.599 --> 00:37:49.840 soon as he started speaking, the tension was 00:37:49.840 --> 00:37:53.550 thick. And she knows it's him, her real father. 00:37:53.949 --> 00:37:58.630 She refuses to acknowledge him as such. And he's 00:37:58.630 --> 00:38:01.829 vouching for her. But he is not just respected 00:38:01.829 --> 00:38:06.630 within the palace. He is feared. He is this master 00:38:06.630 --> 00:38:11.010 strategist. So a lot of credit goes to him for 00:38:11.010 --> 00:38:15.710 winning battles and wars. He holds a very significant 00:38:15.710 --> 00:38:19.519 title. With this distraction, Mao Mao runs in 00:38:19.519 --> 00:38:22.139 and ends up tackling the person that is under 00:38:22.139 --> 00:38:25.599 this banister that was meant to fall but look 00:38:25.599 --> 00:38:28.860 like an accident, right? The man she saves is 00:38:28.860 --> 00:38:32.179 of course Jin -Chi, but she gets really hurt. 00:38:32.340 --> 00:38:35.840 She cuts open her leg and ends up losing consciousness. 00:38:36.440 --> 00:38:40.059 The moment was so intense, we have Jin -Chi freaking 00:38:40.059 --> 00:38:43.539 out. He ends up carrying her from the temple 00:38:43.539 --> 00:38:46.639 to his place. We have blood dripping from her 00:38:46.639 --> 00:38:52.179 leg. Again, the scene was so intense. Even Lachan 00:38:52.179 --> 00:38:56.099 had this complete look of shock. I'm not sure 00:38:56.099 --> 00:39:00.019 if it was to Mao Mao's injury, or if it was to 00:39:00.019 --> 00:39:03.639 Jinshi's identity. I'm not entirely sure which 00:39:03.639 --> 00:39:07.300 it was. It could have been both. Moving on from 00:39:07.300 --> 00:39:10.599 that though, I think one of the things I enjoyed 00:39:10.599 --> 00:39:15.860 the most was the way they handled Tsure. She 00:39:15.860 --> 00:39:18.500 ends up getting found out to be this mastermind 00:39:18.500 --> 00:39:22.519 behind this, but is found to be dead. Apparently, 00:39:22.539 --> 00:39:25.679 she ended up drinking poison. Mao Mao and her 00:39:25.679 --> 00:39:28.360 have had some interactions, and during one of 00:39:28.360 --> 00:39:31.380 these, she had told Mao Mao she was making this 00:39:31.380 --> 00:39:34.460 drug for resurrection. And of course, Mao Mao 00:39:34.460 --> 00:39:38.780 loses it. She is beyond excited, grabbing her, 00:39:39.139 --> 00:39:43.260 and is like, I need this recipe. Su Rui says 00:39:43.260 --> 00:39:46.630 that she's kidding. But when Mao Mao hears this, 00:39:46.750 --> 00:39:49.730 she wants to see her body. She's like, there's 00:39:49.730 --> 00:39:53.730 no way that it was just this one girl who orchestrated 00:39:53.730 --> 00:39:57.289 all these different scenarios. So the doctor 00:39:57.289 --> 00:40:01.349 who ended up examining Su Rui, he had a major 00:40:01.349 --> 00:40:04.610 crush on her. And Mao Mao knew that he didn't 00:40:04.610 --> 00:40:08.150 do a proper autopsy. So she opens up the coffin. 00:40:08.329 --> 00:40:11.750 And of course, it is somebody completely different. 00:40:12.380 --> 00:40:17.300 Turns out Su -Rei took this medicine that basically 00:40:17.300 --> 00:40:20.099 makes her lifeless, so there are no vital signs. 00:40:20.900 --> 00:40:24.340 And when she was placed in this morgue, she was 00:40:24.340 --> 00:40:28.000 rescued and escaped that way. Mao Mao basically 00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:31.000 stopped this from going unanswered, because they 00:40:31.000 --> 00:40:33.099 were going to be cremating all of the bodies 00:40:33.099 --> 00:40:37.059 tomorrow. So Su -Rei was this close to getting 00:40:37.059 --> 00:40:40.369 away with it, if it weren't for Mao Mao. But 00:40:40.369 --> 00:40:43.010 she's determined to find Su -Rei now and learn 00:40:43.010 --> 00:40:45.510 how to make this drug. This is all she cares 00:40:45.510 --> 00:40:49.469 about. She had this maniacal laugh and she's 00:40:49.469 --> 00:40:53.469 like, my wound has reopened. Cut to Gaoshuin 00:40:53.469 --> 00:40:57.170 and Jin -Chi just freaking out. We do end up 00:40:57.170 --> 