This review may contain spoilers
Expectations were NOT met! TT
When I first saw that the FM wasn't Mudeok I was a bit hesitant on watching because I got attached to her in season 1. But then again I though that the person Jung Uk loved in the first season wasn't Naksu but rather another girl even though they had the same soul. Since Naksu will have her real face in season 2 I watched it. Now I expected a lot of things. In season 1 Naksu had a powerful and unyielding personality even as Mudeok. Even though Bu-yeon/Naksu had a soft and mellow personality in the beginning of season 2 I hoped she would become her original self after regaining her memories. But even after regaining them she continued to be a Damsel in distress. Real Naksu was bold, strong and talented. Bu-yeon/Naksu in season 2 was none of that. There was so much crying and self-pitying going on which is unheard from the real Naksu. I was completely dissapointed when she didn't get her powers back.
The next thing was their relationship. I felt like Buyeon/Naksu immediately threw herself at Jung Uk. It was only the 2nd episode when they first kissed. The level of chemistry and yearning that was between Mudeok and Jung Uk was nowhere to be found. I hoped Jung Uk will hold onto to Mudeok's momories and only get together with Buyeon/Naksu after he realized that she was Naksu. The chemistry was forced and failed to deliver the intimacy that Mudeok and Jang Uk had. Hell those two carried complete 20 episodes with only 4 kisses and still succeeded in melting the entire audience. Jung So Min carried the role of Naksu with so much passion and authenticity. Not only with Uk but even with Seo Yul and the Crown Prince her interactions felt real. The new actress failed in delivering that much strong emotions in her interactions. And in this season some romance scenes were really confusing like when Buyeon was patting Jung Uk to sleep and he woke up and kissed her without any context like WTF. There were no sparks or passion even after they really got together. And it was very infuriating how they kept Jung Uk from realizing Buyeon is Naksu until the last 2 episodes. If that happened earlier in the story it would've progressed much better. Then there WAS the realizing in the 8th episode but it was REALLY disappointing. From the way Jung Uk longed for Mudeok in the first episodes I expected a much stronger reaction from him. Him running towards her/hugging/crying/the expressions was what I needed. But NONE of it was there. He just put on this blank face and LEFT???
The next problem was that the required focus wasn't given to the story itself but rather to Buyeon and Uk's relationship. They could've built a killer story with the elements they had after season 1. But instead of focusing on 1 main theme like the Soul-shifting in season 1 many sub plots were forced together without any coherent bonding. And some were really lacking in the reason-outcome bond with many plot holes. Like how the first episodes when the water wraith got into Uk's house it didn't have a connection to the actual plot. It was just so that Uk can come and save Bu yeon. There were no reasoning in how the Unanonimous Assembly went to Jin Mu's side in the end. Jung Uk being the most powerful mage kinda made everything seem monotonous yk. In season 1 he tried and trained very hard to achieve everything but in season 2 it was just swing his sword twice and everyone was dead.
There WERE some memorable and heartwarming scenes if I'm being honest. Like the relationship between Kim Dojoo and Park Jin, Dang-gu and Choyeon and most of all the Crown Prince and his turtle<3 It's sad how Mudeok didn't come back in this season. Jung So Min's absence really made the story lonely....
The next thing was their relationship. I felt like Buyeon/Naksu immediately threw herself at Jung Uk. It was only the 2nd episode when they first kissed. The level of chemistry and yearning that was between Mudeok and Jung Uk was nowhere to be found. I hoped Jung Uk will hold onto to Mudeok's momories and only get together with Buyeon/Naksu after he realized that she was Naksu. The chemistry was forced and failed to deliver the intimacy that Mudeok and Jang Uk had. Hell those two carried complete 20 episodes with only 4 kisses and still succeeded in melting the entire audience. Jung So Min carried the role of Naksu with so much passion and authenticity. Not only with Uk but even with Seo Yul and the Crown Prince her interactions felt real. The new actress failed in delivering that much strong emotions in her interactions. And in this season some romance scenes were really confusing like when Buyeon was patting Jung Uk to sleep and he woke up and kissed her without any context like WTF. There were no sparks or passion even after they really got together. And it was very infuriating how they kept Jung Uk from realizing Buyeon is Naksu until the last 2 episodes. If that happened earlier in the story it would've progressed much better. Then there WAS the realizing in the 8th episode but it was REALLY disappointing. From the way Jung Uk longed for Mudeok in the first episodes I expected a much stronger reaction from him. Him running towards her/hugging/crying/the expressions was what I needed. But NONE of it was there. He just put on this blank face and LEFT???
The next problem was that the required focus wasn't given to the story itself but rather to Buyeon and Uk's relationship. They could've built a killer story with the elements they had after season 1. But instead of focusing on 1 main theme like the Soul-shifting in season 1 many sub plots were forced together without any coherent bonding. And some were really lacking in the reason-outcome bond with many plot holes. Like how the first episodes when the water wraith got into Uk's house it didn't have a connection to the actual plot. It was just so that Uk can come and save Bu yeon. There were no reasoning in how the Unanonimous Assembly went to Jin Mu's side in the end. Jung Uk being the most powerful mage kinda made everything seem monotonous yk. In season 1 he tried and trained very hard to achieve everything but in season 2 it was just swing his sword twice and everyone was dead.
There WERE some memorable and heartwarming scenes if I'm being honest. Like the relationship between Kim Dojoo and Park Jin, Dang-gu and Choyeon and most of all the Crown Prince and his turtle<3 It's sad how Mudeok didn't come back in this season. Jung So Min's absence really made the story lonely....
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