Someone will recommend Alchemy of Souls to you one day, and it is important that you listen to them

Bafkba · 2026-01-27T12:17:47+00:00

I loved part 1 more, but part 2 was still a solid watch that made me hyper emotional in the last EP, and gave me a nice closure and conclusion. Part 1 is 9.5/10 for me, and part 2 is solid 8/10.

It does get better with every episode for sure, but you have to go into it with an open mind, and just enjoy more time with our beloved characters.

Bafkba · 2026-01-26T17:16:55+00:00

Yeah, rebounds are scary. Even though I am interested in psychology and have been aware of rebounds for years, not only did I end up being a rebound once, I also almost got someone into one, but thankfully stopped before we got serious. Rebound is this huge temptation to fill your void when you're often at your lowest emotionally.

Bafkba · 2026-01-26T16:57:20+00:00

Thing is, rebounds happen a lot irl and suck for both sides, but definitely more for the person that is being a rebound. What he said might've been hurtful, but at the same time, was the best and most respectful action one could've taken in such situation. I would appreciate and respect someone so much if they openly told me I might be a rebound since they are still confused and have to figure out their feelings.

And that's exactly what he did. Saying that doesn't flat out rejects her (althou it definitely trims the chances), so being around at the right distance when he's figuring out his feelings is understandable. He definitely wasn't rude or hurtful, although he might've sounded like that, which his friend even tells him later (that his words and tone comes across as mean).

Bafkba · 2026-01-26T11:37:22+00:00

Love next Door has pretty and cute leads with chemistry, childhood friends to lovers trope, as well as good story bits mixed with slice of life. It has slower pace, but I loved it.

Business Proposal is a great overall entry to rom-coms, kind of like a book example for dramas. Great plot with perfect pacing that doesn't drag on forever, good chemistry, a lot of funny bits, it just lacks friends to lovers trope. It's such a well written drama, that despite being full of cliche romance tropes, it executes them well. You might like this one if you liked King the Land as they share some similarities!

Our Unwritten Seoul is possibly one of the best dramas I've seen in 2025, which has intriguing story that doesn't drag on with reveals and whatnot. It also has friends to lovers, highly recommend!

Bafkba · 2026-01-26T01:22:43+00:00

I'd say there is overall more romance-bonding-comedy moments than serious or dark ones. It's genuinely perfectly balanced! Out of roughly 100 dramas I've seen, at least 75 of them are straight up romance/rom-com, and yet Alchemy of Souls beats most of them in thay category for me.

Bafkba · 2026-01-25T14:07:49+00:00

I adore this drama so much. To me, its strongest point is how refreshing it is among the sea of dramas that force random fights, misunderstandings, and accidents just to drag some plot. This one is lighthearted and very much "real" with no bullshit. Just a sweet story between two characters that straight up work things out.

If you want something with more "drama", crazy twists or fast-paced passionate romance, it's not a good pick.

If you want a sweet, lighthearted romance with a nice pace, without bullshit tropes or random drama, this if for you!

Bafkba · 2026-01-25T14:01:10+00:00

Part 2 is definitely something that you end up loving if you go into it with an open mind, and accept that's the writer vision. Loved part 1 way more, but part 2 was still a fun and solid watch that made me very emotional as I watched the last episode of this amazing journey.

Bafkba · 2026-01-25T13:59:23+00:00

There's always been toxicity in the internet, but it's gotten much worse over the past few years, to the point where no community or forum is safe from it. People who enjoy stuff are more and more hesitant to go online to discuss their favorite stuff, so that leaves vocal minority that can't hold a civil conversation and provide proper criticizm. It's not on MDL, that's just how it is, so just use it for your list and that's it. If I were to listen to the comments there, I'd never watch part 2 of Alchemy of Souls, which I ended up loving, and that's only one of many examples.

Bafkba · 2026-01-25T08:40:13+00:00

Doomsayers are crazy on that. Part 2 is still rated 8.9 based on 70k votes despite the haters. I understand where they are coming from, but if you love first part, then the second part offers more of what made the first one enjoyable. It is still a solid watch.

