‘Alchemy of Souls’ Finale: Fans Angered by 1 Major Plothole With Bu-yeon’s Ending Storyline
Netflix’s Alchemy of Souls K-drama ended on a tantalizing cliffhanger that will feed into the second season. While the finale had fans on the edge of their seats, they could not help but notice on major flaw and pothole regarding Bu-yeon. In the Alchemy of Souls finale, Mu-deok/Nak-su meets a less than desirable fate and has fans upset that the supposed powerful priestess, Bu-yeon, did nothing to stop it.
[WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Alchemy of Souls finale.]
Mu-deok/Nak-su inadvertently kills Jang Uk in the K-drama finale
Fans were excited to see the main characters get a happily ever after. But they still held on to the foreboding feeling that chaos was around the corner. As Jang Uk is ready to leave Daeho to live a normal life with Mu-deok, Jin Mu has one final plan. After realizing Nak-su is in Mu-deok’s body, he uses Shaman Choi’s soul powder and ritual bells to get Nak-su under a mindless trance.
Using his own powers, he awakens Nak-su’s so she can become the ruthless assassin again and kill Woo-tak. Among the bloodshed, she succeeds as the rest of the characters learn of her return from Jin Mu. After pursuing her, Park Jin is ready to kill her in the forest. But he stops when Jang Uk shields her from harm.
As Mu-deok/Nak-su is unaware of what she is doing, she stabs Jang Uk with her sword. Upon hearing Jang Uk say her name, she awakens and cries in agony over what she has done. Long story short, Jang Uk dies by her hand as they once promised. In the aftermath, Mu-deok’s body is petrifying as Jang Uk’s body is being prepared to be burned.
No longer hearing the bells, Mu-deok/Nak-su plunges into the lake to stop everything. After the jaw-dropping series of events in the Alchemy of Souls finale, fans were angered when realizing Bu-yeon did nothing to stop it.
Fans are confused by the ‘Alchemy of Souls’ finale disregarding Bu-yeon’s role as a priestess
As the K-drama storyline progressed, fans solved the mystery behind the long-lost Jin family’s daughter. The blind Mu-deok was, in fact, Jin Bu-yeon, the first-born daughter of Lady Jin. She was born using the Ice Stone. But Bu-yeon has a much deeper connection to power as her generation’s powerful priestess.
Throughout the K-drama, Bu-yeon’s extraordinary levels of power were displayed. The powerful priestess would awaken to save Nak-su on multiple occasions. She would also manifest to save Jang Uk during the Alchemy of Souls. But fans were angered in the Alchemy of Souls finale when Bu-yeon did not appear when Nak-su needed her most.
“Continuing on this thread, Buyeon is suddenly unable to intervene? They go to all this trouble to repeatedly show her intervening in critical moments, even when Mudeok/Naksu is being manipulated/influenced, since she’s so powerful – but now when shit really hits the fan, she’s unable to stop it?” said a fan on Reddit.
Another fan explains it is a huge pothole, saying, “but like WHERE WAS BUYEON THE WHOLE TIME !?!? She was always out there saving the day and now POOF she’s conveniently out of sight.” A fan also comments, “She even left Naksu fighting against those bells all alone. No assistance from the great priestess whatsoever please make it make sense in S2 Hong Sisters that’s just too huge of a plothole to ignore.”
Will’ Alchemy of Souls’ Season 2 address the return of Bu-yeon?
Bu-yeon’s sudden absence in the finale made no sense for fans. The pothole also leaves for Alchemy of Souls Season 2 to address it and possibly how Bu-yeon could return. As of yet, fans are heavily theorizing how the new season will handle the return of actor Go Yoon-jung as Nak-su.
Fans are confused about how the K-drama will address Nak-su’s bodily form returning. It was burned at the beginning of the season. But fans saw how Jang Uk’s body was reborn thanks to the Ice Stone and the King’s Star after being burned. The finale also showed Mu-deok’s body being saved from the lake.
On Reddit, one fan comments, “Your theory about both their bodies being in the lake is probably the best theory I’ve heard so far. And BY maybe going into the ice stone makes sense, but waiting until December to find all this out is really just mean. But the anticipation leading up to December will really be high considering how they ended the first season.”
Could it be that Nak-su burned body is in the lake and able to be restored? There are many theories to speculate, but only the second season can answer them as it will return in December.
