Recap Korean Drama "Alchemy of Souls" Season 2 Episode 3

Episode 3 of Alchemy of Souls Season 2 starts with Jang-Uk’s bombshell announcement about his marriage. Predictably, it doesn’t go down well. Given he didn’t even ask for Jinyowon’s permission, the Unanimous Assembly are all very angry. Extra guards rush in to confront Jang-Uk, who shows off his awesome new power before them all.

Jin-Mu steps up and plays peacemaker, deciding that if Jang-Uk can bring a witness in who can verify their marriage then it would bring weight to what he’s saying. If not, then he won’t be justified to take the Jinyowon princess as his bride. Bu-Yeon (Naksu) plays him at his on game and claims that she does have a witness… her child. Of course, all of this is a lie and Physician Seo is recommended to take a look and check. He waves it away, claiming marriage is a sacred act and as such, they’re allowed to leave without incident. The way they see it, Jinyowon is now safe with their lineage secure and a powerful sorcerer in Jang-Uk part of their extended family.

Dang-Gu and Seo Yul are convinced there’s more to this though, knowing there’s no way Jang-Uk would give up loving Naksu just like that. We know that it’s because she’s residing within Bu-Yeon but we’ll have to wait for this to resolve later on down the line.

Bu-Yeon tries to unlock the skills needed to light the lantern again. Jang-Uk notices her flickering magic, which is sporadic at best. As they tlak about their “witness” and what to do about this, Bu-Yeon starts to get pain her back. It’s the tracking thread that Ho-Gyeong sewed in last episode. He coldly orders Kim to continue applying ointment to Naksu, believing she can endure all of this herslf. Jang-Uk thouigh, heads to Jinyowon and immediately puts a stop to Ho-Gyeong’s magic, not even breaking a sweat whilst doing so, and freeing Naksu.

Meanwhile, Jin-Mu decides to find out as much about Bu-yeon as he can. He also sensed Naksu’s energy and decides to learn as much as he can. Part of this comes from using So-Yi again, who’s still knocking about in town and now working as the head gangster at a gambling den. In exchange for medicine she needs, Jin-Mu tasks her with kidnapping Naksu and bringing her to Cheonbugwan.

The next day, Songrim gather together to hear Naksu, who seems to be getting some of her powers back. She can sense others, including Lady Heo and Sun-I hiding round the corner eavesdropping. She promises to stay by Jang-Uk’s side, even if her full powers return, which seems to be enough for Park Jin and the others. Speaking of which, Park Jin continues to woo Kim, which is perhaps unsurprising given Jang-Uk’s earlier suggestion that the pair get married. Heo is less impressed, but all of them can sense similar energy flowing through Naksu.

Of course, it doesn’t take long for So-Yi to take aim and follow Naksu outside. With a thief by her side, she intends to lure Bu-yeon closer to Cheonbugwan. The energy from the stolen stone leads Naksu to the depths of So-Yi’s gambling den instead, where she finds the gem on the table. She knows So-Yi is hiding and calls her out, pointing out she can sense and see energy.

Interestingly, it’s Seo Yul who ends up finding her first, heading into the gambling den and down to the basement. There, he finds So-Yi gone, having earlier scurried out without being seen. Naksu is hiding out in the bath.

It’s an awkward encounter between them, especially as Naksu leans on Seo Yul for help getting out. She points out that she nearly drowned and after getting all dried up and changed, Seo Yul walks with her outside, where he brings up Naksu, Mu-Deok and the previous ties they had with Jang-Uk.

So-Yi returns to Jin-Mu and brings up how Naksu can sense energy signatures. She’s unfortunately forced to continue Jin-Mu’s bidding, given the parasite that’s residing within her. She needs medicine that only he can supply to keep things in check. Still, the intel is useful for Jin-Mu, who believes that Bu-Yeon could be useful to him. He feeds this back to the Queen, who’s still enraged about her current situation, lashing out at a court lady, wanting to switch bodies with her.

Trouble in town brings Park Jin out to investigate. The wells seem to be sabotaged, with a strange trinket inside preventing the water from spreading. He’s found five of them so far. But why? To what end?

With Jang-Uk out, Naksu decides eventually to catch up with him. She’s still holding her magical stone though, and whilst in the courtyard, talks to Heo. Lady Heo brings up what happened with Naksu and the origin for these stones, including how there are two that are drawn together.

Holding the stone out, Jang-Uk comes running with his own through the forest. The pair of them begin glowing whilst in close proximity, which seems to give Naksu some of her memories back. She knows Jang-Uk didn’t come for Bu-Yeon but for Naksu. She’s regained the memory of the pair of them together, having liked each other for a long time.

The Episode Review

Alchemy of Souls is back and this week’s episode sees Bu-Yeon (Naksu) getting closer to learning the truth about the past and what happened. Of course, Jin-Mu is right at the center of this, especially if his puppet So-Yi”s scheme to get her to go over to Cheonbugwan is anything to go by.

Understanding that So-Yi is poisoned and as such, forced into submitting, works well in the context of her part in this story, and although Yo yoon-Jung does the best she can at portraying te lead female, it doesn’t touch Jung So-Min’s Naksu.

The amnesia trope looks to be coming to an end now thank goodness, and it’ll be interesting to see exactly what happens when Naksu’s memories come flooding back.

There are still some stand-out moments here though and the light moments between Dang-Gu and Cho-yeon seem to hint that the pair may put their differences aside and end up together by the end. Fingers crossed on that front! Thankfully we don’t have to wait too long to find out what happens next, as tomorrow’s chapter looks to be a good one.