The 1st episode was just the "bomb" in terms of action, suspense, and intrigue. I was frequently on the edge of my seat on almost every scene and I was curious on the story behind the epic that is this kdrama's 1st episode. In short, it was purely exhilarating.

For the succeeding episodes, I really wanted to be emotionally-invested to the plot, and its characters, and it was convincing on some aspects. The pacing was actually great during the first few episodes when the focus was just on Jang Uk's (Lee Jae-wook) character development from a lazy bum young master to the great mage he is destined to be. Mu-deok (Jung So-min) was essential in said development, and I won't divulge anymore to more details, but that story arc was really this kdrama's strongest point. Jang-uk's character development reminded me of Aang's in "Avatar: The Last Airbender". However, I was disappointed when the skillful assasin Naksu (Go Yoon-jung) was seemingly relegated to a weak side character in the name of Mu-deok. It made sense when the original Mu-deok was weak physically, but considering that Naksu's soul went inside Mu-deok and in turn, also becoming weak mentally, did not make any sense.

There were also quite a lot plot confusion here but I think the question with the most impact to the plot was that how were they not able to defeat Jin-mu (Jo Jae-yoon) already here? He was not even powerful in the first place. Furthermore, how was he able to escape the mages with their power all the time? Jin-mu's objectives and him being the antagonist was already obvious even to them and there were already ample evidences that would point back to him as the culprit but the Songrim just didn't confronted him? Even Master Lee (Im Chul-soo) knew all along, and if he truly wanted for peace in Daeho, it would've been wise for him to deal Jin-mu early on. But then again, what would happen to the plot if he was dealt with already?

Furthermore, there was a lack of firm direction that this story wanted to go. At first, it wanted to dig up Naksu's past, then it was overturned by the sorcery which Jin-mu wanted to get ahold with, then the Bu-yeon story, all in the while there were romances blooming on several sides. It was clear from the start that the writers wanted to make this series into 2 parts, and honestly, all of the episodes (including seaon 2) could've been encapsulated into a 20 or 24-episode format. In this case, the 20-episode format as shown here could've been enough to properly convey the overall plot. But even with the many sub-stories that this kdrama wanted to incorporate, it felt draggy that for every next episode I watched, I felt dreadful and was just conscious on the time run rather than the story itself. I felt that this show wanted to compress different genres into one main story whilst in a fantasy setting, but the execution just felt short to my expectations, especially after watching the first episode.

That is where I already played it on 2x speed, and honestly, it made me appreciate this series more as a whole. The pacing became faster, and the messy build-up was already glanced over quickly. It wasn't boring anymore since there are already swift transitions between scenes that otherwise would've felt boring. I don't have to remember the filler scenes anymore, and there was an awful lot of them, especially during the middle part and the last episode. The climax could've been put on the last episode, but the last episode itself was a "good" transition for the 2nd season, despite being uninteresting anymore. Please note that "good" in this context means that it is now necessary to have a 2nd season since it would be bad if they ended it with that. To be fair, I really don't recommend watching something in 2x speed as it diminishes the effort of all of the actors/actresses and the production team in coming up with this show, but in this case, I wasn't able to hold myself back.

On a positive note, I was just enthralled with the production value especially on the 1st episode. The effects were truly convincing and the action scenes were just mesmerizing to watch. It's sad that they weren't able to showcase more action on the later episodes, but I will try to be optimistic that there would be more action and suspense on the 2nd season.

Will I watch the 2nd season? Yes, I have to otherwise, this is a bad cliffhanger ending. Will I appreciate the 2nd season more? I hope so. Will I recommend this season as a standalone? Perhaps, if you don't agree with what I said.

Alchemy of Souls was not totally bad, just not that captivating for me. Although, it is still entertaining to watch...at 2x speed.