REVIEW: Alchemy Of Souls (Season 2)

By Tony Boss

Alchemy of Souls season 2 episode 4 continued off where the last episode left off, with Naksu reading Mu-Deok a flashback of the time they traded yin and yang stones.

She makes a remark about how they sound like bird eggs and precisely quotes Mu-Deok. Evidently, the rock contains these memories, but when she examines the rock tower, she ends up shattering it and suffering damage as a result. Since Naksu is out of “play lightning,” Jang-Uk advises her to cling onto the rock in order to maintain her composure.

Until she discovers unusual green fireflies circling about her after Naksu exits the area, she is in despair. She goes on without realizing Jang-Uk is observing from a distance and is following. However, he keeps his distance while she is returned to Jinyowon.

The tortoise is now amusingly back at the Crown Prince’s home. He’s become very fond of him since the market encounter with Naksu, where she persuaded him to bring the lizard home.

He explains to his companion how Naksu mistook him for a eunuch and excuses her harshness, amusingly coming to like the beast.

A Park Jin-related incident is also hilarious. He creates a sinister dish for Seo Yul, Dang-Gu, and Jang-Uk to try out because he is bored in his retirement. It’s a rice cake, but fish sauce has been added to one of them.

He asserts that this can be used to identify people who are having a poor day. In actuality, all three of them have honey, which Park Jin uses as an example to demonstrate to them that life is unpredictable and that you have control over your own course in this lifetime.

Less hilarious is a rumor that gets out because of something that happened on a boat. A mysterious phantom is seen perched atop the cabins and every one is found dead. They think Naksu is there because of the sailors’ hasty departure.

The transportation routes are all obstructed, forcing the royal family to call on Jang-Uk and ask for his assistance in exorcising the spirit. Jang-Uk dismisses it, reasoning that getting engaged won’t solve the town’s problems and that it will go away on its own.

Having a different viewpoint, Jin-Mu persuades the King to agree with him by demonstrating how detrimental Jang-inaction Uk’s will be. Jang-Uk is so compelled to lend a hand. In the throne room, he passes the Crown Prince and the two look at each other.

As the episode closes out, Jang-Uk begins crying while sitting alone in his study, with Naksu showing up and comforting him. Eventually the pair end up lying together. When he awakens, Jang-Uk finds himself staring at Naksu and as a result, the pair end up kissing.

When Jang-Uk finds that Bu-Yeon is actually Naksu, I’m curious how he’ll respond. That time is undoubtedly approaching, and given that there are only a few episodes left, I have no doubt it will happen sooner rather than later.

But this episode does succeed in injecting a decent amount of romance and drama into the mix, with the Queen’s feast working well to add something a little new. In contrast to the bell summoning at the conclusion of the previous season, the entire Gwiseo operation was expertly planned. Hopefully there won’t be any more unexpected events like that in the future!

In any case, there is a good pace and a lot of drama to unpack this time, leaving nothing closed for the future.