The Apothecary Diaries has its fair share of complex characters whose personalities cannot be defined as just good or bad. One of the most important among them is Lakan, whom I really did not like in the beginning because of his very suspicious characteristics.

He came off as manipulative and evil, whom Maomao hates, and that was enough for me to write him off as an antagonist. His background was left in mystery, and only later did I discover how harrowing his past story actually is

At least I completely believed the ‘face turn’ that he got, and let go of my initial reluctance to accept him as a good person. But I must say this trope is very difficult to pull off, and only very well-written series like The Apothecary Diaries can achieve a satisfactory result.

Lakan’s transformation is actually believable in The Apothecary Diaries

Lakan was never an adversary of Maomao.