Alchemy of Souls (환혼) is a 2022 Korean fantasy drama which is set in the imaginary world of Daeho. The story revolves around young magicians who are to carry the burden of the past. Starring Lee Jae-wook, Jung So-min and Hwang Min-hyun, the show premiered on tvN on Jun 18, 2022. The show will have 20 episodes and it takes over tvN’s Saturday-Sunday 9 PM KST timeslot previously occupied by Our Blues. Alchemy of Souls episode 17 has a runtime of 73 minutes.
Netflix describes the series as:
A POWERFUL SORCERESS IN A BLIND WOMAN’S BODY ENCOUNTERS A MAN FROM A PRESTIGIOUS FAMILY, WHO WANTS HER HELP TO CHANGE HIS DESTINY.
-Alchemy of Souls Episode 17 Recap contains spoilers-
The wait is over as Alchemy of Souls episode 17 is finally here. The well-awaited episode starts off with Jang Kang and Jang Uk’s meeting when the former tells the latter to hide the sword in Gaema village as people there have a prejudice against the Gwanju. While Jang Uk is unable to recognise him, it seems that the former has been recognised.
Talking about himself and his wife in a rather roundabout way while avoiding questions pertaining to his identity, he then asks about what Jang Uk had been doing in this village. Jang Uk reveals that he is looking for a shaman and Jang Kang is able to guess that it is shaman Choi that he is looking for.
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Warning Jang Uk about the dangers of getting involved in sorcery, he then leaves the scene. Elsewhere, after witnessing the reunion between mother and daughter, Mu-deok sits at a shop wondering about her connection with Jinyowon. Suddenly, Jang Uk arrives right then and starts teasing her and makes her laugh with his playfulness.
However, she suddenly starts thinking about him deeply and we see a Mu-deok who blushes because of Jang Uk. He then tells her about having met the crown prince at Gaema village.
In the palace, Jin Mu has come to meet the crown prince and starts discussing the ice stone. He starts to lure him with the power of the ice stone and talks about lifting the ban from performing the alchemy of souls. While the crown prince brings out his concern for such powers, Jin Mu convinces him once again by telling him about a special order to be made.
This order will limit the number of people who can perform the sorcery. Jin Mu also adds the news of the return of Jin Bu-yeon and how it is in favour of his idea.
Elsewhere, Mu-deok tells Jang Uk about the return of Jin Bu-yeon but remembers seeing her in front of the Jang household with an umbrella that seemed familiar. She then remembers giving it to Seo Yul and rushes to find out to whom he gave it.
However, looking at Mu-deok interrogating Seo Yul like a wife interrogating her cheating husband, Jang Uk steps in and helps the two out. They conclude that the Jin Bu-yeon that has been found is none other than So Yi.
Back in the Jin household, So Yi becomes aware of Mu-deok real identity as Jin Bu-yeon and fears her future if the truth comes out. Standing in front of Jinyowon, she remembers Mu-deok being present there the previous night when Jin Cho-yeon arrives. So Yi then asks about Mu-deok and tells the latter to stay away from her as she sensed bad energy from Mu-deok.
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Then Jin Woo-tak arrives and after making Jin Cho-yeon leave, he tells So Yi to go to Cheonbugwan. Elsewhere, Park Dong-gu decides to tell about So Yi to Park Jin when the others stop him. Jang Uk tells him that Jin Mu must have something on Jin Ho-kyung that will make her protect So Yi no matter what.
Back in the Jin household, Jin Ho-kyung is suspicious about So Yi when Jin Mu arrives and asks her to take him inside Jinyowon in return for helping her reunite with her daughter. There, he persuades her to name Jin Bu-yeon her successor and reveals her act of using the ice stone to save Jin Bu-yeon while she was in her womb.
He then tells her to not be suspicious of him and instead to accept the gift of her long-lost daughter and the ice stone from him. Instead, he just wishes for her to stand against Songrim and protect the ice stone. He once again tries to lure her into teaming up with him with the power of the ice stone.
Later that night, Jin Mu introduces So Yi as the Danju in front of all the mages associated with his scheme. While So Yi is rejoicing in this respect, the queen has made plans to enter her body as she along with her brother will be able to go ahead with their plans with ease.
