Alchemy of Souls: Part 2 (2022)

An engaging sequel, but not a necessary one

Even though I’ve marked my review as a spoiler, I really don’t think I’ve given out anything you didn’t anyway expect. But still read at your own risk.

Let’s start with the good. But before that, a very special shout-out to whoever has styled Lee Jae Wook this season, my man is always charming but he looks drop dead gorgeous here. Moving on:
-This part is as engaging as its former; there are times when I’m mad annoyed, but I never skip seeing the episode on time. Even when an episode feels like a filler, I’m invested.
-Most of the cast is just great as we know, but I’m mentioning it again just for Go Yoon Jung who possessed the seamless ability to switch between Naksu and Bu Yeon (basically memory-less Naksu) perfectly.
-GYJ and LJW had electric chemistry, weirdly I felt it more in the parts where Naksu had lost her memory and Jang Uk thought of her as Bu Yeon. The push and pull and the tension was just WOW. They were so natural together, and the show really utilised their chemistry well with all those kissing scenes lol.
-The word building for part 2 was also great, a new world where the ice stone was exposed to all seemed colder, darker and more hopeless (the rules like in first part, were very convenient though, even more so here)
-The show as a whole never loses its humour; there are so many things I can complain about, but they always manage their tone of serious with good laughes in between.


The bad:
-The show has since season 1, been way too obvious about the bad guys. Jinmu’s evil smirks, the unanimous assembly and the King being dumb power-hungry idiots, Seo Yul’s cousin having hidden intentions, the queen only caring about soul-swapping for a more beautiful body - it’s all so panifully obvious about whose intentions are evil and we know above all somehow it is Jinmu heading them all.
-Some characters have just been around and not done much when needed. Seo Yul has a good amount of screen time but has never added anything substantial to the big moments. Jin Cho Yeon being the younger daughter of the Jin family could have brought chaos in her own ways, but she comes and goes when needed. Master Lee is ofcourse a must mention, he gives his speeches, does not reveal what he knows to the right people, and vanishes away as he pleases.
-One thing this show is consistent in, is keeping the love story at its core and centre (much at the expense of all the other plot lines). As much as I like seeing Naksu and Jang UK’s love story, it’s pointless to have these many dedicated one sided love lines. Crown Prince and Yul for Naksu, a very useless Lady Yun Ok for Jang Uk, Sol-i for Seo Yul (this at least made sense plot-wise so I’ll let it go). Like just get some of them together, what’s the harm? I was convinced in part 1 that towards the end Yun Ok and Seo Yul could have a romance but they somehow made her very annoying and mean for no reason in part 2. Dan Gu and Cho Yeon love story also came with very little build up, they were cute, but that’s it. There could have been a lot more to their love story, but I guess they had to save screen time for Jin Mu’s smirks. I’m very glad though that Kim Do Jo and Park Jin got their fair share of romance in this part.
-Naksu’s reveal, in episode 9 (very concerning and stupid by the way how Jang Uk did not realise it was Naksu inspite of NUMEROUS hints and a similar way of talking), was pretty underwhelming. I enjoyed their scenes before it too, but it felt like a different love story all together so at this point I expected passion, drama, something? They were like let us feign ignorance. I was like okay. That’s it? It felt a little too underwhelming. I was atleast expecting a typical moment compilation.
-I am not someone who complains about logic and stuff a lot in a kdrama, especially one of fantasy genre, but all in all there was a lot of stuff that could have been solved easily. Crown Prince could have just sided with Jang Uk earlier and the show could have wrapped up sooner. There were these filler romance episodes in between too, that were fun to see, but added nothing to the overall plot line. As usual again, we never saw Naksu in full form. This part has and will always annoy me. This show actually teases us since the beginning that this is a Naksu show, but part 1 ends up being more about Jang Uk’s journey. That is why I walked in part 2 with lower expectations.

All in all, what bothers me is when a show has all the right elements and can easily be one of the best ones out there, but screws itself up by underutilising some of the characters and messing up the storyline in the dumbest ways imaginable, I felt this was a problem in part 1 as well, but even more so here.