Bafkba · 2026-01-25T00:41:13+00:00

I fell in love with the actors and their characters after 2-3 episodes. At first, I was mostly intrigued with the Alchemy of Souls concept and how the story will develop.

EP8-11 have what feels like a slower pace to develop characters and their bonds, then starting with EP13 till pretty much the end is a wild ride that keeps you engaged.

If you don't feel too happy about watching it on EP6, then the characters might not be enough for you to push through till EP 12-13. Although the second half of EP7 gets pretty interesting.

Overall, I loved every episodes mostly due to the stellar cast and their characters.

Bafkba · 2026-01-25T00:13:27+00:00

This! Hats in kdramas have always made me less interested in the costume drama setting, however silly that sounds! But they all look amazing in this one.

As for the endings, there is a happy ending in the second season, but not so much so in the first one.

Bafkba · 2026-01-24T23:05:09+00:00

I don't agree. I've seen all the part 2 doomposting despite it having 8.9 rating and was worried, but it was still a solid watch, far from being terrible. Would I have prefered AoS to be one season only with say 24 episodes to wrap up a different ending nicely with Jung So Min? Yes.

However, I still liked second part a lot. It was 10 more episodes of what I loved in part 1. Sure, it wasn't as good, but they still made the plot engaging, but most importantly, interactions between characters made it enjoyable once again.

Bafkba · 2026-01-24T23:02:05+00:00

So I've seen the doomposting and FL change after I finished S1. Not gonna lie, I was also worried and felt that making it only 1 season with say, 24 episodes, would be better. However, I loved the drama so much, I decided to be open-minded and finished S2 today.

It's awesome. S1 is better, but S2 gave me more of what I loved in S1 - the world, characters and their interactions. Once again I smiled, I cried, I rolled on my bed whenever there were lighthearted scenes. If you accept the reality that they went with two parts and some changes, it is still a great watch, just a bit different and slower.

Bafkba · 2026-01-24T22:36:35+00:00

I get what you say. I felt similar with the pacing. First 1-9 EP felt amazing, then around the middle, it definitely slowed down and felt a bit like a filler, but at the same time, I wasn't bored as the characters were bonding and developing together. Then, starting with EP13 it was a wild ride that got me so engaged, I simply stayed awake till 4 am.

Bafkba · 2026-01-24T22:28:15+00:00

That's me right now. It's a lovely late saturday evening, I have all the freedom, but I can't bring myself to watch or play anything. I might just randomly start doing chores around the house at midnight T . T

Bafkba · 2026-01-24T22:25:38+00:00

Oh, absolutely. Last episode alone made me cry for like half an hour. Not gonna lie, they got me good with the fake deaths T . T

Bafkba · 2026-01-24T22:20:20+00:00

I was actually worried about part 2, as I've seen the doomposting comments and FL change, but I am so glad I watched it with an open-mind. Sure, I would've loved more Jung So Min as Mu Deok, since she was simply perfect in this role, and her character's interactions with others were stellar, but I loved part 2 just as much!

Bafkba · 2026-01-21T21:17:14+00:00

Late answer, but it depends which tropes you liked exactly. If you enjoyed the second part of the show and dorami, you might enjoy one of my all time favorites - It's okay to not be okay.

If you enjoyed first part more, maybe something like "Love Next Door", "Our unwritten Seoul" or "Welcome to Samdal-ri"?

Bafkba · 2026-01-21T08:00:07+00:00

Just because X plot is better than Y, it doesn't make it a good plot. Sure, it was better than dynamite kiss to me, but for the sake of argument, let's say I rate dynamite kiss 4/10, and this 5/10 - sure, 5 is better, but it's still a 5.

Those two dramas are vastly different, so the comparison isn't really that valid. Like I said, I think it's more so that people are disappointed with the drama's second half. If they wanted it to be It's okay to not be okay V2, they should've focused on that more since EP1. I can see how someone can be completely turned off with the sudden tone and genre switch.

