[Drama 2022] Alchemy Of Souls: Light and Shadow ✴ 반환

[SleepyKitty]

I knew it, i knew they're going to save the kiss until the very last minute lol. What's with the flip though, sunday episodes are usually quite a zip trough but this one feels a bit slow (while yesterday's episode feels a lot better than the usually filler-packed saturday episodes).

 

Well, we've been asking for naksu's character development so i guess they're condensing her all internal conflict into a single episode. I almost flip my table watching her contemplating to leave all those people to die, like, girl??? Was the last 17 episodes a joke??? I was rooting for you!!!!

 

Was this whole episode just bu yeon testing naksu, whether she deserves to receive the ice stone's power? Sounds presumptuous, especially with all the possible victims, was all of them disposable in bu yeon's grand scheme or what. But now that clearly bu yeon is fine and thriving, not even slightly disturbed by her mother's killing attempt, what is going to happen with the body though? Is janguk just going to marry this 2 in 1 deal then?

 

You know what, i give up trying to make things make sense lol. I'll just be here to enjoy the ride. Placing my bet that naksu (mudeok? Buyeon?) trying the dress in the preview and jang uk mentioning 'bride' is going to be another mislead lolol. I bet it's going to be cho yeon and dang gu's wedding or something. And as usual, it's going to be at the end of episode 20, of course.

[backstreetboysfan]

I am glad Seo Yu is okay.

 

And  Mu Deok was so worried that Jang Uk died and omg that kiss :.

[Rollito Deprimavera]

1 hour ago, SleepyKitty said:

what is going to happen with the body though? Is janguk just going to marry this 2 in 1 deal then?

I think one of them is going to die. Either Naksu will die since she's doomed as a shoul shifter without a body, or Bu Yeon who was rescued from death by her mother and is living on borrowed time...It is also possible that Naksu's body is remade. Maybe the ice stone has the power to return her body? Uk seems determined to use it to protect Naksu, so I wonder what he will be able to do with it.

[PororoQueen]

It was confirmed that a Tornado touched down in Songrim (Ep 18), and BuYeon is hiding inside (2 BuYeon's actually)

 

Somehow I need to rewatch Ep 18, why is it confusing for me. Is it because of the tornado?

[maribella]

4 hours ago, SleepyKitty said:

You know what, i give up trying to make things make sense lol. I'll just be here to enjoy the ride. Placing my bet that naksu (mudeok? Buyeon?) trying the dress in the preview and jang uk mentioning 'bride' is going to be

 I gave up understanfing the plot many episodes ago but now I am making my own 'sense' here.  The mother has killed BY who is now dead like in her womb. The stone that could revive BY was smashed by the itinerant who faked being BY. So BY is dead as a dodo. What's left is the assasin Naksu in her borrowed body and name. All scenes with JSM are now Naksu being called MD.
 

Even though Naksu can soul shift and she can choose any one, but she chooses to remain to be MD and the preview shows that she'll be getting married to JU. Next 10 episodes show them fighting JM. But I don't understand why a weasel like JM just can't be killed off easily?

 

I know everyone loves the kiss but I prefer the tentative moving towards each other, eyes brimming with happy tears just to be with each other finally. That's what Asian dramas should be like. That's  why I love rewatching Winter Sonata, or crouching tiger ..
As korean dramas become more popular, I can see Hollywoodisation. Kisses are buzz scenes. The longer the groping, the more buzzy it is. If I see one bedroom scene, I will definately watch old cartoons only - He-man maybe  nice abs, but I am really a hand person. The mother's hand is like claws and the black nail polish ... ugh. The Crown prince's hand or fingers were also thin bony. 

[sadthe1st]

1 hour ago, PororoQueen said:

(2 BuYeon's actually)

you meant the part where naksu (mu deok) met the young bu yeon talking to her, and then the grown up bu yeon (mu deok) taunting her? i thought the grown up one was a bit sarcastic rebuking naksu was the one occupying her body when naksu thought she was a relic lolol

 

 

master seo’s intention of keeping one ice stone to save the one he loves, well the prophesy did come true here.. mother jin (descendant of master seo’s love?) did use that one single ice stone to revive bu yeon the stillborn foetus..

