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

[sadthe1st]

26 minutes ago, orion00 said:

I am still curious what is Danju

i'm watching eng subs.. the chinese subs might have a clearer word for word for it but i'm guessing its the same words as 党主 which literally mean sect leader, or gang leader.

[orion00]

@sadthe1st so I guess Danju is more powerful than the mage. Curious what is her role and it's seem she cannot reveal herself she is Danju

[iamsherry]

How silly of me to think about this master pupil idea. On my first reply after watching ep8, I was kinda sulking why there’s no romance between my biases. Jung Uk and MD. ‘‘twas written without watching the preview of next episode.
Will there be romance? I don’t know what kind of exam she’ll be taking.  Mu deok is somehow getting physical.. love fairy please do come and bless us some romance. 

[ferily]

Of course the preview tricks us all and Jang Wook didn’t actually end up switching souls. They really got me there!! I thought Jang Wook would really end up getting soul shifted… The way Mu Deok/Naksu and Jang Wook care for one another is just too precious. Also real Mu Deok was the one that saved Jang Wook from the soul shifting. I hope they will explain Mu Deok’s true identity more

 

The battle that we’ve all been waiting for is here and Jang Wook vs. crown prince!! My goodness, the way he fought, you can just see how much he improved from the beginning. He really goes better with his swordsmanship and now spells! I feel like a proud person seen Jang Wook fight and win. And omg he was so 멋있어 (cool) when he was fighting Gil Ju with the blue cloth. Everyone gotta know that it was him that fought Gil Ju now, right?!?

 

Also yay for Master Lee vouching for Jang Wook and saying he was there teaching Wook tansu. (When we all know it’s Naksu/Mu Deok that did it haha..) now that Jang Wook is accepted into Songrik, he’ll really become a mage and learn how to do sorcery and spells properly!

 

Hmmm about the master-pupil route between Jang Wook and Mu Deok, Lee Jae Wook and Jung So Min did say it’s a romance drama: so let us not lose hope yet because I still believe there will be romance  I’m rooting for you, Jang Wook and Mu Deok/Naksu!!

 

 

[sadthe1st]

17 minutes ago, orion00 said:

so I guess Danju is more powerful than the mage

i'm not sure how this drama defines danju especially its a fantasy and not following conventional rules..

they could have been an unorthodox gang that practise sorcery forbidden by songrim..

[kwayteow_mama]

2 hours ago, orion00 said:

I almost thought that Jang Uk will choose Master Lee as his master instead of going to Songrim but I guess he want to proof he is his father's son.

@orion00 same thoughts as you here. If it were me, I'd choose one on one with Songrim founder's disciple. Though on hindsight MD/Naksu understands how much it meant to Jang Uk.

 

Looks like we're heading into the second arc of the story.

 

Hope Yul's injury is nothing to worry about. My heart goes out to him even though I'm team Uk-Mudeok. And I'm not sure my heart can take it when Heo granddaughter comes into the picture!!!

 

Some fine acting with that teardrop from JSM and the gummy OST!!! *chef's kiss*  credit to owner.

 

Man the preview reminds me of Chinese stories where the wife works hard for the scholar husband who is away studying for the imperial exam.

[kwayteow_mama]

23 minutes ago, ferily said:

Hmmm about the master-pupil route between Jang Wook and Mu Deok, Lee Jae Wook and Jung So Min did say it’s a romance drama: so let us not lose hope yet because I still believe there will be romance  I’m rooting for you, Jang Wook and Mu Deok/Naksu!!

I don't know how to express this correctly but.. granted that their master/disciple relationship is the backbone of the story, there's no denial to their romantic interaction or action but they label it as loyalty/duty of a master/disciple or a mother bird looking after her egg. I mean the dude need to ask his wife, ahem I mean, master/maid to decide on where to train! I guess it's just young love. Anyway, I think my reaction is best encapsulated by Master Lee's reaction here:

 

 

 

[rocat]

5 hours ago, rocat said:

I enjoyed reading all these theories being brought up but I also agree that these theories are being defended like theses out of love for the show :0)
 

 

 

Here’s another:

Wonder if Jang Gang has been in hiding and creating the black powder under duress for the baddies. He has a secret to hide and that’s been found out by Jin Mu. Perhaps in return for silence, Jang Gang becomes the supplier for the soul shifting drug since he is the only one who knows how.
 

the eunuch serving Jin Mu is perhaps the one transporting the glass orbs from Jang Gang. Otherwise where are they from? Eunuch goes to the Queen too but I can’t imagine that the Queen being the chemist unless she is a powerful mage too. But she gets ‘medicinal supplies’ for some reason…a secret stash of orbs maybe? Since no one would dare rummage through her drawers.
 

Gah, the Queen!

Spoiler

She’s the leader of the sect out to destroy mages and the keeper of the ice stone. She must be a powerful mage then, no? 

Queen wants Jang Uk on her team…she underestimates him - that kid isn’t going to be easy to handle. I do wonder if her abilities gave her the arrogance. Royalty too , this Dangu. If Uk did enter, would he be Gwanju-designate? Heh…Asst Gwanju will tear his hair out.

