The Silent Sea

 The Silent Sea

8.5/10

The Silent Sea

Genre:                                     Episodes: 8                           Year: 2021

Mystery

Thriller

Synopsis:

In the future, Earth suffers from a sever lack of water. Water is strictly rationed creating tension between the different socio-economic classes. A team of soldiers and scientists are sent to a research station on the moon to receive samples that were left behind when the station was abandoned due to a radiation leak.

Cast:

Bae Doo Na (Song Ji Ahn)

Gong Yoo (Han Yoon Jae)

Kim Sun Young (Hong Ga Young)

Lee Joon (Ryu Tae Suk)

Lee Moo Saeng (Gong Soo Hyuk)

Lee Sung Wook (Kim Sun)

Jung Soon Won (Gong Soo Chan)

Kim Shi Ah (Luna)

Heo Sung Tae (Chief Kim)

Gil Hae Yeon (Director Choi)

General Thoughts:

This was a great show. I really enjoyed every episode and highly enjoyed the creepy atmosphere that was built throughout the show’s run. There’s so much in this drama that was made to grab attention and draw viewers in. Being a Netflix show, its reach was a little further than K-Drama’s that are only shown in Korea and on smaller streaming platforms internationally.

It's SPACE

Netflix gives a lot of people access to international content that they might not otherwise have had access to, and over the last couple of years you can really feel Netflix capitalising on Korean content. As well as being on one of the biggest streaming platforms, ‘The Silent Sea’ also had a handful of cast members that viewers would have seen before- also on Netflix. Bae Doo Na, who is the leading character of ‘The Silent Sea’ got a lot of attention when she starred in ‘Kingdom’ and ‘Kingdom 2’. The tone of both these shows are also similar- ‘Kingdom’ was a tension building zombie series, and ‘The Silent Sea’ was a tension building space mystery.

This is not her first Netflix rodeo

A lot of people who tuned in to ‘Kingdom’ would be the target audience for ‘The Silent Sea’. Gong Yoo, who plays the main male character, and Heo Sung Tae would both be familiar to those who watched ‘Squid Game’. And again, ‘Squid Game’ is a series that has a similar dark, mysterious tone. The casting of the drama was definitely a big draw card, not just for dedicated K-Drama fans, but also for newer viewers whose only experience with Korean content is through Netflix. A large budget and a large audience is a great way to start a show. Obviously I’m late to the party as ‘The Silent Sea’ aired almost a year ago now, but I still think it’s one of the better Netflix K-Dramas I’ve seen. I’ve mentioned before how a platform like Netflix gives K-Dramas certain freedoms that shows aired on Korean networks don’t have, and I think this show really hits that perfect middle ground of not being too conservative, but also not being too dark. ‘D.P’ is another Netflix release that was at its core a great show, but the themes were so dark that it wasn’t actually that enjoyable to watch. ‘Sweet Home’ is a Netflix release that I didn’t even make past the first episode- the horror themes were just too much for me. ‘The Silent Sea’ is great for me because it sort of dances on the edge of being horror, but never actually crosses over. I like being drawn in and I like being nervous for the characters and anticipating what is going to happen next. I don’t like being scared. I especially don’t like still being scared even after I’ve turned the show off.

It's the perfect amount of scary for people who don't like horror

This drama was fabulous because it was so great at drawing you into the moment and holding the viewer in these tense, highly suspenseful moments, but very rarely resorted to things like jump scares or gore to heighten the tension. Instead, there was always this slightly uncomfortable feeling that something wasn’t quite right, but it was hard to pick out exactly what it was. Things like lighting, small character expressions and music were excellent tools that this show used to create suspense and build tension. Another excellent way the show did this was to have scenes linger for slightly longer than they needed to.

