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The Apothecary Diaries S2 Ep 18 (Patreon)

Published:
2026-07-30 00:00:12
Edited:
2026-08-06 03:00:51
Imported:
2026-07
Tags:

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  • 705978502.mp4

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Hello, Patreon family! Please enjoy my detailed analysis of the Apothecary Diaries Season 2, Episode 18. The unbelievable satisfaction of seeing some of my conjectures coming to fruition, and the thrill of being on the edge of my seat nearly every episode in the last few weeks...Simply, WOW!

My main takeaways from the episode

1) Jinshi's loss of composure and the revealing of his wrath, with the fake Loulan, is a reminder that he is the moon frog crown prince, at the end of the day, and nothing and nobody will get in his way of finding Maomao; the scene was incredibly satisfying

2) As I promised to Jinshi in the episode, I will be drinking more of his cool-aid moving forward; jokes aside, the remarkable ability for Jinshi to keep track and memorize all the notable features of the ladies in waiting, across the pavilion, is another reminder that his intelligence and diligence are on par with that of Maomao

3) I am equally excited to witness Lakan's wrath, with his fangs unleashed, and the full-throttle capacity of his military influence to find Maomao and prepare for an all-out battle with Shishou; also, what an interesting new character introduction of his adopted son, mini-Lakan

As everyone has been saying, each episode has been a peak, truly, and I feel blessed to have my mind blown to this level, over and over again~

Happy new week, everyone, and until next time!

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Comments

Jeremy Herttna

Lakan is starting to remind me of Maes Hughes from Fullmetal Alchemist. Smart, cunning, and incredibly loud and obnoxious when it comes to his wife and daughter. Lol

Andrestian

Your enthusiasm is contagious man, these last few weeks have been very rewarding to experience with you. The author has said that Jinshi is the hardest character to write for several reasons, including his great intelligence, after all, she doesn’t want him to overshadow the protagonist. I’m not sure if she actually said this or if it’s just speculation I read from a user, but this could be why Jinshi doesn’t appear in mysteries that don’t involve medicine, so as not to take the spotlight away from Maomao. Even so, it’s very satisfying to see his internal conflicts and how he uses everything at his disposal to bring Maomao back.

Nillakookie

"Wow, I love seeing Jinshi when he's assertive." Join the club—every woman seems to agree. 😏

Summer08

What a drop on the roller coaster 🎢 this episode was!!! It was fascinating watching the “Jinshi” mask slip and the Official Crown Prince KaZuigetsu coming to the front!! Not enough of the fandom give Jinshi the respect he deserves with how sharp his mind is without Mao Mao being involved. I love this show and again it’s so awesome hearing your reactions and perspectives. Thank you so much Benoit🙏

Leslie

My favorite scene in this episode is the confrontation between Jinshi and and the older woman from the clinic, for what it reveals about Jinshi. Here's my thoughts: there was no way to completely hide all evidence of what happened with the child swap. But you know what would be a great cover? If we spread rumors about how the child is illegitimate, no one will think something much wilder happened. The grave: The grave is of Taihou, who was a lady in waiting to the woman that would go on to become Loulan's mother. Taihou had a child that everyone was told was due to an affair with a doctor, which is why they started requiring doctors in the rear palace be eunuchs. Taihou stayed in the rear palace until she died, and we don't know what happened to her daughter... but the connection between Taihou and Loulan's mother is what made Jinshi realize that Loulan might be connected to Maomao's disappearance. As always, can't wait for next episode!!

JAMES D'ALESSANDRO

The daughter would have been Suirei not Loulan. She would be the late Emporer's daughter the doctor was blamed to prove that the Emporer wasn't the father by the late Emporer's mother from what we know do far. That fabrication is also what lead to turning doctors in the rear palace into eunuchs.

Psychotherapist Reacts

It’s so awesome!! And right?? Cool to see Jinshi really showing his true capacity