00:41:00.030 getting more of Mao Mao's past throughout this 00:41:00.030 --> 00:41:04.349 series. And at some point during the whole lock 00:41:04.349 --> 00:41:09.630 -in Jin -Chi game, he had asked Jin -Chi, if 00:41:09.630 --> 00:41:12.630 he knows how to reduce a courtesan's worth. Jin 00:41:12.630 --> 00:41:16.989 Shi ends up asking Mao Mao, who was clearly disgusted 00:41:16.989 --> 00:41:21.130 by that question. We can figure out why, but 00:41:21.130 --> 00:41:24.449 she starts to explain that the biggest factor 00:41:24.449 --> 00:41:28.070 in what would make someone lose their value would 00:41:28.070 --> 00:41:31.829 be pregnancy. And I sort of knew Mao Mao's mother 00:41:31.829 --> 00:41:36.210 was a courtesan. When they get into it, I just 00:41:36.210 --> 00:41:42.429 loved her so Much especially in her prime. Oh 00:41:42.429 --> 00:41:47.610 my god. I thought she was gorgeous She was someone 00:41:47.610 --> 00:41:52.010 who was raised in the brothel and has this extremely 00:41:52.010 --> 00:41:56.610 High level of pride and it was so nice to watch 00:41:56.610 --> 00:41:59.309 I could feel it coming through the screen But 00:41:59.309 --> 00:42:03.250 we'll get more into her story when we get into 00:42:03.250 --> 00:42:06.179 the finale And this finale that's been building 00:42:06.179 --> 00:42:10.179 up is centering around Mao Mao finally being 00:42:10.179 --> 00:42:13.159 ready to confront Lakan. She has been avoiding 00:42:13.159 --> 00:42:16.139 him this whole season. And I was so ready for 00:42:16.139 --> 00:42:19.579 this confrontation. I think the show did another 00:42:19.579 --> 00:42:23.920 great job adding these like little touches. With 00:42:23.920 --> 00:42:26.820 the blue rose arc, Mao Mao had to borrow the 00:42:26.820 --> 00:42:30.539 sauna that she had built for Lady Liwa. The reason 00:42:30.539 --> 00:42:33.219 for that is she has to grow these roses out of 00:42:33.219 --> 00:42:37.130 season. and within a very short time frame. Being 00:42:37.130 --> 00:42:40.590 in Lady Liwa's territory, she had to deal with 00:42:40.590 --> 00:42:43.449 Liwa's ladies -in -waiting. So Mao Mao breaks 00:42:43.449 --> 00:42:47.230 out the nail art kit and painted nails, but we 00:42:47.230 --> 00:42:49.869 started to see all these pops of color start 00:42:49.869 --> 00:42:53.829 to come into the scenes. We also know that Lachan 00:42:53.829 --> 00:42:57.489 apparently cannot see or differentiate faces. 00:42:58.130 --> 00:43:01.590 He only sees them as chess pieces. And it was 00:43:01.590 --> 00:43:05.510 really cool because they did show everyone had 00:43:05.510 --> 00:43:09.449 either a black or a white piece for a face. I 00:43:09.449 --> 00:43:11.650 think the men were black and the women were white. 00:43:11.710 --> 00:43:15.409 I'm not 100 % positive. But you could see him 00:43:15.409 --> 00:43:18.670 visibly thrown off by these pops of color coming 00:43:18.670 --> 00:43:22.309 into his frame. He starts talking and reminiscing 00:43:22.309 --> 00:43:26.030 about remembering a less flamboyant red hue. 00:43:26.610 --> 00:43:31.190 I think he was describing it as balsam. Mao Mao 00:43:31.190 --> 00:43:33.429 is ready to challenge him to a game, and their 00:43:33.429 --> 00:43:36.610 setup was perfect. We have Mao Mao, Gao Xun, 00:43:36.769 --> 00:43:40.190 and Jin Chi. And you can't see their faces, but 00:43:40.190 --> 00:43:43.250 you can see Mao Mao's. And she is ready to go. 00:43:43.690 --> 00:43:47.369 So Mao Mao challenges him to a game. They have 00:43:47.369 --> 00:43:50.289 to choose between cups. The loser has to drink 00:43:50.289 --> 00:43:53.630 from a cup that the winner picks. And three of 00:43:53.630 --> 00:43:56.849 these cups are poisoned. During the game, Mao 00:43:56.849 --> 00:43:59.650 Mao's already drank two. And since there's three 00:43:59.650 --> 00:44:03.190 of these cups, Lachan cannot afford to let his 00:44:03.190 --> 00:44:06.030 daughter be poisoned. So he ends up throwing 00:44:06.030 --> 00:44:08.670 the game for that one round and ends up taking 00:44:08.670 --> 00:44:12.969 a drink. It turns out that the poison is really 00:44:12.969 --> 00:44:15.809 just strong liquor and Lachan doesn't drink. 