[Drama 2019] Abyss, 어비스

[Dramanoona]

I am so shallow....

*goes off to stare dreamily at Cha Min aka Ahn Hyo Seop....

 

PS. The Korean wrist grab in reverse! Refreshing...

[adqu]

10 hours ago, lingx2 said:

I really hope they can do something to the dropping rating but I really enjoyed yesterday flow of the story and at least they showed us some unexpected outcome that I'll never expect it. There's room for improvement to attract back the audience since it's just only EP4.

 

there's not much they can do about the ratings at this point, outside from maybe doing more re-runs through the week and just uping the promotion in general. but honestly, it won't help. the netizen reaction has been bad since the beginning and it was even worse for episode 4. the flow of the episodes is too fast paced and the plot is too messy, which will probably keep the casual watcher away. besides, most people thought it would be way more romcom based and they expected more romance (lol SY and CM probably won't start a proper romance anytime soon, so yikes) , so they aren't really getting what they came for and aren't happy with what they're getting.  

[Dramanoona]

So after watching Ep 4... I hope the storyline gets better.

Due to the shock of what happened to CM and now that dragonball is in the hands of PsychoOldGuy......

I need motivation to keep me watching. I am holding on due to Park Bo Young....

 

So please have a turnaround by EP 5.

PS. I get frustrated when baddies keep popping up and being ahead of our duo...

And what the heck with Hee JIn......*stunned*

[adqu]

 

 

[xXMzSmilesXx]

Hey guys,

 

I'm super confused at the new rule that popped up "if the owner of the abyss dies, the next revived is its temporary owner". How come YC is the one who gets the ball when it was HJ was the last person to be revived? Unless there was a scuffle and somehow CM was in a scuffle with YC, killed him, brought him back alive to clear his name and YC killed him in the process?

 

[ktcjdrama]

2 minutes ago, xXMzSmilesXx said:

Hey guys,

 

I'm super confused at the new rule that popped up "if the owner of the abyss dies, the next revived is its temporary owner". How come YC is the one who gets the ball when it was HJ was the last person to be revived? Unless there was a scuffle and somehow CM was in a scuffle with YC, killed him, brought him back alive to clear his name and YC killed him in the process?

 

The Abyss first revived Min, then YC, then SY and last HJ. So if Min dies, it will go to YC and so on...

[xXMzSmilesXx]

1 minute ago, ktcjdrama said:

The Abyss first revived Min, then YC, then SY and last HJ. So if Min dies, it will go to YC and so on...

 

OMG thanks for the explanation, I was thinking the next recent person he revived! It all makes sense 

[raziela]

11 hours ago, lingx2 said:

I really hope they can do something to the dropping rating but I really enjoyed yesterday flow of the story and at least they showed us some unexpected outcome that I'll never expect it. There's room for improvement to attract back the audience since it's just only EP4.

 

59 minutes ago, adqu said:

 

there's not much they can do about the ratings at this point, outside from maybe doing more re-runs through the week and just uping the promotion in general. but honestly, it won't help. the netizen reaction has been bad since the beginning and it was even worse for episode 4. the flow of the episodes is too fast paced and the plot is too messy, which will probably keep the casual watcher away. besides, most people thought it would be way more romcom based and they expected more romance (lol SY and CM probably won't start a proper romance anytime soon, so yikes) , so they aren't really getting what they came for and aren't happy with what they're getting.  

I also blame this on the promo because the drama was being sold as something very different.  As I said earlier in the thread based on the promotion most of the audience-including me-were expecting a fantasy rom-com with a mystery sub-plot and not a dark, violent thriller with occasional humour. Even the posters are bright, colourful and comical which is misleading.  If they had promoted this like Signal, Life on Mars, The Voice type of drama I don't think viewers would be quite as disappointed because they would have started the drama with different expectations.

