Part 1 is here: Alchemy of Souls: Ep 16 My Notes, Part 1
Part 2 is here: Alchemy of Souls: Ep 16 On the Return of Naksu’s Sword

And this is Part 3. This is my hodgepodge of issues with Ep 16

1. Lady Jin’s husband is a Choi??!!

I find it unbelievable that somebody as snobbish as Lady Jin would mix her pedigree with the Choi Clan. She made a big deal of Jin Mu’s birth. His mother wasn’t a Jin. Her father begot Jin Mu out of wedlock but her foolish mother bestowed their family surname Jin on Jin Mu.

But here she is married to somebody from the Choi Clan. For one, the Choi Clan was notorious for misappropriating the ice stone during the Daeho’s civil war. For another, her husband’s sister – as we discover in this episode – is nothing more than a shaman who performs hexes.

Shaman Bong: It was already over 20 years ago. Shaman Choi was famous for her sorcery that put hexes on people. One day she almost got caught by the mages from Cheonbugwan who were cracking down on sorcery.

My Comments:

1. Note here: he said CHEONBUGWAN. Isn’t it Songrim in charge of cracking down on black magic and not Cheonbugwan? Is this a writers’ oversight? Or was Shaman Bong misinformed? Or did something happen that transferred the authority to control sorcery from Cheonbugwan to Songrim?

2. If Shaman Bong is speaking the truth that Cheonbugwan was indeed in charge of quelling sorcery during that time, then it only makes Jang Gang even more hypocritical for engaging in it himself while suppressing others.

3. Shaman Choi was a performer of hexes and, judging from her village, wasn’t part of elite of Daeho. She was simply NOT the kind of people that the uppity Lady Jin would associate with or be proud to have as an in-law. So how did she end up married to Shaman Choi’s brother?

Shaman Bong: (continuing) But she jumped into the fire. Some say she died in that fire. Others say she was burnt badly but survived.
Crown Prince: (addressing Uk) That was when your father Jang Gang was the Gwanju of Cheonbugwan. If Shaman Choi was hunted by the mages of Cheonbugwan, are you seeking her because she bears a grudge against your father?
Uk: I do not even remember my father. How can I know who bears a grudge against him?

My Comments:

1. There was a great fire during the execution of Mage Cho, the father of Naksu/Yeong. Was it the same fire? Were the two fire incidents connected?

2. The Crown Prince didn’t correct Shaman Bong about the role of Cheonbugwan in suppressing sorcery so I’m going to assume that this info is correct.

3. There should be many more bearing a grudge against Jang Gang.

Later, Shaman would add another information.

Shaman Bong: Shaman Choi had a brother.
Uk: Do you know where he is.
Shaman Bong: I have not seen him since the incident. But there was a rumor that he married a woman from a powerful family.

My Comment: So did the brother seduce Lady Jin? How did he manage to win over the heart of somebody as snooty as Lady Jin?

2. Birth secrets? Sigh…

The Hong sisters are (in)famous for their penchant for birth secrets. This is so makjang, so soap opera-ish.

We already know that Mr. Jin, the husband of Lady Jin, is NOT the father of the missing Jin BuYeon. Jin BuYeon has a different biological father. (snort) Please, Drama Gods, make me care about this birth secret! As long as BuYeon’s father isn’t Jang Gang, I don’t care. I’d hate to think that:

a. Uk is kissing the lips of MuDeok, who-could-have-been his stepsister.

b. Jang Gang unwittingly assisted in the rape of his wife. Don’t tell me he also cheated on her with Lady Jin. Goodness.

3. Who’s the mage from Songrim who stole from Jinyowon? 

I dislike the writers for dragging this since Episode 7. And I dislike that Park Jin allowed Lady Jin to make such accusation without evidence. It makes him appear like a weak leader.

Lady Jin: Are you saying Jinyowon is some kind of storehouse for Songrim?

Huh?! It isn’t? All along I thought Jinyowon was the DESIGNATED repository of all artifacts from ice stone. They were *entrusted* by Songrim and all the other clans to preserve, protect and care for these artifacts…like a museum.

Park Jin: That is not what he meant.
Lady Jin: You boldly assume everything in Jinyowon is yours to take. You take things without asking and never return them. That must be how the people of Songrim are.
Park Jin: You said something similar before. That a mage of Songrim had taken something from Jinyowon.
Lady Jin: (realizing her mistake)
Park Jin: Who was that mage?
Lady Jin: (pausing) He is right before my eyes. (looking at Master Lee) The one who snuck into Jinyowon and stole Gwiju.

