Yapper

I like analysing things Nigerian | film enjoyer Maomao best girl

[sayusims]

Jinshi and Maomao relationship detail

At first, when watching The Apothecary Diaries, I didn't really want Jinshi and Maomao to be together. I mean, I wanted them to be, but since Jinshi was obviously so much more in love than Maomao, I did not think that it would seriously work out. However, I’ve changed my mind. As I haven’t actually read the light novels yet, some of the information I’m going to use is based on what others have said, and I can’t really confirm 100% if it is true, but since these are discussed somewhat in the community, I feel like they are.

My top reason for thinking they are good together is the fact that they pay extra attention to and look at each other more than others. In Jinshi’s case, he is known for being immensely pretty, but because this is the only thing people look at when it comes to him, it causes him to have an inferiority complex about all of the other skills that he does possess. It also does not help that he is surrounded by anomalies of people who have super strength or are insanely smart, so he feels hopelessly average in comparison. Because of this, when he met Maomao, he thought that she would be the same—someone captivated by his beauty who does not see the real him—but it was the complete opposite. His beauty does not hold worth to her. While she obviously finds him attractive and is probably still attracted to his physical body, his worth to her comes almost solely from his personality. The times in the anime that we see best that she is VERY slowly falling in love are times when she mentions him behaving differently or behaving more like himself instead of the persona he puts on daily. She does find Jinshi annoying a lot, but she likes it when he is more youthful and less eunuch-like.

When it comes to Maomao, I remember that in an episode of the anime, Maomao mentioned how she knows she is hard to read. While Jinshi cannot read her, he still tries. Jinshi never backs down or gets put off when he doesn’t understand her apparent logic; he mostly just trusts her and her judgment. He is incredibly patient with her and honestly does not try to rush things (it is KILLING ME). He is extremely worried about her well-being and making the choice that she wants, not what he wants. It is like when he dismissed her from her job in the first part of season 1. He dismissed her even though he had the power to obviously just not do it but also to just kind of make her work even if she thought it was miserable in the rear palace, because I fear that’s what at least half of the men back then would have done. But even though at this time he had a rabid crush on her and knew he was going to be miserable like he was with his toys when he was younger, he did it since he thought that was what she wanted. Another thing Jinshi notices a lot is her injuries. After, I assume, the third time of someone noticing someone else constantly getting hurt but still either waiting to get help or just not getting it at all, most people would give up. Most people would not jump off a wall and carry them bridal style to the infirmary the sixth time, but Jinshi still did, and he did it with urgency. Every time she gets hurt now, he is always panicking and doing the most he can to help, even if it's most times him just screaming. He never gets tired of her and always wants to be around her at almost every moment.

I want to get the manga volumes and the light novel so badly, but I literally have a 50-bullet-point to-read list that just keeps growing because I’ve been stuck on Crime and Punishment for the last two months. But if anyone has some show ideas (they don't have to be anime) that I can yap about and make my brain work overtime, that would be very helpful.

[sayusims]

Barty Crouch Jr. best harry potter villain

I just saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in the theatre with my friend, and it just proves once again that Barty Crouch Jr. is one of—if not the—best villains in the movie series. If I had watched this for the first time, I would have never known that he was pretending to be Mad-Eye. And it’s not as if the movie producers just sprung the reveal on us; there were multiple signs that make sense in hindsight but weren’t obvious to me when I was watching for the first time.

Barty Crouch Jr. is canonically intelligent, earning 12 OWLs on his exams, which is kind of insane. But at the same time, he joined the Death Eaters to spite his father, who was actively putting them in jail. The fact that his dad never suspected him and was surprised that his son was a Death Eater just proves how good Barty Jr. was, even at age 18–20. His dad, like him, is also a relatively smart man, yet he failed to catch a Death Eater living under his own roof—not even his wife did.

After Barty escaped and was put under the Imperius Curse for 12 years (I forgot exactly how many years, lol), he was still able to sneak out without getting caught. And based on the flashback to present-day events, he still looks identical to how he did when he got arrested and sent to Azkaban. The only person to even see him was Harry Potter—no one else even knew that he was out, besides Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew, presumably. And the fact that he almost got away with being disguised while speaking directly to his father was insane.

