How would you rate episode 55 of
The Apothecary Diaries (TV 3) ?
I feel like Vizzini's speech from The Princess Bride about the classic blunders should be updated to reflect this episode: “You fell victim to one of the classic blunders — the most famous of which is 'never get involved in a land war in Asia' — but only slightly less well-known is this: 'Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line'! And never enter a drinking contest with Maomao! Ah ha ha ha! Ah ha ha — “
The farmers were doomed the minute she figured out what was going on with the alcohol, because how could our poison queen possibly resist the chance to get some free booze and dole out a bit of comeuppance to the richly deserving? And make no mistake, the landlord and his farmers are very deserving. Not only is he greedy, but he's also actively trampling on the pre-established agreement made by his predecessor. According to the contract, which Maomao notes is perfectly composed, Guen's family should have five years to pay off their lease. That the landlord is changing that at all is in an effort to snipe their royal commission to provide paper to the imperial court. He'll honor the contract if the paper artisans teach him and his farmers how to make paper. His idea seems to be that he will then take over the papermaking and the commission.
Saying this is foolishly shortsighted is obvious. Guen's family has spent decades refining their skills and techniques; the idea that someone could master them in a year is laughable, and it would almost certainly cause the new papermakers to lose the royal contract. But that wouldn't matter to the paper artisans, because they'd already be out on the metaphorical streets. Essentially, the landlord is keen on destroying livelihoods just because he can. He sees himself as better than his father, who couldn't read or write, and better than the people whose hard work enriches (not pollutes) the soil his crops grow in. And all this while he's illegally selling untaxed rice alcohol, smug in the thought that no one in the capital will notice the disparity in his rice harvests. He's ripe for Maomao and Jinshi to take down.
As Maomao notes, they're particularly in sync this week, though most of that is when they team up to stop Basen from having a freak-out when he walks into Maomao's room and sees…I'm not sure what he thought he saw, but he didn't like it. If Basen comes through this plotline with his sanity intact, I will be very impressed, because they are putting that poor man through the wringer. But Jinshi and Maomao are also on the same page about the drinking contest; Jinshi doesn't like it, but he knows his role: to back Maomao's play, preferably with cash. Part of what he likes about her is her quick mind; after all, he's learned to trust it with anything that isn't related to her own emotions vis-à-vis him.
My main gripe with this episode is related to one specific word in the translation. Maomao keeps referring to alcohol as being “thick” in a drink, but I think what she means is “strong.” I'm not entirely sure what went on there, and there aren't any other issues that I can hear or spot, but it is jarring to see and kept making me picture the drinks as custard-consistency. (They are not, for the record.)
And so Maomao saves the day again, or at least in part. There's no helping Guen's foolish nephew who was willing to sacrifice his family's livelihood because he had a thing for the landlord's daughter. Some people are beyond reasoning with.
The Apothecary Diaries Season 3 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.