I'm contemplating whether should I watch this or not. I was thinking about binge watching this after the series…
For this particular show, it doesn't matter which. ^_^
The show is episodic in nature. An overarching plot (which is still not clear as of episode 2) and different plots per episode.
Also, as of episodes 1 and 2, this seems to be more about an advocacy on autism spectrum rather than any fictional entertainment value. Think of a fictionalized documentary. It's not exactly a documentary but at the same time it isn't completely made for entertainment.
Oh wOw i just commented about the same thing above! 😂😂👌👌 We have same thoughts and our brain just…
AHaha, I just saw yours. Yeah, every scene is important, so there's a connection to it somewhere.
It would be a waste to just add a scene when it serves no purpose, only newbie writers do that and the Hong sisters are not.
Maybe our analyses will turn out wrong but we can only work with what they've shown us up to the current episode. Regardless, it's also actually a good challenge. It is also a good sign they are engaging the audience post-airing.
Something new came to my mind.Before Jang Kang left, Park Jin confronted him and told him everything. One of it…
When Jang Kang left after he sealed Jang Uk's magic, he went to the "Recorders Office" to steal the original copy of the chart and replace it with a fake.
For whatever reason, he used the alchemy of souls to Nak Su's father. Maybe her father saw Jang Kang, and the only way to shut him up was to do alchemy of souls. Or, maybe he shifted to her father's body … stole the original chart and replaced it with a fake, then shifted back to his body -- which later made her father insane (side effect of shifting souls -- maybe this was also the reason the former king died, after shifting back to his original body, he just lost it -- but the caster, in this case Jang Kang, doesn't lose his mind because he's the one who casted the spell).
Another possibility is maybe Nak Su's father knew everything and was forced to do what he did to cover for Jang Kang's switching of the star chart. We can say they were in it together and Nak Su's father sacrificed himself for the greater good.
Then Jang Kang disappeared.
(It is also possible, Jang Kang was the one who went insane inside Nak Su's father's body. Everyone is waiting for his return but he'll never be since they killed him already. Jang Kang probably thought of it as his penance/karma.)
Before Jang Kang left, Park Jin confronted him and told him everything. One of it was the fact that the star chart in his office is fake.
The one in his office is more likely just a copy. The original is in the "Recorders Office" (let's just call it that, I can't remember the exact name), and … this is what Nak Su's father is assigned to.
In one of the flashback when Nak Su was still a little girl, her father showed a particular star chart … the star chart about the king's star (or whatever it was called).
Then a few days later, probably even a few months, her father went insane.
1. Is Mu Deok the eldest daughter of the Jin family. It seems very likely. Because of all the flashbacks and the…
> 1. Is Mu Deok the eldest daughter of the Jin family. It seems very likely. Because of all the flashbacks and the mirror saying welcome back.
It depends. I have two scenarios for that:
1st Scenario: Mu Deok is the long lost daughter. She was possibly kidnapped and/or maybe they were planning to hide her soul to another body or was used as part of an experiment.
Regardless, her soul split into two. The other half went to the body of Nak Su; and the remaining half is in the original body (Mu Deok). The side-effect of the soul split was she turned blind.
2nd Scenario: Nak Su is the long lost daughter. She was possibly kidnapped and/or maybe they were planning to hide her soul or was used as part of an experiment.
Whichever it was, her soul split into two. The other half went to the body of Mu Deok (who is probably already blind). While the other half remained in the original body (Nak Su).
Now, recall what happened in episode 1: Nak Su was running and bumped to Mu Deok. IF they are one soul split in two, that bump was very significant -- it reconnected them.
So, when Nak Su tried to transfer her soul, she got absorbed to the soul inside the Mu Deok body because it is her other half.
Also recall the dream scene in episode 5 where Nak Su and Mu Deok met. Based on that scene, it would appear that they are cancelling each other's energy. Which has a very positive side-effect: they are not going wild nor are they headed to petrification.
