Of all drama sites covering “Alchemy of Souls,” I believe Bitchesoverdramas is the only one who consistently called the lead female Naksu. That’s because I made a judgment call early on never to forget that Naksu’s soul – as well as conscience, will, mindset, determination, and ego – is in charge of MuDeok’s actions. Except for those few times when she fell in a trance and the “Great Soul” — as Master Lee called it — reappeared and took control of her body, Naksu had autonomy of MuDeok’s body.

To me, there’s no question that Jang Uk fell in love with Naksu — and not Jin BuYeon — while she was trapped inside MuDeok’s body. Their love story is poles apart from that atrocious drama “Mr Queen” where the King didn’t realize the soul swap, and unknowingly fell in love with the male chef squatting inside the Queen’s body.

That’s why I kept pointing out that the focus on the eyes is relevant. On several occasions, Uk mentioned Naksu’s eyes. I told y’all about this but let me recap.

In Episodes 1 and 2, he recognized Naksu the assassin when he looked into the eyes of the intruder MuDeok. Recall that she had entered Uk’s room in the Chwiseollu to hide from the Head Gisaeng. She was peeking through the door when Uk asked from behind her, “What are you looking at?”

Pretending to be a blind girl, she hastily put up her eye bandage. But it came undone, revealing her eyes to Uk. Then, they stared at each other. Uk frowned at her. When she tried to pull up her bandage, Uk grabbed her wrist and kept staring at her eyes.

Uk: You’re…
Naksu: (flipping around to aim a crab leg at him) Don’t try to make a sound.
Uk: (disregarding her warning, he made a sound) I’d heard that they just brought a girl who was unable to see. But you can. I think I might have heard of your name.

He was being provocative here. He meant Naksu’s name. He’s heard of her name because she was a much talked about assassin. He pretended to get her name mixed up to rile her.

Uk: What was it again? It starts with a D, right?
Naksu: No! No, it’s not.
Uk: Oh. That’s right. MuDeok.
Naksu: (disgruntled) That’s right. My name is MuDeok. And now that I’ve gotten a good look at your face, if you do not stay quiet until I get out of here, I will come back here and slit your throat.
Uk: (scoffing)
Naksu: What’s so funny?
Uk: Your beautiful eyes.

We now know that he could see the blue light in her soul.

Naksu: (embarrassed) Stop that now.
Uk: Uh, sorry. Only your eyes are pretty.
Naksu: You must be crazy.

Later on, when they met in the shed where she was hiding, he brought up her eyes again.

Naksu: What are you doing here?
Uk: Because of your eyes.
Naksu: Eyes?

Then the moon shone on her eyes, revealing the blue light in her eyes.

Uk: I knew you’d be my master as soon as I saw them.
Naksu: So I guess, um, you’ve noticed something special abouto me, Young Master.
Uk: I told you you had beautiful eyes. (then clarifying) Oh, right. Only your eyes.

“Eyes are the window to soul” is an overused maxim but it’s applicable here. He meant that her eyes were pretty, but her soul wasn’t because she was an killer.

Uk: (explaining) The blue mark of a Soul Shifter bloomed like them in a flower.
Naksu: (thinking to herself) So the mark was in my eyes the whole time.

See that? From the very beginning of this drama, the eyes were important.

In Episode 7, after their escape from the Mirror of Illusion, he studied her eyes to make sure that she was Naksu.

Uk: Can you see now?
Naksu: Yes, I can see.
Uk: (studying her eyes)
Naksu: What?
Uk: I was told the mirror made illusions. I am checking if it’s really you that I saved.

I said that this was an indication that MuDeok didn’t matter so much to Uk as Naksu. Although Uk had MuDeok sitting in front of him, he still wanted to ascertain that Naksu was truly inside MuDeok’s body. He was looking into her eyes to check that Naksu’s soul was still there.

I also said to view MuDeok’s body as something similar to that urn holding the Gwiju spirit. Uk had no qualms shattering that urn because it was the repository of the spirit. Later, Master Lee transferred the spirit into the body of a Sapsali dog.

In Episode 8, Naksu was distressed when she thought that Gilju successfully switched souls with Uk. She thought Gilju was in Uk’s body so she wanted to kill him.

