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Alchemy of Souls: Theories and Analysis for Eps 9-10

For this week’s theories and analysis post, I don’t think there’s much to add that I haven’t already gone over either here or my Twitter account. Something I do want to stress upon is that Alchemy of Souls needs to be read like a novel. Always keep in mind the underlying messages the Hong Sisters are trying to communicate. Realize that the soul is more important than the body. Do not immediately jump to a conclusion based on what you physically see. Try to dig for deeper meanings and/or connections rather than accept things at face value.

With that being said, let’s begin! Thinking caps on!

Jin Bu Yeon

In Ep 9, we were given a small crumble of Jin Bu Yeon’s past. I was crying! Even though this scene was short, so much information was given if you knew where to look.

These scenes showed the Jin Bu Yeon was a kind soul who could see what others could not normally see. Haha…get it…a soul is something people can’t see with their eyes. I just had to insert that in there. Anyways what can we infer about who Jin Bu Yeon was as a person? Well she loved birds and she could feel “warm” energy from there when they were alive. What else? She seemed to be her mother’s source of light, warmth, and love. The same is said for Mama Jin. One could even say that this scene is like a Mama bird (Mama Jin) spending time with her egg (Jin Bu Yeon).

The tragic thing about this scene is that we have seen what happens when a Mama Bird and her egg get separated from one another. Before, they were each other’s “light” and “warmth”. After becoming separated, they were “dark” and “cold”. Jin Bu Yeon turned into the dark and cold shadow assassin “Naksu”. Mama Jin became cold and distant towards Cho Yeon and Daddy Jin. Both Mama Jin and Jin Bu Yeon felt “lost” without the other. This is like Jin Bu Yeon/Naksu/Egg’s relationship with Jang Uk/Mama Bird 2.0. Now I understand Jin Bu Yeon/Naksu’s separation anxiety from Jang Uk/Mama Bird 2.0. Jin Bu Yeon had developed separation anxiety as a child after she became separated from Mama Bird Jin and this translated into adulthood when Jin Bu Yeon/Naksu became separated from Mama Bird 2.0 aka Jang Uk.

I cannot wait until Naksu is revealed to be Jin Bu Yeon and is finally reunited with Mama Jin aka OG Mama bird. I will seriously cry! There is no one more fitting to protect the treasures of Jinwoyon than Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. Mama Jin and Jin Bu Yeon/Naksu’s personality are quite similar if you think about it! Like their dark sides can be are quite scary while their light sides are so sweet! Also, fuck Jin Mu. Seriously fuck him. He took Jin Bu Yeon from Mama Jin then brainwashed her or whatever and turned her into an assassin. Think of all the years Mama Jin missed out on with Jin Bu Yeon/Naksu and vice versa because of Jin Mu’s treachery. Can’t even!!!!

The Hong Sisters' Warning

Over and over again the Hong Sisters have warned viewers to not focus on what someone looks like on the outside (body). They have told you in so many ways to focus on what’s inside (the soul). Someone's soul is more important than their body. This message has been communicated numerous times now whether through various characters’ dialogue, situations, objects, etc.

In Ep 9, the Hong Sisters shows viewers what happens when you try to look for someone’s body and not their soul. You end up like Mama and Daddy Jin who have spent the past 10 years searching, but never finding their daughter. So for all the viewers who have made very superficial theories that Mu Deok is Jin Bu Yeon, here's a warning from the Hong Sisters to not do it. You can read my other posts to see what all you missed while you were so fixated on Mu Deok being Jin Bu Yeon. Power, physical blindness, not having memories of your parents are very superficial qualities. Those things do not define a person nor their soul. It can be one aspect of them, but it doesn't encompass all that they are. Just saying.

Why are the Hong Sister's warning these people? Because when they drop the bomb that Naksu’s soul is Jin Bu Yeon’s soul and Naksu’s real body is Jin Bu Yeon’s body, they don’t want you to feel disappointed like Daddy Jin and Mama Jin.

It’s like I mentioned in one of my other posts, finding someone’s soul is much more difficult than finding their bodies. It’s easy to find someone’s body, but it’s much more difficult to find someone’s soul. To find someone’s soul, you must look for their habits, likes, dislikes, thoughts, way they say things, etc. Those are the things that tell you who a person is aka their soul. A person’s soul is what makes them unique not their bodies. What matters more is what is inside not outside. This is same message that has been repeated so many times, but people have been too blind to see it.

This brings me to my next point, did anyone notice what Mama Jin said to Daddy Jin? She said, “So you just brought anyone?”. What she meant to say is, “So you just brought any body?”. Get it HAHAHA…sorry Hong Sisters like play on words! Anyways, all the girls Daddy Jin would bring back were just any blind girl or body. Instead, what he should’ve been doing was searching for a soul that was similar to Jin Bu Yeon’s soul (i.e someone who liked birds). Notice too that Mama Jin uses the “just anyone” phrase which is similarly used by Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. Like mother, like daughter!

How Will Naksu's Reveal As Jin Bu Yeon Happen?