 

(@maribella its THE part you wanted to know so badly lolol)

 

but came the confusing part.. so apparently bu yeon doesnt need to keep the ice stone within her to remain alive like that eunuch kim.. cos she is a very extraordinary priestess?

 

and after so many odd encounters and this final one so vivid, naksu still doesnt even suspect mu deok is bu yeon??

 

 

@LeftCoastOppa chingu, your ship..

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Chhn2r-p9Ur/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[LeftCoastOppa]

So, Episode 18 -

 

The biggest takeaway I see from the last 2 episodes is that it indeed now appears that the Jang Uk/Naksu storyline will end in Part 1 ( I think the dress fitting/back hug scenes in the preview will be from Episode 20 not 19 )

 

After that, it appears almost all the pieces are set for the final showdown -

 

- All the great mage houses are gathering in Songrim

 

- The Queen will expose herself as Shaman Choi via the Alchemy of Souls

 

- It appears Dang Gu and Cho Yeon will be tasked with protecting the real Queen's soul when fake Jin Dad shows up

 

- Uk, Yul, and the Crown Prince now have the key to it all in their possession ... So I 

 

- Jang Gang is returning to Cheonbugwan, it seems at least a few know him, maybe not all are corrupt?

 

- As Jang Uk has been about 3 steps ahead of everyone while inside the Ice Stone, I'm getting the sneaky suspicion that he has already achieved or is close to achieving Hwansu, and will try to take control of the Ice Stone in the next episode.

 

- Naksu made her choice, she essentially is an assassin no longer 

 

 

8 hours ago, K-dramafan22 said:

Sol-i and Seo Yul?   She kinda saved him...  Now it looks highly possible @LeftCoastOppa....think your dream is coming true?..... loll

 

7 hours ago, marrez1 said:

I had also mentioned it but peope told me it was impossible, in any case she clearly has a crush on him, she likes him ,we know that she is a RickRoll'D  but Nasku also killed a lot of people.
In any case, I don't think that Yul is in love with her but but he seems to take pity on her, I have a good feeling she's still in part 2, so So-i with Yul later? we will see

 

5 hours ago, sadthe1st said:

erm, @LeftCoastOppa nooo im not going to give in to SS-ship sailing..

 

Actually, as difficult as it is to admit ( @maribellais gonna love this ) I'm extremely disappointed with So I - the loss of the first red-shirt mage (star trek anyone ... anyone?) was forgivable as he stumbled upon her and the soulshifter, but I thought when he spared her, she would finally give up the charade and tell the others. I don't like that she tried to give up Mu Deok, although its clear she did it simply for self preservation rather than malice.   I did have a hard time with Yul, after being saved by Lady Heo/So I that he once AGAIN tried to throw himself (literally) at the soulshifter

As for my Yul/So I ship  -  not sure its sailing just yet   -  everyone inside the stone now knows So I isn't blind, however as bad as things will be for her on the outside when they finally get out, as long as she tells the Songrim mages what the Queen & Jin Mu were up to, she should live.  As her actions have been exposed to almost everyone in Songrim, even if she turns witness, it would be VERY hard for her to remain there - If she and Yul are to have a "happy" ending, I'd be satisfied if at the end he simply offered her the opportunity to travel with him back to Fortress Seo  ... perhaps their story will continue in Part 2

 

Lastly on the subject of So I, she also will be the confirmation to all who don't know, that Mu Deok is Jin Bu Yeon ... looking at you Jang Uk

 

 

5 hours ago, sadthe1st said:

agreed that the showdown between mu deok and that soul shifter was too brief.. i was hoping for more fighting scenes not just 2 tansu strikes and KO..

 

I see many comments on this and while I do understand, you're reading it the wrong way,  the fight was so short because Mu Deok/Naksu is just that powerful ... she made it look easy   Mess with Jang Uk, just lie down cuz you're dead

 

 

2 hours ago, Rollito Deprimavera said:

I think one of them is going to die. Either Naksu will die since she's doomed as a shoul shifter without a body, or Bu Yeon who was rescued from death by her mother and is living on borrowed time...

