Alchemy of Souls Season 1
Episode No 17 Recap And Review
Episode 17 of Alchemy of Souls begins with that shocking cliffhanger where we ended last time. Jang-Uk confronts his father. Jang Gang asks Jang-wook to put down his weapon, pointing out that it is dangerous to shoot the Cheonbugwan sword here.
Jang-Uk finally opens up and admits that he was looking for Shaman Choi. Now, it is predicted that the Choi family was destroyed by Master Seo Gyeong a long time ago. He warns Jang-wook not to be so curious that he could kill her. Eventually, the mystery man walks away, saying he’s hurt to the core, but he’s nowhere near revealing to Jang-uk that he’s his son.
Meanwhile, So-I manages to untie Jinywo, but looks directly at Mu-Deok as she does so. He recognizes her from the city and begins to question the whole story about her blindness.
Jin-Mu is there, of course, and he watches the doors close, picking Me up and asking what Mu-Deok is doing there. Of course, now the family is convinced it’s Bu-Yeon.
I play the role well and convince Jin Ho-Gyeong that she is his daughter. Word of the gates opening also reaches Park Jin and the rest of Songrim, and they question Bu-yeon’s return. But then again, there’s also the theme of Mu-Deok and his headaches. Why did he feel like that outside the door? I said before that she might actually be Bu-Yeon. That’s certainly what I’m thinking, too, worried that the truth might come out in the episode.
Speaking of Mu-deok, he gets a makeover that night on the town, courtesy of Jang-uk, who ends up putting cute red marks on his cheeks.
Jang-Uk realizes that Jin-Mu is plotting and planning something big for Jinyowon.
Jin-Mu appears in the royal palace and skulls for a drink with the Royal Princess. Apparently the King is still debating the Royal Star. And for Jin-Mu, it touches on the subject of ice stone and the alchemy of spirits. He believes that they should start a new order in the royal palace. He also continues to spin a web of deceit, bringing up Bu-yeon’s divine power.
Jin-Mu comes to see Ho-Gyeong, who is worried about So-I and that her ears aren’t the same as Bu-Yeon’s. Jin-Mu challenges Ho-Gyeong to make a decision and pushes his daughter to become queen, maneuvering Jin-Mu into the driver’s seat to decide the fate of the crown. Anyway, he also promises to return the ice stone to where it belongs.
Jin-mu uses the ice stone as a bargaining chip and tells Ho-Gyeong to fight Songrim. Only with the destruction of Songrim can they move forward.
In Cheonbugwan, Jin-Mu gathers troops and reveals his secret organization’s Danju. It is, of course, being So-I. Jin-Mu introduces her as Bu-yeon, playing in this whole narrative, but with an even worse endgame with the ice stone and Seo Ha-Sun.
Jang-Uk and the others see everyone leaving the palace and realizes that Jin-Mu is speeding up his plans faster than they thought. Jin-Mu enters the royal palace and attacks are immediately organized against Songrim.
After his conversation with Jin-Mu, Ho-Gyeong introduces So-I as his long-lost daughter and also reveals the ice stone. Now the plan here is for the queen to use So-I as a vessel to transport her soul.
Park Jin believes that the stone should be destroyed, but as all the different houses discuss what to do, Ho-Gyeong suggests that the Assembly be held in Jinyowon instead of Songrim from now on. As everyone sits in silence, Park-Jin and Ho-Gyeong (verbally) battle over what to do with the ice stone.
As things escalate, Jang-Uk stands up and confronts the King and the others in the Assembly. Apparently, Master Seo’s wishes are actually written in a book called Words of the Heart. Jin-Mu and the Queen are worried, believing this could be their undoing, but the former tries to encourage her that Jang-Uk is just bluffing.
While this is going on, Dang-Gu talks to Cho-Yeon and reveals exactly who So-I is.
At the meeting, the King decides to test how powerful this ice stone really is. To do this, he offers to resurrect a dead person, which he claims is a good deed. He jokingly (or not) suggests that they kill someone and bring them back. And who better to try it than a lowly servant like Mu-Deok.
So the action jumps to the courtyard, where Mu-Deok realizes that this could be a golden opportunity to grab the ice stone and retrieve it. But it’s a dangerous situation, and it’s a dramatic one. As Mu-Deok himself says, he is standing on the edge of a precipice.
However, as she is on the edge of life after being strangled by Ho-Gyeong, she experiences memories of her childhood and realizes that she is actually Bu-Yeon. As she chokes “mother”, Ho-Gyeong is stunned and seems to give up on her a bit.
Episode Review
After a week’s hiatus, Alchemy of Souls returns with another dramatic episode, an episode where Jin-Mu steps up his game and ramps up his quest to take over the kingdom.
Interestingly, the ending hints that Ho-Gyeong will be the deciding factor in whether or not this happens, especially now that she knows she’s Mu-Deok’s daughter.
In addition, we still get a few moments of simplicity that evoke that cute moment with Jang-Uk and Mu-Deok in the city with blush. It’s a small segment in truth, but it’s a nice one, helping to illuminate some of the more intense drama that this chapter deals with.
Nowhere is this more evident than in a meeting of the Unanimous Assembly, when things boil over and almost result in a major war. It’s part of Jin-Mu’s plan, of course, and it’s great that he’s trying to take control.
As mentioned earlier, Mu-Deok is the real wild card here, and the ending certainly leaves the door open for where tomorrow’s episode could go. Based on this evidence, it becomes a must watch chapter!