Abyss: Episode 10

by Sunny

It’s hard to catch a killer when you don’t know who they are and they always seem to be one step ahead. Be it by design or dumb luck, our main villain’s accomplice continues to give our team the runaround. Luckily, the odds seem to be finally tipping in our heroes’ favor. But with these recent wins, it only feels like we’re being set up for a major loss.

 
EPISODE 10: “Trail of Powder”

Min’s frantic calls go unanswered as Se-yeon unwittingly allows herself to be kidnapped by Ji-wook. Fortunately, Ki-man’s mother is also trying to call Ji-wook to clarify the situation with Hee-jin’s mother. Se-yeon assures Ji-wook he can take it and answers for him. Se-yeon is alarmed when she hears Ki-man’s mother explain that there’s someone claiming to be the daughter of the woman he’d brought and Hee-jin’s voice calls out in the background.

Ji-wook immediately ends the call and Se-yeon has enough sense to act like she thought it was just voice-phishing. She tsks and then pulls out her phone, gasping in dismay that an actor she likes has just been reported to be in a relationship. Ji-wook finally parks and Se-yeon questions why they’re stopped in the middle of nowhere.

Ji-wook lies that he needs to make a phone call but just as he steps out, Se-yeon’s phone rings and he winces as she cheerfully greets Dong-chul. She declares that she’s out with Ji-wook, admitting she’s unsure where, and snaps a picture of a sign (as well as Ji-wook standing in front of it) to send. Ji-wook can’t help but scoff and they stare each other down as Se-yeon innocently explains that since Dong-chul is in charge of the case, she figured she had to text him about Ji-wook’s “tip” too.

They drive back to a rest stop and Se-yeon apologizes for suddenly needing a toilet. Once inside, though, she’s visibly shaken as she slams the lock closed. She texts Min, demanding where he is and we see that he’s already en route. A flashback reveals that after Se-yeon heard the suspicious phone call, she had immediately texted Min and learned that Ji-wook was the one who kidnapped Hee-jin’s mother.

Se-yeon has flashes of her death and the accomplice leaning in to finish her off as Ji-wook waits impatiently for her to finish her business. Someone bangs impatiently on the restroom door and Se-yeon grips the doorknob, but the door flies open anyway and she embraces Min with relief. As they walk to his car, Min tells her Ji-wook was long gone by the time he arrived, which is confirmed by an incoming text to Se-yeon’s phone with Ji-wook claiming something urgent came up. He adds that the “tip” came from the nearby nursing home.

Back at the hospital, Min and Se-yeon tuck Hee-jin into bed with her mother just as Dong-man bursts into their room. The trio heads out to question Ki-man’s mother, but she’s adamant that she didn’t know anything about a kidnapping and is anxious about saying anything against Ji-wook. Dong-chul assures her they’re just trying to clear Ji-wook’s name, but she’s too upset to continue questioning.

The next day, Dong-chul forces his way into Ji-wook’s office, despite his assistant’s pleas. They’re amiable but there’s an underlying tension as Ji-wook sighs that Dong-chul should’ve called first and Dong-chul points out that he did, multiple times… but Ji-wook seems to be avoiding him. Ji-wook says his phone is broken and Dong-chul is forced to drop it.

He hands over the picture of Hee-jin’s mother tethered to the nursing home bed. Ji-wook feigns ignorance and asks where the photo came from, but Dong-chul is done with games and demands, “Why did you hide Ms. Jang Sun-young?”

Meanwhile, the person in question happily skips around Min’s property as Hee-jin nervously argues that they could’ve stayed at a hotel. Min says it’s better for them to stay at the guest house and Hee-jin meekly points out it’ll be uncomfortable for Se-yeon. Se-yeon tuts that it’s not a big deal, but Min says he’s already arranged for Se-yeon to live elsewhere… and brings her to his room. Eep!

Se-yeon nervously points out that even if they kissed, co-habitation seems fast but freezes when Min turns a figurine and his bookcase swings open to reveal a separate room. He admits he’s not comfortable sharing a room either. Instead he offers his secret hideout, “It’s the safest place in the world.” Se-yeon is immediately intrigued and Min explains that this room is filled with his most prized possessions that he can’t get rid of, but has to hide from his mother.