This cancelling of each other's energy also possibly ties in when Nak Su suddenly gained power when she jumped to the energy-filled Lake. It was Nak Su overpowering Mu Deok's energy.
Then in episode 6, when she "Nak Su" touched the jade box as well as stepped within the territory of the Jin Clan, she accessed something that she can not understand. She was surprised. This means that it was not her power at all, there is a strong possibility it was Mu Deok's energy overpowering Nak Su. Point in fact, when they were in the Jin's secret vault, the energy from the objects were reacting powerfully; and the Black Mirror said, (paraphrased) "we meet again". The mirror was more likely talking to Mu Deok and not to Nak Su.
The mirror knows Mu Deok, or at least the two souls inside of the body called Mu Deok.
Oh, it will also explain why her blue eyes is dissipating … Nak Su and Mu Deok are probably slowly becoming one again or "whole". Two blue eyes = two powerful souls (normally there is only one blue 'tattoo'). Two blue eyes would mean there are two "alien" souls in that body. (Which would mean, the body that is "Mu Deok" is not their original body.)
> 2. And why did Naksu's father's maid said "to run away from her father" to little Naksu. Was that translated correctly?
The most possible reason behind that is at that point there was already a different soul in that body and it has gone wild because it failed to consume a human. In other words, at that point it's a soul shifter running wild.
If this is the case, it is not clear when her father was taken over by another soul because soul shifters doesn't go wild immediately.
> 3. In the first episode, Heo and Park Jin say, it's been 20 years after they last saw a soul shifter. And was that soul shifter Naksu's father?
Possible since Heo has not idea that Jang Kang and the former king shifted souls for a week. The only ones who know it is Jang Kang himself, the former king (who's already dead), Jin Woo, and later Park Jin (when Jang Kang explained to him why he sealed the magic of Jang Uk). And in any case, Park Jin did not "see" Jang Kang and the former king switched; but Jin Woo did.
> 4. And what the hell was with that mirror? Does it sees future?
That's a new revelation in episode 6, a cliffhanger, so nah, no clues there yet. We can list a hundred theories about that mirror if we want but it'll be largely pointless at this point. Too early to speculate about the mirror. ^_^
It could be an evil mirror -- since mirrors in fiction usually meant "your evil side" and/or "your hidden desires". It can also be a doorway to some version of hell or prison (as used in other type of fictional stories).
Or, it could just be a spirit the Jin Clan imprisoned in that mirror. Or, a spirit the Jin Clan made a deal with but now that spirit is planning something else. (Like the dog; he lives inside a jade dog mini statue.)
LoL we still have 14 episodes more and I think So many things have to unveiled and I actually like that they are…
Yeah, I'm expecting it to go deep and dark, not just that but very.
There are also a lot of other questions to be answered.
- Where is Jang Kang? What has he learned since he left Jang Uk?
- Who exactly is Master Lee, other than being more than 100 years old and the pupil of the founder of Songrim?
- Who exactly is the real Mu Deok?
- Who is that long lost eldest daughter? When did she disappear?
- Why did Master Lee say the soul in "Mu Deok"'s body is strong and there is nothing "bad" he can sense from it?
- Why is Master Lee hunting down soul shifters? And why now? There were/are other soul shifters around, so why did he show up just now and not before?
- Why is Master Lee holding back when he can eliminate Jin Woo himself? He can probably kill all the 12 families at the same time.
The romance, if any, fits better near the end when bodies start to fall and secrets are being exposed. It will also be important for Nak Su who has nothing but revenge in her mind. I think her changing her goals and falling in love will be very important in unlocking her energy (and being one with the body), so yeah, I agree that they should not rush the romance. It needs to be very meaningful.
Yesterday, I mentioned the possibility that blind Mu Deok's energy is possibly why Nak Su can not access her own.…
Yep. Also, she can't just "disappear" and supposedly ran away with a __broken___ jade stone while inside the territory of the Jin clan who happens to be one of the four strongest bloodline of mages.
