Is the magic sword magic enough to not rust?

"making this the shortest-lived Hong sisters drama ever written"
Wouldn't want to beat Joseon Exocist's record, would we?

Anyway, I'm loving it.

I too literally burst into sparkles and hearts with the ending there; the whole 'my pupil' & 'my crazy master' exchange, followed by the conveniently falling into a hug trope, was surprisingly heart fluttering considering this is only episode two. Equally goosebump raising for me was the ghost dog scene with Wook stepping to protect her and MD telling him to feign ignorance if she gets caught, my poor heart was running at twice the speed because of equal parts fear and love at their building protectiveness for each other.

MD and Wook are also just equally insane and I'm here for it - the fact that he's not batting an eyelid about her being a soul shifter or a notorious assassin and her nonchalantly poisoning him to force the elder mages' hands and betting everything on a dude she met like one day ago. They're just both such charming combinations of swagger, cunning, sweetness (its lurking there underneath it all with MD), principles, impulsivity and brashness - two powder kegs that are going to explode dazzlingly once they do find their sync with each other as partners and potential love interests (provided the writing doesn't go downhill).

I'm also really interested to see how this good-bad division of Songrim and the Soul Shifter people (I forgot their groups' name) is going to be explored. There's already hints that the Songrim brand of 'no nonsense' righteousness might not exactly mean they're the good people and that there might be some method to the madness of the 'evil' side, especially considering what we know about MD's childhood. The whole thing reminds me a little bit of the whole Sith/Jedi Star Wars split and I hope they do explore this idea of good/bad being a matter of perspective sometimes and the also shades that exist in between.

I love the build up to the final scene between Jang-wook & Mu-deok.

It started with Mu-deok whispering to the kneeling JW, “I’ll spare you if you’re ever this close to me again,” in the middle of the ep when she never expects to see him again to MD intentionally poisoning JW and risking both their lives to reach her goal. Ahh, juicy stuff. Much better than just having MD tortured & playing the damsel in distress role waiting for JW to save her – so glad this plot point was subverted in the script.

Both MD & JW stand on equal footing in terms of being savvy and cunning and that makes for such great bantering and chemistry between the two. Can’t believe I’m already so invested in this pair when it’s only episode 2!!

Cute scenes:
-Wook prying Mudeok’s fingers off one by one from her blade when she was(n’t) threatening to kill him
-Park Jin slipping & falling while chasing after JW. (I’m dying to know if that slip was intentional or if Yoo Jun-sang really did accidentally fall & they just kept that in, ha)
-Dang-gu rubbing the top of MD’s bun in a circle as if he was rubbing Buddha’s belly for good luck^^

Shoutout to the beautiful beach/cliff scene at sunset when JW finds MD with her sword pointed at him (super curious to know where this location is in Korea~)

I love the way this worked out. Mu-doek/Naksu still has her killer mindset- including a willingness to put both of the lead character's lives on the line in a gamble that pays off. The final moments of the episode were fantastic- and the wonderful way in which she calls him pupil, but he responds by addressing her as his crazy master were pitch perfect. Precisely because she really is crazy but not insane, she is capable acting far outside the box- and of teaching her pupil things he probably would never otherwise learn.

Please note that Mu-deok is also now emancipated from her organization- and knows the identity of the ultimate bad guy. That means that our heroine has an unusual freedom of action- no family ties and no ties to the evil organization which has cut her off.

our heroine fights the urge to stab everybody and leave

😂 But really, who doesn't?

Despite the train wreck I see coming 100 km down the track, I'm impressed at how much fun this is so far and how fast the stakes have gotten sky-high. Jung So-min is crushing it and Lee Jae-wook is holding his own, although I noticed him struggling to keep a straight face during one of his lines about opening his "energy gate" and I can't blame him.

Thanks, @alathe !

Okay - the Hong Sisters definitely watched some xianxia Mainland Chinese dramas and said hmmm.
I'm here for this show - fast-paced (right now) and its got a good balance of lore, character, some funny bits. No character is annoying so far.
LJW hair in the side profile is making me laugh though - what is happening?

