The Silent Sea (2021)

Dark Side of the Moon

Mysterious. Suspenseful. Terrifying. Emotional. For me, these are the key attributes and main selling points of The Silent Sea as it takes viewers literally to the dark side of the moon through the perspectives of an eclectic team of space explorers in the not-too-distant future.

Based on the 2014 short film, The Sea of Tranquility, conceived by Choi Hang Yong who also directs, the screenplay adaptation is written by Park Eun Kyo. Composer and new age musician Lee Ji Soo serves as music director with his original score performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. This Netflix original sci-fi K-drama is executive produced by Jung Woo Sung. Production began in April 2020 with principal photography taking place in August 2020.

The story is set during a time when the Earth is being depleted of its most important natural resource - water. The moon represents a viable extraterrestrial option for advanced research into harnessing water conservation methods as part of wider efforts for ensuring the survival of mankind. However, a mass casualty event on the lunar space station-cum-research facility becomes the catalyst for an expedition to retrieve crucial research samples and data. A crew of scientists are assembled for this time-sensitive assignment. What awaits the team on the ground constitutes the core narrative and underlying mystery of the drama. There are parallels to be drawn with other sci-fi films such as Event Horizon, Life, and even Alien that share similar themes - journeying into the unknown, unravelling the secrets that lie beyond, and making the ultimate sacrifice for the human race.

In addition to the high tension, deep sense of foreboding and the sinister aura surrounding the mystery on the moon, the drama intimately examines the dynamics of the crew, amidst their hidden agendas and personal motivations. The global water shortage which resulted in a devastating event designated "The Great Drought" has precipitated enforcement of draconian laws that promote inequality of water accessibility. This provides the necessary backdrop for socio-political, ecological and environmental subtexts that are subtly hinted at.

For the most part, the storytelling manages to fuse all these elements cohesively and coherently. It establishes beforehand the necessary world-building that enables viewers to connect to the reality of the fictional settings, where the basis of the science isn’t overly complicated and the technology does not appear particularly advanced. Nonetheless, some suspension of disbelief is required where accuracy in the application of the laws of physics as well as the realism of spaceflights and moon landings are concerned.

In terms of the production quality and sci-fi settings, The Silent Sea well and truly delivers in this respect. The set designs of the space shuttles and base facilities, as well as the conceptual imaginings of the moon itself along with the desolation of a dystopian South Korea are remarkably detailed and life-like. This is largely attributed to the well rendered visual effects and CGI, courtesy of the South Korean VFX specialist Westworld, which is actively involved in Netflix's Korean productions the likes of Sweet Home and Squid Game. The resulting visuals are complemented by the exceptional sound production. Evocative mood music forms a prominent part of the original score that sets the overall ambience of the production.

The costume design of the spacesuits is rather interesting, given that they appear much sleeker in comparison with the NASA Intravehicular suits (IVA) seen in recent space films like Sandra Bullock's Gravity. The drama features action sequences to a certain extent, onboard the spacecraft but mostly within the confines of the lunar base.

Both cast and characterization deserve praise for their presentation in this production. Embodying the diverse multifaceted characters are an ensemble cast headlined by Gong Yoo and Bae Doona. I don’t think I need to wax lyrical about how critically acclaimed they are or their long list of accolades. I’ve been a huge fan of both but particularly of Bae Doona over the years. In this drama, they each brought their A game in their respective portrayals of the rather inscrutable but profoundly layered leads, team leader Captain Han Yoon Jae and astrobiologist / ethologist Dr. Song Ji An. Displaying extraordinary depth and gamut of emotions, I wouldn’t expect any less from either of them.

Lee Joon returns in his first drama since his discharge from military service in 2019 (although his second comeback drama, Bulgasal: Immortal Souls was released slightly earlier). He portrays the understated and somewhat straight-laced Lt. Ryu Tae Seok. Kim Sun Yeong plays the team medic, Dr. Hong Ga Young, who is perhaps the most upbeat and fun character in the group.

My third time seeing Heo Sung Tae in a supporting role this year, after Beyond Evil and Squid Game. This time he plays government bigwig Kim Jae Sun, which is a departure and a somewhat welcome change from his usually more unsavoury characters. His co-star from Beyond Evil, Kil Hae Yon also makes an appearance as the official of the Space Aeronautics Administration, Director Choi Guk Jang, who comes across as manipulative and highly suspicious.

Kang Mal Geum has had a prolific year, appearing in no less than five dramas and I happened to have watched them all. This experienced actress has a minor but no less important role in this drama. Child actress Kim Shi Ah is also deserving of a shout-out for her second appearance of the year, since her brief cameo in Kingdom: Ashin of the North. This young talent certainly has a knack for choosing high profile Netflix productions as well as dramatic roles.

