Alchemy of Souls (환혼) is a 2022 Korean fantasy drama that 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 5 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 5 Recap contains spoilers-
Alchemy of Souls episode 5 starts off with a flashback, but this time it is related to Naksu’s past. A tragedy where she witnessed the scene of her father’s death that became the beginning of her life as Naksu. The scene then shift to Mu-deok and Jang Uk entering Danhyanggok, the place where she was trained to become Naksu. She is ready to train her unmotivated student through hardships until she finds that the place where she lived has been occupied by someone else. While Jang Uk is happy about this comfortable living situation, Mu-deok wants to know who is the person occupying this place.
However, she soon sees Sapsali in the body of a dog, who senses that she is a would shifter and tries to attack her until Jang Uk stops him. Sapsali is afraid of him as he was the one to break his vase the last time in Songrim. The scene shifts to a meeting held between the mages to officiate the duel between the crown prince and Jang Uk. They all agree on the duel, while Park Jin makes it clear that Jang Uk will have no master to help him. Next, we see Jang Uk talking to a sleeping Mu-deok in the hut at Danhyanggok.
The soft-hearted Jang Uk lays her on the bed while sleeping on the ground and struggles with discomfort. Later in the night, the mysterious man from the last episode arrives at the hut. The man is told by Sapsali that Mu-deok is a soul shifter and he decides to kill her, however, he stops right before attacking Mu-deok. He is intrigued by how she is able to stay sane after soul shifting, and even though there is a great soul in the body he wants to know where her powers have disappeared. But before he can investigate any further, the now awake Jang Uk tries to protect Mu-deok by attacking this man.
However, Jang Uk is unable to defeat the man and is soon made unconscious. On the other hand, Mu-deok sees a vision of herself and the girl whose body she has taken over. The next morning, she sees Jang Uk chatting with the mysterious man and questions about the situation. She is told by them that she saw the two last night but she denies remembering anything, which intrigues the man further.
While the two converse, he goes to the side to Sapsali and tells him that she is a special soul shifter. On the other hand. Park Dang-gu and Seo Yul are discussing about Mu-deok and Jung Uk who according to them are in Sari Village. However, they soon find out that they may be wrong.
Returning back to the hut, Mu-deok and Jang Uk try to find out the level of the mysterious man by observing everything that he is doing. They know that he has mastered the higher levels of Chisu, when the man suddenly comes to Jang Uk and stops him from drinking the tea he had been sipping on.
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He tells them that it is chaste tea which basically lowers the libido of the one consuming it, which means it cuts off their sexual desire. Jang Uk is left in shock but the man tells him that the amount he drank is not enough to completely cut off his libido. Mu-deok then asks the man to help Jung Uk control his strength and the man tells him to follow his ways, that is by drinking the tea.
The two argue over this method of training and Jang Uk seems completely against it until he suddenly hits the table making the bowl on it to hit Mu-deok on her head. Mu-deok smiles at this and tells him that he has reached Ryusu, but looking at her being so happy while bleeding he calls her crazy.
However, he soon realises her determination in helping him that he is unable to say anything. Elsewhere, Park Jin recalls the conversation with Jang Kang where he told Park Jin that he had already swapped Jang Uk’s birth record that was at Cheonbugwan. That is until Jin Mu enters and asks him what he was doing at Cheonbugwan.
Park Jin tells him that he is here to investigate the case of the soul shifter who attacked Songrim as the body was of someone from Cheonbugwan. Other mages enter and soon the investigation begins, however, Park Jin gets the information that there is a corpse present in the secret room. But when Park Jin asks to see the secret room, there is no corpse present as it was moved.
What Jin Mu was unaware of was that Park Jin had already ordered Park Dong-gu and Seo Yul to stay alert as he knew that they would move anything that had to be hidden. The two try to investigate the cart but are attacked by the men to escape. Park Dang-gu stalls one of the attackers while Seo Yul follows the wagon.
