Abyss (2019)

Nice drama, but betrayed by the implementation

The show introduces an interesting mystery right from the start with a serial killer and the death of Se Yeon. Now I did think the way some of the mystery was presented was a bit confusing in the beginning. It does get clearer as the show progresses, but some things remain confusing.

The overall fantasy element to Abyss was also something I really liked. With people coming back to life and changing forms, we got some very intriguing dynamics at play. It also created some pretty fun plot twists.

One thing I would have really liked to have seen early on though was some of the dynamic between Min and Se Yeon before they changed appearances. I think it would have been more meaningful to witness the relationship between them before the change. There are only a couple conversations where their relationship is mentioned. We do get a handful of flashbacks later on, but even those don’t show a whole lot.

But luckily, the reincarnated versions of Min and Se Yeon in the form of Ahn Hyo Seop and Park Bo Young quickly pulled me into their relationship. They had a great banter between them.

It was interesting to see them adjust to their new forms and how that affected their relationship. Min isn’t as attracted to Se Yeon anymore, but he sees his friend, and the feelings naturally develop for him.

Se Yeon now finds him attractive but also has to allow her feelings for him to blossom. And once the romance does kick into gear, Min and Se Yeon make a pretty adorable couple. They work well together as a team and are ready to do anything for each other.

The pacing of the drama is good with new plot developments consistently emerging. There are also multiple supporting characters that play important roles and contribute to the narrative which is something I appreciated.
Without getting into spoiler territory, the biggest negative to the drama for me was the overall execution. The story itself is good, but it’s poorly executed, particularly with how some of the fantasy elements are handled concerning the orb Abyss.

The rules as to how it actually worked didn’t always make sense, and it felt like they changed to fit the situation throughout the drama. Some of the new rules got pretty ridiculous towards the end of the drama. I was definitely rolling my eyes.

Many times some of the things that were happening in the drama were just plain confusing too. Also expect a few plot holes and some shoddy police work here and there. If you like well thought out writing and for everything to always make sense, this might not be a good drama for you. It’s also one of those dramas that feels like it goes off the rails at the end.

Aside from some complaints about story execution and how the magical orb was handled, Abyss was still an enjoyable watch. I liked that the fantasy elements were solidly woven into the narrative throughout the drama, the mystery was good, and the romance was cute. All in all, it held my interest and made for a solid watch.

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Never a kdrama had me this depressed

I went in with this with so much hope, maybe I got myself too excited because the plot seemed hella interesting and the cast so promising... The first 2 episodes were great and I was looking forward to seeing the rest of the show...
Well, I shouldn't have... At some point I was just fast forwarding it, and it still felt long and nonsensical. The writing is just bad. Like bad bad, I felt like watching an American series, which is exactly what I was running away from when I started to watch Kdramas. The plot makes no sens. Since it is called Abyss and you would expect that the Abyss takes an important part in the plot line... Well, it does not. The characters ar absolutely not developed, if anything, Min regressed and had me hating him by the end. Unnecessary violence and irrelevant plot twists, the female lead always getting in trouble and having to be saved by the male lead. They made the whole thing so irrealistic that by the end I felt like I was watching a parody

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Highly anticipated especially because of the cast and I was really looking forward to it because I love Park Bo Young and the story line seemed oddly interesting...but I was really disappointed with this. I kept watching mostly for the sake that I wanted to see how it would end more so than being super excited about the next episode. Don't get me wrong it wasn't awful, there were some enjoyable moments but it wasn't something I'd drop everything to watch. It's a more a drama I'd choose to watch if I had nothing else to watch, as a filler. It had a good start and pretty interesting but throughout there were little inconsistencies as well as kinda diverting from what I pictured the main story line to be about. Lots was going on and it kinda lost its momenteum and I felt like it could've built more on certain story lines. Overall it wasn't what I was expecting, it was decent but it wasn't spectacular like I hoped.

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Should have stuck to my first instinct

I never really had the urge to watch this drama. When it first came out, I watched the first three episodes and dropped it, but recently I ran out of things to watch and decided to give it a shot because the rating is 7.8 on the list. I regret it. I skipped all of last episodes just to get a gist of what happens.

The actors were amazingly picked out for this project, and my high score in the acting section goes to all the non-main lead actors who portrayed their roles oh so well. With the main couple, rather than it be their acting in general, but I think it is more the screenwriters fault for not making the characters more consistent with little nicks and things.

The murder/mystery plot was most interesting, the love line just seemed so... forced? As in they really tried to put in some history and character changes, but it just didn't click. The actors acted super cute, but the personalities in the beginning and afterwards were so different. It just seemed like ok, now we need the two characters to get together. Then they get engaged (when he was oh so recently engaged??)

The biggest disappointment was the lack of exploration of the main theme. More back story, more unique reasoning, the distinct and surprising changes of treatment, character, maybe trying different things since body and face is different like different styles or so on. Instead, the characters just got used to it super easily, only excused things like plastic surgery and more. It was really disappointing, the main characters were already lacking and the lack of appearance exploration just makes this more apparent. Not to mention even the bad guy's "scar" bwahah.

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A pesky magical orb brings on a quest full of bright, dark, and clumsy moments.

