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 byOur Blues.Alchemy of Soulsepisode 12 has a runtime of 77 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 12 Recap contains spoilers-
Alchemy of Soulsepisode 12 brings Jang Uk another lost duel as Mu-deok rushes to his raise and goes to get him a towel only to find Heo Yoon-ok waiting for him in his room. She recognises her as the one Kim Do-ju was talking about and later tries to stop Jang Uk from going back to his room. He tries to leave but notices Mu-deok’s soiled shoes and kneels down to clean them when she notices his wound.
She tells him to go to Sejukwon but he brushes her off telling her that there are more wounds to come, after which he leaves for his room. Back in his room, he sees a pile of peanut shells on the table. Elsewhere, the crown prince fills the blue jade with his energy which triggers the red jade and the two jades pull the people that have them to meet.
After a heart-fluttering search that the crown prince and Jang Uk are pulled into, they meet on the bridge and are astonished by the power of the jade. They are shocked by what they felt as Jang Uk tells him to never put his energy in the jade again while thanking him for letting him know of this power.
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Back in Songrim, Mu-deok is spying on the other contenders when Seo Yul tells her to rest assured as the next competitor is only showing off because he is scared of Jang Uk’s progress. Their conversation is then interrupted by Park Don-gu who informs him about the death of the mage master Kang of Daegangtongun. This is the same mage who went through a soul-shifting in the last episode. He then tells them that he was killed by assassins and fear emerges of there being more assassins like Naksu.
At the funeral of master Kang, Park Jin and Heo Yeom come to give their condolences and ask the new master of the house about the incident. Park Jin tries to push him into getting an autopsy done when he finds out that the cremation will be held the very same day but Jin Mu arrives and pushes him off. Later, Jin Ho-kyung also sides with Jin Mu which makes them give up on the autopsy.
At Cheonbugwon, Jin Ho-kyung asks Jin Mu about the search for her daughter and he told that it is ongoing but they have found out about the girl who was washed to the lakeside but is dead. Jin Ho-kyung emphasises that she wants her daughter back alive and this conversation is witnessed by So Yi. Jin Mu tells her that this will be her future family while she suggests dressing up shabbier to get Jin Ho-kyung’s sympathy.
Elsewhere, Jang Uk is preparing for his next duel when he sees Park Jin and master Lee walk towards where he is. He overhears them talking about the assassination of master Kang and how Naksu was just a puppet of Jin Mu’s. Park Jin told him that while he was focusing on Naksu, he overlooked the people she killed and that these people must have been involved with Jin Mu. Jang Uk also hears them talk about Naksu’s past and how Jin Mu took her in to become an assassin to divert people’s attention from Jin Mu’s alchemy of souls.
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Jang Uk then meets Mu-deok and tells her to rest while she tells him to get treatment. He hugs her as he recalls Park Jin’s words of pity for Naksu. He then tells her that the yin-and-yang jade has some really fascinating powers but doesn’t reveal what it is. He tells her that he will show it to her after he retrieves the other one from the crown prince and then enjoyed the guesses Mu-deok makes.
At the funeral, Park Jin and Jin Mu are present to pay their respect and the cremation begins. Earlier, Park Jin had told Seo Yul to take away the leftover energy from his body so that he would be petrified. Back in the present, after the fire runs out, the body is still intact as a soul shifter’s body turns to stone and would not burn like a normal one. Park Jin thus acquires solid proof of sorcery being involved which gives Songrim the chance to be involved in the case.
His first suspect is the new master of the house which is the body that has been taken over by master Kang. He then tries to stop him from escaping and the skills he uses match those of master Kang. The man is then held back by Seo Yul who slashes him which makes him reveal his soul shifter form. Park Jin gives the order to capture him alive while Jin Mu wants him to be killed, and this leads to some clashing opinions and a chase.
Cheonbugwan is able to kill the soul shifter in the end while Songrim takes the body back to be examined. Park Jin asks master Heo Yeom if it is possible to revive the soul shifter while Jin Mu is worried about what Songrim is trying to do. Later, Seo Yul watches Mu-deok going through some books while imagining the scene of her turning into a stone just like the soul shifter he had faced.
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While leaving he meets Jang Uk and tells him that he slashed a soul shifter earlier. He tells him that these soul shifters will one day run wild and feed on other people’s energy which makes them monsters. He then adds that it is their duty as mages to save the world from such monsters while looking at Mu-deok who appears before them.
However, Jang Uk tells him that they can protect the world by keeping the monster in check while telling him that he is thinking this way because people have always had high hopes for him. However, Jang Uk has always been told to be idol and so he will follow his heart.
