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Crunchyroll's The Apothecary Diaries S02E02: "Caravan" offered interesting insights into the next hurdle Maomao and Jinshi will face.
Posted in: Crunchyroll, Review, TV | Tagged: anime, The Apothecary Diaries
The Apothecary Diaries S02 Review: Ep. 2 "Caravan" Proved Insightful
Crunchyroll's The Apothecary Diaries S02E02: "Caravan" offered interesting insights into the next hurdle Maomao and Jinshi will face.
Crunchyroll's The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 Episode 2, "Caravan," gives us some insight into what the next hurdle Maomao and Jinshi will have to overcome. Right now, there are only theories and conjectures, but something is definitely going on, and someone is making things seem like a coincidence.
The palace is preparing to receive some diplomatic visitors. As things are getting ready at the Jade Pavilion, Maomao learns there will be new ladies-in-waiting to join Gyokuyou. We have learned about Loulan and Lihua, and since Gyokuyou is the Emperor's favorite, they cannot have her looking bad next to them. We see Maomao make the connection shortly before learning that there will be a Caravan coming, which has the palace's staff buzzing with excitement.
And we get to see the caravan. It looked like those holiday pop- up shops at Bryant Park filled with clothing, scented oils, spices, and accessories. Maomao gets to see what has been picked up for Gyokuyou and casually advises her to also ask for the style that is in at the moment to avoid any suspicions and Gyokuyou gets it immediately. There seemed to be something that bothered Maomao about it, but it was quickly moved on from.
While I love that the place of the show follows Maomao's interesting adventures instead of every single slice-of-life moment, I feel like I have trouble, at times, determining how much time has passed after certain scenes. That said, Maomao and Xiaolan get to go and enjoy the caravan on its last day. It is nice to see how much closer they have gotten, Maomao even buys Xiaolan new hair accessories and wonders if she had a little sister if she would be like Xiaolan. As Maomao is vying for blooming jasmine tea, the girl who helped her catch the kitty makes an appearance.
Turns out Shisui is friends with Xiaolan and Maomao invites them both to the clinic for tea. We get to learn Shisui of just a weird as Maomao with a fascination for insects, which she likes to draw. It was a cute scene, and we found out that there seemed to be a problem with the sewage system in the north of the castle. Shisui mentions it is not being kept and it smells bad there, which leaves Maomao wondering about it, but gets distracted when Shisui invites her to come to look at insects.
A few days later, we see that the new sensation in the palace after the caravan has left is the scented oils. As Maomao casually sniffs a garment that fell on her, she goes into a frenzy, sniffing at the clothing that needs to be washed. She then runs to the Crystal Pavillion as fads go crazy there, and she starts sniffing all the ladies in waiting, ending with Shin, who seems to smell the perfume as well. Shin, being head lady-in-waiting submits a written complaint about Maomao. Which sends Jinshi over to investigate.
Maomao explains to Jinshi and Gyokuyou what was going on that led to this. Turns out a lot of the spices, scented oils, and perfumes that were being sold can also be used, in larger quantities, to cause abortions. However, Maomao is concerned about how much to say since she is unsure how much of her theories are conjecture or true. All gets forgotten once Jinshi makes an appearance trying to drink her jasmine tea, but she does not want to share it. They act like two kids when they are together, and I always love Maomao's lack of filter when making jokes about male virility to eunuchs… ahem… but awkwardness is my love language, so I enjoy every second of it.
I am looking forward to next episode, it seems we might be learning a bit about Maomao's arm and what happened. I am very curious to know who is behind all of this, and I do not trust Shin, not even one bit. It seems Lihua might be pregnant, too, and Shin just has a very evil look. Unless they are trying to throw us off, but something ain't clicking around here. I also need more Jinshi and Maomao. I wonder if we might see Lakan. I did not like him. Really, but I am very intrigued by him and Fengxian.
The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 Episode 2: "Caravan"
8.5/10
Crunchyroll's The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 Episode 2, "Caravan," gives us some insight into what the next hurdle Maomao and Jinshi will have to overcome. Right now, there are only theories and conjectures, but something is definitely going on, and someone is making things seem like a coincidence.
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