I’ll continue where I left off. Alchemy of Souls: Ep 11 Highlights, Part 1
5. Park Jin’s discovery
Park Jin might be slow-witted in the romance department but as leader and protector of Songrim, he’s quick-witted and diligent.
He dropped by Lady Jin’s residence to give the “Words of the Heart” at Jinyowon. By chance, discovered that Jin Mu was visiting Lady Jin, too.
Park Jin: Were you meeting someone else before me?
Lady Jin: A distant relative.
Lady Jin’s reluctance to give information, plus her attendant’s lack of reply when asked if she was with another guest, alerted Park Jin that Lady Jin was meeting someone in secret. To me, her attendant’s non-response was in direct contrast to Maidservant Kim’s attendant who readily divulged that she was meeting with a “young man.”
Park Jin: Is Young Lady Jin going to be the official heir of Jinyowon?
Lady Jin: That has not been decided yet. My eldest daughter might still be alive.
Park Jin: It has been ten years since the accident. Although she could not see, she could feel energy and could control relics like no other. She was a very clever girl.
Lady Jin: Unlike other babies, it took her 13 months to come out into this world. She was born on the very day that Gwanju Jang Gang picked as a blessed day from the skies.
Park Jin: (his interest piqued) She was born exactly on the day that Jang Gang picked for you? Is it possible to choose the date and time of a baby’s birth?
Lady Jin: It just happened to match. (changing topic) I would like to invite Master Lee to Jinyowon someday. Please tell him that.
Park Jin: I will.
My comments:
a. It must be burdensome for ChoYeon to live all these years in the company of her mother. Her mother doesn’t hide the fact that in her eyes, ChoYeon is a second-rate mage, and can never measure up to her older sister’s power. ChoYeon is the one:
with the broken engagement,
who allowed the Gwiju urn to break while it was in her keeping,
who broke the yin-yang ball,
who “forgot” to close the Jinyowon,
who trapped MuDeok inside,
who must have cracked the Mirror of Longing.
b. There’s no question that Lady Jin loves her first child. In her own words, “I went far and beyond to protect my child.”
But I think she also treasures BuYeon because of her great power.
That’s the reason she can’t/won’t accept her second child, ChoYeon, as the next heir of Jinyowon. BuYeon would have made Jinyowon and the Jin Clan a formidable force in the kingdom, but ChoYeon will only maintain status quo as protector of relics (and she keeps breaking them, too).
c. In contrast to Lady Jin’s brand of maternal love, there’s Maidservant Kim. She has unconditional love for Uk whom she’d raised as if he was her own son.
d. 13 months of pregnancy? Is she a manatee? I guess she meant either in lunar months or in their shaman-based method of counting gestation period.
e. To answer Park Jin’s question, if you have a Caesarian birth, you can more-or-less choose the date and time of a baby’s birth. I did.
But in context of the drama, it meant that Jang Gang chose a propitious date for the birth by consulting the star charts, and then he performed the alchemy of souls on that day.
f. I have to point out that, as royal astrologer/seer/diviner, Jang Gang sucked at it.
He made a prediction that the King’s Star would appear for the previous King. When that failed to materialize, the King took matters in his own hands and had a child by Alchemy of Souls.
Now, Jang Gang picked a favorable date for Buyeon’s birth. But if he had read Buyeon’s future correctly, then he should have seen that she would be lost for 10 years, give up her body to an assassin, and create chaos to the kingdom.
So why did he pick that date? Couldn’t he have chosen another one?
g. And I have to mention this here as a reminder.
Back in Episode 7, when MuDeok was stuck inside the Mirror of Longing, Park Jin offered to go inside the Jinyowon vault, and get her out himself.
PJ: I would like to go inside. If the relic cannot be brought outside, I will go in there myself and get her out of the Mirror of Longing.
Lady Jin: How can I trust a high-level mage to set foot in there?
PJ: Trust me. I will not touch any other artifacts.
Lady Jin: I am not sure that I can. My trust was once broken by a Songrim mage.
