The Ultimate Sacrifice
Episode 19 of Alchemy of Souls starts with a scene at the lake many years back in the past with Bu-Yeon in search of the ice stone. Jin-Mu many also be watching with Wo-Tak as the girl concentrates on finding the stone.
At this point in time, Bu-Yeon is a direct bloodline of the Jin family and descendant of the fallen Choi family which is her father’s side of the family. These combinations essentially made her one of the best priestesses anyone had ever seen. This ice stone searching power became a source of power that turned around Jin-Mu and threw Bu-Yeon into the water to take the stone for himself.
Interesting enough, the girl was not lost. She ebbed on the river bank and an old woman and a well-intentioned nurse cared for her and called her Mu-Deok in honor of her dead granddaughter. This particular scene fits well in our story as well because most of our characters are already on the other side of the forcefield and it is now confirmed that Mu-Deok is in fact Bu-Yeon.
Also, Yul’s condition is critical, and he requires a transfusion. The thing is, the worm residing in So-I’s blood could well turn out to be the cure. So I have it on record that in the death scene she displayed, So-i cut her wrist and poured her blood into Yul’s wound which I believed was fatal for his condition during the time. This did in fact work, did it not?
Nonetheless, the drama wreaking havoc with the Words of the Heart must not also be overlooked. King of Nara sees this folly as Master Seo’s words are echoed by Songrim while a love letter encased in the writing is recited.
In the other room, dressed as the monarch’s body, Shaman Choi gets honored with her intimacy from Oh Mu-Deok as Jang-Uk sneaks away looking for the queen. She is currently living in his dead sister’s body.
What’s even more interesting is how in the past, Ho-Gyeong, in fact, asked for Jang Gang’s help by opening the gates of Jinyowon for him to pull out the ice stone. She realized that such a stone has the capability to resurrect the dead which is why she begged him to make use of it to resurrect her daughter. For this reason, the ice stone was lost by Jinyowon.
On other occasions, Jang Gang returns to Songrim and in a very warm manner hugs Maidservant Kim. As they have their reunion, Jang Uk is trying to figure out what form has the ice stone taken. He is considering converting the mist into rain. Making that happen will require that he utilizes Tansu, but there is a strong likelihood that he would deplete his entire energy in the process.
This, however, is vehemently opposed by Mu-Deok as his master and has issued a command not to do so. They fought tooth and nail to get this far, so her ire at his intent to throw himself away is perfectly understandable. The trouble is, if he does nothing, that does not particularly help Yyl who is on the verge of dying from loss of blood. But for So-I though, who is the one who can help in saving Yul’s life.
On the subject of keys, Cho-yeon and Dang-Gu locate Woo-Tak and wrestle him in the dungeons. After defeating him, they wonder what they are going to do with him.
Dang-Gu is talking to Park-Jin explaining that they found the soul of the queen and they think what to do with the queen’s soul. Park-Jin is eager to transport the queen to the Training Center but Dang-Gu isn’t so sure about that. He wants to protect the honor of the Jinyowon name since that will also cause pain to Cho-Yeon.
They don’t bring the queen’s soul but they go to the center, telling all the mages to get out. They let come Shaman Choi, who sat throned in whose room are king and his family, though betrayed the crown prince, but we will come to that. The Shaman (trapped in the Queen’s body) grips the throne and grinds her teeth in fury. When Shaman’s battered face was shown, she collapsed on the ground and begged for the king to hear her that she was the true queen.
The only way to end this with the dog’s body cremated is with Gwigu but there seems to be no hope or is there? Park Jin unveils the dog’s ashes and pours them over the queen’s head. She looks so rattled that she completely sinks back from her cautious approach. The truth is, they’re just regular ashes and in fact, she herself gives it away.
With her plans exposed, she draws a sword and prepares to plunge it into her belly. The only solution is to expel her spirit but in the process this also exposes Woo-Tak’s relation to this that being Shaman Choi’s sibling, it is catastrophic for Ho-Gyeong. In return for keeping Woo-Tak alive, Park Jin orders her to return the queen’s corpse.
