It’s not an understatement to say that “Abyss” was one of the most anticipated kdramas of 2019. The casting news of Park Bo Young first came out in the summer of 2018. When I reported the news on that subject back then, we had no idea what it was about. Regardless, people (including me) couldn’t wait to see her on screen again.
Later, more talented people were added, Lee Si Eon and rising rookie actor Ahn Hyo Seop and many others.
I was excited about Ahn Hyo Seop because I thought he deserved a leading role, and I was anticipating seeing how his chemistry with Park Bo Young will turn out.
However, here we are, “Abyss” is struggling to maintain a following after its premiere back on May 6. The drama first episode drew 3.8% which is not too bad for a cable drama but the ratings have been on the decline ever since.
What went wrong? And what made “Abyss” so difficult to watch?
Today, I will be talking about my personal opinion and discuss the reasons why I believe the drama never picked up as many had hoped and why I found it to be one of the most disappointing kdramas of 2019.
Note: Of course, this is a personal opinion article and I discuss my personal thoughts. If you don’t like people who are critical of kdramas, then please don’t bother to read.
*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD* Based on episode 1-6
Reason 1: Excessive Marketing
I work in marketing, specifically social media marketing, and I know a thing or two about how to carry out successful marketing campaigns to promote products.
First impressions matter. If the first couple of episodes are disappointing, then people won’t tune in anymore.
What does this have to do with marketing? And how did it play a role in the falling ratings of this drama?
I have been closely following tvN marketing for this particular drama. I first started to pay attention because the teasers were interesting but then it began to get on my nerves. It was excessive.
For almost two months ahead of the drama release tvN started teasing with videos and photos. Each time, they’d release a video then release another one that has 5 added seconds of the same previously released clip either before or after original clip. I was like ‘is this for real?’
This went on for a while and it was rather annoying to me because it seemed that they were trying too hard recycling the same material as much as possible to build up hype.
This got me thinking of two possibilities; the drama is either extremely disappointing or very good but experimental so they want to get the word out.
I don’t expect people to pick up on the excessive marketing part, but I am guessing many saw the teasers; there are many versions of them.
Excessive marketing is not bad when you’re sure of your product. The issue is that it creates high expectations and if those expectations are not met, the product fails to sell to the targeted audience which is exactly what happened with “Abyss.”
The first episodes were a total disaster and had editing issues. It was overwhelming, confusing and difficult to follow even though the core idea was rather simple.
I will talk in more details about my fury with episode 1 and 2. People tuned in with high expectations and were met with a messy premiere which led to the decrease in ratings ever since.
This is why you should be careful with planning the marketing strategy for whatever it is you’re working on. You don’t want to overwhelm the consumer and then shock them with terrible products/dramas when they’re launched.
Reason 2: The Premiere Was A Mess
The first episodes of any drama are important and if you do a poor job, it’s pretty difficult to get people to tune in to see your drama after that.
But this might not be the case with the international kdrama community who is rather more patient than the average Korean general consumer. We also watch on websites and have the freedom to choose when we watch. Many of us only care about looks which is why you rarely see people heavily critiquing kdramas.
The first episode was seriously rushed. A man dies 1 minute into the episode. A woman dies in the last minutes of the first episode and I honestly couldn’t care less about either.
It felt as if the writer wanted to fast forward towards the main hot leads ASAP without taking time to set the premise and introduce the characters properly. It ended up looking like a total mess and a bunch of scenes that make no sense.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind mystery and I don’t want to be spoon-fed every single detail I need to know about the plot, but episode 1 and 2 were difficult to watch, it almost made me want to give up.
Many kdramas start out boring because they take time to set things up, but not this one.
It felt like I was in the middle of mayhem and didn’t know what was going on. I couldn’t care less when the hot lady died and was replaced with Park Bo Young. I had no attachment to the characters and had no idea what was happening around me.
Episode 2 was a little better because it felt as if the director and writer felt more comfortable now that the main characters were in. However, it was already too late to salvage the drama.
