Alchemy of Souls - Part 1
- Asian Drama Observer
- Mar 9, 2024
- 10 min read
Updated: Apr 13, 2024
For the first time ever, I’ve fallen in love at first sight.
Jang Uk. Jang Uk. Jang Uk.
The hero of the KDrama Alchemy of Souls[1] walked onto the screen and into my dramaland heart. He’s a bad boy with a soft heart that can turn murderous in the blink of an eye if the situation warrants it. He does what he has to without hesitation. A man that says what he means in clear unambiguous words:
“Did it sound like I was asking for permission [to leave]”, he declares to the twelfth martial arts master whose failure to teach him any magic spells causes him to walk away.
I almost stopped breathing.
Jang Uk walks with a long-strided slow swagger that my pulse matches whenever he sets off on a mission. Whether to face the one he loves or to confront the enemy, his confidence both astounds and confounds. He does not, after all, have any magical prowess. With his gate of energy sealed by his father shortly after his birth, the man I would trust with my very existence survives more on attitude than fighting skill. But somehow, just somehow, you convince yourself there’s nothing he cannot achieve. If we discard the fact that he can’t unsheathe the sword through which his battle skills must be channelled, that he knows no martial arts, and is certainly no match for any of those with whom he spends his time at Songrim’s prestigious Jeongjingak training centre for top mages, one has to concede that love is blind. For me as well as for all those who protect him, defend him, support him.
The Beginning
The concept of Alchemy of Souls was not one that particularly appealed to me. I like magic, but this seemed to go a little beyond my imagination. It was the quality of the computer-generated imagery (CGI) that held my hand, prevented me from pressing the ‘skip’ button. I’m so glad that I waited. I became totally immersed real fast in this far-fetched tale of people shifting souls and having the potential of everlasting life through something that has the power of the sky called an Ice Stone. A mystical object imbued with the nature of fire, water, and wind, which together can control fate and destiny, itself attains its power from the very same source of life that the people of the mythical country of Daeho rely on and revere: Lake Gyeongcheondaeho. That name is a challenge to pronounce, which suits the sheer scale of wonder this body of water contains, retains, controls. Lake Gyeongcheondaeho gives life, takes life, is the source called upon by those who originate from it for their magical skills. And it’s the reason that battle prowess depends on one’s ability to channel the energy of the lake through the mediums of the surrounding air and the canopying sky above.
All total nonsense! But there is more to the drama than greedy people stealing the bodies of others to extend their own miserable and failing lives. The coveting of the Ice Stone extends from wanting it to achieve an undefeatable fighting level to needing it to undertake forbidden sorcery. Hwansu, that which enables water to be converted to fire, and fire to water, was discovered to also have the ability to switch souls between bodies. An act of acceptable magic regarding the first is considered an act of unacceptable sorcery when used for the second. Such dark power as the highest level of magic enables is termed “the alchemy of souls”. It is, effectively, the shifting of souls resulting in the creation of soul shifters. Two groups seek the Ice Stone. It soon becomes the clear desire of one group to own and use. The other group is equally determined to prohibit and destroy it. One group already has possession of it. As much as there is corruption in this tale, there is also evidence of sacrifice for the greater good, and redemption for the wicked. The latter, to be fair, is in short supply but, hey, a drama is a drama.
It all starts in Songrim when Mages dedicated to protecting the country against sorcery, are called upon to locate and kill a notorious assassin named Nak-su. She is injured but escapes. Her survival kit includes a Soul Ejector, a golf ball size device of sorcery deriving from the fabled Ice Stone. We saw it used at the very beginning of the drama and witnessed the consequence: the dying king’s soul switched with that of Jang Gang, chief Gwanju of Choeonbugwan, a master magician directly answerable to His Highness. Then the seducing of the magician’s wife by the soul shifted king, who dies shortly thereafter. Followed by the birth of the dead king’s son, the one born under the brightest star in the night sky (The King’s Star [2]) as his destiny: Jang Uk.
