'The Silent Sea' Review: A quick paced sci-fi thriller with stunning visuals
If you've had a 'Squid Game' sized hole in your heart waiting for a new K-drama that'll grab your attention, then 'The Silent Sea' certainly does the trick. When a group of experts go out to a space station on the moon to retrieve some mystery samples, they soon uncover the truth of horrors that took place there, while all of humanity's hope rides on their mission.
If you're looking for other K-dramas across genres, you might want to consider -- 'Hellbound', 'Hospital Playlist', 'Penthouse' and 'Mad for Each Other'.
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The first thing that stands out about 'The Silent Sea' is the pace at which the series moves. It wastes no time setting up the plot and context with eight episodes. Little is shown about Dr Song, an astrobiologist who is requested to join the mission, despite her having left the field. Although, she has her own reason to agree, as the Balhae Space Station is where he sister died and now, she is determined to find answers.
Dr Song had been long investigating the radiation accident that claimed the 117 lives at the station. However, she remains unconvinced this explanation and believes that there is more to the situation than the government is letting on. Bae Doona work as Dr Song seems a little one-note; however, a line within the series sums it interestingly -- she is a woman at the rope's end, with nothing to lose. Later, a true shift in her character when she connects with Luna073, a human clone that the scientists, including her sister, had been heavily experimenting on. Luna proves her redemption as she uncovers the atrocious crimes that her sister committed as the head researcher, mainly human cloning and testing. Similarly, Luna's character acts as a catalyst to redeem Gong Yoo's character of Captain Han, who initially comes off as a stickler for rules, refusing to stray from his mission, despite losing his crew one by one. However, he soon comes to see Luna as a person and not an experiment and in her, sees glimpses of his own daughter, who wishes to save. Yoo and Doona's characters constantly seem to clash until they finally work together, with Doona's Dr Song getting emotional as Captain Han sacrifices his own life to keep the last of the crew alive. 'The Silent Sea' makes for an interesting watch with its stunning visuals, especially if you're looking for something to binge over the holiday weekend.
'The Silent Sea' premieres on Netflix on December 24, 2021.
