The Apothecary Diaries Season 3 continues its first cour with Episode 5, titled “The White-Snake Immortal,” set to arrive on Friday, October 30, 2026. The episode will stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix for international audiences, while Japanese viewers can watch it on Nippon TV and its affiliated stations. This installment follows a pivotal Episode 4 that delivered major revelations about the locust plague, the hidden research of Shisui, and the first full look at the mysterious White Lady.
Exact Release Date and Time for Every Major Region
The episode airs first in Japan at 11:00 PM JST on October 30, 2026 through the Friday Anime Night block on Nippon TV and 29 affiliated networks. International streaming times on Crunchyroll are based on this Japanese broadcast slot, though the platform may upload the episode slightly after the television airing. The confirmed time conversions for popular regions are listed below.
- Japan (JST): 11:00 PM, Friday, October 30
- South Korea (KST): 11:00 PM, Friday, October 30
- India (IST): 7:30 PM, Friday, October 30
- United Kingdom (BST): 3:00 PM, Friday, October 30
- Portugal, Ghana (GMT): 2:00 PM, Friday, October 30
- Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, and Central Europe (CEST): 4:00 PM, Friday, October 30
- USA and Canada (Pacific Time): 7:00 AM, Friday, October 30
- USA and Canada (Eastern Time): 10:00 AM, Friday, October 30
- Australia (AEDT): 1:00 AM, Saturday, October 31
- UTC: 2:00 PM, Friday, October 30
Viewers in the United States and Canada on the West Coast will see the episode in the morning, while East Coast audiences get it late morning. Australian fans will need to stay up past midnight into Saturday to catch the simulcast. European audiences, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Poland, share the same 4:00 PM CEST slot. The United Kingdom and Portugal are an hour behind at 3:00 PM BST and 2:00 PM GMT respectively.
Where to Watch and Streaming Details
Crunchyroll is the primary simulcast platform for The Apothecary Diaries Season 3 in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, and the Middle East. The platform offers both subtitled and English-dubbed versions. The English dub of Season 3 premiered on October 16, 2026, with new dubbed episodes arriving weekly alongside the subtitled release. Netflix also carries the series in select regions, though availability can vary by country. Viewers should check their local Netflix catalog to confirm whether the episode is available at the same time as the Crunchyroll simulcast.
Japanese audiences can watch the episode on Nippon TV and its 29 affiliated stations. The series also streams on various Japanese platforms after the television broadcast, though the exact timing varies by service.
What Happened in Episode 4: “The Last Volume”
Episode 4, titled “The Last Volume,” aired on October 23, 2026, and served as the direct lead-in to the White Lady arc. The episode focused on Maomao‘s search for the missing final volume of an illustrated encyclopedia that could explain the behavior of locusts and help prevent a widespread agricultural crisis.
Maomao traveled to the villa of Ah-Duo, a former high-ranking concubine, where Suirei now lives under a form of house arrest following the collapse of the Shi clan. Suirei revealed that her former teacher, the original creator of the resurrection medicine, had tested the drug on himself. The experiment did not kill him, but it damaged his nervous system and left him with severe dementia. This revelation meant that the former doctor could no longer help with the locust investigation.
More importantly, Suirei clarified that she was not the one who studied the locusts. That research belonged to Shisui, the brilliant apothecary who appeared to have died at the end of Season 2. Shisui had studied how locusts can change their behavior across generations, transforming from solitary insects into large, destructive swarms under the right conditions. Maomao recalled seeing Shisui place a book in the palace clinic shortly before Maomao was abducted. The missing volume had been hidden in plain sight.
Ah-Duo played a key role in the conversation. Her sharp judgment and regal composure helped Maomao and Suirei realize that Shisui would never have been careless. If Shisui knew trouble was coming, she would have left behind the means for someone to find the truth. Ah-Duo‘s quiet confidence in Shisui‘s cunning pushed the investigation forward.
Jinshi and Maomao: A Mix of Comedy and Strategy
Episode 4 also delivered some of the season’s funniest moments between Maomao and Jinshi. The two met to discuss countermeasures for the locust threat. Maomao proposed an unconventional solution: encouraging people to eat grasshoppers as a food source. This would reduce the insect population while providing additional nutrition during a potential famine. Jinshi, who is accustomed to royal meals, was visibly disgusted by the idea. Maomao then hand-fed him a cooked locust, and he accepted it directly from her hand despite his discomfort. The scene highlighted the growing comfort between the two characters, even as their romantic feelings remain unspoken.
