Kusuriya no Hitogoto Season 3 Ep.05 - The White Lady, so that was mercury...

Episode 5 of Kusuriya no Hitogoto Season 3 shows the White Lady in action during one of her shows, and it seems like she's more of an entertainer than anything else. The entire sequence was a series of magic tricks you would expect from a third-rate magic act, plus a few eerie hints of something deeper.

Setting aside the tricks themselves, the main clue is that the alcohol was laced to make people drunk more quickly. Add to that the heavy atmosphere of the room and the dim lighting, and it's clear she is intentionally crafting an environment where guests are far more inclined to take her illusions seriously.

This is what I mean by 'evil smirk' made by the White Lady. What is she supposed to do with this smile?! Why do I like her regardless?!

I had to place Maomao with this face right next to the previous screenshot for effect. Mobile users might see it below though...

By itself, this would be harmless in a normal show, but the final act of her drinking mercury without any ill effects convinced audience members to follow suit, which has already resulted in someone getting hurt. Though let's be honest: these are supposed to be high-ranking officials. Wouldn't you expect them to have at least some basic level of education compared to the common folk?

I'm not saying they should necessarily understand the toxicity of mercury, but shouldn't they have the basic common sense not to consume something without knowing its source or effects? At one point, I thought to myself, "I need to suspend my disbelief here," but then I brushed it off after remembering how idiotically people can act even in the modern era with drugs and bizarre trends, so...

I honestly quite like the design of the White Lady. She has a somewhat young and innocent look, but from time to time, her face twists into an unmistakable "I'm not completely sane" smirk. She didn't really interact with anyone outside of the performance, though, so we still don't know what her true personality is like at this point.

The next episode is titled "The Paper Village" and seems to center around Guen, the doctor from the first season. The preview shows Maomao handling various herbs, so I assume it's time for her to take a deep dive into the mystery, even though I'm still honestly unsure how the pieces connect.

And this shot is where the White Lady looks like an innocent kid instead looking at the crowd. Which is the real one?

Jinshi unable to see Maomao for Maomao was surprising. I expected him to have a supernatural radar to detect her everywhere, but seems like it failed here.

Sure, the White Lady is clearly involved given all her recent scenes, but the two main questions remain unanswered: why and how? Why is she doing this? Does she have a personal grudge against the Emperor or something? And how on earth is she able to cause widespread famine across the entire country?