SarithaKabila

The fact that Maomao is not even there and still winning of being the best MC ever. Jinshi cares about Maomao but knows his places that if she went on her own without being kidnapped then she is an enemy of the state. But with him being Jinshi and not the Moon Prince to the audience at large in the palace he has to keep his composure of being the honey toned eunic. As far as family tree, don't worry more answers are to come. Those that were too young to decide and were used as pawns and deflowered to be stuck in the rear palace even through death helps to explain the resentment of those stuck in that cycle. Then for Jinshi to complete drop the mask of Jinshi and just be a man who cares for Maomao and wants the truth by saying in his actual true voice for the first time "Where did Maomao go?" was just chef's kiss. To think at this point we are only about 10 minutes into the episode, it shows just how much they know how to go from slow cooker to full flavor. Then the real that Shenlu has been stuck here the whole time as yet another deflowered girl and the double dissociation of Shenlu and then Jinshi in such a real way. It's interesting to get that little snippet of Jinshi's unresolved trauma from his childhood and seeing in certain respects Maomao and Jinshi while born to different statuses had similar traumatic upbringings as far as people not always being nice to them because of how they were born. It helps to add to the whole thought process of we have no enemy worse, than our own minds. Yes we watch you because of the professional yapping, but this is why I knew once you started to get to this point in the season you would get to 1-2 hours full episodes for the 20-28 minute episodes <3. The anchoring of Maomao to Jinshi just helps to add to the foundation that they are the ying to each other's yang whether they want to admit it to themselves let along to one another or not. Them dropping the bomb that the "throw away" episode of the ghost stories was not an actual throw away and they were technically having us get to know someone who makes an impact to so much of this story. Jinshi's full turn around with figuring out the next puzzle piece is Loulan and having to go full stop no matter what for answers. The family trees are why I said you will need to start a white board after a while to keep a track of everyone. The Jinshi snap into I know you are not the real Loulan is like oh snap! I couldn't agree more that the Author is on a whole different level then the rest of us with their level of detail to attach season, to season, to season. The level of detail that can get lost especially on the first viewing is the fact that the cushion under the fake Loulan is actually dark because she wet herself because of how scared she was with Jinshi's wrath on full display (it is confirmed in the Light Novels). It also shows how good they did with keeping it under wraps that it has been two weeks until Lakan found out. Like it needs to be studied the turn around of Lakan from where we first thought of him to now. Have I mentioned how I can't wait to see the rest of this season and how you react. Lahan is Lakan's adopted son, it is actually his nephew but as they needed a boy to retain the bloodline. It shows a hit of if Maomao had been raised by her rather Lakan compared to Luomen that she would be more calculating with how she acts compared to now of doing what she has been taught is the right thing to do. (Yet again I yapped alot). This show will as amazing as it sounds continue to go peak, over peak, over peak. We are not at Everest yet.

Symbolic Remnant

A civil war in Li, like any of the many civil wars in China, would become one of the deadliest wars in human history before the 20th century if it isn’t dealt with quickly. If Shishou succeeds, he goes from second most powerful man in the country (as prime minister) to most powerful (emperor). If he fails, anyone he’s ever cared about is dead… his hometown’s local dumpling salesman would be lucky to avoid execution. That’s why the entire Garnet pavilion looked to be mourning their own lives the second Jinshi recognized the decoy and snapped. What could motivate such a risk on the Shi clan’s part? Power? Revenge? Something else?

Andrestian

Technically Shishou is 3rd most important, after the emperor and Jinshi himself

Psychotherapist Reacts

Thats true, but technically with the political influence, with the “burned face” crown face, Shishou would hold more power, so depends on how we view “importance”

Andrestian

Thats a great point!

Jeremy Herttna

I honestly couldn't tell in the previous episode if Lakan gushing about his wifes Go playing was a tactic or if he was just just genuinely excited to share his experience with anyone that has ears. Lol

anty rak

Lakan just went Super Saiyan over there, and we have a saying in my language to "make a medieval autumn" which means complete conquest and destruction , and obviously Jinshi and Lakan are gonna go where Maomao is to make the medieval autumn. Edit: You just remined me about this anime "Orb: On the movements of the earth" it's about the struggle to bring the science of cosmology to light. It really had some intense moments.

Jeremy Herttna

I watched the English dub of this series as well as the sub, and I was genuinely caught off guard by the English VA in this episode, too. His tone shift when he drops the "Jinshi" act was very noticeable there, too. I know subtleties like that are often lost in dubbing, but not this time!

Soren

I just want to point out how what Luomen tells Jinshi about doing everything he can do… Ends up resonating with Jinshi in this episode and he decides he will do what he can do as well. We see it here with Jinshi breaking character and not playing the character of “Jinshi the Eunuch” he always has.

Faey

But if the Emperor dies and the brother, too. He could do the shrine ritual. Since he is colour blind, he will succeed the trial and be crowned emperor. That's why they attempted to assassinate the brother. And would have killed the emperor later. That way, they could have taken over without a civil war.

Faey

I'd say both are equal if it comes to intelligence. The difference lies mostly in experience and knowledge. Maomao knows a lot about medicine and science in general. She is a great devourer of scientifc books. Mostly medical ones. Also she knows a lot about the darker sides of the town. Growing up in the pleasure district she has seen a lot of crime. Especially of how low the value of a womans life is in the pleasure district. I think the book mentions it how easy it is for a woman to lose their life. Jinshi on the other end grew up in a more secure, sheltered place. He doesn't know a lot of the darker sides of the pleasure district and the town itself. But I guess he had his own kind of hardships. Being the "brother" of the emperor and all the duties it entails. Also all the scheming of the court and the intrigues.

Psychotherapist Reacts

For sure! Equal intellectual capacity but different context, socially, politically, and professionally

Nillakookie

I also love the Dub. Great voice actors

anty rak

I'm sure you'll have a lot to say about Orb, and from what little I know about the history of the period it is quite accurate.

Surtgr

Something to think about is that the plants that are offered at the graves are all abortifacients. So you could see the lantern plants as a type of ghost lantern for all the babies that were lost. This is also why Loulan is seen snacking on these. Also the next episode has one of my favorite scenes and I can't wait to see if you get the same goosebump feeling from it. Lahan is Lakan's Nephew that he adopted as a son his thing is money and numbers and was adopted for that very skill.