Their conversation also touched on Maomao‘s idea of an ideal partner. Her description did little to convince the people around her, who seemed to recognize that she was not being entirely honest about her preferences. The moment added another layer to the slow-building relationship between Maomao and Jinshi.
Character Story Progress: Where Everyone Stands
Maomao has returned to the pleasure district and resumed her work as an apothecary after leaving the palace at the end of Season 2. Her decision to leave followed the public revelation of Jinshi‘s true identity as the emperor’s brother. Despite being away from the palace, Maomao remains deeply involved in the locust investigation. Her scientific approach and ability to connect small details continue to drive the mystery forward.
Jinshi is dealing with the heavy workload that comes with his position. The aftermath of the Shi clan rebellion has left him with piles of paperwork and political complications. He is also tracking reports of the White Lady, a mysterious figure who has been distributing poisoned snacks to the poor. Jinshi‘s feelings for Maomao remain a central emotional thread, though he struggles to express them directly.
Suirei is living at Ah-Duo‘s villa under house arrest. She has provided crucial information about her former teacher and Shisui‘s research. Her presence at the villa has turned the location into a safe haven for women and children affected by the Shi clan’s downfall.
Ah-Duo continues to demonstrate why she is one of the sharpest minds in the series. Her grace, wit, and noble bearing were on full display in Episode 4. She helped Maomao and Suirei understand Shisui‘s thought process and the importance of the hidden volume. Ah-Duo‘s intelligence and judgment remain vital to the investigation.
Shisui, though presumed dead, is the invisible force behind the locust investigation. Her research on insect behavior and her decision to hide the final volume in the palace clinic show that she anticipated the crisis. The series has not yet confirmed her current whereabouts, but her legacy continues to shape the story.
The White Lady: Bai Niangniang and Her Mysterious Powers
The White Lady, known in Japanese as Bai Niangniang, made her full face reveal at the end of Episode 4. She is voiced by Reina Ueda in Japanese and Jad Saxton in the English dub. Bai Niangniang has translucent white skin, white hair, and red eyes. She claims to possess immortality and mind-reading abilities, drawing wealthy patrons to her performances in the theater district.
Her activities are deeply suspicious. She has been handing out snacks to impoverished people, and those snacks have been connected to toxic grains laced with ergot fungus. The series has not yet confirmed whether Bai Niangniang is deliberately poisoning people or whether she is being used by someone else. Her pale appearance and claims of supernatural abilities have made her a subject of fascination and fear. The title of Episode 5, “The White-Snake Immortal,” suggests that the episode will focus closely on her methods and motivations.
The Locust Plague: A Threat to the Empire’s Food Supply
The locust plague remains one of the season’s most pressing problems. The premiere episode, “Locusts,” established the scale of the crisis with images of devastated fields, crying families, and dust falling through a farmer’s hands. Maomao and Jinshi have identified potential solutions, including insecticides and the protection of natural predators, but preventing widespread agricultural damage will require a deeper understanding of how locust populations grow.
Shisui‘s research revealed that locusts can change their behavior across generations. What begins with solitary insects can develop into large, dark-winged swarms under the right environmental conditions. The earlier outbreak may have been a warning of something much worse. If the insects multiply and spread, the empire’s food supply could be severely threatened.
What the Official Synopsis Says About Episode 5
The official synopsis for Episode 5, “The White-Snake Immortal,” confirms that Maomao will be invited by Rikuson, a subordinate of Rahan and Lakan, to attend a performance featuring the mysterious immortal. Maomao is skeptical but follows him to the venue. Inside, guests wearing strange masks and veils gather in an eerie atmosphere. With the sound of a gong, the immortal Bai Niangniang appears on stage. Maomao is invited onto the platform and witnesses her abilities firsthand.
The episode will also continue the locust investigation, as Maomao and Jinshi work to understand the environmental conditions that allow locust populations to grow. Whether Bai Niangniang‘s activities connect to the larger crisis remains one of the episode’s central questions.
Season 3 Structure and the Upcoming Film
The Apothecary Diaries Season 3 is a split-cour season with 24 episodes total. The first cour of 12 episodes runs weekly from October 2 to December 18, 2026. The second cour of 12 episodes is scheduled for April 2027. The season adapts light novel volumes 5 and 6, moving the story beyond the Imperial Palace and into the Western Capital.
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A theatrical film, The Apothecary Diaries: The Secret Treasure of the Deceased Consort, is set to open in Japan on December 11, 2026. The film is a separate production from the television season and features an original story.
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