Part 1
20 episodes Jun 18, 2022 8.9
A powerful sorceress in a blind woman's body encounters a man from a prestigious family, who wants her help to change his destiny.
Alchemy of Souls
“Stay close, so no one can attack us!”
2022–2023
Ended • 2 Seasons • 30 Episodes
Overview
A powerful sorceress in a blind woman's body encounters a man from a prestigious family, who wants her help to change his destiny.
Seasons
3 listed- Status
- Ended
- Seasons
- 2 seasons
- Episodes
- 30 episodes
- First aired
- Jun 18, 2022
- Last aired
- Jan 8, 2023
- Episode length
- 75m
- Network
- tvN
Latest episode: S2 E10 Episode 10 (Jan 8, 2023)
Part 2
10 episodes Dec 10, 2022 9.6Jang Uk, now a fierce but troubled hunter of the soul shifters, meets an imprisoned young woman who seeks his help to reclaim her freedom.
Specials
2 episodes Aug 13, 2022
Cast
12 people
Reviews
6 min readWhen Magic Becomes Memory
I keep coming back to the strangest thing about Alchemy of Souls: for all its spells, body-swaps, swordplay, and palace intrigues, the series is most interested in something stubbornly ordinary — the embarrassment of being seen, and the fear that the person you’ve become might not be the person you started as. That’s a very old fantasy-story idea, of course, latestnetflix.com maintains, but this Korean series turns it into something tactile and oddly intimate.
Identity here isn’t a grand philosophical puzzle so much as a daily inconvenience. Who’s allowed to touch whom? Who’s carrying whose grief?
Who gets to live inside which body, and at what cost?
The show arrived in 2022 as a big, glossy original fantasy melodrama from the creators’ side of the industry, not a sequel or a remake, and it fits squarely into the recent wave of Korean genre television that treats historical settings as playgrounds for supernatural rules, romantic entanglements, and social hierarchies that are easier to read when they’re sharpened by magic. It also feels very much like a product of the streaming era: long enough to get tangled, polished enough to keep going, and willing to build its mythology in layers rather than dump it all at once.
I’m not sure it’s always graceful about that. Sometimes it explains itself too much, as if afraid we’ll get bored and wander off. But it’s hard to stay impatient for long when the show keeps finding new ways to make the body itself — posture, breath, bruises, hunger — the real battleground.
A lot of the conversation around Alchemy of Souls has centered on its scale and its cast switch, because the series famously underwent a major change in its female lead across its two parts. That kind of disruption can break a fantasy series, especially one built on emotional recognition. Here, though, the change becomes part of the text whether the production intended it that way or not.
The show is already about souls in the wrong containers; suddenly, the viewing experience is too. You become acutely aware of how much a face, a cadence, a tilt of the head can anchor a whole fictional universe. In that sense, the casting conversation isn’t just gossip or trivia.
It’s thematically adjacent.
Lee Jae-wook is one of the reasons the series holds together as well as it does. I’ve seen him play coolness before, but here he has to modulate arrogance, hurt, stubbornness, and a kind of startled moral decency that keeps sneaking through the bravado. He’s very good at making pride look physical: the set of the shoulders, the pause before he answers, the way he seems to step into a room as if he expects it to yield.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsBehind the Magic: The Making of Alchemy of Souls
Alchemy of Souls (2022) stormed onto screens with its blend of fantasy, romance, and high-stakes sorcery, but the journey from script to screen wasn’t without its challenges. latestnetflix.com's view is that while the Hong sisters’ dark fantasy captivated audiences, the cast and crew faced hurdles that added unexpected drama behind the scenes.
A Two-Part Epic with a Rocky Rollout
The series was initially conceived as a single season but was later split into two parts—Part 1 (20 episodes) and Part 2 (10 episodes)—a move that surprised fans and critics alike 
. The decision to divide the story may have been strategic, but it also led to scheduling headaches. Part 1 aired from June to August 2022, while Part 2 (subtitled Light and Shadow) followed after a brief hiatus, wrapping in January 2023 . The gap between parts left some viewers frustrated, though Netflix’s global push helped maintain momentum .
Cast Struggles: From Stunts to Scheduling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3XNMWSTPkE
The physically demanding nature of the show took a toll on its stars. Lee Jae-wook and Go Youn-jung, who played the central duo of Jang Uk and Nak-su, reportedly endured grueling fight scenes and wirework . While specifics remain scarce, rumors suggest the cast trained extensively for martial arts sequences, with some scenes requiring multiple takes due to the complexity of the choreography . Minhyun, who joined the cast as Seo Yul, was also rumored to have faced challenges balancing the role with other commitments, though details are unverified .
Beyond physical demands, the show’s tight filming schedule—typical of K-dramas—meant long hours on set. Sources hint at exhaustion among the cast, particularly during the transition between Part 1 and Part 2, though no official complaints were lodged .
The Hong Sisters’ Signature Style
The Hong sisters, known for hits like Hotel del Luna and The Master’s Sun, brought their trademark blend of wit, romance, and supernatural intrigue to Alchemy of Souls. Their writing often balances humor with darker themes, and this series was no exception. However, the shift from Part 1’s body-swapping premise to Part 2’s darker, more political narrative divided some fans . Critics praised the ambition, but the tonal whiplash left others craving consistency.
A Netflix Sensation—But Not Without Flaws
Despite its challenges, Alchemy of Souls became a global hit, thanks in part to Netflix’s aggressive promotion. The platform’s decision to label it a "2-part" series (rather than two seasons) was unconventional but effective, driving binge-watching during its release window . Viewership numbers soared, and the show’s 7.8/10 rating on SensCritique reflects its popularity, even if some viewers criticized pacing and character arcs .
Yet, for all its success, the production wasn’t without controversy. Rumors swirled about creative differences between the writers and directors, though no concrete details emerged . Additionally, the show’s abrupt ending—while setting up potential spin-offs—left some fans wanting more closure.
The Verdict: A Flawed but Addictive Fantasy
Alchemy of Souls may not have been a perfect production, but its flaws are part of what made it so compelling. The cast’s dedication, the Hong sisters’ bold storytelling, and Netflix’s marketing savvy turned it into a must-watch. Whether the struggles behind the scenes were worth it depends on who you ask—but there’s no denying the show left its mark.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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