Female lead Jung So Min ( Mu-Deok) will not return in season 2
The first season of this drama had everything right:- good story,
- brilliant Female lead Jung So Min as Mu-deok/ Naksu
- sympathetic Male lead Lee Jae Wook as Jang Uk
- well written characters
- impressive villains
So watching Season 1 was a really pleasant experience ... until it became known that for season 2 they will replace female lead Jung So Min with Go Yoon Jung. She is the actress who appeared as Naksu for a few minutes in the first episode ( Lake scene ). To put it mildly I think her performance in that episode was expressionless and emotionless with no charisma.
Indeed I was not at all impressed of this drama before Naksu's soul shifted to Mu-Deok and Jung So Min game along. She is talented and charismatic actress who is also able to express all needed emotions.
I suppose that season 2 will be a big disappointment for me.
Was this review helpful to you?
Masterpiece
Loved everything from the story to the acting to CGI.Jang Uk is witty, smart, genius, carefree, jolly minded, lazy, lout, fickle. He isn't a great mage & lacking in power for some reason. Throughout, we'll see his growth. I liked that they didn't show him as a powerful mage who is unbeatable, which is why we can see development.
Mu-Doek is a mysterious person. She is straightforward, isn't afraid of anyone, brave, an expert at lies. I liked how her voice changed into a somewhat mocking tone, but in front of Jang Uk it's different. She has another name, which is Filthy Mu Deok.
Jang Uk & Mu-Doek have a master & maid relationship and also a master & student relationship. In the end, lovers. They focus more on the master-maid & master-student relationship. But there is love between them & it's shown by their actions. They do end up together in the end, but.....
Park Dang Gu is fun-loving, kind, speaks without thinking. Seo Yul is a serious guy who always stands for the right.
Love how Jang UK keeps on teasing Mu-Doek by giving her lots of work.
Loved how unbothered Jang Uk was after breaking Jin family heirloom. Park Jin fell down on the floor while chasing him because of it.
Laughed when Jang Uk asked Maidservant Kim to carry Mu Deok on her back & Seo Yul to carry him, their shocked faces after hearing it.
Angry face of Park Jin when Master Heo tells him that he is a lonely person.
The way Park Jin & Maidservant Kim tease each other for having feelings for Jang UK parents. I love them together. They are my favorite couple.
Laughed at how Jang Uk made Park Dang Gu believe that Mu Deok likes Seo Yul.
Laughed my ass off when Jang Uk, Mu Deok, Park Dang Gu, Maidservant Kim offered that they'd drink the filthy water.
It may seem like Park Jin hates Jang Uk actually, he cares & loves him.
Love Park Jin & Maidservant Kim bickering. Loved the way they were stammering to say each other good-looking.
They way Jung Uk & Mu Deok firmly said they’re not married to Master Lee.
Jung Uk horrified face & reaction when he learns that he drank tea which could lower his libido.
Loved how easily & with a straight face Jang Uk said the Heo Yoon Ok that her looks didn’t impress him.
Laughed when Park Dang Gu asked Park Jin if he has any secret child or not & the embarrassed face of Park Jin.
When Jang Uk & Crown Price came to find their loved ones but ended up seeing each other, it was hilarious.
Park Jin acting like a kid to meet Maidservant Kim is so cute.
I laughed so much when Jang Uk & Mu Deok started acting to get punished. The confused faces of Park Jin, Jin Mu, Crown Price & Sang Ho.
Jang Uk scared face when his serect of having 7 exes was revealed in front of Mu Deok.
The face of Jang Uk when Mu Deok said, "she likes him a lot" & kissed him.
Loved everything. No Complain.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
beautiful
It s a beautiful series, with a very nice casting. The bad thing is the very sad ending, they were supposed to get married and they separated... the story is interesting, too bad the FL is more a sidekick than a badass. I would have loved to see her like she was at the beginning. i hope the season 2 is as good as this one, and most important, has a happy ending.Special effects are nice and well done
The OST is good, the intro looks like a bit like "the king eternal monarch" , beautiful series made by studio Dragon too ...