 

Perhaps as others have mentioned this was a test by Bu Yeon.  Soulshifters can survive without the Ice Stone if they achieve Hwansu as we see in Master Lee.  I could see Bu Yeon departing and leaving a Hwansu empowered Naksu in her body.  The Ice Stone could then be finally destroyed to save Daeho from another Mage war

 

 

Final thoughts -

 

- From the preview ... what is it that Park Jin has known all along?

 

- Poor Lady Heo, she's beautiful, intelligent, sincere, caring, supportive, and unfortunately it seems the odd woman out ... the Crown Prince didn't even seem to notice her today.  Hopefully she has a love interest somewhere in Part 2

 

- They better not forget Park Jin/Maidservant Kim in all the hubbub, not one scene today of either of them worrying about the other - I want my confirmation/confession before Part 1 ends

 

- Not to be nit-picky but I really want to see how Jang Uk tricked the soulshifter into the secret room ... looks like he got beat up a bit.

 

 

 

[kwayteow_mama]

I think the sequence for JBY locking Naksu and the people around her into the icestone was so that Naksu doesn't just run away with the ice stone. If Uk's life isn't at stake, she would probably take the easier way and just escape. 

 

Somehow I thought about Frozen/Frozen 2 a lot when I watch AoS.

• Master Lee putting Jin Mu in place with snow power icicles
• Yesterday's barrier like the one that engulfs the enchanted forest
• And the tornado touchdown which looked like Gale's first meeting Elsa & Anna's gang

 

Likes:

• FL rescuing ML instead of the typical hero saving the damsel in distress.
• MD/Naksu's hair there when she spin around and hit the ball of energy and the way her hair just falls back during their kiss 
• At least the kiss did happened per the preview instead of trolling us normally

 

What I've wished to see:

• A longer fight scene for MD/Naksu. Is it just me or the soulshifter was kinda sluggish
• Mama Jin looking more guilty if she really believed that MD was JBY? (I'm assuming she has put two and two together that MD IS JBY, I'll be really speechless if she's still only suspicious at this point...) For some reason she wasn't rattled at all that she almost killed her own daughter whom she dearly misses. So it better be for some good reason.
• Naksu putting two and two together that MD is JBY. At the rate we're going I really wonder if we're ever going to see this by end of S1

 

For next week's episodes:

• I'm assuming after the kiss we're going to see MD/Naksu telling Uk how she has died and come back to life through the ice stone and seeing the real MD and I really hope Uk will guide her to the realization that MD is the REAL JBY. Something like, hey you saw the blind MD? Me too when I almost got soul shifted with Gilju. And how come Uk is still alive after locking himself up with the soul shifter in the secret room? 
• JSM looked so pretty with her hair down  I do hope her changing into the new attire is because she's being recognized as the REAL JBY and not because she's going to be someone's bridesmaid or something. But I'm just so used to this show trolling us 
• Looking forward if we're going to see the poster bridge scene? I think the chisu looking at the moon on tall tree will be a S2 thing.

 

29 minutes ago, LeftCoastOppa said:

- It appears Dang Gu and Cho Yeon will be tasked with protecting the real Queen's soul when fake Jin Dad shows up

 Oooh I'll be super excited for this sequence

 

 

[K-dramafan22]

I would love the bride-looking Mudeok to be Jin Bu-Yeon too but it's kinda impossible at this stage if there is no physical body to move Naksu into.   Don't get my hopes up that Jin Bu-yeon is ever going to appear physically as Jin Bu-yeon.   At this point I have written off her existence as only "air", meaning she would never really appear except to hear her dead or something....   Just a tragedy as far as I am concerned of this powerful, unknown and unseen character.   

Just Smokes and Mirrors.....poof!   

 

Putting Bu-yeon aside, hope the plot continues to show us the prowess of 4 seasons and the great fighting skills of Naksu against the villains like how impressive the drama started with all the cinematographic excellence.  The subplot of maidservant's romance and cho-yeon vs danggu romance to come to a closure.  The reunion of Jang Uk and Jang Dang closure.  Of course the closure on the elimination of the villains.   Yul and Sol-i??