Nothing adds up (at least as far as the cliffhanger this week). There were also four guards behind them when they greeted her.
It's so weird that a powerless, maid "servant", outwitted them all.
But what if …Nak Su and Mu Deok were not exactly two different souls?
First scenario: The other half entered into a new body and grew up to be Nak Su. While the original body, as a side-effect, grew up blind.
Second scenario: The other half entered into a new body -- the blind body of Mu Deok. While the original body was adopted and grew up as Nak Su.
If this child is the missing eldest daughter of the Jin leader …
In the 1st scenario: the original body was adopted to some random family. Then when Nak Su bumped ("connected") to Mu Deok in episode 1, it re-connected them so when she used alchemy of souls, Mu Deok absorbed Nak Su because they recognized each other -- they were one and the same.
In the 2nd scenario: the body of "Nak Su" is the original body. When she was absorbed by her other half into Mu Deok's body, it probably led to the following:
* Instead of a blue mark, she got two blue eyes = 2 separate incomplete souls finally reunited and still trying to find common ground (they've been separated for all their life after all) * In episode 6, her blue eyes started to dissipate = the 2 souls are finally getting whole * Probably why the Jin family, especially the mother (take note: mother) did not recognize her own daughter, because they're in a different body. * Possibly why the dog is seeing her simply as a soul shifter because the Nak Su and Mu Deok souls are, well, soul shifters. Even if they full become whole again, it still is not their original body.
1. Nak Su's energy is blue. Which is coming from the blue dragon shown in episode 12. Blind Mu Deok's energy is…
Thank you. ^_^
I write fiction; and used to write script ages ago as well. I'm actually thinking of getting back into it, but not much opportunity where I live (it was why I stopped).
But what if …Nak Su and Mu Deok were not exactly two different souls?
What if something happened which split the soul of Nak Su / Mu Deok. The other half entered a body of a girl who grew up to be Nak Su; and Mu Deok, as a side-effect of that, grew up blind.
So when Nak Su bumped into Mu Deok (episode 1) it triggered everything. It's like they finally reconnected. Thus when Nak Su casted the alchemy of souls spell, since they reconnected, she went into the body of "Mu Deok" (or in this case, her original body).
This may explain why they are attuned to each other and the "body" is not rejected Nak Su at all.
The dream meeting of Nak Su and Mu Deok in episode 5 can be a hint to how the split soul has become separate identities; but they are in unison because they are halves of each other. It means that Nak Su and Mu Deok needs to unite; unfortunately at Nak Su's current state, she's still out for revenge. However, notice that the more Nak Su changes the more things seem to be connecting Nak Su and Mu Deok.
BUT! The dog can see Nak Su as a soul shifter. Yes, that is correct, because Nak Su used the alchemy of souls spell. And well, even if they are halves of each other, both grew up separately and with separate identities, they are as good as two souls.
It's possible that when her soul was split, it was probably a very high level version of alchemy of souls.
LASTLY! Think of the title "alchemy of souls". What if it was not just referring to the spell itself and transferring of a soul from one body to another? Jang Kang demonstrated that it is possible to transfer souls between two living people (and if the flashbacks were any hint, Jang Kang was surprised it actually worked, so it means he never tried it before).
What if it is also possible to split a soul? And the title "alchemy of souls" was referring to the "alchemy" of the two souls who were once one and the same?
If this is correct, then it explains why they can cancel each other out. Why the body is not rejecting Nak Su. Why the Jin territory and objects are reacting to her. These halves of each other needs to find to re-unite into one soul instead of trying to outdo each other's energy.
Another thing …Flashback.When the town was going in flames, a made told young Nak Su to "run away when she sees…
If the translation was correct then it means one of many possibilities like:
1. Her father's body was used as a soul shifter's body, and since he failed to consume a human being, he started to go wild; or
2. She is only an adopted daughter. She probably got lost.
If Nak Su was only adopted, there is a possibility that Nak Su is the long lost daughter of the Jin Clan.
