The Apothecary Diaries – Season 1 Episode 2 Recap & Review

Chilly Apothecary

Episode 2 of The Apothecary Diaries begins where the previous chapter left off with soldiers falling due to poison being inserted in their food. A man named Gaoshun informs Jinshi of this matter and says the village leader is in custody due to possibly aiding the barbarians. They discuss Gyokuyou and Maomao’s current working relationship. Jinshi confirms Gyokuyou has four female servants working for her while Lihua has over ten.

Although this makes Gyokuyou look lesser than Lihua, they state how Gyokuyou is more wise and cautious. Jinshi tells Gaoshun he’ll keep an eye on Maomao to prevent her from using her apothecary knowledge for nefarious purposes. Jinshi tries seducing Maomao the following day and asks her to serve Gyokuyou well. Maomao meets Hongniang, Gyokuyou’s head lady-in-waiting, show shows her around the Jade Pavilion. She meets the other lady-in-waiting named Yinghua, Guiyuan, and Ailan. 

They tell Maomao that Gyokuyou doesn’t have servant girls and has her ladies-in-waiting perform tasks for her. Maomao offers to help, but the girl says she must go to her room as Gyokuyou has a special task for her. The girls gossip about Maomao’s arm wound a bit as Maomao sits in her room and ponders. Jinshi tells Maomao that she’s tasked with tasting poison. He says her previous tester used to get poisoned by the meals people prepped for her and Gyokuyou herself got poisoned a few times. 

As she tests the food for poison, Maomao confirms she experimented with many toxic chemicals back home and grew an immunity to poison. Jinshi and the others are baffled by Maomao’s enjoyment of the task. Maomao tells Hongniang it’s best to switch to silver plates since they react to poison. Hongniang says she should’ve mentioned her apothecary background when she arrived here because she would’ve gotten paid more. 

Maomao says she refused to let people know of her knowledge because she didn’t want her kidnappers to make money off of her genius. Hongniang gives Maomao her payment for the day and Maomao realizes it’s almost equal to her regular salary. However, this money won’t go to her kidnappers. We examine Maomao performing more poison-testing duties and she’s started to grow bored with it all. Jinshi tasks Maomao with testing some buns he received from someone and Maomao says they’re safe. 

However, Jinshi doesn’t want to indulge in them. Jinshi tells Maomao about the incident involving the soldiers and the village leader. Maomao asks him about the location they ate at and what utensils they used. She presents him with a theory regarding the firewood the soldiers used during their feast and says it could’ve had poison in it. Jinshi asks Maomao if she can make an aphrodisiac and Maomao’s excited by the task and says she can do it. 

Maomao leaves the next day to visit the palace’s doctor and Gaoshun (Jinshi’s assistant). He leads her to a room where she can make the aphrodisiac. As she attempts to make it, she notices they’ve supplied her with less cacao than expected. They supply her with more ingredients and Maomao completes the dish. However, she decides to make some brownies with it and stores them away in secret. When she returns to the area, Hongniang scolds her because the other lady-in-waiting ate the brownies and experienced side effects. 

After presenting the aphrodisiac and other drugs to Gyokuyou, Jinshi praises Maomao for her effort in a tense way. The episode closes with a strange man looking at a female from a distance. 

The Episode Review

The Apothecary Diaries continues showcasing Maomao’s incredible medicinal knowledge and weird character quirks. This episode exceptionally showcases her love for medicinal and plant experimentation, allowing audiences to get a genuine feel for her character. Many will find the supporting cast’s reactions to Maomao’s fascination equally relatable and downright humorous. 

At the same time, this episode introduces us to a few new interesting figures. From the head lady-in-waiting Hongniang to the goofy yet lovable trio of Yinghua, Guiyuan, and Ailan, many of these cast members have the potential to become fan favorites by the first season’s conclusion. Furthermore, it’s refreshing to see the series give Maomao more tasks to do other than checking for poison. 

While it’s a notable feat, having her complete tasks regarding the subject could’ve gotten repetitive and stale swiftly. While it’s a bummer the soldier-poison incident may have been resolved within the blink of an eye, it shows how well-versed and capable Maomao is as a former apothecary and lady assistant. Nonetheless, this could be her downfall too. 

Gyokuyou’s short reply to Hongniang near the episode’s conclusion sounded a bit menacing. There’s always a possibility she’ll try using Maomao’s talents for nefarious purposes despite appearing as a humble concubine. However, that’s merely speculation on our part and it’s likely Maomao will use her knowledge to solve matters rather than cause problems.

Overall, this was another fun episode of the series and I’m excited to see what happens concerning this mysterious male figure who appeared at the end.