Alchemy of Souls : Partie 2 (2022)

Could've done better

I didn't want to write a review cause I loved the drama but I had a lot to say still.
Everything is good. Everything was going well until Ep7. That's when everyone on the set of AOS 2 understood that they had only three more episodes and they still haven't revealed anything.
10 episodes were more than enough with the run time but it still made us feel that the ending was rushed. In the last three eps, things were revealed in a magnitude of seconds. And the ending? the climax? lasted barely minutes that we couldn't even remember. It wasn't a nice gift with a Tiffany's & Co. bow tied to it but an express gift card that your uncle bought last minute cause he forget to get you a present on New Year's.
And the actress switch.
I understand that you want JSM back cause yall love her but i really don't understand why GYJ received hate. It's not like her acting is bad. You've got to give chances to new actresses.
But then some of you ask, "Was the switch necessary?"
Yes. It was and it is. It showed that they were destined to be with each other even if they can't recognize each other. And also the fact that it was Mu-doek's face that he was seeing, not her face. he never saw her before. Now he sees her completely.

Even tho the ending was rushed, the drama delivered what it was supposed to deliver. Mid-way I lost hope and was gearing up for another Scarlet Heart Ryeo. But the heavens heard the viewers. So no complaints.
Except for this one, thats all I promise.
I got Seo Yul's face and all my issues are gone.

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storia fantasy molto bella!

Vista subito dopo la prima parte che mi è piaciuta molto.Ho in un certo senso preferito questa alla prima parte forse perché la chimica tra i due protagonisti era maggiore e la storia anche se più esagerata e molto carina.
La storia e più fantasy ancora della prima.La protagonista é un miscuglio di personalità una più forte del altra ma alla fine prevale quella del assassina Nasku.
Lui è più freddo,un uomo tormentato dagli spiriti e il mago più forte che esiste.Quando si riconoscono scatta anche un po' di passione.
Sono 10 puntate che scorrono velocemente.
Nel complesso fantastico drama.

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Why Part 2 Totally Steals the Show

I found Part 2 to be far more enjoyable than Part 1! The love story is richer and more nuanced, resonating deeply with its theme of longing for a partner. The emotional complexity of the characters’ relationships beautifully encapsulates the highs and lows of love and desire, making it incredibly relatable and profound—I simply can't look away!

While I appreciated Part 1 as well, I don't quite understand the criticism regarding the change in the female lead. This decision was outlined in the script from the start, and everyone was aware of it. Part 2 is more streamlined, focusing less on side characters than its predecessor, which results in a tighter narrative, even though Part 1 wasn't necessarily slow-paced. Moreover, it wraps up all the mysteries in just 10 episodes instead of 20!

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Pay attention

In the 1 st series we have a female warrior/master who pretends to be a maidservant. Her pupil is besotted and through great effort gains sufficient skills to be praised by her and along the way falls in love.
In this 2nd season our two lovers (due to plot contrivance) do not recognise each other for the majority of the 10 sessions. ML is now a bad ass with unlimited power and FL is a weakened female locked away by her self-serving mother.

Characters from 1st series abound and there is a thread of humour peppered throughout that was not part of the 1st series. Special mention of the black turtle and Park Jin's cooking. Lots of CGI special effects and a great many characters all acting in their own best interests to the extent that from a Wuxia drama it became a melodrama.

What also stood out for me was how the modern element crept in. From short hair to some language idioms, and the Fl was was definitely channeling a modern woman at times.

I found this entertaining and if I ever rewatch the 1st series I will probably rewatch this as well.
Actors all did a great job and production was very elaborate but I feel the Hong sisters needed to keep the themes and flavour of their brilliant 1st series.

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watched weekly as it came out

LOVED the first season / part and was super excited for this one as well!! the main actress change didnt bother me and i love yoonjung sm the change made sense and the overall romance between the leads & chemistry was off the charts i hope we see them in another project together hopefully.. 🤞,, for 10 eps the pacing done really well, rarely slow and i would have liked jang uk to realize buyeon’s real identity just a bit sooner but no complaints 😭 that last ep was definitely the SADDEST. just the thought that kim doju and park jim could’ve died breaks my heart ❤️‍🩹 but they didnt die and naksu’s soul is still alive so we thank the hong sisters for that 🫶 im seriously going to miss this show i did not expect to love it so much but the things we dont pay too much attention to at first soon are cherished! this drama was my personality for months and now you’re telling to find something else?!? 😞 anyways 10/10 acting & ost we love you blue flower by lia ❤️

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When it was good it was so good. Like any drama, there’s always frustration. Fantasy genre don’t really have rules to follow as they set their world, so I tend to let it slide. All these theories has fans expecting to much and look for them for explanation. As a whole, it’s a 30ep structure drama, could have been 20ep & divide the 2actress each 10ep for better pace but I love this world and characters so I love spending extra time w/ them even when they just talk and bond. GYJ & LJW’s chemistry is what will make me return and rewatch this drama. Overall, The most important thing was it was a pleasure to watch this world & anticipate what to come.

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Hope something more

I just finished watching this drama. I had mixed feeling at the end. I was unhappy about the change of the fl but my optimism kicked in and give the new fl a chance. To be honest, there is not much that big going on apart from waiting to find his true love standing in front of him,

The highlight-
sword fight on point
Comedic moments
This Season was a little dark last season I still enjoy it. An especially Jung UK character.
The outfits were a 10
So the couples still love each other.
Love the big fight with Phoenix on ice lark.
Sexy making-out session (made my face go all red)
CGI was flawless hit the nail on its head

Downside-
I was hoping for a real mother-and-daughter reunion
The Crown prince didn't do much until the boring end
Ml and fl didn’t have kids at the end I was hoping there would.
There was not a lot of mystery this season.
Jung Uk could become king if he want to
Ml and fl didn’t feel much romance from them.
Is the gift that fl give to ml I thought there be connected only to their power, not just anyone can use

Overall what I got from the drama was a powerful start to an unknown end filled with love and pain. I wanted a little more from this show.