 

The episode which received the best response was the episode 2 which was closer to the type of drama people were expecting but these last two episodes were the opposite. I hoped the drama would return to the lighter tone we saw in episode 2 but after episode 4 where they killed the male lead(!) that is obviously not where this drama is headed. I am enjoying this drama and liked episode 4 more than episode 3 but I agree the plot is confusing and episodes 3-4 with all the violence, stabbing, getting hit by cars, dying was too much. It felt like every other scene they were back in the hospital!

 

Hoping the writer and director see the audience response, sit down and smooth the plot out, sort out the plot holes and focus on the leads (I assume Min will be revived) and their development instead of throwing in "twists" and having them running around constantly.  I feel bad for PBY and AHS as I do think they are doing a great job in their roles (as are most of the actors) and I hope the ratings can improve somehow.

[adqu]

10 hours ago, raziela said:

 

I also blame this on the promo because the drama was being sold as something very different.  As I said earlier in the thread based on the promotion most of the audience-including me-were expecting a fantasy rom-com with a mystery sub-plot and not a dark, violent thriller with occasional humour. Even the posters are bright, colourful and comical which is misleading.  If they had promoted this like Signal, Life on Mars, The Voice type of drama I don't think viewers would be quite as disappointed because they would have started the drama with different expectations.

 

The episode which received the best response was the episode 2 which was closer to the type of drama people were expecting but these last two episodes were the opposite. I hoped the drama would return to the lighter tone we saw in episode 2 but after episode 4 where they killed the male lead(!) that is obviously not where this drama is headed. I am enjoying this drama and liked episode 4 more than episode 3 but I agree the plot is confusing and episodes 3-4 with all the violence, stabbing, getting hit by cars, dying was too much. It felt like every other scene they were back in the hospital!

 

Hoping the writer and director see the audience response, sit down and smooth the plot out, sort out the plot holes and focus on the leads (I assume Min will be revived) and their development instead of throwing in "twists" and having them running around constantly.  I feel bad for PBY and AHS as I do think they are doing a great job in their roles (as are most of the actors) and I hope the ratings can improve somehow.

 

yeah, the promotion somehow made it seem it would be a lighter fantasy + romance type of drama, a la oh my ghost. the teasers were more on the funny side, the poster are all colorful but the drama is just too dark compared to that.

 

i think it's already too late to work on the plot. by the press conference they had scripts until episode 12 and they're already way past the midway point of the drama filming. if they tweak anything, it'll be too late to bring in more viewers. right now, all they can do is somehow work on the editing, but again, i doubt they'll change anything at all. if they rework the plot or not, it'll be due to next week's reactions. 

i'm honestly just scared for the actors & crew over how tvn can react to all of this. like, sure, it's not going well, but those people have been working their asses off day and night and if they demand something like having to shoot entire scenes again would be very inconsiderate of their hard work :/ i think we're still in a safe place though... for now. her private life's ratings are lower but they're still hanging on lol (although i think abyss' problem is with the actual reviews but anyway)

[lightbringer06]

Before watching eps 3 and 4, I just wanna say maybe the mess in this drama's plot lies on the writer? I am not familiar with the writer and he/she worked'works on Ugly Young-A which is now 17 seasons. Now, I didn't watch those seasons, but I think the writer isn't that much adept in handling different drama genres (yet). I know PBY accepted this because of the director and also because of the story, but then the story, for me, is kind of lacking due to the confusing plot. Good thing PBY and AHS are doing a great job. Some people are holding on to this because of the actors, so I hope the story gets better. And I agree that I was one of those people who thought that the crime/suspense part is just a subplot, and the rest would be romcom and fantasy. But from what we are seeing, it looks like it's even getting more darker.

 

Moreover, I know the rating isn't that high as we expected but for a cable channel, it is still quite high. Maybe since we're used to seeing TVN dramas ratings go as high as a double-digit number nowadays (heck even JTBC with the Sky Castle reaching a 20 percent viewership from 1 percent), it kinda pales in comparison. But we're still in ep 4 so lots can still happen with the remaining 12 eps (wishing this hope of mine isn't gonna get crushed ). 

 

Okay, now, off to watch the episodes .

