Alquimia das Almas 2: Luz e Sombra (2022)

Dragged out sequel to a dragged out prequel

CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD!

First of all, I gotta say that I liked romantic chemistry between og Naksu (played by GYJ) and Uk way more than when she was played by JSM. And I liked that the overall story ended on a happy ending, which it desperately needed after part 1's devastating ending. For these two factors I'm willing to forgive a lot of things that were done quite sloppily in part 2, for example:

1. Dragged out FL's amnesia plot and repetitive misunderstandings.
The villains took a bit of a back seat this time around, the main course of part 2 was rekindling the relationship between the leads who, due to FL's amnesia and different looking body, couldn't recognize each other. Very cliche, but not a bad thing in itself. However, for 8 episodes straight the plot was basically going around in circles like this:
-ML says something cold and nasty to FL,
-she gets upset and leaves,
-ML regrets his harsh words and runs after her,
-they reunite until ML has another bout of unjustified cruelty towards FL.
Only in the last 2 episodes the plot finally kicked into high gear and the good guys swiftly, if a bit hamfistedly, dealt with all their problems.

2. Most characters' intelligence got dumbed down compared to part 1.
For the sake of dragging out the drama and misunderstandings they were frequently shown unable to add 2 and 2 together and unable to finish their line of thought when suspecting someone.
-For example, ML, who was very bright and quick to catch on in part 1, in part 2 couldn't figure out that FL is Naksu even with heavy hints given to him since part 1. He couldn't even catch on immediately after she basically spelled it out for him and showed her blue eye marks.
-Another example is Jin Mu immediately recognizing Naksu's face, but not investigating this very suspicious occurence further after simply examining her aura and learning she's a priestess, not a mage.
And the list goes on...

3. Contrived new rules and plot devices that contradict already established lore.
Master Lee, the blatant writers insert, almost every episode kept sparingly throwing newly invented sh*t into the fan to keep the audience in suspence and characters scrambling. Some plot holes remain open because of it:
-Naksu for whatever reason disappearing from JBY's body (that even looks like her now) when she regains her memories, of all things. Why didn't she disappear earlier when she was Mu-Deok? Unclear. But in the end, even her disappearance turned out to be a lie and she simply took a back seat temporarily for Jin Seol Ran to fulfill her duty.
-The fire bird being the original reason Jinyowon was built - no mention of it whatsover in part 1. Was this bird the cause of drought 200 years ago? How was it even captured? Nobody knows...
- The previously established lore stated that only priestesses with divine magic can perform the rain ritual and that it is being kept in Jinyowon. But no, apparently Jin Mu, a mage, had it ready all along and could perform it himself.
-200 years old Jin Seol Ran, who apparently didn't die as was mentioned in part 1, had planned this whole thing all along, so that Naksu and Uk could get together, protect the ice stone and defeat the fire bird, because she could forsee the future. I get Uk being the King's Star with superpowers, but why the heck JSR needed Naksu's soul stuck together with hers in JBY's body still remains unclear.
And the list goes on...

4. The villains overstayed their welcome.
Jin Mu, a very cautios and clever villain in part 1, in part 2 turned into a tired cliche of a tropey mustache twirling, maniacally laughing villain. But his schemes somehow kept working because the good guys, as was mentioned above, were intellectually dumbed down and kept being unmotivated to finish him off until the very end. No smart shaman this time around to boss him around, so he had to contend with dumb sidekicks, creepy crazy queen and greedy grandpas who wanted to live forever. And they all died like total dumbasses, because they grossly underestimated ML's power.

5. Naksu never regained her mage powers.
No badass Naksu expertly wielding sword and magic from S01E01. In the end she was lucky enough to stay in JBY's body through JBY/JSR's grace and kept that body's divine powers, which turned out to be pretty lame, compared. But at least she survived, I guess that's a win.

6. Promised indepth exploration of side characters' stories was a lie.
Most of the time was wasted on retired Park Jin cooking "black matter" to everyone's dismay, while much needed screen time for characters such as Park Dang Gu and Jin Cho Yeon was cut to a minimum. Even Crown Prince got overshadowed by a turtle, of all things.

7. Cheap fake deaths for drama's sake.
In the end none of the good guys died, the audience got duped again just for cheap nail biting thrills. This lessened ending impact by a lot, as the stakes turned out to be pretty minimal. But at least master Lee did something useful for once.