I wish Park Jin had pressured her more. Lady Jin was obviously speaking of two different incidents. When she first brought up this accusation in Episode 7, she couldn’t have known that it was Master Lee who “stole” Gwiju. So who was she referring to back then as the mage of Songrim who stole from Jinyowon?

To me, she’s referring to Jang Gang. He could have taken something from her when he performed that Alchemy of Souls for her dead baby BuYeon. The forbidden use of sorcery is the reason I could think of for Lady Jin’s reluctance to disclose the truth. She couldn’t bring up Jang Gang’s name because she didn’t want to implicate herself in the AoS.

4. Aren’t you getting tired of this convoluted game of soul-switching?

For me, it’s beginning to be tedious, like a childish game of musical chairs. Shaman Choi seems to be unnecessarily shifting her soul from one body to another BECAUSE SHE CAN.

I DO get why Shaman Choi would want to inhabit the Queen’s body. As Queen, she has power and status. But I don’t understand why she would want to transfer to SoYi’s body since SoYi is only pretending to be Jin BuYeon.

Why BuYeon and not Lady Jin herself??

Seriously, did she give this much thought? Would Shaman Choi REALLY want to live in close proximity to Lady Jin? Is that really the best situation for her? Won’t she find that stifling? As the precious daughter of Lady Jin, she’ll have to constantly be on guard as Lady Jin will want to be with her all the time.

Besides, what’s the advantage of being the daughter BuYeon? What does Shaman Choi hope to gain from all soul-shifting? Access to all the artifacts in Jinyowon vault?

Shaman Choi will have to be careful because the artifacts inside the family vault can detect the real presence of the “ice stone.”

5. Jin Mu’s future plan?

I also don’t get what makes him tick. Why is he willing to be the lackey or minion of Shaman Choi? What’s in it for him?

He already shifted Shaman Choi’s soul into the Queen. Now, he plans to do these:

a. shift the soul of Shaman Choi into the body of SoYi (aka the fake BuYeon)
b. shift the soul of SoYi into the body of the fake Queen
c. kill the soul of the real Queen inside the body of the disfigured Shaman Choi
d. kill the soul of SoYi, which is now residing in the body of the fake Queen

Poor SoYi! She’ll be soul-switched, then killed afterwards.

All these soul-switching and killing must be done almost simultaneously. Jin Mu has to time everything perfectly. Sure, the soul-shifting between SoYi and Shaman Choi/Queen takes place at the same time. But the killings have to be coordinated. If Jin Mu kills the soul of the real Queen BEFORE the body of the Queen, then her Seo family lantern will extinguish BEFORE the Queen in the palace is declared dead. The Seo family will be alerted of the Queen’s death.

So…the question is what’s in it for Jin Mu? I don’t get why he’s going through all the trouble for Shaman Choi.

6. Why hasn’t the real Queen gone wild yet?

If the real Queen was soul-shifted into Shaman Choi’s body a long time ago, how come she hasn’t run wild yet like Eunuch Kim? She doesn’t have any ice stone with her. I get why Shaman Choi/Queen hasn’t gone wild because she has the ice stone in her possession. But why hasn’t the real Queen? Did the Eunuch Kim visit her weekly to “feed” her energy with the ice stone or with a human soul? If Eunuch Kim had access to the ice stone, then why was HE needing human soul from Jin Mu??

It doesn’t make sense.

7. Last of all, the priestess

I get it that BuYeon is a priestess. She isn’t just a common shaman like Shaman Choi. What distinguishes her is that her power comes from the “gods” rather than “spells.”  As Naksu said, “the Jin family members are born with more divine powers than spell-related powers.” (Personally, I find this perspective a bit outdated and elitist.)

At first, I pitied her for being trapped inside MuDeok’s body because of the assassin Naksu’s desire to live.

But now, not so much.

Choyeon: A really powerful priestess can control people’s souls and trap them to be helpless.
Naksu: Trap the soul?
Choyeon: Yes. If the priestess traps their powers, even the most powerful mage is helpless.
Naksu: I heard that there are shamans who can erase or change memories of a soul.
Choyeon: A Jinyowon priestess is in a different league.
Naksu: How did such an amazing girl like her die?
Choyeon: Because she is that great! She is definitely alive.

Based on what Choyeon said, it appears that BuYeon willingly entrapped herself and Naksu’s soul inside of MuDeok’s body.

Gotta run. Will edit later. Bye.