00:44:15.949 --> 00:44:20.989 So he passes right out. And this is where we 00:44:20.989 --> 00:44:25.829 flashback to the real story about him and Mau 00:44:25.829 --> 00:44:29.119 Mau's mother. Her name is Feng Xin. And again, 00:44:29.260 --> 00:44:32.960 she was born and raised in the brothel. And she 00:44:32.960 --> 00:44:38.860 has this immense, intense level of pride. She 00:44:38.860 --> 00:44:41.840 was just stunning. The little bits that I kept 00:44:41.840 --> 00:44:45.579 getting of her, I just absolutely loved her. 00:44:45.739 --> 00:44:49.920 And Lachan was so in love with her. And for a 00:44:49.920 --> 00:44:53.840 couple of reasons. Lachan is very into games 00:44:53.840 --> 00:44:57.820 like Go and chess. And she is also somebody who 00:44:57.820 --> 00:45:01.539 plays games. She wasn't the courtesan to sell 00:45:01.539 --> 00:45:06.159 her body. She sold her intellect, her mind, and 00:45:06.159 --> 00:45:10.960 her personality. Another reason is because her 00:45:10.960 --> 00:45:14.460 face is one of the only faces he was able to 00:45:14.460 --> 00:45:17.019 see. We find out Lachan was supposed to take 00:45:17.019 --> 00:45:20.039 her away, but ends up getting sent away for like 00:45:20.039 --> 00:45:23.809 three years. Before he gets sent away, thinks 00:45:23.809 --> 00:45:27.650 Shin is like somebody offered to buy her. And 00:45:27.650 --> 00:45:32.570 it's so sad. But she gets herself pregnant. This 00:45:32.570 --> 00:45:35.730 is so she can negate that contract. Because for 00:45:35.730 --> 00:45:39.329 some reason, she wants to be with Locken. And 00:45:39.329 --> 00:45:43.869 whatever. But Locken gets sent away for three 00:45:43.869 --> 00:45:48.750 whole years. She loses her whole sense of pride 00:45:48.750 --> 00:45:53.030 and sanity. She has to become the streetwalker. 00:45:53.329 --> 00:45:58.269 She ends up catching syphilis. And I felt so 00:45:58.269 --> 00:46:02.969 bad when we got into the truth. This is where 00:46:02.969 --> 00:46:06.750 I wasn't happy that they made Lachan to be this 00:46:06.750 --> 00:46:11.429 bad guy. It wasn't necessarily his fault. He 00:46:11.429 --> 00:46:14.949 gets sent away because of his uncle. And his 00:46:14.949 --> 00:46:20.019 uncle is Mamao's adopted father. So there are 00:46:20.019 --> 00:46:23.519 a lot of ties that they revealed right at the 00:46:23.519 --> 00:46:27.480 end. It's so sad though because she gets pregnant 00:46:27.480 --> 00:46:31.500 and he gets sent away. So she ends up going absolutely 00:46:31.500 --> 00:46:35.440 crazy. Cuts off one of her fingers and Mao Mao's 00:46:35.440 --> 00:46:39.340 fingertip. I guess this was a way to curse somebody. 00:46:40.400 --> 00:46:42.460 Lachan ends up coming back those three years 00:46:42.460 --> 00:46:45.940 later and he has all this mail. He dumps out 00:46:45.940 --> 00:46:48.559 this little satchel into his hand. He thinks 00:46:48.559 --> 00:46:52.380 it's like a twig or mud or something along those 00:46:52.380 --> 00:46:57.420 lines. Then he realizes exactly what it is. I'm 00:46:57.420 --> 00:47:01.659 not sure if he just assumes she was dead or somewhere 00:47:01.659 --> 00:47:04.739 else. I'm not really sure. But we end up coming 00:47:04.739 --> 00:47:07.659 back to the present and he wakes up in the verdigris 00:47:07.659 --> 00:47:10.750 house. The deal that Mao Mao had made with him 00:47:10.750 --> 00:47:13.909 was that if the gamble was lost or the person 00:47:13.909 --> 00:47:17.829 had to stop playing given any circumstance, then 00:47:17.829 --> 00:47:19.849 Lachan was going to have to purchase a courtesan. 00:47:20.309 --> 00:47:23.250 At the same time though, if Mao Mao were to lose, 00:47:23.489 --> 00:47:27.389 then she has to live with Lachan. So there was 00:47:27.389 --> 00:47:30.570 a lot of stakes on this wage. But Mao Mao had 00:47:30.570 --> 00:47:33.389 a plan. During the lineup of these courtesans, 00:47:33.389 --> 00:47:36.130 one of the pretty princesses is telling him to 00:47:36.130 --> 00:47:40.139 choose wisely. and opens the door. She was Feng 00:47:40.139 --> 00:47:43.539 Xin's attendant servant girl when she was younger. 