I really gotta hand it to JSM for portraying Naksu so well especially with controlling & maintaining her tone & expressions!

At this point, I'm just praying the drama would continue along well and not divert off track.

Wook's father was kinda a jerk. Because of his pride, he made his wife to be unfaithful when she knew nothing... He could at least protect her reputation.

I like how the story unfolded. I thought somebody would stop the cremation but poor Naksu lost her body. It made her very determined , her plan was hurtful for Wook but worked. But now, how will he hide that he's training? I think it will be fun to watch him learn with Mu-Deok.

I have an issue with the hair style of the characters : Fall looks like he was in the 21th century, the same for Summer with his blond hair, Wook? It looks like they found an idea only the front part and asked the director to not film the back of his head because his haircut doesn't make any sense.

Never going to get over MD's look of 'you disrespectful little sh*t' every time Wook speaks down to her.

Too many Jins! I need a diagram.

About twenty minutes into episode 1, I decided this drama would be a lot more fun to watch with my 12 year old, and I was not wrong. There's something very Disney Marvel-ish about it so far (despite it being on Netflix). My daughter likes kick-ass female martial arts characters, so it was fun to see her getting excited over Naksu's very impressive abilities. I'm glad Jae-Wok Lee and Jung So-Min are paired together because their acting is so much superior than the other young scions from the Mages families, who look like they are taking their cues from a cartoon version of their characters (but then, is the acting in the Marvel spinoffs really any better?) All in all it was a enjoyable watch with my daughter, and if she gets interested in it enough to watch on her own without me occasionally, I won't mind. As an aside, the storyline of Naksu/Mu-doek taking on Jang Wook as her apprentice reminded me of the Hong Kong dramatization with Andy Lau of the classic story of Little Dragon Girl by Jin Rong (Gum Yong), which I remember watching when I was around my daughter's age. However, I don't get the sense that this story, however fun, will reach the beauty of that narrative...

I'm glad the person writing the AoS recaps (alathe) is excited about this show.

I love just about everything with this show, but most of all I love the fact that the ML and FL are INTELLIGENT, yes all caps writ large - am I a fool for thinking their brains won't be sucked out by aliens at some point?

Ep. 2 ending was indeed heart fluttering/spine tingling and best of all, it was not some stupid "cliffhanger". The foundation is set for moving forward.

frankly, a sword like that should always be held in two hands, you dont chop through a head with this.
havent taken a look but it sound bit too excess for me.

A risky gamble so early in the episodes plus her unapologetic explanation to Songrim's mages. Naksu might not have her strength for now, but her wit is on the high side. JSM portrays this physical weakness and fraility in a way that both pokes fun at the situation and, vividly expresses the helplessness of her situation. I love forward to when she embodies Naksu as a whole - a fragile deadly assassin that shouldn't hurt a fly, without losing Mudeok in the process of course.

Songrim mages are enough foil to our hero and heroine but with the introduction of Jin Mu...I hope he remains a villain without a foil.

Naksu knows the magic she needs to unlock her energy gates and wield the sword, and the lake is a good channeling source. She has the knowledge and has found a good ingredient, so why wait till Wook is able to unlock it for her unless she wants to amass physical strength first.

I'm looking forward to the hijinks when MD will be training Wook secretly 😅

Wook's dad was really a jerk ! What happened was more of his fault than anyone's to be honest.

I feel that the Mage 4 big families were not really responsible for the death of Naksu's family. I wouldn't be surprised if Jin-Mu was actually the one behind everything

This master and pupil love interest reminds me of Chinese drama Return of Condor Heroes XD
I am very sold with this drama, even before it's aired. Bring it on drama!

I like coming back to read recaps after watching this drama because so many of the commenters pointed out the scenes that I too noticed and liked! Stay good drama!

