Alchemy of Souls: Part 2 (2022)

An engaging sequel, but not a necessary one

Even though I’ve marked my review as a spoiler, I really don’t think I’ve given out anything you didn’t anyway expect. But still read at your own risk.

Let’s start with the good. But before that, a very special shout-out to whoever has styled Lee Jae Wook this season, my man is always charming but he looks drop dead gorgeous here. Moving on:
-This part is as engaging as its former; there are times when I’m mad annoyed, but I never skip seeing the episode on time. Even when an episode feels like a filler, I’m invested.
-Most of the cast is just great as we know, but I’m mentioning it again just for Go Yoon Jung who possessed the seamless ability to switch between Naksu and Bu Yeon (basically memory-less Naksu) perfectly.
-GYJ and LJW had electric chemistry, weirdly I felt it more in the parts where Naksu had lost her memory and Jang Uk thought of her as Bu Yeon. The push and pull and the tension was just WOW. They were so natural together, and the show really utilised their chemistry well with all those kissing scenes lol.
-The word building for part 2 was also great, a new world where the ice stone was exposed to all seemed colder, darker and more hopeless (the rules like in first part, were very convenient though, even more so here)
-The show as a whole never loses its humour; there are so many things I can complain about, but they always manage their tone of serious with good laughes in between.


The bad:
-The show has since season 1, been way too obvious about the bad guys. Jinmu’s evil smirks, the unanimous assembly and the King being dumb power-hungry idiots, Seo Yul’s cousin having hidden intentions, the queen only caring about soul-swapping for a more beautiful body - it’s all so panifully obvious about whose intentions are evil and we know above all somehow it is Jinmu heading them all.
-Some characters have just been around and not done much when needed. Seo Yul has a good amount of screen time but has never added anything substantial to the big moments. Jin Cho Yeon being the younger daughter of the Jin family could have brought chaos in her own ways, but she comes and goes when needed. Master Lee is ofcourse a must mention, he gives his speeches, does not reveal what he knows to the right people, and vanishes away as he pleases.
-One thing this show is consistent in, is keeping the love story at its core and centre (much at the expense of all the other plot lines). As much as I like seeing Naksu and Jang UK’s love story, it’s pointless to have these many dedicated one sided love lines. Crown Prince and Yul for Naksu, a very useless Lady Yun Ok for Jang Uk, Sol-i for Seo Yul (this at least made sense plot-wise so I’ll let it go). Like just get some of them together, what’s the harm? I was convinced in part 1 that towards the end Yun Ok and Seo Yul could have a romance but they somehow made her very annoying and mean for no reason in part 2. Dan Gu and Cho Yeon love story also came with very little build up, they were cute, but that’s it. There could have been a lot more to their love story, but I guess they had to save screen time for Jin Mu’s smirks. I’m very glad though that Kim Do Jo and Park Jin got their fair share of romance in this part.
-Naksu’s reveal, in episode 9 (very concerning and stupid by the way how Jang Uk did not realise it was Naksu inspite of NUMEROUS hints and a similar way of talking), was pretty underwhelming. I enjoyed their scenes before it too, but it felt like a different love story all together so at this point I expected passion, drama, something? They were like let us feign ignorance. I was like okay. That’s it? It felt a little too underwhelming. I was atleast expecting a typical moment compilation.
-I am not someone who complains about logic and stuff a lot in a kdrama, especially one of fantasy genre, but all in all there was a lot of stuff that could have been solved easily. Crown Prince could have just sided with Jang Uk earlier and the show could have wrapped up sooner. There were these filler romance episodes in between too, that were fun to see, but added nothing to the overall plot line. As usual again, we never saw Naksu in full form. This part has and will always annoy me. This show actually teases us since the beginning that this is a Naksu show, but part 1 ends up being more about Jang Uk’s journey. That is why I walked in part 2 with lower expectations.

All in all, what bothers me is when a show has all the right elements and can easily be one of the best ones out there, but screws itself up by underutilising some of the characters and messing up the storyline in the dumbest ways imaginable, I felt this was a problem in part 1 as well, but even more so here.

I assume if you’re reading all this you’ve obviously seen part 1 and are wondering if you want to see part 2 as well. In spite of all my complains, I won’t say I didn’t enjoy it, which is why the rating is still that high. This part is as I said, very engaging. I’m annoyed, but I’m somehow always entertained. And if you are someone whose main interest is the romantic aspect, this part precisely serves that, and very well until the first 8 episodes. The chemistry is great in both parts, but I felt it is even better in this part.

The show absolutely did not need the part 2, a lot of this could have been wrapped up in S1 if the show had lesser filler episodes, but since we are here, and we are invested, your core reasons to watch can be to follow all our beloved characters storylines and seeing most of the cast look even better in their new get-ups. It’s best to keep your expectations at rock bottom, storyline wise, and actually watch for the romance.

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