However who is Mu Deok then? She is no ordinary blind peasant girl. Her latent energy and Nak Su's are cancelling each other out (which in turn is allowing them to live). For her to be able to do this to Nak Su, it means she came from a powerful mage clan.
I still think blind Mu Deok is the long lost daughter, as I mentioned in the earlier thread, Nak Su was surprised when she touched the jade box and when stepped inside the Jin territory. Also, the objects in the secret vault were reacting to her (Mu Deok, not Nak Su) and even the mirror said they have finally met again (to Mu Deok not Nak Su -- at least that's what I think).
If Mu Deok is the long lost daughter, and Nak Su was only adopted, then who is Nak Su?
1 
You'll only get frustrated if you fail to catch up … and you'll get distracted from your studies too.
Since this seems to be more about autism advocacy, it will remain relevant any time you watch it. :)
The show is episodic in nature. An overarching plot (which is still not clear as of episode 2) and different plots per episode.
Also, as of episodes 1 and 2, this seems to be more about an advocacy on autism spectrum rather than any fictional entertainment value. Think of a fictionalized documentary. It's not exactly a documentary but at the same time it isn't completely made for entertainment.
Philippines: https://www.viu.com/ott/ph/en-us/vod/442502/Earth-Arcade
Singapore: https://www.viu.com/ott/sg/en-us/vod/442502/Earth-Arcade
Since Arin is part of the cast, probably it was Arin's dance or Oh My Girl's.
It would be a waste to just add a scene when it serves no purpose, only newbie writers do that and the Hong sisters are not.
Maybe our analyses will turn out wrong but we can only work with what they've shown us up to the current episode. Regardless, it's also actually a good challenge. It is also a good sign they are engaging the audience post-airing.
For whatever reason, he used the alchemy of souls to Nak Su's father. Maybe her father saw Jang Kang, and the only way to shut him up was to do alchemy of souls. Or, maybe he shifted to her father's body … stole the original chart and replaced it with a fake, then shifted back to his body -- which later made her father insane (side effect of shifting souls -- maybe this was also the reason the former king died, after shifting back to his original body, he just lost it -- but the caster, in this case Jang Kang, doesn't lose his mind because he's the one who casted the spell).
Another possibility is maybe Nak Su's father knew everything and was forced to do what he did to cover for Jang Kang's switching of the star chart. We can say they were in it together and Nak Su's father sacrificed himself for the greater good.
Then Jang Kang disappeared.
(It is also possible, Jang Kang was the one who went insane inside Nak Su's father's body. Everyone is waiting for his return but he'll never be since they killed him already. Jang Kang probably thought of it as his penance/karma.)
Before Jang Kang left, Park Jin confronted him and told him everything. One of it was the fact that the star chart in his office is fake.
The one in his office is more likely just a copy. The original is in the "Recorders Office" (let's just call it that, I can't remember the exact name), and … this is what Nak Su's father is assigned to.
In one of the flashback when Nak Su was still a little girl, her father showed a particular star chart … the star chart about the king's star (or whatever it was called).
Then a few days later, probably even a few months, her father went insane.
WHAT IF
It depends. I have two scenarios for that:
1st Scenario: Mu Deok is the long lost daughter. She was possibly kidnapped and/or maybe they were planning to hide her soul to another body or was used as part of an experiment.
Regardless, her soul split into two. The other half went to the body of Nak Su; and the remaining half is in the original body (Mu Deok). The side-effect of the soul split was she turned blind.
2nd Scenario: Nak Su is the long lost daughter. She was possibly kidnapped and/or maybe they were planning to hide her soul or was used as part of an experiment.
Whichever it was, her soul split into two. The other half went to the body of Mu Deok (who is probably already blind). While the other half remained in the original body (Nak Su).
Now, recall what happened in episode 1: Nak Su was running and bumped to Mu Deok. IF they are one soul split in two, that bump was very significant -- it reconnected them.
