Lea Jauris
The much anticipated Alchemy of Souls Part 2 was released on Netflix on 12 December. The series continues three years after the death of Naksu/Mu Deok. Resurrected by the power of the ice stone, Jang Uk is now a killer of rogue soul shifters, and is constantly tormented by the guilt of his inability to protect the woman he loved. It is obvious that he still yearns for his master and has not accepted her death.
Background
Jin Ho-Gyeong (Park Eun-Hye) is revealed to have tried to bring Mu Deok – the original heir of the Jinyowon family, back to life. She received the help of Master Lee Cheol (Lim Chul-Soo) for this task. As Jin Bu Yeon’s soul could not be saved, her mother chooses to place Naksu’s soul into her body. In a strange turn of events, Jin Bu Yeon’s body now resembles Naksu, who is left without her memories or powers and believes that she is Jin Bu Yeon, the heir of Jinyowon.
Too Unconvincing
“seems too far-fetched, even for the fantasy series”
The story behind Naksu’s resurrection seems too far-fetched, even for the fantasy series. The fact that Jin Ho-Gyeong chose to let Naksu’s soul live in her daughter’s body seems unbelievable, since it is very apparent how much everyone hated Naksu. Moreover, the fact that the wisest masters of Songrim were unable to recognize Naksu is also quite frustrating.
Go Yoon-Jung delivers an amazing performance as the female lead of the series, but her character lacks the charm and deadliness that Mu Deok/Naksu from the previous part had. The attempt to bring humour fails as the writers overuse Jin Bu Yeon’s “my beauty is unmatched” phrase.
New Stories
Alchemy of Souls Part 2 has presented a lot of new stories for the supporting characters that provide depth to them, rather than having all characters as ornaments to the lead’s story. An example of this is Seo Yul’s (Minhyun) injury and how So-I is going to great lengths to protect him. The Queen’s frustrations and evil side coming out and how the crown prince, Go Won(Shin Seung-Ho), would tackle it is also yet to be seen.
“It is unbelievable how Jo Jae-Yun instils so much hate in the viewers towards his character”
The one character who is consistent throughout parts one and two is Jin Mu. It is unbelievable how Jo Jae-Yun instills so much hate in the viewers towards his character. His actual plans are still unclear and how his end would turn out to be is one main question that remains in the plot.
Character Development
The person carrying the heavy load of the story is Lee Jae-Wook’s Jang -Uk, who has now lost his boyish innocence, lightness and fun. He has turned into a serious persona and has a dark aura surrounding him. Jae-Wook does a splendid job of portraying Jang Uk’s angst, loneliness, his wait for Mu-deok and his longing for death. Though Jang Uk has turned into a much darker character, the writers have preserved his innocence in scenes with Jin Bu Yeon, where it is visible how flustered he is. He also becomes much lighter in the presence of his friends or Park Jin, the former head of Songrim.
“It is exciting to wait and see how the trio would support and fight for each other as the plot tightens”
The trio – Jang Uk, Yoo In Soo and Seo Yul – have all developed into more mature characters, especially Yoo In Soo, who is now the head of Songrim. It is exciting to wait and see how the trio would support and fight for each other as the plot tightens.
Throught Alchemy of Souls Part 2, a ‘things could burst out of control at anytime’ vibe is eluded. The anticipation of Naksu’s return, as well as Jang Uk and his reuniting against evil forces, builds as each episode passes.
Featured image courtesy of Jr Korpa via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes have been made to this image.