 

Since no interesting storyline to keep me interested now, at least let me enjoy the beautiful cinematography and closures..

[LeftCoastOppa]

Another great AoS compilation -

 

 

[backstreetboysfan]

Here is the ratings for Episode 18! .

 

 

“Alchemy Of Souls” And “It’s Beautiful Now” Soar To Their Highest Ratings Yet

Three dramas hit new all-time highs last night!

 

On August 21, tvN’s “Alchemy of Souls” neared the double digits as it achieved its highest viewership ratings yet ahead of its final week. According to Nielsen Korea, the latest episode of the fantasy romance drama scored an average nationwide rating of 9.3 percent, marking a new personal record for the show.

 

“Alchemy of Souls” also remained first place in its time slot across all channels among the key demographic of viewers ages 20 to 49, with whom it earned a nationwide average of 4.4 percent.

 

“Alchemy Of Souls” And “It’s Beautiful Now” Soar To Their Highest Ratings Yet | Soompi

 

[sadthe1st]

1 hour ago, LeftCoastOppa said:

I don't like that she tried to give up Mu Deok, although its clear she did it simply for self preservation rather than malice.

she has been targetting mu deok for so many times that i find it's beyond forgiveness..

she is quickwitted to recognise him and bring up Jin Mu name into the defense.. but the pact to lure more mages to replenish his energy is way too selfish..

 

 

1 hour ago, LeftCoastOppa said:

I did have a hard time with Yul, after being saved by Lady Heo/So I that he once AGAIN tried to throw himself (literally) at the soulshifter

his mission is to protect.. he cannot bear seeing his juniors fight the soul shifter knowing that they will die..

my heroooo.....

 

 

 

1 hour ago, LeftCoastOppa said:

From the preview ... what is it that Park Jin has known all along?

mama jin used ice stone to revive bu yeon?

 

1 hour ago, LeftCoastOppa said:

the Crown Prince didn't even seem to notice her today

well, for a moment he did think her silouette was a fairy? hahahaha

although he prefers to grip jang uk's arm for protection much more

 

 

1 hour ago, kwayteow_mama said:

A longer fight scene for MD/Naksu. Is it just me or the soulshifter was kinda sluggish

+1

 

 

[LeftCoastOppa]

28 minutes ago, sadthe1st said:

she has been targetting mu deok for so many times that i find it's beyond forgiveness..

 

I didn't like it either, as I had hoped she would recognize by now the people who could actually help her. That said lets not forget, she was coerced into this role under threat of death, she is trying to stay alive nothing more.  She wasn't out to kill Mu Deok from the start, remember the scene where they cross paths outside the Jang compound? If she wanted her dead all she had to do was tell the Jin Mu minion to kill her, but she didn't because Mu Deok posed no threat to her safety. However that all changed when Mu Deok was the center of attention in the Songrim courtyard and called Jin Mom, omma. 

 

35 minutes ago, sadthe1st said:

his mission is to protect.. he cannot bear seeing his juniors fight the soul shifter knowing that they will die..

my heroooo.....

 

Sorry, from all we've seen Yul is smarter than this.  He already faced the soulshifter and was beaten badly ... and he has mastered Chisu - what could his underlings hope to do where he failed - now if he had shouted a warning to them to get back and attacked to buy them time to get away then maybe ... otherwise - Brave, but stupid.

 

38 minutes ago, sadthe1st said:

mama jin used ice stone to revive bu yeon?

 

An interesting theory but I don't think so - If Park Jin knew Bu Yeon was saved at birth by the Ice Stone, then by default he'd know the Ice Stone was not destroyed, yet we have that scene where he directly asks Master Lee if all Ice Stones were really destroyed

 

 

Since it sounds like the Queens voice yelling at him, Im guessing when she and Jin Mu are finally cornered she'll try to drag Park Jin and Songrim down with her by stating that he knew about the Kings Star plate and knew it was hidden, which she'll try to convince all who would listen, that the Songrim Mages were planning to overthrow the King ie: treason.

