Let's try to save season 2 of AOS

As many have already said, season 1 of Alchemy of Souls was a 10/10. There was not a character that wasn't well characterised, there was not a moment of dullness despite the length of each episode, the chemistry between characters (all characters, friends just as much as lovers) was peak perfect.... but then season 2 came and ruined it all.

My personal opinion is that there are contingent mistakes to it, but that the main mistake is that JBY and JUK shouldn't have fallen in love. This could have easily been done and the plot would have carried itself just as well: instead of him saving her because he "missed her like crazy" when having literally no real connection to her (there was no proper build up to this, Maidservant Kim called this out herself), he could have saved her out of 1) the fact he needed her for the reasonable reason that is wanting to take the ice stone out 2) pity. Secondly, their relationship should have been built up as JUST a good friendship (at least from JUK's side), just like it did when Mu-deok and JUK first got to know each other. This would have been much more endearing to watch, especially because the audience knows who JBY actually is: instead of having the audience watch JUK basically move on from Mu-Deok, it would have been much better to have us glued to the screen seeing JUK rejecting his true love because of his ignorance. Then, the moment of truth would have felt MUCH more impactful (here it is dutiful to note that there was also a directional issue with the way the show handled this plot point: the scene in which JBY and JUK make out is much much longer than the scene in which the two characters make-out after the realisation, which makes it seem as if for JUK Mu-deok is not that special after all) - The realisation should have come as a shock for JUK, he should have fallen to his knees crying like a baby, instead we got some stoic looks and a mere hug from him.
That was the main mistake in my opinion, because it broke the most important plot point of the show: the two being an inseparable match.
About the contingent mistakes, I think there is a very evident one: when Jin Mu shifts bodies, it is immediately clear that it is him even if it's another person acting him out because his appearance but especially his facial expressions make it very clear. That is not the case with JBY and Mu-deok: I get that having lost her memory, JBY won't act as tough as Mu-deok did, but their facial expressions or at least their aesthetic should have been resembling for the whole thing to come out as it should have (the way they kept their hair for instance), instead JBY felt like a whole new person (hence, a whole new love interest).
This issue could have been resolved without having to cast a different actress? I think so, because in the very last ten minutes of the show we see a JBY that finally feels like Mu-deok.
I could probably keep going, because there are other issues with this second season (such as the way JBY's gaining her memory back was handled, or the fact that the final battle felt like slicing a piece of cake - literally), but I will end my review here and go mourn the potential this show had.

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