Abyss: Episode 6

by Sunny

How much chaos can you cram into one episode? Abyss seems determined to test that limit. In a world where death is only temporary, the stakes still manage to climb ever higher. Our heroes struggle to catch an elusive killer as he plots to learn the secrets of the Abyss and use it for some sinister purpose.

 
EPISODE 6:”Reversal: Dispatch of Destiny”

After learning that Hee-jin is still alive and at the hospital, Young-chul sneaks in to finish what he’d started. As he looms over her bed, Abyss starts to glow. Young-chul reaches out to roll Hee-jin over and draws back when he instead finds Min’s body in a wig. In a nearby room, Se-yeon prays that her plan works.

Young-chul stares at Min in shock and checks his pulse to find it beating once more. Yay! He reaches out to kill Min again but freezes when a nurse outside the room is heard talking to the police. Se-yeon also hears it and rushes to check on Min. Young-chul is already gone and she frantically shakes Min as she begs him to wake up.

Min gasps awake and immediately worries he’s been revived as a woman (thanks to the wig). His panic is interrupted as Se-yeon gleefully throws her arms around his neck, sobbing that he’s alive. She holds his face, worrying over how red it is as Min nervously asks what’s gotten into her. Se-yeon tries to check whether his wounds have healed but Min skitters away, stuttering that even if they’re both women she shouldn’t touch him so carelessly.

Se-yeon reminds him that Abyss revives people in the form of their souls and Min laughs that he’ll be immortal so long as he has Abyss. Min wonders where it is and Se-yeon tells him that since he died, Young-chul now possesses Abyss until he dies. She also worries that Young-chul is using it as he pleases.

Dong-chul’s team searches the house where Young-chul was staying while Dong-chul himself searches the hospital armed with a photo of Young-chul’s current face. Detective Choi tells him that they found one body inside and there’s evidence of a second murder… but no body. At the same time, that victim (that Young-chul accidentally revived with Abyss) stumbles into traffic and collapses in the middle of the road.

Young-chul tries to sneak past Dong-chul, but the detective’s sharp eyes recognize the man from the photo despite the surgical mask. Young-chul makes a break for it and Dong-chul gives chase but loses him at the elevator. Dong-chul immediately calls for a lockdown while Young-chul sees the emergency room and gets an idea.

Officers flood the hospital, searching everywhere for Young-chul. Detective Choi reports to Dong-chul, who orders him to check everyone leaving the hospital. Meanwhile, a doctor resting in the break room receives a call and runs out to order the transfer of a patient. Dong-chul scans the security cameras for signs of Young-chul and sends Detective Choi to check out the patient being transferred.

A doctor allows Detective Choi to verify the patient, but due to their rush to save the man’s life, he’s ushered out of the ambulance before he can remove the bandages on the man’s face. The medical chart doesn’t match Young-chul so he’s forced to let them go. Meanwhile the doctor that arranged to transfer attempts to call the person who’d ordered it, but only gets their voicemail.

Back in the break room, another doctor asks where he’d run off to. The first doctor explains that he’d received a call from Young-chul saying his friend was in an accident and asking for his transfer. The other doctor bolts up and informs him that Young-chul is suspected of murder.

Dong-chul stares at the security footage, and groans when his team reports having searched the entire facility with no luck. Se-yeon joins them and sees the footage of the patient being loaded into the ambulance… with Abyss glowing under the sheet. She sighs that Young-chul managed to escape. In the ambulance, Young-chul sits up to the shock of the paramedic.

Min flashes back to Young-chul’s confession of Se-yeon’s murder (right before he killed Min) and seethes. He’s startled by Se-yeon asking if he’s ready to leave. As they ride in the taxi, Min watches the news reporting on his alleged remains. He starts to wonder if his body didn’t disappear when he was revived but trails off when he sees Se-yeon has fallen asleep. Resting Se-yeon’s head on his shoulder, Min has the taxi turn around so he can put her to bed.

Min’s mother watches the same news report in her hospital bed and screeches for the legal team. Down at the station Dong-chul explains to his team that (for unknown reasons) Young-chul is now an old man. Turns out the doctor immediately reported what happened after learning Young-chul is a murderer and they’re currently searching for the ambulance that disappeared.