8. ML's reactions to learning that FL is Naksu and that she'll soon disappear were underwhelming.
I dunno what happened to LJW there, but I wasn't feeling any impact from those scenes and he didn't look emotional enough. He looked more like blank faced Yul, but even Yul was more emotional when he learned FL is Naksu.

9. Last episode was a bit rushed, erratic and weirdly edited.
Technically, on paper everything was done right, but somehow still left a feeling of being rushed.
I dunno what it was, but I think it's was an amalgamation of these factors:
-Weird, out of order editing;
-Erratic characters behavior, especially the villains;
-Lackluster CGI, baffling lack of extras in fighting scenes;
-Lack of impact in general - endgame buildup was ruined by ML who, after finally accepting his destiny of a total Mary Sue (aka. King's Star), practically singlehandedly smashed all the villains and that overhyped fire bird as easy as pie without breaking a sweat;
-Too much focus on side characters' endings instead of the main leads and even those were of barely satisfactory length.

Also, I think that leads wedding should have happened at the end of the story when all the issues were resolved, not when FL was about to disappear. It looked out of place considering their current circumstances and reminded too much of part 1 ending, when they were in denial and carelessly making future plans and marriage.

CONCLUSION:
So, did Alchemy of Souls require 2 parts for a complete story? Personally, I don't think so, part 1 already suffered from pacing issues, but in part 2 they've dragged the plot out even more and added lots of new plot holes, to boot. If the writers kept the plot tight, I think they could have ended the story in one season.
But then again, I really liked GYJ's Naksu character and I liked that she too got plenty of time to shine, like JSM did in part 1.
All the rest of the cast, LJW especially, did a really excellent job as well and part 2's overall production value was still through the roof.
Flaws and all, Alchemy of Souls is still a very memorable and gripping kdrama, with a beautiful love story, that I'm sure will be remembered for years to come as a great classic. There's nothing quite like it in kdramaworld right now and I hope it will be an inspiration for more quality dramas like this. Overall, I'm giving part 2 a generous 8 out of 10.

Leia Mais

Did I enjoy it more or am I frustated more?

So we finally had the last chapter and gosh it was a journey. Tbh I neither liked it very much nor hated it. I had no expectation to begin with and just wanted to watch it for entertainment so it didn't hit me as much.

It was evident that the script was solid, unfortunately the way it was executed on screen was illogical and rushed. I believe on paper the story would have been more enjoyed and since the drama had to be fitted in a certain amount of time it became a parody of random scenes. The editing in the second half was very bad. I wanted to root for the USP of the show. The fantasy elements of soul shifting, different energy levels, Jang Uk arc as the protector of the stone, Naksu as an assassin, tragic love story b/w soul shifter and killer of soul shifters was supposed to be the USP in my opinion.
Had they stick to their strengths, the show could have been very different. But no they had to use cheap methods to gain attention.

The storyline became JUST SO DUMB. I ff a lot of Jin Mu's scenes, he was so bad that I skipped most of his dialogues and saved my time and energy.
Also I feel few scenes were "referenced" from other famous movies/drama which didn't fit to this story and failed to be executed properly. Some of which which I noticed-
1. Jang Uk wraiths shown in his room> quite similar to Harry Potter dementors.
2. In EP 1 or 2, there was an underwater soul shifter> I was half expecting it to be similar as Black Panther's Talocan but they dropped it pretty fast without much explanation. I was up for an army of underwater soul shifters hehe.
3. When Jang Uk locked Jin Mu in the secret room> similar to the power of mirror dimension of Dr Strange.
4. Jang Uk super sonic speed when he entered Jinwoyon in Ep 1> similar to Quicksilver in Avengers Age of Ultron.
5. Army of the dead aka soul shifters> Obviously GOT. Infact the intro song was very similar to the one of GOT.

I enjoyed Crown Prince scenes- The "Why did Jang Uk cared for my turtle" was silly yet funny. Sadly he was cut off from the VFX budget and didn't get any fight scenes. Further the transition from serious to funny scenes was well done.
I liked the OST "Scars leave beautiful trace" .

