“Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow” (환혼: 빛과 그림자): Season 2

By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
February 10, 2023

Jang Uk (played by Lee Jae-wook)
Nak-su / Bu-yeon (played by Go Youn-jung)
↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name.

There’s a reason why it’s best for me to review shows shortly after I’ve watched them … because if I wait too long, I forget a good chunk of why I liked (or disliked) a series. But it’s been a busy year already so I’m a bit behind. With that said, I’ll jot down a few things from the notes that I took about this second season of “Alchemy of Souls,” which I enjoyed — but not as much as the first season.

All the major players are back except, notably, the female lead. Jung So-min’s Mu-deok has been replaced, so to speak, by Go Yoon-jung — who we saw briefly as Nak-su, the soul shifter who took over Mu-deok’s body, in Season 1. Here, she is still Nak-su, but trapped in the body of Bu-yeon — the eldest daughter of the Jinyowon clan. Due to her memory loss, she has no idea she’s Nak-su for most of the season.

She and Jang Uk start off their relationship contentiously. She wants him to kidnap her so she can escape from her domineering mother’s grip and he begrudgingly agrees. Initially, he’s immune to her charms. He hasn’t gotten over Mu-deok, who may or may not have perished three years ago. But as the episodes progress, he finds comfort in Bu-yeon’s familiarity.

There’s a lot going on here: the spineless King from the first season returns with a greed for power; the real Queen battles her soul-shifting nemesis; the Crown Prince — who had previously been smitten with Mu-deok — is attracted to Bu-yeon (and rescues a turtle to please her); and Jin Mu — the half brother of Jinyowon’s leader, Jin Ho-gyeong — enforces a reign of terror on everyone, including his sister. (Why Jang Uk didn’t kill him at the first opportunity is beyond me…)

Speaking of the sister, Jin Ho-gyeong is as much of a villain as anyone here who, in her own way, is as evil as Jin Mu.

There’s nothing horribly wrong with this season — except, perhaps, for what the writers did to Park Jin, the head of the Songrim who stepped down to let his nephew takeover. This fierce warrior turned into an inept homemaker who bumbled around making horrible food that no one wanted to eat.

Ultimately, the memory of the chemistry that existed between Jang Uk and Moo-deok lingers and can’t be replicated here, no matter how much we want to root for Bu-yeon and Jang Uk.

Airdates: Ten episodes — running from 75- to 85-minutes long — aired from December 10, 2022 to January 8, 2023 on tvN. I watched this on Netflix (U.S.). You may read my review of the first season here.

Spoiler Alert: In the first season, Nak-su had soul shifted into the body of Mu-deok, a weak blind girl. But in season two, we learn that Mu-deok’s true identity is Bu-yeon. But when Nak-su inhibited her body, she was unaware that the blind girl belonged to the powerful Jinyowon family.

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