00:47:43.760 --> 00:47:46.000 So Lachan has known this girl her whole life 00:47:46.000 --> 00:47:49.079 as well. And with the doors open, we start to 00:47:49.079 --> 00:47:53.760 hear a lullaby. And it's the same lullaby that 00:47:53.760 --> 00:47:57.659 Feng Xin had sang to him after they did the deed. 00:47:58.239 --> 00:48:01.460 She was just singing him a lullaby. So he takes 00:48:01.460 --> 00:48:05.480 off and he is trying to find her. When he did, 00:48:06.199 --> 00:48:09.579 It was just so bittersweet. He can't see faces, 00:48:09.639 --> 00:48:13.960 but Mao Mao's and Feng Xin's, he can. Since she 00:48:13.960 --> 00:48:18.599 has syphilis, she is all scabbed up, deteriorating. 00:48:18.739 --> 00:48:23.480 She is in rough shape. Lachan only sees her as 00:48:23.480 --> 00:48:29.940 this beautiful angel though. It was so good because 00:48:29.940 --> 00:48:33.900 then they start playing a game and it was like 00:48:33.900 --> 00:48:37.710 when they first met. Oh my god, I really enjoyed 00:48:37.710 --> 00:48:42.110 that as a closure. It does lead to one of the 00:48:42.110 --> 00:48:47.989 most beautiful scenes in the anime for me. At 00:48:47.989 --> 00:48:51.150 least in the season for me. Mao Mao ends up doing 00:48:51.150 --> 00:48:54.269 this dance, and we find out all the girls do 00:48:54.269 --> 00:48:57.190 a dance when someone is bought. It was just so 00:48:57.190 --> 00:49:00.630 beautiful. And I think it's because it is the 00:49:00.630 --> 00:49:05.409 opposite of her actual personality. It was really 00:49:05.409 --> 00:49:09.030 interesting to see her stepped into this role. 00:49:09.650 --> 00:49:13.070 Jin Shi basically surprises her and she almost 00:49:13.070 --> 00:49:16.630 falls off the wall. He catches her, but we see 00:49:16.630 --> 00:49:19.730 her leg wound reopen and she's about to stitch 00:49:19.730 --> 00:49:23.650 it herself, but this man is not having it. He 00:49:23.650 --> 00:49:27.829 just scoops her up and jumps off the wall. She 00:49:27.829 --> 00:49:31.349 is screaming the whole way down. It was really 00:49:31.349 --> 00:49:35.610 good. Him acting this way, It's really giving 00:49:35.610 --> 00:49:39.110 off his age. This is what I like. I like how 00:49:39.110 --> 00:49:43.309 they did this. And it was a cute moment because 00:49:43.309 --> 00:49:46.909 we have Mao Mao, who is clearly more into Jin 00:49:46.909 --> 00:49:50.809 Shi when he's real and authentic and genuine. 00:49:51.289 --> 00:49:55.989 For a first season, it was amazing to get into. 00:49:56.170 --> 00:50:00.389 I feel like they covered so many bases. And even 00:50:00.389 --> 00:50:03.980 though season one is supposed to be big, I didn't 00:50:03.980 --> 00:50:06.920 feel like it was crammed or that it got stretched 00:50:06.920 --> 00:50:10.840 out. I felt like it was really balanced and I 00:50:10.840 --> 00:50:14.059 enjoyed it so much. Season two is going to kick 00:50:14.059 --> 00:50:16.800 it right up, but I'm gonna work on that for the 00:50:16.800 --> 00:50:19.579 summer. So this is all I have for season one. 00:50:20.059 --> 00:50:22.820 The next series on my list that I would love 00:50:22.820 --> 00:50:26.039 to get into is Let This Grieving Soul Retire. 00:50:26.320 --> 00:50:29.980 I really, really like that one. That's what's 00:50:29.980 --> 00:50:32.530 gonna be coming up. Don't forget every Friday 00:50:32.530 --> 00:50:36.190 I am uploading a recap episode to give my play 00:50:36.190 --> 00:50:39.869 -by -play during the current season of Jujutsu 00:50:39.869 --> 00:50:42.949 Kaisen. It is definitely a favorite of mine. 00:50:43.110 --> 00:50:46.349 I cannot wait for our next episode, episode 9. 00:50:46.909 --> 00:50:50.869 But that is all I have. So until next time, I'll 00:50:50.869 --> 00:50:51.349 see you then.