A+ for atmosphere

A character would leave a hallway or walk past a door and the camera would stay focused on supposed emptiness for just slightly longer than would be normal, leaving the viewer waiting for something to happen- something has to be there right, or why else would the shot still be ongoing? It was a fabulous way of creating the feeling that something else was in the station with the team and that the team was being watched without actually having to show anything at all. The actual plot of the show was pretty slow moving. Not a lot was really going on in each of these episodes. You couldn’t really build these small moments and create this spooky atmosphere if a hundred other things were going on at the same time. I didn’t mind this payoff at all- there was enough in each episode to keep me hooked and the viewers were spoon-fed small pieces of the mystery in each of the episodes. One thing I will say about the plot, is that while technically not a lot happened each episode, I liked that the characters faced threats from different sources. As the story progressed deeper into the mystery, the threats the characters came in contact with were more varied. This certainly helped to up the tension and keep the interest in the story. The different threats were also hinted at early on so it never felt like they came out of nowhere. Right as the crew arrived at Balhae station they saw a dead mercenary and the dialogue was able to give some exposition on the group and why they may potentially cause issues with the crew. Which of course they did in the form of Gi Soon and Tae Suk.

Of all the ways you could die in this station, getting shot by a human sure seems the least cool

We also had Luna herself attacking the crew in the middle episodes in an effort to prevent them from taking the Luna Water away. And then of course there was the Luna Water itself that could instantly kill any of the crew if they came into contact with it. Having a range of threats and different types of danger kept the show engaging and suspenseful, and I enjoyed how it wasn’t an obvious enemy for the crew to go up against all the time. Much like the atmosphere in each episode built, the story built itself in a similar way, gradually upping the stakes and the tension until we made it to the final episode.

Is she a fish? Is she a human? Nobody knows!

The story itself I thought was good- we knew something had happened on the station and we knew it had something to do with the strange Luna Water, and enjoyed the gradual unravelling of what really happened at Balhae Station. I appreciated the final moral issue that the characters were faced with, and I didn’t feel like the viewers had to make too many assumptions about what happened on their own. I still have no idea what the hell Luna Water is or how Luna came to be the way that she is, but I’m not sure we are supposed to know those things by the end of the show. The lack of answers to the final issue raised by the drama is probably the show’s only weak point. I can see some people potentially being put off by the slow pace, but as I mentioned before, that was a price I was willing to pay for the creepiness in each episode. I also think the lack of explanation at the end may annoy some viewers and the science didn’t seem very science-y. The mystery substance just was and interacted with things we knew, such as people, just because the was what the show needed it to do. No reasoning and no explanation. I found this to be a minor flaw though, and it didn’t really have ay impact of my enjoyment of the drama as a whole. 

What Was Great:

Cinematic Experience:

This show is gorgeous. You can tell it had a high budget. The landscaping of the moon was absolutely beautiful and all the CGI with the space and violence and water was all very realistic. To add to the stunning cinematography, the acting was all top class.

The moon landscape was just absolutely stunning 

While the characters themselves weren’t exactly integral to the story, which was more focused on location and events, it certainly didn’t hurt to have actors of such high caliber filling out the cast. The score as well was done beautifully- the music added to the feel of what we were seeing on screen, both the setting and the characters, and certainly assisted with creating the dark, unsettling mood that the show was building. All the elements that supported the plot and storyline were absolutely top shelf, and gave the drama a clean and polished look that can sometimes be lacking from smaller budget shows. All the scenes and various locations we were shown as the story progressed felt so rich and real, and had great detail focus.

Spooky station with spooky lighting

All the areas inside the Balhae Station were populated with smaller details so that we knew where in the station we were. The smaller details all added up to build the bigger picture and add depth to the show. Each and every aspect of the drama came together to increase the foreboding atmosphere and worked together to build the tension that the plot of the drama was riding on. This show was a great experience all around, but visually it was really a cut above other K-Dramas. 

What Wasn’t:

Inconclusive:

As I've said in many a drama review- I’m not really a fan of open endings. While I understand it can be there to allow the viewer to imagine the story to go in any direction from that point, a big part of me has always felt that this is a slightly lazy way of ending a story. Sometimes I’m on board- such as the ending of ‘Inception’ where it’s unclear if the main character has made it back to his family or if he’s still in a dream.