Just then Min’s mother arrives to make a stink over the defamation of her company’s brand over the murder charges against Min. Dong-chul explains that they weren’t responsible for leaking information to the media, but Mom’s lawyer argues that this case has been mishandled from the get-go.

Detective Choi fires back that they’d tried multiple times to contact Mom and the company about Min but they’d refused to cooperate. Mom screams that she found out her son was dead from the media and demands the records that prove it. She tears through desks until she finds them and her knees give out when she flips through.

Min arrives just in time to catch her and she blinks up at him when he calls her “Mother.” Alternatively, Dong-chul understandably freaks out at Min up and walking after being very much dead the last time he’d seen him.

After recovering from fainting, Dong-chul interrogates Min. He’s still struggling to wrap his head around the fact that Min has completely changed appearance, but shoves those concerns aside at the bigger question — how is Min not dead?

Min’s more concerned clearing his name and cries that he doesn’t understand how he even became a suspect in Se-yeon’s murder. Dong-chul wonders why Min didn’t come forward sooner… and suddenly worries that “Mi-do” (Se-yeon) has known Min’s identity and risked her career to aid a fugitive. Min snaps that with all the evidence stacked against him, he couldn’t come forward since the truth was even more absurd than the lies.

Min says he wanted to catch the culprit first, but Dong-chul points out he hasn’t. Min declares Young-chul to be Se-yeon’s killer but Dong-chul sighs that he doesn’t have proof. Min argues that he heard Young-chul confess but Dong-chul says that he’s the prime suspect, so his words aren’t enough to arrest Young-chul.

They’re thankfully interrupted by Detective Choi popping in to report that a weapon with Se-yeon’s blood was found in Young-chul’s home. At the same time, Park Ki-man wakes up and whispers something to the nurse before falling unconscious once more.

Min sits through a series of biometric tests to verify that he’s really who he says he is. It all comes back a match and Mom balks that the handsome young man can’t be her Min. The housekeeper says she feels that he is and Mom’s secretary verifies that the tests prove his identity beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Se-yeon awakens violently from a nightmare of her murder and calls Min. She gripes that he shouldn’t have let her sleep when there’s work to do, but he assures her he’s already sorted out his identity and things with the police. Se-yeon suggests they meet at the station, but Min says he needs to sort things out at the company first.

The board is stunned when Min saunters into the meeting. He shuts down any questions regarding his appearance, citing personal matters. One board member gripes that Min dared to get plastic surgery without warning during such a critical time. Min agrees that it’s odd that the company had pushed a new product during his absence.

Furthermore, the ingredients of said product include a high level of chemicals despite the fact that they’ve always striven to make skincare products that are safe enough to eat. The man barks that it is edible, but when Min dares him to eat it — adding that high levels of this particular chemical can affect sexual stamina — the man blanches.

Min also takes issue with the sudden change in manufacturers. He declares the entire product garbage and that Internal Affairs will be looking into the mess. Mom giggles that he really must be Min. As soon as he leaves the meeting, Min receives a call from the hospital that Park Ki-man has regained consciousness.

By the time he and Se-young arrive, Ki-man is sleeping again, but the nurse says he’s no longer in a coma, just resting. Min’s phone buzzes and Se-yeon takes notice that he ignores Hee-jin’s call. The nurse also reveals that Ki-man had whispered the word “notebook” to her. Meanwhile, Hee-jin paces anxiously around Min’s guesthouse, furious that he’s not picking up.

Mom’s secretary arrives to take Hee-jin for a doctor’s appointment. She quickly feigns morning sickness and locks herself into the bathroom. Knowing that Mom will kick her out as soon as they discover she’s not really pregnant, Hee-jin fears Young-chul will kill her for sure this time. She frantically searches the internet for a positive pregnancy test and gets an immediate response, but the seller wants to deal in person.

Unbeknownst to Hee-jin, the seller is Young-chul using the paramedic’s phone. He gets out of the ambulance and walks up to a nursing home, muttering “I knew that someday you’d be useful to me in some way.” At another hospital, a detective points towards a man in a wheelchair, explaining that’s the second woman Young-chul had killed (and accidentally revived).

