Alchemy of Souls part 2 episode 2 recap & review

In the second episode of part two of ‘Alchemy of Souls’, it is confirmed that Jin Bu-yeon is Naksu; she did not die three years ago. The episode is now streaming on Netflix.

Recap

Jang Uk helps Bu-yeon escape from being forced into a marriage, but he makes it very clear that he would not divulge any information about his past. If she is looking for a loving husband, she should just leave.

Bu-yeon tells him that she was ill three years ago, and her mother cured her. She was blind as a child, but she could see after being cured. 

She does not know anything about her illness because she lost her memory after being cured. Jang Uk looks into her eyes to find signs of soul shifting, but he finds nothing.

Go Won thanks Jin Mu for getting him a weapon as powerful as Jang Uk, who cannot utilize his powers for his own use. If he does, Park Jin will have to give up his life. 

Jang Uk brings Bu-yeon home and introduces her to Maidservant Kim as his bride-to-be. He tells her she is free to do as she wishes here. Bu-yeon, after talking to Maidservant Kim, realizes that she barely knows anything about Jang Uk’s life.

Bu-yeon joins Jang Uk in his study. She asks him to share a wedding drink with her, officially making them man and wife. 

However, he presents her with a lantern that cannot be turned off, a gift from Jinyowon. He asks her to extinguish it, and only then will he take a sip of that drink.

Bu-yeon reveals that she cannot do it as she has lost her powers with her memory. She deceived him, but she never lied about her divine powers. Her powers will return if she gets her memory back. 

Jang Uk refuses to marry her and asks her to leave because, without her powers, he does not need her. 

Bu-yeon tells him about the bracelet on her wrist, which is made of a tracking tread. It tightens around her wrist, which indicates she will be caught soon. When she is found, she will tell everyone that she got married to him overnight.

Jang Uk cannot send her away quietly, and the thread comes from Jinyowon, making it impossible to break it. However, Jang Uk kisses her wrist and breaks it easily.

She realizes that she has to leave now, so she thanks him for his hospitality and leaves with a heavy heart. However, she sees a man with dark energy and follows him.

She is dragged underwater by the spirit that came there for Jang Uk, but he saves her. He looks after her all night and unintentionally takes a sip of what was meant to be their wedding drink.

Meanwhile, Lady Jin reaches Songrim, looking for her missing daughter, as she assumes Dang-gu must have kidnapped her, mistaking her for Cho-yeon.

They do not find her there, but Dang-gu and Yul start searching for her. Her sketch is circulated in the capital. It is announced that anyone who finds her would be rewarded. 

In Lady Jin’s conversation with Master Lee, it is revealed that three years ago, they found Bu-yeon’s petrified body that had Naksu’s soul. Naksu is still alive, and she is living as Bu-yeon.

Master Lee came to the conclusion that Naksu did not take over the body through the alchemy of souls. Her soul was locked inside the body. The only way that this body could be kept alive was through Naksu’s energy. 

Lady Jin had to choose between getting rid of her daughter’s soul or letting both Bu-yeon and Naksu die. Lady Jin did not want to let go of her daughter’s powers, so she chose to let go of her daughter’s soul.

The body recovered, but because it had Naksu’s energy in it, it started looking like Naksu. She lost her memories because her body was new. However, if she ever regains her memories, she will also gain Bu-yeon’s divine powers.

Lady Jin never told Jang Uk that Naksu is alive because she wants Naksu to live as her daughter, Bu-yeon, and give Jinyowon a powerful heir.

Now that everyone knows about Bu-yeon’s existence, Jin Mu realizes that the girl in the sketch is Naksu. The Royal Family also invites her to the Unanimous Assembly to announce her as the official heir of Jinyowon. 

When Bu-yeon finds out that Yul is looking for her, she assumes him to be the groom her mother chose for her. She meets him and tells him that she will not marry anyone other than Jang Uk.

Bu-yeon is caught once again and taken to Jinyowon. Jang Uk had earlier offered her the money that would allow her to run away, but she had refused because she did not want to hurt her mother. Lady Jin slaps her when she returns. 

While talking to his uncle, who would not marry Bu-yeon anymore, Yul started feeling pain. He makes his uncle promise that he would not reveal his condition to anyone; he came to Daeho because his pain had been getting worse.

Jin Mu tells Lady Jin that if Bu-yeon is not announced as the official heir, Jinyowon might be taken away from their family as Lady Jin, the current leader, is growing old and with age, her powers are getting weaker, making her incapable of taking care of powerful relics and artifacts.

Lady Jin asks Bu-yeon to promise that she would attend the ceremony and not meet anyone after that because if people find out that she does not have her powers, their family would lose Jinyowon. 

Bu-yeon resigns herself to a life of confinement, and Lady Jin sews her skin with the tracking tread so that it would never come off again.

When she arrives at the Unanimous Assembly, Jang Uk comes there with the same lantern that he showed her last night. When she left, he found that it had been extinguished. 

He gives her one last chance; if she is able to put off the light again, he would marry her. She thinks she cannot do it, but her desperation leads her to somehow do it again.

Jang Uk announces in front of everyone that she cannot be the heir of Jinyowon because she is already married to him.

Review

  • In a drama where the main protagonists are suffering in their lives, the episode was able to successfully incorporate light-hearted humor.
  • Although it was expected that Bu-yeon would somehow be related to Naksu, the explanation that was provided with regard to the connection between them was still fascinating and unexpected.
  • Since Naksu does not have her memories and she believes herself to be Bu-yeon, at times, it feels like she has developed an infatuation with Jang Uk. She likes him without actually knowing anything about him.
  • The writers were able to show that Jang Uk and Bu-yeon are destined to be together without explicitly showing it. For instance, while everyone finds Jang Uk’s drink of choice too strong, Bu-yeon likes the taste of it. 
Alchemy of Souls part 2 episode 1
Alchemy of Souls part 2 episode 2 recap & review 1

Director: Joon Hwa Park

Date Created: 2022-12-11 23:32

Editor's Rating:
3.5

Also Read: Alchemy of Souls part 2 episode 1 recap and review

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