The Last Stand
As episode 14 of Alchemy of Souls begins, it is apparent that Jang-Uk is about to engage in the toughest duel of his life against his opponent Seo Yul. Before that fiery skirmish however, as Jin-Mu tries to interview the Crown Prince, he is afraid to say anything because Uk is already guarding him with his maid. She is not providing the cover so far because Uk has not been taught spells by anyone. But is that enough for Jin-Mu to suspect her?
Uk is a dangerous creature who if set loose in the world the consequences would be apocalyptic; it’s something that deeply concerns Park Jin. At least for now however, we see that Uk’s sheer skill and natural talent has enabled him to learn Chisu and successfully fish out the golden fish just as Hemp Lee had pedicted.
Now, in terms of the events revolving around Cha Beom resigning from his position, it is the Crown Prince who riles him up every time. The Crown Prince is fixated on one thing, that whoever Uk’s opponent is, should be the person to take him down. With such extreme circumstances at play, a mage decides to take a backseat in these proceedings and allow Yul to get in the mix particularly with Mu-Di; the empress contender.
With all the pieces falling in place, Yul has a great path set up for himself and doesn’t hesitate knowing that he made an oath to the prince. We go back to the ends of previous episode where the previous events had unfolded themselves.
Yul and Jang-Uk engage in a duel, Uk being noticeably enhanced from the last time they fought due to him having learned the Chisu technique. The duel is well contested and features an epic orchestral music piece that is certain to give one goosebumps. Truthfully, it has reached the stage where it is similar to a level boss in a Final Fantasy game.
Regardless, instead of using a dark summon that could destroy the world, Yul sends his enemy Jang-Uk flying across the floor. Even though he comes out on the losing end, mastering Chisu has overshadowed what it means to win the duel. At least for now anyway. This means of course, that Mu-Deok is in Yul’s service instead of Jang-Uk.
Looking at the manner in which Jang-Uk is injured so as to be in recovery, Yeom is pleased in regard to the level that the young student has managed to get. At the same time, Mu-Deok familiarizes herself with the terms of the challenge Yul put forward. Though she is his servant now, she can go to Jang-Uk at any time. On top of that, Yul has her swear an oath that she will help him when he goes to Seoho Fortress.
All the meanwhile, there exists a love triangle between Park-Jin, Hemp Master Lee and Maidservant Kim, where Park-Jin realizes who’s making an attempt to woo the lady.
That was getting a little too obvious, Jin mustered his witty personality as he grabbed the vase and brought it down towards Jang-Uk head first. Standing back, he bore witness as the vase shattered to smithereens. “You are in no position to hate Hwashin after what happened with Dong-Tak,” Jang-Uk pointed out.
Although meeting his father complimented one of Jin’s goals, he felt no satisfaction. The only reason Jin appeared was to locate the other half of his father who had carelessly placed it on another woman. When he looked deeper into the image hanging on the wall, Jin’s nerves heightened as unconsciously buried memories surged forth, ones that rested in his heart. Ignoring them, he closed his eyes and shouted, “I hate you!” while reddening. Now he tried and failed to mask the resentment in his throat.
The following day didn’t provide many surprises as it followed the basic format of the last few weeks. Park Jar was still single and wished everyone was out of her sight. Jang-Uk had forced the entire family to sit together during lunchtime, and now everyone was politely laughing at Wang Tae Gwang. At the very least, he looked gloriously good, so there was that.
Park Jin’s feelings about the situation with Mu-Deok only grow worse and eventually assigns Sang-Ho to look into all her background. The circumstances in which Jang-Uk met with Mu-Deok are quite unclear as it is, so he is determined to put this mystery to rest once and for all.
In any case, they are not the only ones looking for the girl. It turns out, several other loan sharks are looking for So-I as well, due to the debts she owes. But as we know, she is with Jin-Mu in Cheonbugwan and she can’t help but scream in horror as the two women she deceived onboard the boat are seen hobbling out and how a Soul Shifter, now hidden, is all set to devour them
And as the decaying bodies lose all their flesh and turn black in colour, Jin-Mu takes advantage of this to teach her a lesson, which is also to dispose off any potential witnesses of So-I’s whereabouts.
Moving ahead, a lot of things involve Mu-Deok and the Crown Prince which are quite humorous aspects that occurred after that event. Earlier in the episode, he stands in front of Mu-Deok and mockingly questions her heart for Uk, tossing a jaded stone straight into a pool outside the building. She manages to hold back her frustration until much later when she fishes it out in the early hours.
When Mu-Deok joins the Crown Prince in his fight for the stone, the two insult each other verbally. Ultimately, they will not be able to take the stone from her.
A few mages walk into the room and begin scolding her. When the Crown Prince is about to be collared over when her, he pulls out a charm that will prevent anyone from insulting her. Looking at one of the men’s shirts, he tells one of them how to get rid of the stains using white rice. This is, of course, a reference to the Songrim exam!
Well, after some pangs of jealousy, Jang-Uk next starts kissing Mu-Deok, surprising her, and decides to go for the ‘pretty woman’. This time, Mu-Deok runs away, but before she does, she shows him the jade stone, which appears to stamp their love for each other.
However, Mu-Deok soon meets Park-Jin and at once, investigates her background, especially within the context of her being a liar and feigning a lack of sight. In the face of aggressive interrogations, she appears to have survived quite well, with the lady who looks after Mu-Deok at her side. He urges Mu-Deok to make her way over to the Ferry Inn. Before he departs, he comments that So-I is coming, which disturbs Mu-Deok.
Mu-Deok spends this time at the Ferry Inn but in the process of her stay, she steps into a room and finds a man lying there with his throat cut. Bad timing as Park Jin comes seconds after and is quick to assume that it was her who did that.
At the same time, Master Lee Cheol reaches before Go Soon, also coming along with Yeol, Dang-Gu, Jang-Uk. This time, he states that he can tell all of them that he can sense Soul Shifters and he is one. Horrified, Jang-Uk understands that Mu-Deok was a shifter and he had known this right from the very beginning.
The Episode Review
What suspense to leave everyone in, with all the components hanging in the balance! The pace here is such that Alchemy of Souls suddenly comes to a frustrating standstill, as now we will have to endure an entire week of anticipation as to what lies ahead.
However, for now, this amazing yet fantastical drama has done so much good to build the magic in this battle and the political drama over the weeks and this double bill is no different. In a way, this chapter is like an idiomatic pause, preparing us for next week where the storm feels very much likely to begin.
Al through it all, Alchemy of Souls has been quite a good watch and this particular episode does well in building some strong connections between the Crown Prince and Mu-Deok, and at the same time, moving Jang-Uk and Mu-Deok closer to a romance. As for the kiss, it was indeed a surprise and quite moved it to be one of the better moments of the whole show.
There’s been such a distance travel for these two so far and as for the perceived triangle with the Crown Prince, it looks like it’s just there for the development of the latter. The truth is though, the regarding Jang-Uk and Mu-Deok this stage looks as if the writers decided to go all out for this romance now. The two seem to have amazing chemistry and with the announcement of a second season, it appears that we are in for many more interesting developments in the couple’s romance.
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