The most frustrating arc was Bu Yeon/Naksu/Mudoek/ Jeol Seo Ran/ Chu Yeon ufffff. The great assassin and priestess was merely said on paper. Infact the entire story was told on paper with nothing actually done. I can list all of them but its pointless and quite obvious for those who have already seen.

The acting was mostly good except for the villain. The main casts were an eye candy, just one complaint- why did they shot romantic scenes with so much anger. Dude that was the most serious wedding I have ever seen! Also CP confessing that he liked Naksu and was angry at Uk for having what he wanted was so understated. Uk reaction to finding out Naksu was all the more understated.

In conclusion, did I regret watching it? No because it had potential. Will I recommend or add it as my best watch? Definitely No for obvious reasons everyone felt.

Leia Mais

Too much drama for a simple solution

Ok, so I after finished S1 I came here and the ratings and reviews scared me lool
How it was possible? S1 has 9.1 and this season review where so negative I was confused but now after finishing the all thing I see where people are coming from.

The biggest problem here was the lost memories plot. It took 8 episodes out of 10 and the revelation was dry asf. UK didn't seemed the surprise or happy at all. They dragged the drama so much. 5 episodes would be enough.

The filler with So-I was unnecessary, Yul almost dying because he was too guilty to ask for help didn't maked sense, plus he was planning to kill Naksu, the same friend he was guilty of leaving behind, I just can't understand really.

Every episode a new theory would pop up about Bu Yeon's soul, one episode it was gone and nnext episode it was still alive it was annoying and confusing.
The comic aspect was also gone ?1 or 2 jokes sometimes, but It was forced sometimes.
Bu Yeon's mom was a B, but they made her somehow a better person at the end LOOL

I really think they should wasted more time in showing Naksu's new personality to the public, she kinda lost her badass and rude attitude that we loved, the mannerism was there but still...

I'm not even mad at the change of personality I'm mad that they wasted her character, in my opinion she is living as BY and not as Cho yeong. It would be nice seeing her still as a skilled warrior with BY's supernatural powers, a mix of both. It would be better in my opinion. Her character in this season was just a love interesting of Uk, that was sad for me.

At the end she didn't fight along side with UK and that was disappointing to watch. Just another weak female lead at the end.

Leia Mais

The Shadow made the Light disappear

LIKED:

The Naksu who fought Park Jin as the original Mage leader S1, in very beginning who we saw soul shift into Mu-deok, is same face as FL in S2.
The animal trainers did well: Loved the turtle moments, especially with Prince Go Won and the dog that could see soul shifters also was perfect.
FX good but not as awesome as in S1.
Costumes for the most part were good.
Acting by actors and actresses well done for most of them. Lee Jae Wook was great in both S1 & 2. Season 2 Jin mu mage (Jo Jae Yoon) wasn’t as compelling, but he always gives a good performance, especially when playing the bad/evil guy.
Music was for the most part appropriate, scene building and well executed.


DISLIKED:
A lot of the issues/dislikes from S1 were continued in S2, for example: Shaking camera moments and Fx green screen noticeable.
Using same actor (Im Chul Soo) to play different, non related characters; Mage Master Lee and one of the guys delivering alcohol, that Jang Uk saves by killing soul shifter [that went into son’s body].
Pacing issues, a lot of boring parts due to bogged down by too much politics and showcasing human greed

Directing: too much staring and inactive moments, extended scenes that didn't help in any way.

Writing:
Plot issues throughout, dragging on moments that were unnecessary, forcing chemistry that had nothing solid to back up the instant connection. Confusing choices for changing the character of FL that was so well developed in first season, to a character that was lacking in all aspects and then claiming she was this all along. The mess they created for the main storyline for the supporting characters of the Royalty, Unanimous Assembly and Jin mu w/ his mages, was very lame. The body swap and soul change explanation for Naksu/Bu-yeon was badly executed. Yes they used the same body for FL S2, as the opening scenes of Naksu in S1, but that didn’t help. Too many anti-climatic or low impact moments of important characters in S2, that were so evolved and developed in season 1. The character development and especially growth even for the FL, ML and other dominant characters was non-existent.

Wardrobe: the crowns of the King & Queen, all looked like those paper things you get from a fast food burger place. Also the jewelry mostly became heavy and clunky looking (like the hair pins). I understood why the colour palette changed to be more somber for literal execution of the SHADOW concept of S2, but the effort seemed lacking.