The DNA matches the blood at the scene, but they have no record of the victim getting a sex change and they’re currently in a state of shock, unable to speak. Detective Choi calls to report the missing paramedic’s phone has just turned on.

Ignoring all stranger danger warnings, Hee-jin waits in the park that night for the person offering the pregnancy test. A text arrives and Hee-jin panics at the sight of her mother tethered to a hospital bed. She answers her phone and Young-chul says he’ll swap his information for hers and demands if Hee-jin was revived by Abyss.

Meanwhile, Min and Se-yeon search for Park Ki-man’s notebook in Mi-do’s apartment. They find it, but Min grumbles that he’s already read through it countless times and found nothing that ties Young-chul to Se-yeon’s murder. She pauses at a photo of Ki-man’s daughter and when she pulls it out, she finds a second photo tucked behind — this one of three children — and wonders if Ki-man had a son.

A man questions Ji-wook about the incident surrounding Min, but Ji-wook denies leaking information to the press or falsifying the report on the unidentified body belonging to Min. The man asks if Ji-wook’s judgement is clouded because Se-yeon was the victim… or if something else is going on. “What are you getting at, Father?” Ji-wook asks.

Ji-wook’s (adoptive?) father pointedly mentions the APB out on Young-chul and tells Ji-wook to wrap this case up quickly. He warns Ji-wook to do it properly and not make mistakes. “If you fail,” he says firmly, “I won’t let it slide.”

As he drives, Young-chul thinks back to the park where he’d questioned Hee-jin about Abyss and learned that Min had also revived Se-yeon. Chuckling darkly, he now wonders what Se-yeon looks like while at traffic center, Detective Choi spots Young-chul driving the stolen ambulance and alerts Dong-chul.

Min makes some business calls, quickly rattling off information in fluent Chinese and English as Se-yeon moons at him. When he glances over to her, however, she’s back to reading through the notebook. Min apologizes for the disturbance but Se-yeon stops him from leaving to make the next call, fibbing that reception is bad in the other room. Hee.

The doorbell rings and Min’s housekeeper arrives with a feast. Min gleefully hugs her, whining that Se-yeon has only fed him garbage. Se-yeon watches with a sad smile as Min’s housekeeper dotes on him and flashes back to the way her mother had done the same for her. She breaks from her reverie just as Min places her favorite food on her spoon and his housekeeper watches as Min reorganizes the table to put the best foods closer to Se-yeon.

Se-yeon receives a call and frowns when the caller addresses her by her real name. She asks who it is and Young-chul tells her to meet him since there are others there who want to see her. Se-yeon’s eyes widen as the cuckoo clock from her parents’ restaurant chimes in the background. He warns her to come alone without telling anyone and hangs up.

Turning, Young-chul slaps on a smile and thanks Se-yeon’s mom for letting him use the shop phone. She runs into the back to get him takeout since they’re closing soon and Young-chul locks the front door. Min senses something is wrong and tries to hold Se-yeon back or go with her, but she simply repeats that she has to go as she gently removes his hand from his arm and slips outside. Arghhh!!!

Back at the restaurant, Young-chul finishes tying up Se-yeon’s parents, growling that if Se-yeon had just stayed dead they wouldn’t be involved now.Se-yeon arrives and Young-chul laughs at her new appearance. She demands he release her parents now that she’s there, but Young-chul isn’t sure she’s really Se-yeon.

Se-yeon storms over to the register and verifies her ID with her thumbprint. She turns back and Young-chul jams a syringe into her neck, calling her a fool. He releases her and Se-yeon collapses to the floor.”Did you actually believe what I said?” Young-chul sneers, “I’m disappointed Go Se-yeon.” Meanwhile, Dong-chul finds the ambulance, but Young-chul is long gone.

Dong-chul receives a phone call and asks the caller where they’re headed. We can assume the caller was Min as we see him careening down the street, following the GPS signal on Se-yeon’s phone. He flashes back to earlier when Se-yeon had paused at the door. She’d turned back and tearfully pleaded that should anything happen to her, he save those she wanted to protect at all costs first.

