Wow. No wonder they needed two seasons to get through everything.

The beginning of season two starts three years after the end of the first season and a lot has changed. As everything unfolds, you learn about how the aftermath of what happened three years ago affected all the main characters. Park Dang Gu is now the leader of Songrim, and his engagement with Jin Cho Yeon was broken off. Seo Yul is suffering from the aftereffects of the blood parasite entering his body, and Jang Uk has completely changed. He's now in possession of the ice stone and hunts soul shifters and is surrounded by wraiths. It's a pretty gloomy start to the season, where it's obvious everyone is suffering although I love that Jang Uk is a total badass now who doesn't care what other people think.

I feel like I should have rewatched the last episode of season one before watching the second season, because I definitely forgot some very key details - like Jang Uk having the ice stone. *face palm* I had a lot of questions and things that I was wondering about in the first few episodes of the show, but maybe that's their intention because as the story progresses you do learn more about what happened and why. I was curious about how they would explain Naksu having her original appearance when her body got burned up in season one, but it does get explained in a way that I (sort of) understand. It does get pretty complicated though. I'm glad they go into the details of the blood parasite in depth in this season, because it was definitely one of the things I had questions about from the last season.

If the beginning of the show is dark and gloomy, then the middle is more romance oriented, with Jang Uk and Naksu getting to know each other, with the usual kdrama shenanigans where they misunderstand each other and start falling in love. Things are extra complicated because Jang Uk is still traumatized/waiting for Naksu meanwhile Bu Yeon (who is actually Naksu) is getting her memory back in bits and pieces as flashbacks but she thinks its actually someone else's memory.

The last third of the season (from episode 7 onwards) is where the plot starts to really pick up and it gets good. There's epic fights and showdowns, dramatic rescues, double crossing, and not one but TWO absolutely crazy plot twists / reveals that I did not see coming.

In the midst of all the excitement, it's nice that there is still some comedy to break up the tension. I love the interactions between Jang Uk and the crown prince. The whole season I was just rooting for them to be friends again. And the crown prince's turtle! I love how the writers of the show made the turtle so pivotal to the plot when I thought that it was just a cute thing that brought the crown prince and Bu Yeon together. 🐢🐢🐢

”He got rid of my turtle” - a truly iconic quote

Overall I really enjoyed the show, but there were still a few things that didn't quite make sense to me. In the beginning it seems like Park Dang Gu and Jin Cho Yeon's relationship is broken and that she resents him for not saving her father three years ago, but then a few episodes later it seems like they are back to being in love. I wish that the show had given the couple more screentime and shown how they were able to get past that.

I also thought that Jang Uk wasn't aware that Naksu's soul was going to disappear, but then it seemed like he did know when he went to go find her and they got married. And did the crown prince actually turn his back on Jang Uk at the end of season one? Maybe I just need to rewatch the show to catch more details but because of how long it is and how complicated the plot gets I do think things slip through the cracks.

I hate it when you get super invested in a show and then it's a sad ending so I'm happy to say that this is not one of those cases.
Yay for happy endings!

I can't end this review with a special mention to Lee Jae Wook for his phenomenal acting with how much his character did a 180 compared to the last season. It was so rewarding seeing his new persona and what a badass he is now. I had also seen Go Youn Joon previously in Law School but she gave off such different vibes in Alchemy of Souls that it made me completely forget about her past character. I was hesitant about how this season would turn out because of a change in the female lead, but the two of them had good chemistry together and made it work! I also have a soft spot for So-i. She wasn't a main character but I still think she shone in this show. Her character was really well-written and although she made a lot of mistakes, I think she really did her best in her own way and Seo Hye Won did such a good job portraying her.