We just kinda threw science away for that last episode, huh

Because there’s only two options and the story that we’ve sat through isn’t really impacted by which of those scenarios are true. But the ending here in ‘The Silent Sea’ was just too open. It’s unclear who is in the spacecraft that arrives for Ji Ann and Dr Hong. It’s unclear why Luna can live on the moon without the need for a space suit. It’s unclear if Luna is going to taken for more experiments and research. It’s unclear whether the moral quandaries the characters have experienced have any impact on wether the Korean government continues the research into Luna Water and if the cloning experimentation continues. It felt like the show spent all its time on uncovering the mystery of Balhae Station (which it did extremely well), but then did nothing with what was left after our characters had all the information. Is it setting up for a Season 2? I mean, probably but I don’t really like that either. Almost everyone from Season 1 is dead and any ongoing seasons are unlikely to have that same level of unsettling atmosphere and curious underlying mystery that made this series so good. Not a fan of open endings, and not a fan of banking on second seasons, so either way- not a huge fan of the way this drama wrapped up.

Recommend?

I would recommend this drama. Particularly for those that enjoy atmosphere building and the tension that comes from a mystery slowly unraveling. 

I sure hope they don't go back to Earth for a second season

Kingdom 2

Kingdom 2

8/10

Kingdom 2

Genre:                                                   Episodes: 6                                         Year: 2020

Horror 

Thriller

Synopsis:

In a kingdom ravaged by corruption and famine, a mysterious plague spreads that renders the infected immune to death and hungry for human flesh. The Crown Prince continues his quest to rid Joseon of the plague while his political position is undermined by ministers hungry for power.

Cast:

Joo Ji Hoon (Lee Chang)

Bae Doo Na (Seo Bi)

Ryu Seung Ryong (Cho Hak Joo)

Kim Hye Joon (Queen Cho)

Kim Sang Ho (Moo Young)

Kim Sung Kyu (Young Shim)

Heo Joon Ho (Ahn Hyun)

Joon Suk Ho (Cho Beom Pal)

Park Byung Eun (Min Chi Rok)

General Thoughts:

The first season of Kingdom was amazing, but the second season was even better. The first season had a lot of set up and character introductions, and loooots of scenes of the plague taking effect and causing havoc (as was needed to set the stage of the show), but Season 2 got to use all those awesome aspects and then add to it.

Zombies are back, baby

Where our heroes and villains had been introduced in Season 1, Season 2 got to see them actually making moves and changing the flow of the story. As well as having characters actually making moves and taking agency in how they were taking their next steps (as opposed to just reacting and escaping crazy zombies), the characters were also given a bit more depth. Not a lot, but a bit is better than nothing.

I don't think anyone thought he was making it out of this season alive

In Season 1 it was a little difficult to really understand these characters and who they were as a person. Beyond the Crown Prince I mean, because he was given a fair bit of detail. Season 2 took the time to give some flashbacks and some insight into what made some of the characters populating Season 2 individuals, and fleshed them out more than they had been when they were just a recognisable face running and dodging and trying to cut off zombie heads. A favourite of mine was Moo Young’s background. I kind of knew that they were throwing it in there because he was probably going to die after having betrayed the Crown Prince, but it was still effective. Showing the Prince and Moo Young’s initial bonding over food, and the Crown Prince’s generosity towards Moo Young and his wife was a simple way for the show to show how their relationship had begun, and why Moo Young was so loyal to the Crown Prince. However it also served to show how Moo Young would be able to throw that loyalty away, as we also had scenes between him and his wife, that showed just how loving and grateful he was to her.

Goodbye Moo Young, hello Chi Rok (aka- Moo Young 2.0)

Even his initial friendship with the Prince was based on the Prince’s consideration and concern for his wife, which enforced the idea that the most important person to Moo Young wasn’t the Crown Prince, and it wasn’t even himself- it was his wife. And knowing this, it is an understandable move that he would trade the knowledge of the Prince’s movements to his enemies in exchange for his wife’s safety.

Queen is cray cray and I love it

Well, I mean, what he thought was her safety. Because having your baby stolen and then nearly getting murdered isn’t particularly safe, but Moo Young wasn’t to know the Queen’s intentions. The Queen herself was also someone who was fleshed out a bit more this season. Previously she had only really been seen as someone her father used to further his own ambitions, but her true nature was definitely revealed this time. Rather than being a complacent pawn, the Queen introduced herself as a major player. While she wasn’t the intellectual, intimidating threat her father was, she was still plenty dangerous on her own. In fact, she was pretty much the way Hak Joo described her- cunning but foolish. The Queen’s determination to do whatever it took to keep her power made her a constant threat for the Crown Prince and his supporters, but her willingness to do whatever it took to push her own ambitions through made her a danger to not only the Crown Prince, but anyone around her.