The drama opens, then, with a huge secret. To announce the destiny of this child will be to invite his immediate murder by the new king. The man who should have been his father, determines, strangely, that the way to protect Jang Uk -- he who would be king -- is to prevent him from ever being able to use magical energy to cast spells to protect or defend himself. Irresponsible ‘father’ seemingly evaporates. No one knows where to. In a land dominated by magic and battle prowess derived from controlling the energy of the elements that surround them, Jang Uk, whose mother died during childbirth, is an orphan with a rich heritage -- none of which can help him. He is left to face the cruel ridicule of his peers alone. Even in Daeho, a make-believe world, parents make calls which further burden the very people they claim to want to protect. Fate and destiny. One cannot easily prevent the other being realised; working together is the preferred solution.
Back to Nak-su. The one called the ‘Shadow Assassin’ quickly finds a new body to morph her soul into, hence, to survive in. On the way, however, she carelessly pushes aside a blind girl. Moving swiftly on, she finds the perfect candidate. The soul shifting is done quickly and seemingly seamlessly. Why, then, are her magic, combat strength, and fight skills missing? Further, there’s a cloth band across her eyes, one worn by the blind. Nak-su has become Mu-deok, the blind girl who, in her panic to escape capture, she literally knocked off her feet. In exchange for the lost assassin skills, the hi-jacked body is no longer blind. Badass Nak-su is not impressed. It causes her frustration and anxiety. How can she return to her own body? The shift was meant to be temporary, but with her sword missing as well, she is stuck.
We’ve also met adult Jun Uk. He is an entitled, spoilt, angry young man. Clearly a rebel in the making. His entitlement comes from huge wealth and belonging to one of the country’s four power families. He is pampered and his whims accommodated to make up for being an orphan. Jang Uk’s anger is about the way his life has turned out. No parents. No magic. No future, as he sees it. But he is also kind, loving, optimistic, and determined to change and control his own fate.
The first glimpses into the characters of our two leads are made evident very quickly in the drama. Finding her predicament one she has no choice over or power to change, new Mu-deok decides that she can safely wait for the right opportunity. If she has lost her magical abilities and can’t cast spells, she’ll just have to absorb that of someone else. Jang Uk, too, we find, is of a similar temperament: glass half full, kind of thing. He is determined to find a master who will not only unseal his source of mystical power but also train him to the highest level of magic in the country. So what if he has been disappointed twelve times before? His master is out there. He just has to meet them. It’s a tall order. It’s also one he has been chasing most of his life. The scene is set for a clash of two of the most determined people ever portrayed on screen to inadvertently meet but consciously form a symbiotic relationship which will, ultimately, control their future.
The providential union starts with an attack using a crab leg. It’s a long one with a claw sharp enough to puncture the victim’s carotid artery, a vital blood vessel, and almost certainly kill them. Yet when Mu-deok threatens Jang Uk with the unusual weapon, instead of fear, he displays intrigue. The combination of moves leading to the final stance, he recognises, is from the highest level of martial arts. Jang Uk may not have been trained in magic by the many masters who took his money in exchange for doing nothing but, however, the theories on the spells and martial arts skills were nonetheless learnt. It was not all wasted time, after all. More than that, his quick, calculating mind also identifies that the woman threatening him has beautiful eyes. Eyes which express not only the brightness of stars but also the blooming blue colour of the soul shifter mark. It’s a mark that usually displays itself on the skin above the heart of both parties involved in the sorcery of “alchemy of souls”. Yet, occasionally, it can appear in the eyes. Further, it can only be detected with direct up-close eye contact. How close they are standing now will dictate their relationship going forward.
They say when we meet our soulmate, we know immediately. Upon the very first meeting. Jang Uk tells Mu-deok she is the master he has been waiting for. She’s unconvinced and determined to leave. The solution? He simply purchases her from Chwiseollu, the entertainment venue she was sold to (and was running away from) in exchange for clearing her dead guardian’s debts. Thus, she enters the home and, ironically, the protection of the least able person in the country.
