Abyss tells the story of a beautiful prosecutor (Park Bo Young) and an unattractive but wealthy heir (Ahn Hyo Seop) who die and are reincarnated into a handsome man and an average looking woman because of a magic orb called Abyss. The two find love while trying to catch her killer.
Park Bo Young plays Go Se Yeon who was a successful prosecutor with exceptional beauty. Her life completely changes after she is murdered and comes back as an average woman. But she won’t let anything keep her down as she does all she can to catch her killer.
Ahn Hyo Seop is the wealthy heir Cha Min. His not-so-good looks brought heartbreak into his life which included his fiance leaving him. An accident results in his death and him returning as a handsome man. He also controls the powerful orb Abyss which is able to bring people back to life, including his long-time friend and crush Se Yeon.
Abyss adds its own spin onto the concept of changing bodies with a person being reincarnated into the form of their soul. So a kind person looks better while a bad person looks worse.
The show introduces an interesting mystery right from the start with a serial killer and the death of Se Yeon. Now I did think the way some of the mystery was presented was a bit confusing in the beginning. It does get clearer as the show progresses, but some things remain confusing.
The overall fantasy element to Abyss was also something I really liked. With people coming back to life and changing forms, we got some very intriguing dynamics at play. It also created some pretty fun plot twists.
One thing I would have really liked to have seen early on though was some of the dynamic between Min and Se Yeon before they changed appearances. I think it would have been more meaningful to witness the relationship between them before the change. There are only a couple conversations where their relationship is mentioned. We do get a handful of flashbacks later on, but even those don’t show a whole lot.
But luckily, the reincarnated versions of Min and Se Yeon in the form of Ahn Hyo Seop and Park Bo Young quickly pulled me into their relationship. They had a great banter between them.
It was interesting to see them adjust to their new forms and how that affected their relationship. Min isn’t as attracted to Se Yeon anymore, but he sees his friend, and the feelings naturally develop for him.
Se Yeon now finds him attractive but also has to allow her feelings for him to blossom. And once the romance does kick into gear, Min and Se Yeon make a pretty adorable couple. They work well together as a team and are ready to do anything for each other.
The pacing of the drama is good with new plot developments consistently emerging. There are also multiple supporting characters that play important roles and contribute to the narrative which is something I appreciated.
Without getting into spoiler territory, the biggest negative to the drama for me was the overall execution. The story itself is good, but it’s poorly executed, particularly with how some of the fantasy elements are handled concerning the orb Abyss.
The rules as to how it actually worked didn’t always make sense, and it felt like they changed to fit the situation throughout the drama. Some of the new rules got pretty ridiculous towards the end of the drama. I was definitely rolling my eyes.
Many times some of the things that were happening in the drama were just plain confusing too. Also expect a few plot holes and some shoddy police work here and there. If you like well thought out writing and for everything to always make sense, this might not be a good drama for you. It’s also one of those dramas that feels like it goes off the rails at the end.
Aside from some complaints about story execution and how the magical orb was handled, Abyss was still an enjoyable watch. I liked that the fantasy elements were solidly woven into the narrative throughout the drama, the mystery was good, and the romance was cute. All in all, it held my interest and made for a solid watch.
My Rating: 7/10
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