Alquimia das Almas 2: Luz e Sombra (2022)

Great if you are a fan of the lead couple. So so if not.

1/ WHAT I LIKED:

- Naksu / Cho Yeong / Jin Bu Yeon : We left Naksu as a petrified soul shifter at the end of part 1. We find her here as Bu Yeon with a new face and new powers. She will slowly regain her memories as Naksu forcing a struggle of souls which will determine the fate of our heroine. I thought the transitions were well made despite some conflicting theories. I enjoyed the character’s journey in this part 2. I did not want her to go back to her sword days. I was content of her evolution.
- Jang Uk: Dark Uk is pretty badass as a bounty hunter of soul shifters. Scheming Uk was quite ok when he counter schemed the bad guys' plans. His role became a bit messy in the middle part but he makes de last and decisive moves.
- Uk Yeong : I found Uk's relationship with Yeong sizzling at first, then rather fun and cute because of many magic moments they threw in the drama just for the sake of the two characters. I enjoyed these moments. The relationship has some back and forth a little bit annoying especially from Uk’s side, but then Naksu starts to find her memories back. It was a little underwhelming how they finally recognized each other but I liked that they did not make a huge thing of it. Instead, they made choices to address the challenges and issues they were in and accepted their fated encounter. I liked that quiet responsible approach.
- Jin Bu Yeon / Ji Seol Ran: The truth about the character explained and resolved the situation.
- Closure: The drama gave a proper ending to most of the characters.

2/ WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:

- The plot was thin and I felt it lacked consistency and smart writing. Jin Mu looked a weak villain and his demise was not even impressing. Rather funny. There are some twists about the royals and the mages and one character which were decent but a little too "easy" to be called "twists".
- Master Lee : Man became annoying suckling theories out of his thumb.
- Love triangle. Funny in part 1. Annoying in part 2. CP used to hit on Mudeok but it looked acceptable as a race for an unmarried woman. Here he hits on her new version knowing she is “married”. The confusing status of Bu Yeon and the sense of no propriety of the CP just for the sake of love triangle was upsetting for me. Yul 's trajectory was terrible. He made rash, out of character decisions that made him unlikeable at some point.
- Dang Gu was useless other than giving hints until the final fight.
- I wished they toned down Park Jin's funny new hobby but ok it has some good purpose at times.

3/ CHARACTERS - ACTORS:

- Need to praise the acting of Go Yoon Jung. I was skeptical. She bluffed me. I loved her in this drama. Great job composing a complex character who inherited different names and pasts.
- Lee Jae Wook was good. He created a very cold, powerful Uk with a sensitive touch in this part 2.
- Shin Seung Ho made the CP quite fun and likeable despite his flaws.
- Good acting from the rest of the main cast except for Yoo In Soo that I found a bit extreme in his expressions.

4/ OST: Very good. Loved it.

5/ REWATCHABLE VALUE: Yes for the cute leads and their fun emotional scenes and the action scenes.

6/ OVERALL: A proper part 2 for the ones who love Uk and Yeon and want to know their fate from being born to being master pupil then dead and revived to recognizing each other again… There are some draggy parts, some contradicting and confusing revelations and a lacking plot but overall, the story of these two is nice and entertaining. I enjoyed watching this drama week in week out and comment it with the fellow Alchemists. 8/10.

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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.

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The drama in general is good but main leads totally carried this part 2

Alchemy of Souls is definitely one of the best dramas this year but I have to point out that this part 2 couldn't live the expectations to me. It's not bad but the main leads totally carried with their good acting and chemistry. Of course, the cinematography continued to be amazing and the effects as well. We can't say bad things about the acting too, at least for me it was good. The chemistry between all actors (especially the main leads) continued to be good too. So what exactly didn't go that well?

Ok, first, main leads were the big event to me and they completely stole the show. I was afraid of Jaewook not having a good chemistry with the new actress but gosh he had. Second, I felt like most of the negative points is in the way that the writers decided to develop the story. I felt that 10 episodes were too short for the things the writer wanted to do and everything felt a little too fast. The writer wanted to build up again the relationship between the characters and Naksu (now being in her own body) and I understand that but I felt that doing that all over again made the drama repetitive and also made me feel like everything between main leads were happening way too fast. On the one hand I liked it because I'm not a big fan of slowburns, and thanks to that I felt that this season had more romantic moments between the main leads. But on the other hand, thinking about the story itself, I felt that it was a little rushed. Also I felt that the secondary characters lost a bit of charisma they had in the first season and a lot of scenes felt draggy. And the biggest disappointment to me: not being able to see that badass Naksu from season 1. I understand that things are different now and she was practically a "villain" in the first episodes because she was being controlled. But I felt that we all liked Naksu because besides liking her personality as Mudeok, she was a badass before. I think I can say for everybody that we were all expecting to see the badass Naksu again and unfortunately we didn't. And what disappointed me the most is that I felt that this part 2 were totally focused on Jang Uk being the badass character (don't get me wrong I loved it, especially because we can see his grow), and seemed that Naksu were summed up only as Jang Uk's love interest.