Se-yeon coos over Min’s childhood photos and he looks solemnly at one of him and his father. After his parents divorced, Min only managed to secretly see his father a few times a month before he passed away. He flashes back to the memory of taking that photo and how right afterward his father had found a picture of Se-yeon and assured his son that if she were a worthy girl, she’d see Min was a worthy boy. They’d then wrestled playfully and Min’s voiceover sadly admits that was the last time he’d seen his father alive.

He tells Se-yeon now that if he’d had Abyss back then, his father would be the first person he’d saved. Min adds that he even resented receiving Abyss after all the trouble it’s caused… but as he looks at Se-yeon, he admits that he truly believes it was a gift. “To me,” Se-yeon replies, “You’re the gift.” She thanks him for saving her… and then awkwardly breaks the moment by asking about the random heart-shaped box on his desk.

Min chides her for forgetting that she’s the one that gave it to him. He says it was the Valentine’s Day of their junior year and Se-yeon had given it to him because she’d received too many. He pouts that she doesn’t even remember her first gift to him and Se-yeon can’t help but giggle that he’s clueless.

Confused, Min asks what she means, and Se-yeon reminds him that she’d given that to him on Valentine’s Day — it’s a holiday for girls to give chocolate to boys, so how would she have gotten “too much” chocolate? It finally dawns on Min that she’d bought it specifically for him and he peppers her with questions. Embarrassed, Se-yeon tries to avoid answering but her escape is ruined when she smacks into the bookcase instead of opening it.

Rushing over to make sure she’s okay, Min is distracted by the way Se-yeon is looking up at him and starts leaning in to kiss her… only to hit the button that controls the bookcase, spinning Se-yeon back out into his bedroom. Min follows after, apologizing for his lack of kissing experience only to stop short when he sees his housekeeper standing in the doorway. She giggles, having heard everything, and skips out while Se-yeon and Min die from embarrassment. Hee.

The housekeeper cheerfully greets Se-yeon when she arrives for dinner. Since Min is held up with a phone call, the housekeeper takes the opportunity to confide in Se-yeon that Min showing her the secret room is incredibly significant since he won’t even let her inside. She sighs that she thought Se-yeon would be the first person Min brought there (unaware that she is). “You know that Min likes you very much, right?”

Min joins them and the staff leave them to eat, but Se-yeon receives a call from the office and learns that the real Mi-do just quit “their” job. She rushes over to confront Mi-do, but Mi-do points out they couldn’t carry on the charade forever. Se-yeon is still peeved not to have been consulted since they’re currently assuming the same identity but stops short when she turns to see Dong-chul is there with them (holding out a fan to help cool her down because she’s upset, hee).

Se-yeon cheekily guesses they’re dating again, but chides Dong-chul for being lovey-dovey when they have a case to solve. Flustered, Dong-chul argues that he already questioned Ji-wook and says Ji-wook claimed that Choi Gi-hoon (the man that stabbed Se-yeon and was later killed by Ji-wook) had handed Hee-jin’s mother over to Ji-wook, begging him to look after her. Ji-wook apparently even has a solid alibi for the kidnapping. Arghhh!!!

Back at the guest house, Hee-jin exits her room to find her mother missing. In a panic, she pulls out her phone but her mother suddenly reappears from outside with a handful of flowers she’d picked for Hee-jin. Unable to stay angry, Hee-jin thanks her and Mom happily bounces over to the TV. She freaks out, however, when the news shows footage of Young-chul.

Dong-chul gets a call that the police are currently taking Young-chul out to reenact Se-yeon’s murder and asks Mi-do to keep Se-yeon from seeing the reports since it’ll only upset her. Meanwhile, Min meets with Park Ki-man — who’s finally recovered — and returns his notebook. Min says he understands Ki-man’s pain over losing someone precious and tells him to call should he need anything.

Ji-wook’s (adoptive) father, Chief Judge Seo looks over Young-chul’s headlines. He receives an envelope and opens it to find the picture of three children from Ki-man’s notebook There’s also a note from Ki-man that reads, “I presume we have things to talk about. I’ll wait for your call.”

While transporting Young-chul to the crime scene, Detective Choi receives a call about Hee-jin’s mother and Young-chul demands how he knows that name. Detective Choi just gripes at him for managing to commit more crimes despite being behind bars.

