It’s not going to change my overall view on this season or this series, both of which are very positive. But this episode and indeed this denouement of Kusuriya no Hitorigoto didn’t work for me. I thought this was the weakest episode of the season (maybe after the ghost story one). That’s unfortunate, given that it was the de facto conclusion of the Shi arc (or whatever it’s quasi-officially called). Didn’t hate it, just didn’t buy it. Not that interesting and not worthy of all the build-up that led to it. But that’s probably not going to be a common take.
For lack of a better explanation, I feel like this all got very light novel. That’s almost never going to be a good thing, and it wasn’t here. I get that Kusuriya is a light novel but broadly speaking it’s done an admirable job sidestepping the pitfalls of the medium. This was the exception that proves the rule, I suppose. I’m never – never – a fan of everyone and everything stopping so a character can make a long speech. Explaining everything that happened? Worse. Trusting the audience is something LNs rarely do, and The Apothecary Diaries has mostly been an exception. That didn’t hold true here.
I also thought that while most of this arc has been admirably naturalistic given the grandness of events, things got very theatrical here. That’s not a bad thing in itself, but it didn’t fit. It all just felt very orchestrated to give Loulan a grand finale. In fact “operatic” is a good word to describe it – she went out with something that was an aria in every sense but the singing. Again, arias are fine in context – in operas. Here it stuck out like a sore thumb. A matter, again, of trusting the audience – to get the details, and to feel what you want them to feel.
As for the explanation itself – which was spelled out in exhaustive detail – that was kind of a mixed bag for me. I think most of us had got most of the way there by now and didn’t need the explanation in the first place. The hostage thing has traction because, in effect, both Shenmei and Loulan fulfilled that role, for different emperors. And indeed, that was a common fate for children of lords powerful enough to be a potential threat. I don’t think Shenmei has been an especially good antagonist as she’s just kind of a cackling caricature, so her backstory doesn’t pack much of a punch – and I certainly don’t buy an attempt to make her sympathetic at the last. But Loulan is a different story.
This business about Shishou orchestrating the whole thing to to gather all the kingdom’s bad elements in one place? Kind of a stretch to be honest. An attempt to make things too neat and tidy. He’s a tragic figure to be sure, and he got his operatic death scene too. I think the whole scenario would have had more impact without that tacked on, but it’s not a huge issue. A bigger problem with me is Jinshi going along with Loulan placidly, standing there and letting her point a gun (which he has no idea is sabotaged) at him, and acquiescing to her requests. Including damaging his Imperial visage, which is a very big deal.”You’re dead anyway, so I’ll let you say your piece”? Okay. The rest? ROFL, no.
Don’t sell out the tragedy is my view. I guess as a Heike Monogatari devotee I’m a bit of a historical purist, but there’s more pathos with the realistic outcome here. The Shi Clan is screwed, and whatever contrivance you want to offer about Shishou doing it for the good of the empire, that’s just the way it is. A man in Jinshi’s position would never let a dead woman walking scar him, or risk his own future for the sake of doing favors for a traitorous clan. Maomao? That’s another story. Her taking chances to help Loulan and act on her wishes I could see (and indeed likely will). But not the (former and possibly future) crown prince.
To an extent how the postscript handles the aftermath could color my view of all this. Though, ominously, the preview almost makes it look like a recap episode. Jinshi doing something unwise for Maomao’s sake I could totally see, because he’s in love with her and that clearly impacts his rationality. If the fate of the Shi Clan is romanticized too much that’s going to be a problem, but Maomao acting on the sly to try and stave off their extinction could be very interesting. As I say, my overall take on the season is going to be a positive one either way. But you know the old Enzo-ism, endings are important. And this one is certainly no exception.
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