When I was in the theatre, my friend, who had never watched it before, was confused. But to me, it was so damning because there were so many signs for the audience that he wasn’t actually Mad-Eye—yet considerably fewer signs for the characters within the movie itself. Still, I’m glad that Barty Sr. eventually figured it out. Even then, though, Barty Jr. still managed to kill him. The movies don’t explain how or dwell on it for more than two minutes, but to be able to kill a man that I assume is incredibly skilled in magic—while under Polyjuice Potion and with one leg—sounds like an immensely difficult task that he somehow pulled off smoothly.

The way he got caught was either because he was arrogant or not organized enough. I'm leaning toward arrogance because remembering to drink something 16 times a day is way too much (I can't even remember to drink water more than twice a day). At the same time, being able to teach and act like someone else without breaking character consistently takes another level of dedication. Still, I think it’s a mix of arrogance and his craziness. If he had more Polyjuice Potion and wasn’t in whatever frantic state he was in, he might have either never been caught in the first place or simply escaped.

Harry Potter only caught on that he had been set up because Barty Jr. started rambling about the Dark Lord and what his presence was like—without even trying to hide that Mad-Eye Moody was supposed to be on the good side. He was also smart enough to figure out that, since a student had died (and presumably not from the maze), the trophy that acted as a Portkey must have sent them somewhere else. And even if no one had come to that conclusion immediately, he had just grabbed a boy who had seen his friend die and then started talking about the Dark Lord’s return. Obviously, people would want to know more and at least check if Harry was in danger, so they would have investigated regardless.

As for him running out of Polyjuice Potion, that’s just arrogance—though I kind of understand why he had it. In his eyes, Harry Potter was probably supposed to be dead, so he likely thought he could just leave without needing any more potion to keep up his disguise. This makes the most sense to me because he had already shown how disciplined and motivated, he was in maintaining the Mad-Eye Moody act. So, it doesn’t really add up for him to simply not have any backups left.

[sayusims]

Apothecary diaries episode 5 analysis

I just finished watching episode 5 of The Apothecary Diaries, and I had to put my thoughts down. This episode addresses two big questions I’ve had about this show. The first is how in-depth they were going to go with the social inequalities of women, especially in Qing China. The second is when Jinshi was going to go full feminine.

Ming-Qing China, which the show is primarily set around (though it takes inspiration from multiple periods, this one being the major influence), was horrible towards women. They had little to no rights, and by Confucianist principles, women were automatically considered lower than men and were expected to stay in their place for the sake of a happy and peaceful society. So, Maomao being able to make medicine and take on a "man's" job didn't make sense—especially in a show that actively discusses women's struggles in the palace and the inequalities they face. The fact that they acknowledge Maomao isn't supposed to be making medicine and that she’s going against the status quo (which was likely a law, though I'm not entirely sure) adds a sense of weight to it—this is serious.

This show beautifully balances being silly and lighthearted while still addressing serious issues that continue to affect people in our modern world. Maomao is obviously incredibly smart—she has saved three high-ranking officials/consorts from assassination, solved multiple mysteries, and maintained peace in the inner palace. And yet, despite all of this, she still isn't allowed to make medicine simply because of her gender. She has to do it in secret, even though some of the most powerful people in the empire benefit from it. At this point, I’m pretty sure the emperor knows she makes medicine since she doesn’t really try to keep it a secret, but she’s still not technically permitted. Meanwhile, she has made about ten times the impact of that quack doctor (still love him, though).

Ever since season 1, when Maomao put makeup on Jinshi, I have been waiting for this moment. And it did not disappoint—he looked so pretty. But looking at the historical context, it was surprising to see him not fight against the idea. Crossdressing in China was not common, especially in Ming China, which stood firmly by Confucianist principles. The only place it was seen was in theater, which might be why Jinshi didn’t seem too bothered by it—he may have just thought of it as performance art, plus the fact that only Maomao and the envoys were going to see him. He seems to take his job very seriously, despite holding more power than his role technically entails.