 

... and then its FIGHT ON!

 

[sadthe1st]

3 minutes ago, LeftCoastOppa said:

That said lets not forget,

guess i can only place my bet on the dna blood worm to kill her..

 

 

i have to try very hard to make sure she doesnt get her hands on seo yul..

 

4 minutes ago, LeftCoastOppa said:

otherwise - Brave, but stupid.

don't we all like cute silly guys??

 *swoons...*

 

okay, i forgot. it doesn't work on you..

 

 

6 minutes ago, LeftCoastOppa said:

yet we have that scene where he directly asks Master Lee if all Ice Stones were really destroyed

and the final ending would be, one poor villager boy somewhere, took out a piece of rag cloth carefully and preciously, revealed.. a shiny ice stone.. and the credits start rolling..

 

[LeftCoastOppa]

5 minutes ago, sadthe1st said:

guess i can only place my bet on the dna blood worm to kill her..

 

 OMO! I'd completely forgotten about that ... I'm sure Master Heo/Lady Heo can get it out of her somehow

 

 

6 minutes ago, sadthe1st said:

i have to try very hard to make sure she doesnt get her hands on seo yul..

 

She still might not - its just as honorable as Yul is, I don't think he'll allow her to come to harm after she revealed herself to save him ... He might offer her a fresh start and thats it ... no hand holding no kisses, you saved me and I saved you.

 

 

10 minutes ago, sadthe1st said:

don't we all like cute silly guys girls??

 *swoons...*

 

There fixed it ... ( hear that? somewhere @maribella is typing furiously )

 

 

12 minutes ago, sadthe1st said:

and the final ending would be, one poor villager boy somewhere, took out a piece of rag cloth carefully and preciously, revealed.. a shiny ice stone.. and the credits start rolling..

 

Yep - there's your season 3

 

With as much popularity as this drama has had, if Part 2 does half as good i can see it

 

[sadthe1st]

16 minutes ago, LeftCoastOppa said:

Yep - there's your season 3

 

With as much popularity as this drama has had, if Part 2 does half as good i can see it

doesn't it remind you of..

 

Spoiler

the Kingdom series.. lol

 

[LeftCoastOppa]

2 minutes ago, sadthe1st said:

doesn't it remind you of..

 

Thats exactly what I was thinking

 

What was it? ... Original ... Sequel ... Prequel?

[SleepyKitty]

Making clip from the latest episode

 

cr: TvN yt

[maribella]

6 hours ago, sadthe1st said:

mother jin (descendant of master seo’s love?) did use that one single ice stone to revive bu yeon the stillborn foetus..

 

(@maribella its THE part you wanted to know so badly

We knew this revival part ages ago, but her power etc. is not revealed - yet.  I am sure she's dead from the latest episode or if she just flies away like @LeftCoastOppa says, either way, we would not know anything about her. 
 

Doesn't she want to reunite with her mother?
 

Let us say that she grabbed Naksu so that she could teach UK and get him to save the land, also to bring her home. 
 

@LeftCoastOppa Are you still smitten by the fake? She was happy to get BY/MD/Naksu killed. Survival? That's when one lives on a farm eeking a living. So-I is too ambitious for a ferret. I am neutral on Naksu now, she has a conscience, thinks about other lives. But we will see, you may still be wrong about born again Naksu.

 

I feel sad about BY. A ghost almost.

[LeftCoastOppa]

10 minutes ago, maribella said:

I am sure she's dead from the latest episode or if she just flies away like @LeftCoastOppa says, either way, we would not know anything about her.

 

Not too sure she's dead - she was talking to Naksu within the Ice Stone after her choke out so I don't think she's gone just yet.  As for not getting to know her as a character, many of us were pointing that out several episodes ago, there wasn't enough time.

 

13 minutes ago, maribella said:

@LeftCoastOppa Are you still smitten by the fake? She was happy to get BY/MD/Naksu killed.

 

You must be reading last posts firsts, I made a rather large post with my current thoughts on So I and her actions in the most recent episode ... enjoy