I haven't seen much Korean television, and I don't know what it was about the name or thumbnail of Alchemy of Souls that made me click on it when it came up in my Netflix "recommended" list, but I am SO glad I did, because this is hands down my favourite TV show in the last 5 years at least!
Do you like historical drama with gorgeous sets and costumes? You will find this in Alchemy of Souls. Do you like fantasy martial arts? This has that, too! Do you like romance? Comedy? Heck yes, it has loads of of brilliant side-splitting comedy and heart-thrilling romance! Drama? Yes. Forbidden magic? Evil villains? Soft bois? Loveable characters? Beautiful, deadly female assassins? This series has ALL OF THE THINGS!
Three things really stand out in Alchemy of Souls, that I believe are what make it so appealing and addictive.
Firstly, it has a plot that twists that writhes like an eel, keeping your brain glued to the show to keep track of everyone and everything, whilst not being so slippery that you lose your grip. The result being that you stay intrigued, engaged and satisfied, though always wanting more! The show drops you into the magical lore and politics cold, pretty much, and you must figure it out how this world works along the way with all the clues the show gives you. There are a lot of characters to meet and learn the names of (I found remembering the names during the first 10 episodes fairly hard) which can trip you up or slow you down at times, but stick with it and you'll get there.
Secondly, the major characters are all AMAZING. The female lead, Naksu is a stone-cold assassin mage, an orphan raised in the wilderness and trained for her deadly purpose, only to get stuck hiding out and "in-disguise" as Mu-Deok, a lowly servant girl in a young lord's house, and for the time being, without any of her magical or fighting powers. The male lead, Jang-Uk is the young lord, whose mother died in childbirth, and whose mage father walked away from when he was a baby. He doesn't want for anything, except to be taken seriously, and to claim his birth right as leader of Cheonbugwan, the centre of magical constellation reading. The only problem is that Jang-Uk has no magical ability because his "gate" has been closed by his absent father and no mage will go against his father's decree that it stays closed. Oh, and also he is lazy, pampered and gives up easily. He's no dummy though, and is the only one to quickly see that the young maid Mu-Deok is really the hunted and highly skilled mage assassin Naksu. Confronting her with his deduction, he cuts a deal with her. She will teach him how to become a mage, and in return he will help her regain her mage powers. Mu-Deok brings a lot of the drama, and Uk brings a lot of the comedy, but these two characters can both pivot on a dime, with Mu-Deok's antics in the name of her deception making me laugh so hard that I cried, and Uk sometimes delivering tear-jerking speeches.
The side characters are all richly sketched out too, and similar to Uk and Mu-Deok, most of them provide dramatic, hilarious, and touching moments throughout the two series, with their own sub-plots, love stories, ambitions and disappointments. Even the most venerable, evil, tragic or ambiguous of the characters get moments where their vices and flaws are exposed for a moment of comedy. The tone ranges from dark and tragic, to silly and light, and with these characters it all works.
Thirdly, the show is beautifully shot, and the costume dress, sets and locations are excellent. It does feel quite often that the world they live in is rather small, pretty much only consisting of the four magical houses, the palace, the town, the mountain village, another village on the far side of the lake and the wilderness, and every happening, past or present is set in these limited locations, but that's all right. It's a fantasy. Visually, the show is fantastic. The VFX are quite cheesy and cheap looking at times, but I give it a pass. This isn't a show that needs to rely on its effects to impress or bedazzle, and I think they might have spent the budget on the talent and costumes, so I'm not going to niggle about the quality of VFX.
The only criticism of the show I have is the speed at which the last episode wrapped up. I needed to wallow in the resolution more, and there were things that were stated but not witnessed, which after long a long emotional build up, I thought needed to be seen on screen for the sheer catharsis. I'm not sure why a bit more time wasn't taken there, as it seems like they show wasn't pushed for time at all - many of the episodes are over an hour long, so could not another fifteen minutes be included to show those reunions and characters coming to major revelations? I would know my review down a quarter star for that, but it still rounds up to a ten.