Reason 3: The Script
One of the most disappointing scripts of 2019 has to be “Abyss.” It is written by a writer called Moon Soo Yun who has no other credits to her name besides writing two seasons of “Rude Miss Young Ah”- a long-running tvN series that has many seasons.
It felt as if she wanted to prove to people she was good and experimental but had no idea how to construct characters or events properly.
I am baffled by the fact that people read the script and actually thought ‘hmm, this is a good idea; let’s make it into a drama.’
I still can’t believe this script was okayed by a production studio and a broadcasting station at the same time.
But it’s not all bad, I think the core idea is actually very interesting but the execution is rather poor. This infuriates me because I felt that these were wasted opportunities.
The writer has many interesting ideas inside her head. She wants to shock people and she does a good job at it but needs more time to construct a script that is at least plausible.
I felt like she forgot she was talking about murders, not average rom-coms, murders…. These types of scripts need to revised over and over again for accuracy.
I was shocked when I found out director Yoo Je Won is actually working on “Abyss.” I am a huge fan, he directed one of the best 2018 kdramas “The Smile Has Left Your Eyes” which was beautifully written, but then he chooses this as his comeback project. Disappointment is an underestimate.
I get that it’s an ambitious project and I appreciate the idea but the writer can’t for the life of her execute it properly.
Logic flies out of the window the minute the drama starts (and I am not talking about the abyss part) and instead of characters making logical decisions as logical human beings, you see them make decisions based on how the writer wants the script to go. It’s like these characters need to do these things so we can move on to the next scene, that’s how it felt.
Rather than being driven by sense, it’s driven by the writer’s purpose, and its obvious, too obvious.
The prosecutor does things that wouldn’t fly over anyone’s head in real life but he gets away with it because the writer says so. The police do stuff in a very unprofessional weird manner in a drama that is supposed to be about a serial killer.
“Abyss” is just incomprehensible and I am not nitpicking. You can’t just expect me to throw logic out of the window especially when we’re talking about a serial killer.
If I wanted to point out the plot holes of this drama, I could go on for days. There are so many inconsistencies, missing details, illogical actions or reactions. Basically almost everybody in this drama is dumb.
Reason 4: poorly written characters
Part 1: Cha Min
I had to focus on Cha Min specifically because he’s the main character. Keep in mind this article talks about episode 1 to 6.
In the first episode, Ahn Hyo Seop character wakes up in a different body and rather than feeling bad his old body is gone he’s happy as a kid about the new hot body he got. But how will he survive?
I know that Korean beauty standards are strict but man, you’re a leader of your family company, why don’t you think about what’s gonna happen now that you real body is gone?
He goes around doing a bunch of stupid things and lying profusely yet somehow people fall for it. He keeps looking for a fiancé that ran away who won’t even recognize him if he finds her.
Cha Min then sees someone on the ground and the first thought that goes into his head is to revive a person he doesn’t even know.
Here is the character description according to AsianWiki:
“Cha Min is the successor of a cosmetics company. He is smart, humble and has a good heart. He is also unattractive.”
It obviously didn’t say ‘dumb,’ but man it’s been a while since I’ve seen such a gullible ignorant character and I don’t think the writer is doing that intentionally.
Ahn Hyo Seop is a good actor, I firmly believe that. I firmly believe he is doing the best he can with the material in his hands, but man Cha Min is one of the stupidest characters I have ever seen in kdramas and I have been watching for 8 years.
I understand the fantasy element of the drama but why is it that when Koreans write fantasy stories they think logic flies out of the window for everything else that surrounds their drama?
Isn’t the idea about how normal human beings would deal with an abyss that brings people back to life?
If the writer was trying to portray the psychological effects the revival had on the characters then fine, but it doesn’t seem that she’s going in that direction.
I want to point out one scene that got on my nerves.