I assume if you’re reading all this you’ve obviously seen part 1 and are wondering if you want to see part 2 as well. In spite of all my complains, I won’t say I didn’t enjoy it, which is why the rating is still that high. This part is as I said, very engaging. I’m annoyed, but I’m somehow always entertained. And if you are someone whose main interest is the romantic aspect, this part precisely serves that, and very well until the first 8 episodes. The chemistry is great in both parts, but I felt it is even better in this part.

The show absolutely did not need the part 2, a lot of this could have been wrapped up in S1 if the show had lesser filler episodes, but since we are here, and we are invested, your core reasons to watch can be to follow all our beloved characters storylines and seeing most of the cast look even better in their new get-ups. It’s best to keep your expectations at rock bottom, storyline wise, and actually watch for the romance.

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Big Big Mistake and Big Big Let Down

I don’t think I have ever been so angry or upset over a TV series, as I am with Part 2 of Alchemy of Souls. What on earth were the famous sisters’ writing team thinking?

I will say that the special effects were top notch as usual. Of course, Part 1 was splendid in every way. So, why get a new female lead in - out of nowhere? Why? Removing the main female character played by Jung So-min, who was incredibly essential through out the entire first part … and who stole the show again and again with her fabulous acting, was simply abominable. Jung So-min’s character had wit, energy, determination, and great humour. Because So-Min is a fabulous actor., she stole every scene along with her co-partner Lee Jae Wook - and they played off each other perfectly. He was wonderful, of course, as always. They clicked. Chemistry.

You could tell they were really enjoying their roles. It was fabulous. The acting (of most of the cast members) was extremely good in Part 1 as well; the story was strong; the magical effects were amazing, and it had everything that was needed to be greatly entertained, and yet involved and, also, often touched by the passions, horrors, hatred and love in every way. I loved every second of Part 1.

When I heard that Jung So-min “might” not be returning in Part 2, I was immediately upset and irritated. A whole lot of “maybe, maybe not” nonsense came out, that was offensive to viewers and which was pitched again and again. What kind of games were the writers and producers playing with avid watchers of Part 1? Surely Jung SO-Min would be back!

Not so. Apparently they had decided that Nasku (played by a younger actress, Go Woon Jung) would take over the lead female role. Why on earth would they totally drop Jung So-min? They removed a fantastic actress and a fabulously written character right out of the story? Why? Except for weak hints in Part 2 … which I will not go into, as it might be seen as leaking information, nothing is really offered. It is as if Mu Deok had never existed in Part 1. Either way the wonderful actress as a main lead was gone.

And who did they add?

They added a character who meanders around after Uk, sulking, mooning about, and being very very dull. This young actor’s facial expressions are set mainly into a pursed lip of “wondering” and “unhappiness” or something vague that was incredibly irritating. Again … what were the writers thinking? No strong actress here. I wanted Mu Deok back immediately! I missed her completely.

I felt NO passion between these two leads in Part 2. None. Zip. Nada. Even Lee Jae Wook couldn’t show a pretended “love with deep passion” connection with his co-actor. At the end when they are trying very hard to look in “love,” it was cringemaking. Like wooden puppets. It was as awful as the goofy bizarre ending with a cat as big as an elephant suddenly appearing. But that is something else. Seriously...was that a hint of a part 3? Was that supposed to be a promise for more action in a Part 3?

I will not be watching Part 3 if the amazing Jung So-Min does not return, that’s for sure. This unjustified replacement of the wonderful character Mu Deok is so so frustrating. They chose an actress that looked a wee bit like Jung So Min. And younger. But not strong at all in the part. No passion. No intelligence and quick thinking. Little or weak humour. Dull.

A Bad Bad decision. Big Big Let Down.

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Dragged out sequel to a dragged out prequel

CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD!