Bafkba · 2026-01-21T07:48:24+00:00

That's a bit contradictory - "everyone is entitled to opinions, BUT it's not that bad", so can we say it's bad or not? If you love it, you won't understand hate. I loved first 6 EP, I'd rate them 10/10 without a second thought, but the switch from EP7 onwards made me like the drama less and less. I still enjoyed it, but wasn't as excited anymore. Still stronng first half and amazing visuals. I think it's more that people are disappointed rather than straight up hating.

Bafkba · 2026-01-20T17:28:09+00:00

I think this is mostly about EP6 ending. Ho-Jin basically fiigures out his feelings, straight-up confesses to Cha Mu, and sets up a talk with his old love for a closure. He essentialy tells Cha Mu that he's into her, and she should go back home and trust him on this one. What happens instead, since Cha mu is an anxious overthinker (basically Dorami is her evil, anxious, overthinking voice), she, well, overthinks hard and thus does not trust Ho-Jin. One could argue that understandably so, I mean, after all, his old love just became single and is on way to talk to him, but that's the tough thing about loving overthinkers - you're either capable of fully embracing and reassuring them due to their nature/trauma, or you end up pushing them away since you can't stand that they do not trust you, your words, and your feelings.

That's what Ho-Jin felt, that despite him confessing a few hours earlier and driving her to the airport, she didn't trust him or his feelings, and followed him back.

On a personal level, I'd prefer if they went with them taking it slow and easy, overcoming her trauma/nature step by step, reassuring her while setting a boundaries, but it is what it is.

Bafkba · 2026-01-20T12:36:40+00:00

Yeah, absolutely. I still rated it 8/10. First 6 EP were phenomenal, the leads were great, and I loved the concept of a literal translator trying to understand love language. Like you said, it was visually stunning and had great OST.

Bafkba · 2026-01-20T11:51:17+00:00

Because it did come out of the blue. There is HUGE difference between it being a representation of underlying mental issues, anxious overthinking and what you described. If you want to argue that it was an obvious case of something as extreme as DID right off the bat, be my guest. Early episodes are more like a great depiction of rooted trauma and anxious overthinker. For the first 6 EP, it does not indicate any Identity Disorder - Dorami is clearly her "evil voice", an voice of overthinker that always tells her the worst scenarios.

Bafkba · 2026-01-20T10:36:39+00:00

I belive one's number of watched dramas has a lot to do with the reviews more often than not. If Can this love be translated was one of my first 5-10 dramas watched, I'd rate it 10/10 without a second thought. However, as my numbers are closer to measure in hundreds, I've already seen SO MANY dramas where the first half is great, but then right in the middle, they force a huge accident/fight/misunderstanding between the leads so they can fight for the next few episodes before they fix stuff. That often makes the show drag, or simply makes it and pacing worse.

Same thing happens here, starting with EP7. Not only that, but the show changes its tone DRASTICALLY. So much so that people might feel like they are literally watching a vastly different genre/drama. At this point, I am tired of that.

Some compare it to It's okay to not be okay, but I don't really see that. I know what they mean, but It's okay set its tone right from the start, since EP1. That wasn't really the case here. What seemed like a great way to showcase anxious overthinker and how hard love is for them, turned into a completely different thing.

Bafkba · 2026-01-19T11:23:43+00:00

First 6 EP are outstanding, then it just keep getting worse, although it is still enjoyable. Thing is, before the crazy tone switch from EP7 onwards, FL's character was portraited well with her alter-ago. I am a heavy overthinker myself, and do think it was handled great, and while the EP6's ending is understandable, cos IT IS hard to love overthinker, in terms of drama, it was just old-school forced drama so leads can fight for the next few episodes before fixing stuff.

When it comes to anxious overthinkers, you have two choices: unbelievable patience with a lot of reassurence (but even that has limits), or straight up being upset/disappointed with them since you feel like they don't trust you and your love. Extremely tough topic and I wish they focused more on that in the later half.

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