In the palace, the eunuch next to the queen is worried about Songrim’s movements but the queen tells him that Park jin cannot storm into the palace as he did in Daegangtongun. The eunuch then goes on to blackmail the queen to share the power of the ice stone and calls her Shaman Choi. He reveals that there is no one else who will serve her like him after knowing that she is the shaman Choi who is residing in the queen’s body. He continues by talking about her sibling in Jinyowon and the real queen residing in her body.
He then puts forth the condition to get his soul shifted into some other body. In Songrim, Park DOn-gu is ready to duel with Jang Uk and tells him that he will lose to him, however, Jang Uk forfeits the match which results in Park Dong-gu’s win. Mu-deok runs behind Jang Uk calling him prideful but he tells her that she signalled him to not fight. The two get into an argument when a group of mages pass by them to guard Sejukwon.
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Jin Mu has come to check the soul shifter’s body but is sent away by Park Jin, however, he meets Kim Do-ju on the way and is able to enter with her. Kim Do-ju and Jin Mu reminisce their memories while Park Jin tries to block him every chance he gets. The underlying tension is sensed by Kim Do-ju who later asks Park Jin about it but he brushes it off by telling her that everything will be alright.
Later, Park Jin gets all the mages together and tells them to guard Sejukwon, however, he excludes Jang Uk from this and tells him to go home for a few days. Jang Uk leaves but finds Mu-deok going for an errand to Cheonbugwan so he tags along.
Alchemy of Souls Episode 12 Ending
Alchemy of Souls episode 12 ends at Cheonbugwan where Mu-deok remembers memories of her childhood when her father brought her to this place. Looking at her, Jang Uk smoothly makes his way inside and gives her a chance to go inside and the two talk about her father. Elsewhere, Jin Mu kills the eunuch from the palace but the latter tries to escape. Following the tracks left behind by the eunuch, he almost finds him when Jang Uk pops out from behind a pillar and tells him that he had come for an errand.
Jin Mu thanks him and asks him to leave which makes Jang Uk and Mu-deok relieved as they try to slyly escape. However, Mu-deok slips on the water left behind by the eunuch which catches Jin Mu’s attention while Jang Uk tells her to run. They are unable to escape and Jang Uk gets into a fight with Jin Mu.
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However, the experienced mage creates a barrier and pushes Jang Uk inside it which brings the latter on the top of a rock surrounded by water. He then tells the eunuch to feed on Mu-deok’s energy and then later shift into Jang Uk’s body as he leaves. The eunuch attacks Mu-deok while Jang Uk builds his courage and jumps off the rock breaking the barrier.
He then rushes to Mu-deok but is surprised when he sees her absorbing the energy from the eunuch. He calls out to her and Mu-deok is scared that she might be running wild now that she is feeding on energy. She tells him to stay away from her but Jang Uk is unable to see her scared and goes to hug her. The heartbreaking scene ends with the beautiful stars surrounding the two.
Alchemy of Souls Episode 12 Review
Alchemy of Souls episode 12 has made some of the characters face the truth by bringing them face to face with the future ahead. While Seo Yul knows what it is when a soul shifter is slashed, Mu-deok is hit by the truth which she had been forgetting when she absorbs the energy. This episode was really heavy on these two characters which will bring a change to their personalities and their relationship in the future.
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Today Jang Uk gets to know the real past of Naksu and the pitiful person that she is. He has been angry with Mu-deok for a few days but upon knowing her pains and the way she was used, his heart softened and he can’t help but let go of his anger. And Mu-deok too welcomes his warmth with open arms (quite literally).
This show cannot have one episode without revealing something shocking and today we have another secret of the queen being unveiled. We finally know that she is a soul shifter from the Choi family who is a shaman and has entered the body of the queen. I did think about the grudge she has been holding against Songrim which doesn’t seem to settle well as her surname is Seo. But today it is out in the open that this is a Choi family person who once brought havoc to Daeho with the help of the ice stone. Now, this makes more sense.
Lastly, the highlight of this episode is the crown prince and Jang Uk’s star-crossed love. Just kidding! But the way they looked at each other with the beautiful OST playing in the back gave us a feeling that these two are meant to be together. And while the truth will bring them to fight till death one day, right now this can be a beautiful love story. Honestly, their scene together has stolen the spotlight and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud when looking at these two.
What are your thoughts about this episode? Let us know in the comments below!
Alchemy Of Soulsis streaming onNetflix.
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