So yeah to me it seems that the Hong sisters did not know how to develop the 2nd part as well as the first one, which caused a feeling of disappointment in many people, including me. Luckily, the cast, the plot in general and other things still made the drama overall memorable for me, despite the flaws in this part 2.

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Disappointing

I liked the first fighting scenes with Naksu in Part 1, she looked impressive so when she got burned and Mudeok became FL, it was jarring but I soon fell in love with Mudeok as Naksu. Then found out Mudeok won’t be Naksu in Part 2 -again that was jarring.

Really wanted to give new FL a chance because of the fighting scenes in Part 1. Happy with new Naksu with no memory acting more like Buyeon. But when Naksu’s memory came back, waited for Naksu to appear but she didn’t, just felt like she was always Buyeon still. Was it bad acting? Don’t think so because Naksu in those fight scenes was bad ass. Bad directing? Did directors sleep through those scenes? Even a scene where she dresses herself like assassin Naksu, trying to regain her physical strength (like when she was Mudeok) to get revenge for her death and soon-to-be death and Yul sees her and warns her to not do this in case people recognises her as Naksu, and she’d be hunted, then she decides to continue to dress as Buyeon. But even dressed as Buyeon, Naksu can’t hide her personality.

So Naksu didn’t act like Naksu so the interactions with ML didn’t feel right. The whole romance with ML didn’t feel right. It was unclear who he actually snogged, that long kiss between them was when he thought she was Buyeon - the confusion to the audience or maybe just me,made him not very likeable as a ML, like he was cheating on Mudeok/Naksu so made the kissing scenes very uncomfortable to watch. And if Naksu was Naksu, she would have been furious that he made out with Buyeon. That would have been a good scene to show Naksu was back, her throwing a few knives at his face!

It would have been better to end AOS at Part 1 and Part 2 was a totally different story altogether, that way I could have enjoyed the romance in Part 2 without the characters acting out of character bothering me so much.

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Phenomenal

Such a great drama. I've been watching kdramas for 10 years and it has been a long time since I have been hooked on a drama! But this is the one! Alchemy of souls! Having seen part 1 and nearly all of part 2, I can safely say both actresses in season 1 and 2 give the show its magic. Some people compare them but they really shouldn't!

This drama has brilliant special effects, a beautiful OST, talented actors and a really good storyline. If I had it my way I'd ask for a lifetime of episodes. Can't wait to see how part 2 ends! Hoping for a happy ending and/or cliffhanger preparing for a third season hehe!

If you are looking for a great historical fantasy series, then I have found the one for you!

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This Is like the best drama i have ever Seen it's so good the story everything about it Is Just perfect and i love the main actors chemistry good cast So Younjung Is really a good actress i loved her as Naksu than Mudeok and Lee Jae wook Is the generation of futur actor. I Just Hope they will have a Happy ending cause both Naksu and Jang Ku deserves It i don't want them to cry anymore. I Will like to see Lee Jae wook ans So Younjung on another drama as lead cause they both have good chemistry their acting is so natural that you can thing they're both together in real Life.

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A MASTERPIECE

I liked a lot this drama. I love cast. I think that characters with the actors were suitable. Lee jae wook is my favourite one, although all the cast was my favourite. I believed in the last episodes that the ending will be also bad for the charactes but aftet all not only was happy but also completed. The most completed drama ever. The story also was original and had fantasy that anyones couldn't imagine. I wanted better music for this plot, but actually the visual fx was the best. I recommend to everyone see this drama for the cast and the plot. Especially, the second season was better and you could see even though you didn't saw the first one.

