The Apothecary Diaries – Season 1 Episode 14 Recap & Review

The New Pure Consort

Episode 14 of The Apothecary Diaries begins with a woman being escorted by several women to her throne. Elsewhere, Gyokuyou’s thrilled about Maomao’s developments and confesses those feelings to Hongniang. At the outer court, Suiren asks Maomao why she’s not tending to her assigned office duties. Maomao flees to the office and notices that Jinshi and Gaoshun are inside. Jinshi informs Maomao about the Garnet Pavlion’s new Pure Consort.

He says the rear palace officials want Maomao to serve as all four concubines’ teacher. Maomao hands Jinshi her invoice, gathers her teaching materials, and heads with him and Gaoshun to the teaching location. Many girls crowd our trio because they’re infatuated with Jinshi. Jinshi tells the girls only the high-rank concubines can enter the pavilion. Maomao uses Jinshi’s words against him to prevent him from discovering the truth about her teaching equipment.

Then, Maomao spots Gyokuyou, Lishu, and Ah-Duo at the event and shares charming words about the ladies-in-waiting who have accompanied them here. The new concubine, Lady Loulan, catches Maomao’s attention for a bit. Then, Maomao conducts today’s lesson and presents all four concubines with their learning materials. While Lihua and Gyokuyo show interest in Maomao’s lessons, Lishu is startled by her teachings.

Simultaneously, Loulan is the least interested in Maomao’s lessons. Maomao catches Jinshi eavesdropping behind the door. Jinshi asks Maomao what he taught them, but Maomao says he should ask the emperor. At night, Maomao hears several guards patrolling the area. She wants to get involved but chooses not to because she’s worried about what Suiren would think. We shift to the guard’s perspective on the situation and learn our monocle-wearing gentleman named Lakan.

Lakan observes a burned structure and someone asks him if he’s uncovered something. He denies finding anything important and we receive a brief shot of the item Lakan exchanged with someone during episode 13’s cliffhanger. The following day, Maomao cleans up things in Jinshi’s office and notices him working hard. Gaoshun presents Maomao with a coat to help her stay warm. However, Gaoshun tells Maomao this is a gift from Jinshi.

Maomao stumbles upon the same plant garden from the previous episodes and admires them. Then, she spots Lihaku discussing something with another gentleman. She greets Lihaku and informs the audience that Lihaku fell in love with Pairin (one of the Verdigris House’s big sisters). She speculates he’s working harder for promotional purposes. Maomao informs Lihaku about her new position and Lihaku says he’s currently investigating the incident involving the burned structure nearby.

While Maomao investigates the area (to Lihaku’s annoyance), she delves into the palace’s problematic and peaceful history. Maomao uncovers the strange item Lakan exchanged with the gentleman, which happens to be a smoking pipe. Maomao connects the pipe to the things she’s discovered in this scene. She comes up with a theory and rushes over to a nearby warehouse. Lihaku trails behind. Maomao asks Lihaku if she can use some items found inside it. 

Outside, Maomao builds something with assistance from Lihaku’s friend. Maomao warns Lihaku to stand aside because this project of hers will explode. Lihaku ignores her warnings, resulting in him sustaining minor injuries. After, Maomao explains what caused the warehouse to explode and tells Lihaku to relay this intel to the warehousemen to avoid future catastrophes. In her quarters, Maomao examines the smoking pipe further. She questions how a warehouseman got his hands on the pipe since it looks like a rare item.

She plans to clean it up and examine it some more later. Then, we shift to a dining house. The episode closes with a wealthy-looking man sulking about something. 


The Episode Review

Despite ending up in a new workplace, it appears Maomao’s crime-solving days aren’t over yet. That aside, this episode offers viewers a good mix of drama, comedy, and mystery. From the hilarious endeavors involving Jinshi and the concubines to Maomao’s investigative efforts concerning the burned warehouse, fans will love how well-structured this episode was. 

While it delivers a proper balance of humor, tension, and set-up, the episode’s not perfect. For instance, fans may have wanted Lakan and Luolan to receive more screen time in this chapter. While the snippets we receive of Lakan and Luolan will persuade audiences to keep an eye on them, many would’ve preferred if the episode spent more time delving into their characters further. 

Moreover, the scene involving Maomao gawking over the plant garden felt reused and unneeded. Replacing this with a scenario that delved further into our new characters or the smoking pipe item would’ve been preferable. Nevertheless, The Apothecary Diaries continues to be an enjoyable venture and I’m hopeful it’ll stay that way. 

Previous Episode

Next Episode

You can read our Season 1 Review of The Apothecary Diaries here!

 

  • Episode Rating
    (4)
4

Leave a comment