Story:

-- It is no secret that the early episodes of "Abyss" are tough to watch -- there are many unknowns, some of the more violent aspects of the story are automatically brought up without much explanation, and the main characters are pushed into a situation that is odd on all levels, and the characters react accordingly. After the first four episodes, the premise of "Abyss" becomes clear: uncovering what happened to Prosecutor Go Se Yeon. This mystery spans out for several episodes and while the main characters engage in investigative work, they also try to settle in and return to their normal lives as best as they can. There are some moments here that viewers should suspend their disbelief and remember that this is a mostly light hearted k-drama with fantasy elements, and not a mystery thriller like exploration of life & death.

At crucial moments the lead characters make very unwise choices and sometimes forget they have a pesky magical orb but this never deters the main plot from advancing. In fact, one of the good aspects of Abyss' storyline is that it goes on from plot twist to plot twist in a well paced manner -- it never lags or is affected by the standard rom-com tropes in Korean dramas. On the negative side what stands out is the underdevelopment of certain characters, loose plot-lines, and no real side stories.

The final episode wraps up everything neatly, and ends on a high note for the heroes of the story while the "bad guys" got what they deserved. It is a satisfying, bright ending.

Acting/Cast:

-- After being absent for two years, Park Bo Young makes a solid return to screen and carries "Abyss" on her shoulders, establishing herself as one of the main reasons why you should watch this drama in the first place. Her counterpart Ahn Hyo Seop is also eye catching, and the chemistry between them is undeniable even if at times somewhat awkward and cute due to the height difference. Needless to say they are young actors who know how to get the job done, and it's very likely "Abyss" did not explore their full potential due to how their characters were written. Nonetheless, they do a good job from start to finish, and should be commended for it.

Park and Ahn are joined by an experienced support cast who fulfil well their assigned roles with Lee Shi Eon, Han So Hee, and Song Sang Eun standing out as they become crucial elements of the main characters' circle and participate in the quest to uncover the main mystery.

Music:

-- The OST of "Abyss" is very pleasant to listen to, featuring performances by Suran (수란), Coogie (쿠기), Kim Feel (김필) and Kim Bo Hyung (김보형).

Rewatch Value:

-- Standing at sixteen episodes - sixty minutes each - the quick paced storywriting of "Abyss" makes it an easy watch, and time will definitely fly while you are watching it. This makes "Abyss" easier to rewatch in the near future, if not for seeing once again Park Bo Young and Ahn Hyo Seop interacting with each other in the strange world of "Abyss."

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Abyss was first and foremost an amazing drama.
Not only were the characters very likeable, but they were casted perfectly.
The story itself was completely enthralling, intriguing and unexpected. There were so many twists and turns, so many smiles and frowns.
The beginning, I loved it. The middle mark, I loved it. The ending, I loved it.
Bittersweet is not a word I have to use here luckily.
This drama is completely brilliant and in my opinion anyone who watches it should fall in love with it.
To those who want a sensational drama, this is the one for you.

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I might have been too harsh, but the writing did not give this drama justice

This is one of those Comedy-Romance-Mystery Thrillers with a Supernatural element, and if you are an avid South Korean drama watcher you might liken this to Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. In terms of its writing quality though ... it is just written poorly and acted poorly.

Concept and Execution---
While the concept of the story is very, very interesting the execution was poor. The supernatural element and the thriller element were so gripping that I enjoyed the ride. Unfortunately, the ending had little explanation or intrigue; it was vague and indeterminate as if the writer and director were having a quarrel. There were so many unanswered questions that made me angry. Overall, there was a lot of potential that was wasted in the slow repetitive pacing of the drama.

Pacing---
As a drama watcher, a drama has to keep me hooked and invested for the 16 hours I am investing to watch it. Unfortunately, this drama did not meet that bar. The poor pacing left the story stagnant in the end. There were so many questions that were left unanswered that could have easily been answered with the amount of time wasted

Romance and Comedy---
This was at best average. The romance was a little lacking in my opinion. I could tell that there was shyness in the romance which did not match the characters. But the friendship between the actors was what kept this drama going. The friendship that turned into love was fun to watch as well, but the concept of the show was the most interesting bit. The friendship to romance bit is the only reason I feel inclined to watch this drama again.

Thriller---
Yes! Yes! YES! I loved the thriller in this drama even though it was just a side show.

Acting---
The lack of chemistry between the main leads makes me less inclined to say that this drama had good acting. Their height difference was cute though.

Ending---
I hated the ending (period). This contributed to my lower rating. See Concept and Execution for more info

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I blame the script

The acting was great. The direction was fine. The script was a hot mess. I didn't like the premise (first of all) and then the dialogue was stilted and--honestly--dumb. Such a shame because I love both these main actors and had high hopes. If you love the actors (like me) go to Youtube and look for a highlights video of their scenes; though the dialogue is terrible, they do have a few cute scenes where there's less talking. Those are worth watching, but don't waste time on episodes of this drama (these are hours you can't get back, people!!)
For the ML, check out Business Proposal, A Time Called You, and Dr. Romantic.
For Park Bo Young, check out Strong Girl Bong Soon, Doom At Your Service, and her newest Daily Dose of Sunshine.

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