[raziela]

6 hours ago, adqu said:

yeah, the promotion somehow made it seem it would be a lighter fantasy + romance type of drama, a la oh my ghost. the teasers were more on the funny side, the poster are all colorful but the drama is just too dark compared to that.

Yes, they made it seem like a light fantasy and romance with the bright and funny promo, hyped as the reunion after Oh My Ghost, writer most known work is Rude Miss Young Ae which is a slice of life comedy drama.

 

Even with the episode promo I've noticed tvN promote Seyeon and Cha Min scenes because they know that's what people want to see but the drama isn't reflecting that. Episode 3 and 4 had few SY/CM scenes and we don't expect to see any in the next episode after the end of ep. 4.

 

6 hours ago, adqu said:

i think it's already too late to work on the plot. by the press conference they had scripts until episode 12 and they're already way past the midway point of the drama filming. if they tweak anything, it'll be too late to bring in more viewers. right now, all they can do is somehow work on the editing, but again, i doubt they'll change anything at all. if they rework the plot or not, it'll be due to next week's reactions. 

i'm honestly just scared for the actors & crew over how tvn can react to all of this. like, sure, it's not going well, but those people have been working their asses off day and night and if they demand something like having to shoot entire scenes again would be very inconsiderate of their hard work :/ i think we're still in a safe place though... for now. her private life's ratings are lower but they're still hanging on lol (although i think abyss' problem is with the actual reviews but anyway)

 Sigh. I noticed that the long trailer which was released a couple of weeks ago only had scenes up to episode 4 so I wonder how far ahead they are with filming?

 

I hope they can make some tweaks even if it is just to improve the editing. Also I'm not conservative but even I felt the violence in episode 3 was unnecessarily graphic so I was not surprised the more conservative K-drama audience were complaining. Not sure if it was coincidental or they edited the scenes but I was relieved episode 4 did not have as many violent scenes. Hope they minimise the violence in future episodes too.

 

I agree it's sad for the actors and crew too. They have all worked extremely hard on the drama so this reaction must be discouraging. Yeah, Abyss ratings this week definitely could have been a lot worse considering the less than positive K-netz reactions but after this week I'm not sure what to expect. HPL has lower ratings but it does have lots more positive buzz. I don't know how much I trust the writer but we can only hope next week's episodes and the ones following are an improvement so the audience want to stay with the drama.

[ktcjdrama]

Hmm, I am enjoying everything so far. Even recommending it to other people. 

 

Maybe because I have no expectation going into it. Yes there are questions and unclear rules yet about the Abyss, but that's the fun for me. It made me look forward to what the writer has in store for the viewers. I guess being a mystery/crime drama fan, I was even more excited because there is a serial killer involved. 

[adqu]

7 hours ago, raziela said:

I hope they can make some tweaks even if it is just to improve the editing. Also I'm not conservative but even I felt the violence in episode 3 was unnecessarily graphic so I was not surprised the more conservative K-drama audience were complaining. Not sure if it was coincidental or they edited the scenes but I was relieved episode 4 did not have as many violent scenes. Hope they minimise the violence in future episodes too.

 

i'm not too squirmish with violence, but i'm surprised they haven't been asked to tone it down a bit, korea is kinda harsh with these things. i don't think it's too graphic but i find the whole atmosphere around the murder/violent scenes kinda disturbing as a whole... but maybe that's what they actually want 

7 hours ago, raziela said:

HPL has lower ratings but it does have lots more positive buzz. I don't know how much I trust the writer but we can only hope next week's episodes and the ones following are an improvement so the audience want to stay with the drama.