PJ: (puzzled) Have you ever allowed a Songrim mage to enter Jinyowon?
Lady Jin: (refusing to answer) If you want to save Jang Uk, will have to ask mages from Jeongjingak to drag him out of there.
This should tell us that Lady Jin easily misplaces her trust in the wrong person. She did it before with that Songrim mage (whose identity we don’t know yet), and she’s doing it again with Jin Mu.
To me, her failing is because she doesn’t think. She uses her heart (e.g., grief, pity, longing, anger, pride, and spite) in making decisions.
Anyway, let’s continue with Park Jin’s schedule.
After visiting Lady Jin, he dropped by Maidservant Kim’s house and they talked for a moment.
He missed seeing Master Lee at her house, but he spotted the pair of shoes.
PJ: Seeing that his shoes are smaller than mine, he must be shorter than I am.
Then, he childishly pushed the shoes aside, creating a space between his shoes and Maidservant Kim’s shoes.
I thought this scene was funny because for one, it doesn’t matter if he shoved Master Lee’s shoes aside if he’s too cowardly to say the words to her. At least, THAT’s what Maidservant Kim told him.
At some point though she would have to be particularly obtuse not to be understand the meaning of his actions. Shouldn’t gestures be louder than words?
For another, there’s a folk myth that connects foot size to body height to penis length. Given that Master Lee drinks short root tea, lol, I’m not surprised that he has small feet.
6. Maidservant Kim
I already mentioned the difference in maternal love between Maidservant Kim and Lady Jin.
Uk: Are you happy about my achievements?
Kim: I’m more than happy. You have no idea how proud I am.
Hmmm…I think the Netflix fudged the translation here a bit. Maidservant Kim mentioned that her shoulders were raised up high. I think this is the equivalent of our idiom “to hold your head up high” when you’re feeling proud and confident.
Uk: Maidservant Kim. I know I have always disappointed you, but you can feel proud now. Should I get you a nice dress to help you boast?
And here Uk pointed to his shoulders again.
Kim: My goodness. I do not wish for anything anymore. I already fell like I have everything. These days, people come up to me and tell me that you are truly your father’s son.
Uk: They do?
Lol. Since he already knew that he wasn’t really Jang Uk’s son, he could appreciate the irony.
Kim: Your father used to be called a genius, and they say you are as talented as your father.
Uk: People used to say I was nothing like him.
Kim: (understanding his hurt) As you continue to achieve things, there will be fewer people who say that about you.
Uk: What if I do not do well? Will they say I am not his son again?
He understood that public adoration is fickle, and people’s opinions no longer bother him. That illusion was broken, remember?
Kim: No…that is not….
Uk: Tell them to go ahead and say what they want about me. I don’t care anymore.
Kim: Yes, we should not let that bother us anymore. Frankly speaking, you are responsible for your own achievements. Your father is irrelevant. He was never around for you anyway.
This is a very Western perspective. I scratch my head when watching an Asian drama (e.g., “Love Like the Galaxy”) where the parents are so fearful that the actions of their adult child will reflect negatively on them. They’re apologizing for “raising” the child wrong. Well, what happened to accountability and personal responsibility? The child isn’t a child forever. At some stage, he’s making his own decisions as adult, so his successes and failures are his, too, as an adult.
Kim: And to be honest, it is all because I raised you well. (stroking Uk’s arm) You will always be my precious young master no matter how competent or incompetent you are.
She ain’t wrong here. We’ve seen so many examples were Uk acted in the way she would have wanted him to. “Like mother, like son.”
Do you hear that Naksu? That’s loyalty.
Uk: Then can I go back to slacking off like I used to?
Kim: Yes, if that is what you want. But I thought you hated that. Compared to the times when you used to slack off at home, you looked a lot happier when you had just come back from your training in Danhyanggok.
True, he looked happy because he finally found a purpose in life, and a way to achieve it.
Kim: That is why I could not stop you even though it seemed dangerous. You see I want you to achieve everything you want to achieve.
