REVIEW: ‘The Apothecary Diaries’ Episode 20 — “Thornapple”

While Maomao (Aoi Yûki) managed to save Jinshi (Takeo Otsuka) from the attempt on his life, she suffered serious wounds in the process. As she recovers, her mind begins to contemplate the secrets surrounding the event. The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) Episode 20 “Thornapple” explores the truths discovered about the event and who was behind it.

This week’s story opens with Maomao regaining consciousness after sustaining severe injuries in the last episode. Unsurprisingly, Jinshi has spared nothing in seeing Maomao recover from her ordeal. Jinshi soon joins her so he may learn how she came to be at the temple. The Apothecary Diaries Episode 20 briefly recaps the events that led Maomao to conclude that the ceremony was a trap. This summarization does a great job of drawing all the disparate strings together. Some new details are even added to the puzzle as the recently deceased metal worker is also drawn into the subterfuge. Following how Maomao arrives at her conclusions does a great job of highlighting her deductive reasoning.

Once Maomao catches Jinshi up on all she knows, we jump ahead in time to learn the result of the investigation. It turns out that a court lady named Suirei (Kaori Nazuka, My Hero Academia) was behind the conspiracy. However, she’s found dead from ingesting poison. Maomao is unwilling to let the matter go. Her recent talk with Suirei leaves her suspicious. Following a hunch, she requests to see the body before its cremation. Once she and Jinshi view the body, they discover Suirei is not in the coffin. Maomao deduces that Suirei faked her death and is on the loose.

The many strands that come together to allow Suirei to escape detection weave another clever puzzle for Maomao to walk through. While the number of moving parts start to strain the plausibility of all of this coming together, it never completely breaks the suspension of disbelief. One person out of place for unforeseen reasons would’ve sent the plot crashing down. Suirei took a chance that could’ve easily cost her everything. But perhaps the most important takeaway from Suirei’s escape is the confirmation that someone had to help her. There’s no way she was able to orchestrate her escape from the crematorium alone.

The best part of this sequence is the return of Maomao’s more ridiculous side. As she ponders the medicinal concoctions that Suirei employed, her obsession with poisons shows. Culminating in a moment of straight super-villain cackling, Maomao brings the first moment of genuine humor to the series in a while. The heavy drama is excellent, but it is nice to see the series hasn’t lost its sense of fun.

From here, The Apothecary Diaries Episode 20 takes a brief detour to visit the recent addition to the Rear Palace, Lady Loulan. Given little detail, a lady in waiting whispers news into Loulan’s ear. It’s clear in the scene that whatever she hears sits poorly with her. Given the moment’s timing, it is easy to assume that Loulan’s arrival at the palace somehow ties into the unfolding plot. The lack of information allows the moment to be another string dangling for fans to wonder at. Is she an accomplice? Or perhaps there to look into the unfolding situation? The intrigue of the court is always layered, so viewers will have to wait and see.

After this brief moment, the episode returns to Jinshi as he ponders recent events. This scene’s gorgeous use of the moonlight once again highlights how much light can impact a scene. When Gaosun (Katsuyuki Konishi, Mashle: Magic and Muscles) interrupts Jinshi’s thoughts, we learn a startling truth about the character. This reveal deepens the questions surrounding who he is and his true purpose at the palace.

The Apothecary Diaries Episode 20 then follows Jinshi as he briefly meets with Lady Loulan and muses about the Emperor’s connections with several of the concubines at court. While we gain some new information in this sequence, a lot of it we’ve heard before. This sequence feels largely unnecessary, bogging down the pace of the episode.

The final moments of the episode see the return of Lady Gyokuyô (Atsumi Tanezaki) to the narrative. It seems the lady may once again be pregnant. To aid in the coming days, Jinshi sends Maomao to once more attend her as a food taster. This works well for Maomao as she always enjoyed her time with Lady Gyokuyô. Also, as only eunuchs and women are allowed in the Rear Palace, she won’t have to worry about any unwanted visits from Lakan.

The ending of The Apothecary Diaries Episode 20 leaves what is a solid entry on unknown ground. Where the plot will go from here remains completely up in the air. With so many plot strands already in motion, hopefully, the show can continue to entertain its audience without becoming too convoluted as it draws more characters back into the web.

The Apothecary Diaries Season 1 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.