First of all, I gotta say that I liked romantic chemistry between og Naksu (played by GYJ) and Uk way more than when she was played by JSM. And I liked that the overall story ended on a happy ending, which it desperately needed after part 1's devastating ending. For these two factors I'm willing to forgive a lot of things that were done quite sloppily in part 2, for example:

1. Dragged out FL's amnesia plot and repetitive misunderstandings.
The villains took a bit of a back seat this time around, the main course of part 2 was rekindling the relationship between the leads who, due to FL's amnesia and different looking body, couldn't recognize each other. Very cliche, but not a bad thing in itself. However, for 8 episodes straight the plot was basically going around in circles like this:
-ML says something cold and nasty to FL,
-she gets upset and leaves,
-ML regrets his harsh words and runs after her,
-they reunite until ML has another bout of unjustified cruelty towards FL.
Only in the last 2 episodes the plot finally kicked into high gear and the good guys swiftly, if a bit hamfistedly, dealt with all their problems.

2. Most characters' intelligence got dumbed down compared to part 1.
For the sake of dragging out the drama and misunderstandings they were frequently shown unable to add 2 and 2 together and unable to finish their line of thought when suspecting someone.
-For example, ML, who was very bright and quick to catch on in part 1, in part 2 couldn't figure out that FL is Naksu even with heavy hints given to him since part 1. He couldn't even catch on immediately after she basically spelled it out for him and showed her blue eye marks.
-Another example is Jin Mu immediately recognizing Naksu's face, but not investigating this very suspicious occurence further after simply examining her aura and learning she's a priestess, not a mage.
And the list goes on...

3. Contrived new rules and plot devices that contradict already established lore.
Master Lee, the blatant writers insert, almost every episode kept sparingly throwing newly invented sh*t into the fan to keep the audience in suspence and characters scrambling. Some plot holes remain open because of it:
-Naksu for whatever reason disappearing from JBY's body (that even looks like her now) when she regains her memories, of all things. Why didn't she disappear earlier when she was Mu-Deok? Unclear. But in the end, even her disappearance turned out to be a lie and she simply took a back seat temporarily for Jin Seol Ran to fulfill her duty.
-The fire bird being the original reason Jinyowon was built - no mention of it whatsover in part 1. Was this bird the cause of drought 200 years ago? How was it even captured? Nobody knows...
- The previously established lore stated that only priestesses with divine magic can perform the rain ritual and that it is being kept in Jinyowon. But no, apparently Jin Mu, a mage, had it ready all along and could perform it himself.
-200 years old Jin Seol Ran, who apparently didn't die as was mentioned in part 1, had planned this whole thing all along, so that Naksu and Uk could get together, protect the ice stone and defeat the fire bird, because she could forsee the future. I get Uk being the King's Star with superpowers, but why the heck JSR needed Naksu's soul stuck together with hers in JBY's body still remains unclear.
And the list goes on...

4. The villains overstayed their welcome.
Jin Mu, a very cautios and clever villain in part 1, in part 2 turned into a tired cliche of a tropey mustache twirling, maniacally laughing villain. But his schemes somehow kept working because the good guys, as was mentioned above, were intellectually dumbed down and kept being unmotivated to finish him off until the very end. No smart shaman this time around to boss him around, so he had to contend with dumb sidekicks, creepy crazy queen and greedy grandpas who wanted to live forever. And they all died like total dumbasses, because they grossly underestimated ML's power.

5. Naksu never regained her mage powers.
No badass Naksu expertly wielding sword and magic from S01E01. In the end she was lucky enough to stay in JBY's body through JBY/JSR's grace and kept that body's divine powers, which turned out to be pretty lame, compared. But at least she survived, I guess that's a win.

6. Promised indepth exploration of side characters' stories was a lie.
Most of the time was wasted on retired Park Jin cooking "black matter" to everyone's dismay, while much needed screen time for characters such as Park Dang Gu and Jin Cho Yeon was cut to a minimum. Even Crown Prince got overshadowed by a turtle, of all things.

7. Cheap fake deaths for drama's sake.
In the end none of the good guys died, the audience got duped again just for cheap nail biting thrills. This lessened ending impact by a lot, as the stakes turned out to be pretty minimal. But at least master Lee did something useful for once.

8. ML's reactions to learning that FL is Naksu and that she'll soon disappear were underwhelming.
I dunno what happened to LJW there, but I wasn't feeling any impact from those scenes and he didn't look emotional enough. He looked more like blank faced Yul, but even Yul was more emotional when he learned FL is Naksu.

