Alchemy of Souls 2: Light and Shadow – Episode 3 & 4 | starfromouterspace’s K-Drama Thoughts

*WARNING* SPOILERS FOR ALCHEMY OF SOULS PART 1 and 2!* All images belong to tvN and Netflix.

Preface

Unfortunately for this week, I watched these episodes while ill. So while it might not quite be a fever dream, it was still a little hazy watching!

Some random things about this drama I picked up this week to note:

– The ‘Uk’ in Jang Uk’s name means ‘light’ while the ‘Yeong’ in Cho-Yeong’s name (Naksu’s name) means ‘shadow/sorrow’

– The best YouTube comment about this show so far has got to be:

‘Season 1: He was sunshine she was midnight rain

Season 2: She was sunshine he was midnight rain’

Unfortunately I cannot find who said this, but credit to who did, it perfectly sums up the dynamic swap of Jang Uk and Naksu. Plus, combining Taylor Swift and K-Drama? A winner in my books!

Week 2 | Episode 3 & 4
17th-18th December 2022

After what I thought was an excellent return to Daeho in the first two episodes, the pressure was on to follow up. Here are my main points from episode 3 and 4.

A bit of a let down?

I could blame it on the fact that I had been in bed for a week and wasn’t quite on my A game. But it would seem either way that I might be in the minority to say that this weeks episodes didn’t do it for me at all.

After the tightly knitted opening two episodes and the Jang Uk bombshell at the end of last week, I was fully prepared for this week to keep up the pace. Instead I felt that this weeks episodes dropped a bag of plotlines onto the ground and let them race off. The storytelling to me felt bitty and overall it felt like a lot happened but not a lot happened while we saw everyone but didn’t see anyone. This weeks epiosdes were on the slightly shorter side compared to week 1, but with the pace bought down they felt much longer.

Normally a couple of slower episodes is a given in a K-Drama, but what concerned me at the end of this week was the lack of focus in whatever is meant to be the driving force or main plot when there are only 6 episodes left. There is not a whole lot of time left, with a whole lot of continuing plot lines from Part 1 to resolve as well as new? ones that have arrived this time round. I still have confidence that they will put it off, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly worried.

This aside, what did happen this week and what were my main takeaways?

The Queen and Jin Mu are plotting.... again?

My biggest confusion is this whole drought plot line, and its maybe connection to the Queen and Jin Mu. The short of what the Queen and Jin Mu plan to do is for the Queen’s cousin (a member of the Seo family) to marry Jin Bu-Yeon, so that they have access to Jinyowon and it’s relics, and therefore a way to remove the ice stone from Jang Uk. The Queen hates her new body enough to basically poison her ladies in waiting and Jin Mu is still his creepy non effective villainous self.

This weeks plot all culminating in episode 4 revolved around the ‘return of Naksu’ orchestrated by Jin Mu and the Queen in order for Jang Uks credibility amongst the public and to shake him and make him ditch his new wife in favour of the possibility of Naksu.

I think.

Overall is this plot really grabbing me? Honestly not really. I don’t know where it is going, and I do not know if it is connected to the weird things that Master Lee is finding in the wells that is drying them up. With so much going on and so little screentime for Jin Mu and his crafty doings, this plotline is one of many things to keep a track of and the lack of flow doesn’t help intertwine the story within the others effectively yet. The only purpose Jin Mu has served so far is to be the sole potential person to rumble Bu-Yeon/Naksu, but even that so far as been dealt with swiftly.

I will repeat again, the quicker Jin Mu is dispatched of, the better.

So-Yi returns

The question ‘what is So-Yi’s’ deal’ has been answered.

In the intervening years, So-Yi has become the Queen of Daeho’s underground gambling business, while performing the duties as number 1 scoundrel to Jin Mu – all in return for the medicine to counter against the blood worm that Jin Mu put into her (which she then put into Seo Yul in Part 1).

It turns out that she has been sending that medicine to Yul and Yul works this out and spends the majority of this week searching for her. At the end of episode 4, alas, we have to wait another week to see whether Yul gets his answers.