I’m quite pleased with how the mystery was crafted and depicted. Although what happens afterwards - as far as the future of Earth and its inhabitants are concerned - is never shown or explained, the focus of the story was always going to be on Song Ji An. The source material is indicative of this approach as well. This has been a captivating and immersive viewing experience for me where I got to appreciate some very fine acting from a stellar cast amidst the spectacular visuals and effects of a sci-fi setting.

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It’s not perfect but it’s interesting

I think the best thing in this drama is the main plot. It was interesting for me and each episode made me even more interested in what was happening. Some things were a little forced but I understand that it happens for the drama to move on. I also liked the scenery and some unpopular opinion but I didn’t find the CGI a big problem, it was ok for me.

The thing I didn’t like that much was the characters, most of them weren’t that interesting (I guess the best of them was Bae Doona’s character and maybe the doctor). I was a little disappointed in Gong Yoo’s character because ok HE’S HOT but being the leader of the team I expected him to be more charismatic idk. I liked him more later tho but still, didn’t love. Lee Joon’s character seemed lost in the beginning but he grows up in the story. I didn’t love him either but he was pretty good in the role. The others characters weren’t that interesting for me or were annoying. I think that a drama with 8 episodes (45/50 min each one) was too little to develop that much of characters.

Still, I recommend this one if u want something different from usual kdramas and if u are looking for something short and interesting to watch. It’s an immersive drama :)

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Hit or Miss: To Be Saved or Drowned by the Unknown

I agree with one of the reviewers, felicismoon for her final review; but somehow I need to pinpoint/add some of my final thoughts for this as well. Believe me, I'm among the anticipated viewers that somehow feel like, this can be on-par along with Space Sweepers (also space-themed too, coincidentally released in the same year, early), based on my first impression of the plot synopsis and main posters; but I was wrong, from the very start.

Cons as given:

1) VISUAL FX GOES TO OLD TIMES (literally)

since this is basically focused on outer space that I found it mildly infuriating that they tend to forget by giving attention to Earth, in detail, graphically. Early episodes are a wonderful mess that seeing those buildings in a city reminisce me back to the late 2000s to early 2010s, and the drought textures.... am I watching 90s music video? And so I researched the studio who made this drama, but out of the web browser's radar, to my dismay (even you as a viewer can easily photoshop that too with given tutorials) [watch back and pause as evidence. screenshot too if you want]

*as for the intro sequence, mayhaps Netflix nailed the job to explain the drama summary in one whole video. Correct me if I'm wrong by stating which graphic studio that did so, because they did an intro sequence for Hellbound as well, and I genuinely love that too, that leaves me hauntingly wonderful.

and don't make me compare to Space Sweepers' overall top-notch visual effects; you can (barely) see the differences either

2) PLOTHOLES

as some suggested, there should be a side story/prequel of how it has to have happened from the water itself. And Luna, too (just a picture, then the progression; no backstory, ouch). And also from me: lack backstory of how the drought even started, and that Director Choi's backstory. The direction for the storylines is pretty much complex (bear me, I'm alright with throwbacks in-between from each episode, but I genuinely don't understand, visually, for some lines from their interpretations). Other plotholes have been explained from her, so I don't need to recount

The only pros I can point these out is that yes, the stellar casts save this drama. Not instead of main casts, the supporting/cameo casts too (Kim Sia... she left me wow on this one). All of them, so I'm totally agreed with this stance. Thanks to their marvelous immersion in acting, overall the drama is pretty decent. So does for the BGM or OST if I missed out. Hence, the final rating of this review (a little high than her, because again; the casts made the job well done)

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would have been better as a movie than an 8 episode drama

"below average". "underwhelming".

LOL. these are the sentiments in the review after finale episode i read that i totally agree with.

i typically don't do well with Netflix shows that are about half the length of a normal full length k-drama, plus they tend to spend big on aesthetics rather than telling a well developed, coherent story. something i noticed in Sweet Home.

i could be rooting for Dr. Song's character because she's nice to LUNA and she made her feel safe in her presence and protected her, but her character has been a little too bland for my liking to be honest. i liked the female Dr's character Dr. Hong better because her personality was definitely more interesting LMAO. evident the moment she teased out the other crews the moment they were aboard the spacecraft. a personality like that could have played a badass female captain for the mission for all i care, and that would be a really badass gender reversal role, LOL.

also i read comments on the finale episode and i seem to agree that Captain Han survived because LUNA found him being thrown out of the floods of water, and saved him. so i was glad about that, because i also thought he died. pheww

also what's the actual deal with Ryu Tae Seok? i don't get the flashbacks of him being part of the military team that killed researchers in that Balhae Station 5 years ago. and if so, how come the government allowed him to re-join this mission LOL? and he's only a Lieutenant. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!

overall so many unsatisfactory plot holes and really should have been a movie instead of an 8 episode drama. ouh i must also end with a note saying i can't wait to see this child actress Sia Kim blossom into a fine young actress soon. she has a really beautiful fresh face and she's so immensely talented.

i watched this for Gong Yoo, Bae Doona and Lee Joon but i left the drama with my impression locked only for LUNA, wow! you go girl!