9. Last episode was a bit rushed, erratic and weirdly edited.
Technically, on paper everything was done right, but somehow still left a feeling of being rushed.
I dunno what it was, but I think it's was an amalgamation of these factors:
-Weird, out of order editing;
-Erratic characters behavior, especially the villains;
-Lackluster CGI, baffling lack of extras in fighting scenes;
-Lack of impact in general - endgame buildup was ruined by ML who, after finally accepting his destiny of a total Mary Sue (aka. King's Star), practically singlehandedly smashed all the villains and that overhyped fire bird as easy as pie without breaking a sweat;
-Too much focus on side characters' endings instead of the main leads and even those were of barely satisfactory length.

Also, I think that leads wedding should have happened at the end of the story when all the issues were resolved, not when FL was about to disappear. It looked out of place considering their current circumstances and reminded too much of part 1 ending, when they were in denial and carelessly making future plans and marriage.

CONCLUSION:
So, did Alchemy of Souls require 2 parts for a complete story? Personally, I don't think so, part 1 already suffered from pacing issues, but in part 2 they've dragged the plot out even more and added lots of new plot holes, to boot. If the writers kept the plot tight, I think they could have ended the story in one season.
But then again, I really liked GYJ's Naksu character and I liked that she too got plenty of time to shine, like JSM did in part 1.
All the rest of the cast, LJW especially, did a really excellent job as well and part 2's overall production value was still through the roof.
Flaws and all, Alchemy of Souls is still a very memorable and gripping kdrama, with a beautiful love story, that I'm sure will be remembered for years to come as a great classic. There's nothing quite like it in kdramaworld right now and I hope it will be an inspiration for more quality dramas like this. Overall, I'm giving part 2 a generous 8 out of 10.

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An unmatched reunion love story.

AoS: Light & Shadow had everything I ever wanted in a K-drama fantasy series. I have always been a fan of the Hong Sisters'(Writers') signature of poetic dialogues, and them always dancing between tragedy & dark comedy in their romance dramas. All of which, are the primary reason I dived into AoS in the first place. So be warned that I might be biased in rating this series but I'll still try to present an objective review.


Story:

The narrative started with a time skip 3 years later, with the primary storyline involving a grieving & suicidal all-powerful mage Jang Uk (Lee Jae Wook) and a mysterious amnesiac isolated Jin Bu Yeon (Go Youn Jung). Both of whom, are still coming to terms with their new reality as “someone who shouldn’t exist” when they met. And so, due to this somewhat similar present, their fates became intertwined (again) and they become entangled in a series of dangerous events. As the story unfolds, we see how these two soulmates that understand each other's circumstances bravely traverse around a society that hates their very existence.

The plot were really risky to dive into especially when a lot of cliches were present. Yet surprisingly, the writers managed to hook me and made me highly captivated by this kind of settings. Glad I took the risk cause I was able to meet different sides for my favorite characters. The things that I loved in Part 1 i.e. the poetic dialogues, the eye-catching foreshadows/ parallelism, and breathtaking CGI were still present too. Part 2 were definitely as clever and pleasant to watch as Part 1.


Main Characters:

Part 1 :
It was a very astounding choice to use Go Youn Jung's voice for Mu Deok's 'monologues' throughout Part 1 (She was credited for it from EP1-20) even without her presence. I particularly loved the moment she admitted her love for Jang Uk where she monologued: ❝ This is a clear and dangerous sign, that I am in love with this man, Jang Uk. ❞ (Part 1:Ep10). This particular scene in itself demonstrates the idea that the poisonous love confession for Jang Uk really originated from "Naksu's soul" and not the body. In fact, this phenomenal detail in the drama has actually defended many Naksu debates, including that one concerning who Jang Uk truly loved: the body or the soul.

Part 2 :

❝ I buried everything behind but you took out my past and helped me face them. You held my hand and helped me sleep when I never thought I could. ❞ - Jang Uk to Naksu

Naksu is indeed now weaker than her own lover, an amnesiac, an easily frightened girl, and she's also undeniably a damsel in distress. But exactly Naksu in Part 2 bravely loved Jang Uk despite him in love with someone else and even amidst the oppositions from others, she never left him. She always confronted the doubt and mockery she faced from others, while also defending and protecting Jang Uk in her own ways. That's still feminine and its definitely not being weak. Naksu finally doing all the things she failed to do after her death in Part 1 like the way many of her dialogues we're the things she didn't get to say to Jang Uk was so tragically beautiful.

