Summary
- The first episode of The Apothecary Diaries was slow, wholesome, and set up possible storylines.
- MaoMao’s role as a detective shines as she shows expertise in critical thinking and deductive ability.
- Subtle world-building in the forbidden palace adds depth and believability to the fictional setting.
Quick Links
Why MaoMao is a Great Detective
- Curious Mind
- Expertise in Certain Fields
- Critical Thinking and Deductive Ability
A Different Approach to World Building
- A Subtle World Building
- Let the World Come Inside the Forbidden Palace
The first episode of The Apothecary Diaries was slow, smooth, and wholesome. We get to see all the characters that we know and love from the first season interact with each other, and we get to see some possible storylines being set up. It was the perfect start to a new season.
Since the second season is scheduled to have the same number of episodes as the first season, we can expect the story to slowly build up over time and finally reach its crescendo at around the 18th episode mark. But based on what we’ve seen in the first season, that is not The Apothecary Diaries’ way. MaoMao’s life is all about encountering surprises at every corner. So, let’s see if season 2 still follows the same recipe, or will it have the same slow and smooth pace as the first episode?
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Why MaoMao is a Great Detective
MaoMao’s role in this story is as a detective who helps untangle the complex web of politics and unravel strange incidents that happen within the inner court. This episode perfectly showcases why MaoMao is such a great detective.
Curious Mind
One of the most crucial skills that every detective needs is the ability to spot clues and patterns. That’s why a detective needs to have a curious mind. They have to be aware and interested in what is going on around them. This is exactly how, in this episode, MaoMao discovered the issues with the perfume and clothing design for consort Gyokuyou.
She pays attention to the trends among the maids to use certain scents and the similarities in the design of the clothes purchased by the consort. One may argue that she is being overly cautious in both cases, but when you are working for an Emperor’s consort, it is your job to be extra cautious.
Expertise in Certain Fields
While a detective must know about a lot of topics in a wide variety of fields, it’ll be better if they are at least a master in one of those fields. After all, an expert has a wealth of knowledge that most people would have to spend years to acquire.
Having been raised by her doctor stepfather, MaoMao is deeply knowledgeable about plants and medicine. This knowledge is extremely useful in a world where every poison and potion can be handmade from plants and other natural ingredients. As we’ve seen throughout the first season, this knowledge has helped MaoMao and the people around her a lot, whether in terms of identifying the issue or creating a remedy to help the victim.
Critical Thinking and Deductive Ability
You can be the most observant person in the world, and you can spend years learning about certain fields of knowledge. None of it matters if you can’t connect all of those things together to arrive at the right conclusion. For that, you require critical thinking and remarkable deductive ability.
We’ve seen MaoMao display both of these traits numerous times in the first season, and we see her critical thinking and deductive ability in action once again in this episode. This ability to connect the dots is why she recommends buying clothes that will hide consort Gyokuyou’s pregnancy and why she concludes that somebody might purposely choose a perfume scent that might negatively affect the consorts’ pregnancy.
“How much of it is speculation and how much of it is certainty?”
—MaoMao, Season 2; Episode 2
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A Different Approach to World Building
A Subtle World Building
Most people equate world-building with deep lore, never-before-seen environments, fantastical buildings, and strange living creatures, just to name a few. Those kinds of overt and in-your-face elements are true for grand fantasy or science fiction stories that take place in a brand-new world that you have never seen before, such as in an anime called Made in Abyss or Knights of Sidonia.
For most stories that are set in a world that is familiar to us, however, the world-building is much more subtle. You won’t even notice it unless you pay close attention to it. And that is basically what happens in this episode.
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Let the World Come Inside the Forbidden Palace
The Apothecary Diaries takes place in the Inner Court of the Imperial Palace. The overwhelming majority of the people who live in this place, such as the Consorts, the maids, and the eunuchs are forbidden from leaving the palace. So how can you build a world when the characters have to spend the majority of the story in the same place? The answer is you let the outside world come inside.
The role of the grand Caravan in episode 2 is not only as a plot point for the story but also as a subtle way to build the world of The Apothecary Diaries. Thanks to the caravan, we now know that the consorts and the maids usually buy clothes in bulk through traveling merchants like this caravan because they rarely, if ever, get the chance to shop outside the walls of the Imperial Palace. It also reveals the fact that most maids do indeed receive some sort of salary while those who directly serve the consorts will even receive some pocket money. Furthermore, while the people who work in the inner court are allowed to browse the caravans, they have to do so after they finish their tasks.
These mundane things may not be interesting to most viewers, but these are the sorts of things that make this fictional world feel truly lived-in and believable. These characters are not just there for the story. They also want to check out the caravan with their friends after work and spend the pocket money given to them by their boss to buy beautiful clothes. This is the perfect example of a subtle yet super-effective world-building.
By the way, there’s also a mention of a death in the palace at the end of this episode. And let’s not forget about the foreign envoy mentioned in the first episode and the mystery regarding the suspicious perfume that might or might not be a ploy to harm one of the consorts. With that, it’s clear that Season 2 is staying true to the winning formula of the first season, so we can certainly expect plenty of excitement up ahead. Can’t wait to see the next episode.
The Apothecary Diaries is available to stream on Netflix.
The Apothecary Diaries
Main Genre
Animation
Seasons
1
Studio
OLM, TOHO animation STUDIO
Based On
Novel & Light Novel
Creator
Natsu Hyūga
MyAnimeList Score
8.88
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Fuente: successacademy.edu.vn
Categorías: Anime