Fear not stolen babies, Chi Rok is on the case!

The Queen was a wildcard who didn’t necessarily think rationally, and that made her an extremely interesting character to watch on screen, as she was so unpredictable. Did I expect her to murder her own father because he didn’t agree with placing her fake son on the throne? Not at all. Did I love every second of that scene playing out on screen? Yes, yes I did. It was fabulous.

I SO did not see this coming

And so was the Queen’s willingness to kill literally everyone in the palace if they didn’t give her the throne by releasing zombies into the grounds. While the Queen certainly wasn’t a nice character, she was so interesting, and was the catalyst for many of this season’s events. The show’s momentum this season was also done very well. As I’ve said many times already, the first season was primarily devoted to build-up.

Ahn Hyun is the coolest zombie, and you cannot change my mind

Season 2 had a more even flow, where each episode our characters were working on coming to a solution to the outbreak. We had Seo Bi working on identifying the properties of the resurrection plant and trying to come up with a cure, while the Crown Prince worked on keeping survivors together and taking control away from the Queen and her father, who were willing to let the county succumb to the zombie outbreak so long as they maintained their powerful positions. Having Hak Joo bitten by Ahn Hyun was a great segue into Seo Bi identifying the properties of the resurrection plant/worm and how to combat it. As well as just being a bad*ss scene in general (seriously, how cool is zombie Ahn Hyun!) it did a great job at explaining the differences between the first zombie outbreak, where Ahn Hyun and Hak Joo weaponised the resurrection plant by infecting Young Shim’s village to fight the Japanese, and the current outbreak.

Bet he regrets cookin' that dude now

It helped rationalise Hak Joo’s original plan of keeping the king alive via the resurrection plant until the Queen gave birth to an heir, as it showed that Hak Joo was unaware that the condition could be made contagious- as Seo Bi found out, those brought back by the plant/worm craved human meat, but their bites were not infections, only deadly.

Detective Seo Bi is on the case

It was only once an infected body was cooked and consumed that the illness became transmissible. Which was why Hak Joo lived (boo) even after being bitten by Zombie Ahn Hyun (who was brought back with the resurrection plant by Seo Bi). But that also meant that Hak Joo could get killed off later by his own daughter (yay). While curing Hak Joo, Seo Bi also discovered that water could treat the illness as it drove the worms out of the body. Having Seo Bi make this discovery earlier on in the season was great set up for the finale, where literally EVERYONE got bitten and fell into the icy water. It gave us hope that the series wasn’t going to end with everyone dead, and also prevented the water-cure from being introduced at the last minute and thus feeling like something the writers added in just to save everyone at the final hour. The last episodes were wonderfully intense, and a great wrap up to a fantastically exciting series. The second season also stuck with the shorter episode run (only 6 episodes), which worked really well.

Zooooombiiiesss in the palace!

There was no lag in the plot, and no time for filler episodes, which kept momentum racing from start to finish of the show. I’m not quiiiiiiiite sure how I feel about the show leaving the door open for a Season 3 (I would have much preferred that they just wrap everything up in he second season),

I don't know how I feel about this

but it was conclusive enough that the story wouldn’t be dependent on a third season if one were to come out. If Season 3 is released to explore who brought the resurrection plant into the country and is spreading it, great. If it never eventuates and we are left with only two seasons- great, the story tied up enough that we don’t actually need another season. I also felt that while the Jeon Ji Hyun cameo felt like an easter egg (even though it wasn’t really), it could also potentially put the show in a tight spot. If a third season is given the green light, things could go a bit wonky if Jeon Ji Hyun doesn’t sign on to play the character she was cameoing- because it was a major character who was being introduced as the one who brought the resurrection plant into Joseon. So it’d be a bit whack if she decides not to play the role and they have to recast. But then it’s a moot point if Season 3 never goes ahead anyway. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

What Was Great:

Political AND Zombies:

One of the best draws for both seasons of Kingdom is the unusual bled of mixed genres. I don’t think there’s ever before been a zombie sageuk- which makes Kingdom pretty darn one of a kind.