 

so Naksu was brainwashed into thinking that the mage families wronged hers and the Dangu people trained her so well that she became notorious yet used her hate to keep her loyal. Loneliness can really do some damage. 
 

so glad to see some connection between Uk-Deok. It seems they have a new relationship -mage/ protective charm. Keke. I like it.

 

that she sent her blood to Uk during the fight with the crown prince in the absence of water just so he could use Tansu sent tingles all the way to my toes. Such a cool save. But how is it possible that others who saw her shoot blood across like that not suspect her identity as a lowly maid? 

blindfolded Mu deok remains a mystery…but it was most certainly the ice stone in her that blocked the soul shifting spell. If Naksu took her body, was her soul with Uk the entire time? In the jade egg that was the connection? 
 

just realized tt Uk has fairly thick lips. 

 

 

 

[ferily]

Also gotta mention Jang Wook asking his master, Mu Deok, where he should go first before deciding  Of course he’s asking his master to guide him where to go. The glances they gave each other and Mu Deok nodding her head in assurance, ugh so cute. MVP Mu Deok though for using her blood so that Jang Wook can use tansu against the Crown Prince! That Tansu knocked CP out!

 

Finally, the preview where Mu Deok and Jang Wook hug and both smile. Aww the two of them must’ve missed each other since I’m thinking based on the preview, Mu Deok won’t be able to go inside of Songrim where Jang Wook is.

[backstreetboysfan]

OMG so he did not switch souls yay.

I still believe that Jang Uk and Mu Deok will have a love story.

 

Aww those hugs

[backstreetboysfan]

Here is the ratings for Episode 8! .

 

 

“Alchemy Of Souls” Ratings Climb Back Up To All-Time High

Viewership ratings for tvN’s “Alchemy of Souls” have returned to the show’s all-time high!

 

On July 10, the popular fantasy romance drama starring Lee Jae Wook and Jung So Min enjoyed a significant increase in viewership as it remained first place in its time slot across all cable channels. According to Nielsen Korea, the latest episode of “Alchemy of Souls” scored an average nationwide rating of 6.8 percent, matching its personal record from its fourth episode.

 

“Alchemy Of Souls” Ratings Climb Back Up To All-Time High | Soompi

[iamsherry]

Jang Uk soul was stop to ascend by the blind folded Mu deok, that for whatever reason, she was also present in that dimension after Gil joo casted the alchemy of souls spell. Mu deok identity is getting more mysterious here. 
Finally the duel we have been looking forward has come and it also showed us the true face of the queen. The real Danju leader who has the ice stone in her possession.  So it seems like there is some history between her Choi family and Songrim which will be Her hatred towards Songrim and everything related to it seems to have something to do with the war from 200 years ago. 

Elsewhere, Mu-deok also has butterflies around her but we can see that her heart is certainly doing summersaults for a certain young master of hers (Jang Uk) and I can’t wait for when the feelings finally come out. (In most of the aired episodes, i can see the glimpses of romance of course but this series is not  the typically romantic. Meanwhile on tonight episode I was entertained by the parks in romance department. Park Jin confidence fly outside of the window, he’s approach express his feelings to maid servant is funny. His nephew is the same as he is.

 

[LeftCoastOppa]

So Episode 8 ...

 

- Spirit Mu-Deok saves Jang-Uk inside the alchemy of souls - best episode start yet!

 

- First complaint though - WHY WHY WHY was this not discussed more between these 2 after he woke up???

 

- Finally we're getting small acknowledgements of what they mean to each other ... Mu-Deok hugged him first 

 

- looks like the "fathers death" arc comes to an end, and "revenge for father" begins

 

- Yun-Ok ... someones got a new crush on Jang-Uk ... and she knows he is the "blue mage" chasing the soulshifter ... fun times ahead, you can already smell the jealousy

 

- Teacher Lee seems to already know whats inside of Mu-Deok. When the others are worried Jang-Uk has soulshifted, he is certain "she" would protect him ... and we get that cut scene of Mu-Deok absorbing something (Ice stone?) from a shadowy figure.

 

- Park Jin & Maidservant Kim ... the walls are falling fast ... and next episode looks like some Park Jin jealousy

 

- While I'm firmly on team Jang-Uk/Mu-Deok, I do not want to see Yul turn dark ... we have enough baddies without making him one.

 

- Cho-Yeon & Dang-Gu ... when rumors become fact ... well played Master Dang-Gu ... well played

 

- The Ice Stone ... so not only was it supposed to have been destroyed (but wasn't) it seems it wasn't just the founder but someone from house Jin as well ... now that scene from last episode - where House Jin mother talks about being betrayed by a Songrim mage and Park Jin asks if a Songrim mage has ever been in Jinyowon - starts to make a whole lot more sense

 

- Please don't make the Crown Prince go vengeful just when it looked like he and Jang-Uk were off to a goofy begrudging respect ... uneasy friends work well here not enemies.