 

yeah i know, i just brought it up just to compare ratings, but it's not really fair to compare both since they're different dramas in different situations tbh. the writing in HPL isn't that great either but it's a romcom, great writing isn't most times what your typical romcom drama watcher is looking for (me included). if the main couple has good chemistry and lots of interractions, skinship, etc etc etc, you kinda stop caring for the plot lol same goes for that other sbs romcom airing mon-tue (i forgot the name lol). also same thing for SWDBS, horrid writing, people hated the plot, but the main couple was strong and continuously brought in viewers despite the bad writing.

but of course, it's different with abyss. SY and CM are entertaining but their interractions and the development of their relationship as a whole isn't the focus AND there's has been very little of it so far, and netizens don't forgive these things haha. if the romance was upped just a bit, i'm 100% positive reviews wouldn't have been so bad.

me: *says it's unfair to compare but does it anyway * 

 

but anyway, i still have some hopes they can somehow turn around. i've been watching kdramas long enough to know that some dramas start very bad but get better as they go, and i hope this is the case. i'm sure they will tweak the scripts they haven't filmed yet and, if it comes to it, re shot/shoot additional scenes. they're all aware of the bad reaction and i'm sure it's taking a toll on them. bo young posted on her fancafe at like 3am saying they've just wrapped 3 days of filming at a school. i just hope the rest of the filming will go smoothly.

[adqu]

bts!

 

 

[raziela]

On 5/16/2019 at 1:07 PM, adqu said:

yeah i know, i just brought it up just to compare ratings, but it's not really fair to compare both since they're different dramas in different situations tbh. the writing in HPL isn't that great either but it's a romcom, great writing isn't most times what your typical romcom drama watcher is looking for (me included). if the main couple has good chemistry and lots of interractions, skinship, etc etc etc, you kinda stop caring for the plot lol same goes for that other sbs romcom airing mon-tue (i forgot the name lol). also same thing for SWDBS, horrid writing, people hated the plot, but the main couple was strong and continuously brought in viewers despite the bad writing.

but of course, it's different with abyss. SY and CM are entertaining but their interractions and the development of their relationship as a whole isn't the focus AND there's has been very little of it so far, and netizens don't forgive these things haha. if the romance was upped just a bit, i'm 100% positive reviews wouldn't have been so bad.

me: *says it's unfair to compare but does it anyway * 

I totally agree! Audience can forgive a lot of there is a cute OTP to root for and make their hearts flutter.  I was reading the comments for HPL a couple of weeks ago and some K-netz even said the plot doesn't make much sense but they don't care because of gorgeous Kim Jae Wook and the OTP chemistry. In SWDBS the romance hard-carried the second half of the drama over all the nonsense with gangs, teenagers, weird abusive dynamic of DBS parents and screechy gum chewing colleague.

 

I just don't understand why their relationship isn't the focus of this drama. It's the perfect set-up whilst they live and work together and try to get to the bottom of the mystery. I'm not even asking for any romance yet but seeing their friendship and partnership. That would be the logical route for the story to take but instead episode 3 they had fewer scenes than the crusty hairy serial killer running around and the dad bleeding all over Seoul; episode 4 they were apart or arguing for most of the episode and not in a cute bickering way. 

 

In the scenes the drama does give PBY and AHS together their acting, chemistry and visuals are great which is what K-dramas dream of so I really don't get why the drama isn't taking advantage of that.  I also thought the whole dying and new bodies plot would lead to character development but we're not really getting much of that either. At the moment it just seems like all the drama is really focused on is the murderer stuff and everything is happening so quickly the audience is getting whiplash.

 at your spoiler bar 

 

On 5/16/2019 at 1:07 PM, adqu said:

but anyway, i still have some hopes they can somehow turn around. i've been watching kdramas long enough to know that some dramas start very bad but get better as they go, and i hope this is the case. i'm sure they will tweak the scripts they haven't filmed yet and, if it comes to it, re shot/shoot additional scenes. they're all aware of the bad reaction and i'm sure it's taking a toll on them. bo young posted on her fancafe at like 3am saying they've just wrapped 3 days of filming at a school. i just hope the rest of the filming will go smoothly.

