Recap Korean Drama "Alchemy of Souls" Episode 1

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 1 has a runtime of 69 minutes.

– Alchemy of Souls Episode 1 Recap contains spoiler –Alchemy of Souls episode 1 starts off with the introduction of the forbidden technique of Soul Shifting that only the talented mage Jang Kang (Joo Sang-wook) is able to perform. However, he is unable to accomplish this technique resulting in the deaths of many whom he used for his experiment.

These experiments, however, catches the eye of the sick emperor who then makes Jang Kang exchange souls with him in order to conceive an heir for the throne. Unfortunately, while the soul shifting is a success, the emperor takes this as an opportunity to have a child with Jang Kang’s wife and we are left unaware of the later happenings.

Still From Alchemy of Souls Episode 1

Skipping to 20 years later, we see the Naksu (Go Yoon-jung), an assassin who has been going around murdering mages. Naksu is seen fighting Park Jin (Yoo Jun-sang) who is the head of one of the top four families in Daeho – the Park Family. During the fight, Park Jin succeeds in critically hurting Naksu which leads to her running away from the scene.

Park Jin, adamant to kill Naksu, chases her, only to find that she has shifted her soul into another body. He then takes away Naksu’s body along with her sword, thinking that she will come to get back her sword which can be a chance to get ahold of her.

Elsewhere, we see Naksu, now in the body of Mu-deok (Jung So-min), trying to figure out the situation she has landed in. Seeing that she is now a blind girl who is being sold to a brothel, she tries to figure out what went wrong. However, she is informed of the Four Seasons of Daeho- the four talented and beautiful descendants of the four prominent families: Park family, Seo family, Jin family and Jang family. These are the very descendants of the people who had killed her parents when she was a child, a murder that she witnessed.

Still from Alchemy of Souls Episode 1

Moving on, she tries to run away from the brothel when she comes in contact with Jang Uk (Lee Jae-wook). He is the son of Jang Kang but is labelled as the child from an affair his mother had with another man. She tries to rob him off his money when Jang Uk tricks her into taking his Jade Plaque instead and lets her run away.

This soon takes result when Mu-deok tries to sell the plaque only to be caught by the guards of the Jang family. She is made unconscious and brought back to the Jang family to be a maid for Jang Uk as he had paid the brothel to buy her. This is followed by comic scenes of Jang Uk tormenting her with tasks while she is unable to refute to any of his request, only hoping to get back her powers back.

She then notices that Jang Uk has a plaque that is used to allow her to enter Songrim – which is where her sword is being kept. However, she is aware that she can’t enter that place while being powerless. But she still decides to sneak into Songrim as she believes that if she has her sword then she might be able to recover some of her powers. Soon, she gets her hand on the plaque and makes a run to Songrim, unaware that Jang Uk knows of her taking his plaque.

Still From Alchemy of Souls Episode 1

Alchemy of Souls Episode 1 Ending

Mu-deok sneaks into Songrim, but an unknown group attacks Songrim at the same time. They light fire to the training center while Seo Yool (Hwang Min-hyun) and Park Dang-gu (Yoo In-soo) are seen fighting of the attackers at Jeonjingak – which is where the sword is kept.

Mu-deok sees the two groups fighting and tries to sneak in and get her sword. The attackers too have the same goal but we are left clueless about who got the sword.

Park Jin, upon seeing Seo Yool and Park Dang-gu running to the training centre, becomes aware that the fire is just a distraction and rushes to where the sword is, only to find it gone along with Naksu’s body. He then orders everyone to try to find the intruders. We then see Mu-deok hiding in a room when Seo Yool notices her and chases after her when she runs away.

Still From Alchemy of Souls Episode 1

While Mu-deok is about to be caught, we have Jang Uk saving the day. We then see the moon light reflecting in Mu-deok’s eyes, creating a unique pattern. He then tells her that it is her who is to be his master and the episode comes to an end.

Alchemy of Souls Episode 1 Review

Alchemy of Souls Episode 1 has shown that this drama is going to one of the must watch dramas in the near future. While it may have been a little fast paced right at the beginning, the many mysteries hidden behind many characters is certainly intriguing to the viewers. The episode may seen a little down at times, but overall it is something that has room for a lot that will keep it’s viewers stick to it till the end.