Alchemy of Souls Season 2: Light and Shadow

watched weekly as it came out

LOVED the first season / part and was super excited for this one as well!! the main actress change didnt bother me and i love yoonjung sm the change made sense and the overall romance between the leads & chemistry was off the charts i hope we see them in another project together hopefully.. 🤞,, for 10 eps the pacing done really well, rarely slow and i would have liked jang uk to realize buyeon’s real identity just a bit sooner but no complaints 😭 that last ep was definitely the SADDEST. just the thought that kim doju and park jim could’ve died breaks my heart ❤️‍🩹 but they didnt die and naksu’s soul is still alive so we thank the hong sisters for that 🫶 im seriously going to miss this show i did not expect to love it so much but the things we dont pay too much attention to at first soon are cherished! this drama was my personality for months and now you’re telling to find something else?!? 😞 anyways 10/10 acting & ost we love you blue flower by lia ❤️

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When it was good it was so good. Like any drama, there’s always frustration. Fantasy genre don’t really have rules to follow as they set their world, so I tend to let it slide. All these theories has fans expecting to much and look for them for explanation. As a whole, it’s a 30ep structure drama, could have been 20ep & divide the 2actress each 10ep for better pace but I love this world and characters so I love spending extra time w/ them even when they just talk and bond. GYJ & LJW’s chemistry is what will make me return and rewatch this drama. Overall, The most important thing was it was a pleasure to watch this world & anticipate what to come.

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Hope something more

I just finished watching this drama. I had mixed feeling at the end. I was unhappy about the change of the fl but my optimism kicked in and give the new fl a chance. To be honest, there is not much that big going on apart from waiting to find his true love standing in front of him,

The highlight-
sword fight on point
Comedic moments
This Season was a little dark last season I still enjoy it. An especially Jung UK character.
The outfits were a 10
So the couples still love each other.
Love the big fight with Phoenix on ice lark.
Sexy making-out session (made my face go all red)
CGI was flawless hit the nail on its head

Downside-
I was hoping for a real mother-and-daughter reunion
The Crown prince didn't do much until the boring end
Ml and fl didn’t have kids at the end I was hoping there would.
There was not a lot of mystery this season.
Jung Uk could become king if he want to
Ml and fl didn’t feel much romance from them.
Is the gift that fl give to ml I thought there be connected only to their power, not just anyone can use

Overall what I got from the drama was a powerful start to an unknown end filled with love and pain. I wanted a little more from this show.

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If season 1 was Action>Romance then season 2 is Romance>Action

Definitely enjoyed it more than I expected (due to the low rating of people here)

Reason 1:
I FELL IN LOVE WITH GO YOON JUNG
Many people seemed to be rating this low because of the change of female lead but come on now. Gyj was literally the female lead right from the start. Plus she's a great actress so I don't understand the hate.
She's so adorable and she portrayed Naksu well. Even though she has different aura due to memory loss, you'll still see Naksu.

Reason 2:
I'm a sucker for romance like this.
The tsun husband x cute wife is just *chef's kiss* Many might find Jang Uk weird for falling for Jby(Naksu) in s2 but I don't think you should think it deeply that much. If he fell for her before, why can't he fell in love with her again? His hearts remember her. That's why at first he's confused on why he feels something for her. But again, his heart recognize her. And dude, I know you expect him not to move on that fast but HELLO it's already been 3 years that time. Even if jby was not Naksu, he deserve to fall in love again. Plus jby was really loveable (AND SUPER PATIENT)

Reason 3:
The chemistry of the characters are on another level!
I personally love turtle couple(Crown Prince x Jin Bu Yeon) Their exchange is always hilarious. Totally love their every scene!

Reason 4:
Great Effects. Some found it lacking but personally, it was amazing. Everything was so original and creative.

Reason 5:
Overall Plot. It was different from S1 but I was not disappointed. I never thought I would love it this much tho(enough to make me write a review.) I saw some wasted potential in the plot but it was still enjoyable despite that

So what stopped me from rating this a perfect 10?
1. Too short! I want more of their fluff scenes.
Many hated that s2 story was centered around their romance but I LOVE IT SO MUCH. We didn't get much romance from the s1 so this os like a treat to me(Who like romance more than Action)

2. We didn't get to see the return of Assassin Naksu.
I'm kinda fine with it but it's just a let down cuz gyj looked badass on s1e1. Assassin Naksu Supremacy!

3. So-i was not given the happy ending she deserved.
I know she's bad/evil but SEO-YUL HAS NO END GAME SO WHY NOT JUST LET HER LIVE AND MAKE THEM LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER?! I was disappointed when she died when we could have just get a character development.

Overall a totally good series! I'm already at my third rewatch cuz I can't get over with Jang uk's and Naksu's sweet scenes. Totally recommended, if you're a sucker for romance drama with a good plot and some action.

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Love is meant to create

We love with our soul, and the heart recognises that which the mind is sometimes incapable or simply too slow to comprehend.

Naksu/MaDeok/Cho Young/BoYeon & Jang Wook have certainly shown us that their love was meant to create and protect. I loved what Master Lee said about the two of them:

“He’s the light protecting the world, and she’s the shadow who protects him from the darkness around him.”

I know some people find the soul changes within BuYeon’s body quite confusing, but I understood them perfectly clear. The whole idea of Naksu being chosen by the priestess (both in her reincarnation form as BuYeon and initial one as the first Jin priestess) to be absolutely brilliant.

