The Apothecary Diaries is taking new twists and turns with each episode. To be fair, the storyline goes above and beyond to keep its subtlety intact even in the most dire circumstances.
However, it also deals with some sensitive issues unflinchingly without worrying about portraying the characters in a bad light. Interestingly, Maomao, as the protagonist, might fall into that category of morally grey characters as well if things progress the way they have been.
In fact, with everything the story has dealt with so far, The Apothecary Diaries might as well be setting up the stage for Maomao’s moral corruption as the story goes on.
Maomao’s moral compass might fall apart if Jinshi’s life keeps getting threatened in The Apothecary Diaries
There are a lot of reasons why Maomao from The Apothecary Diaries has garnered such a huge fan following as a protagonist. The quirky, straightforward, and aloof girl has won over the audience with her interesting reactions to the most dangerous situations, ridiculous monologues, and unending curiosity.
However, there is another reason why fans love her as much as they do. That is, even though she loves to put up a front of apathy, she truly is one of the most empathetic people who looks out for even the ones who might wrong her knowingly or unknowingly.
She cares deeply about people, and wouldn’t falter to go to any lengths to protect them. Her feelings for Jinshi inevitably make her protective instincts stronger towards him.
As things stand, that might be the very thing that leads to her moral corruption in the story eventually. Fans are aware that Maomao loves poisons as much as she adores medicine-making and saving people. Getting the chance to experiment and relish the taste of new poisons almost intoxicates her.
Although this portrays her paradoxical nature quite well, it also begs the question of whether she would ever knowingly poison somebody. At first, doing something like this might sound completely out of character for her.
However, she has shown time and again that she isn’t exactly afraid to take whatever steps necessary if push comes to shove. But would she go to the extent of knowingly harming someone else to eliminate a threat to Jinshi’s life? Evidence suggests that she just might.
Fans debate whether Maomao can overcome her morality to save Jinshi in The Apothecary Diaries
The Apothecary Diaries has made it more than clear just how much Maomao values life. This is one of the things that makes her such a great apothecary, or maybe even a doctor if it wasn’t forbidden for a woman to become so in her world.
However, she is also someone extremely adept at the knowledge of poisons as well. While this gives her an advantage in producing a cure for a range of illnesses and poisonings, this makes the threat of her misusing her knowledge, even if it was done in self-defense, greater.
As a fan pointed out on the r/KusuriyaNoHitorigoto subreddit during a discussion on the topic, this was exactly what she did when she was kidnapped by that group of bandits in The Apothecary Diaries Light Novel 12.
She procured a range of poisons from the most mundane things that severely damaged the bandits and planned every step with calculative precision. Although it is unclear if any of them died, it wouldn’t be a surprise after the effect the poisons had on them. Maomao, for her part, showed no hesitation in pulling off such a daunting task.
In fact, the other court physicians had wondered aloud many times about what could have resulted from her curiosity had Luomen not taken her in and instilled in her such a strong code of conduct. As such, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Maomao decided to take matters into her own hands and eliminate a threat to Jinshi’s life in such a way.
However, it is also true that she might choose such a path only if she was at her wit’s end and had exhausted all other paths to a different solution before. It turns out, most fans agree with that assessment, for the most part.
Would Mao Mao kill someone with her poison if that could save Jinshi from a dangerous situation?
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Maomao is pretty much a study in paradox in The Apothecary Diaries. While this confuses the fans sometimes, it also intrigues them equally. As such, it isn’t unusual to wonder about the moral integrity of someone whose actions often don’t match their thoughts.
However, a careful look at her character without being distracted by her confusing thought process would reveal there’s far more to her character than what initially meets the eye.
The Apothecary Diaries is streaming on Crunchyroll.
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