So, when Nak Su tried to transfer her soul, she got absorbed to the soul inside the Mu Deok body because it is her other half.
Also recall the dream scene in episode 5 where Nak Su and Mu Deok met. Based on that scene, it would appear that they are cancelling each other's energy. Which has a very positive side-effect: they are not going wild nor are they headed to petrification.
This cancelling of each other's energy also possibly ties in when Nak Su suddenly gained power when she jumped to the energy-filled Lake. It was Nak Su overpowering Mu Deok's energy.
Then in episode 6, when she "Nak Su" touched the jade box as well as stepped within the territory of the Jin Clan, she accessed something that she can not understand. She was surprised. This means that it was not her power at all, there is a strong possibility it was Mu Deok's energy overpowering Nak Su. Point in fact, when they were in the Jin's secret vault, the energy from the objects were reacting powerfully; and the Black Mirror said, (paraphrased) "we meet again". The mirror was more likely talking to Mu Deok and not to Nak Su.
The mirror knows Mu Deok, or at least the two souls inside of the body called Mu Deok.
Oh, it will also explain why her blue eyes is dissipating … Nak Su and Mu Deok are probably slowly becoming one again or "whole". Two blue eyes = two powerful souls (normally there is only one blue 'tattoo'). Two blue eyes would mean there are two "alien" souls in that body. (Which would mean, the body that is "Mu Deok" is not their original body.)
> 2. And why did Naksu's father's maid said "to run away from her father" to little Naksu. Was that translated correctly?
The most possible reason behind that is at that point there was already a different soul in that body and it has gone wild because it failed to consume a human. In other words, at that point it's a soul shifter running wild.
If this is the case, it is not clear when her father was taken over by another soul because soul shifters doesn't go wild immediately.
> 3. In the first episode, Heo and Park Jin say, it's been 20 years after they last saw a soul shifter. And was that soul shifter Naksu's father?
Possible since Heo has not idea that Jang Kang and the former king shifted souls for a week. The only ones who know it is Jang Kang himself, the former king (who's already dead), Jin Woo, and later Park Jin (when Jang Kang explained to him why he sealed the magic of Jang Uk). And in any case, Park Jin did not "see" Jang Kang and the former king switched; but Jin Woo did.
> 4. And what the hell was with that mirror? Does it sees future?
That's a new revelation in episode 6, a cliffhanger, so nah, no clues there yet. We can list a hundred theories about that mirror if we want but it'll be largely pointless at this point. Too early to speculate about the mirror. ^_^
It could be an evil mirror -- since mirrors in fiction usually meant "your evil side" and/or "your hidden desires". It can also be a doorway to some version of hell or prison (as used in other type of fictional stories).
Or, it could just be a spirit the Jin Clan imprisoned in that mirror. Or, a spirit the Jin Clan made a deal with but now that spirit is planning something else. (Like the dog; he lives inside a jade dog mini statue.)
There are also a lot of other questions to be answered.
- Where is Jang Kang? What has he learned since he left Jang Uk?
- Who exactly is Master Lee, other than being more than 100 years old and the pupil of the founder of Songrim?
- Who exactly is the real Mu Deok?
- Who is that long lost eldest daughter? When did she disappear?
- Why did Master Lee say the soul in "Mu Deok"'s body is strong and there is nothing "bad" he can sense from it?
- Why is Master Lee hunting down soul shifters? And why now? There were/are other soul shifters around, so why did he show up just now and not before?
- Why is Master Lee holding back when he can eliminate Jin Woo himself? He can probably kill all the 12 families at the same time.
The romance, if any, fits better near the end when bodies start to fall and secrets are being exposed. It will also be important for Nak Su who has nothing but revenge in her mind. I think her changing her goals and falling in love will be very important in unlocking her energy (and being one with the body), so yeah, I agree that they should not rush the romance. It needs to be very meaningful.
Nothing adds up (at least as far as the cliffhanger this week). There were also four guards behind them when they greeted her.
It's so weird that a powerless, maid "servant", outwitted them all.
