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The Apothecary Diaries season 2 is, as expected, my favorite of the season by a longshot, though I wasn’t quite sure it would be at first with how its first cour played out. The episodic mysteries slowly building up to larger plot points was as enrapturing as always, constantly leaving you just enough clues to figure it out yourself while obscuring them enough to not make it obvious, but I was missing some of the punchier moments that made season 1 so memorable. Boy did I get my wish in the second half as the dark legacy of the former emperor begins to spill into the open and engulf everyone unfortunate enough to be involved in it, the dread overflowing as you realize what the hierarchy of the royal court has done to those not privileged enough to run it, the lives it has utterly devastated in its wake, and the inevitable consequences of it all, and with Maomao further settling into her life at the palace and making deeper connections to those who reside there, the ending makes it all the more tragic and melancholic.
As for visuals, it’s basically just as solid as last season: striking character models, a sharp attention to detail, impeccable color design, and a knack for framing and cinematography that constantly keeps you glued to the screen. That said, it’s also begun showing signs of a very strained production in the slightest of ways, which seems corroborated by how many episodes were outsourced to a different studio, though I suppose the fact that I couldn’t tell which were which is a testament to its consistency. Despite this, as well as my mild frustration with the constant “will they won’t they” rugpulls between Maomao and Jinshi, I’m definitely going to be thinking about this season long after it’s finished as I bask in the pyrrhic victory of its resolution and anxiously await season 3.
