PUBLISHED ONNovember 23, 2022 6:27 AMByDrima ChakrabortySeason one of Alchemy of Souls left K-drama fans with a nail-biting cliffhanger, but the wait for answers is nearly over.
Titled Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow, the second season is set to start airing on Netflix on Dec 10.
A teaser was released earlier this month, beginning with the resurrection of protagonist Jang Wook (Lee Jae-wook), a talented sorcerer from the fictional kingdom of Dae-ho.
He says: “I should have died back then.”
Following those sombre words, the teaser shows a series of action sequences and ends with Jang Wook saying: “If my power serves as justification, no one will leave this place alive.”
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Despite the dark tone and the reference to Jang Wook as a “monster who hunts monsters”, Jae-wook thinks he and his character are “incredibly similar” in this second season.
In a recent interview with magazine 1st Look, the 24-year-old said: “In the drama, there’s a scene where Jang Wook drinks by himself, and I also occasionally need a drink.
"I am also growing every day and I take time to look back on what kind of a person I am. Looking at these things, I think, ‘Jang Wook and I have quite a lot in common.’”
Reprising his role was not easy for Jae-wook, however.
The rising star said: “At the end of [season one of] Alchemy of Souls, I had exactly one week to reorganise. After finishing all my overdue activities, the week went by in an instant. Given that, I lacked the strength to reprise Jang Wook three years later (in the show’s timeline).”
According to a tvN Facebook post, the second season of Alchemy of Souls will take place three years after the events of the first.
“Because of that, filming was slow at first. The process of accurately understanding and capturing my character was a bit difficult,” Jae-wook said.
The second teaser was released on Saturday (Nov 19), showing Jang Wook mournfully proclaim: “I couldn't even protect the one person I promised to protect, how would I be able to protect anything else?”
It also shows other characters from the series that fans have grown to love, such as Nak-su (Go Youn-jung), Seo Yul (Hwang Min-hyun formerly of K-pop group Nu'est), Dang-gu (Yoo In-soo), Cho-yeon (Arin from girl group Oh My Girl) and Park Jin (Yoo Joon-sang).
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It was mentioned back in August that lead actress Jung So-min wouldn’t reprise her role as Mu-deok, who gets possessed by Nak-su’s soul, in season two.
In the finale of season one, Mu-deok jumps into a lake after the apparent death of Jang Wook, but two mysterious people are shown pulling her out. Her fate remains unknown.
In a poster released for Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow earlier today, actress Youn-jung, who played the original ‘body’ of Nak-su in the first season, is seen alongside Jae-wook.
In it, Nak-su looks defiantly at the camera, standing behind Jang Wook, who holds Nak-su’s hands tenderly and kisses her wrist, drawing attention to a mysterious bracelet she’s wearing.
The caption for the Instagram post reads: “In my deep darkness, you are the only one who shines.”
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It is not clear how Youn-jung will reprise her character, as season one shows Nak-su’s body being destroyed by flames.
Fans who held out hope for Mu-deok’s return are understandably upset, saying that they will “miss So-min so much”.
Others want Mu-deok (also known as Bu-yeon) to “have a plot” and not be erased “like she was nothing” in favour of Nak-su.
However, other fans stepped in to defend Youn-jung.
One comment read: “Alchemy of Souls part 2 has Jae-wook as Jang Wook and Youn-jung as Nak-su for the main cast. If you cannot acknowledge that, then maybe you’re commenting on the wrong page. Please respect the actress.”
Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow is set to have only 10 episodes, compared to 20 episodes in season one.
A poster of the cast was revealed on Nov 12 and the main cast also includes Shin Seung-ho and Oh Na-ra.
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drimac@asiaone.com
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