Let’s be honest, many of us have yet to recover from the finale of “Alchemy of Souls” (환혼) episode 20. As expected it peaked at #1 in Korea and on Netflix worldwide. The dramatic finale saw MuDeok/ Naksu being controlled by Jin Mu after stabbing Jang Uk/ Jang Wook. When she tries to take her own life by jumping into the water, we see her being rescued by a duo of women.
Besides living in suspense at the cliffhanger ending, audiences were given a teaser of “Alchemy of Souls” part 2. We ended up with way more questions than answers. Unfortunately part 2 will only premiere in December as production is still underway. Having said that, there’s still a whole lot to unpack. If you’re here, we’re assuming you’re all caught up, cause there will be a bunch of spoilers ahead.
Jang-Uk’s new purpose
Will we see a more ruthless Jang Uk in part 2? He was burned as a sinner, reborn with a King’s Star and now possesses the ice stone. The Jang Uk immortal era has begun. As someone who has the biggest arc in the series, he went from being a troublemaker to becoming one of the fearless and most powerful mage.
Who rescued MuDeok?
As we see a devastated MuDeok throwing herself into the lake/ocean, 2 mysterious women appear to pull her out of the water. While it was hard to see who these characters were at first glance, eagled-eye fans pointed out that those women could very well be Lady Jin Ho-Gyeong’s people as they were spotted escorting Jin Cho-Yeon during her wedding (that never came to be).
More to BuYeon’s story
Justice for BuYeon! As a Twitter user pointed out, BuYeon has been described as one of the most powerful mage, yet her story has been tragic and mostly in the background. There’s a huge gap between the time she got separated from her family and when she came in contact with Naksu. What happened in those few years? There are also a ton of theories as to why BuYeon and Naksu were able to coexist for so long.
During the finale, So-i also confirmed Lady Jin’s suspicion that MuDeok’s long lost her daughter. When Cho-yeon vowed to take revenge on MuDeok for the death of her father, Lady Jin explains that it wasn’t really MuDeok and makes her promise to keep her body alive at all cost. C’mon, a proper family reunion needs to happen!
Ko Yoon Jung/ Go Yoon Jung (고윤정) will take the lead actress role
Sadly though, Jung So Min won’t be reprising her role in part 2. Moving forward, Ko Yoon Jung/ Go Yoon Jung – who first appeared as Naksu – will take on the lead actress role. Some fans have even started to ship Naksu and Seo Yul as a couple, but we’ll have to wait and see how this love triangle plays out. Still, it’ll be weird not to see Jung So Min especially when she’s been such a huge presence in season 1.
“Alchemy of Souls” Part 2 Gets Dark
Following the events from part 1’s finale, it appears that many of our favourite characters have been deeply affected. A time jump shows Jang Uk clad in a dark blue shade outfit while using Naksu’s sword to kill soul shifters. Both Cho-yeon and Dang-gu are sporting black hair; their once cheerful spark is now gone. To echo fans’ observation, only Seo Yul seems to radiate light.
Rewatch the teaser here:
