kalenahenden

I think the info Shaman Choi accused Park Jin of knowing is that Jang Gang had been secretly using the alchemy of souls to perfect it which is illegal sorcery and hid it, along with knowing that Jang Gang switched souls with the previous King and Jang Uk was born under the King's Star. All of those things going public will cause chaos.

Yay! Looks like Yunok x Crown Prince ship will finally start next episode. I see those matching peach robes. 😉 I've been saying they are endgame since day one.

pic: https://twitter.com/kalenahenden/status/1561105213410476032

Uk has the power of the King's Star so he can do things ordinary mages will never be able to do, including Master Lee. Which means Uk might be able to bring Naksu's body back.

SOOOOO many hints: 'only I can be this close to you', teasing her about kissing her when she got 'this close', refusing to drink the chaste tea when she's the only woman around for miles, being so happy she turned down yul's offer to take her to the top of the tree, insisting that he really wants to get married at all costs, telling her he felt lost when she went missing, giving her jade eggs that they both know were intended to be wedding rings with the power to ensure life long happiness together... and that's before we get to the many ride or die confessions they've been giving each other. This is one of my favorite romances.

So little is known about Do Hwa, it's possible he was trying to save her. We only know that she was pretty, kind, and had multiple suitors but chose Jang Gang. From all accounts, they did seem to be very much in love and he would've done anything for her, even sorcery.

There's a massive question mark hanging over Jang Gang: why did he start desperately trying to use the ice stone to master the alchemy of souls in the first place?

We know the aftermath of that decision but we don't know the impetus. One thing that has been hinted at is Shaman Choi's activities prior to burning herself to 'death' and subsequent disappearance. We've also learned the once powerful Choi family was behind the Chaos War 200 years ago. They are still bitter about their downfall and are plotting to try to rule the kingdom again with the Danju (aka Shaman Choi) as their leader.

As Gwanju, Jang Gang was in charge of the safety of the entire kingdom on behalf of the king. If he knew the Choi family was a big enough threat that could make him desperate to use the ice stone to master the alchemy of souls. Like Uk willing to use sorcery to save Mudeok, Jang Gang was willing to use sorcery to help Lady Jin save her unborn daughter, Buyeon. Even Master Lee has said sorcery (hwansu, ice stone, alchemy of souls, etc.) isn't evil, it's how you use it. Regardless of what happened afterwards, Jang Gang was likely trying to save the kingdom and couldn't deal with the consequences to his family and friends. It will be interesting to see what he's learned in the last 20 years. What he will do differently this time?

I'm really happy with the Crown Prince's arc too. I didn't like him at all in the beginning and I love him now. He's on a parallel path as Naksu. He was isolated and trained by Jin Mu and now he's making friends with former 'enemies' and working to take down the Danju. I love it!

Never forget that Jang Uk was practically giddy thinking Mu Deok might have brought him to the woods to raise two or three kids.

Not everything is bingeable and that's okay. When I watched Happiness last year, I was trying to catch up before the finale aired but, while I liked the characters, the show dragged for me cause I was just trying to get to the end. Whereas my sister only watched two episodes a week and was loving all of it. My suggestion is to just watch one episode a day. Also, feel free to break it up. Like watch a half hour while eating lunch and then second half during dinner. There's no reason you need to sit down and watch the whole episode at once. Also, the show might not be your cup of tea.

I've been absolutely loving this show. I do feel like they are building toward Jang Uk and Mudeok/Naksu gaining their powers, falling in love, and fighting the Danju. There is a ton of subtle character development--in episode 16, they are not who they were when they started this journey--and the plot keeps creating new expectations and goals which they fulfill. Episode 9 ends one story arc and begins the next phase. Plus there is lots of cool symbolism and parallels. Notice how Mudeok's three love tokens represent the past (bird whistle), present (scented sachet) and future (yin/yang jade eggs), or how the Mudeok and the Crown Prince were both isolated and trained by Jin Mu but are now out there making friends with the 'enemy' to likely join the other side. I can't say anything else without being spoilery but there is a surprising amount of depth to the story.

