Alchemy of Souls : Partie 2 (2022)

Obrigado Jang Uk e Cho Yeong por ter inventado o romance

Pensar na jornada de Jang Uk e Cho Yeong em Alchemy of Souls é uma sensação agridoce.
Gosto de histórias de fantasia em geral porque me dão a sensação de que depois de uma longa jornada nada mais é como antes. Mas as feridas no caminho estão aí e em algum momento os personagens terão que lidar com elas e foi o que aconteceu com ambos personagens nessa fase da história.
Embora parte do público não reconheça, Cho Yeong é uma personagem que já foi desumanizada muitas vezes na vida, e que encontrar alguém que seja seu porto seguro, mostrando suas fraquezas, egoísmo, raiva é o que a torna mais humana.
Ela não deixou de ser forte só porque escolheu seguir outro caminho, um caminho que não fosse imposto pela perversidade e pelo trauma.
Agora ela está livre para finalmente viver como quiser, sem manipulação. A doce menina, a assassina, a criada, a lady de família tradicional, a sacerdotisa fazem parte da totalidade da personagem. E por mais que ache clichê a perda de memória, tem sentido no contexto da história, afinal ao contrário do que o público pensa, a Yeong se culparia do ocorrido (como aconteceu) e não buscaria vingança porque desde da pt1 fica claro que ela era uma pessoa mais melancólica do que aparentava, e muito intensa já que tinha o lema de morrer se não fosse fazer nada. No último episódio da pt1 é a primeira vez que a vimos desistir, porque matar a única pessoa que ela amava foi um golpe doloroso demais.
E o detalhe mais crucial é que ela estava consciente nesse momento. Então ela nunca voltaria para o Uk se tivesse com memórias. Entendo a intenção das autoras de representar um casal que se ama independente da aparência e que sempre vão acabar se atraindo pelas circunstâncias da própria existência de ambos, já que eles são ligados desde o nascimento da estrela do rei pelas tragédias que a pedra do gelo causou.
A pt2 obviamente tem defeitos, mas não é tão exagerado como alguns aqui acham (a maioria só tem birra pela troca das atrizes e já foi assistir com ranço). A troca era óbvia visto que a questão da revelação identidade da Naksu era o ponto chave da história, e como é uma jornada do herói típica, perder o mestre faz parte da motivação para cumprir sua missão, engraçado que no caso do Jang Uk foi ao contrário e ele ficou apático e só quando ela retorna ele decide cumprir seu destino.
Se ligassem tanto para atuação como dizem, teríamos críticas ao único ator que destoava do restante e só não recebeu críticas por atuar como uma porta porque é bonito, sim estou falando do ator que interpreta o Seo Yul ( quero deixar claro que acho o ator um querido nos bastidores, mas ele não atua bem.) Então toda a situação em que colocaram a Go Youn Jung foi completamente injusta, ainda bem que ela é talentosa e só está no começo da carreira e mostrou que sustenta uma personagem de carga dramática muito bem.
Assim como na pt1 tem tramas desnecessárias e arrastadas, mas o maior defeito do drama como um todo é justamente da pt1 que não desenvolveu a questão do pássaro de fogo e do passado da Naksu. Além disso fico triste que não houve um investimento de tempo maior em mostrar a família Jin e as sacerdotisas que são bem poderosas e interessantes.
Outro ponto negativo foi a insistência do triângulo amoroso que nunca existiu porque o Seo Yul nunca foi uma opção, e só fizeram aquela cena com o verme por pura fanservice e foi um grande desperdício de tempo da trama que já tinha poucos episódios para desenvolver o que realmente importava.
Ponto positivo é que o romance foi bem explorado e entregou a melhor química entre 2 atores que já tive o prazer de ver, eles combinaram tanto.
O tempo ainda vai fazer justiça para o nosso conto de fadas sul coreano e as pessoas vão valorizar esse drama como se deve.

Lire davantage

If season 1 was Action>Romance then season 2 is Romance>Action

Definitely enjoyed it more than I expected (due to the low rating of people here)

Reason 1:
I FELL IN LOVE WITH GO YOON JUNG
Many people seemed to be rating this low because of the change of female lead but come on now. Gyj was literally the female lead right from the start. Plus she's a great actress so I don't understand the hate.
She's so adorable and she portrayed Naksu well. Even though she has different aura due to memory loss, you'll still see Naksu.

Reason 2:
I'm a sucker for romance like this.
The tsun husband x cute wife is just *chef's kiss* Many might find Jang Uk weird for falling for Jby(Naksu) in s2 but I don't think you should think it deeply that much. If he fell for her before, why can't he fell in love with her again? His hearts remember her. That's why at first he's confused on why he feels something for her. But again, his heart recognize her. And dude, I know you expect him not to move on that fast but HELLO it's already been 3 years that time. Even if jby was not Naksu, he deserve to fall in love again. Plus jby was really loveable (AND SUPER PATIENT)

Reason 3:
The chemistry of the characters are on another level!
I personally love turtle couple(Crown Prince x Jin Bu Yeon) Their exchange is always hilarious. Totally love their every scene!

Reason 4:
Great Effects. Some found it lacking but personally, it was amazing. Everything was so original and creative.

