The Apothecary Diaries: Will Jinshi Finally Become as Important as Maomao?

The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) spoilers ahead!

Summary:

• Creators finally decided to reveal more about Jinshi.
• Jinshi did not play a significant role in the plot during the first half of the series.
• Most likely, fans will see the development of the main characters' love line and learn Jinshi's secrets.

The second cour of The Apothecary Diaries has recently begun. There were no major plot twists, but there were some significant changes. We saw a new opening and ending, and even new characters. A big focus of the episode was on Jinshi — he was given more screen time.

This hints at Jinshi's possible key presence in the second half of the series. By the way, there's also a lot of him in the opening and ending. Maybe the creators finally decided to reveal more about him.

Important but not the key

There is no doubt that Maomao is the main character — she gets the most screen time and the main plot unfolds around her. The story of The Apothecary Diaries is not as complex and intense, but it is pleasantly surprising and memorable from the very first episodes.

Maomao unexpectedly finds herself in the palace, becomes a maid to the emperor's concubine, and investigates mysteries and crimes arising from palace intrigues.

Jinshi is also a main character, but there is not much of him in the first cour. He is a eunuch in the imperial palace. Jinshi was the first to notice Maomao's outstanding abilities.

His appearance is largely due to the love line in The Apothecary Diaries — the eunuch has romantic feelings for Maomao. In the first half of the series, he did not play a significant role in the plot, but was merely a nice addition to the main story.

Give way to Jinshi

Everything changed in the last episodes of the first cour. Not only because of the rapid development of the relationship between the main characters, but also because of the possible disclosure of Jinshi's origin.

According to the latest version: Jinshi may be Lihua's child who was swapped with the Emperor's son. Maomao didn't elaborate on her theory, but this fact definitely drew viewers' attention to Jinshi.

At the beginning of the second cour, there are some changes. Maomao is no longer Gyokuyou's maid, but works for Jinshi at the Outer Palace, where military and government officials live and work. Jinshi's appearances are now frequent, as the main action takes place in his house (Maomao also lives there).

Moreover, the second opening and ending are also different — they introduce the hero as an important character like Maomao. It is not hard to guess that he will be a key figure in the second cour — most likely fans will see the development of the main characters' love line and learn Jinshi's secrets.