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The Apothecary Diaries: Episode 11 Reaction! (Patreon)

Published:
2024-09-25 13:00:02
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

 *SWAP MEET HEADPHONE WARNINGS*

MAN, this episode gives us SUCH exposition, but in the best way possible! It was like the culmination of the detective novel, where the cards are laid on the table, but somehow, this episode STILL allows us to have mystery and threads that aren't fully connected!

The information on Jinshi we get this episode and seeing him get to share in his vulnerability to a (voluntarily) oblivious MaoMao?! I am LOVING where this series is taking us!

LINK TO REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/k8t3yV9F2aHvFqaBE8birx?

Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!

Files

Previews only

The Apothecary Diaries: Episode 11 Reaction! REDUCING TWO TO ONE?!

LINK TO REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/k8t3yV9F2aHvFqaBE8birx? **SWAP MEET HEADPHONE WARNINGS** MAN, this episode gives us SUCH exposition, but in the best way possible! It was like the culmination of the detective novel, where the cards are laid on the table, but somehow, this episode STILL allows us to have mystery and threads that aren't fully connected! The information on Jinshi we get this episode and seeing him get to share in his vulnerability to a (voluntarily) oblivious MaoMao?! I am LOVING where this series is taking us! Thank you for watching with me and for all the support! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RomaniaBlack My Anime: https://myanimelist.net/profile/RomaniaBlack Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/RomaniaBlack You can mail me a letter or anything (except food, please) at this address: Romania Black PO Box 768 Harrisburg, IL 62946 USA

Comments

C. Davis

This is one of those anime that makes you think. There is no way around it. It has real depth to the story and each character is so well developed. I am thoroughly enjoying rewatching this show with you as you react to it. I remember that MaoMao's exposition about Ah-Duo and Jinshi surprised me even though I had already thought they looked similar, much like you did. I actually drew out a family tree style diagram on paper much as you did on whiteboard-kun. I love how this show kept surprising me and I love a good mystery. This episode held several surprises and solved some mysteries while putting forth a few more. I will see you same day, same time for episode 12!

Zeekutar The Immortal

Don't ever feel bad about long intros. providing a unique experience in the reaction sphere is what sets you and a couple other reactors apart from the large pool of more generic ones. Linking your anime watching to relevant reading material is very much welcome and enhances the experience.

William Pina

I haven't read the LN so this is just speculation on my part, but it seems like if Fengming's family has ran an apiary for generations they would know that honey could be poisonous to babies. IMO, Fengming was one of the few people who knew of the baby swap scheme and she killed the baby on purpose so that they wouldn't find out of the switch. But it's not as bad as it sounds because the baby was frail and likely to die anyway. Fengming died in order to keep the secret of the baby swap. The previous emperor liked really young girls, this is why the baby's delivery was complicated and required Luomen's full attention, This also explains why the newborn baby was sickly. Ah Duo knew that because of this, her baby would never receive the help needed if it came to choosing between the then emperor's son and his grandchild. So she agreed to the swap, which probably happen very shortly after their birth. I think that at the time, the only ones who knew were Ah Duo, Fengming and Luomen, but the current Emperor found out at some point and the previous emperor died without knowing. But since as far as everyone knows, the current Emperor's son died, then if Jinshi is that baby, it makes no difference at all. He still couldn't be the heir to the throne.

Alex Kornejo
>>150468462

"But it's not as bad as it sounds because the baby was frail and likely to die anyway. " It's a wild thing to say, I get your point, but damn.

Alex Kornejo
>>150448934

Agreed, her longer more thoughtful approach to reaction, analysis and discussion put her miles above most others. As long as she's not doing it to the point of burnout I love that this is how she does it. Also, I'm kind of more hooked with her book updates about Sun Yaoting since I don't know much about that world and it's pretty cool to get a glimpse about a real life example of it to go along with this fictitious one we're watching. It's a lot of extra effort I don't see anyone else even trying to do.