OVERALL: Most of the reviews cover all the crappy parts of the plot and their actor/actress character preferences. With a decent budget and good FX and getting a S2 to explain the concept of the plot, why did the Hong sisters give up on their plot and create a cliche and trope driven mass of garbage? Also I am sure they could’ve afforded the best camera production crew, so no excuse for zooming in way too close (I hate seeing up actor noses, cut off faces) and no film stabilizer! To give a proper review I did watch everything again, after watching it the first time. But I did use fast forward often in S2. As seems to be the trend lately with Korean Dramas, S1 is exceptional and S2 disappoints. I hope in 2023 that changes and we get consistency. I would recommend this show overall, and I will rewatch certain moments, but not the whole thing.

Leia Mais

Closure but could have been better

What i missed the most was seo yul calling "moo deoka" just to get her riled up.
Since this was a sequel i tried not to have too many expectations but somehow the storyline was a pain in the ass.
Let me tell you a story. Then i tell you what happens next but indirectly its the same story with a few details changed and a few other points completely mismatched but enough to keep you hooked.
What ruined the story was the bad chemistry between the leads.
It's not a horrible watch but definitely not something worth sending 10 episodes over as well. You might as well watch it on double the speed.

Leia Mais

An otherwise perfect drama that has fallen from grace

I'll keep it short and simple: They should have ended the series in season 1 adding just 2-4 episodes totaling 22/24 episodes.

There were good things in season 2 but there were more things that made the drama bad than good. The direction of the story completely went south and one bad decision led to another. They did a great job with season 1 and should have just kept using the same formula instead of being ambiguous. The writers definitely had a hard time choosing between one or the other, so they decided to create a story of in-betweens. They should have just committed to one direction of a possible story instead of trying to please both sides.

Season 2 kinda felt like a mess and the final scenes were lackluster and unsatisfactory, but I wouldn't say that the drama was completely bad. Ultimately, season 1 was an absolute masterpiece, while season 2 needs to be watched just to achieve closure from the drama -- unfortunately.

Side note: I love the main cast of both seasons to death. I wish nothing more than their success in future dramas <3

Leia Mais

Soul Survivors - AoS Concludes

AoS-2 is a seamless continuation of S1. It picks up about 3 years after the dramatic events of S1's close.

As the show opens it appears that they've spent a lot of money on the special effects. It's quite beautiful. The music is top tier also. Blue Flower by LIA is Shazamable. Aching, by Kassy, is too, as is I′m Sorry. by Ailee, and Raindrops, by Gummy.

They switch up the FL and she's got a very different personality than our S1 FL. She's also suffering from memory loss which explains part of the change. She has no memories and he doesn't recognize her, so they need to fall in love all over again. It should have been awesome, but their delivery is barely above average. Is it big-buget disease? Too often, a bigger budget bankrupts the humanity.

AoS doesn't take itself seriously. In S2 I was hoping they would go loftier, but they opted to go lower - they get more nonsensical than I would prefer. It's still a fantastic watch.

If I wasn't already familiar with Chinese fantasy, I may not have had those thoughts. Chinese fantasy, despite its often clunky special effects, is arguably the best in the world, and AoS has Chinese influence written all over it. If you like it, alchemize your watch list to include these amazing Cdramas:
Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber 9-Kung-fu!,
Eternal Love-8.3,
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Handsome Siblings 8.7;
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
The Sleepless Princess 9.1;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8,
Love Between Fairy and Devil 8.9,
Love and Redemption-10

AoS-2 drops off slightly from S1, but it is a solid conclusion to the popular show. I wrote more about it in my S1 review.

Leia Mais

Excellent Cast; Lackluster Story/plot

Im a lover of great stories and faithful characters. To be honest I actually quite liked the first 8 episodes of AOS part 2. It has more of a rom com vibe and i don’t really understand why the writers kept trying to input conflict into the show when that clearly isn’t their strong suit. Every major conflict the show presented was solved so easily— there was no journey, no trepidation or wondering whether things would work out, and nothing significant lost or taken from the characters. The writers literally took no risks. Even if I didn’t watch the ending I could have told you that all the bad guys die and all the good guys live… and that’s exactly what happened.