I'm hoping they can turn things around too.  As you said let's hope they can make some tweaks on what they have already filmed, some additional shooting if needed (which is going to be so tiring for everybody) and make some changes for the upcoming episodes. I like the drama. I don't think the drama it is bad but there is room for improvement and some issues which need addressing. The poor response must be so discouraging  Poor Bo Young for her TV return and she is already always so hard on herself. Poor Hyo Seop as this is his first lead and he was already so nervous   This isn't even their fault because their performances are very good. Hoping for good fortune for the whole team for the rest of filming.

 

I am so curious about this school filming they were doing....they are wearing uniforms but it can't be a flashback because their current faces didn't know each other back then.

[raziela]

On 5/15/2019 at 3:07 AM, taeunfighting said:

There were indeed no real cute fluff scenes between CM and SY, but there was something behind a few scenes of theirs that I liked...

 

When CM was sulking from not being able to find HJ, I liked the part where SY offered CM water and encouraged him to recharge himself so that they continue searching for HJ. CM was a bit surprised at her gesture, but she said she was willing to help CM in order for him to move on once he saw that she was doing okay. SY has been mainly thinking about herself so I thought it was a sweet move on her part.

 

When HJ's interrogation with the police made CM look suspicious to SY, she seemed to be in a bad place because she didn't feel like she could trust CM anymore. Once she was able to confirm CM was CM, she was so relieved and glad that it really was him along. Now trust is of no issue between the two.

 

When CM died (again...smh), it was sad, but now SY probably understands the grief CM felt when SY died. When CM is revived and back again, I bet she'll value his existence even more so now. 

 

Previously it's been CM who's shown care and regard for SY so it was nice to see SY show them in return.

Yes! They didn't have many scenes but I really liked all those brief moments with them too. I'm wondering if CM's death (again..smh too) will act as a kind of reset for the plot and their relationship once he is revived - however or whenever that is

 

On 5/15/2019 at 5:54 AM, greezlybee said:

There are a few things the writer wants to show us though; CM and SY coming in to a store to check his fingerprints which the guy sees CM's ID card, old YC asking for a coffee that might be the only coffee young YC orders to the woman, SY keeps on yelling Cha Min to CM in front of DC and HJ and also the other way around. Maybe these things can be used for the development of the case but I may have just overthink this drama lol.

The fingerprints are definitely an important plot point so you might be right about the others!

 

On 5/15/2019 at 6:21 AM, jasminssiii said:

It was said in the drama that they will be revived based on the look of their soul but I don't think that's the thing I think they are being revived based on the look of the person they didn't like or hated. Min became handsome maybe because he hated handsome guys who had it easy in life compare to him who kept being rejected. Se Yeon hated lawyer Mido. And I think Young Chul looks likes an old man and that look is the same with his father maybe he hated his father. When Heejin was revived her browsed was disappearing and his acne marks reappeared maybe because she hated how she looked in the past.

 I was so confused why Young Chul and ex-fiancee didn't return as different people like MCM and SY but I think you might be on to something with this idea 

On 5/16/2019 at 4:35 AM, lightbringer06 said:

Before watching eps 3 and 4, I just wanna say maybe the mess in this drama's plot lies on the writer? I am not familiar with the writer and he/she worked'works on Ugly Young-A which is now 17 seasons. Now, I didn't watch those seasons, but I think the writer isn't that much adept in handling different drama genres (yet). I know PBY accepted this because of the director and also because of the story, but then the story, for me, is kind of lacking due to the confusing plot. Good thing PBY and AHS are doing a great job. Some people are holding on to this because of the actors, so I hope the story gets better. And I agree that I was one of those people who thought that the crime/suspense part is just a subplot, and the rest would be romcom and fantasy. But from what we are seeing, it looks like it's even getting more darker.

 

Moreover, I know the rating isn't that high as we expected but for a cable channel, it is still quite high. Maybe since we're used to seeing TVN dramas ratings go as high as a double-digit number nowadays (heck even JTBC with the Sky Castle reaching a 20 percent viewership from 1 percent), it kinda pales in comparison. But we're still in ep 4 so lots can still happen with the remaining 12 eps (wishing this hope of mine isn't gonna get crushed ). 

 

Okay, now, off to watch the episodes .