Do you like historical drama with gorgeous sets and costumes? You will find this in Alchemy of Souls. Do you like fantasy martial arts? This has that, too! Do you like romance? Comedy? Heck yes, it has loads of of brilliant side-splitting comedy and heart-thrilling romance! Drama? Yes. Forbidden magic? Evil villains? Soft bois? Loveable characters? Beautiful, deadly female assassins? This series has ALL OF THE THINGS!
Three things really stand out in Alchemy of Souls, that I believe are what make it so appealing and addictive.
Firstly, it has a plot that twists that writhes like an eel, keeping your brain glued to the show to keep track of everyone and everything, whilst not being so slippery that you lose your grip. The result being that you stay intrigued, engaged and satisfied, though always wanting more! The show drops you into the magical lore and politics cold, pretty much, and you must figure it out how this world works along the way with all the clues the show gives you. There are a lot of characters to meet and learn the names of (I found remembering the names during the first 10 episodes fairly hard) which can trip you up or slow you down at times, but stick with it and you'll get there.
Secondly, the major characters are all AMAZING. The female lead, Naksu is a stone-cold assassin mage, an orphan raised in the wilderness and trained for her deadly purpose, only to get stuck hiding out and "in-disguise" as Mu-Deok, a lowly servant girl in a young lord's house, and for the time being, without any of her magical or fighting powers. The male lead, Jang-Uk is the young lord, whose mother died in childbirth, and whose mage father walked away from when he was a baby. He doesn't want for anything, except to be taken seriously, and to claim his birth right as leader of Cheonbugwan, the centre of magical constellation reading. The only problem is that Jang-Uk has no magical ability because his "gate" has been closed by his absent father and no mage will go against his father's decree that it stays closed. Oh, and also he is lazy, pampered and gives up easily. He's no dummy though, and is the only one to quickly see that the young maid Mu-Deok is really the hunted and highly skilled mage assassin Naksu. Confronting her with his deduction, he cuts a deal with her. She will teach him how to become a mage, and in return he will help her regain her mage powers. Mu-Deok brings a lot of the drama, and Uk brings a lot of the comedy, but these two characters can both pivot on a dime, with Mu-Deok's antics in the name of her deception making me laugh so hard that I cried, and Uk sometimes delivering tear-jerking speeches.
The side characters are all richly sketched out too, and similar to Uk and Mu-Deok, most of them provide dramatic, hilarious, and touching moments throughout the two series, with their own sub-plots, love stories, ambitions and disappointments. Even the most venerable, evil, tragic or ambiguous of the characters get moments where their vices and flaws are exposed for a moment of comedy. The tone ranges from dark and tragic, to silly and light, and with these characters it all works.
Thirdly, the show is beautifully shot, and the costume dress, sets and locations are excellent. It does feel quite often that the world they live in is rather small, pretty much only consisting of the four magical houses, the palace, the town, the mountain village, another village on the far side of the lake and the wilderness, and every happening, past or present is set in these limited locations, but that's all right. It's a fantasy. Visually, the show is fantastic. The VFX are quite cheesy and cheap looking at times, but I give it a pass. This isn't a show that needs to rely on its effects to impress or bedazzle, and I think they might have spent the budget on the talent and costumes, so I'm not going to niggle about the quality of VFX.
The only criticism of the show I have is the speed at which the last episode wrapped up. I needed to wallow in the resolution more, and there were things that were stated but not witnessed, which after long a long emotional build up, I thought needed to be seen on screen for the sheer catharsis. I'm not sure why a bit more time wasn't taken there, as it seems like they show wasn't pushed for time at all - many of the episodes are over an hour long, so could not another fifteen minutes be included to show those reunions and characters coming to major revelations? I would know my review down a quarter star for that, but it still rounds up to a ten.
Tell Your Friends