Alchemy of Souls Season 2: Light and Shadow (2022)

UKYEONG COUPLE!!

I was so sad about jung somin not being the main lead this season, I thought the chemistry was not as great but I was wrong! Their chemistry is immaculate. I didn't expect those steamy kissing scene?. This gives me Xianxia drama vibes. I really like this cause i like fantasy dramas. The story was so good and the acting was nice, every episode was so worth watching there's no boring part. The editing skill is so sick, I like the visual effects.
What i dislike about this is the ending it could have been better , it was rushed like wth. I know jang uk was super strong but it was the fire bird his fighting!, the fighting scene could've been so epic.
Also the episodes should've been more, they should've shown what jang uk and cho yeong's story after all those events, like how they start they're new life.
STILL this drama was 10 out of 10 ?

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Pretty good but not as good as 1st part

First of all, it was an extremely beautiful show, and the cgi were crafted masterfully, Change of the female lead was a bit shocking at first but after watching this I have no complaint at all, The new girl did an amazing job, and the chemistry between both the of the main leads was pretty amazing, a tad bit different than the first season cz they had this master student thing going on between them and I liked that more, Kinda makes it a guilty pleasure I guess but still they had pretty good chemistry between them,
Now the reason I said it's not as good as the first part of bcz this season had less story telling and more padding the run time, I am not a fan of amnesia trope cz it makes no sense to me in any scenario, also UK became so OP that nobody could beat him so that became a bit bothersome, I mean by a technical stand point I do understand it's a bit difficult to make mages fight each other without making it boring, usually it seems like they're just throwing colorful wind at each other with their hands but at least they should've given the main hero a worthy memorable last fight, even that last dragon didn't posed much of a threat to him so all those things became pretty convinient and dull,
Last thing that makes it lesser than season 1 was it's predictable ending, I knew that bu Yeon would sacrifice and give her body to naksu from the very moment they mentioned this plot point so there goes any tension that might've built up,
I see people complaining about misogyny or weak female or all that woke bullshit, they are just blinded by their own complexes and absence of knowledge of storytelling and skills, Anybody who wants to have good time and watch a fantasy drama rather than some political or social agenda should watch this show, it's highly recommended for fun lovers

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A Revolving Door of Souls in One Body

This sequel promised to bring more intrigue between the opposing factions of mages with Uk now being possessed by the Ice Stone and perhaps a swoon worthy love story with Go Youn Jong replacing Jung So-Min as Naksu. The latter was certainly true being that Go Youn Jong and Lee Jae Wook’s chemistry smoldered unlike his interactions with the previous actress in the role of MuDeok/Naksu.

However, disappointingly, the intrigue with the mage factions came to a screeching halt. With most episodes consisting of Uk falling for Buyeon/Naksu again while killing the monster of the week. Mu continued his nefarious agenda of trying to do….I’m not sure as his agenda got lost in his weekly schemes that never panned out, allies who were sometimes apart of the schemes but their roles weren’t made clear and just the lack of clarity as to why the royal family kept him as an advisor considering the actions he’d precipitated against the monarch in the previous season.

Of course it is learned in the 11th hour of the series that the monarch had been in league with him all along, along with the Unanimous Assembly. Learning this did add some logic to the earlier decisions these characters had made, but still failed to make sense of their end game. Their greed for power was understood. First via the ice stone, then the firebird. The former agenda made more sense than the latter. For the firebird would be difficult to control and would leave the world in shambles. How would this help those greedy for power? It was never made clear.

Moreover, out of all the mages on the Unanimous Assembly only one (too late I might add) realized their plan was a bad idea. It was hard to believe that many seasoned mages who’d seen a lot of good and bad in their lifetime thought Mu’s firebird plan would end with the result they desired. They all came off like a bunch of novice idiots with stars in their eyes over a half-baked plan to grab a smidgen of power, rather than intelligent beings who knew from their ages of experience that this plan would do more harm than good not just for others but themselves. Speaking of Mu his villainy was played out from the first episode. He should’ve been killed in the previous season with another adversary taking on Uk and his family/friends of mages. Mu became unbearable to watch. So much so he nearly ruined the series for me.

Another story thread that became tiresome was Buyeon/Naksu’s soul drama. It didn’t help that every episode changed the story behind what was going on with her soul. First her soul was Naksu, but her blood was that of Buyeon. Hence she could open the ancestral vault of Jinyoun. Then Naksu and Buyeon’s souls were coexisting in the body, with Naksu’s soul soon to disappear. Then it was Cheon which was the name she was born with or perhaps a reincarnation of Seol. By the time the series was over I didn’t know who the heck she was supposed to be.

Despite the confusion surrounding Buyeon/Naksu’s ever changing identity and why it was changing, the love story between she and Uk was well done. The closeness that grew between them was a natural progression and thus believable. And though Buyeon’s connection to Uk and their budding romance was supposed to be due to her soul being that of Naksu, I didn’t feel that she was Naksu. It felt like she was a completely different person, a new person, melting Uk’s heart. Their love story was sweet and their chemistry was amazing. However, I feel the writers took the audience up the mountain but failed to reach its peak. These two had some amazing hugs and kisses. We did get the wedding, but then after that no more smoldering romantic interactions. They may as well been good friends rather than starcrossed lovers who finally beat the odds to be together. Disappointing.

Similar to the first series, the writers missed some opportunities for epic moments within the series. For example, Mu’s death, it should’ve been more painful and dramatic. Uk discovering that Buyeon was really Naksu. He didn’t even blink upon learning this truth, which was odd. Yul being cured of the blood parasite should’ve been more challenging as should’ve been Uk dealing with the firebird. There had been several episodes discussing the dangers of the firebird being awaken and the difficulty in dealing with it only for Uk to wave his sword a couple of times, easily destroying it. Again disappointing. Uk taking on the firebird should’ve been a real battle as I got the impression that on its own it was just as powerful as the ice stone within him.