❝ It's shameless to desire something without the will to endure the pain. A pain that does not kill me will eventually set me free. ❞ - Naksu

In part 2, Naksu is not anymore the 'fierce and physically strong' woman of the past. Despite this, she still remained a 'brave and mentally strong' soul till the end. Her Part 2 life represents Naksu's hopes for freedom and just without the pain & vengeance she harbored of the past. The plot of Jang Uk falling deeply in love with her 'soul' again without recognizing her first solidified that Naksu in P2 is still the same Naksu that Jang Uk loved in P1 .

Go Youn Jung definitely 'nailed and slayed' her first lead role.


“No one can stop me from going anywhere. And I am used to feeling unwelcomed.” – Jang Uk

Lee Jae Wook gave us an incredible performance in AoS. But I will exclude a review for his performance as Jang Uk in P2, as other reviews have already done it. But he really did extremely well and deserve all the awards he achieved due to this drama. His coldness as a mage who has lost his vigour and as a grieving lover we're heartbreaking. But then he transitioned into someone alive and better after meeting Jin Bu Yeon/Cho Yeong, showing she's indeed his only 'cure' and that was romantic!


Honestly, I had doubts that I would come to love most of the characters again in Part 2. Yet the character portrayals in this series surprisingly the side characters too, managed to prove my doubts wrong. I still found myself very infatuated with the still hilariously cute JinJoo couple; I still yearned for the little but adorable ChoDang interactions; still rooted for the hopeless romantic Yul's happiness; I even cried for So-i; and not forget to mention, the best Father-Son duo, Seja Go Won and Turtle!

All of the actors really shined and excelled in their respective roles in this drama. Cheers to many more projects for all of them after AoS!


Overall:

The OTP created by Yeong/Shadow (Go Youn Jung) & Uk/Light (Lee Jae Wook) was really on fire. It's unforgettable. I giggled hard even from their small interactions, blushed from all their kisses and hugs, and bawled my eyes out at the angst they displayed. In essence, I enjoyed the chemistry between Go Youn Jung and Lee Jae Wook, and the slow burn/second chance romance which made me love their story again.

So to conclude, for me, Part 2 is very much an intensely engaging reunion love story. I admit it indeed lacked much of the thrilling mage action and the strong feminism in Part 1. But I do not agree with Naksu being called only weak cause she is MORE than that. There is no doubt that AoS Part 2 is equally impressive as Part 1 for me especially with its still amazing fantasy realm and the unmatched reunion love story between the three couples (UkYeong, JinJoo, and ChoDang).

The Hong Sisters(Writers) gave us bittersweet endings in most of their dramas but then we actually got a beautiful happy ending for the main couple and for everyone 'here' in AoS. No unnecessary deaths, just a tear-jerker and lovely future. That's why I will never forget nor regret spending 6 months for this drama, it was a very fun and memorable journey to be able to watch, read theories, and overthink together with AoS fans. The Hong Sisters and Studio Dragon have stolen my heart again with another good drama!


Thanks for reading!

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Shouldn't have existed

I initially dropped it b/c I thought the problem was the switch of actresses, but after death's game and moving I grew to love the actress. So I started it again,
turns out the problem wasn't the actress nor the chemistry, the writing was just unbearably soap-level bad:
- They dragged out the amnesia until the last 2 episodes, and they had no reaction to it, b/c he was already in love with the new Naksu and didn't care about the old one that much apparently.
- Naksu had a personnality transplant and lost all brain, they turned our smart lead into a damsel, she never got her powers back.
- The secondary characters were just there,
- there was no solid plot just milking a soapy story
- I couldn't follow the characters logic in anything...