I'm surprised by how much I'm liking the drama despite my strong aversion to fantasy historical settings like in those cdramas with long-haired characters flying around with magic. This drama has a lot of those plus the cheese and whack hairstyles and design. I think it's because I enjoy LJW and JSM together and their characters are likable. The story also reminds me a bit of my favorite Hong sisters drama You're Beautiful where the male lead discovered the female lead's secret identity early on. On the other hand, I'm wary of the drama reminding me of my most disliked Hong sisters drama Big where they pretty much discarded the younger male lead actor and Gong Yoo's original character. In this drama's case, I think it would break the story for me if they never try to explore Mu-deok the blind girl's character. Body-swapping stories in kdramas tend to disappoint me in the end. I also hope this isn't the last we see of Nak-su's original actress as she has an enjoyable screen presence and I liked her a lot in Sweet Home.

I, too, felt like leaving the real Mu-Deok completely unacknowledged was unfortunate; I assumed, incorrectly it seems, that she would be part of the larger plot and lead to complications down the road.

Despite that, I'm loving this show so much right now. Again, it's unlikely looking at the Hong sisters' past dramas that this one won't eventually become tiresome and deflated but until the air starts to come out of the balloon, I'm going to continue to lap it up. The leads are doing a great job shifting from comedy to over-the-top fantasy-fueled drama (I'm really loving Jung-so min here!), and their chemistry is unexpectedly strong. I was thinking they might be cute together, but their dynamic is more interesting and complex than that. I hope it stays this nuanced!

I get the feeling the next block will add Karate Kid training elements into the martial arts meets Harry Potter world building.

I will comment below on the the developments in episode two. Just a quick comment on Joo Sang-wook’s appearance as Jang Gang, father of Wook and absent head if Cheonbugwan.
I loved JSW in the recent KING OF TEARS. I loved him in ALCHEMY also however the whole time he was on screen he gave me Lee Bang-won vibes. I wonder if the two productions filmed simultaneously and JSW just jumped from one set to the other to do his lines. (I am kidding!).

Thanks @alathe! I enjoyed your weecap almost as much as the episode - you capture the riotous fun that it is!

Another super fun episode! I loved the fast pace and the dangerous scheming, but my favorite part was the way the two leads built rapport with each other in subtle and unsubtle ways. His protecting her from the smoke dog, her understanding that they both have physical limitations, their act of master/servant in front of his friends, his getting her sword back and knowing that she would be there to watch her body burn, her telling him that she would spare him if she ever saw him again, and of course their acknowledgement of their new master/pupil relationship at the end. All of it was so good. But let me just say: the glance that they shared when Gwigu attacked someone behind them was just the best. It was a shrug in eye form and I was there for all of it!

This seems exaggerated, but Jang Kang seems to emulate the fate of Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein lost the stability of his life and his bride due to his ambition of wanting to recreate life which went against the laws of Nature. This sort of parallels Jang Kang's narrative so far, who tried to find a way to revive the spirit of the dead through body possession, and his dangerous venture toward the forbidden arts with the death of his wife and his roaming. Also in both cases, the subjects, the Creature and the King respectively, were directly responsible for the sages' downfall.

Speaking of which, I wonder if Jang Wook's mother was of weak health, which subsequently drove Jang Kang to dabble in the alchemy of souls to extend her existence.

Gang, do we really believe that Jang Gang and the King switched back?

Loved the second episode even more and rewatched both ep 1 and 2 after it was done. It's been years since I've done that with a drama. Just so many goosebump moments. I know the Hong sisters may let the drama go sort of flat in the second half of the series, but I think having such a strong opening 2 episodes is worthy of praise for the writers, directors, staff, and actors, considering some dramas take a week or two to get going. You have to be really immersed and hold any judgment of the high-fantasy-genre in check in order to translate from writing to screen. Pretend this aluminum sword is a powerful sword and that magic is coming off it! Waving your hands like you're pulling the water with magic!