Though this season had its disappointments, it was still very good and worth watching. Will I watch again? Probably not. There was nothing about this season that was extraordinary enough for me to want to experience it again.

That said, I would absolutely watch a show with the adventures of Uk/Naksu/Buyeon/Cheon/Seol finding the relics that escaped Jinyoun. Provided Naksu/Buyeon/Cheon/Seol doesn’t add another identity/soul to her repertoire. Lol. I think a show about her and Uk’s adventures would be a fun .

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Disappointed and hurt

This is not the same alchemy of souls that i’ve watched !! Certainly doesn’t feel like the same drama. The whole plot is strange in an odd way. The problem is not because of a new actress as female lead but the whole drama has turned into lame marriage of convenience story . What happened to the badass shadow assassin!!

It would’ve been much better if the new character was buyeon instead of naksu. Naksu’s amnesia ruined the entire story. The whole “naksu’s soul and moduk’s body together” made no sense at all. The writers could’ve easily gotten out of this by an simple explanation. But 2 souls on one body was absurd and too hard to comprehend. They negated their own rules of alchemy of souls. The whole drama turned into a joke.

Nothing seem to change much for the crown prince and yul either. And Uk keeps getting special treatment as buyeon falls right into his lap. I am soo disappointed, i can’t watch it further and ruin the memories of season 1.

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GIVE IT A CHANCE

If u don't like the new actress, I cant blame u. But just give it a chance. I was gonna watch it anyway, but i got really found of her . We were already familiar to her and we already knew she is the real Naksu. We also have so many paralels in part 2 so it is easy to see her as Naksu.
I was a little afraid in the begining because i really liked part 1 so I thought that if i dont enjoy part 2 i would feel like a traitor :))). But I am in lovee with the first two eps. There were a lot of unanswered questions in the first ep, the the second ep answered a lot of my curiosities. I can't wait for the next week for new episodes, i am already hooked. As always I hate JinMu , but I hope he won't turn our crown prince into a bad guy. On the other hand I believe Jin Mu will try something bad, but that will end up making Naksu remembering the past .
I am constantly watching edits and replaying my favourite parts.

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Two Souls Forever Drawn Together

This part was highly anticipated and that could make this part be very bad if it weren’t to be good. But the writing for this show sells the drama so well, that every doubt I have is fading away

I thought with a new actress for Naksu that would be jarring and her character wouldn’t feel the same. But her development is there with the last part and she is the same person. The writing for her is fluent and tied with the last part so well even if it has been three years for all the characters. They all are the same people but they have drastically matured by the situations and hardships they’ve been through.

This drama is a top notch one. The setting is stunning and the costumes are just as stunning. It’s got everything and more importantly the script backing this drama up is done very well. With a time skip it could’ve been doing too much or having us assuming, but they leave just enough to assume and enough for us to guess.

I love how well Naksu and Jang Uk play off each other, with it being reminiscent of what it was before. I hope the ending isn’t again a tragedy, but so far this drama is anything but. It’s so amazing really and everything is engaging. Impressive for me and I love this show so much. I’ll write a more in depth review once it all comes out.

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ONE OF THE BEST HISTORICAL KDRAMAS I'VE EVER WATCHED

For those who keep giving this film negative reviews, sorry to say but you are biased and bitter. Because this drama is so far one of the best kdramas I've watched, this is coming from someone who has watched over 200 kdramas. You're a fan of the actress from the first season and not the storyline if you hate this drama.
I've rewatched this drama over 30 times and what amazes me it's I've never gotten bored of it. Every time I rewatch it feels like a new drama. I don't know why anyone who claim the plot is bad when it's literally just a continuation of the story which was split into two parts. Without part 2 I would never had understood the storyline. I also love the message the writers were conveying "LOVE SOMEONE BASED ON THEIR SOUL NOT APPEARANCE".
In conclusion Awesome and Amazing. Well written and amazing chemistry and cinematography

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Great but missing our cold blooded assassin Naksu.

When I first started watching season 2 I tried super hard to make myself like it since I was a big fan of Mu Deok. I find it difficult to adapt to Naksu's new character + the new actress. Naksu was a completely different person at the start of s2. One thing is for sure, they dragged the amnesia plot for far too long and they filled it up with wattpad level romance. So you ask why my rating is still so high. I liked s1 so much, and I just wanted everything to be wrapped up well in s2, and it was wrapped up well. I also have a lot of love for all the characters like Park Jin, Kim Do Ju, Master Lee, Dang Gu, Crown prince and Cho Yeon too. So I got my well wrapped happy ending.
It is however disappointing that there are no more Naksu fight scenes or even her being 'cool'.

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O que mais me vidrou nesse dorama é que ele consegue tá prender rapidamente na história.

Um dorama muito bom e muito bem feito em todos os sentidos, te faz sofrer juntos com os personagens e no final seu coração fica quentinho, recomendo esse dorama.
Você pensa que vai dar tudo errado e dá e depois não dá mais fica tudo bem, o que mais me prendeu era saber o que ia acontecer com o Jang Uk com a pedra de gelo, o que o Jin Mu ia fazer pra ficar no poder e quando iam descobrir a patifaria que ele tava fazendo, e se a Bu-yeon ia expulsar a Naksu do corpo dela.
Você não sabe quem é o vilão e quem não é, a história tem um plot muito bom e o Jin Mu parece imortal, não posso falar mais se não vou contar toda a história.

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