So, props to Maidservant Kim. She stepped in when Lady DoHwan died and Jang Uk disappeared. She carried on and did what she had to do, unlike Lady Jin who wallowed in the death of her elder child and ignored the younger child. She did a great job of raising Uk.
Uk learned the meaning of loyalty and service from her.
But there’s another contrast between the two ladies of Cheongbugwan and Jinyowan.
Back in Episode 7, Lady Jin’s despise for Jin Mu was revealed. Calling her “elder sister,” Jin Mu insisted that he too was a member of the Jin family. She said that the surname “Jin” was only given to those with mothers from the Jin family. Jin Mu’s mother wasn’t a Jin. Lady Jin then called her mother a fool for bestowing their family surname on Jin Mu whom her father begot out of wedlock. She kicked him out of Jinyowon as soon as she became the leader.
Hence, his resentment for Lady Jin.
In Episode 12, Jin Mu shows unusual partiality for Maidservant Kim because she had been kind to him.
Jin Mu: I stayed at Gwanju Jang Gang’s residence when I served him, and you made me countless delicious dishes.
Kim: You ate so much that your rice bowl was exceptionally big. Do you remember? You had a huge brass bowl.
Jin Mu: Back in the day, I was always hungry. You must have made something scrumptious once again.
She then showed her honey biscuit snacks.
Jin Mu: (eyes widening) Honey biscuits. I used to love them back in the day.
Kim: Yes, indeed. Every time I gave some to you to give to the Gwanju, you would stash a few in your pockets.
Jin Mu: I did that because I was only allowed to eat once he finished. In any case, I benefited a lot from the Gwanju while following him. I had a chance to taste such delicious treats and learn a special spell.
During this whole dialogue, it’s clear that Jin Mu has fond memories of Maidservant Kim because of her kindness and generosity toward him.
Only later will we find out that Maidservant Kim had probably been generous with food with Jin Mu because she noticed even back then that Jin Mu bore grudges. She warned Park Jin, “JIn Mu used to take revenge if he was scolded for eating something. They were just honey biscuits. You should have let him have them.”
7. The bait, Soyi
Park Jin guessed correctly that Lady Jin and Jin Mu made a secret deal. He wondered aloud what Jin Mu was using as “bait” to have such free access to Jinyowon.
Immediately following this scene is the scene with the petty crook, Soyi. She’s the bait.
When Jin Mu ordered her killed, she offered to be the blind Buyeon in the picture. She crawled on her hands and knees on the broken shards of pottery to prove it.
Her action showed that she was willing to do anything to survive. Jin Mu called her a “daring girl” and told her to get up.
My comments:
a. In my opinion, Soyi should be the unofficial heiress of Cheongbugwan. Jin Mu doesn’t know it yet, but Soyi is his kind: outcast, survivor, reject, destitute, desperate, unscrupulous, amoral.
b. Like Jin Mu remembers kindness from Maidservant Kim, Soyi remembers goodness from MuDeok and, recently, Seo Yul. Hopefully, these moments of kindness are gamechangers for her.
c. If Soyi could be trained to become the next Naksu if she had mage’s blood in her.
In the next scene, Naksu/MuDeok was sweeping the leaves that the Crown Prince had made fall from the trees. There’s a parallelism here to Soyi’s groveling. When the Crown Prince threatened to get her fired from her job, she instantly bowed, kneeled, and kowtowed to him. She claimed to be grateful to him.
Frankly speaking, I think the kind BuYeon/MuDeok would have been no match to the cunning SoYi. But Naksu should win against SoYi.
This is an exciting match-up.
8. BuYeon
After Park Jin’s visit, Lady Jin was left to recall the circumstances around BuYeon’s birth.
Lady Jin: I had her inside me for 13 months. I cannot let her go like this. I heard the ice stone has the power to bring back the souls of the dead.
Jang Gang: (looks away)
Lady Jin: Gwangju. Please help me.
Then, Lady Jin visited the “shrine” set up for BuYeon.
