This review may contain spoilers
Nothing good came out of this season
The difference in rating and popularity between Season 1 and Season 2 isn't surprising at all. After watching both, it's pretty easy to see why.
While Season 2 is a continuation of the same story, it feels like a poorly written version of it. The world suddenly feels smaller. Everything revolves around the Fire Bird & FLs amnesia , while Songrim; once the heart of the story feels deserted. Most of the mages have disappeared, and the concept of Alchemy of Souls itself is barely relevant anymore. For a show named after it, that's a pretty big problem. The pacing doesn't help either; the story drags for long stretches and rarely feels exciting.
Jang Uk's character takes a strange turn. He's supposed to be a darker, more broken version of himself, but instead he often comes across as inconsistent. One moment he says something with absolute conviction, and the next he's doing the complete opposite. Rather than feeling complex, his behavior often feels confusing.
The biggest disappointment, however, is the female lead. Even accounting for the amnesia plot, she feels like an entirely different person. The sharp-tongued, fearless, and clever woman from Season 1 is nowhere to be found. Instead, we're given someone who spends most of the season being passive and dependent on others. The writers keep telling us she's Naksu, but they rarely show us anything that actually makes us believe it. For someone with such an important identity and immense power, she contributes surprisingly little beyond looking beautiful on screen.
The writing itself often feels frustrating. The show builds emotional moments only to immediately undo them. Maidservant Kim and Lady Jin's "deaths" are a perfect example. The drama expects viewers to be devastated, only to reveal they're alive almost instantly. It completely kills the emotional impact and makes the whole scene feel pointless.
Then there's Assistant Gwanju, who somehow spends most of the season moving around freely despite being one of the key reasons everything went wrong in the first place. Instead of focusing on the real mastermind, Uk spends episode after episode hunting soul shifters. It eventually gets addressed, but by then the payoff feels underwhelming.
The Yul and female lead scenes were another source of frustration. The show invests so much time creating romantic tension between them, even though everyone watching knows it isn't going anywhere. Rather than adding depth, it often feels like unnecessary filler.
Oddly enough, So-i ended up being one of the few characters who genuinely impressed me. She showed more courage, determination, and personality than many of the main characters. Meanwhile, the Four Seasons barely function as a group anymore. Aside from Uk and occasionally Yul, the others are practically invisible and contribute very little to the overall story.
By the second half of the season, I found myself skipping scenes just to get to the ending. Not because I was excited to see how it all wrapped up, but because I wanted it to be over. What made it even more disappointing was constantly remembering how much I loved Season 1. Instead of building on that foundation, Season 2 felt like a watered-down version of everything that came before it.
While Season 2 is a continuation of the same story, it feels like a poorly written version of it. The world suddenly feels smaller. Everything revolves around the Fire Bird & FLs amnesia , while Songrim; once the heart of the story feels deserted. Most of the mages have disappeared, and the concept of Alchemy of Souls itself is barely relevant anymore. For a show named after it, that's a pretty big problem. The pacing doesn't help either; the story drags for long stretches and rarely feels exciting.
Jang Uk's character takes a strange turn. He's supposed to be a darker, more broken version of himself, but instead he often comes across as inconsistent. One moment he says something with absolute conviction, and the next he's doing the complete opposite. Rather than feeling complex, his behavior often feels confusing.
The biggest disappointment, however, is the female lead. Even accounting for the amnesia plot, she feels like an entirely different person. The sharp-tongued, fearless, and clever woman from Season 1 is nowhere to be found. Instead, we're given someone who spends most of the season being passive and dependent on others. The writers keep telling us she's Naksu, but they rarely show us anything that actually makes us believe it. For someone with such an important identity and immense power, she contributes surprisingly little beyond looking beautiful on screen.
The writing itself often feels frustrating. The show builds emotional moments only to immediately undo them. Maidservant Kim and Lady Jin's "deaths" are a perfect example. The drama expects viewers to be devastated, only to reveal they're alive almost instantly. It completely kills the emotional impact and makes the whole scene feel pointless.
Then there's Assistant Gwanju, who somehow spends most of the season moving around freely despite being one of the key reasons everything went wrong in the first place. Instead of focusing on the real mastermind, Uk spends episode after episode hunting soul shifters. It eventually gets addressed, but by then the payoff feels underwhelming.
The Yul and female lead scenes were another source of frustration. The show invests so much time creating romantic tension between them, even though everyone watching knows it isn't going anywhere. Rather than adding depth, it often feels like unnecessary filler.
Oddly enough, So-i ended up being one of the few characters who genuinely impressed me. She showed more courage, determination, and personality than many of the main characters. Meanwhile, the Four Seasons barely function as a group anymore. Aside from Uk and occasionally Yul, the others are practically invisible and contribute very little to the overall story.
By the second half of the season, I found myself skipping scenes just to get to the ending. Not because I was excited to see how it all wrapped up, but because I wanted it to be over. What made it even more disappointing was constantly remembering how much I loved Season 1. Instead of building on that foundation, Season 2 felt like a watered-down version of everything that came before it.
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