Watch This Netflix Show If You Ever Felt Too Nerdy To Fit In
If your intellectual interests made you stick out like a sore thumb growing up, and you dreamed, not of changing yourself to fit in, but of living in a world where your passions could be not only understood but appreciated, have I got the perfect protagonist for you…
Meet Maomao, an orphan born and raised in a brothel and adopted by a local apothecary to whom she becomes both daughter and apprentice. Her life is turned upside when she is kidnapped and sold to the Imperial Palace as an indentured servant. Set in an fictional version of Tang dynasty China, The Apothecary Diaries follows Maomao’s new life behind the palace walls, where her intimate knowledge of medicinal herbs and poisons catches the eye of Master Jinshi, a stunningly beautiful eunuch.
He secures her a promotion to the role of food taster for one of the court’s top courtesans, where she gets pulled into the rivalry and treachery of court intrigue. Where there’s poison, there’s sure to be a plot (or at least gross negligence), and Maomao becomes a sort of venom-loving (she’s built up a tolerance to most toxins) Sherlock Holmes within the palace walls.
Episodes read like individual myths or fables framed by the developing relationships Maomao builds with Jinshi, his attendant Gaoshun, and the diverse set of women who call the harem home. Both Maomao and Jinshi are hiding complicated pasts, and a comedic cat-and-mouse dynamic develops between the two, where Jinshi’s jealousy and affections for Maomao bring into question whether he is, in fact, a eunuch.
Maomao, meanwhile, is pulled between two very different worlds, the Inner Palace where she finds self-actualization and acceptance, and her home in the red light district where her loyalties and responsibilities to her adopted father and the women of Verdigris House maintain a powerful hold on her. She’s the ultimate nerdy heroine, combining her personal love of scientific exploration with street smarts and sex ed awareness that makes her highly sought after for advice.
Maomao plays court politics like a game of chess, staying silent when she knows straying from her “place” could cost her dearly, but also unable to stop herself from following the trails of clues laid out before her like breadcrumbs. She’s often the only one smart enough to save the people around her from imminent disaster, and her ethics prioritize saving whoever it is in her power to help.
You can watch the entire first season of Maomao’s story, adapted from Natsu Hyūga’s light novel series, on Netflix, but when you get to the final episode, fear not, the second season will be waiting for you on Crunchyroll, and trust me when I say, you will not be able to turn this one off. Just have a coffee ready to go the next morning after all that late-night sleuthing.