Lady Jin: I went far and beyond to protect my baby. (touching the eye-cover) I will find you. I will do everything I can to find you.
My comments:
a. BuYeon, like Uk, are both children-who-should-not-have-been-born, to borrow Park Jin’s words. And yet, they’re born.
They’re both products of Alchemy of Souls using the soul ejector.
And let’s not get the morality confused now. Rape is bad. It’s intrinsically evil. And even though something precious as a new life, the baby Uk, was created from rape, rape remains evil. Moreover, the child of rape is innocent of the crime of his rapist-parent. We don’t kill the innocent. That’s the line that cannot be crossed.
Similarly, bringing back the dead to life by artificial means is bad. If you’re Jesus, go ahead. But if you’re playing god like Jang Gang was, then hell no.
b. For emphasis: Good intentions/motivations are never good enough.
You have to first look at the action itself. Is it good or bad? Then after it’s been determined that the action is good, look at the intentions next. Are they good or bad? Then after it’s been decided that both the action and intentions are good, check out the circumstances.
I’ll give a pop quiz tomorrow. lol.
Jang Gang’s good intentions didn’t instill goodness in the AoS or his practice of it.
c. Whose soul was put in Lady Jin’s baby?
Was it the baby BuYeon’s original soul? Or did Jang Gang shift the soul from someone else’s poor baby and give it Lady Jin’s dead baby?
d. Is Naksu older than BuYeon?
As I said from the beginning, the timeline of the drama is sketchy. All I know is:
Naksu was between 4 to 10 years old when she went to visit her father’s Constellation room (she looks young to me, but Asian faces always look young to me)
Her father was publicly executed shortly after their vision.
Jang Gang was present at his execution.
But Jang Gang supposedly left after his son Uk was born and began living a vagabond’s life.
Uk was born 20 years ago.
Also, according to Maidservant Kim, Jang Gang only experimented with dark spell for a year. “He didn’t come home for a year. He practiced spells with Jin Mu in the Cheongbugwan Secret Room. However, he STOPPED doing so after his wife became pregnant.” [Emphasis mine]
So, Maidservant Kim’s words are to be believed, Jang Gang performed AoS on Lady Jin’s daughter BuYeon, prior to Uk’s birth 20 years ago.
So Uk = about 20 years old.
BuYeon = about a year older than Uk (give or take a few months).
Naksu/Mage Cho’s daughter = about 4 to 10 years older than Uk.
🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
I’ll end here.
@Packmule3,
Kalispera! I enjoyed reading this!
Especially the question of the century?
Whose soul was put in Lady Jin’s baby?
I go with the theory it was the original soul. Jang Kang resurrected BuYeon. I don’t want even to think about the awful scenario you suggested.
How did he find her soul though? We don’t know the mechanics of how the Ice Stone does that.
At the same time, what really happened to BuYeon when she found out the Ice Stone 10 years ago?
@birdie007 made an excellent question in the theories thread and I answered to her. MuDeok has no resemblance with the Jin’s. So-I on the other hand looks like the adult version of the younger BuYeon.
Is that a decoy or BuYeon actually changed her Avatar 10 years ago that’s why they cannot recognize her at all? Yes, they are looking for a blind girl. Jin Matriarch is aware about what really happened with BY’s birth. If a miracle happened along the way wouldn’t she accept it?
Also, I agree with you that the Jin Matriarch is an awful mother. She is ranking high in my unethical character’s chart as well.
Cho Yeon has suffered enough. I believe, when the crisis will hit them, the one who will try to protect Jinyowon would be her.
@Cleopatra,
If you ask me, I think Lady Jin is heartless and a bit of a snob.
She kicked out Jin Mu, although the only thing that kid did “wrong” (as far as we know) was to be born illegitimately. How could she sleep at night, knowing her half-brother was starving and homeless? 🤦♀️
That’s why I think she didn’t recognize BuYeong in MuDeok. MuDeok was a servant.
Heo Yeom recognized MuDeok’s ear, though. In Episode 3, he asked MuDeok/Naksu if he had treated her before.