I love not only the chemistry between the lead actors, but the chemistry between the characters in the writing. They're pretty perfect for each other. They're desperate and weak (for now) and have a sense of loyalty. Jang Wook looks like he has friends, but there is no way he can relate to his friends and his teachers and the mage organization who raised him if he is the only one without powers. His chatty friend is even like "oh he's defenseless". It's like sending a Squib to Hogwarts in Harry Potter terms. And the two have already been through life and death together. Mu-deok/Naksu's gamble was so bad-ass and works well with a partner who would seek out an assassin (who kills mages) as his master. Mu-deok's got the experience and Jang Wook's got some book smarts.

The Four Seasons are okay so far. They're like the F4 from boys over flowers - in that we're friends because we're all richer than the others. I look forward them joining Mu-deok in her quest for vengeance, answers, and destroying that assistant gwanju.

Why didn't Cho-yeon put her dog back in its urn? Fortunately, she seems to be able to magic it back together. I was trying to figure out whose family Jin Mu belongs to, but he's not from the Jin family? I assume Ho-kyung is Cho-yeon's aunt, but who is Heo Yeom is to Yul?

I hope Wook's "Just be careful when you kiss someone" line comes back. Mu-deok did it, and the elders understood that she only poisoned her young master to get them to open up his energy gate.

As with all body-swapping dramas (Big, Oh My Ghostess, Mr. Queen), the question is always whom does the hero/heroine love - the soul or the body? But since Wook knows Mu-deok is Naksu and Naksu's body has been burned, it's clear that he'll end up with Mu-deok.

Hi @alathe, awesome recap, I was grinning all through with the running commentary, quick question, are you new here? if not, how did I miss your recaps? I am on the alchemy train until the Hong sister does what they do best...Wreck-it.....so cheers to future recaps.

Thank you @alathe for these recaps. Your recaping style is reminiscent of javabeans and girlfriday when they were recaping here--humorous and engaging with a gift for sarcasm. Also, thank you to the Beanies here who share fascinating thoughts and insights.
I am with the general consensus here that the spark of this drama is absolutely Wook and Mo Deuk. The acting and chemistry of Jung So Min and Lee Jae Wook have exceeded my expectations and hopes. They have drawn me in when otherwise I am still not sold. Generally such period dramas are not my cup of tea for their politics and violence and usual grim endings. (I knew there would be a torture scene--there always is!) But I found myself thinking about it long after I finished it, which means I am hooked.
Others have pointed our possible literary influences the Hong Sisters may have drawn upon or that have similar themes: Arthurian legend, Frankenstein's Monster, Indian folktales, Chinese Wu Xia. King David (Bible) and, oddly, The Host (Stephanie Meyer) also come to mind. Especially, The Host, which is about a parasitic alien species called "Souls" that takes over and follows one Soul whose human host refuses to leave. It made me wonder if Mu Deuk's soul really left and it that is why Naksu's soul switching status mark is unusual. Perhaps her body is hosting two souls with Naksu's being dominant (she would be, right?). We never saw Naksu's body conscious after the switch which makes me suspicious. Either it's convenient or the Hong Sister's have something up their sleeves still.
And I may be the odd one out but I find Wook's coifed hair so flattering on LJW and also visually fresh. Also, perhaps it tells us something about his character--a warning that he is not the incompetent fool most people take him for. I keep trying to figure out how it is created. hahaha

No OST has been released yet, but if I read the Hangul credits correctly, that gorgeous song at the very end of the episode is by Kassy and is called 아 리 운 - which I couldn't satisfactorily translate, except maybe the last syllable is 'luck'? Any help from beanies who can understand Korean? I think the one at the end of ep. 1 is by Car the Garden and is called "Wounds Become Beautiful Traces."

Hilarious recap! That was so good! I'll be reading the recaps after watching each episode to see if I missed anything and get a funny perspective. Thanks!

I've watched the first few episodes quite a few times, they're so enjoyable but reading this still manages to bring some new appreciation, I think part of it is how clear your love and hope for the show comes through in the writing of the recap - thanks!

'I’m hopelessly invested in this couple.'

Captures my feelings perfectly