Only in Joseon would killing a zombie king make you a bad guy

The show balances the political intrigue and the thriller/horror of the zombies perfectly. The zombie infestation ensures there is always a thrill of urgency and danger to whatever the characters are doing,

Evil minister is evil

and tightens the power struggle going on between the Crown prince and the Cho clan. While a lot of sageuks play it as though the Crown Prince (or whoever the hero is) is the only one who can save the country from the corrupt ministers who thirst for power, they can sometimes struggle to to showcase why the evil ministers are such a bad deal for the common folk. In Kingdom, its clear to see why the Crown Prince needs to wrestle power away from the Cho family- because the Cho family are perfectly happy to have all the kingdom’s subjects turn into flesh eating monsters, so long as they sit on the throne. So yeah, pretty important that the Crown Prince boots them out and actually works on finding a cure. While Season 1 did a good job of balancing the political and the zombies, I do think that Season 2 managed it a bit better. The characters really stepped up their motivations and plans this season, and made the political side of the story just as gripping, intense and entertaining as the zombies. 

So Visually Fantastic:

This show is just straight up gorgeous. I mean, it’s gory as hell, but it’s done in such a fascinating way. It’s shocking and realistic and just so, so addictive to watch. The colours on screen are always well put together, particularly now that winter has arrived- all dat blood on all dat ice makes for a creepy, yet cool picture. An upside of the series being aired on Netflix is that is gives the creators more freedom with what they want to do with the show. Such as less episodes.

Don't know who this guy was but damn he was bad*ss

It also means that they are free to make a gory show such as this, without falling victim to censoring. While I get that blood and gore may not necessarily be everyone’s cup of tea, I think it is an important aspect for a show all about zombies. If your zombies aren’t horrifying and terrifying- what’s the point? The setting and costuming for all characters were also amazing, and completely immersive.

What Wasn’t:

Quick Wrap Up:

So I said that I liked that the show was only 6 episodes because it kept momentum racing. Which is true. But the downside of the short episode count is that it felt like the ending came pretty quickly. 

Man, this poor kid got d*cked over a bit

In one episode zombies are wrecking havoc on the countryside and the palace, and it looks like everybody is going to die. But then everyone falls into the icy water and the zombies drown and the good guys are saved. Hooray! But what happened to all the other zombies the weren’t inside the palace?  Like, we saw other locations in the series being completely overrun. The show tried to fix this by having the Crown Prince duck out of being King in order to disappear off with Seo Bi to get everything under control and make sure there were no more lurking zombies, but the situation sort of felt too far gone to be solved by just two individuals. Ah well, apart from the mild confusion about all the other infected people the ending was pretty good. Though I kind of fail to see why the baby had to be King instead of being given back to Moo Young’s wife. Ya know, cuz that is her kid and all. Even if the Crown Prince doesn’t want to be King, it’s a bit of a lame thing to do.

Crown Prince Punching The Ice:

Speaking of that icy water scene…it was cool don’t get me wrong.

Queen is dead and she's still out to kill the Crown Prince

Seeing all our favourite characters being overrun and devoured by the zombies was pretty unexpected and knowing that the water might save them was an interesting turn.

Punching the ice was just a really, really, really silly thing to do

I was so caught up in the moment watching the Crown Prince smash at the ice with his gun and was very much swept up in the tension of the moment. You know what ruined the tension of the moment? Having the Crown Prince try and punch his way through the ice. Yeah, what? Like, if your sword and gun aren’t enough to get through, why on earth would your fists be any better. Less momentum than the gun, and I would argue also less sturdy than the gun. Also he pummelled that ice like ten times. His hands should be broken, bloody messes. The whole episode, and arguably, the whole season, had been building up to this one moment of the Crown Prince and his loyal followers fighting the last of zombies, their last big hurdle! and then the Crown Prince. Punches. The. Ice. It’s a mild complaint, but for such a great series and such a great moment, it was a bit sucky.

Recommend?

100% yes, but watch Season 1 first.

I continue to love Joseon zombies