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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Kdrama Kisses 
No wonder I was confused about it. You review makes it clear now. I think I’ll drop it. 😃
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Yeah, it’s definitely confusing in the way it presents some of the elements of the story. Hopefully, you’ll move on quickly to better things 🙂
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Thanks Kay
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Park Bo-young is one of those popular actresses who never had a drama that I loved. Her dramas that you reviewed are all 7. I tried watching Strong Girl Bong-soon. Naaaah. Dropped it mid-way. I have a friend who is a Park Bo-young fan and she keeps telling me to watch Abyss, Oh My Ghost and Bong-soon. I really hoped you would give this one at least an 8.5 so I will watch. Then a 7. Oh well. Bianneyo, Bo-young-shi. I will watch something else. HAHAHA.
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Aww, that is too bad. You’re right! Come to think of it, I’ve liked the 3 dramas I’ve seen her in, but they all had quite a few problems. I probably liked Oh My Ghost the most.
Abyss is one of those where I would probably only recommend it if you want to watch it for the actors or just because you like fantasy. The story was entertaining enough for me, but it was filled with problems, so I would be hesitant to recommend it. And I know you would see all those glaring problems, lol. I agree, probably best to find something you will really like 🙂
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I tried to watch it, but I could not get past the second episode. After reading your review I think I should give it a opportunity, but……..
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It does get better after a few episodes and does well through the middle. It does go off the rails in the latter third though, so I really understand being hesitant.
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I wasn’t sure about this one because I wasn’t hearing great things about it, reading your review now I think I understand why. I’m actually surprised you still gave it a 7 after all of that. It’s probably not going to be on my watch list anytime soon even though I’ve like both of the leads in other things. Thankfully there are lots of other good ones out there still to watch!
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Haha, yeah, I can see where the 7 might be surprising. It really comes down to my number one criteria for enjoying any drama: not being bored. If I’m not bored because the story and pacing work for me, I can forgive almost anything: plot holes, logic fails, tropes, confusing elements, bad endings, you name it. I’ll definitely notice them and those things usually decrease the score, but I can still really enjoy the drama. And that was the case with Abyss. It’s kind of a mess, but I wasn’t bored with it, so 7 it is! hehe 🙂
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Mine is chemistry. I can forgive a lot if there’s good chemistry 🙂
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Chemistry is definitely a good one. If the sparks are flying, a lot can be forgiven 😉
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Hi hi.
I think I’ll be one of those you would have recommended her to, just because she’s Park Bo Young. Her being Bo Young is quite enough for me to like (and even love) her dramas.
Oh My Ghost (9/10) and Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (9.5/10) were ones of the first batch of dramas I watched last two years ago, and I might say I was quite overwhelmed with K-Dramas that time, so I found almost all dramas I was watching as great and amazing dramas.
And this year, where I became a bit critical towards rating a drama, if I were to rewatch those two dramas, I believe I would still give them at least a 9. Hehe. Or maybe I am just too fond of Bo Young.
However, during the premiere week of Abyss, as I watched the first two episodes, I have to say it was not as hookable as Oh My Ghost, neither as cute as Strong Woman. So I temporarily put it on HOLD. And let us see if I get interested in it again, so I could continue or restart it.
(So I wasn’t the K-Drama lover who watched dramas having the fave actors as basis, after all. 😀 )
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Oh yes, Park Bo Young is a great reason to watch any drama 🙂 I enjoyed Abyss, Oh My Ghost, and Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. While they might not be favorites and had issues, I still think fondly of them 🙂
Yeah, see if you can get into Abyss. It takes a few eps to settle in and then gets better. It’s still problematic, but it just comes down to if the pros outweigh the cons for you.
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And just for your reference, Kay,
I am done with Coffee Prince (10/10) and
these are the dramas I am currently watching right now:
*The K-2
and
*The Heirs (7/10)
I still have no chance of watching the new ones due to unavailability.
I am just eating what was given on the table. XD
And maybe when I have one great chance to download dramas, I would love to watch 2018 and 2019 dramas, very very soon.
Upnext!
*Uncontrollably Fond
*Blood
*What’s Wrong Poong Sang
*Touch Your Heart
*Let me Hear Your Song
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Luckily, we always have a massive backlog of old dramas to keep us company while waiting for new ones 🙂 I have quite a bit of love The Heirs. It gets a lot of hate, but I ate it up! lol
Uncontrollably Fond is another I love. Super angsty and I just enjoyed it so much. And Touch Your Heart was simple but super cute, especially for those who enjoyed the leads in Goblin, which I did. Let me know how your dramas go 🙂
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Yeah I surely will.
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And did I see it wrong? I thought you were currently watching I Loved You from the Beginning (The Secret Life of my Secretary).
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I just finished The Secret Life of My Secretary a few a days ago and am now on to Absolute Boyfriend 🙂
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Wow you are really amazing! 🙂
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Aww, thank you 🙂
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Hi hi. Just noticed the ones you added on your ‘Reviews’ section. Those other dramas you’ve watched yet not reviewed. May I request that you to indicate your rating on them? Hehehe. That will be highly appreciated. Thank you so much.
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Wow! I just changed that a few days ago. You’re always up to date on my site changes 🙂 I’ve still been trying to decide if I wanted to include ratings. I don’t include them with the ones with reviews, so I thought it would be odd to add the rating to the additional ones since I kind of like them to look similar on the page. But then, since I don’t have reviews for them, there’s no way to know how I rated them! lol Decisions, decisions 😛
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I dont think the first lead actress before death is anything special. Lead actor after death revival is just ok.seem silly how they keep on going about his handsomeness. There are many better looking Korean actors.actress from strong girl bongs so is decent looking.why they keep looking down on her?
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Yeah, it all just comes down to personal taste when it comes to looks. Of course, Park Bo Young is gorgeous, and isn’t anywhere near average. But I think they look at it is as the first actress is more “classically” pretty: tall, thin, nice figure, whereas Park Bo Young has more of a cute quality being so small. All four of the actors look fine, but with looks being so subjective, it just came down to whoever did the casting.
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I totally felt in love with this drama. The leads are soooo cute together and remind me of me and my husband haha (stuborn lady and the language master). I wrote the review on my blog about this drama and would be happy if you could step by there 😉
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Agree, they were super cute together! And how fun that they reminded you of you and your husband 😊 I’ll check out your review too 🙂
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