‘Alchemy of Souls’ Season 2: Why Some Fans Are Seeing Bu-yeon as a Villain
The tides have turned against Bu-yeon for some fans in Alchemy of Souls Season 2 K-drama. As the story progressed, fans soon realized Mu-deok is, in fact, Bu-yeon, the Jin family’s long-lost daughter and powerful priestess. But venturing further into Nak-su’s story in Alchemy of Souls Season 2, some fans cannot help but feel Bu-yeon also manipulated the assassin for her own needs, making her a villain.
[WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Alchemy of Souls Season 2.]
Bu-yeon proved to have trapped Nak-su’s soul in ‘Alchemy of Souls’
At first, fans might have thought it was bad luck that Nak-su’s soul was transported into the weak and blind body of Mu-deok. Mu-deok is Bu-yeon, the Jin daughter who was supposedly lost in the lake. Master Lee also realized that there were two mighty souls within the body. Bu-yeon is, in fact, a powerful priestess, one in a generation.
In the first season, Cho-yeon revealed that only a priestess like Bu-yeon could trap souls, and even the most powerful mages would be powerless. At first, fans believed the immense powers Nak-su exhibited were from Bu-yeon, but Alchemy of Souls Season 2 proved the opposite. Bu-yeon had purposely interfered with Nak-su’s Alchemy of Souls after realizing how powerful her torrent of energy was.
In return, Bu-yeon trapped Nak-su’s soul within her body for a reason. In Alchemy of Souls Season 2 Episode 7, Seo Yul confronts Master Lee about Nak-su’s identity. But Master Lee reveals that despite his better intentions, Bu-yeon’s plan had worked as she had hoped.
He reveals that Bu-yeon trapped Nak-su’s soul to use all of her energy to regain her full divine powers. In the eighth episode, Nak-su visits the tree, regains her memories, and meets a young Bu-yeon. Bu-yeon reveals her distaste that Nak-su remembers who she is. She explains taking Nak-su’s soul allowed her body not to pretrify and recharge her powers. But she gloomily says Nak-su will live a painful end as her soul will leave the body that does not belong to her.
Fans see Bu-yeon as a villain for using Nak-su in ‘Alchemy of Souls’ Season 2
Since fully learning that Bu-yeon purposely trapped Nak-su for her own gain in Alchemy of Souls Season 2, some fans now see her as a villain. Like Jin Mu and others, fans feel that Bu-yeon also manipulated Nak-su against her will.
A fan on Reddit explains, “Buyeon is the one who trapped Naksu’s soul so she can used her energy to regain her own divine powers. And she didn’t keep Naksu from running wild out of the goodness of her heart (by the way, even that was done thanks to Naksu, as Buyeon herself said today), she just did that so she can have more time to consume all of her energy. It seems like it was always her plan to use Naksu and then discard her when she became useless.”
Bu-yeon seems to have had her own plan all along, and it worked. In hindsight, Nak-su’s life has become chaotic. On Nak-su’s path to regaining her powers and body, Bu-yeon would likely not have let it happen. But Nak-su found a new sense of purpose when she fell in love with Jang Uk.
In the Alchemy of Souls finale, Nak-su is manipulated and forced to kill him. Nak-su’s memories are gone three years later, and her soul is in Bu-yeon’s body. She again begins to fall in love, but Bu-yeon’s plan takes hold again. Master Lee is under the impression that Bu-yeon’s soul has regained her divine powers and will get rid of Nak-su’s soul for good in Alchemy of Souls Season 2. But is Bu-yeon truly a heinous villain in Alchemy of Souls Season 2?
Bu-yeon and Nak-su had their lives taken from them in the K-drama
While some fans see Bu-yeon as a villain, some fans take into account the equally tragic life she faced. As a powerful priestess born from the Ice Stone, Woo-tak and Jin Mu used her to locate the Ice Stone. The event led her to fall into the river and be presumed dead. Her life was erased to keep Jin Mu’s secret.
In return, Mu-deok had also somewhat lost who she was. But she was found alive by a simple townswoman. She was taken in as her granddaughter and named her Mu-deok. Like Nak-su, Bu-yeon was also manipulated for another person’s greed.
A fan on Reddit believes Bu-yeon is not the villain in Alchemy of Souls Season 2. “But you have to understand her too. Wronged and abandoned by her own father and uncle. Having her life stolen from her by Naksu. She’s just reasonably willing to get her body back. Wouldn’t you if you were in her position? Plus she doesn’t wish Naksu ill, she’s even grateful for Naksu and was sad that Naksu had to leave having remembered everything, thus having suffered,” said a fan.
Whether Bu-yeon is a villain after Alchemy of Souls Season 2 is up to fan interpretation.