L Freya

Such a fun show to put out your theories and watch how it all plays out! Great reaction, you really catch all the beats so well, especially the building drama and this episode's cold stares from Fengming. Could you even imagine the hilarity of a MaoMao confession, the poor recipient would probably come out of it even more perplexed about their relationship than before haha! ...Let's go to the brothel there's something I want to tell you, wait here while I get it ready *mixes "safe" poisons and alcohol*, let's have a toast to us! Almost dies after drinking... is it too late to change my mind, she just wants to kill me! This is just one of the many possibilities we wish upon poor Jinshi!

Amalia Jungclaus

Not gonna lie, the whole baby swapping thing really confused me the first time I watched this episode. So I get having to go back and revisit it. Thanks again for sharing stuff from the book with us! It adds a new layer to watching the show, imo. The question of Jinshi’s parentage and if the emperor knows about the possible swap brings up a lot of stuff to think about. The one that comes most to my mind is the competition the consorts are in to be empress. They have said the emperor would want an empress who can give him heirs, but if he already had an adult heir in Jinshi then how much is that going to matter to him? And what other qualities might determine who he eventually picks? 🤔 I also wsnt to know now just what kind of relationship Jinshi has with the emperor. Do they see each other has parent and child? or does the strange circumstances surrounding Jinshi keep that from happening? some questions answered only for new ones to pop up. anyway, thanks for the video! good luck in resisting watching ahead 🫡

romaniablack
>>150448934

Oh, thank you so much for the kind words! I really appreciate that! Thank you -- the book is definitely INTERESTING and I'm glad this series inspired me to read it!

romaniablack
>>150448934

Oh, thank you for the comment and kindness - I always preface that just to be safe, because I know I can go into some LONG intros before the reaction. I am appreciative that you all enjoy the book exploration as well with this series, so thank you so much! <3 I appreciate it!

romaniablack
>>150447219

I really wasn’t expecting the story to be so intriguing in what it gives and doesn’t give you - the story itself is a detective story in a detective story and I’m so glad you all are enjoying it so far with me! Thank you! It DEFINITELY invites us to whip out our whiteboard-kun’s and I love geneology so I was so surprised we went THAT route with Ah-Duo and Jinshi! I’m definitely looking forward to see where the mysteries lead us in this series! Thank you for the comment and kind words! See you back with Episode 12!

romaniablack
>>150496861

Fengming was VERY scary with her cold demeanor this episode! Thank you so much for the comment and kind words - I really enjoy a good mystery so this story has me SO excited to see what else it will give us this season! I want Jinshi and MaoMao to end up together, but Y’ALL - our hopeless romantic has his work cut OUT for him with her…especially with her “seemingly” oblivious and pragmatic view of love. UGH. Anyway, thank you for the comment and kind words! I am excited for next week!

romaniablack
>>150540840

It’s SO confusing!! And thank you for the comment and kind words about the book - I am having SUCH a great time reading it, so I’m glad you all are enjoying my discussions of it as well! 😀 I *am* curious if the Emperor knows that Jinshi is his son because Ah-Duo definitely does, and does Jinshi know he’s Ah-Duo’s son? I’m assuming he doesn’t but her coming to visit him for a drink and his reaction to her leaving makes me think that he does…so then he would know that he’s the Emperor’s son not brother so….lots of complications! I feel the fact that he’s been paraded as the “brother” of the emperor would keep the Emperor from letting Jinshi have a chance at the throne, because they would have to reveal the scandal - and (if Jinshi isn’t a eunuch), then I don’t know if people would consider him “eligible” because he’s not from a “proper” marriage (ie he’s a “bastard” child). I definitely will be curious to see if these questions get answered! Thanks for the comment!

LoreleiS

This is when I truly was hooked to this show. And at the end I was “WTFuddge!1” I adore MaoMao reaction to drunk, sad Jinishi.