I’m completely underwhelmed with the ending of AOS part 2. There was so much bulld-up concerning so many different plot lines:
- the fire bird that’s going to destroy the whole world “oh no!”
- the evil unanimous assembly who were greedy for the ice stone even from part 1.
- Jin mu pursuing his only character trait “im evil muahahaha”
- The protection of jinyowon and powerlessness of the jin family
- naksu/cho yeon/ jin bu yeon is definitely going to die— she definitely is..the story promises it! (spoiler…she lives)

The resolutions to the plot’s “major conflicts” were all solved SO QUICKLY it made me wonder what was the point of having them as conflicts in the first place? Especially the fire bird scene, the build up of that was across the ENTIRE part 2 show yet was resolved in less than 5 minutes… its just SO underwhelming.

Even that funeral they held for the “death” of the 3 main characters was also resolved almost immediately and then never addressed again. It was just so frustrating. Because I enjoyed the first 8 episodes enough, that made watching the final 2 episodes so shockingly disappointing. Sure its a happy ending, but how can you have a “world is going to end” scenario where all the main/ “good” characters survived no problem and fight scenes were over with a overwhelmingly crushing defeat to the opposing side? I think the writers really should have just stuck to the rom com concept. Also i gave up on the plotline of naksu as a fierce strong assassin from part 1. I felt like the writers themselves just didn’t want to write a fierce female character so i’m not going to put down the show for that plot line.

Ultimately the best part of the show was the actors and what they did with the characters they were given. Basically i liked the friendship chemistry with the characters and felt annoyed that the writers kept trying to push ‘love’ unto Cho Yeon where friendship suited the relationships better. Ultimately I did mostly enjoy the show before the last 2 episodes, so i cant rate it too harshly.

Leia Mais

A huge let down

I was a big fan of season 1, I didn't mind the few draggy episodes towards the later half of it because the main story was intriguing and loved all characters to begin with. However this season is just draggy, plain and disappointing. I've been waiting for the grand reveal and the rebel female lead to show up and kick some ass since the second episode, but all I get is a puppy faced girl running around looking stupid and weak, the cliche clueless damsel in distress. Every other sub plots are also going on direction less with some fan service here and there. I'm just annoyed at this point.

The popularity of this drama amazes me, reminding me of how different our perceptions are.

Leia Mais

A little weak compared to part 1

This was a big budget drama that borrowed a lot from Wuxia dramas and it's super obvious when you start watching. Personally I loved the effect and was immediately pulled into the story. The costumes, sets, effects and music were all on point and amazing. The amount of care and effort is so visible in every frame. This drama has a very typical underdog story that is also propped up by an underlying mystery which takes 30 episodes to fully unravel. I feel that the first season was fine for the most part and had a lot of satisfying “anime-like” moments that pulled you deeper and deeper into the world. The problems start becoming more apparent when you consider the romantic aspects of this show and it falls a little flat. The acting in this show is phenomenal from everyone involved when you set aside the romantic parts. In the first season I couldn’t help feel a distinct lack of chemistry from the leads… The secondary couples are not not even worth mentioning at all. The chemistry between the main couple does manage to improve in the second part due a major change in the depiction of the characters. Despite the fact that the romance manages to improve in the second part, the characters all get REALLY dumb. They also start saying and doing the dumbest stuff to move the plot along and some of the retcons (pertaining to reincarnation) were too much to be acceptable. All in all its a pretty good show but it wasn’t tied up well enough to be truly great, memorable or rewatchable.

Leia Mais

The sequel that shouldn’t be made

The first season established solid chemistry and relationships, especially between the lead, which is one of the most engaging element of the show. Although changing the female lead fits the narrative of the story, it also inevitably forced the audience to reacquaint with a new character. The personality of the new female lead is so vastly different from the first season that it no longer feels like a continuation but seems to be a completely different person. And because Jang Uk’s attraction to this new Naksu was not clearly explained, it doesn’t feel like he is drawn to elements of Mu Deok that he finds in her but appears more like he is simply attracted to the comfort she offers. Their rekindling feels more like a betrayal of Mu Deok than a reunion and is extremely unsatisfying to watch. The general writing is sloppy and the scenes are mostly unnecessary and does not add value to the narrative.

They should have extended 1 or 2 more episodes to season one and wrap up the show. Watching season 2 took away so much of my enjoyment of season 1 that I wish I could unwatch it.

Leia Mais