Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: The Apothecary Diaries Season 2
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Shay Guy
 Posts: 2472 |
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It's becoming increasingly clear that Maomao's "any mistake could cost me my head" mindset is as much about her own avoidant psychology as it is a clear-eyed assessment of her place in the power structure around her. Aside from Gyokuyou's gentle nature, Maomao in particular is much better-protected than she's willing to acknowledge -- the emperor's favorite concubine is quite fond of her, and his second favorite almost as much so (and they're the two most likely candidates for empress). The emperor himself knows her by name and seems to have a positive opinion of her, not least because the first he heard of her was that she'd saved his beloved daughter's life, and after that she saved the aforementioned second-favorite concubine. The emperor's probable younger brother clearly has a thing for her, and she's saved his life too. Oh, yeah -- and anyone who wants her dead also has to go through Lakan, who calls her his daughter whether she agrees or not. Which Jinshi and Gaoshun both know now, so it's a safe bet the emperor's heard too. (And he likely knows she was the one who found out who'd tried to murder Lishu, which is likely worth some more brownie points.)
It's definitely clear Gaoshun was making up some details and obscuring others, but we can safely assume the diagrams Maomao was shown were of a real building that was involved in whatever the real incident was. Assuming further that it's a building the envoys are being housed in while they're here in the capital, as the episode's opening shots suggest, here's my question -- what's led Gaoshun, or whatever officials he's been talking to, to conclude that an envoy has been sneaking out?
Loulan, you mean? She's the new Pure Consort, the one with the poker face and the flashy style who replaced Ah-Duo. Lishu's the kid with the allergies. |
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Thesarum
 SubscriberPosts: 623 |
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Yes. That's absolutely who I meant. Too many consorts with names starting with "L". |
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Shay Guy
Posts: 2472 |
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And there's a Suirei and a Suiren, of course.  Though as for the consorts, I usually see Lishu get mixed up with Lihua.
One other note that occurs to me about breaking the glass mirror specifically -- they do say the one Yinghua broke was a hand mirror, and it's clear this full-length one is a much more extravagant luxury. So it's not quite so obvious that Maomao's caution is excessive. |
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Cuddylicious
Posts: 17 |
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Well, at least it's not Aria where 99% of the names start with an "a" 
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Thesarum
Subscriber Posts: 623 |
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Yes, as with the consorts don't mix them up so much as regularly get their names wrong... There's also the L's of the La clan. Lakan, Lahan, (and Luomen). And "Laomao" I suppose, though saying that would get you an exotic poison slipped into your tea! |
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Shay Guy
Posts: 2472 |
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Clan names are getting a bit into territory the anime hasn't covered yet, but… spoiler[I don't think there's any argument for putting the clan name in Maomao's name. There's enough precedent for girls born to named clans not always having them -- "Loulan" doesn't have "Shi", "Maamei" doesn't have the "horse" character, and so on. And if Maomao had to put a surname on some paperwork, I imagine she'd put "Kan Maomao"; on that, at least, she and Lakan can agree.] (Spoiler tag mostly contains general setting info that'll appear later in the season, aside from the name of one character who debuts in I think LN9.) |
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TJ_Kat
Posts: 464 Location: Saskatoon, Canada |
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I often find myself rolling my eyes when Maomao laments the vulnerable position she's in. She is INCREDIBLY well connected for a "lowly commoner" and would have to mess up BIG to actually be in real trouble. Also, since it is known that Maomao is Lakan's daughter, doesn't that technically make her a noble lady? Or am I misunderstanding Lakan's status? |
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Shay Guy
Posts: 2472 |
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Lakan is nobility, yes, but while he loudly claims Maomao as his daughter, she’s not legally part of the family. For one thing, she was born out of wedlock, though I don’t know exactly how that would shape her legal status, especially since he’s since married Fengxian. If she agreed, Lakan would happily arrange for her to be formally adopted or legitimized or whatever, but until then, I think she’s legally a commoner, for the purposes of whatever laws draw that distinction. And Luomen’s been formally ousted from the clan, I believe, so she can’t claim nobility through him either. |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 10137 Location: Virginia |
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I think Maomao's status as noble or commoner is rather a moot point right now. Maomao does not want to claim noble status but it has claimed her. Laken has not only acknowledged her but he dotes on her. Any action against her would make an enemy out of Laken. Bad things happen to anyone who becomes an enemy of Laken. That is why Maomao warned Jinshi about just that. At this point any attempt to punish Maomao much less behead her is not going to get past the Emperor much less Jinshi.
