Not for the first time, I’m struck by how unconventional this show is structurally. Generally speaking narrative fiction follows the three-act construct – Setup, Conflict, Resolution. Episodic TV would typically unspool those in a single episode or, in some cases, over a multi-episodic arc. With Kusuriya it feels like the cameras are randomly turned off and on as the plot plays out, irrespective of the scrub bar at the bottom of the screen. A third act might come at the start of an episode, or the beginning of an ep three weeks after the first two acts. Or not at all, or so much later that we forgot it was even a thing.
Of course, there are also the detours along the way – some plot-critical (though not always the current plot), some just for atmosphere or character-building. A few weeks ago I described TAD as “languid” and I still think that fits pretty well. The narrative ambles, sometimes seemingly directionless. But it usually goes to interesting places, both on the way and when it gets to wherever it’s going. This business about the palace being built on the bones of a structure from the vanished native peoples of the area – is that going to be plot-relevant, or is it just an interesting aside?
Shisui seems to periodically pop in when the plot needs a push (or when the author feels like indulging in moeblobbing). She and Maomao run into each other when the latter is prowling around the old peach orchard on the mysterious north side of the Rear Palace. Shisui is doing what she’s usually doing – collecting bugs (so basically me when I was about 10). This time it’s caterpillars, some rather chonky green ones. They’re not going to turn into butterflies, she tells Xiaomao, but moths. Beautiful moths that seem to sparkle in the moonlight during their all-too brief burst of life as creatures of the air.
This of course is some breed of luna moth, which do indeed exhibit the kinds of spectacular illusion Shisui describes. This is very convenient for Maomao, as it both explains what probably happened all those decades ago with the Madam, and how she can put on the same show for the envoy twins (actually cousins). Apparently the act of smearing those bug carcasses on Madam’s kimono had the effect of drawing in male moths like- well, like moths to a flame (luna moths attract mates via pheromones). But first there’s the main banquet to get through, and the envoys seem singularly unimpressed with the conventional entertainment.
During that banquet one of the cousins (the brazen one) actually dares to approach the Emperor uninvited, and it’s pretty clear what the ultimate aim of these two is. It’s as they’re in their carriage returning to their quarters that Maomao springs her coup de grâce – and his name is Jinshi. It’s quite a performance and the girls are sufficiently flabbergasted, though we obviously haven’t heard the last of them. And so ends the third act of that play – except the episode is half-over, and there are still a bunch of unanswered questions (like whether they were what Gaoshun was really asking about last week with his pregnancy story).
The rest of the episode is pure amble, with the distinct sense of seeding the clouds for future plotstorms. Xiaomao is still pondering what really happened with the scented oils/poisoning development, and the two seeming attempts to poison Gyokuyou. Yes, Suirei is still at large and certainly seems like a good fit for a conventional suspect. Then one of the other ladies-in-waiting comes down with a cold, and Maomao – after prescribing some medicine – is instructed to take her to the clinic. Wait, what- clinic?
The fact that Maomao was never told about the clinic was made enough of a fuss over that it seems likely to be significant. Jinshi makes it clear to her that her own forays into pharmacology and medicine are strictly a one-off – only men are supposed to be allowed to do what she does. The clinic itself seems innocuous enough – a well-kept and clean building full of older ladies where ill courtesans and their retainers go for quarantine purposes. But it was introduced for a reason, that’s a given. The question is – was this sequence a first act, or a second?
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