Well, if BuYeon was blind, she would have been seen by Heo Yeom at Sejukwon for treatment or maybe for regular childhood illnesses.
That’s why I thought the plot was improbable. Heo Yeom could spot something familiar but the mother didn’t recognize her own daughter? Hasn’t she been searching for this child? So her only litmus test was her child’s power to open Jinyowon’s gate? Not likely to happen.
@pm3, I was also wondering if Jang Gang put another baby’s soul into baby Bu Yeon. Or is it possible that he summoned the soul of BY back into her own body? Either way, if BY is a soul-shifter, she should have gone wild. Why hasn’t she? (We are assuming that BY is the original blind Mu Deok and both BY and Naksu share BY’s body.)
I am also trying to figure when JG soul-shifted baby BY. In the very first episode he was summoned by the King immediately after a failed attempt to resurrect the son of an unknown woman. We also know that he stopped practicing AoS after his wife became pregnant.
When did he perform AoS on unborn baby BY? How did Lady Jin and The King find out what he was doing and requested his services?
JG was present at the execution of Naksu’s father, which took place after the birth of Uk.
My attempt at creating a timeline:
1. JG and JM practice spells on their own
2. Lady Jin asks for help
3. Son of unknown woman goes wild after soul-shifting
4. The King and JG shift souls
5. Do Hwa becomes pregnant and JG stops doing AoS.
6. JU is born and Mage Cho records his birth chart.
7. Mage Cho goes wild and is executed in front of his daughter
8. JG reveals the true paternity of Uk to PJ and disappears.
@Cleopatra
I wonder if Mu-Deok’s lack of resemblance to the Jins could be simply because of the last minute recasting of the role. I think that child actress BuYeon and SoYi have a closer resemblance to the original actress,Park Hye-Eun, than to Jung So-Min. They might have been hired before So-Min.
Kalimera @Packmule3!
I agree with you. She is one character that you cannot sympathize with. She is aloof and cold and she is basically a person who doesn’t know how to be a mother for me.
Not only she treats Cho Yeon badly when they are by themselves, especially with the incident with MuDeok and the Mirror of longing, she made Cho Yeon to look like a petty and jealous person in front of the Crown Prince.
You can say anything you want to your child when you are alone, but when you are with others you don’t make it look like an awful person.
AoS has done a very good job showing to the audience, that all people that become parents are not necessarily meant for this role.
There are always those who step up and take voluntary this role and do a better job, because they are genuine and caring people that can give freely their love to a child.
@Dlia
I don’t think so. It has to do with what @Packmule3 said above. The Jin Matriarch is not looking truly for her child, she is looking for the Power BuYeon really has and represents.
@Cleopatra
AOS is not good at making the younger parts resemble their older selves. I wonder if it’s deliberate. Neither Uk, nor Naksu’s child and teenage self resemble her. I’m carrying the same theory with BY but it’s unlikley because they were matching her with the portrait.
I guess @Dlia has a point here. Dramas scenes are not all shot in an orderly manner especially if the script is complete. We don’t know when Park Hye Eun left the show but this scene could’ve been shot before her leaving. The potrait does have some resemblance to her facial structure. Hence, she doesn’t really resemble JSM.
I doubt the show will go another soul shifting route. If anything, AOS has not been complicated. Yes there are many threads and mysteries but they are rather easy to sort and show. Going the soul shifting route with BY will make it unnecessarily complicated.
@wapz,
If that is the case then the Production team would have altered the portrait by technological means. It is plausible to change it, especially when they were doing the montage in post production. They are adding layers with CGI, because of the magic, so there is no excuse here.
If they are doing it deliberately we will find out why.
I disagree that the younger part of Uk aka the actor Park Sang Hoon was not the right choice for the role. I think he was and I liked the impact of his scene.
I am open to many possibilities, since we don’t know what the Hong sisters have in their minds. We cannot agree on everything, but if they are going to end Part 1 on a cliffhanger, then I want to be fully prepared for it.