Regaining consciousness, Se-yeon finds herself tied to a chair. She demands to know what Young-chul wants and Young-chul smugly replies some things in life happen without reason. “But if you insist on knowing what I want,” Young-chul concedes, “it’s the perfect murder.” Suddenly enraged, Young-chul screams that his murders have always been perfect until Se-yeon disrupted them with her resurrection.

Young-chul orders Se-yeon to tell him all that she knows but she says he’ll need to release her parents first. Her defiance earns a hard slap to the face and Young-chul walks over to Dad and yanks his head back, ordering him to beg for mercy. Dad can’t understand why he’s doing this when Se-yeon is dead, though, so Young-chul throws him down and starts kicking him violently as Se-yeon screeches for him to stop.

She screams at Young-chul to go ahead and kill her already. “But even if you kill me now, it won’t be the perfect murder,” Se-yeon spits, “The perfect crime you’ve always wanted is already a perfect failure.” Young-chul slaps her again and says he’s fed up already. He agrees to kill her and raises his hammer to strike but suddenly the glass door behind him erupts and Min bursts through.

Young-chul chuckles that Min has come to be killed again, but Min says the police are on their way. Young-chul flies into a rage and swings his hammer wildly. Min dodges and fights back, managing to knock Young-chul to the ground just as the sirens start to wail outside. Young-chul holds Mom hostage and asks where the back exit is. Min blocks his path but Se-yeon begs him to stand down for Mom’s sake.

Dong-chul pulls up outside and immediately rushes over to the sobbing Se-yeon. Young-chul is nowhere in sight and Min tells them he’s escaped with Se-yeon’s mother. Young-chul drags Mom down an alley only to be cut off by a car. Ji-wook steps out and Young-chul smirks but his smile fades when Detective Choi steps out the opposite side and draws his gun.

When Ji-wook doesn’t move to help, Young-chul flings Mom away and starts to run. Snatching the gun from Detective Choi, Ji-wook fires a warning shot at the ground. Young-chul freezes and Ji-wook tells him it’s over and Young-chul must pay for his mistakes. “Give up,” Ji-wook implores Young-chul, “You’ve already lost.”

Young-chul flashes back to beating Ji-wook when he was a child. Young Ji-wook pleaded for mercy but Young-chul snapped that he needed to pay for his mistakes. After being thrown to the ground time and again, Ji-wook finally stood and hit his father with a vase. He’d then picked up a shard and raised his arm to stab his father but Young-chul had grabbed his arm and told him to give up… he’s already lost.

Detective Choi calls to inform Dong-chul they’ve arrested Young-chul. Dong-chul runs over and asks Ji-wook how he found out. Ji-wook simply says he rushed over as soon as he got the report, but Dong-chul mutters it was awfully fast. Min gently holds Se-yeon as her mother is loaded into an ambulance while Young-chul glares out at Ji-wook from the back of a police car.

At the hospital, Se-yeon waits anxiously at her mother’s bedside. Min tells her the doctor said the injuries aren’t serious and Mom will wake up soon, but Se-yeon declares she’s going to come clean and return to her life the way he’d returned to his. Min gently reminds her that their cases are completely different — her parents, as well as the entire country, saw her dead body — it’ll be too difficult to accept the truth after burying her with their own hands.

Se-yeon is determined to try anyway, vowing to do all she can to prove her identity and return to her own life now that Young-chul is in prison. Unable to argue, Min can do nothing but look on as Se-yeon sobs.

Min drives Se-yeon back to her old apartment so she can pick up her stuff. While he waits in the car, Min sees the cardboard man Se-yeon knew from her neighborhood. He gets out and tells the man not to pile his haul outside someone’s home, but the man argues no one lives there now. Before he can argue, Se-yeon reappears and sighs that she’ll let him off this time, but asks the man to clear it out before it rains again since it stinks.