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The next day, Jin Ho-kyung holds a Unanimous Assembly with all other mage families in Songrim without Park Jin’s knowledge. There she tries to break the trust of the families in Songrim by presenting the ice stone.
Elsewhere, master Lee hands over a letter for Jang Kang to Kim Do-ju and tells her that the letter can only be read by him.
She accuses Songrim of using the reason for the ice stone to investigate all families and also Cheonbugwan and the palace. She tries to create a path to use the ice stone, however, Park Jin opposes it by saying that it is meant to be destroyed.
Elsewhere, the soul shifter’s body is visited by the mother of the body and he wakes up by taking away her energy.
Jin Ho-kyung then tries to overtake Songrim by taking over the right to gather the assembly and making decisions on topics related to the ice stone. She suggests using the ice stone for everyone’s benefit but Park Jin is not ready to allow this and wants the stone destroyed. He then decides to use force and gives the order to not let anyone leave with the stone.
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Looking at the slipping situation, Mu-deok bangs the drums and gathers everyone’s attention on Jang Uk. The latter then talks about what master Lee had told him days back. He tells them all that master Seo’s wish of what should be done with the ice stone is in the book that he wrote- Words of the Heart.
Master Seo has written his will in there and should be gotten in front of everyone to know what should be done with the ice stone. The king orders for the book to be brought here and Jin Cho-yeon is given the task to get it. She is accompanied by Park Dong-gu.
While everyone present tries to remember what was written in the book, Jin Mu wonders about the reason why Jang Uk is trying to stall for time. Park Dong-gu realises that Jang Uk is trying to stall for time and tries to stop Jin Cho-yeon from going back to Songrim.
While she understands what he is trying to do, she does not stop until he tells her about So Yi. Back in Songrim, Jin Ho-kyung heard about what So Yi told Jin Cho-yeon and becomes interested in Mu-deok. However, her suspicion about So Yi keeps growing as she starts to keep a distance from her.
Alchemy of Souls Episode 17 Ending
Alchemy of Souls episode 17 ends with Jang Uk letting the crown prince know about the queen being shaman Choi, while the real queen has been locked up Gaema village which eunuch Kim frequently visited. The crown prince and Seo Yul think that he has lied about the book to stall time for the queen to be brought here. However, Jang Uk tells them that he did not lie and that master Seo’s will does exist in the book.
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Back in the main hall, the king is fascinated by the ice stone and wants to test its powers. He orders to kill someone and bring them back to life and chooses Mu-deok to be the test subject. Mu-deok agrees to it so that she can get her hands on the ice stone.
While Jang Uk reveals about master Seo’s confession in the Words of the Heart, Mu-deok is ready to be killed by Jin Ho-kyung. While So Yi is amused to witness a mother kill her daughter.
Jin Ho-kyung starts to choke Mu-deok when suddenly memories of Jin Bu-yeon’s childhood pass by and with the blue mark flashing in her tearful eyes, Mu-deok lets out the words “Mother”. This shocks Jin Ho-kyung who lets go of her hold on Mu-deok.
Alchemy of Souls Episode 17 Review
The wait for this episode was definitely worth it and I have to say that every second of today’s episode was wonderful. With hardly any filler scenes, this episode was just filled with the story and our desire for more!
Today, the reunion between parents and their children has taken a better yet sad turn. Jang Kang recognised Jang Uk but was unable to say anything, instead, having to recall all his sad memories. On the other hand, Jin Ho-kyung recognises her daughter only when she is on the brink of death.
If that was not all then those memories of Jin Bu-yeon flashing by were such a bittersweet but mostly heartbreaking moment. The scene was just tragically beautiful.
On the other hand, the plans of our villains are being revealed and Jin Woo-tak calling shaman Choi in the queen’s body his older sister gave me goosebumps. Brrr…
But this episode had its fun with a blushing Mu-deok and the scared Seo Yul which only made things more fun in this episode. Altogether, this episode only made me more eager for tomorrow.
What did you think about Alchemy of Souls episode 17? Let us know in the comments below!
Alchemy Of Souls is streaming on Netflix.
Check out all of the other Alchemy of Souls reviews here.
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