At one point, Cha Min says that he has to see his fiancé, speak to her and explain his situation and this is how he’ll be able to get back to his real self. The only issue is no one has EVER said that. Cha Min just invents stuff on the top of his head that no one told him about. He proceeds to execute them because… the writer says so.
This particular plot point annoyed me because I was almost offended that the writer thought we were this stupid.
I had to go back in episodes just to double check. No one told Cha Min that if he does certain things, he can go back to his old self (so far). Why is the writer creating scenarios and making up rules on the top of her head like that?
Part 2: The killer
This is also a part of the writing issue but I wanted to highlight it because I am furious with the way it was written.
To put it bluntly, the killer character is cartoonish. It’s like straight out of a cartoon I used to watch when I was 12.
Everything from the laugh to the actions and the dialogue, it screams cartoonish and childish. I am sure the actor is doing his best with the material he has. But here is my issue with the killer:
We’re talking about a man who died on the spot and then was revived. He held a prestigious position as a respected doctor and now that’s gone. Yet, he charges through like a machine and continues to cause havoc and kill.
Considering his past actions, the prosecutors couldn’t get to him because he was careful and didn’t leave evidence. He finds out that his appearance changed and does nothing about that but rather goes on a killing spree as if no one can catch him.
No regard to fingerprints, CCTV, police or anything. He just keeps killing like a robot that’s out for blood, literally acting like a programmed machine. His laugh is very cringy and makes him look more cartoonish than he already is.
He explains why he’s about to do things or why he’s done things like a villain in a comic book who’s about to kill somebody.
At first, the drama threw me off guard because I was like ‘why is everyone so stupid? Can’t they see it’s the dr. but with grey hair and a fake mustache?’
I seriously thought that the Dr. was playing games on them. Later, I realized he was revived.
I was impressed by the idea but man the execution got me so mad I couldn’t even enjoy the plot twist.
We’re being thrown into this environment without any explanation and the plot jumps from one place to another trying to provide entertainment but ends up looking rather confusing.
Don’t get me wrong, there are many parts that make great plot twists and the drama doesn’t go the usual route, which I appreciate. I was going to appreciate this but it’s very difficult to watch this drama without scratching your head.
No matter how tolerant you are of poor scripts, there is bound to be one scene or another that makes you go ‘hummm, that makes no sense…’
And this is why my friends, I consider “Abyss” one of the most disappointing kdramas of 2019 and one of the most difficult to watch as well.
I hope you know that this is a critique of the drama script and editing not meant to disrespect anyone. I have nothing against anyone or anything. I am just a fan who’s disappointed that a drama she’s been waiting for turned out so bad.
What do you guys think of “Abyss”?
I honestly enjoyed it, am i gonna let the opinions of netizens affect my happiness and love for the show ? no, and just like other things in life, you don’t have to let the opinions of others dictate your feelings. i found myself being sad a little bit after the drama ended. good job abyss team!
online comments are not to dictate how you feel, this is only my opinion and i am expressing it. its up to you what you think
I also enjoyed watching this show and was definitely not disappointed
I feel the same way like you, I enjoyed the dorama, but I have to thinks that bothers me a little bit, just the way he(Cha Min) came back to a human body again and how this other 2 characters, like Cha Min girlfriend have the same body and her brother, when they supposed to have a body like how was their soul.
Maybe you missed what they said, but the soul is usually the same as the body of a person. Cha Min and Go Se-yeon were exceptions
i like it too
Im confused, for the last episode was Cha Min brought back with the abyss? I don’t understand how the old man brought his soul back to human form??? someone explain
In the next few episodes hee-jin tricks Dr. Oh seo youl (spell check) into entering a hospital to visit her mom I think; but instead he accidentally revives cha-min in a wig back to life while he was sleep in the hospital bed. Hee-jin got in contact with prosecutor go in the episodes before, admitted she was helping the killer out and they joined together to trick the doctor into reviving him. But the plot twist is that the doctor didn’t lose the marble. Which doesn’t make sense, cuz if cha-min is revived then the marble should go back to him.