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A good try

I'll start by saying I thoroughly enjoyed this despite it's ever more obvious flaws.

The first few episodes work pretty well - it's a bit too quick in places and has some jarring switches in pace but the cast and the effort they put into the setting pull you through.
The initial foray into the Lunar complex and the rising tensions between the characters are probably some of the strongest and best parts of the whole drama. Aided by some strong performances and unique characters.
Unfortunately the 'homage' to Alien amongst others and the risible main elements of the plot don't mesh well. This some fairly pointless twists and revelations starts to chip away at the foundation that was laid so well. Some terrible CGI takes things down further and the Oh So Inevitable betrayals and bizarrely foolish decisions by characters really pull things down.
The ending is unfortunately muddled and rushed to the point of loosing a great deal of the dramatic tension it initially promised.
It could have been so much more, a more consistent first half, maybe even a longer wait for the 'why we are really here' reveal. A more convincing Alien Thing (sorry hard to say without spoilers) better cgi a decision to go with the slow dark tension or the action horror or rather than pay homage to Alien to learn how to mesh the two from it.


Still some fine actors and a whole hearted attempt to do Sci-Fi kept me watching. I appreciated the effort put in and the little things they attempted - no eye candy here - lots of space suits and lab coats though. enjoyable but probably not rewatchable. I should really rate it lower but I'm a sucker for Sci-Fi and I did watch it all.

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A moment of silence for that spectacularly bland ending

Like many recent big budget Korean shows trying to capitalize on the Hallyu wave, The Silent Sea suffers from unrealised potential. There is nothing spectacular about the show except for its cast, budget and cinematography which would have been perfectly fine. There are many shows that are well received by viewers even when these are the only three strengths of the show. So what set Silent Sea apart?

Overall:
The pacing is slow and the camera pans quite a lot in the initial episodes to show us the scenery which is exquisite BTW. There are some beautiful scenes and some real fast shots during the action sequences. All good till here.

There were few indications from the beginning though. A lot of unanswered questions. Dialogues that went nowhere. Some illogical & impossible sequences but these are all not a major turn offs. The stellar cast and great acting by Bae Doona and the rest of the actors was a big draw. The musical score did not intrude on the scenes too much. The plot was also okay, or else we wouldn't be here watching it in the first place. The show was on the right track till episode 6 with minor veering and thats when it lost its marbles.

The unnecessary segues, the wasted scenes where they tried to drag out emotions instead of having scenes that would attempt to logically introduce some of the subsequent illogical actions of the crew and the open threads really bogged down this show.

The Silent Sea could have been salvaged if it was only the last episode that sucked but unfortunately as it was the entire ending sequence which spans two entire episodes in an 8 episode show, it left me with disappointment and dissatisfaction. These two -dis words unfortunately are the last two impressions you want to leave an audience with, after a show's completion. This is also the reason why a lot of people remember only the bad things about Silent Sea even though the show was entertaining and the actors did a great job.

So would I recommend this show to others? Yes, its not bad for a one time watch as long as you are okay with the wasted potential. The first six episodes were a solid 8 for me and it only goes downhill for the last two so, it is tolerable to watch the beautiful cinematography (including Gong Yoo) and appreciate the effects.

If only the ending sequence was better! A 7/10 from me.

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Enjoyable but forgettable

I have seen previous works of the main leads. They are both good actors. The premise sounded interesting, the CGI was nice. This is my cup of tea, even though the conecpt is pretty old and overdone. Fighting some mysterious creature/virus/alien in space, doing some mysterious, dangerous and inhuman research, a dystopian world, humans on the way to save humanity - that's not new. The whole idea about the luna water was pretty unique, though. In general I was on the edge of my seat most of the time. I binged it in one day. Still the plot felt empty. Many things didn't make sense. At the end I was wondering what did I even watch? There was no real conclusion. It's the kind of space survival movie, where most of the crew doesn't make it. Despite the whole series being rather pointless and forgettable (also a bit depressing), it was an interesting watch, and worth my time.

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Painfully slow...

A new and amazing story with talented cast, beautiful background music and stunnning vfx.
This drama had potential except it failed for me.
The scenes were quite slow it's as if taking a leaf out of movies like Interstellar but there is a comparative difference. While (let's say as an example) Interstellar had slow scenes but actions were immediate. The slowness of scenes did not coincide with the decision-making of characters.
On the other hand, Silent Sea had characters making painfully slow decisions ending in my irritation.
Also the last episode really had me biting off my hand as my nails were already a goner.
This drama seriously tipped my anxiety off and not in a yielding manner.