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thoughts on the alchemy of souls franchise

i was bawling my eyes out for the majority of the final episode scenes. midway, i honestly thought a happy ending would no longer be possible. uk & yeong were genuinely happily spending their limited time in danhyanggok, but this just made me cry :(((( plus, that scene wherein park jin had to close the door to jinyowon so that no more relics would escape, but had to sacrifice her wife for that matter :((((( & that scene where yeong said i love you while recalling her last moment as mudeok :(((((((( & died afterwards. felt so much loneliness for jang uk :((((((((( he’s all alone now. tears wouldn’t stop flowing at this point.

things i love about the whole series
1. they showed that love transcends the physical appearance. jang uk loved cho yeong as mudeok, the one he first fell in love with, & as buyeon, the girl whose memory was wiped & asked him to be her husband.
2. during the first episodes of season 2 i was dreading that jang uk learns of jin buyeon’s true identity asap. i was kinda irritated with how hostile he was towards her. i could not understand why they would reveal her identity at the latter episodes. at some point, jang uk fell in love with jin buyeon & i came to understand the reason for this. the hong sisters wanted to show that jang uk loved both versions of cho yeong. they didn’t want jang uk liking jin buyeon (cho yeong) only because she was mudeok, but for what she truly is, or what she could have been if jinmu didn’t raise her as an assassin.
3. the whole character arc of crown prince go. i’m sooo glad they didn’t turn him evil because he was such a lovely character. + the yeong & crown prince dynamic!!
4. seo yul!! also glad they didn’t follow the second lead-turning-bad-at-the-latter-episodes arc. he was innately good
5. storyline-wise, i love how it was written. there’s so much to unpack in the drama—the foreshadowing, the plot, the characters. it was all soooo well-written.
6. am not a fan of fantasy dramas because, i guess, the editing looks all so weird to me. but i love the cinematography on this one.

kudos to the hong sisters. this was a drama for the books. 100/10. probably my favorite drama of the year!!

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Short Answer to "Should you watch it?"

I see why people are saying season 1 was better and all but season 1 was the prequel for a reason, and season 2 the is part for which they wanted to create for a happy ending which made sense instead or rushing it in the first season. I would say this season was quite fitting as a sequel to the masterpiece which was the first season. Definitely a good watch!

I think this was nice form the writers as I would rather they have this season then not and leave the watchers in the dark or even worse make a rushed version in the first season.

As far as my opinion matters I would say its a good watch if you wanna see the great ending the writers concocted. This season was not made to be watched on its own but to be a sequel to the previous one and in that aspect it hit the mark.

Slight heads up! The re-watch rating is not accurate as I personally don't re-watch any shows again so its just done for the sake of the rating so I've given it a fair rating.

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Unpopular Opinion: Better than Part One.

I know this is an incredibly unpopular opinion, but I preferred this season to the last. LET ME EXPLAIN!

One thing I will say is that I loved Jung So Min's portrayal of Naksu/Mudeok in Season 1, but I also really enjoyed the Season 2 portrayal, which reminded me of a Rapunzel-esque character who is locked away with no memories and thus kept childlike/innocent. I think the new female lead portrayed that pretty well. So this was not a major point of contention for me.

Regarding the other actors, I think Arin improved a lot, especially in portraying Jin Cho Yeon's forced maturing and JinYoWon's closing to outsiders. Jang Uk's portrayal was also really great, describing how Naksu's death impacted him and guided his character growth.

Personally, I prefer shorter drama, and the 20 episodes to me felt like it dragged on for a bit, so I for sure preferred the 10 episodes instead.

However, I will also argue that I am mildly put off and confused by the explanation of Jin BuYeon and Naksu's identity. Like from my understanding:
Bodies - Mudeok, Jin BuYeon
Souls - Mudeok, Naksu, Jin BuYeon

I am confused about whether Jin Buyeon's body was already inhabited by Naksu from the beginning or whether Naksu is JinBuyeon.

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surreal

"Ele é a luz que protege o mundo e ela é a sombra que o protege e absorve a escuridão em volta dele" te amei muito alquimia das almas 🌟❤️‍🩹.

Em luto porque a Coreia provavelmente nunca conseguirá reproduzir uma obra tão grandiosa como essa.

tudo sobre essa história é completamente avassalador, os personagens, os dilemas, as tramas e a construção de todo o enredo em si, muito inteligente. Enquanto a primeira temporada foi melhor, a segunda também não me deixou de surpreender.

Alchemy of Souls é um dorama pra se apaixonar, chorar e sofrer porque nunca serei um mago poderoso de Songrim ou uma sacerdotisa com poderes divinos de Jiwowyn.

Sou apaixonada por romances e esse foi avassalador e devastador da melhor forma possível, é muito visível o quanto eles se amam e necessitam um do outro. Desde o primeiro episódio eles se cuidam e mantém um ao outro vivos e eu acho isso muito especial, esse sentimento é surreal e de outras vidas. Me apaixonei pela Cho yeong e Jang Uk, me cativaram de verdade. Já estou com saudades painhos amo demais voceeeess meu jovem mestre preguiçoso e minha mestra impiedosa.

Realmente, é melhor morrer do que não fazer nada minha rainha Mu-deok! ❤️‍🔥.

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