Another officer is busy questioning the nursing home director, but all he’ll say is that the nurse who was in charge of Hee-jin’s mother disappeared the same day without a trace. Apparently the nurse that lied to Se-yeon and gang that Hee-jin’s mother wasn’t there is the same one that brought her to the hospital in the first place. Hm…

Young-chul looks bored as he reenacts Se-yeon’s murder. When he gets to the part where he’d stitched up her wound, Dong-chul asks if he’s sure that’s what happened. Young-chul wavers and claims not to remember clearly. Another detective barks that there were no suture marks on Se-yeon’s body and Young-chul firmly replies that he didn’t stitch up Se-yeon, swearing he’s sure.

As they leave, Se-yeon’s father becomes enraged when Young-chul smirks and grabs a brick. He runs for Young-chul, but Dong-chul takes the hit instead and drags Dad away to calm him down. Meanwhile, Young-chul tells Detective Choi that he has to use the restroom and Detective Choi is forced to let him.

Detective Choi grows anxious after a while and bursts in to find Young-chul on the floor, foaming at the mouth with pills scattered around him. Detective Choi runs out to tell a fellow officer, but they’re trapped by the media. A patrol officer says she can pull a squad car into the back alley and take Young-chul to the nearest hospital and they agree.

After loading him in, Detective Choi and the other officer run back out the front of the building with the reporters while the patrol officer zips away. A grin spreads across her face and she lets down her hair, revealing herself to be the nurse from the nursing home. Young-chul sits up in the backseat and we now understand that the soap and bleach he’d requested in prison was for his ruse.

A flashback shows the nurse visiting Young-chul in prison sometime prior. He’d dismissed the lawyer she’d brought and tried to dismiss her as well — saying he’d killed her father for no other reason than his own satisfaction. Regardless, she’s adamant that Young-chul saved her and vows her loyalty.

In the present, she tells Young-chul she’d secured a place where no one would find him. She asks what he’d meant by saying he’d be “reborn” but Young-chul ignores her question and simply says he has one more loose end to time up beforehand.

Mi-do finally returns an adorably drunk Se-yeon to Min. Se-yeon protests when Mi-do tries to whisper to Min so he sends her on ahead. Mi-do warns him that Young-chul’s crime reenactment was today. She explains she managed to keep Se-yeon preoccupied throughout the day and now it’s his turn. Min runs to catch up with Se-yeon, but she’s miffed and refuses to acknowledge him.

Hee-jin’s mom suddenly jumps out of the bushes and calls Se-yeon ugly. Min runs up and Mom explains that she’d been picking flowers for Hee-jin, but happily gives them to Min instead, urging him to come meet her daughter. Min gets a good laugh over Se-yeon’s pouting as she grabs his arm and declares Min’s her’s.

Their tug-of-Min is cut short when Hee-jin calls for her mother and Mom runs off. Se-yeon drops Min’s arm in a huff but he laughs, asking if he’s really her’s. She sniffs that he can go off to Hee-jin for all she cares but Min happily skips after her and they bicker playfully on their way to Min’s room. Once there, Se-yeon flops on the couch and reaches for the remote, but Min quickly slips it into his pocket.

He suggests they do something fun in the secret room instead… and it cuts to the pair lounging on the floor reading manhwa. Se-yeon finishes her volume, but Min refuses to hand over the next one until he’s done. She spots an old mp3 player and excitedly boots it up. Se-yeon is thrilled to hear songs from their youth and puts one earbud in Min’s ear to listen together.

Min watches her fondly as she sings along, but Se-yeon suddenly grows self-conscious and kicks him out. She rattles off that it’s after dark, they’re in an enclosed space alone, and they’re relationship isn’t what it used to be so he should leave… but Min smirks that’s more reason to stay together. He rolls over and refuses to move and Se-yeon wonders how he got so bold.

Their bickering grinds to a halt when Min’s mother can be heard calling him. Min can spot her through the peephole but refuses to go to her because he wants to keep this room a secret. Se-yeon pouts that she needs to pee but Min assures her his mother will leave soon…. except she gets a phone call and decides to take it in Min’s room. Oof!