So far, another problematic plot device is Mage Cho’s soul shifting case and demise. The whole scene is bizarre and doesn’t have a logical explanation.
So up until now, we have two potential plot holes that make things unnecessarily complicated. We shall see how they will explain both to the audience. 🙂
@Packmule3
In episode 11 when UK is thrown into the “lake” or water body in the last sequence, I thought of you and UK being related to water right up.
I was expecting UK to suddenly become powerful or do something just because he was in a water body… but I guess the writers have saved that for later.
Sorry, I just saw a clip and remembered that I wanted to tell you this.
Stay well 🙂 I am enjoying your thoughts. Two more days to go if I don’t count today 😀
@NoOne, what clip?
But don’t you see? Uk DID suddenly become powerful (i.e., he leveled up) while he was in the filthy pond.
Naksu thought he was going to get angry because of the humiliation. Instead, he had a great realization after his defeat. It was a “Eureka!” moment for him.
Do you know Archimedes? According to legends, Archimedes had his “Eureka!” moment and discovered buoyancy while he was in his bathtub.
Likewise, Uk had his Eureka moment while he was in the pool of dirty water. He discovered how he could conjure a ball of water, too.
That’s why he didn’t mind being in the filthy water.
So yes, I was right. Uk and water are related. 🙂 That’s why
a. he’s always taking baths
b. Tansu is his specialty
c. he falls off that pillar of stone in Episode 12 and lands in…what else?… water. lol. It could have been boulders, you know.
I’m writing my answer to @Snowflower’s question about baby Buyeon’s soul. Crossing my fingers that I finish it before I head out.
Thanks for this timeline, @Snowflower. It helps!
I’ll answer your question in a bit.
So this is what I think and am not good at predictions 🙂
– BY is MD. I do not know how BY survived Jin Mu or that lake but she did. I also don’t know how did her crested blindfold remained that clean after so many years (maybe some magic!) but it did.
– If JU has SG’s (the savior) star then this is like Bodhisatva— Buddha coming back to earth in different incarnations then BY could be a carnation of SR too. This could be not because of JG but because Ice stone is mystical. If the blind MD can save Uk from soul exchange randomly because she is the ice stone so why can ice stone not do what it likes?
– MD will perish or cease to exist or will be sacrificed while Naksu will return as we have a season 2.
– the other day I was just imagining Our lady Kim or the boasting student who is to fight UK getting a soul exchanged. But then I think at this point the writers have enough fun and simple loops going that they might not want to go that way.
– I have been super worried about the end so am really hoping that they continue with their conflicts that can be sorted logically within the rules that they have set. They already have their deux machina or two! Our Master Lee is almost like a god figure who is more interfering that the lady god in Hotel Del Luna but he is the help that our OTP needs. Hong Sisters, please do not cheat me through some shortcuts. I am ready to cry if the story demands. Just follow the story and be true to the characters.
– btw it might be me but @Packmule3, I was thinking of a blog of yours in the King and strangely, for me the concept is similar. There the evil uncle was replacing people in one world and killing them in others (of course there was some physics and time travel too but if we keep that aside for now) then effectively Jin Mu is doing the same in AoS while Naksu was his clean up agent. Ohh the treatment makes all the difference and am not sure if Hong Sisters will prepare an epic battle for us but… I thought it was still interesting 🙂
Another random thought:
How awkward would UK feel with a not so short Naksu in her real body, I don’t know 🙂
I somehow tend to agree with @wapz that faces of young actors may not have a lot of facial likeness to the adult versions but at this point I am enjoying too much to care.
And @Packmule3 I will be very patient but please don’t forget to share your thoughts on how Uk made MD stay by his side 😀
Am ready to feel some warmth, JU and MD style warmth in your words. But no hurry… I can wait 🙂
I agree about water and UK 🙂
His baths are definitely used liberally in the script. I just feel bad for MD and her relation to stones but what is.. is!
I was wondering if end of episode 12 is the Han moment for MD!