Anyway a total waste of my time, fortunately the FL did other projects and won't be remembered for this flop

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The dreaded rushed ending *tada*

Dang that ending was bad.
Could have definitely avoided a few episodes in season 2 to make a proper ending and not rush everything in the last episode.
The last episode in itself is 2 episodes but noooooo let's use flashbacks to end a well built story and put everything to trash in 1 hour and 20 minutes.
I should have stayed on my first impression at the beginning of season 2, when we were explained what happened with Mudeok's body, that should have a been the ending of season 1, not some random flashback in season 2, again a major part of the story rushed and badly used
Such a shame and a waste of time season 2 has been

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What a huge disappointment

Did they hire some new writers? Should the Hong sisters just retire now after this travesty? I for sure will not watch their dramas ever again. So many shows that start strong, but then they lose the plot. S1 was perfection. Loved it, especially because of the intelligent characters and interesting plot.

In s2, we have a paper-thin plot, that’s dragged out unnecessarily long. Several characters are just clueless now - unexpectedly. They were quick on the take in s1, in s2 they lost half their IQ. The lead actress only has one expression the whole time. They tried to compensate by putting in extra kissing scenes, but it all felt rushed and forced.

The women are all either weak and helpless or bitchy and conniving. (Apart from Kim do Ju, still the best character!). Did they regress back to peak misogyny? I mean they had an amnesia trope and damsel in distress tropes and all kinds of nonsense. What a let down Hong sisters!

And the climax? The most dull one ever. Do yourself a favor, read the fan theories for s2 which are 10000x more interesting than the slop served to us by the Hong sisters.

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Not what I expected :(

Seeing a lot of mixed and extreme reviews on this S2 Sigh… not what I expected at all. Yes- we all wanted the badass assassin, probably not fully back to her old self but definitely not this priestess with divine powers but can’t even cross the river without help! Sorry to say.. I did like the idea of JBY and Naksu sharing the body, but I really really wanted more from Naksu.

The storyline and pace was a little draggy. It focused too much on Naksu and Jang Uk finding each other and falling in love all over again. Probably not the best main plot for a season 2. I wanted to see more conspiracy theories, more slashing of swords and fighting, more mages using and abusing their powers… but 80% of the time was lovey dovey and humorous scenes. Don’t get me wrong- I loved the relationship between the Crown Prince and his turtle! ;);)

Anyhow, S1 was better for me, but I preferred Go Youn Jung as the FL. :)

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All season you wait for Naksu, and when she’s there, she isn’t!

I was a HUGE fan of AOS part 1. Huge fan of Naksu. I disagree with other reviews that say that the actress in season 2 is not good. Re watch episode 1, She is a brilliant warrior, great actress. However, I think the Hong sisters were sleeping when they wrote her character for season 2. Yes, I understand she is Bu Yeon, until episode 9. And what does Bu Yeon, a mighty powerful priestess do? She follows Uk, in semi trance, like a stupid teenage schoolgirl. Literally. That’s all she does. However in episode 9, Naksu is back, her memories, her powers…where is Naksu? Do you think it’s plausible for this mighty mage and warrior to STUMBLE TWICE, when she is followed by a wraith? You know, the same Naksu who performed the alchemy of souls and fought single handedly an army of mages. What happened to your brains Hong sisters? Also Bu Yeon’s mother character….she used to be so strong, and now her brother told her, you are old, you have white hair, hand over the plaque, and she does?
Incongruent, horrible, totally destroyed the series for me. Horrible!
So I and Yul merit mentioning, loved their story, also the turtle is fab.

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An otherwise perfect drama that has fallen from grace

I'll keep it short and simple: They should have ended the series in season 1 adding just 2-4 episodes totaling 22/24 episodes.

There were good things in season 2 but there were more things that made the drama bad than good. The direction of the story completely went south and one bad decision led to another. They did a great job with season 1 and should have just kept using the same formula instead of being ambiguous. The writers definitely had a hard time choosing between one or the other, so they decided to create a story of in-betweens. They should have just committed to one direction of a possible story instead of trying to please both sides.

Season 2 kinda felt like a mess and the final scenes were lackluster and unsatisfactory, but I wouldn't say that the drama was completely bad. Ultimately, season 1 was an absolute masterpiece, while season 2 needs to be watched just to achieve closure from the drama -- unfortunately.

Side note: I love the main cast of both seasons to death. I wish nothing more than their success in future dramas <3

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