Anime Annie

With the comment about the Emperor's servants wanting to learn the stitching and cooking techniques from Maomao I thought of another reason for why they'd ask to be taught, rather than entrust Maomao to do it. The candies would be something the Emperor would ingest, and the clothes would be the layer right against his skin. Both would be fraught with chances for something to happen to the candies and/or clothes that could have an adverse affect on the Emperor. His servants are basically being trusted with his body and health, but Maomao isn't his direct servant and, due to her position in the inner palace, would not have the trust of the Emperor or his people in regards to this aspect of his life. Honestly nuts to think only one hundred years ago those things were happening in China, and that (prior to Emperor Puyi's fear regarding the eunuchs) there were over 1000 eunuchs still serving in the imperial palace. For the period bit, I know several cultures around the world in the past (and some still in the present) believe(d) people who have periods should be kept separate when they were bleeding each month. In some cultures it's down to a belief of a "woman being unclean" when she bleeds, in others it's considered more of a social aspect because only others with periods know exactly what they're going through. I love hearing more about Sun Yaoting's experiences, especially when there are moments that have crossover with Apothecary Diaries. Fengming calling Luomen a "quack" (just like Maomao refers to the other doctor) for me felt like it was yet another way to show Fengming's loyalty and love for Consort Ah-Duo. Just like basically telling Maomao that Consort Ah-Duo's only birth was none of her business in order to protect such knowledge being gossiped about, Fengming having such a negative view of Luomen is because her own experiences in the birthing incident coloured her opinion of him as a person and a doctor. Luomen didn't have a choice at the time to demand he stay with Consort Ah-Duo rather than attend the current Empress Dowager (they physically dragged him away), but I can understand why it would be hard to be neutral towards him when his absence likely cost Consort Ah-Duo the chance to have another baby. Also I just adore the use of shadow and light to really highlight the various expressions Fengming shows throughout her conversation with Maomao. In the previous episode when you were talking about aconite honey and honey in general I did have the urge to comment how honey is one of the food items that you shouldn't feed to babies simply because of the bacteria in them, but I held off until this episode 😆 It isn't until they're over one year old that honey is considered to be a safe food for babies to ingest (in moderation of course due to it being sugar and can therefore cause tooth decay). I know in the UK on the label of all honey products there is a warning not to feed to children under twelve months. Once again I take my hat off to this show for doing such an amazing and respectable job with such sensitive subject matter as the loss of an infant 🥺 Consort Ah-Duo's seiyuu did an amazing job at making her voice sound almost dead (to match her appearance) when she tells her ladies-in-waiting that no-one should blame themselves for the death. And once again there was no need to be graphic in order to get the pain and grief of all those involved across, just like with the death of Consort Lihua's son in Episode 1. Consort Ah-Duo watching as Maomao leaves her palace, alongside her drinking on the palace walls with Maomao, always makes me question how much she actually knew and, if she knew the truth about Fengming, for how long has she known? The moment between Maomao and Jinshi I just love Maomao's pragmatic nature taking over and deciding that she does owe Jinshi some comfort for catching her. But she doesn't consider the fact that if it hadn't been for Jinshi calling out to her, Maomao might never have fallen in the first place 😆 But yeah, Jinshi's soft voice paired with the tears and how he tightens his grip on Maomao as he asks for a little longer definitely pulls hard on your heartstrings 😭 Maomao's conjecture about Consort Ah-Duo's baby with the emperor is quite the unexpected twist, but done in such a great way. I honestly love Maomao speculating all this due to a linguistic reason. Just by considering the unusual choice in phrasing can change your perspective on something so much. The sweet moment between Lady Ah-Duo and Consort Lishu definitely gives a bittersweet feeling for Lady Ah-Duo's departure from the imperial palace. They truly cared deeply for one another 🥺 The mother-daughter relationship between them I feel adds something to both characters. Both are a lot softer around each other, but I also feel with Lady Ah-Duo Consort Lishu was able to truly act her age, with no expectation of her to be a little more mature and follow correct etiquette for someone of her social stature. The little red flower in the box that Maomao takes to Fengming (and then later sucks the nectar from in Jinshi's office) I believe is an azalea (also known as rhododendron), not aconite. As far as I know you can only get aconite in one form: little purple/lilac coloured flowers (though there is winter aconite that looks very like wood sorrel but has different shaped leaves). Whereas azaleas come in a range of colours but the one used in this episode I believe is called "Geisha Red". The other issue for me with Consort Ah-Duo giving birth, other than the lack of drugs as you mentioned, would be the attendants present for the birth. Only her ladies-in-waiting are there, and none of them are married; I believe with the comment Maomao made before about Fengming choosing to stay by Consort Ah-Duo's side rather than marry, that perhaps ladies-in-waiting were required to be unwed women to be suitable for their role. Therefore they haven't given birth themselves and may never have assisted someone give birth before. Considering the lack in female education in regards to their own bodies at that time I'd personally find it extremely worrisome to just be in a room with potential novices. Especially with how it looked like Consort Ah-Duo's labour was long and intense 😬 Just having one person who had been through the process before or a midwife (in some form or other) would be more reassuring than what Consort Ah-Duo was left with after the servants dragged Luomen away. At least in some historical manhua and manhwa I've read there are a few cases with the brother of an emperor or king being castrated or made infertile in some way so as to ensure the line of succession follows a certain path/prevent someone from being eligible to succeed the throne. In most of the fictional historical stories I've read that follow such a plot it is usually done by *a lot* of bloodshed and patricide/matricide/fratricide (or all three in some cases), so I guess castration would be an option that lets them live at least 😅 But those incidents are all fictional and I'm unsure of any real life examples that some writers may have drawn from in this regard. Hats off to you for waiting. I had to wait because I watched as it aired. If I had the option to binge though it would have been way too hard to just watch one episode at a time 🤣

