Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – Episode 48 Review (END)

「はじまり」 (Hajimari)
“The Beginning”

While the finale was entertaining in some respects, it also stepped on all the land mines I expected it to and hoped it wouldn’t.

For starters, there are the children. As hinted, the children were rescued with the resurrection potion. Of course, the plan doesn’t escape Jinshi’s sharp gaze, but he looks the other way in honor of his promise to Loulan. On the one hand, I’m glad the children were saved- it would have been terribly tragic if they were executed. I had become especially fond of Kyou-u (now Chou-u), so it was a relief to have him back in the picture. However, it’s almost laughably unrealistic. Like, they went about it in the grandest, most unbelievable way. That Jinshi would be in the same room while it was happening, latch on to the plan, then pretend he saw nothing. Oh, and he even lends a hand. All while being the king’s brother and head of the Forbidden Army? Ummmm…..I don’t think so. His humanity for sure would incline him to stay his hand, but his position sure would not. Survivors, no matter how young, present the possibility of a future rebellion, if not an overthrow. If it couldn’t get more ridiculous, Ah Duo- the former consort- adopts most of the children and Suirei. I suppose that way the royal family could easily monitor them, but you’d think her being shrewd royalty, she’d have objections- especially considering the attempts Suirei made on the royal family’s lives. It all smells horrendously like a rosy, fantastical happy ending- the kind that make me groan.

I did find it interesting how the resurrection potion affected the children differently. Chou-u lost all his memories and is partially paralyzed. As I surmised much earlier, he ends up in the pleasure district, though under Mao Mao’s tutelage, not Luomen’s. As Mao Mao muses, perhaps it’s for the best that he has amnesia- I don’t know how he would bear up under the weight of knowing what happened. The same could be said for the other children, who did not lose their memories and have to live with it.

I was surprised that Mao Mao was released from her palace duties. She was well liked by Gyokuyou and Jinshi couldn’t bear to be away from her, not to mention that Lakan would have something to say about his daughter being sent back to the pleasure district. It does make sense that they’d want to keep Luomen- he’s got the skills, and he finally gets his reputation restored. Perhaps, too, Jinshi recognizes the danger of having Mao Mao around him, given his title that she now knows, and his inability to control himself around her.

Speaking of… Jinshi visits Mao Mao and becomes hilariously at a loss for words when he realizes the long awaited conversation is no longer needed because, well, Mao Mao has finally caught up to reality. I did appreciate Mao Mao’s insistence that a scar shouldn’t undermine her value- the whole thing about women needing to protect their face more than men is rather sexist. In fact, the scar seems to be a turn on for Mao Mao, the way she keeps stroking and gazing at it (even if it is the suture skills that fascinate her more than the man wearing it). She also made an interesting (and truthful) observation that Jinshi’s beauty blinded people to the man beneath it. It shows that she sees his true worth- which is kind of romantic, even if she didn’t mean it that way. Jinshi, being Jinshi, gets handsy- or should I say, bitey. Mao Mao is rather blasé about his advances, other than commenting on saliva and poison. Whether that means she’s just resigned herself, is open to it, or stunned, I can’t say. Jinshi for sure needs to keep his hands and teeth to himself though- especially in somber situations where you have “dead” children in the room right after a big battle.

One of the (many) major developments this season has been Mao Mao opening her heart and learning emotions. We see this come to a head here when one of Gyokuyou’s maids drops off letters from Xiaolan for Mao Mao and Shisui. Xiaolan knows nothing- the cover story being that Mao Mao and Shisui were hired elsewhere. She’s preparing to start a new job through palace connections, but still wanted to say good bye. While reading the letters, Mao Mao starts crying– I think the first time we’ve seen her cry, ever. That got me a little emotional too. She’s come a long way from begrudgingly allowing Xiaolan and Shisui to tag along, to considering her a friend and missing her, to the point of tears. This slow development over two seasons has actually been one of my favorite parts.

I was not really a fan of how it ended- Shisui (now Tamamo, though the “jade” connection still runs strong) apparently survived, the hair stick apparently took the bullet for her. It seems she’s headed for “the other side of the ocean”, which could mean Korea, Taiwan, or Japan, depending on where in China she is. It’s too much of a “wrapped with a neat bow” kind of ending for my tastes.

Now that the finale has ended, how does season as a whole sum up? I enjoyed this season more than the first one (not that the first one was bad or anything). There were a few dud episodes like the bathhouse one or the ghost story one. But other than that- the plot was engaging, I felt like each week left me wanting more- I found the political intrigue with the rebellion and intertwining of various story strands with Jinshi’s identity, the previous emperor, and so on, entertaining. The character development was also well done- particularly with Mao Mao and Jinshi. It is a shame it ended on such a light, run of the mill ending with a happy ever after for everyone, but overall, the series gave me enough to eagerly want a third season. Which I suppose will come eventually, though I’ve heard that it’ll take a while for the source material to get to the point where another season is possible. I am grateful for the season it’s been and that it left me generally satisfied, even with a disappointing finale. Which says something about the quality, as sometimes a meh ending can unfavorably tint everything that came before it.