I really don't know exactly how or when Naksu's reveal as Jin Bu Yeon will happen. I am thinking it won't happen until after her mother, Mama Jin, becomes Jin Mu's puppet. Also it won't happen until after Park Jin has a mental breakdown of sorts and figures out that "Mu Deok" is Naksu. Naksu's reveal as Jin Bu Yeon will probably happen around the time Fake Queen Choi and Jin Mu really start setting their evil plan into motion. At that point, Naksu will figure out who she really is and that's perfect timing because she will have to retake Jinwoyon from Fake Queen Choi and Jin Mu. So yea the two reveals are Mu Deok is Naksu to the characters in AOS and then Naksu is revealed as Jin Bu Yeon to both the characters in AOS as well as the viewers of the show. Can't wait to see Jin Mu losing his shit!

In all honesty, I feel like the Hong Sisters have been stretching Naksu's secret identity as Jin Bu Yeon for way too long. I thought they've would've done it by now. However, I guess it could make sense that Mu Deok is Naksu needs to happen first so that there's more drama in the show.

Like what is Park Jin going to do when he figures out Mu Deok is Naksu? Will he lock Naksu up and make it publicly known that they have caught her? Will Park Jin punish Naksu for the crimes she committed in the past? I don't think he should though because I mean she was brainwashed and used by Jin Mu.

Spoiler in the Poster

For those who have been wondering if Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon will end up with Jang Uk, I can tell you they do (sniff sniff I did like Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon with Seo Yul…oh well). The spoiler was in the poster. In the poster, you will see you Jang Uk is holding Naksu’s sword.

I had mentioned before how I think Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon’s sword is actually one of the treasures of Jinwoyon. It’s a one of kind magical sword that reacts to its owner soul. There’s no other sword like it in AOS. Other mages’ sword do not react to their owners. The only magical objects which react to their owners are ones found in Jinwoyon. Additionally, to unsheathe this sword, you need to have the power of the Lake or Ice Stone which is like hella powerful.

Now going back to Ep 7, the Prince tells Jang Uk that if you marry into the Jin family, you will also become owner of all the treasures of Jinwoyon. Well, there you have it folks, Jang Uk does end up marrying into the Jin family. He marries Jin Bu Yeon/Naksu and that’s why you see him holding her sword in the poster.

Examination of Seo Gyeong’s Love Letter

These are some of the interpretations I had about the love letter:

Love (Name of Seo Gyeong's love) is the key to unlocking one’s soul/energy (what cannot be seen with one’s eyes)

Applying this to current events, I believe Jang Uk is the key to unlocking Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon’s energy

To see someone’s soul (invisible pages are Seo Gyeong’s soul), you must see it with your heart (focus your energy towards your heart)

Love is the key to seeing what cannot be seen with one’s own eyes: the soul

Symbolism

The purple flower and spring season is representative of Jin women. The winter snow helps the purple flower to bloom. In my mind I think this is supposed to mean that Jang Uk is the winter snow that helps Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon to grow and blossom.

Additionally, if you remember in Ep 1, Naksu was wearing blue and purple. This was supposed to represent her soul (blue) and body (red) and it signified that her soul and body were not one. Now in the latest episodes, she’s starting to wear purple (when you mix blue and red, it makes purple). I think this represents that her soul and body are starting to become one. She’s starting to become who she was before all of Jin Mu’s influences.

The orchid in AOS is actually a real flower found in real world. It’s called, “Crocus”. The flower symbolizes “rebirth”. Which makes sense when you’re applying it to Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. Naksu is about to be reborn as Jin Bu Yeon! She was an egg that is about to crack out of shell and become a phoenix…caw caw RAWRR! Or she’s like a caterpillar about to come out of her cocoon and become a butterfly!

Ice Stone Battle 2.0

Other things I wanted to mention is that Park Jin had said, "the air is getting chiller now". This means winter is coming. For those who have never watched Game of Thrones, the phrase, “winter is coming” means shit is about to blow up. Like doom, destruction, and death.

It’s already been hinted that Jang Gang is about to return. His return is going to stir a bunch of shit up. Remember that Fake Queen Choi and Jin Mu are worried about Jang Gang’s return. We don’t know what Jang Gang has been up since he left for his soul-searching journey (pun intended). I think he’s been hiding somewhere remote. Maybe he was the person who created that wooden doll that the kids found in the mountain. I’m still not sure.

In the background of all this, you have Master Lee who has been trying to tempt Jang Uk with power by offering him a pupil position. Why does Master Lee want Jang Uk? That’s one of the questions I have. I feel like Master Lee knows something is about to happen and he wants Jang Uk to be the best in preparation for it. Maybe Master Lee knows that the next battle for the Ice Stone is coming.

This leads me to my next point: Fake Queen Choi and Jin Mu’s evil plan for world domination. As far as we know it, these two evil doers have been creating soul ejectors and taking officials (creating an army?). Jin Mu has been manipulating the Prince and trying to make him hate Jang Uk and the other members of the 4 families. What Jin Mu doesn’t know is that the Prince is starting to become friends with them rather than enemies.