So-Yi remains one of the most interesting characters of the show. In part 1 she did everything to survive and uses her smarts to do so. Part 2 is no different, but with added power she has become quite formidable – she really wears it well. She is one of the greyest characters who clearly will do anything for her own gain, but when it comes to Yul, she wavers.

Speaking of Seo Yul

Poor Yul.

He is letting guilt eat him from the inside. Quite literally (he’s refusing to take the medicine).

Seo Yul pretty much remains the same as he did. I do love Yul’s flustered loss of sense of direction, which was a lovely touch bought over from Part 1. His conversation with Bu-Yeon was sweet and eerily familiar to his one with Mu-Deok which gives him pause (and heartbreak to the viewers). Although I thought Bu-Yeon’s and Yul’s conversation was a lovely way to re-introduce their relationship, echoing the sweetness that was Yul’s and Mu-Deoks interactions, I trust that the show will not be re-visitng this part of the love square, considering the way the two (Yul and Mu-Deok) gained closure with their conversation at the end of Part 1. It is unnecsesary in the time we have left.

Personally, I am all for exploring So-Yi and Yul. With them finally meeting, you can sense something is about to go down as he gets his answers… Yes, she basically damned him, but it was all out of love okay?!

But please Yul, save yourself? I just hope that he can find forgiveness within himsel, so he knows that he shouldn’t have to die to atone for his ‘sins’ – regardless whether Naksu returned or not.

The Crown Prince AKA side 4 of the love square

As full of honey was Mu-Deok/Bu-Yeon’s and Yul’s interactions, the new Naksu’s interactions with the Crown Prince have not changed since her Mu-Deok character. That is, still full of (unintended) arselicking, guilt-tripping and flattery. The Prince now has a pet turtle, they don’t know who each other are, but the familiarity of their interaction is one that I enjoy, particularly their scene in episode 4. Replace Bu-Yeon’s face with Mu-Deok’s and it could well have been from Part 1.

Unfortunately it is the only insight we have so far into Go Won. How he will play a part in the political parts of the drama remains to be seen. As far as the central 4 male characters, he remains more detached from the central parts of proceedings and its anyone’s guess how his character will keep developing in the next few weeks.

Bu-Yeon and Jang Uk

The ‘main’ plot of these episodes is Jang Uk finally coming to terms with Mu-Deoks ‘death’ and allowing himself to finally grieve.

At the end of the episode after the ‘killing’ of Naksu, he finally lets himself cry. With some well-timed and placed advice from the elders around him (big up Park Jin and his ‘you choose your own fate’ game with the rice cakes) episode 4 sees Jang Uk starting to face his demons and see what is in front of him.

I will be in the minority of, unfortunately, not feeling anything from their relationship development this week, nor did I think their storylines packed as much punch as they should.

This stems from bitty episodes and multiple plotlines making the show lose sight of its main draw and most important plotline – Bu-Yeon and Jang Uk. In Part 1, they were the main plotline and the main driving force behind the series and it worked well. Sadly this is missing so far in Part 2. With the majority of their impactful scenes bookending the episodes rather than being the main focus throughout, it loses steam and the flow is broken when we circle back to them.

Unfortunately for me, it means the end of episode 4 felt almost underserved. The excellent acting by Lee Jae-Wook and Go Yoon-Jung on screen together, particularly in the heart-breaking confrontation about the jade eggs and then Jang Uk’s subsequent display of ‘he’s tough on the outside but a teddy bear inside’ act with the fireflies were highlights of the week. But as with any highlights, are few and far between and are not given the chance to show us more of their relationship development.

Granted, it was important to see Bu-Yeons growing independence and to demonstrate to us she still has all her Naksu instincts and behaviours that are achingly familiar (she jumped into a tub of water!). Bu-Yeon spent the majority of this week feeling abandoned and she needed to understand why. Go Yoon-Jung continues to eerily embody Jung So-min’s Naksu in her own way that is impressive to watch.

This could be what was required to allow Jang Uk his alone time to develop himself and to face his guilt over Mu-Deok, which is arguably the biggest theme of this week and lead to the Lee Jae-Wooks excellent performance at the end of episode 4 where you can feel how much pain he is in.