From Episode 8:

Naksu was distressed that Uk’s soul was switched.

Naksu: So you have shifted souls with my pupil, Gilju.
Uk: MuDeok.
Naksu: (slashing at him) I may have been too weak to protect him from you. But I will make sure to end your life.
Uk: (stopping her) I did not know you cared about Jang Uk that much.
Naksu: Shut it!
Uk: (grasping her by the arms) Master! It’s me, Jang Uk. We did not shift souls.
Naksu: (turning around to look at Gilju)
Uk: (shaking her) Look into my eyes. It is me, right? I am the only one who can look at you from this close. Do you recognize me?

source: seawherethesunsets’ tumblr

Back then, I told y’all that this scene was important because the screenwriters were laying the groundwork for an eventual switcheroo again. I said that if either the soul of Naksu or Uk was switched into another body, the eyes would reveal the soul again. I said that even if their bodily appearance/outward appearance is different, they should be able to recognize the soulmate because the eyes are window to the soul.

Furthermore, I pointed out that the Hong sisters like to use this “eye” trope. They did it before in “Hwayugi” in which the Monkey King gave the heroine one of his eyes and promised her, “I will find you. Wherever you are and whatever you become, now, I’ll be able to recognize you.”

This concept of the eyes as a crucial determinant or proof of identity (like a fingerprint) is a consistent theme in their works.

In Episode 16, Uk complained about her “unloving” glare.

Uk: If I don’t mind dying, then can I keep doing what I have been doing? I told you that I’m willing to risk it all, and that the two of us are in this together. I will keep going even if it kills me. And you should do the same as well. I think it’s better if you stick to your confession…and keep loving me to death.

Knowing what we do know of their deaths, then yes, she did stick to her confession.

Naksu: (glares at him)
Uk: MuDeok, those eyes. Don’t look at me like that. You told me that you’d love me to death, but I’m sure they’ll see the lie with those eyes.
Naksu: Then, young master, how is a girl who loves a boy to death supposed to look at him then?
Uk: (taking a deep breath) Well, first of all…uh…glaring at me like that will definitely not do. They say one’s eyes should be brimming with sweetness.

For a moment, he chuckled at the thought of Naksu gazing at him with adoring eyes. But one look at her resentful immediately brought him down to earth. He knew that she would find it hard to look at him fondly.

Uk: That’s too much, right? Ugh! Why did you even have to say it in the first place? If you told them you had mild feelings for me, it would have been easier for you.

I predict that in Season 2 this will come into play. How will Naksu look at him? Will she still glare at him like she often does? Or will she look at him with guilt knowing that she killed him with her own sword when she was in a trance? Or will she look at him with longing?

Lol. I doubt that she’ll swoon at him with eyes “brimming with sweetness” unless she’s drunk or drugged. Naksu isn’t the type to swoon or make cow eyes at Uk.

One other thing that I’ve to mention before I forget…

Some viewers wondered what happened to the Great Priestess Jin BuYeon when Naksu/MuDeok was summoned by the divination bells. Why didn’t the great spirit come out and protect MuDeok’s body just like it did in other times?

Of the top of my head, I could remember four examples of the Great Soul of Jin BuYeon rising to the occasion —

when Naksu attempted to commit suicide and jumped off the cliff,
when Master Lee was about to kill the sleeping MuDeok/Naksu in the hut,
when the Eunuch had Naksu’s head in a grip and sucking her energy,
or when Lady Jin was strangling Mudeok/Naksu to demonstrate how the ice stone worked.

So why didn’t the Great Soul aka the Priestess Jin BuYeon save her from Jin Mu’s cow bells…err… divination bells?

One theory I can think of is that the Great Soul is no longer with her.

It’s gone when she chose to give up and not to use the power of the ice stone.

It wouldn’t surprise me though if Jang Uk now has the Great Soul residing in him because a) he has the ice stone in his possession, and b) he’s become the King’s Star.

To me, when Naksu opted to become an ordinary person, she also unknowingly set free that spirit within her.

Note: this is a theory so take it or leave it. It’s not up for debate because I have no proof anyway.

Gotta run.