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Hit me like white wine
This was a lovely surprise. The world building was fantastic along with the a interesting story line. I would easily recommend this to anyone, in or outside the drama community.Story
I love a strong female and Naksu/Mu Deok was not playing around. I enjoyed watching how everyone dealt with her constant scheming and involvement. I found myself slightly annoyed that Jang Uk was always on the edge of being a badass but didn't get his full moment (see season 2.) I also loved that there was more that one villain. As in life, there is usually more than one person willing to stomp on others to get what they want. Someone commented on how they felt sorry for the Prince and I totally agree. That continued into S2 for me. The ending on this caught me completely off guard. My jaw was on the floor. I was not well. I don't think I ever rushed to start another episode faster that Season 2, Episode 1.
Acting/Cast
High rankings here as well. I found myself really into the the B stories and characters. So Min nailed the sassy spirit of Naksu stuck in the body of MuDeok. You could feel her frustration with not being able to do what she was use to. This drama also gave me a while new appreciation for Jae Wook's range. I'll be doing a deep dive on his filmography for sure. I also had so much sympathy for Seo Yul. Probably the only second ML that I almost wish would have gotten the girl. Special shout out to Seung Ho who surprised me as the Prince/Go Won. Just enough arrogance to be royalty but human enough to fall for MuDeok's mischief.
Music
The music did help push the tense moments along. The funny affects added to the comical moments were also well timed. I also recall enjoying the outro music, strangely.
Rewatch Value
This definitely has rewatch potential. As a spoiler to my review on season 2, I'd say season 2 is the one I would actually prefer to rewatch vs season 1.
Was this review helpful to you?
THE CONCEPT IS VERY UNIQUE
I have always avoided historical drama or any drama which contains historical stuff.. but this drama acting + concept+ editing+story+chemistry=10/10..it may seem boring at first to those who is not used to watching historical drama but you will love it. I love the silly UK very much & mu deok is also silly like her master but it may not look like their chemistry is everything.. no hate but seo Yul was the only annoying character to me idk for what reason 😭.. you may hate the other mages at first but they are cool tooWas this review helpful to you?
Epic!
Simply one of the best kdrama i have ever watch so far! Mind you that I’m not into historical kdrama that much but this one is crazy bro. the plot is so good! it has element of suspense at the end of every single episode. simply superb!The ending got me jaw dropping moment. It was so epic that i got goosebumps bro. wow!
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
A SOLID FANTASY WITH GOOD CHARCTER GROWTH
Honestly, I enjoyed Season 1 of Alchemy of Souls more than I expected. The story takes its time, but in a good way. It builds the world and characters properly instead of rushing everything, so you can actually get invested in what’s happening.What I liked the most is the character growth. It doesn’t happen in big dramatic moments, but more through their interactions and how they slowly change over time. It felt natural to me, especially with how the main leads go from using each other to actually caring about each other.
The romance is there, but it doesn’t take over the whole story, which I personally liked. It stays in the background and doesn’t distract from the main plot. It’s not super obvious or intense, so I get why some people might not fully connect with it, but for me it worked in Season 1 because it didn’t feel forced.
Also, even though it’s set in a historical/fantasy setting, I think it’s still easy to watch even if you’re not usually into historical dramas. It doesn’t feel heavy or difficult to follow.
There are a few moments where the emotions could’ve been shown better instead of just being said, but overall it didn’t really ruin the experience for me.
Overall, I think Season 1 is really solid. It feels different from typical dramas and keeps you interested without relying too much on clichés. Definitely worth watching if you like fantasy with good character development.
Was this review helpful to you?
Wizards and Great Nonsense!
This show is so much fun, I'm a stickler for styling so the gratuitous K-pop hair made for a really entertaining watch in a Korean, and I use this word loosely, "historical" setting. Discovering tons of wacky terminology, following these decently fleshed out characters, and the queen that is Naksu... it's a great time!Hell, it even reminds me vaguely (maybe more than vaguely) of Mo Dao.
