Okay, summer is officially here for me because HOMG where have you been all my life Alchemy of Souls? The Hong Sisters magic is back and ready to inject drama crack into my koala veins and I’m scrambling to find as many veins for the elixir to flow through me at max capacity. Episode 1 was high like but episode 2 is LOVELOVELOVELOVE running out of superlatives what the heck did I just watch this is so good reaction. After setting up the story nicely in the first episode, assassin Nak Soo becomes no longer blind but still quick weak servant girl Moo Deok, she runs head on into the central story around the four sorcerer families and the soul swapping magic. I already love Minhyun‘s second male lead the gorgeous and too perfect Seo Yul which is basically Lee Do Hyun‘s orabeoni character in Hotel Del Luna v. 2 so I know it will break my heart again. But after episode 2 I am 100% Team OTP with Lee Jae Wook and his seemingly doofy but intensely smart and savvy Jang Wook and the bicker and destined to fall in love relationship with Nak Soo as Jung So Min‘s Mu Deok. The drama hides nothing and tells you the secrets and hidden agendas nearly as quickly as it arises so the tension isn’t from trying to hide things but from trying to overcome things. Mu Deok and Wook’s master-pupil relationship will bring out the best in both of them and the journey ahead is already steeling me for pleasure and pain in all the best ways. On a side note, the ratings for episode 2 went up to 5.9%.
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I love this show. Yummy. Love Jung So Min’s character Mu Deok and I hope to see more interactions between her and second lead Seo Yul played by MinHyun.
It’s so good! I totally agree that the second episode introduced the crack factor and I’m so happy to have a new drama to look forward to!
Agree to all you said Koala. I love JSM,and I wanted to watch it despite expecting the worst, especially questioning the hairdos and costumes from seeing the stills. But it turns out lovely.
Oh, and is it just me who pity Jang Uk's mom for she did nothing wrong but everybody know her as the one who has an affair..
I think it'd be a nice twist if Jang thought Jang UK wasn't his son only to learn later that she was pregnant before she was tricked into sleeping with the sleazy King/Emperor and Jang UK really is his.
I don't understand why people are so surprised and excited. It's never the first episodes the issue with the Hong Sisters... But the fact they can't end their story.
I never understood why people love Lee Do-Hyun's character in Hotel del Luna neither, he was the worst. He was the one at the origin of her curse...
For the actors, I'm not fan of the modern vibe of the 3 Seasons. Lee Jae-Wook looks good. Jung So-Min is pretty funny in this role. I'm not yet convinced by their chemistry, but it's only the beginning.
The CGI were pretty great. I liked the water effect.
To be honest I expected this to be a mediocre idol drama but I absolutely love it especially Minhyun who is perfectly cast as the stoic Seo Yul. Boy has mad sword skills and his expressions are on point. LJW is killing it as Jang Uk but I wish they had gone for a younger actress for the female lead despite loving JSM, especially since the character was written to be so young. They should have gone for a fresh faced actress irrespective of acting skills because the world building carries the drama and it’s characters just fine. Someone like Noh Jung Eui would have been perfect for this role actually or even an idol like Itzy Yuna. I can see why they cast Arin for this she is ethereal and her lack of skills doesn’t hurt the plot or the vibe in any way.
Hong sisters’ drama have always been good at the beginning whether it can last till the end is more important. And with 30 epi..it really takes a while to confirm if it is good throughout, which is more important. I will wait for it to end depending on the review.
Chinese variety shows get called out loudly when they plagiarise Korean variety shows but when the Hong Sisters plagiarise from Chinese novels and dramas, no one bats an eyelid. Both deserved to get called out.
Might as well list those plagiarize you take issue of here.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Hong sisters are fans of Cdramas. Hotel Del Luna was said to have plagiarized a bit from GMP. A Korean Odyssey was based off the Chinese Journey to the West. I think if there's no direct plagiarism, being inspired by other cultures isn't always a bad thing.
In fact, I would like to see more media borrowing fantasy/xanxia/wuxia elements from China/Asia instead of building their worlds off of Western elements (for example the worlds of most anime isekai).
Inspired by other cultures, lol that's a nice substitute for cultural appropriation. Just look at the drama A Korean Odyssey, the characters are based off of Journey To The West original chinese novel, but they titled it A *Korean* Odyssey. And Hotel Del Luna plagiarised not just Goodbye My Princess, they plagiarised Soul Ferry too.
The thing about korean dramas "borrowing" chinese elements is that they like to claim those elements as korean. They will even pretend that those elements originated from Korea and spreaded influence to China. Xianxia and Wuxia are fantasy genres that are uniquely Chinese. Xianxia is spin-off from chinese gods and chinese myths (Korea has also added chinese gods like Jade Emperor into their dramas already, next thing you know they may claim Jade Emperor to be an asian god lol), and Wuxia is spin-off from chinese kungfu.
Why doesn't Korea create their own fantasy genre? They can use their shamans and Dangun. I remember there was an old drama The Legend which had Dangun and korean myths.
This is plagiarised? based on which Chinese show, drama, novel? That's a pretty big accusation without any proof. There is a difference when evidence is presented and random people "talking."
@Bina, Korean netizens went absolutely apeshit at Joseon Exorcist for having people in a northern border region adopt Chinese customs and foods... and, in general, they hate ANY reminder of Chinese influence in Korea even though there's too much of it to even mention. So the question posed is valid. Hopefully Westerners (of which I am one) consuming Asian entertainment will learn that Koreans are not always reliable narrators when it comes to historical topics.
@Rina, the Chinese government stopped all productions on co-produced Korean/Chinese films/dramas years ago for all the same reasons probably and here you are talking about how Korean netizens went apeshit on Josean Exorist? Makes a lot of sense. So I guess its okay for China but not Korea with your argument.
These Chinese variety PAID to do their remake. Don't call others for plagarism if you're gonna take their miney
I liked it enough that I'll definitely be tuning in for more. The CGI is great and the show is very atmospheric. A very Korean take on xianxia without the ethereal quality or big set piece elements. Major gripe is that some of the sets look too modern and costumes don't look lived in. There was one scene in the first episode that looked straight up like the characters are sitting in a modern cafe in cosplay.
Awesome 2 episodes that makes me crave for to binge entire season in one go, each of technicians, writers, director, dop and all and all the actors have done excellent job, I was anticipating this ever since the rumour comes out of Jung So Min is being considered for replacement, i always have faith in her ability to perform, whether the drama succeeded or not she has chosen script carefully and that's why each of her drama is so good (I don't care if they don't get good ratings- as those dramas are really good not only because of JSM, I really liked them as a viewer ) so I trust her. And my faith turned out to be right, these 2 episodes are already promising a roller coaster ride so grip on everyone, don't watch it with prejudice because of some criticism and enjoy the good story telling, some good visuals, some good chemistries and some good performances with awesome JSM ❤️
All The Best Team Alchemy of Souls, you all deserve all the applauds.
Agree!
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I'm liking it too. This is big break for a young actor like LJW.