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The Silent Wash

Look, maybe I'm too harsh on this in the title but disappointment after a pretty good set up was just too much. So let me start with the good:

The drama is set in the future where water shortage is killing life on Earth. The hope for reversal may come from the top secret discovery - lunar water - but there's a really good twist. The lunar water infects and kills the host by overwhelming his body with water so that the host drowns from the inside. Scary eh? You either die of thirst (Earth) or of self-drowning cause even your blood turns into water. I really liked this dichotomy of drought and drowning, the presumed solution to the problem that turn just as deadly in a really ironic way.

Special effects and sets were good - Netflix money delivers - and cannot say anything negative about acting though characters were seriously lacking. More about that in a second.

The bad:

After the good twist, comes the bad twist or bad trope. Or both. To control the lunar water, heroes need a savior and she appears in the form of a hybrid human/lunar water girl who, like all Star Child cliches, is faster, stronger, smarter, has self-healing powers, can breathe in Moon (lack of) atmosphere, doesn't feel cold, is basically indestructible. Short version: Total B movie rubbish. Shorter version: hogwash. Shortest version: wash. So no, the title of this review wasn't too harsh after all.

Once this trope entered the fray, predictability ensued. Of course that she's a product of cruel and forbidden experiments on 70+ other girl clones. Of course that characters who shouldn't have died die to protect her. Of course that she creates mother/daughter bond with FL and becomes FL's top priority, etc. All that stretched in 8 episodes. The whole thing could have been a solid 2 hrs long movie. At 8 x 1 hr episode, it became a chore.

There's no one that you could call a character. Po-faced actors served only as plot-forwarders, moving from A to B to C. By the end, we didn't know these characters, just who did what, and some background information such as that so and so had a sick daughter which was info dump not a characterization.

Overall, Netflix money + cast boasting Gong Yoo and Bae Doo Na should've had a better, tighter, and most importantly, inventive script. Instead, we got prettily produced but lazy and lifeless B drama void of anything that makes B cinema entertaining.

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A novel space thriller with poor character portraits

I applaud Silent Sea for its story , its novelty and its production . I like productions that take a chance and this drama certainly took a chance.

The set premise is dramatically dystopian and was vividly portrayed . The water crisis was captured so vividly that I found myself thanking the powers that be that I have clean water to shower in and that water is indeed precious. When a drama can hone in on a simple but precious concept such as water and impress upon you all its complexities , beauty and ramifications then full points on story capture !

The thriller element and intrigue was plausibly engrossing to keep a captivated viewer tuning however as I watched this show , I came to the overwhelming feeling that though this drama is novel its not special . Usually , I can think of a drama when I am not watching it , musing on what a character is going to do or making up conspiracy theories in my head . However , with Silent Sea , I just dutifully tuned and amicably forgot about it throughout my day.

I believe this is due to the character portraits of the story . The characters were not full bodied nor fleshed out . They were presented rather shallowly that it was hard to get fully behind any of them. It kinda sucked the fun out of it and the drama lost its special factor.

The cast was okay . I can't critique too much as they did not have enough fleshing out for the actors to truly shine. However, I found Bae Doona extremely one dimensional and very annoying with her stares and frequent consternation looks. The director really directed her badly as I know she is quite a capable actress.

As for the music - quite sublime !

Overall- I would highly suggest this drama if you are a fan of sci fi and the like . You will have the patience to watch and be fascinated by this drama. If you have other compelling reasons to watch - then also go for it , your time will not be wasted. But I can tell you that this show is no special thing . Novel ? Yes . Special ? No .

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An Excellent Drama ...!

Wow i don't know how can i express this wonderful experience which i got after watching this excellent drama. Started with less expectations, but what i thought and what i got was completely different, first of all hat's off to the makers for not revealing anything in the trailer. When i saw the trailer i thought this probably travel with the usual path of a cliche space thriller with nothing much. But i was wrong, the things happening after episode one was totally blown my mind. From there all the mysterious things that happened in there was unbelievable.

Initial attraction was definitely the wonderful cast we got here. All the actors were familiar especially one of the dream combo gong yoo and Bae Doona together in a drama, Nations one of best actor and actress sharing screen space was really curious to watch. I don't want enter into the plot. Don't read anything, you can watch trailer because there is nothing revealing in there.

The main factor was the making quality it was top notch. You will feel that your on the board with them, wonderfully captured the Moon and It's very important to make it look so real and for many reasons they succeeded in that area without any negatives.

Nothing particular about the acting you know they all are well capable actors who can do anything. It's not easy to maintain that balance till the end. But they done absolutely brilliant job to kept the people curious till the end. Coming to the finale episodes, it's even more thrilling and exciting and ended up with a really good climax.

You must watch this, Highly recommended. Don't think this is an another usual cliche space thriller. There were many more things waiting for you. Try it

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