The man assumes they’re friends of Se-yeon’s and asks the to return the photo she’d dropped the night they’d argued (and she’d been murdered). He suggests they bring it to Se-yeon’s grave and asks if her killer had been caught. He tuts at how Se-yeon’s friend could do such a thing as he looks directly at Min. Hee.

Se-yeon corrects that the culprit was actually an old man, but the cardboard man interjects to say the man he’d seen was definitely not old. Flashback to that night and the cardboard man had gone back to pile up his cardboard again after Se-yeon had gone to sleep. He saw her door open and hid, fearing another argument.

He’d seen a young man walking away and assumed it was Se-yeon’s boyfriend until he’d later learned that was the time of her death. The man had then given his statement to the prosecutor and says that’s how Min was pinned as the culprit and blasted on the news. A sudden flashback to a shadowy figure standing in her apartment reminds Se-yeon that there was a second man there that night.

 
COMMENTS

Aack!!! So he was freaking there?!?! There’s no doubt the shadowy figure is Ji-wook and this throws his whole dynamic with Young-chul into a new light. Before we’d assumed he was merely covering his father’s tracks in some twisted sense of responsibility towards his biological father but actually participating? I’d initially thought he’d had a crush on Se-yeon but as the show progresses, it seems like nothing more than an act he played in order to keep tabs on her while she was investigating his father… and potentially himself. It was weird that he’d dug up Se-yeon’s grave, found it empty, and then said nothing. And then how he’d seemed so disinclined to actually solve her murder, even leaking the info to point fingers at Min and fabricating Min’s death (because no matter what he claims, I smell a rat).

I finally understand the urgency to make Min guilty now. Prior to this revelation, I couldn’t wrap my head around why Young-chul cared about Min. He’d left no evidence, and apart from Se-yeon’s suspicion — which she’d only shared with Dong-chul — there was nothing tying him to the Eomsan-dong murders, let alone her’s. When another suspect arose, I could see him thinking that’s a good thing, but the measures he went through to ensure Min was vilified by Hee-jin’s testimony seemed oddly extreme. It now makes sense why Ji-wook never seemed interested in actually solving Se-yeon’s murder — he was in on it.

At the very least, he was complicit. The question now is, how deep does it go? It’s clear he’s covered Young-chul’s tracks, but has Ji-wook ever been an active participant? Same with Hee-jin. I don’t peg her for a murderer, but I have wondered if her relationship with Min was encouraged by the family. Was she planted as a worker in Se-yeon’s family shop as another set of eyes to watch her? Se-yeon had initiated the match with Hee-jin and Min, but had they used that to their advantage? Clearly it’s coming in handy now. I might be drawing lines that don’t exist but Abyss is such a roller coaster of insanity, I can hardly be blamed.

There is so much going on that I’m not sure what I’m watching anymore. Now that Min’s returned to the company, there’s business politics to deal with and I’ll bet the sketchy dealings with their recent product are going to come up again, because why not? We still have yet to see Mi-do reappear and that’s probably for the best since Se-yeon’s plans to reveal herself are likely going to be put on hold as there’s an unknown accomplice (*cough* Ji-wook *cough cough*) running around.

We finally have Min back (and how great was Se-yeon’s switcheroo?), but we barely had a chance to enjoy his reunion with Se-yeon before Young-chul took over. Honestly, I’m not digging him as a villain. I don’t find him intimidating or compelling. The flashbacks of him abusing his family are horrific, but really reveal nothing about his character other than he’s a crappy person. Not to mention his only reason for killing is to commit the perfect murder? He seems evil for the sake of it, and nothing is more of a turnoff than that (see Jo Gap-soo from Witch’s Court).

While I think this week’s episodes were an improvement over last week, the balance between the fun and the awful was off. I contribute that in large part to lack of Lee Shi-un. Dong-chul is easily my favorite character and Lee is killing it in the role. Hopefully now that Se-yeon has gotten Min back and there’s a new mystery to solve we’ll see more of him because his dynamic with our leads is even better than that between the leads themselves. I’m gonna hate to see his heart broken when Se-yeon has to tell him she’s not Mi-do (and that she’s actually in love with Min, oops), but until then it’s so fun to see him and Min butt heads as they both try their best to take care of Se-yeon.

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