But off-topic—why is Jinshi so beautiful? In the most recent episode, Maomao literally described how immensely stunning he is. At first, it seemed like this would clash with the toxic masculinity of old China, but it actually makes sense. In historical China, powerful men were often praised for having refined and delicate features while also being charming. The Apothecary Diaries also emphasizes how beauty is a source of power—especially for the consorts. Along with this, Jinshi is (probably) of royal blood (I haven’t read the manga, but it seems likely). Princes and princesses were expected to be beautiful because they came from an esteemed bloodline—though honestly, I mostly think it’s because emperors just had kids with beautiful women.

I'm so excited for the next episode. I’m pretty sure this season is supposed to have 24 episodes, so my brain is going to be very distracted and working on overdrive until it finishes.

[sayusims]

Maomao mini analysis

Maomao in The Apothecary Diaries is such a sad character, but she doesn't act like it because, in her world, it's kind of normalized. First, her mom, an esteemed courtesan, essentially hated her because she gave birth to her. Her biological dad is gone and not in her life (we know it wasn’t by choice, but this is from her perspective). She was raised in a brothel, and while she had people there who loved her, it's still a brothel. Even after she was adopted, she still had to take precautions to make sure she wasn’t going to be kidnapped or that nothing else would happen to her because of men.

After all of this, when she was still a teenager, she was kidnapped by a couple of guys and sold to the Emperor’s palace. These events are really traumatic, but at the same time, she still has the same indifference—as if she doesn’t care that much. She wants to stay in her own lane, and with her tactical genius (stemming from both her parents), this is relatively easy to do. But I wanted to know more, and since I’m taking AP World History in school, it wasn’t really that hard to understand why.

The Apothecary Diaries takes place during the Ming-Qing dynasty (possibly Song), which is evident because of the harem system, the clothing style, and the medicine she uses. During this time, China had been taken back from the Mongols, and the government, in an effort to get rid of their traditions, reinstated many old systems like the civil service exam, improved education, and reestablished the bureaucracy. The education aspect is evident in the series because of the plans to better educate women on basic skills like reading.

The part worth highlighting, though, is that China (and basically everywhere the Mongols ruled) was safer under their rule. So when everything became scattered again, safety greatly decreased, making things like kidnappings more common. This is probably why Maomao wasn’t distraught about being kidnapped. Still, the rest of what happened before this time is traumatic enough.

The main reason I give for this is that she’s used to it—not in a Stockholm syndrome way, but in an “oh, this happens sometimes” way. Being raised in the brothels, she likely saw the worst parts of humanity in the customers and the courtesans. Being exposed to this regularly probably caused her to naturally believe that humans do bad things—but not in an overly pessimistic way, since she still had good people taking care of her. Along with this, she is just practical in everything she does. She weighs the pros and cons of her actions before she acts. She discloses information that is important to wrap up a case so she doesn’t have more drama to deal with (unlike a lot of characters, which is why I love her).

While she still has a curious personality when it comes to mysteries, at this point in season 2, she has gained the trust of literally everyone important, making her unlikely to get into trouble. (This is still China in the 11th-12th century, so she still has to be careful, but compared to before, she has a lot more freedom.)

While her personality may look plain at first, you quickly grow to love her, especially her passion for medicines and poisons. The shift in her demeanor when poisons come into play is so fun to watch. This shows that, at the end of the day, she is still a teenager. She is mature but childlike at the same time when it comes to things she’s interested in. Women in this time were supposed to be, like in almost every other time in history, subordinate to men. Maomao, being as smart as she is, knows and acknowledges this but does not let it stop her. She goes against the status quo by being a completely independent woman who doesn’t need a man.

The best part of this is that she does it without really thinking about it. Her goal is not to go against the status quo or anything like that but simply to pursue her interests in life.

Overall, I just really love Maomao and the series, and it better keep getting new seasons until it’s done, or else I’m going to tweak out. I also wrote this while procrastinating on my AP World homework to “review” for the AP exam (which is like four months away), but I hope you guys like it.