And true, whoever is the original Mu Deok, her story is not over, there's something huge to reveal about her and how she ties in with Nak Su.
Second scenario: The other half entered into a new body -- the blind body of Mu Deok. While the original body was adopted and grew up as Nak Su.
If this child is the missing eldest daughter of the Jin leader …
In the 1st scenario: the original body was adopted to some random family. Then when Nak Su bumped ("connected") to Mu Deok in episode 1, it re-connected them so when she used alchemy of souls, Mu Deok absorbed Nak Su because they recognized each other -- they were one and the same.
In the 2nd scenario: the body of "Nak Su" is the original body. When she was absorbed by her other half into Mu Deok's body, it probably led to the following:
* Instead of a blue mark, she got two blue eyes = 2 separate incomplete souls finally reunited and still trying to find common ground (they've been separated for all their life after all)
* In episode 6, her blue eyes started to dissipate = the 2 souls are finally getting whole
* Probably why the Jin family, especially the mother (take note: mother) did not recognize her own daughter, because they're in a different body.
* Possibly why the dog is seeing her simply as a soul shifter because the Nak Su and Mu Deok souls are, well, soul shifters. Even if they full become whole again, it still is not their original body.
I write fiction; and used to write script ages ago as well. I'm actually thinking of getting back into it, but not much opportunity where I live (it was why I stopped).
So when Nak Su bumped into Mu Deok (episode 1) it triggered everything. It's like they finally reconnected. Thus when Nak Su casted the alchemy of souls spell, since they reconnected, she went into the body of "Mu Deok" (or in this case, her original body).
This may explain why they are attuned to each other and the "body" is not rejected Nak Su at all.
The dream meeting of Nak Su and Mu Deok in episode 5 can be a hint to how the split soul has become separate identities; but they are in unison because they are halves of each other. It means that Nak Su and Mu Deok needs to unite; unfortunately at Nak Su's current state, she's still out for revenge. However, notice that the more Nak Su changes the more things seem to be connecting Nak Su and Mu Deok.
BUT! The dog can see Nak Su as a soul shifter. Yes, that is correct, because Nak Su used the alchemy of souls spell. And well, even if they are halves of each other, both grew up separately and with separate identities, they are as good as two souls.
It's possible that when her soul was split, it was probably a very high level version of alchemy of souls.
LASTLY! Think of the title "alchemy of souls". What if it was not just referring to the spell itself and transferring of a soul from one body to another? Jang Kang demonstrated that it is possible to transfer souls between two living people (and if the flashbacks were any hint, Jang Kang was surprised it actually worked, so it means he never tried it before).
What if it is also possible to split a soul? And the title "alchemy of souls" was referring to the "alchemy" of the two souls who were once one and the same?
If this is correct, then it explains why they can cancel each other out. Why the body is not rejecting Nak Su. Why the Jin territory and objects are reacting to her. These halves of each other needs to find to re-unite into one soul instead of trying to outdo each other's energy.
Nak Su and Mu Deok were not exactly two different souls?
1. Her father's body was used as a soul shifter's body, and since he failed to consume a human being, he started to go wild; or
2. She is only an adopted daughter. She probably got lost.
If Nak Su was only adopted, there is a possibility that Nak Su is the long lost daughter of the Jin Clan.
However who is Mu Deok then? She is no ordinary blind peasant girl. Her latent energy and Nak Su's are cancelling each other out (which in turn is allowing them to live). For her to be able to do this to Nak Su, it means she came from a powerful mage clan.
I still think blind Mu Deok is the long lost daughter, as I mentioned in the earlier thread, Nak Su was surprised when she touched the jade box and when stepped inside the Jin territory. Also, the objects in the secret vault were reacting to her (Mu Deok, not Nak Su) and even the mirror said they have finally met again (to Mu Deok not Nak Su -- at least that's what I think).
If Mu Deok is the long lost daughter, and Nak Su was only adopted, then who is Nak Su?