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When he reaches the wagon, he finds it empty except for a Songrim Spirit Plaque. Jin Mu on the other hand is pleased with the idea of leaving behind the spirit plaque which ensures that Songrim cannot bring up this issue. However, he tells his subordinate that his soul will be shifted into the body of a palace eunuch due to this recent disruption. It is also revealed that Jin Mu is doing all this as he is serving Her Majesty, the Queen. Elsewhere, Park Jin tells Seo Yul and Park Dong-gu that they are to find Jang Uk and ask him about the spirit plaque.
In the palace, the crown prince is having dinner with the King and Queen when a box from Jin Mu arrives for the queen. Back in Danhyanggok, Mu-deok notices that Jang Uk is fitting into a normal life with the man while not practising his skills. He tells her that he is content with such a life and that she should leave if she doesn’t like it. She gets frustrated and calls him a jerk for forgetting his promise to help her get back her powers. On the other hand, Jin Ho-kyung comes to housekeeper Kim with a proposal that can save Jang UK, a marriage with Jin Cho-yeon.
In Danhyanggok, the mysterious man tells Jang Uk to reconsider becoming his pupil when Jang Uk asks if he has any other pupils. The man said he did have one student who later gave up celibacy and became a pharmacist, and it is none other than master Heo Yeom. He asks Jang Uk if he wants to spend a normal life, and if so then should he just cut off his energy flow. However, he is soon interrupted by Sapsali who tells him about the corpse that has flowed to the nearby river bank. Jang Uk says no due to Mu-deok but gets to know that she has left.
Mu-deok has gone to the brothel and asks Ju-wol to spread rumours about Jang Uk’s training and gets to know that some officials are present there due to an investigation. While she is leaving, she is stopped by Jin Mu’s subordinate who is suspicious about her being Naksu. They try to take her away but she escapes the situation when she spots the crown prince and begs him for help. All this while, Jang Uk is with the mysterious man as they reach the place where the corpse is and the man once again asks Jang Uk to become his pupil. People from Cheonbugwan arrive to collect the corpse which makes Jang Uk flee from the scene, but when they place the corpse on a wagon a sudden rainbow distracts them. The corpse is taken away by the man.
Seo Yul and Park Dang-gu arrive at Danhyanggok, while Jang Uk finds a drunk Mu-deok at the brothel. She is saddened by her weakness while he reminds her that she is no longer Naksu.
Alchemy of Souls Episode 5 Ending
Seo Yul reminisces his past with Naksu, when he sees Mu-deok. Jang Uk and Park Dang-gu also reach there and Jang Uk leads them to the hut. There he tells them that they are living with a man who introduced himself as Master Lee. The two then question Jang Uk about his missing spirit plaque. Outside Songrim, Master Lee opens the barrier without a spirit plaque and enters with the corpse. While Park Jin, Heo Yeom and housekeeper Kim are discussing Jang Uk and Jin Cho-yeon’s marriage, the news of someone breaking into the barrier arrives.
However, when the trio arrive, Heo Yeom rushes to Master Lee and surprises everyone present. Elsewhere, Mu-deok stands in front of a tree and tells Jang Uk of the time when she was Naksu and could climb that tree, but to climb that one should reach the Chisu level. She warns him that if ever she is caught by people from Cheonbugwan then she should not save her. Jang Uk tells her that he wants to climb the tree which is motivating him to train and reach Chisu.
Alchemy of Souls Episode 5 Review
Alchemy of Souls episode 5 got us more insight into Naksu’s past and it seems like this will be Mu-deok’s weekend. Looks like the episode will be focusing on Mu-deok and Jang Uk every alternate weekend and I am not complaining! We finally get to know the mysterious man’s name and his one OP character who is amazing. This episode showed a ray of hope for both Mu-deok and Jang Uk, and with the persistence that master Lee is showing in making Jang Uk his pupil, looks like we’ll soon have another OP character.
With Jin Mu saying Her Majesty after the investigation scene, I had a jaw-drop moment and I can’t wait for the revelation of the queen’s schemes and her power. This show is just getting better and exciting and I can’t wait for the next episode!
Alchemy Of Souls is streaming on Netflix.
Check out all of the other Alchemy of Souls reviews here.
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