 

 

Its gonna be a loooooooong wait til next week

 

[sadthe1st]

2 hours ago, LeftCoastOppa said:

While I'm firmly on team Jang-Uk/Mu-Deok, I do not want to see Yul turn dark ... we have enough baddies without making him one.

was that because he absorbed the dark sorcery from Mu Deok's wound?

 

2 hours ago, LeftCoastOppa said:

Yun-Ok ... someones got a new crush on Jang-Uk ... and she knows he is the "blue mage" chasing the soulshifter ... fun times ahead, you can already smell the jealousy

haha she was the same lady from infirmary that i was guessing she could be paired with the crown prince next time, guess not..

 

==

Park Jin is so cheesy with his pick up lines and confession!!

 

[rocat]

2 hours ago, iamsherry said:

Jang Uk soul was stop to ascend by the blind folded Mu deok, that for whatever reason, she was also present in that dimension after Gil joo casted the alchemy of souls spell. Mu deok identity is getting more mysterious here.
Finally the duel we have been looking forward has come and it also showed us the true face of the queen. The real Danju leader who has the ice stone in her possession.  So it seems like there is some history between her Choi family and Songrim which will be Her hatred towards Songrim and everything related to it seems to have something to do with the war from 200 years ago. 

 

Elsewhere, Mu-deok also has butterflies around her but we can see that her heart is certainly doing summersaults for a certain young master of hers (Jang Uk) and I can’t wait for when the feelings finally come out. (In most of the aired episodes, i can see the glimpses of romance of course but this series is not  the typically romantic. Meanwhile on tonight episode I was entertained by the parks in romance department. Park Jin confidence fly outside of the window, he’s approach express his feelings to maid servant is funny. His nephew is the same as he is.

 

the pics you have are of my favorite scenes in ep8!  
 

I like that Master Lee stood up for Uk but when he said he saw Uk practise flicking water drops, it sounded …idle…hahaha

[LadyIgraine]

I haven’t seen ep 8 yet, I’m gonna watch it later.

 

here’s my spoiler theory:

 

Spoiler

Anyways, the theory about Mudeok being the Jin’s missing eldest daughter is becoming more plausible. And like what I read with the fan theory, she’s likely powerful. The others have mentioned she might have the Ice Stone hid inside her (without her knowledge) is a high possibility. I have a feeling that the Jin matriarch hid her away on purpose due to this. The story she’s led everyone to believe is that Buyeon went missing, and that her husband is out looking for her all this time. What if the founder of Songrim decided to have the Jin family hid the Ice Stone in secret, considering their status as a keeper of all things magical (whether good or bad) ?! Since Buyeon is the eldest daughter, and the Jin’s have a history of females inheriting the titles, she was destined to be a “keeper.” What if when Buyeon was born, she was bestowed something special (the Ice Stone). And she was born to be its keeper, and it’ll likely be awaken when the time comes. Jinmu could have been a threat to Buyeon’s existence, or rather, could have malicious intent to influence her growing up. Just look at what he did to Naksu.

 

[orion00]

My theory is blind Mu Deok is the ice stone but in human form. She was weak and blind for purpose. So technically blind Mu Deok itself in enchanted object with no soul and Naksu shift soul into blind Mu Deok and give the ice stone soul and somehow it become stronger (not physically probably more like internally stronger - don't know how to put it). So Master Lee aware how is Jang Uk and Mu Deok (not master-pupil pair) but far more important that that. Naksu/MuDeok combo is the key of Jang Uk fate and Master Lee himself make sure MuDeok won't run wild like other soul but instead will help Jang Uk. Even Master Lee is not their master, I'm pretty sure he will keep his eyes on them till the end. If the ice stone must be destroyed toward the end of drama, it would say it is another typical Hong's sister signature to separate ML and FL lead and give open ending.

 

[iamsherry]

@rocat That’s my favorites scenes too, specially the scenes during soul switching, that at some point I taught she will kiss Jung Uk in that dimension. Hahaha .

[breakmyheart]

39 minutes ago, orion00 said:

My theory is blind Mu Deok is the ice stone but in human form. She was weak and blind for purpose. So technically blind Mu Deok itself in enchanted object with no soul and Naksu shift soul into blind Mu Deok and give the ice stone soul and somehow it become stronger (not physically probably more like internally stronger - don't know how to put it). 

 

This is my exact same thought too. I was thinking that the blind Mu Deok is the actual missing ice stone and Naksu's soul is now in it.

[orion00]

26 minutes ago, breakmyheart said:

This is my exact same thought too. I was thinking that the blind Mu Deok is the actual missing ice stone and Naksu's soul is now in it.

The reason of my theory because Mu Deok don't have the blue mark at the shoulder only her eyes turn blue (again not permanently) and just Jang Uk can see it. I don't think others saw it despite she put an eye drops. The ice stone is so powerful that it can open the Jin family gate and most enchanted object knows her. Probably ice stone also fated to be with the 'real king' in this case Jang Uk somehow it kind of return to the right owner.