Alquimia de Almas Parte 2: Luz y Sombra (2022)

whats wrong with Season 2, Season was a masterpiece!

the worst thing about the season 2 was their explanation why Naku had a different body. They only didnt want everybody to recognise her which would of course include Uk as well, so instead they opted for a differnt actress and came up with some ridiculous idea which later was completely overturned without any explenation.

I only wonder who told the new actress to act like a stupid bimbo? Was it the directors or was this her own interpretation of how Naksu would behave? Honestly, you don't forget your character and start acting like a different person just because you have lost your memory. If she was Naksu with amnesia she should have at least behaved the same, if she was Jin bu-yeon who only carried Naksu soul around it would have been fine but unless Im mistaken we were told its Naksu who is in charge as apparently Jin bu-jeon's souls was dead? (Master Lee's own words at the beginning of the s2 and later completely forgotten) Character is fundamental to who you are and does not change so easily unless she had a part of her brain removed or damaged ( s2 FL acted as if she left part of her brain at the bottom of that lake). If Jin Bu-yeon still acted like Mu-deok then s2 could perhaps offer some saving grace as to why Jung Uk fell for her, but sadly no. He fell for a beautiful woman and completely forgot about Naksu. Yeah I get that 3 years is a long time for a 20 something male and he wasn't a eunuch so testosterone finally kicked in but seriously... they should have waited for the kiss until he realised jin bu-yeon was Naksu.

Oh and let's not forget how in s1 Naksu thought hard to regain her power so she could use her sword but at the end of s2 she is happy with Jung Uk using it and herself becoming his side-kick? Shall I blame the Korean culture for this or the writers? I didnt know women as soon as they married completely forget who they are?
Your thoughts?

Oh and something that just came to me: I know a girl never wants to hear: you remind me so much of her or you are just like her, but at least in this case it would have justified Uk's falling for Jin Bu-JEon but you know why he never said that? because she was never like Naksu/Mudeok. ,

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Overrated for people looking for something else in kdrama nowadays

I cannot say anything about cgi, music or performances. Even tho, no music was good enough for me to remember over the time. And some performances could have been way better but the directing allow them to act « not that well ».

But what I regret is that drama starts off with a very interesting plot and cool special effect we rarely see in dramas. The cinematography is beautiful too.

And then, little by little, we fall in the trap of a standard k-drama plot, which, nowadays especially, is only for fan services for idols and nice looking actors rather than a real plot, complexity, suspense, or without being complexe, something opposed to what we are used to. I mean if you look at it has nothing surprising to offer. Nor great plot or message to tell.

But I guess we call kdramas for a reason and kdrama fans for a reason too as I see the ratings.

I already said something about the acting. If you remove the cool stuffs and beauty… it looks very much like an amateur series in terms of performances.

People are going to say that of course the performances are not perfect since we have rookies. But this is the point… if you can clearly see it, how can you give 10/10 to performances ? Also I am not giving a bad rating because the director knew what he was doing and what kind of public he was aiming at. In that sense, performances are very okay.

Should you give it a go ? In order to support CGI yes but other than that, you can live very well without seeing it.

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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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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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Happy ending

Thankyou Hong sister for a happy ending 😭😭❤️ and to all cast thankyou so much we will miss you, I don't know want to do im so happy right now, we want a season 3 or a new drama for Go Yoon Jung and Lee Jae Wook 🤞🤞❤️ WE GOT OUR HAPPY ENDING how can I move on from this drama 😭😭 life is empty without alchemy of souls thankyou so much Alchemy of Souls!!!!!






saying goodbye is so hard 😭😭😭😭!!!!! Huhuhuhuhuhuhhuhuhuuhuhuuuhhugugughuguhuuggufhwoqqlsnfnfnfnfmfhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhhuhiuhuuuhhhuhuhuhihuhuhuhuhhuhhuhuhuhuhuuhuhhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu hi hi

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Stop comparing to S1!

So much criticism from comparison to S1. Seriously, both seasons are great for different reasons. S2 is the perfect closure and the progression of the S1 plot.

