A fictional world where illegal magic allows people to switch bodies. A powerful sorceress, trained as an assassin from an early age. A young man with an untouched magical ability, kept from the truth about his great but perilous destiny. Sounds like a good attitude, right? It is. And it exists on Netflix in the form of Alchemy of souls, a two-season Korean drama that concluded its epic story in January. The fantasy novel was watched by millions across the planet, but never got the attention it deserved in the United States… until now. You are already welcome to introduce yourself to your new favorite show.
In the modern media age, it’s rare to find a big budget story that isn’t based on a pre-existing IP address. This is as true in the Korean TV industry as it is in the American media, like many wonderful K-dramas based on popular webtoons. Don’t get me wrong – the adaptation process has given me some of my favorite fantasy TV shows of all time (The wizards, Merlin, The untamed), and some of the best K-dramas of recent years (We’re all dead, Hell bound, Yumi’s cells). But there’s something to be said for a story that doesn’t follow an already established plot, setting, and cast of characters. At the very least, the creative team – from the writers and director to the cast and costume designer – has a complete sense of ownership that allows them to make choices outside the confines of the canon. And from the viewer’s perspective, anything can happen, adding an extra layer of suspense and excitement.
Alchemy of souls comes from the minds of the Hong sisters, the iconic sibling writing team known for hits like Hotel del Luna (starring Broker‘s IE) And My girlfriend is a nine-tailed fox. The Netflix K-drama follows the story of mages who live in the yoSeon-like fictional kingdom of Daeho, which – as the show states in the opening minutes – “doesn’t exist in history or on maps” (yes, it gives Merlin mood). The series follows Nak-su (Jung So-min, at least for most of the first season), a warrior sorceress who is forced to change her soul into a body that makes her physically much weaker, and without access to her magic. Still, Nak-su – who is now called Mu-deok, the name of the body of the person she switched into – has a deep, hard-earned knowledge of spells and swordsmanship. She is recruited by Jang Uk (Lee Jae-wook), a young man from a noble family whose magical growth has been deliberately suppressed since he was a child. He guesses her true identity, convinces her to train him as her apprentice, and their story begins well. There may be romance involved.
While Alchemy of souls is not an adaptation, it does borrow elements from both xianxia and romantic genres. If you have seen Chinese TV dramas like the ones mentioned above The untamedthen you are probably familiar with some of the xianxia tropics Alchemy of souls has in service. Xianxia literally means ‘immortal heroes’. It shares some elements with its sister genre wuxia, which translates as “war heroes,” but features characters with supernatural or magical abilities far removed from what is possible in the real world. For example, while characters in the wuxia classic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon can defy gravity a little by dancing through the canopy of a bamboo forest, characters in a xianxia-like Alchemy of souls can, you know, put their souls in other people’s bodies. As a white American who grew up in the ’90s with limited access to international media, I enjoy watching K-dramas and C-dramas as an adult. While their tropes may be obvious to their domestic audiences, they exist outside of the Western narrative structures best known to me.
Image: Studio Dragon
Many East Asian story formats are not allergic to romance and emotional vulnerability. they often lead with it. Alchemy of souls is not ashamed to dedicate entire scenes, especially in season 2, to the protagonists staring longingly at each other as one of the series epic love ballads plays in the background. Alchemy of souls (and much of Korean TV drama) articulates expressions of character inwardness in new ways for many Western audiences, offering a refreshing alternative to the traditionally “masculine” character inwardness of tongue-in-cheek detachment, stoicism, and displays of physical dominance which are often prioritized in large Western media budgets. While anger, aggression and emotional stoicism are depicted in Alchemy of soulsare these experiences not contextualized as more or less heroic than kindness, playfulness, or emotional openness. And the series is as much showing a character expressing emotional pain by throwing themselves on the ground and crying as it is to watch them express emotional pain by striking someone with a sword.
While the love story between Mu-deok and Jang Uk is the central story of the show, it is heavily shaped by the drama they were born into. Through the actions of their parents’ generation, Mu-deok and Jang Uk’s destinies are inextricably intertwined – the complexities of which are slowly unraveled over the course of the show’s 30 episodes. Meanwhile, the dynamic between the two is refreshingly complex. To keep her true identity as assassin Nak-su a secret, Mu-deok pretends to be Jang Uk’s maid. is Jang Uk’s maid. (Again, Major Merlin similarities.) However, she is also Jang Uk’s master in his magical training. When they meet, Jang Uk basically has to beg Mu-deok to take him on as her apprentice and, especially in the early episodes, she is often one step away from actually killing him. While others may see Mu-deok as a servant of Jang Uk, that’s not the truth of their relationship, and Jang Uk is never threatened by the ways Mu-deok has power over him. In this way, the dynamic takes on a subversive quality, complicating some of the traditional power imbalances between men and women in romantic relationships, both real and fictional. In the first season, this is compounded by the age difference between the protagonists, as Jung So-min, who plays Mu-deok, is 10 years older than Lee Jae-wook, who plays Jang Uk.
Beyond the two leads, Alchemy of souls invests a lot of energy in developing the magical society of the world, a crucial element for any series operating on this scale. In Daeho, there are four major power families, and each of them has a young, handsome heir. (Think of the Gossip Girl brats, but with magical powers.) Collectively, this group is known as “The Four Seasons.” Jang Uk comes from the Uk family. His father, Jang Gang (Joo Sang-wook) was a powerful sorcerer who had the ability to perform the alchemy of souls, the spell that allows one to switch bodies with another. Jang Gang baptized shortly after Jang Uk’s mother died in childbirth – but not before everyone vowed never to teach Jang Uk a lick of magic.
Image: Studio Dragon
Before the events of the series, Jang Uk was betrothed to Jin Cho-yeon, believed to be the only surviving daughter of the Jin family, who is in charge of protecting most of the Empire’s most powerful magical instruments. The Jin family is matriarchal, and they are the best, most consistent eyeliner game in all modern TV. Although Jin Cho-yeon may be betrothed to Jang Uk, she is secretly loved by Park Dang-gu (Yoo In-soo, who is much more loved here than as cruel opponent Yoon Gwi-nam in We’re all dead). Park Dang-gu will eventually inherit control of Songrim, the seat of magical instruction in Daeho. And finally, we have Seo Yul (K-pop star Hwang Min-hyun of the group NU’EST), from the distant Seo family. Seo Yul is like the friend who can generate unhealthy resentment for how beautiful and talented they are, besides being too genuinely kind and good. He has a past connection with Nak-su, and the show occasionally flirts with a love triangle, but never fully commits. On the contrary, the “Four Seasons” – especially Jang Uk, Dang-gu and Yeo Sul – are consistently portrayed as supporting besties.
This is just a selection from the rich ensemble and the world Alchemy of souls builds up, and the unexpected journey the show takes its viewers on. I don’t want to get into the plot of the second season too much, but let’s just say that the first season ends with a big cliffhanger and when the story picks up after a time jump, the characters have changed a lot.
If you’re a viewer looking for a meticulously sketched magical system or a fantasy story that values plot over emotion, Alchemy of souls is not for you. But if you’re someone who misses the sentimental shenanigans of an adventurous fantasy series like Merlin and looking for another epic, emotion-driven fantasy that goes from silly to heartbreaking to devastatingly romantic in one episode, Alchemy of souls maybe your destiny.