That’s not what Al is talking about…
Umm I don’t know what the other person was talking about but I believe that maybe there is more than one Abyss in the world and it just depends on your life circumstances. In the first episode, Min was given the Abyss by those shady people (lol no hate) because they did something wrong to him that costed his life. So maybe they had done the same thing to that man and all they do is give them free Abysses. That man’s abyss was red which is the first color of the rainbow, meaning he has never used it. So maybe an unused Abyss can be used by its owner to bring a lost soul back to life if they desire. And since he saw Min looking so pitiful, he spent his first and last use on Min..?
Another theory I have is that the man is one of those “shady” people, as I call them, (or their leader) since he asked Min why he didn’t just go back like the other shady people told him to, which shows he is very aware of how the Abyss and those people work. So maybe he saw Min still yearning for Seyeon and was like “ah, what the heck” and gave him another chance at life. So he took Min’s abyss (put it in his cart) and “renewed” it which is why it turned red signifying that it can be used one last time..? He also left Min with a message saying something like “once you find something better than this abyss, you will no longer need the abyss”, and he found true happiness with Seyeon. I guess the man was teaching Min that you don’t need another life as long as you can cherish the one you’re living in.
I honestly have no idea if any of this makes sense but that’s all I got.
I personally love this drama I’m hoping for season 2 I’m sad one more episode to go … I love the humour in it as well …and love the cast as well ….
Me too, I really hope they’ll make a season 2
I really enjoyed the Abyss
For me the show Abyss is one of my favorite Korean drama i really loved it!!!!
For me it touched My heart
I actually ended up loving it such a tear jerker too.
How did that old man happen to have all those abyss balls
I kind of agree with the reviewer. If this had been all 16 episodes in one go I imagine I would have skipped quite a few of them and just watched the last episode. As it was I watched every episode. It was great to see Park Bo Young back on the screen and she didn’t disappoint, but the show just didn’t have that umph it needed. In my case I think it was the main mail lead. Not so much the actor (I’ve never seen him before so can’t judge his performance against anything else), but more the character of Cha Min. He was a complete idiot. When he first got the abyss he was also given a manual but never even looked at it. He just kept reviving people stupidly. The cops were morons, although I liked the main cop. While I didn’t hate the drama I can safely say I won’t be watching it again unilke “Strong woman Bong Soon” which I’ve watched more than once and will do so again. I don’t think any of the actors in abyss can really be blamed for bad acting, it was just a badly executed script. Possible spoiler; One point that really annoyed me (because it was never explained) is why the prosecutor guy turned bad when he appeared to be quite a nice kind young boy??? Anyway its over and l look forward to seeing Park Bo Young in her next drama.
I literally just finished the last episode. There were definitely stupid moments but my biggest problem were all the holes in the story that never got tied up. So what happened to the prosecutor? Was he executed? They never delved much into how he became this murderer like his biological father. Also, so much didn’t make sense but I was sucked in and continued watching. I kept hoping that the original Cha Min would come back in the end so it would come full circle and that Se-Yeon would love him anyway but the last episode had her being stupid and commenting about worrying how the baby might have an ugly face like old Cha Min.
I thought maybe the point of the story was that true love prevails but nope, she’s just as shallow as ever. If you think about it, had she accepted his love from the beginning, none of this would ever happen.
So true. Se Yeon’s character was arrogant. She always thought she was the only one ‘right’ and was rude, thoughtless and bullying when she wanted her way. Particularly towards Cha Min who was definitely not the sharpest tool in the character box. Watching her complain & whine and act so impulsively without thinking of others was difficult. This whole drama was “all about her”.