Jang Uk initially plays with Mu-deok, testing both her patience and her intentions. Knowing who she is (Nak-su), but unaware that she literally powerless, he is taking a mighty risk by toying with her. Nak-su would not hesitate to kill him for less than the irritation he is causing her. This, then, tells him there is something amiss. The interaction between them is superb. It has an edge to it at every exchange. There’s a limit that Nak-su, even as new Mu-deok, can tolerate being pushed beyond, however. Luckily, Jang Uk somehow knows exactly how far to take the teasing. There is, also, an immediate, implicit understanding between them. The chemistry is undeniable and ratchets up whenever they are in close physical proximity. Jang Uk, in particular, is not backward in being hands on with Mu-deok. Whether it’s embracing her to shield her eyes to prevent others from seeing the blue marks within them, or in caring for her when she is injured (most often because of him), Mu-deok is repeatedly found wrapped in his arms. She does not protest.
When others call Jang Uk lazy, laid back, easy going, it is to miss the intense frustration that holds his heart in a tight grip. He’s in a prison, albeit without walls; one that is punishment for just existing. No crimes committed. It’s a theme that continues throughout the drama. It’s a fate he shares his feelings on with Mu-deok after a brush with death as they pursue their joint goal. Only she understands his desperation. Only she continues to truly understands him -- in all three of her eventual incarnations.
Where the assassin Nak-su was an arrogant adversary, was intolerant, harboured a deep animosity towards everyone, Mu-deok expresses her displeasure with a sneering, insolent, still arrogant attitude. Whether as the family servant, personal maid to Young Master Jang Uk, or the master of magical skills (now only as theory), Mu-deok never learns to be obedient, to present as subservient, or to tolerate being looked down upon by others. She retains her bad attitude even though she’s unable to back it up with the battle prowess of her previous self, Nak-su. In that sense, Mu-deok perfectly matches Jang Uk. Where they differ is that Mu-deok quickly learns how to disobey by subverting the orders of those to whom she is expected to play inferior. Whether it is Jang Uk or the Crown Prince, her responses are buttered with resentment; her smiles laced with defiance; her eyes surly and mocking. It keeps them off balance and unsure of what is happening. They know only that, somehow, Mu-deok always ends up getting what she wants.
It’s lucky for master and servant, in both their forms, that they have the same aim in mind. One wants to own great magical energy. The other wants to feed off that energy. First, the former must acquire the missing skills, which he commits to sharing with the latter. It’s a friends with benefits agreement in its purest form. Because they do very quickly become friends. The level of trust and co-dependency on one another is soon recognised by those around them. Such that Mu-deok is described as Jang Uk’s shadow. More accurately, it’s Jang Uk shadowing Mu-deok in his quest to open his gate of energy. She can make it happen. She believes the same. Hence, the relationship descends into humour, farce, and sometimes outright stupidity as they work to conceal their respective true intent from others as well as their growing emotional attachment to one another. Gradually, loyalty and mutual reliance create a bond that is exceptional. Jang Uk will let no-one else work with nor openly socialise with Mu-deok. Mu-deok will serve only Jang Uk. She pre-empts his every need, albeit with a bad attitude. Her young master’s bidding is all-consuming in terms of her responsibilities. Each insists on being wherever the other is. Everywhere.
Their mutual devotion pays off when a relic that seeks and recognises soul shifters is brought to Songrim after the body discarded by Nak-su is stolen. A spy is suspected of having given access to the strongly fortified fortress where the soul shifted assassin’s body was kept. It takes all Jang Uk’s cunning to save Mu-deok from being identified as a soul shifter. Smashing the valuable ‘detective’ relic doesn’t exactly impress Park Jin, his substitute father and leader of Songrim where he lives. Jang Uk will be publicly punished. Oh well, that’s what friends are for. But it’s Jang Uk, and with no internal energy to protect him, the punishment can’t be too harsh. Wait! Abandonment by the maid he took the risk for? (Uh-oh!) Kneeling before him, Mu-deok offers him tea to ease his suffering, then whispers, “I’m leaving”. Her young master is not impressed. Already on his knees as penance, Jang Uk looks gutted.
Leonora
[1] Alchemy of Souls. Screenplay by Hong Jang-eun and Hong Mi-ran; Director, Park Joon-hwa; www.netflix.com/watch/81608518
