‘The Apothercary Diaries’ Season 2 Episode 8 review: “The Empress Dowager”

The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 Episode 8 highlights one of its best ongoing assets—its coloring. The series loves itself broad strokes and unusual contrasting color stories, aided by the setting’s opulence and political intrigue driving the plot. In “The Empress Dowager,” red defines the tone as Maomao (Aoi Yūki) is once again tasked with finding the truth behind an unsettling mystery.

One of my favorite aspects of The Apothecary Diaries is how fearless it is when confronting challenging material. The series leans into the darkness that encroaches on these characters and their worlds as those, like Maomao and her friends, try to survive. From the treatment of women both in the rear palace and in the red district to the extremes people will go to to obtain power, the show refuses to shy away from the insidious underbelly of this world and the era it takes place in.

So, it makes sense that the writing gracefully handles the storu about the previous emperor and his predatory actions. The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 Episode 8 brings the Empress Dowager into the limelight and introduces the former Emperor, who was near-ostracized despite his place of power. He preyed on young girls, the Empress Dowager being one such victim. It makes his eerie appearance in Episode 7 all the more powerful, a shadowy, wailing man who loomed large over Jinshi. He was as monstrous as that memory led us to believe.

The Empress Dowager’s mystery is captured with intensity. 

The Empress Dowager approaches Maomao, asking for her to solve a mystery for her. She worries that she cursed the late emperor and that it was her fault that he died because she spent so much of her time with him, hoping he would. This is where the directing gets special notice, as it leans into the heavy, bleeding reds and the distinctive contrasting shadows that give the one-on-one the dimension and pull it needs. Driven by dialogue and internal observations by Maomao, the coloring and purposeful framing give the scene an edge that helps convey the severity of the issue they’re discussing.

The Apothecary Diaries leans heavily on themes and flower language imagery. The reds are a purposeful return. In Season 1, it was a sign of gravity, especially through learning about Maomao’s backstory and the difference between her and Jinshi’s lifestyles made more apparent. They work wonders in the scene between Maomao and the Anshi, as the latter speaks of her concern. It helps set an ominous tone as Maomao ponders the lack of power women have despite the public opinion they must win over regardless of their stature.

It’s most notable when we learn that Anshi established the unofficial clinic and banned slavery and eunuchs. However, Maomao thinks about how the courtesan system still exists. Women remain commodities, no matter how considerate or compassionate the rulers are.

Maomao deals with an unsettling reveal.

The mystery is further prolonged when Maomao learns that the late emperor’s body was bizarrely well-preserved nearly a year after his passing. This further opens the story, explaining why Anshi believes she somehow cursed him. While her disgust and ire at the late Emperor is more than deserved, considering the era, it makes sense that she’d worry about the implications that she caused someone in a position of power’s death.

It’s not all dark drama and mystery. Shisui also gets a moment to shine in well-placed comedy. Cut from the same cloth as Maomao, her interests lie in all things nature and bugs. So much so that mentions of Shisui make others in the palace assume this bug-obsessed girl is, in fact, Maomao. However, while it’s a fun little interlude in an otherwise conversation-driven episode, we don’t know much about Shisui, opening up the question of whether there’s more to her than it appears.

The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 Episode 8 lays the groundwork for greater revelations. As more questions arise, the sense of foreboding is potent. Something is clearly amiss as the political intrigue mounts. The series captures the feeling of bated breath as we all wait for something significant to happen and for greater secrets regarding the foundation of the rear palace to be revealed.

The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 Episode 8 is out now on Crunchyroll.

Images courtesy of Crunchyroll and Toho Animation Studio, and OLM. 

Allyson Johnson

Based in New England, Allyson is co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of InBetweenDrafts. Former Editor-in-Chief at TheYoungFolks, she is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and the Boston Online Film Critics Association. Her writing has also appeared at CambridgeDay, ThePlaylist, Pajiba, VagueVisages, RogerEbert, TheBostonGlobe, Inverse, Bustle, her Substack, and every scrap of paper within her reach.