.png){kind=logo}
The final week of "Alchemy Of Souls: Light And Shadow" is rapidly approaching, yet there are still a lot of unanswered questions.
For those who don't know, "Alchemy Of Souls: Light And Shadow" is the sequel to "Alchemy Of Souls," in which Jung SoMin has been replaced by Go YounJung as Naksu/Jin BuYeon. After emerging from the grave, Jang Uk (Lee JaeWook) still possesses the ice stone's powers. He marries Jin BuYeon with the intention of using her to extract the stone in order to relieve himself from the suffering that comes with wielding such enormous power.
As of this point in the story, we know that Jin HoGyeong (Park EunHye) made the decision to save Jin BuYeon's body while it still had Naksu's soul so that she may continue the lineage of supernatural powers. She was told by Master Lee (Lim ChulSoo) that Jin BuYeon's spirit was too frail for her to live, and that if she wanted to succeed, she would have to absorb Naksu's soul in order to preserve Jin BuYeon's body. BuYeon's physical characteristics began to mirror Naksu's as her soul fully occupied her body. And thus, in part 2, the unstoppable Naksu we were familiar with in part 1 evolved into the kind and ethereal Jin BuYeon.
The most recent episodes showed that the real Jin BuYeon had been in charge of the entire course of events all along. She is only using Naksu's energy to recover control of her own body, after which Naksu's soul would be ejected from the same. She was the one who trapped Naksu's soul in her body when she initially tried to swap souls with a maid. Despite what Master Lee believed, Jin BuYeon's soul was still alive, albeit feeble. Jin BuYeon's soul also recovered throughout the years like Naksu did in his body.
In a brief encounter with Naksu, Jin BuYeon expresses openly her regret that Naksu remembered her memories before vanishing, since this will only make things more difficult for her. Master Lee declares elsewhere that everything is transpiring in line with Jin BuYeon's plan. This raises the question: Was Jin BuYeon the true antagonist of the entire narrative all along? Let's dissect it.
Due to her father and uncle's avarice, Jin BuYeon was abandoned as a toddler, and her blindness had always been exploited. Jin BuYeon would be able to restore her abilities in the most capable and competent body and get eyesight by exchanging souls with Naksu. Similar to Naksu, Jin BuYeon stops her from acting out as she would have done in any other body.
At the same moment, Jin BuYeon effectively saved both Naksu, who was about to die, and the innocent girl who would have been the victim of Naksu's soul swap by enclosing Naksu's soul in her body. Therefore, even though Jin BuYeon captured Naksu's soul against her will, the alternative would have resulted in Naksu becoming berserk, which would have had a far worse effect. She too would have missed learning the truth about Jin Mu (Jo JaeYun)! In addition, if Jin BuYeon hadn't given her body to Naksu as a container for her soul, Jang Uk x MuDeok wouldn't have existed. As a result, it is difficult to blame either party.
Jin BuYeon is surely using Naksu's soul as of right now to reclaim her body, and once she's finished, she'll most likely dispose of her. We must not overlook the fact that Jin BuYeon is making the same efforts to survive as Naksu was. In fact, it wasn't until the most recent episode that Jin BuYeon was portrayed as a villain rather than a victim, which leads us to wonder if our perception of the characters was flipped to make room for Jang Uk and his potential decision to use sorcery and defy nature in order to prevent Naksu's soul from vanishing.
Whatever the drama's resolve, it is clear that Cho Yeong (Naksu) and Jin BuYeon are both the victims of despicable, power-hungry males who didn't think twice about driving these ladies to ruin. We can only hope that "Alchemy Of Souls: Light And Shadow" provides these women with just compensation and exacts revenge on their adversaries, all the while making sure that Naksu and Jin BuYeon enjoy long and prosperous lives. After all, anything could occur if Jin BuYeon possessed divine abilities comparable to those of Jin SeolRan.