I was initially sceptical about it, but the use of the new actress helped show how Cho Young (Naksu) would’ve been like without all the heartbreak & tragedy of her life up to her entering BuYeon’s body. The actress did a great job showcasing an innocence of mind and heart, but also remarkable depth.

With her getting her memories back as Naksu, she became truly wise and any idea of the selfishness she had once possessed was entirely thrown away. The fact that she hadn’t killed Jin Mu in cold blood when she had the chance speaks volumes about her character growth.

Jang Wook was even more awesome in this season than I could’ve imagined him. The actor really knows how to portray a man whose heart is in agony but also one that continues to hope. His character growth is perhaps my most favourite one, from the previous drama to this one, he’s only grown to become more powerful, and even more mindful of the responsibility that comes with such power. His wisdom and ability to sacrifice is truly amazing.

This couple has shown an immense amount of perseverance to be true to each other but also true to their duties and the world around them.

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SEASON 2 IS BETTER IN EVERY WAY

I done get it, how most of the people here are giving bad reviews to this masterpiece of a season. This new actress is better in every way and I loved the chemistry between Jang uk and her way better than the chemistry between Jang uk and Mudoek....
The main antagonist Jin mu had a better role here than the season1, overall this season is better in every way...It felt really good to see how Jang uk has become the most powerful mage here...
Sometimes the reviews of this site confuse me, people only focus on the romance here instead of the entire story and they give their biased ludicrous opinion based on that only...
It's very misleading for new kdrama watchers like me to get into a series like this...
So my advice to the people who will be reading this review of mine- "Ignore the negative reviews here and continue watching the series, done drop it just after watching the season 1"
I ENJOYED SEASONS 2 WAY MORE THAN SEASON 1

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MUHAUAHAUHAUAH !

(reposting this from my feed, because my dumbass forgot to do that five months ago.)

rewatched this show from start to finish again after about eight months after my first encounter with it…i knew it would take a lot of mental strength to get through the first season, considering how big of an impact season two had on me.
— apart from the fact that it is indeed *a bit* long, i resonated so much with go yoon-jung’s interpretation of such a complex, unpredictable & yet strangely loveable persona. jung so-min did amazingly, but it takes so much skill to approach a character that’s already been perceived as one, & turn it into something completely refreshing, & melancholic at the same time.
— reviewing season one as someone who knows the climax of these intertwined fates, was genuinely so much fun. the first part of this story isn’t focused as much on romance as it is on the root of the plot & the explanation of the world we found ourselves to be part of. seeing songrim, jeongjingak, the palace & so many more in a certain warm setting during the first twenty epsodes, & then meeting these spaces all over again—it truly felt like seeing them from a pair of different eyes. bu-yeon’s eyes…yeong’s? mud-eok’s? naksu’s?

— nonetheless, as much as the twisty drama held my attention—i quite literally yearned for the gift we get in the second part of the series. the world was abruptly paused for three years that followed a horrible, heart-wrenching outcome…and we were greeted back inside with naksu’s deer-like, childish & warm gaze.
— yes, she feels different than mud-eok, but i never perceived that as a bad thing. the man born under the king’s star needed a master, a pillar to lean on to as he grew & molded with his potential. but jang uk with the ice stone in his chest needed a partner, a lover, & a safe haven.

— the most important thing in this whole monologue is that her love for him remained the same throughout all numerous identities she shared. every name she had loved him the same. it never wavered, it was one thing never subject to change. if he never cared what her heart looked like on the outside, *why* do you?

anyhow, i loved this whole thing with my whole heart. from the ost, the cast, the chemistry, the visual appeal of it all, to the richness of the storyline & the most gut-wrenching romance known to man—this series made me happy. i’ll forever wish to get a better glimpse at who they came to be outside the ten episodes of the second season. yul? dan-gu & choyeon? maidservant kim’s pregnancy? the future of uk & naksu? i wanted more. i still want more.

— thanks for coming to my ted talk. ( i probably didn’t say half of what i wanted to…)

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SO SO GOOD. I can't get over it.

This is my first time writing a review, and I know I'm kinda late, but I just had to write one. Before watching S2, I saw a lot of people comment about how much they disliked it. I also thought S2 would be bad because I found out the actress of the FL changed. Obviously I was biased about S1 at the time but I decided to watch S2 just out of loyalty for AOS.

I gotta say I had little to no expectations for S2 but watching it completely changed my mind. Maybe it's because I'm a romance girlie at heart but in my opinion I like it way better than S1. In S1, it introduced the world of AOS focusing on more of the character development and world building, but this season tied everything together, focusing more on the romance between Jang Uk and Cho Yeong/Naksu.I know people were not happy about the change of the FL, but it makes sense as in the start of S1, GYJ originally acted as Naksu. I've also seen others complain about how they didn't like this season as Naksu's personality completely changed due to the amnesia element. But in my opinion, what we saw was the true side of Cho Yeong, the girl she would've been if she weren't trained to be Naksu. We have to keep in mind that she was only guarded like that because she was trained to be. I like how this was 10 episodes (although it would've been nice if it was longer) because it was more fast paced and I also like how we got to see a different side of Jang Uk. All the heartbreak just made it better. Or maybe it's just because I love angst.

This drama was DEFINITELY worth watching, and it's so good that I'm rewatching it. If you're hesitant about watching it, you guys have to give it a go.

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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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