War is coming in The Apothecary Diaries. Although we didn’t get to see Jinshi as the Imperial Brother and leading the Forbidden Army into battle, the 21st episode provides the buildup for it on the Shi Clan’s side. It shifts back to Maomao’s perspective while imprisoned within their stronghold, but the ending made our jaws drop.
The episode shows the extent of Shenmei’s cruelty and the abuse she’s perpetrated. Her plan to exterminate and bring chaos to the world, even if it costs the lives of children, makes her the worst villain in The Apothecary Diaries.
This led to Shisui doing the unthinkable. Maomao was in a terrible situation from the start, being betrayed by a close friend. However, we don’t know how their friendship will ever mend.
Shisui poisoning the Shi Clan children might be the one action Maomao cannot justify and forgive
The reveal of Shisui being Loulan was foreshadowed for a while, but none of us expected how truly terrible her upbringing would be. Shenmei might be the stereotype of an evil stepmother, but she goes above and beyond. It’s no wonder the Pure Consort was so passive during the first season of The Apothecary Diaries.
Shisui, however, is her true self. She’s bubbly, loves insects, kind, and an incredibly good friend to Maomao and Xiaolan. Her dynamic with the protagonist was pure and wholesome, so imagine our surprise when she turned out to be the mastermind of the kidnapping.
Maomao didn’t entirely react to the situation. Suirei wasn’t a surprise, but Shisui’s involvement did shake her a bit. However, she didn’t harbor any tough feelings after that, recognizing she’s a victim, too.
This all changed in the latest episode, however, when Shisui chose an extreme measure to keep the Shi Clan children safe, including Kyou-u, who was close to Maomao. The Apothecary Diaries is admittedly quite dark, but this is the first time we’ve seen a morally good character commit such a crime. Even the calm protagonist almost hit Shisui because of it.
The Apothecary Diaries seems to love testing Maomao’s friendship with Shisui, or rather, Loulan. She might not ever trust her after what she did, fracturing the bond that they built. Orchestrating a kidnapping is one thing, but killing children with poison is another, since there’s no proof the resurrection medicine will work.
The real villain is still Shenmei in The Apothecary Diaries
The reason why Loulan did what she did is because of Shenmei’s actions. The antagonist corrupted all the married Shi Clan women to participate in o*gies, and become soulless husks of themselves. The Shi Clan’s extermination is also a worse fate for the children, so perhaps this was Loulan’s twisted mercy.
This arc is also the darkest one in The Apothecary Diaries, and it’s all attributed to Shenmei. She abused Suirei and the torture she subjected her to, the taibon, caused her to be afraid of snakes. Maomao’s deduction was spot on and a devastating revelation.
Shenmei just gets worse. It’s bad enough that she’s a terrible stepmother to Suirei, but she mistreats her own daughter, Loulan, too. She uses her as a doll for her agenda. Moreover, she couldn’t even recognize her when she dressed up as Shisui the servant and abused her.
So what Loulan did, although incredibly risky and terrible, is all a result of Shenmei’s reign of terror. The children did deserve better. We must remember who the real antagonist is. However, will Maomao ever forgive Loulan for what she’s done?
The Apothecary Diaries can currently be streamed on Crunchyroll and Netflix.
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