Woo-Tak tells his sister to wield the last Soul Ejector and flee, sacrificing himself in the process. Jang-Uk has made up his mind to go ahead with this plan of sacrifice even after the Crown Prince and Mu-Deok dissuade him. Sword in hand, the hilt glows with a blue tint. While Shaman Choi manipulates the Soul Ejector, he hits the raindrop towards the barrier.
Jang Gang utilizes his body to contain the power, channeling it into his own. However, now he’s going berserk for an unknown reason.
As he kneels to the King, Jang Gang asserts that he has come to the Unanimous Assembly to confess his sins. Yeom asks the others to concede and allow Jang-Uk to speak with his father before he leaves. Jang Gang declines the invitation, and rather tragically he turns to ash before father and son set eyes on one another.
Jang-Uk sees himself being taken to an unfamiliar plane and is able to witness the ice stone that he had not seen before. As he touches the stone, somehow, the power materializes around him, forming the King’s Star. And just like that, Jang-Uk is once again in the same body, with rain pouring heavily on him. The sheath around Jeongninjak is destroyed, but the magus believe that the Crown Prince is the most likely candidate who has become the new King’s Star.
Because of this, Mu-Deok and Jang-Uk have both of them suffered a loss of their power, but it appears that they don’t care about it. They interlock in each other’s hand as if the menace of ice stone and Jin-Mu and the Queen’s plot have quelled for the time being at least.
Although some time passes and Yul is back on the mend thanks to some rest and recuperation, night pains still afflict him. But Mu-Deok tries her best to help him in this regard as she hands him the old whistle. They share a lovely moment and finally bid each other farewell.The pair is able to say farewalls to each other after this moment.
In the meantime, Dang-Gu passes Jang-Uk a picture he drew of Jang Gang and states that he gave up his existence to save both Songrim and Jinyowon. It is when Jang-Uk looks at the painting that he concludes he has indeed met his father. There’s a hint of happiness and sorrow, and in the end all of the belongings of Jang Gang are held by the King.
The Queen however is not back in her own body, for the time being, she has to stay in the charred corpse of Shaman Choi. In regard of Park Jin, he broods over the dark past of Jang Gang, including the one we had witnessed previously in the season where the King was shown swapping with and then sleeping with Do-Hwa.
Park Jin has made it a point to remain silent about this one thing and ensure the fact that Jang-Uk does not have his perception of Jang Gang tainted.
Jin-Mu attempts to persuade Jin-mu to aid him in his efforts to secure the Crown Prince’s safety. He also promises to deliver the Prince from the actual King’s Star. Jin-Mu is the type of guy who knows how to play the card and it ‘s a confrontation because Jang-Uk will one day become more prominent than him and it is a resolution to ensure that it doesn’t come to pass. It is not clear whether the Crown Prince has been won over.
At the time of the intended celebration of the wedding ceremony of Dang-Gu and Cho-Yeon, Jang-Uk asks for Mu-Deok’s hand as well. She gives him a charming grin as the episode comes to a close.
The Episode Review
There is a positive and happy ending in this case, but the mood suggests the opposite calm before a storm and possibly an emotional sadness to the conclusion of the first half as the events transpire. Having in mind the fact that the show is coming back for more episodes in December, it wouldn’t be too farfetched to suggest that this plot is not about to finish and tie up all the loose ends.
Jang Gang has to sacrifice himself and never gets to meet his son, and this is a twisted thing because So-i still roams like a cockroach. I mean come on at this stage, her plot is pretty much over but let’s see how the scriptwriters embellish her character from here on out.
What I appreciate about this extended episode is that it has balance, with action, drama, and even some fantasy elements all combined. The moment when Jang-Uk is willing to risk it all for his love, or the developing relationship between a very real Mu-Deok and Jang-Uk who seem to be heading to get married!
But will it be a happily ever after or will we get a red wedding type of surprise since Jin-Mu is still hanging around. I guess we will just have to wait and see!
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