Just when Se-yeon can’t take it anymore, Mom’s secretary fetches her and she leaves. After using the bathroom, Se-yeon declares she needs some fresh air. She takes Min’s mp3 player and heads out for a walk while he offers to make a snack. No sooner does Se-yeon leave than Min receives a call from Dong-chul ordering him to keep an eye on Se-yeon since Young-chul has escaped.

Meanwhile, Ji-wook receives a text from Young-chul, vowing to do what Ji-wook couldn’t. Min tries to call Se-yeon from the balcony, but she can’t hear him over the music. He moves to go after her, but freezes when he sees a glowing blue orb making it’s way towards Se-yeon. Min bolts as Se-yeon rounds a corner, unaware of Young-chul creeping up behind her.

 
COMMENTS

Aaaarrrgggghhhhh….. Ya’ll I feel very much like Charlie Brown and this show is Lucy, always pulling the football away before we can make contact. It’s a hard balance between fluffy romance and grisly murder and Abyss has sadly been struggling to execute that. This week was an improvement and I really like the transition we’re having with Min and Se-yeon’s relationship. Although we as the audience could see that Se-yeon liked Min long before he was beat with the “pretty” stick, I worried how they would let Min know that too… so that he never questioned if Se-yeon only liked him now because he was attractive. She was pretty crappy to him in the past and I’m not justifying her behavior, but I think there’s an interesting story with her crush on Min and her inability to be forthcoming about it. Se-yeon has no qualms speaking her mind, but the one thing she kept close to the vest was her feelings for Min. The reveal with the Valentine’s Day chocolate was so sweet (pun 100% intended) and I’d like to get more of that and less of Young-chul.

Young-chul is just a bad villain. He’s not interesting and he’s really overstayed his welcome. His antics no longer further the plot, they just drive us in circles. It was interesting that Young-chul seemed unsure during the reenactment of Se-yeon’s murder, though. Her nightmares show Young-chul stitching up her abdomen, but he really wavered when Dong-chul asked if he was sure and was quick to change his answer when the other detective blurted that there were no sutures on Se-yeon’s body. We still don’t have enough pieces to know either way since Se-yeon’s nightmare could be partially fabricated or Dong-chul could’ve had a hand in the detective’s outburst to see if Young-chul would take the bait. Either way, I am so hecking done with the general stupidity in the police force (Dong-chul not included — I love him whole-heartedly). I was screaming when Detective Lee told Ji-wook about Dong-chul’s sting operation and again during pretty much all of Detective Choi’s scenes this episode. Why did he have to mention Hee-jin’s mother to Young-chul? He was still under the impression that Ji-wook had managed to squirrel her away and that kept her safe. And then the whole escape. I mean, that was just ridiculous. I don’t understand why he hadn’t gone into the restroom with Young-chul, but even then, he let a random patrol officer drive off with a serial killer! He should’ve been in the vehicle with them or at the very least his buddy.

I’m hoping against hope that Se-yeon and Dong-chul and everyone stay on alert with Ji-wook and haven’t completely bought into his lies. I liked that Se-yeon wasn’t quick to accept Gi-hoon’s death as the end of her accomplice search, because she’s totally right — it didn’t make sense. She remembers an accomplice and Gi-hoon’s “suicide” note reveals he was only hired to kill Se-yeon. And honestly, I didn’t understand how Ji-wook’s explanation about Hee-jin’s mother stuck. He said Gi-hoon entrusted her to him? Firstly, why would he do that? And why would Ji-wook just agree without reporting it or trying to figure out what was happening? And even if you did believe that, it completely contradicts what he told Se-yeon at the top of the episode… about getting a tip and that it was from the nursing home? It’s messy! Maybe I missed something, and if that’s the case, please feel free to correct me… but what the hay, Abyss???

Not to mention Hee-jin. How can she be so manipulative when she’s apparently dumb as a box of rocks? None of them should assume they’re safe and yet she failed to keep an eye on her mother after just barely managing to reunite. And then did it again that same night! After the first scare, I’d be keeping a much closer eye on Mom… On the upside, Se-yeon and Min were extra cute this week and that, along with any scenes with Dong-chul and Mi-do, made it worth the watch. Right now I’m feeling pretty lukewarm about Abyss and it’s such a bummer because this show had a lot to offer. We still have a few weeks left so I’m hoping for good things, but frankly, I’m not holding my breath.

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