First of all, though I miss Jung So Min, Go Youn Jung is perfect as soul-shifted Jin Bu Yeon. I had to double check if it's the same actress who played Naksu in S1 because she really looks/acts like a different person as JBY (as she should be). She cannot be Mu Deok again because Mu Deok's memories and servant's identity are gone already. She cannot be sword-wielding Naksu again because she's no longer in the original Naksu's strong body. To me, the female lead character is the combination of Cho Yeong/Naksu/Mu Deok/Jin Bu Yeon. Wanting her to go back to the assassin Naksu phase is not fair to the original Jin Bu Yeon whose body and powers the female lead has 'inherited' (so to speak). Both in S1 and S2, Jang Uk loves... this combined essence of the female lead,... not separate Naksu nor Mu Deok. One nice subtlety is... though JBY also develops friendships with the crown prince and Seo Yul, this time it's more on equal footing.... compared to Mu Deok's friendships as a servant.

Also, why are people questioning Uk's loyalty. He admits to his feelings for JBY only in Ep 7. Before that, it's all angst (which I love for S2). If you accept that JBY is the natural progression of the female lead character, you'll more than welcome Uk and JBY relationship. Uk in S2 is no longer flamboyant; he is now kinda typical brooding hero with a massive chip on his shoulders.

I do agree that the moment Uk realized the truth about JBY was a bit underwhelming. But I understand the direction. At that point, he already loves that woman, his love is not gonna change, but this revelation will only hinder their future together. Hence, Uk would feel more conflicted than happy about the truth at the moment.

I do want to see more on the display of JBY's divine powers. She could call the rain after the defeat of the fire bird etc. All in all, I felt 10 episodes is too short. Acting 10/10! Chemistry 10/10! They could just fill it with more fluff, make it 16 episodes, and I'd happily watch.

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Overall excellent fantasy

SOOO many people are confused about the 'change' of actresses.
The first season had Naksu in someone else's body. So she looked like said person. As all the soulshifters do.
It was wonderful, & Jong So Min did a great job. But let's remember that Naksu in actuality looked like Go Yoon Jung, okay?
So, that ends with her petrifying like other soul shifters.
But Master Lee, plus the powers of the owner of the original body, makes it possible to bring back Naksu/Bu Yeon, albeit without any memory of the past or her identity. The soul that inhabits the body being Naksu, it shapes the body to look like Naksu (very necessary for the plot). THIS undoubtedly was planned from the beginning, because otherwise everybody would have immediately recognized her as Mu Deok! I did find this a bit inconsistent, as the Queen doesn't manage to get her original form back, but I suppose it could be explained by the body of Bu Yeon being turned to stone & having to reconstruct itself.
So all the nonsense about the actress 'changing' is just that - coming from people who do not understand the underlying plot development very well, & possibly failed to realize that the actress in Part 2 is the SAME one playing Naksu (as Naksu) in Part 1!
As for the way Naksu as Bu Yeon acted, good grief! She totally behaved as Mu Deoki had done (or as Naksu as Mu Deoki had done). She didn't have the anger and drive of Naksu because she lacked the MEMORIES of Naksu, but she didn't act like the real Bu Yeon either (as much as one can tell, seeing we only saw her (as Mu Deoki) briefly. I totally enjoyed those episodes so much, because she was reminding Jang Uk of what drew him to Mu Deoki without him realizing what was happening.
The final 2 episodes had some WTF moments, but they weren't overwhelming & mainly had to do with the somewhat illogical plot around the House of Jin & that Firebird/Dragon. It did seem that Jang Uk managed to destroy the mages much too easily, as well, which could have been improved with another episode - but since he'd been touted as all-powerful through-out Episode 2, that didn't bother me overmuch.
I loved the way all the secondary plots & characters had their own stories wrapped up. So many of these fantasies end sadly or ambiguously - or 'they were reincarnated together' ~sigh~ This one didn't do that, and I'm grateful.
So overall this is one of the best high fantasy dramas I've seen - including Game of Thrones, The Witcher, The Rings of Power, as well as several Chinese ones, let alone Korean. It wasn't dragged out too long (GOT, & every Chinese fantasy I've seen other than Ghost Bride), didn't destroy itself in the end (The Witcher), and didn't have a book that it mangled (The Rings of Power, Wheel of Time, Game of Thrones once Martin left). The Hong sisters know their craft very well indeed. Kudos to them!

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