I totally agree with this statement. I started this k-drama with so much excitement not because of the actors which i was not particularly familiar to but truly because of the plot ! I was so so so excited by what i was thinking would be focusing on the fantasy and criminal aspects that i ended up forwarding most of the parts of the last three episodes… i went from totally obsessed every weeks to see the new episode to frustrated. so many aspects of the plot have been ignored, so many inconsistencies and it just ending up focusing mainly on the romantic aspect of the plot which i wished had only been a background story (like really background) I really found the character dumb and i’m so frustrated that the aliens only appeared in the first episode … it feels like ” oh damn i killed a human by mistake what can i do ? let’s just revive him and allow him to revive people ” Clearly i am disappointed and i can say that in my opinion, it is one of the worst k-drama (in terms of plot) that i have ever seen. (which has nothing to do with the actors as i do like them in other dramas)
hyo seop is really attractive lmao
I don’t understand why some people come back better looking and some look the same. I know about the “looking like your true soul” part. I think they got tired of switching actors. What happened to the landlady who was revived? Why didn’t the people who gave the Abyss come back and give advice? Why did Cha Min’s parents accept his new body, but we had to wait to the end for her parents to accept it? Why did she come back as her co-worker, and her co-worker has plastic surgery? Why did they have good sci-fi at the beginning, but botched up the end? The already showed us that thy were capable of a much better ending. I kept thinking we’d find out they possessed other people’s bodies, and that the original owners would come looking for them and want their bodies back. It was no where near as bad as this article says. I admit, I hated the last episode. It feels like they said “It’s the last episode? We only have five minutes to writ it. Let’s get it over with. No explanation of how he made it back after three years.
I really loved this drama in the first few episodes but by the time I got around to the last one I really struggled to even get through it, I was wondering if I should even bother to finish it somewhere after the midpoint actually.
They really set up so many interesting things and either completely abandoned them or made them seem irrelevant, like that body changing thing you pointed out. It’s almost as if their focus really shifted while the story progressed, not focusing on the rules and character traits they carefully crafted in the beginning in favor of cool or impactful scenes, which lead to a few amazing moments with the rest of the episodes getting worse and worse.
I also very confused with this drama but i thought it was interesting at 1st. In episode 8, Lee mil do was declared dead. How come episode 9, lee mil do keep appearing at public place and meet and talk to prosecutor seo? Did lee mil do forgot she dead? Or she declared again she not dead? Please explain to me. Im confused
It was good. I peraonally loved and enjoyed every bit of it. If you watched Come back Ajushi, and liked it, you will most likely like Abyss too. I personally don’t agree with the reviewer/review and decided not to let it affect how I feel about the show and I guess that’s why I enjoyed it alot more. Next on my list is Arthdal. Can’t wait!
What happen to Oh Yeong Chol after he killed the guy in the roof top?
I honestly thought the drama was pretty average. The kind of drama to just watch to relax a little. I think is obviously not that drama that leaves some emptiness on you when it ends, but not a disastrous drama either.
I like the show in his retarded way, however the serial killer part made no sense in the way that they had to do jump thru hoops to get a conviction, i see this show as the pinky too from ur foot that keeps banging against something, it was drama after drama unrealistic stuff, i hear ya dude.
I agree it was truly disappointing.
I agree it was truly disappointing. I totally expected more
Just give them some slack…ok? If you dont have anything nice to say keep quiet…its not easy being a writer…..it takes sleepless months to create a unique story…and there’s a lot of men and women who worked really hard to put this story up for everyone…not only you…but everyone…everybody i must say…you’re one quite insensitive…so called “fan”
I love the drama … for its a good one. Story depends in every persons perspective .
I love the movie.. every person has different perspective.. Love the cast.. more power and God bless hope to see more movies with youbguys.
You are absolutely write on your review about Abyss. I must say this is the dumbest and stupidest series I have seen. All the characters here do stupid things. I totally blame the writer here first and foremost, then the producer and then director.
This is a waist of Park Bo Gum’s talent.
Please check first who is the Actor before hating lol
im sorry but i love this kdrama and idk how it would be the worst of 2019. it wasn’t confusing at all to me I loved it.