Highly recommend to anyone curious, I looked forward to every week when they aired an episode and I am excited for the next season starting Dec.10th!
I'll keep it spoiler free, but I think my one issue is the joke they kept making about the prince and the main lead. It was kinda hurtful at times that they kept making fun of their interactions and how they could be perceived by others.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
VERY GOOD, could be perfect.
This show has a lot to offer and you will probably find something that pleases you- I'm not a big fan of fantasy or action shows, but these themes was worked very tastefully, having also time for the romance and mystery portions of the plot to flourish. The visuals are outstanding and really set a new mark for korean dramas, the overall plot keeps you guessing and looking for the next episode, leaving and ending on a strong moment to lead to the next season (also it didn't leave the first season weak or unresolved to the point of it lessening the enjoyment).With that said, I found the romance and characters to be a bit annoying, especially in terms of romance. There's almost no chemistry between the two main leads, even if the spend a lot of time together. FL shows more affection to literally any other male character than the ML. There's the classic love triangle, for both the ML and FL but when the FL is constantly showing way more affection and reason to believe she likes the second love interest, to this the ML appears sometimes sad but doesn't act jealous or anything, and the ML's love triangle is almost non existent. It's not enough of a reason to drop the show or ruin it, but I find myself annoyed with their relationship.
The music is pretty good too, I wouldn't say it's enough of a reason to watch( there's other dramas with way more unique or interesting music) but I never felt like it wasn't the right music for the scene.
The acting is amazing obviously when you have some of the most recognizable actors and actresses here. Tho, I don't thing the show has a lot of jaw dropping scenes where you feel emotional with the acting, it just very consistent and believable. Also the FL is very fun to watch, probably one of her best roles yet.
Was this review helpful to you?
An Original -Good Outweighs the modest flaws
I'm not a big fan of fantasy so despite the high ratings I put this off. First time I stopped at the beginning of the second episode. However, after several months I gave it another try and this time ended up binging both seasons. Despite some obvious borrowings from other fantasy sources this story comes across as very original and fresh.The first season was well thought out so despite a few questions about the rules of this fantasy world the story, acting, and execution kept me engaged through to the end. The plot points follow believably more often than not.
Jung So Min's performance stands out. Her charisma dominates every scene in which she appears.
In this first season the writers weren't timid about consequences i.e. characters do die.
There was no question about jumping into the second season as the first one ends with a major cliff hanger.
However, the second season was not up to the first. The maturity level was deliberately lowered. There are a few mutilations of characters to achieve some sort of comedic effect and I often felt the plot getting bogged down by contrived situations, and several occasions in which an odd solution was injected to resolve scenes. These didn't stop me from enjoying the story journey, but I suspect the writers either did not have enough time to plot things out more carefully or more likely the suits put pressure on them to inject new elements to broaden the audience.
The first season Naksu character had a fierce introduction early on and ended up trapped within a weaker body without magical powers, and that challenge she faced - to achieve her goals without her usual powers - was entertaining. She had some interesting conflicting feelings emerge as her original desire for revenge ran into new facts that didn't reconcile with what she had been led to believe about the fate of her family.
In the second season that old fierce Naksu personality and that conflict were submerged behind an amnesia leaving a meek mild young girl with minimal magic and little agency, and the whole dilemma that season 1 was so focused on just disappeared. There were new dilemmas but these were not handled as well as the plot at times lurched forward.
Finally, I like a happy ending, but sometimes need one on the dark side because the story and characters demand it. The first season delivered. The second season really fudged on any consequences and we get a just so ending. Characters and story are set up to force hard choices, suffer the consequences, but then get bailed out. And when we see via the spirit of young Jin Bu Yeon that there is a major Devine entity at work this telegraphs a just so ending is coming for the lead couple.
Despite these flaws I found the whole very enjoyable and will rewatch again.
Was this review helpful to you?
A Most Watch
When this show was airing I started watching it then went to watch something else then came back and started watching it again after watching the first ep I became hooked. That is why this show, this K-drama is a must-watch.😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
Was this review helpful to you?