Right now one of priorities of the evil duo is to get Jinwoyon. Why do they want Jinwoyon? Because Jinwoyon has relics and artifacts created by the energy of the Ice Stone. Therefore, in their whole big scheme of taking over the world, they want to gain more power and so the treasures of Jinwoyon would guarantee this.

Going back to Naksu’s sword and how I think it’s probably one of the treasures of Jinwoyon, it would make sense why Jin Mu was so hell bent about getting it. As of now, Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon’s sword is in the possession of the Prince. What I think is going to happen is that Jin Mu will ask the Prince to give him the sword, but the Prince will end up giving it back to Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon.

In the battle for the Ice Stone, someone has to die. I think that someone is probably going to be Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. Don’t worry folks I think she’s going to come back in Part 2. The show started with her 1st death and so in many ways it would make sense the Part 1 end with her death. Damn just how many times does Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon have to die?!!

Who knows, maybe she doesn’t like die die, but like ends up in a frozen coma or something? Maybe Part 2 is about how to bring her out of the frozen coma. In one of the scenes in Ep 9, you do see Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon trying to destroy the Ice Stone. What process is this? Review my other posts if you don’t know. It looks like it’s going from solid phase to gas phase which is “sublimation”. This means Jin Bu Yeon was injecting a lot of heat energy into the Ice Stone. I think when Jin Bu Yeon tried to destroy the Ice Stone the first time, she was unable to because she was so young and did not have the sufficient amount of energy. Maybe her trying to destroy the Ice Stone is what caused her to lose her memories in the first place or maybe she got amnesia after falling out of the boat.

Flash forward to the present, Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon will try to destroy it again, but this time she will have help: Master Lee and Jang Uk. I did say in my other post that to destroy the Ice Stone, you will need energy that this greater than the energy of the sun which is what the Ice Stone is. But really though….is Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon going to be in like some sort of frozen coma….that’s like a literal representation of an Ice Stone. Hmmmm what’s between life and death….limbo. Is Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon’s soul going to be in some sort of limbo? Ok maybe my frozen coma theory isn’t that bad. When you’re in a coma, you’re neither alive nor dead. One of the themes in AOS is transitional states!

Other Thoughts

Love all these budding romances!!! There's so many geometric shapes right now that I can't keep up! I really love the development that is happening between Dang Gu and Cho Yeon!! My heart is crying for Seo Yul!! Park Jin needs to get his shit together like seriously! He can be so book smart, yet so dumb when it comes to love!

The whole interaction between Dang Gu, Seo Yul, and the Prince was so heart warming !! I loved seeing them all work together !

MASTER LEE...HAHAHA...I CANT EVEN !!! He needs to up the dosage of chaste tea hahah!!!

The whole father and child relationship between Master Lee and Heo Yeom is just so cute!! Master Heo Yeom acts like a child that only wants the best for his dad! Love it!

The remake of Nonstop by Oh My Girl was amazing!!!

Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon fighting her feelings for Jang Uk is hilarious! She's trying to do everything and anything to stop herself for feeling the way she does about Jang Uk including trying to get him killed. Girl just stop fighting with yourself and be a free bird who can love !

Poor Seo Yul though like now he's having to deal with so many conflicting emotions. He's like debating on whether to turn Naksu in or not. Then he's conflicted that his best friend is falling in love with the girl he once loved.

Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon needs to spend more time at the Jin family residence to regain some of powers back ! Here’s to sister bonding time between Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon and Jin Cho Yeon!

Bu Yeon means “to amplify”….so is Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon some sort of lucky charm? Maybe the reason Jang Uk’s luck has begun to change is also due to him being around Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. Maybe she amplifies his energy. Idkkk. Haha maybe Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon is Jang Uk’s shooting star !

Ok that’s all I got out of me today folks! Hope you enjoyed reading my ramblings! If there’s anything I’ve left out that you want me to talk about, just let me know!

Update 7/20/22: Soy and Jin Mu

Totally forgot to mention what I think may happen with Jin Mu and Soy (Soyi, I can't remember her name). So either Jin Mu will use Soy to impersonate Jin Bu Yeon or he will get Soy to help him find "Mu Deok". Now if it's the latter then that's going to be hella dramatic. Remember that Jin Mu is aware that Jang Uk has a maid by the name "Mu Deok" and if he puts two and two together then he will realize Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon is still alive and that she had managed to go back to her original body. However, some things to keep in mind is that the name "Mu Deok" may be a common name. Other things to consider is that if Jin Mu figures out that Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon is still alive, what will he exactly do? I mean he's obviously going to try to get rid of her before the Queen finds out. I don't know there's a lot of things to think about.

Jin Mu could also make Soy bring in "Mu Deok" to be used in the scheme, but considering that Jin Mu knows what "Mu Deok" (as Jang Uk's maid) looks like this probably won't happen unless Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon wears a cloth over her eyes to hide them. This would be pure irony because Naksu would have to pretend to be who she is actually haha. Hope this makes sense !

Last scenario could be that Jin Mu kills Soy and tells Mama Jin this is Jin Bu Yeon!

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