Alchemy of Souls: Part 2 (2022)

<3 go yoonjung & lee jaewook <3

the best decision i ever made was not watching AOS part 1 while it was airing, bc there was no way i would have survived waiting months for part 2 after that cliffhanger in part 1.

i deeply admire and respect the people that stayed sane waiting for part 2 to come out. you guys are strong soldiers.

in my opinion, after binging s1 right before s2, i'm in the unpopular minority that slightly likes s2 more than s1, romance-wise. comedy-wise, s1 is definitely better. plot-wise...neither. they're both rushed and have their own issues.

the characters:

jang uk saying "i do not care for this world" had such a great effect on me that he instantly moved up my favorite characters of all time list. my favorance of morally grey characters shined in this, and while i did miss his sunshine character in s1, him in s2 gave me butterflies. (as per my notes while watching s2: HOW DOES JANG UK LOOK THIS GOOD IN SEASON 2. HE LOOKS FUCKING GORGEOUS. THE HAIR, THE STYLING, THE CONFIDENCE, (i mean yes he's sad, but OH MY GODS HE'S SO GOOD AT FIGHTING AND USING HIS SWORD).

thinking about buyeon in s2 makes me a little sad, because she was such a likeable character in this. she was a happy-go-lucky girl who was like rapunzel in the sense that she just wanted to explore the world and remember who she was. the fact that uk's and naksu's roles switch (midnight rain and sunshine) in s2 makes me sad but also ??? so smart of them to do that.

KIM DOJU AND PARK JIN OWN MY HEART. they have since s1 and i've just constantly been rooting for them. i need for them to act together or something bc i need to see them playful and cute and bickering again ajfenkljrafdf

the cast:

GYJ is SO SO SO SO SO CUTE. i cannot believe this is GYJ's first lead role??? she literally embodied what jung somin started in s1 and managed to seamlessly continue naksu right where she left in s1. that takes skill, on both GYJ and JSM's parts, to be able to make a character so distinct that you can easily tell who it is, especially in this confusing mess of soul-shifting. def looking into more of gyj's works after this.

literally almost all of the main casts' biggest role ever. even though LJW is the youngest, he's acted the most amongst the other actors who are also in their 20s in this show. this is the prince's first drama, minhyun's first drama, PIS's first lead, arin's first lead, GYJ's first lead. this is LJW's third lead (fourth if you count s2 as separate) and it SHOWS. i've seen LJW in extraordinary you and doldolsolsollalasol, and this is by far his best acting, obviously because he's grown so much as as an actor.

he definitely has the best chemistry with GYJ, out of all his roles. i mean, you can obviously look at the kiss scenes and tell, but even just looking at the behind the scenes and looking at his eyes and body language in the scenes of AOS makes it so obvious. they are the reason why s2 was so enjoyable for me.

the chemistry between not just LJW and GYJ, but between the entire cast is insane. it's so so so funny. but while the comedy in s1 felt more natural, in s2 it felt a little too inserted and forced—not bc of the actors, but because the comedy scenes were written in a tough spot. the entire premise of s2 is so so so sad, so adding in comedy is already so difficult. plus, season 2 is really built around jang uk's and naksu's tragic ending in season 1; there's this aura of sadness hanging over the entire season, and adding in comedy makes it feel fake, almost. (except for kim doju and park jin's scenes; those two have my entire heart and are absolutely hilarious no matter where they are).

the plot:

while s1 is and always will be iconic and hilarious and absolutely perfectly made, it was long and tedious. it had so much build-up to a rushed climax and conclusion. s2, on the other hand, is just as well-made, and is concise with great chemistry, but again, rushed. this is entirely the fault of the hong sisters, who's pacing in writing is absolutely horrible, while they do come up with the best ideas and comedy. they do so much front end work, and completely forget about the back end.

unpopular opinion (which i probably only have because i binged s1 right before s2 came out): i like buyeon a TINY bit more than mudeok. i love them both, don't get me wrong; mudeok's relationship with uk is hilarious and chaotic and is so funny, while buyeon's relationship is very cute and chemistry-filled and angst-ridden. both have their charms, and the only reason why i slightly prefer buyeon over mudeok is because LJW's and GYJ's chemstry is undeniably good.

i feel like they could have broken up the show better, and split the time between the two actresses equally. it being 20 v. 10 eps is one of the the reasons why some people dislike s2—they like mudeok more than bu-yeon. they've spent more time with one over the other. that, and the fact that bc s2 is so short, it feels rushed. they spent nearly 8 eps building up and talking about something happening, but the actual scene lasts only ten minutes. and then they conclude within ten minutes by giving a time-skip to a year later, with barely any interactions between the cast. (literally i would have given anything to see kim doju arranging an extravagant wedding ceremony for uk or taking care of him and naksu, or at least uk interacting w danggu and yul, rather than them just talking about each other).

the final battle and defeat of the villain felt underwhelming, and honestly he needed a crueler end. i really hoped naksu would come and kill him once and for all, bc this all started because he used her. and the most underwhelming thing of all: jang uk recognizing buyeon. while LJW acted amazing, i wish the director had told him to be more surprised, rather than just accept it quietly. if he saw the love of his life after believe she was dead for 3 years, the first thing he would do would at least be to hug her, right? is that not what jang uk would do for mudeok, his master? several underwhelming moments interspersed with overwhelmingly amazing ones (uk's fight scenes, kiss scenes, action sequences)

some of the lines in s2 though are absolutely breathtaking:

- "rather than use my coming death as a cowardly excuse to be together, it is much better for us to be tormented instead."
- "when it is on, i am sane. it is clear to me that i must send you back as i promised. but i go insane when it turns off. i just pine for you. that is why i came to see you."
- "evil always does what it wants without stopping. but why is it virtue always needs to prove itself over and over again?"
- "i do not care. i do not care for this world. the one person i wanted to protect is dead [1 ep. later] i do not care about what happens to this world. but if you touch her ever again, i will use my power as i please."
- (not a line perse but do not get me started on the end of ep 7/the beginning of ep 8 bc i might combust omg i cannot believe it goes from master yeom saying "they promised me they have a pure and innocent relationship" and then cuts to jang uk pushing buyeon against the wall, making out. hilarious.)

all in all: a great, great sequel to a great, great world. i just wish we would have paced it well, rather than use all of our energy in the beginning and leave nothing for the end.

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