Reason 5:
Overall Plot. It was different from S1 but I was not disappointed. I never thought I would love it this much tho(enough to make me write a review.) I saw some wasted potential in the plot but it was still enjoyable despite that

So what stopped me from rating this a perfect 10?
1. Too short! I want more of their fluff scenes.
Many hated that s2 story was centered around their romance but I LOVE IT SO MUCH. We didn't get much romance from the s1 so this os like a treat to me(Who like romance more than Action)

2. We didn't get to see the return of Assassin Naksu.
I'm kinda fine with it but it's just a let down cuz gyj looked badass on s1e1. Assassin Naksu Supremacy!

3. So-i was not given the happy ending she deserved.
I know she's bad/evil but SEO-YUL HAS NO END GAME SO WHY NOT JUST LET HER LIVE AND MAKE THEM LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER?! I was disappointed when she died when we could have just get a character development.

Overall a totally good series! I'm already at my third rewatch cuz I can't get over with Jang uk's and Naksu's sweet scenes. Totally recommended, if you're a sucker for romance drama with a good plot and some action.

Lire davantage

Love is meant to create

We love with our soul, and the heart recognises that which the mind is sometimes incapable or simply too slow to comprehend.

Naksu/MaDeok/Cho Young/BoYeon & Jang Wook have certainly shown us that their love was meant to create and protect. I loved what Master Lee said about the two of them:

“He’s the light protecting the world, and she’s the shadow who protects him from the darkness around him.”

I know some people find the soul changes within BuYeon’s body quite confusing, but I understood them perfectly clear. The whole idea of Naksu being chosen by the priestess (both in her reincarnation form as BuYeon and initial one as the first Jin priestess) to be absolutely brilliant.

I was initially sceptical about it, but the use of the new actress helped show how Cho Young (Naksu) would’ve been like without all the heartbreak & tragedy of her life up to her entering BuYeon’s body. The actress did a great job showcasing an innocence of mind and heart, but also remarkable depth.

With her getting her memories back as Naksu, she became truly wise and any idea of the selfishness she had once possessed was entirely thrown away. The fact that she hadn’t killed Jin Mu in cold blood when she had the chance speaks volumes about her character growth.

Jang Wook was even more awesome in this season than I could’ve imagined him. The actor really knows how to portray a man whose heart is in agony but also one that continues to hope. His character growth is perhaps my most favourite one, from the previous drama to this one, he’s only grown to become more powerful, and even more mindful of the responsibility that comes with such power. His wisdom and ability to sacrifice is truly amazing.

This couple has shown an immense amount of perseverance to be true to each other but also true to their duties and the world around them.

Lire davantage

It’s a 10/10 for me ❤️

IDGAF about what yall say, this shit was fire and the couple had SUCH a good chemistry. It was stronger than with Mu Deok, may I say.

I’m horrible at judging stories and plots and stuff, so this “review” isn’t based on that. It’s more about what I felt while watching and how it filled my hear with joy. I cried and laughed and smiled like a goof while watching this!

If I like it, I like it… And I absolutely loved it! This is by far one of my favorite dramas, if not THE NUMBER ONE.

The relationships between the characters and the problem solving involved… It was so good! The Heir Prince (idk if that’s the name in english) was my faaavorite character. His relationship with Jang Uk was so hilarious and wholesome

I’ll miss them ❤️❤️

Lire davantage

You're not missing out by skipping this series

This show really is terrible. The second season even more so. Pt 2 feels like it caters purely to the audience with no respect to plot or logic. It's like they locked a group of horny teenagers and this was the outcome. Both the actresses were unbearable to watch. The fl in Pt 1 shouldn't have attempted speaking in dialect. It sounded as awkward as it looked. I only have negative things to say about the actress in Pt 2. The male lead was horrendous, character wise. I could not and did not want to root for him. I understand this was an attempt at creating grey characters but god damn, was it awful. The chemistry was off. The ml really had a thing for women who acted like a mom.

I will never understand the Hong sisters' warped sense of what a badass female character is nor will I understand their need to mock, taunt, make fun or, and insult other women in their shows to make the fl shine.

The stakes weren't very high. There wasn't a point in the show where I was at the edge of my seat. The world building was flat and illogical. They threw in random explanations to make the world building fit the scene, which was odd.

All in all, disappointing. Not eager to see Lee Jaewook in future projects.

Lire davantage

What a big disappointment...

I really tried to watch season 2 without prejudice but I just can't anymore....Season 1 is gripping and intriguing, story was woven so tightly together and it keeps you on your toes. I re-watched all 19 and half episode at least three times. However, the writers just decided to prolong the storyline unnecessarily and discard the highlight of the whole production, which is the amazing actress Somin, and drag the show for 10 more episodes, which already been seen with bunches of plot holes, and boring dialogues.... The production team intentionally not mentioning Somin like she is discarded just like her character in the show during interviews and behind the scenes, and the director didn't even mention her name on the award show when he received best director for Alchemy of Souls Season 1. It seems like a dirty game to me! Season 2 is full of forced performances and plot. I am no longer curious about the ending of the show. For me the story should have wrapped up in ep. 19.

Lire davantage