The Best Romantacy Ever Made for screen! (Arguably the best Fantasy TV show as well.)
The greatest disservice ever done to this TV show is insisting on forcing it into the traditional categories modern Korean dramas use: Yes, it is a drama; yes, it has its melodramatic moments; yes, it's set in a world reminiscent of Joseon era Korea...but it is far from a merely a Romcom or Historical Drama.
In a genre in which Worldbuilding (capital ‘W’) is a hallmark, many esteemed screen writers have fallen short of pulling off the feat of telling epic fantasy stories in an hour-long TV format unforgiving toward lengthy exposition and unnecessary dialogues. Plotlines have been left untied, characters denied development, internal logic of the narrative abandoned, all sacrifices made on the altars of pace and conciseness.
In "Alchemy of Souls”, a 30-episode, two-part, Epic Fantasy-Romance Drama, the Hong Sisters have demonstrated Romantasy works on television—gloriously.
Daeho is a fantasy Joseon-eque kingdom, where magic is a primordial, elemental force, imbuing humans channelling its various forms with power which has been the source of wonder, struggle and strife of generations. Centuries of relative stability are disrupted when the infamous sorceress-assassin, Naksu (Go Youn-jang), uses the forbidden Alchemy of Souls to magically escape death by soul-switching, only to find herself in the weak body of the commoner Mu-Deok (Jung So-min). On a quest to regain her power and complete her plans of revenge, the shifted Naksu crosses paths with Jang Uk (Lee Jae-wook), a young misfit nobleman aspiring to become a mage.The two’s unlikely alliance as master and student masquerading as master and servant becomes entangled in machinations, in the midst of which their personal goals may have unexpectedly significant ramifications and consequences, not only to themselves, but to the world itself.
A gripping story of two individuals caught up in the greater motion of history and power, enjoys a large cast of memorably characters, a well-fleshed out, and well-paced narrative, high production value, laudable performances of the entire ensemble, and the stellar work of two generational actresses (Jung So-min and Go Youn-jang), to make for a show that hits every mark in spectacle, epic scope and intrigue, hilarious situational comedy, and a deeply human emotional journey.
Added bonus—due to its length and intricacies of plot and worldbuilding—the show is markedly e-watchable, and even recommended for rewatching to fully appreciate the feat that the entire production team has achieved on this show. To all lovers of this genre, this show has the makings of a true all-time classic.
In a genre in which Worldbuilding (capital ‘W’) is a hallmark, many esteemed screen writers have fallen short of pulling off the feat of telling epic fantasy stories in an hour-long TV format unforgiving toward lengthy exposition and unnecessary dialogues. Plotlines have been left untied, characters denied development, internal logic of the narrative abandoned, all sacrifices made on the altars of pace and conciseness.
In "Alchemy of Souls”, a 30-episode, two-part, Epic Fantasy-Romance Drama, the Hong Sisters have demonstrated Romantasy works on television—gloriously.
Daeho is a fantasy Joseon-eque kingdom, where magic is a primordial, elemental force, imbuing humans channelling its various forms with power which has been the source of wonder, struggle and strife of generations. Centuries of relative stability are disrupted when the infamous sorceress-assassin, Naksu (Go Youn-jang), uses the forbidden Alchemy of Souls to magically escape death by soul-switching, only to find herself in the weak body of the commoner Mu-Deok (Jung So-min). On a quest to regain her power and complete her plans of revenge, the shifted Naksu crosses paths with Jang Uk (Lee Jae-wook), a young misfit nobleman aspiring to become a mage.The two’s unlikely alliance as master and student masquerading as master and servant becomes entangled in machinations, in the midst of which their personal goals may have unexpectedly significant ramifications and consequences, not only to themselves, but to the world itself.
A gripping story of two individuals caught up in the greater motion of history and power, enjoys a large cast of memorably characters, a well-fleshed out, and well-paced narrative, high production value, laudable performances of the entire ensemble, and the stellar work of two generational actresses (Jung So-min and Go Youn-jang), to make for a show that hits every mark in spectacle, epic scope and intrigue, hilarious situational comedy, and a deeply human emotional journey.
Added bonus—due to its length and intricacies of plot and worldbuilding—the show is markedly e-watchable, and even recommended for rewatching to fully appreciate the feat that the entire production team has achieved on this show. To all lovers of this genre, this show has the makings of a true all-time classic.
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