Episode subs come from intl streaming networks but since the specials are only for Korea there will never be any official subs for them. However, some twitter fans have translated the good bits in individual tweets. Check out https://twitter.com/leejaewookstyle , scroll down a bit. They've got a ton of them.

I definitely think he will stay good and side with Master Lee and Jang Uk. The Crown Prince has come so far. I really like him too now.

Yes for all these reasons.

It's actually doing really well for a Non-English title and particularly well for a fantasy show which is a hard sell for the general public. If you look back, its hours watched are close to Twenty Five Twenty One which was considered a hit. And the fact that there are more episodes has kept it around longer to gain viewers. Looking at the storytelling now that this first part is almost done, it's really obvious now that the Hong Sisters came to Netflix with a 30 episode story and the executives decided to split it into two parts. They are ramping things up for a cliffhanger ending for part one with the big war breaking out. I don't know if they could have done this story in less than 30 episodes because the mythology is so dense.

We know that Jin Mu gave her the sword. What we don't know yet is where Jin Mu got the sword. Where was it being stored before it was given to her? Is it is a stolen sword? The sword is mysterious which is why I'm speculating about its origins.

I put "Theory" before it because it's not confirmed. It's my hypothesis and then I explained my reasons why I think why the it may be Master Seo Gyeong's sword.

AoS is #4 on Netflix's Top 10 Non-English TV Shows this week with 20.1 million hours watched. It was also Top 10 in 21 countries. [source: https://top10.netflix.com/tv-non-english]

Theory: Naksu's sword was originally Master Seo Gyeong's sword. It seems to be a powerful sword. Most swords are passed down through families but this one's origin has been mysterious. Only Master Lee would truly know if it was his master's sword because everyone else is long dead and he gave it back to Uk. We all thought Master Lee was talking about death if Naksu wields the sword, but what if it also refers to Uk wielding the sword. Uk wields this sword in some of the promotional posters, maybe he needs to do this to fully access his King's Star-level powers.

Jang Gang had full access to the constellation room since he is the head of Cheonbugwan. (Jang Gang never resigned. Jin Mu has just been running things in his place for the last 20 years as an assistant.) In fact, the constellation room is attached to his office and he had the authority to do whatever he wanted. He only sneaked it out, so most people wouldn't know. Though it he did trust Jin Mu and Park Jin with the knowledge of his son being born under the King's Star. Since Cho Chung was the recorder mage, he would have known as well. Cho Chung soul shifting is about something else. It's possible that the Choi family forcibly took over Cho Chung's body like they did to others. We don't know yet what part Jang Kang played, if any, in Cho Chung's soul shifting.

Thanks! Buyeon has been really selective about when she's made herself known (like saving Uk from soul shifting) or allowed Naksu to access Naksu's powers. I'm looking forward to Buyeon taking control of her body again to reveal herself and probably save Naksu and Uk in the process.

From the recent explanation of both Jang Uk's King's Star powers and Jin Buyeon's Jin Priestess powers, it seems that they both have 'divine' powers that are present at birth. While these powers need to be honed to be the most effective, their powers are inherently more powerful than any other living mages/priestesses for last 200 years so they can do things that no one else can do. Interestingly, Cho Yeong/Nasku has a combination of their powers and may be a magical bridge between Uk and Buyeon. She has mastered the 3 main magic levels of mages but she also mastered Tansu, which is a combination of the dance the og priestess did to bring the rain and a swordfighting style that weaponizes water. The new threat to the kingdom does not just require 'divine' powers to defeat the evil but it needs Cho Yeong/Naksu as well: the trio of Buyeon, Cho Yeong/Naksu and Uk working together as the universe ordained to restore the balance. But to be most effective, they will need to get Cho Yeong/Naksu's body back. And I think Buyeon and Uk will be able to do that with their 'divine' powers that we haven't seen in action yet. [I subscribe to the theory that Jin Buyeon and Cho Yeong are two souls who are currently living in the same body.]