I think you are right about  the writer. The previous work, Miss Young-Ae, is a comedy-drama so the writer would be more suitable writing this from the romcom angle. I've also seen quite a lot of people say they are holding on for the actors too so I hope the drama rewards them for their loyalty.

I like your positivity @lightbringer06! Have you watched this week's episodes yet? 

[Dramanoona]

I usually have my four episodes before I decide to keep or drop.

The first two had me eagerly keeping. Then ep 3 and 4 made me rethink.

I will hang in there for another two episodes to see what happens next.

If the rule about Abyss going to the next person who was revived, does that mean we will see PsychoDoctorOldMan die before it goes into SY's hands or will we have SY (alone at this point) running around trying to find PsychoDoctorOldMan. And what will she do when she finds him anyway? *scratches head*

[taeunfighting]

13 minutes ago, raziela said:

Yes! They didn't have many scenes but I really liked all those brief moments with them too. I'm wondering if CM's death (again..smh too) will act as a kind of reset for the plot and their relationship once he is revived - however or whenever that is

 

LOL...I'm crossing my fingers and toes that how and when will be in the next episode, but I agree that both are a big giant question mark. When it happens though, I do have high hopes that the plot and relationship department will reset and go. Prior to CM dying again, he was totally obsessing over finding HJ. It even made SY worry about him. Now that CM has learned that HJ is not the fiancee he thought he knew and loved, I think he will start to let go of her in that sense which will truly make room in his heart for his relationship to grow with SY. This should be easy because she's been there for 20 years. SY seemed pretty heartbroken when CM died so I think when he is alive again, she will start to realize her feelings for him. How does that saying go? You don't know what you got until it's gone. At least please have his second revival be meaningful in that sense.

 

All the loose ends (and there are lots) will need to start coming together soon so hopefully next week will tie in at least some together for us.

[lingx2]

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

[adqu]

8 hours ago, raziela said:

I just don't understand why their relationship isn't the focus of this drama. It's the perfect set-up whilst they live and work together and try to get to the bottom of the mystery. I'm not even asking for any romance yet but seeing their friendship and partnership. That would be the logical route for the story to take but instead episode 3 they had fewer scenes than the crusty hairy serial killer running around and the dad bleeding all over Seoul; episode 4 they were apart or arguing for most of the episode and not in a cute bickering way. 

 

In the scenes the drama does give PBY and AHS together their acting, chemistry and visuals are great which is what K-dramas dream of so I really don't get why the drama isn't taking advantage of that.  I also thought the whole dying and new bodies plot would lead to character development but we're not really getting much of that either. At the moment it just seems like all the drama is really focused on is the murderer stuff and everything is happening so quickly the audience is getting whiplash.

 at your spoiler bar 

 

right? they could've slowed down the pacing of the murder plot a bit and given more focus to them trying to figure out how to work their new identities, their new bodies, etc. while also exploring how that and their past influences their current relationship. that's the fun of body swap/reincarnation stories. a lot of wasted potential in there, sadly. especially in the romance side.

 

8 hours ago, raziela said:

 

I'm hoping they can turn things around too.  As you said let's hope they can make some tweaks on what they have already filmed, some additional shooting if needed (which is going to be so tiring for everybody) and make some changes for the upcoming episodes. I like the drama. I don't think the drama it is bad but there is room for improvement and some issues which need addressing. The poor response must be so discouraging  Poor Bo Young for her TV return and she is already always so hard on herself. Poor Hyo Seop as this is his first lead and he was already so nervous   This isn't even their fault because their performances are very good. Hoping for good fortune for the whole team for the rest of filming.

 

i actually don't think the drama is that bad either... i love the mix of mistery and fantasy in dramas and i'm easily impressionable lol even if i recognize that there are many, MANY flaws, i still find enjoyment somehow. but i 100% understand that there are multiple aspects that can be a turn off for a lot of people, especially those that came in expecting something else and i don't blame them for wanting to drop it. but yeah, i hope it can get better. the acting is definitely not the problem.