LoreleiS

Yes, this was taken straight out of the light novel. The anime does a really good job of following it. Which speaks well of the writer of the light novel and anime. I have theories about the swap, but I don’t’t run into spoiler territory.

romaniablack
>>150692607

Ahhh, that is an interesting reason for also wanting to learn those skills, too! Sun Yaoting’s story has been SO fascinating to look at alongside The Apothecary Diaries; I’m glad you all have enjoyed it as well! But yes, WILD this was only 100 or so years ago! The way they portrayed Fengming through shadows and light was really well done this episode! Hahahaha – that’s funny about wanting to comment on honey but then the episode gives us what we need to know! And yes, this show knows how to handle such sensitive subject matters! And Ah-Duo’s VA was amazing in this episode, I agree! But yes, we may never know what all Ah-Duo has known and been tolerant of this whole time; I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew and was accepting of it all. MaoMao with the attitude of a DD forced to watch their drunken friend, haha! But Jinshi’s definitely tugging on the heartstrings this episode, so what can we do?! MaoMao’s speculation is crazy twist-wise; definitely shows off how perceptive she is! I agree; the Lishu moment with Ah-Duo was sweet and makes me sad that they’ll be separated after Lishu worked so hard to get back to see her! Ah, thank you for the information on the Azalea - now that you mention it, we do have those here…but they might be called “honey suckle,” which was why I was confused hahaha! I could see the consorts’ handmaid's choosing to be unmarried so they would be able to fully do their jobs. Couple that with what you said in your comment and it does raise some issues. Yeah, it does make it hard to tell what’s going to happen or what the truth is with Jinshi, especially in regard to his relationship with the emperor - this show keeping its secrets! I think of the Frodo meme of him and Gandalf, haha!! Maybe it’s helpful because my internet is down and I’m waiting on the episode files individually that I can’t binge, hahaha, but it is REALLY hard to wait!! Thank you for the comment and kind words!

Holly Mai9

Never once since ep1 did I ever think Jinshi was a eunuch. It was stated in the 1st episode that only females (concubines & servants), eunuchs & the Emperor's kin were allowed in the rear palace. So I always assumed he was kin. At the garden party, he peeked through the curtain at the seat of the "missing" Emperor's younger brother and was also wearing robes befitting royalty as well as the hair pin that could only been worn by people with "certain status" per Gaoshun. Also, the fact that he was reviewing bills is not something the "guardian of the rear palace" would do either. The fact that he was doing those tasks indicated that he was not a eunuch. My head cannon says he is the Emperor's son, but whether the emperor thinks Jinshi is his brother or knows he's his son remains to be seen.