Alchemy of Souls Season 1
Episode No 19 Recap And Review
Episode 19 of Alchemy of Souls begins this extended episode at a lake in the past, with Bu-Yeon trying to find the ice stone. Jin-Mu is also there, watching with Woo-Tak as she uses her senses to find him.
Now, Bu-Yeon is actually a descendant of both the Jin family and the fallen Choi family (her father’s side). These combinations made him one of the best oracles anyone has ever seen. This power to find the ice stone eventually caused Jin-Mu to grab the stone for himself and knock Bu-Yeon into the water.
But the girl is not missing. He bathed by the river and was cared for by a kind old lady who named him Mu-Deok after her late grandson. And of course, this coincides with our journey so far, with most of our characters stuck in a force field and properly confirming that Mu-Deok is actually Bu-Yeon.
Yul’s life is also in the balance and he needs a blood transfusion. The thing is, the worm in So-I’s blood could be the key to salvation here. As we see later in the episode, So-i cuts his wrist and lets his blood drip onto Yul’s wound, which saves his life.
However, we also have the drama of Words of the Heart. As the king reads the book, Songrim reads Master Seo’s words and the love letter inside.
In the secret room, Jang-Uk and Mu-Deok share a kiss, while Woo-Tak runs off to find the Queen, who is currently living in Shaman Choi, her sister’s charred body.
The Queen pleads with Woo-Tak to let her die, but the Queen refuses, pointing out that the Queen’s Lantern of Life must remain glowing while it is still active.
Interestingly, in the past, Ho-Gyeong actually asked Jang Gang for help, opening Jinyowoo’s doors for him to remove the ice stone. He knows that he has the power to bring back the souls of the dead, so he asked him to use it and bring back his daughter. As a result, Jinowon lost the ice stone.
Elsewhere, Jang Gang returns to Songrim and greets maid Kim warmly. During their reunion, Jang Uk wonders what shape the ice stone is. He thinks of turning the fog into rain. He’ll have to use Tansu to make this happen, but the possibility of him losing all his energy in the process is very real.
Mu-Deok is totally against it and, as his master, orders him not to do it. Considering they risked their lives to get to this point, he’s not happy about how he’s sacrificing himself. The thing is, if he doesn’t do anything, it won’t help Yyl, who’s bleeding out and potentially dead. But for So-I, who is the key to saving Yul’s life.
Speaking of keys, Cho-yeon and Dang-gu both track down Woo-tak and confront him in the dungeons. After beating him, they wonder what to do with him.
Dang-Gu informs Park-Jin that they have found the soul of the queen and are thinking of what to do with it. Park-Jin wants her brought to the Training Center, but Dang-Gu isn’t so sure. He doesn’t want to dishonor Jinyewon’s name because that would hurt Cho-Yeon as well.
Instead, they go to the center while all the wizards are told to leave. With the king and the royal family in attendance (minus the crown prince, but we’ll get to that) they bring forth Shaman Choyu… who is, of course, the queen. The shaman (inside the Queen’s body) grips the throne tightly and grits his teeth. When the charred face of the shaman appears, she falls on her knees and begs the king to realize that she is the real queen.
The only way to solve this is with Gwigu, but there’s no hope with burning the dog…or is there? Park Jin brings out the cremated ashes of the dog and throws it directly at the queen. He gets angry and immediately lowers his guard. The thing is, they’re actually just ordinary ashes, and that’s why he’s kicking himself.
He raises his sword and prepares to kill himself. The only solution is to exorcise his spirit, but this is followed by the revelation that Woo-Tak’s part in this – Shaman Choi’s brother – shatters Ho-Gyeong’s world. In exchange for keeping Woo-Tak alive, Park Jin wants him to return the queen’s body.
Jin-mu also turns on him, leaving Woo-Tak to sacrifice himself, telling his sister to use the remaining Spirit Ejector to escape.
Outside, Jang-uk decides to go with his victim, despite the protests of the crown prince and Mu-deok. As the sword swings, the blade glows blue. When Shaman Choi uses Spirit Ejector, he knocks the raindrop into the barrier.
Jang Gang uses his body to stop the power, projecting it into his own body. Unfortunately, he is now going wild as a result.
Kneeling before the king, Jang Gang claims that he is there to confess his sins before the Unanimous Assembly. Yeom begs the others to let Jang-Uk say goodbye to his father. Jang Gang refuses, and unfortunately, father and son are reduced to earth before they are reunited.
Jang-Uk finds himself crashing into a strange ethereal plane where he found the ice stone. Holding it, the power gathers around it, creating the Royal Star. With that, Jang-Uk returns to his body, with rain falling around him. The barrier around Jeongninjak has been removed, and the wizards believe that the crown prince is the new Royal Star.
Both Mu-Deok and Jang-Wook lose their powers in the aftermath, but neither seems to mind. They hold each other’s hands as the threat of the ice stone and Jin-Mu and the Queen’s plan seem to be off…at least for now.
Some time passes and Yul regains his energy and begins to recover. He’s still in pain at night, but Mu-Deok goes some way to help. they hand over that old whistle from their past. It’s a really beautiful moment and the couple finally say goodbye to each other.
Meanwhile, Dang-Gu hands Jang-Uk a sketch of Jang Gang and confesses that he sacrificed his life to save Songrim and Jinywo. It is at this moment that Jang-Uk sees a picture of him and realizes that he is actually meeting his father. It’s a bittersweet revelation, leaving only Jang Gang with their belongings returned to the King.
Unfortunately, the queen has not returned to her body and is forced to live in Shaman Choi’s burnt body for now. As for Park Jin, he talks about the dark history with Jang Gang, including a flashback to the King transitioning and sleeping with Do-Hwa that we saw earlier in the season.
Park Jin decides to keep it quiet and make sure Jang-Uk’s memory of Jang Gang isn’t tarnished.
The crown prince goes to Chonbugwan, where Jin-Mu pleads to save him. He also offers to protect the Princess from the real Royal Star. Jin-Mu knows how to push buttons, and she brings up how Jang-Uk will eventually leave her behind and offers a chance to make sure that doesn’t happen. It remains to be seen if the Crown Prince will actually swing.
On the eve of Dang-gu and Cho-yeon’s wedding, Jang-uk also asks Mu-deok to marry her. He smiles back as the episode ends.
Episode Review
An unusually upbeat and happy ending suggests we’re in for a very dramatic and potentially heartbreaking conclusion to this first installment. Given that we know this show is coming back for another season in December, it’s fair to say whether this story will completely wrap up all of its plot points.
It’s a bittersweet moment to see Jang Gang sacrifice his son without being able to meet him properly, while So-i still hangs around like a bad smell. At this point, I mean, his plot is mostly done, so we’ll have to wait and see what the scriptwriters do with it moving forward.
With a mix of action, drama and fantasy, this extended episode has a really nice ebb and flow. Seeing Jang-Uk willing to sacrifice everything is a nice touch, as is the developing relationship between Mu-Deok and Jang-Uk, who really seem ready to get married!
But will it be a happily ever after or are we in for a red wedding shock considering Jin-Mu is still in hiding? We have to wait and see!