Btw the honey biscuits became a plot point just like the jade. Am wondering how will Master Seo’s grand-daughter contribute to the plot.
And CP looks angry in the preview when he asks MD to become the prize for the bet (that is so epic!)… so I was wondering if Jim Mu will blame JU for killing his favourite eunuch or something. A wild theory I read was that JU would use the had for calling the CP and getting out of Jin MY’s territory.
My gripe is why do the two not analyze anything that happens to them post an event? I get that Naksu is weapon-and-power smart and not someone who has had a chance to read a lot of magical spells but Uk should go to the library and add to his knowledge! Reviewing what happened is important for them after a duel so why not after weird events in their life?
One good point was: they explained that the magic school run by Mr Park does not force students to do anything. They can spend years on themselves or days… totally up to them. Cool schooling system but I wonder how happy are parents with the results of their children 😀
Now will run away until I rewatch parts of the drama. It was a clip to show the episode 12 preview but ended up being cut at the point when Uk falls in the pond.
Oh and I agree: the translation is generally off in places. I can’t claim to know the language but the dialogue between Jin Mu and Mr. park about JU’s astro plate was badly translated. Episode 11 beginning— argument between MD and JU— essence is there but it is not 💯 there. I think MD says something like I am grateful that we share this weakness. Anyway, I totally missed the fact that she actually agrees that he can see her feelings for him (that she missed hin) just like he saw the blue mark in her eyes… of course then she makes him angry and then he assumes that he was the only one who missed her and she loves Seo Yul… so now my question is he is ok with her not liking him — he refers to her only as Master in episode 12 hall scene until she stops him?
and he feels so bad for her when he hears her back story that everything is forgotten?
I am not complaining but am trying to understand how does this push pull work 😀
More later on the push pull thread 😀
I disagree on the timeline in one area. Jin Mu said he “got lucky” to learn a magical spell from his mentor. That refers to when Jang Kang, in the king’s body, sent Jin Mu to the Cheongbugwan Secret Room to get the soul ejector ball. (A soul ejector ball is not the same as the ice stone: they’re made with the ice stone’s ashy byproduct.) Because he was in a weakened state, in the king’s disease-ravaged body, Jang Kang did not have the requisite energy to return his and the king’s souls to their proper bodies. Jin Mu had to help. I believe this was the first time Jin Mu got to work the Alchemy of Souls himself.
As Jang Kang’s assistant, Jin Mu could have witnessed some of Jang Kang’s experimentation. Jin Mu may have been the source of the rumors about Jang Kang’s work, news of the spell having reached the ears of the king and Madame Jin. Maidservant Kim does not know the extent to which Jin Mu and Jang Kang worked together during the year of experimentation, also possibly getting incomplete or skewed information from Jin Mu. I doubt Jang Kang would have discussed Alchemy of Souls with anyone, since he knew it was forbidden sorcery. With the king, Jang Kang initially denied the possibility of switching souls between people, but the king even knew of the spell by name.
This is my suggested revision to @Snowflower’s timeline:
1. JG experiments with AoS
2. Lady Jin asks for help
3. Son of unknown woman goes wild after soul-shifting
4. The King and JG shift souls
5. Do Hwa becomes pregnant
6. Jin Mu is taught, and masters, the AoS spell
7. JG stops doing AoS, but Jin Mu continues practicing it in secret
8. JU is born and Mage Cho records his birth chart
9. Mage Cho goes wild and is executed in front of his daughter
10. JG reveals the true paternity of Uk to PJ and disappears
Someone in one of these threads mentioned how Jang Kang looked distraught at having killed Mage Cho, his junior colleague at Cheonbugwan. Perhaps part of Jang Kang’s despair may have stemmed from realizing that someone other than he put Mage Cho in that condition: that his teaching Jin Mu Alchemy of Souls had gotten out of hand. If that were the case, however, it makes Jang Kang complicit in wickedness to not have put a stop to Jin Mu. Instead, Jin Mu becomes acting head of Cheonbugwan, with no-one to keep him from abusing his powerful position when Jang Kang disappears.