But with only 3 weeks left, one can’t help but think if the drama had chosen its plotlines more selectively we would have had so much more time to focus on them, individual and joint development. With Jang Uk still in denial and the jade egg mystery still unresolved to them both, I am left biting my nails wondering when the other shoe is going to drop.

So much angst! So much pain! Not enough time!

And not even forgetting the whole ‘I married you to kill me’ setup.

What I am asking for is there needs to be more Bu-Yeon and Jang Uk, please!

Too much, too little

I mentioned at the top of this post that it felt like we saw everyone, but didn’t see anyone. Over these two episode, Jin Cho-Yeon was on screen for less than 5 minutes. How do Dang-Gu and Cho-Yeon resolve anything if they’re never on screen together? Master Lee is still the unexplained spector at the feast and the political plotlines are treading water. I am waiting for the drama to pick up the pace again so we can get moving through it all more effectively!

My other highlights and thoughts

Jang Uk’s plotting game is enough to make his master proud
Heo Young-Ok…. I don’t like it when the secondary female characters are made to act petty and bitchy for the sake of a guy. Gal, you’re smart, pretty and talented. You can do so much better for yourself.
The Queen clearly has had her mind f*cked up from all that time being locked up.
The turtle is so cute and in lore, is a euphemism for a penis which makes it funnier that Bu-Yeon offered it to the ‘Eunuch’ Crown Prince
The Crown Prince and his expressive eyebrows are still impressive. Plus, the cinnamon wine!
When the seasons are gathered together, the scene will always be brilliant

My unanswered questions - answered!

Were any of my questions from last week answered?

How is So-Yi now so refined and able to afford what she is wearing?! What part will she play in the show?
A: She is still alive because Jin-Mu allows her to. How much further it will go? Lets see, but to be honest, I think Jin Mu has some form of respect, or a soft spot where So-Yi is concerned. She did after all, put up with all he put her through in Part 1.
With next weeks teasers…. are we in for love square part 2?
A: The main players have all be reintroduced into Naksu’s life. It remains to be seen what part they will play in her life.
Jin Mu recognises Naksu’s face…. which begs the question, was Naksu so notorious and good at hiding who she is (makes sense since no-one knew who she was) that no one knows her real appearance? Jin Mu scares me and the sooner he is taken down, the better for my nerves.
A: We now have had multiple comments about how she seemed familiar and the show is clearly trying to differentiate between the two (‘she may have Naksu’s face, but Naksu wasn’t as dainty or small’ -Jin-Mu). Artistic license that, considering it is the same actress playing Naksu!
What are the rocks that Jang Uk keeps visiting? I think I’m missing something. Is that the place where Mu-Deok stabbed him?
A: the graveyard he has built in the forest for all the petrified soul shifters, including Naksu’s,

My unanswered questions

Week 1

How will Seo-Yul feel about Naksu? Given the peace he came to at the end of Part 1, I hope that we can see his character develop in other ways.
Will they ever revisit Naksu’s tree… ?
I wonder how Naksu will feel when she comes to knowing her energy is gone…. but she’ll have divine powers?
Were those priestess guards around Jinyowon always there…?

Week 2
What is happening to the wells?
How quickly will Bu-Yeon’s memory return?

Final thoughts

Its mainly been negative this post, but that’s not to say I didn’t dislike everything. I will chalk it up to my general un-enthusiasm to do much rather than sleep last week!

I still enjoyed this weeks episodes, it was still more brilliant immersion into the world and the characters. But with my expectations up there after the first two episodes, I can’t be blamed for demanding more especially in such a limited series run when I expect quality above quantity. I don’t want to be forgetting what has happened in episodes out of banality (episode 3 *cough*) when there are so few episodes in the first place.

I look forward to seeing the fallout from Bu-Yeon and Jang Uk’s episode 4 ending and the teasers look promising that we may get more development there! Yes please to that, and no thank you to the political non-intrigue!

Blue Flower by LIA (ITZY) has proven to be an excellent addition to the soundtrack, coming in at just the right emotional moments: