I'm rambling here but I do touch on Maomao herself and a little bit about Jinshi.
The way I love those two absolute IDIOTS.
I think there's something interesting about how Maomao tries so hard to keep herself out of trouble by pledging ignorance in front of the most crystal clear answers.
Jinshi's identity as a eunuch should have been doubtful from the moment she partially saw how well toned his body is by comparison to others of the same position, the fact that he definitely holds more power than he's supposed to, that he can get his hands on rare medicine for her sake, that he's so clearly close to both the dowager empress and the emperor himself and even more so the fact that he has to go around wearing fake identities in front of other people.
But Maomao is stubborn, this is something that could mean trouble to her if she delved too deep into it so she decides to ignore it, even when she already knows the answers it isn't something she is going to be messing with to keep herself in a safer position, but quite frankly just by virtue of being in the same proximity as Jinshi we know that's not going to happen any time soon.
But we also get something small about her, that answers something that a lot of people don't get... Maomao isn't outwardly emotional not because she doesn't care about others or because she lacks empathy... It's because she KNOWS that being too expressive with her wants and needs won't necessarily work her way, because this is something she forcefully LEARNED by simply growing in the Verdigris House, because the courtesans could not take their time to look after a little girl so no matter how much she cried for attention, nobody would be running to her side to give her what she needed.
So instead Maomao is careful with the way others act around her, trying to foresee how they will react and deciding what to do in return as to not get in trouble.
A brothel is not a place for a child to grow up, and we can see the consequences on Maomao in the present.
As for Jinshi? Poor guy was STRUGGLING this episode.
There was nothing more hilarious than seeing them actually bicker and act closer to their actual ages, they are both extremely close in age with just a year of difference, so seeing them being so childish about something like that (the FROG) was absolutely beautiful.
You can really tell he can easily be more of himself around Maomao, prideful, dramatic, childish and reckless but at the same time the fact that he fears what she would think of him about his secret is really interesting.
Jinshi/Kousen and finally Ka Zuigetsu.
All of them are the same person, but much like the moon they are different facets of the same man. Always different but ever the same.
And by hearing Maomao say that no matter what secret he holds she will always think of him as the same person genuinely makes him feel better, makes him feel like there's someone who will accept him for himself.
... Too bad he hands her the ox bezoar so soon, that instantly made her go through tunnel vision and not hear anything else while she was on cloud nine with the promised gift.
These two make me happy, they are both interesting and silly. I love them and I really want to see how far they go.
I really like the way Ramona was portrayed, I loved seeing Knives getting so much justice and gaining a healthier relationship with the older characters in comparison to the comics, I love the exes interactions with Ramona.
But even more importantly...
Him.
As always, all my praises go to the gay man ever. Slay you magnificent king.
They make fun of the other for not exercising but they are both weak and can barely run in chase sequences. They are the man in the chair, they are actually nice people who will help others even if it doesn't benefit them directly.
They are movie nerds, they have a money laundering business, they are always trying to get people to become VIPs for their movie renting store.
They lost so much, they want to reach the truth about their teacher's involvement with the hollows after the disaster in the old capital, they miss their home, they only have each other now.
