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Abyss korean drama review
Completed
Abyss
0 people found this review helpful
by ltspada
Jul 14, 2022
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

Uder-rated romance, crime and supernatural drama

My rating is a 9/10. This is a 2019 South Korean Romantic, Fantasy, Crime drama with 16, 60 minute episodes. In the first portion below I provide a synopsis followed by review highlights.

Cha Min (Ahn Se-ha/Ahn Hyo-seop) is not very attractive in a traditional sense but he is a wealthy heir so some people are drawn to him not for his looks but for his wealth. He has been in love with Go Se-yeon (Kim Sa-rang/Park Bo-young), whom he graduated with, for 20 years. She has "led him on" as she liked him but could not get past his looks enough to see him as a romantic partner. She dates a lot but her main focus is on her work as a prosecutor. Cha Min has finally given up on dating Se-yeon and becomes engaged to a woman that Se-yeon introduced him to. That is until she breaks off the engagement abruptly leading Cha Min to contemplate his life choices while balancing precariously on a rooftop. Supernatural beings cause him to fall to his death when he was on the verge of changing his mind so, to make up for it, they revive him in a body that matches his soul. The result is he is flower boy handsome. They also leave him with an object, an abyss, that can bring anyone it is in contact with back to life. While investigating a serial killer, Seo yeon winds up being murdered and Cha Min uses the Abyss to revive her. She also comes back in a body matching the beauty of her soul and, to her dismay, it is much more average than her former "goddess" like beauty. Ironically Cha Min becomes the prime suspect in Seo yeon's murder so the two wind up working together to solve the mystery of Se-yeon's murder.

I put off watching this for quite a long time as the descriptions did not do justice to the depth and complexity of this story. Those that like crime drama will really like this particularly those that are interested in serial killer criminology. The supernatural twist in this is unique in that the object revives the individuals in a "normal" form, they are not zombie nor ghost like but appear completely normal. Part of the mystery is the how and why abyss works as it does. It also has a very heart warming romance and some compelling friendships and family relationships. Lots of character development and complexity. Some of the series posters I had seen showed this glowing ball and made it look almost silly but it is more of a serious crime thriller with supernatural elements and very occasional comedic (not slap stick) moments.

Spoilers**My main detractors were toward the end. I was glad I knew ahead that Cha min uses up all of abyss's power and becomes a ghost or it would have made me sad. They were separated for three years and we had to see heart broken Se-yeon go through her life without Cha min. I am not a fan of that separation trope. I was not really clear on what abyss was and whether the "beings" that had given it to Cha min were Gods of some sort or aliens. It wasn't clear why her love and his brought him back after three years and what all he had done in that timespan. Abyss was an important part of the story so I would have liked to have known a bit more about it. But none of that is enough for me not to recommend this highly and watch it myself again someday.
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