Also I don't think marriage status of ones parents matters much among the nobles or royals. Note that the Emperor had not as yet married any of his consorts or concubines. |
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Shay Guy
Posts: 2472 |
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I hardly think a legal and political arrangement like that, inside a formal institution that includes tax-funded residences and a hierarchy with widely recognized titles (Gyokuyou being guìfēi, Lihua being xiánfēi, etc.), is comparable in most premodern societies to a child born from sex work. |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 10137 Location: Virginia |
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@Shay Guy
In this society as shown, sex work does not have the same stigma it does in other times and societies. It is noted that the pleasure quarter is out in the open with nobles and other upper class frequently patronizing the upscale bordellos and buying out the girls contracts. Also with nobles having more than one wife and as many concubines as they can afford, the question of marital status at the time of birth is likely not as important. The idea that there is be only one wife and anyone born outside marriage is a bastard to be looked down on is pretty much a European thing. |
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Shay Guy
Posts: 2472 |
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It's a legal industry, yes, and a prosperous one. And there are individual courtesans who attain stardom and glamour. But the relationship between a husband and a wife or concubine is still inherently different from the relationship between a client and a courtesan. The latter is fundamentally transactional -- services (sex, dance, poetry, games, etc.) rendered at a specific time for an arranged price. The day after Maomao was conceived, Lakan had no legal relationship with Fengxian, any more I now have with the fancy restaurant I went to last week. Neither he nor his clan had any idea Maomao existed until long after her birth, very different from the position Lingli held at birth in the palace. There have been plenty of societies where brothels were legitimate, and sometimes successful, institutions. I don't know of any where children born there had any social status to speak of -- especially not deriving from the father, who I'm sure is impossible to identify in most cases. Generally, they wouldn't have been wanted at all, certainly in the sources from Chinese and Japanese history (Fengxian and the Three Princesses essentially being oiran) that Natsu Hyuuga's drawing on. Of course, if anyone knows of counterexamples, feel free to correct me. |
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Thesarum
Subscriber Posts: 623 |
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I guess we can argue the technicalities all we like, it doesn't make a lot of difference in the end. Maomao is our primary perspective character, and she's not actually a terribly reliable narrator. She refuses to accept her status (in her head I guess it'd basically be casting aside her identify as Luomen's daughter and sister of the Verdigris House princesses that she's very comfortable with, for one as Lakan's daughter, which disgusts her), and is never going to discuss anything from that point of view, either in conversation with others or her internal monologue. All her observations and remarks will follow from her self-declared identify as a lowly apothecary from the pleasure district.
But there's a limit to how much you can change who you are by sheer stubborn force of will. She is, for all practical purposes, treat by the others as a "Court Lady" (almost all of whom are noble by birth), she just doesn't admit that to us. She doesn't formally have the title (because she more or less deliberately flunked the exam) but she has a pretty much unmatched level of freedom and access. Something else that she doesn't ever directly comment on or admit. What sort of lowly commoner gets to commission a greenhouse, and then explain to the Emperor "at dinner last night" (I think that's the quote) how she got roses to bloom out of season and in bright colours? |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 10137 Location: Virginia |
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I'm not trying to suggest that a child of a sex worker would have had any status at all. However, in Maomao's case her status doesn't seem to have caused any problem at all. No one is suggesting that Laken cannot recognize her and I see no evidence of any prejudice in her current placement. As Maomao pointed out, in normal circumstances there would have been a quick abortion and no child to worry about.
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MFrontier
Posts: 15203 |
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Shisui's love of bugs paid off big time here!
Jeez, didn't expect the envoys to be so brazen they'd break every protocol to basically proposition the Emperor and his "brother," but it goes to show how confident they are (or especially Alya) but that made it all the more satisfying when said "brother" showed them up as the most beautiful woman and Moon Fairy of all time. Even Maomao got dolled up! But Jinshi stole the show. It helps to have a mother that's beauty transcended gender. I have to imagine this is the most surreal moment of Gaoshun's entire career. I mean, he's been with Jinshi since he was a kid and now he's helped transform him into a woman. Like, how are you supposed to feel about that? I'm as proud as Maomao of Xiaolan being a first generation student! Well, I guess it's good to know that there are capable working women in the rear palace who you can rely on over the Quack even if the gender norms of the society prevent them from truly becoming the medical professionals they are clearly capable of being. I didn't expect the most consistent running gag this season would be Maomao remarking on Jinshi's perceived lack of a working package. She straight up even prays for it! And thinks she can make money growing it back! |
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