Oops!! That thing happened again, about a month ago...
🖌Commission
This time it's ShaSha who hijacked a dream in which we had to get out of a weird escape game of sort.
I've been rewatching the first 封神 Creation of the Gods movie and the bootcamp chronicles 封神訓練營 Raising from zero (and considering a rewatch of Legend of Heroes 金庸武俠世界) since.
Anyway, sorry YáoYao, I still love you! I miss your daily set pictures from 佳偶天成 already!
And dà-Chéng, I'm diving back in very soon with Kill my Sins 掌心!
The Apothecary Diaries Episode 5 Review - Color-Changing Fire
Oh, this is the first time an issue is a two-parter. The mystery behind the color-changing fire and the weird rashes haven’t been solved in this episode as it seems to be linked to the garden party for the culprit is definitely a woman with the man who discovered this finding a torn dress at night.
I do like that the people in the Jade Pavilion are loving Maomao a lot. She eats mushrooms with the quack doctor, gets tasked to sew pockets for hot stones in their under robes for the garden party, and gets the other maids to put makeup on her by force. I can tell that while she’s a bit cold, she’s someone you cannot hate. She’s a bit of a cynic, but she’s very kind as she does these things because she wants to (and the fact that she doesn’t want to be executed as well) and also has a hard time saying no. She’s a bit of a tsundere.
Honestly, seeing Jinshi shirtless was not on my bingo card. It’s a weird feeling as well. He’s always seen with his clothes on and he has a beautiful face, so the fact that he’s jacked underneath is really hard to imagine, but it makes sense in a way? Like this guy moves around all over the palace, so it makes sense he’s athletic as the palace is gigantic; one needs titanium legs to get around daily. It’s also sort of nice to see him whipped as heck for Maomao. Seeing Jinshi as a pathetic wet rag of a man around her is hilarious, but I actually don’t ship them. However, he does seem to feel bad about Maomao having to put on fake freckles just so she wouldn’t be assaulted. The commoner life is a harsh world compared to the rich and extravagant.
The reveal of Maomao having fake freckles was a bit surprising, but it makes sense why she was dancing without them in the opening now. Freckles and other ‘imperfections’ may be seen as a good thing these days, but back then, especially the ancient days, they were seen as undesirable qualities, especially for women. Maomao seeing freckles as an unsightly quality reminds me of my upper arms. I have freckles on my upper arms. When I was younger, my mom thought I had a weird condition on my arms and would often ask healthcare professionals if I had any sickness or such. Some of my friends had pointed out how weird my upper arms look at the time, so I did have a bit of a complex about them growing up. I had a habit of wearing jackets and hoodies in my teen years because of how much my upper arms have been pointed out. However, the discomfort disappeared as I got older. It wasn’t until I was around 17 that I learned that limbs could have freckles too.
I do feel like the culprit behind the color-changing fire will be revealed in the next episode. I’m pretty bad with guessing, so I’m not going to do so this time. However, it is interesting to learn that fire can change colors if substances are sprinkled onto it.
I also like learning that there are two more consorts in addition to Gyokuyou and Lihua. One is Ah Duo, a graceful looking lady with long purple hair and looks almost like a female version of Jinshi. The other is Lishu who looks way too young to get married. Like, I guess the Emperor just wanted her to be a consort for the heck of it? Like, doesn’t he like busty women given how stacked some of the consorts are?
Overall, this episode feels more of a buildup to the garden party and to see how Maomao is doing in the palace after helping out Lihua. I honestly can’t wait to see who the culprit is and what is going to happen. What are your thoughts on this episode?