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The world they built was too good for this

The best way I can describe how this drama felt to me is a shoujo reverse harem manga type of thing. I don’t know if that’s explanation enough but that’s the best I can do. I did have a lot of reservations about part 1, some of them carried out to this second part others didn’t but then new issues emerged in this one.
Let me explain, one of my biggest issue with this show (both parts). Whenever you’re watching this sort of stories there are always key scenes that are meant to draw you in and make you root for the Lead/s and make you go “WOW this character is super cool”.
This drama had -IN MY OPINION- too many. It was specially bizarre to me in the first part how Jang Uk was supposedly an underdog but then there was always -insert convenient plot hole here- and it allowed him to show off his out of the ordinary abilities. I get it he was supposed to have super abilities compared to the rest because of his horoscope but sometimes they stretched it too thin for my liking. With this second part I got it the first couple of times. it was needed to understand how powerful Jang Uk had become but then every other scene they are showing off his abilities and it got boring very fast.
Now one thing that I liked about the first part that didn’t carry into the second part was the ensemble cast. I know we only had 10 eps for this part but it amazes me how much talent and chemistry this ensamble cast HAD and they let it GO TO WASTE LIKE THAT. Part 1 & 2 feel WORLDS APART in that sense.
The focus was the main couple and I know this sounds ridiculous but the way it was presented to me in the first part was an ensemble cast rather than just the main leads and the rest acting as background which is what part 2 became (except maybe for Park Jin and his new wife). Why introduce so many characters in the first part that ended up amounting to nothing but a couple of sidelined sub level plot lines at most or not used at all.

One thing I liked about this second part though (even if the story felt a little rushed and nonsensical) was that I could finally root for Naksu and Jang Uk to be together. And that’s mostly because they greatly reduced Seo Yul’s presence here but mostly because Jang Uk had infinite amount of romantic chemistry with THIS actress. I was mostly team Seo Yul in the first part because I felt Minhyun had better romantic chemistry with Mudeok than Jang Uk (Besides Yul was given more of the date like romantic scenes than Uk)
Naksu was done WRONG in so many levels they turned her into nothing more than a damsel in distress for this 2nd part. Jang Uk literally had to rescue her up until the very end. Like yes she learned to rely and depend on someone else which is nice but let’s not pretend Naksu wouldn’t have relied on her strength and ability to fight even more so now that she had someone to protect. The shift was too sudden and in my opinion out of character that it felt like we had an entirely new and different female lead.

Because of the way the characters and this world was richly built and shown to us the ending was a little disappointing because it could’ve delivered something more. The OSTs and the cinematography was top notch and it does feel like I could watch another season of this with the newly appointed King and/or Seo Yul stories as the main focus because they are interesting characters by their own right.

There’s so much more Id like to add like how they made me cry so much for no reason because nobody ended up dying (it would’ve been better if they had it would’ve set how high the stakes were and the severity of the fight at hand) or the way they recycled Jin Mu one too many times BUT overall this was an enjoyable watch though nonsensical at times.

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People who didn't like it, just didn't understand the story. It's just as great as season 1

I would start by saying that Alchemy of Souls season 2 has the same elements as season 1. If you liked the first season, you will like this in the second:
- the humour
- the photography
- the acting (better than in the first season)
- the environment, the setting
- the epic scenes (less but better than in season 1)
- the friendships, romances and arguments

I honestly think that the people who left bad reviews just didn't understand the story.
Two souls confront each other in the same body, one of which is better than the other (hence the fact that it's not the naksu we were introduced to in season 1, she can't be entirely herself). And you seem to have forgotten at the end of season 1, how tender she was with her husband.

Also, I've read that some people find this season "mysoginous" which is absolutely not true!
I think you forgot all the female characters who play a CRUCIAL ROLE in the story :
- Kim Do Ju: She has the most impact on Jang Uk's decisions. Without her, he would never have made so many good decisions.
- So Yi: She is really bad-ass. Luckily she is there to give real information!!!!! Without her, there was no sequel after episode 5.
- Naksu: I won't say more for spoilers but without her, the world would fall apart.
- Jin Bu Yeon: main character, one of the most powerful. Same as Naksu, without her the world will end.
- Jin Ho Kyung: Charismatic character that everyone fears. I won't develop more for fear of spoilers.
..so please, there is no point in using such words

My feeling about this season:

I lost hours of sleep again because I love this show. The story and setting are gripping. Still as good as the first season.
Not to mention the acting is really better than the first season.
Let the story carry you along, it's great.

Only negative element:
Yes, there are a couple of inconsistencies, but frankly, it's not a big deal.

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Best Drama Ever

I really love the season 1 but this season stood out to me the most knowing it only has 10 episode. It is much more deeper and whenver I watch this it always leave me longing for it should never end. I just connect with drama at much more level. comedy and everything is fun but superficial in the end and for me comedy has 0 rewatch value most of the time . But this has some deeper emotions has hits me and I can watch it multiple times. I love the naksu caharacter when I saw her for first time that was the most beautiful character i have ever seen and thier chemistry is the the BEST and their is no one who can change my mind. In season 1 actress was beautiful but their chemistry was little cringe to me she was also amazing

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