Abyss: Episode 11

by Sunny

What use does a serial killer have for an orb that revives the dead? Now that he’s on the loose (again), Young-chul is determined to carry out his plans. Everyone is on high alert and for our dynamic duo, they’ll have to stick closer together than ever before.

 
EPISODE 11:”Hide and Seek”

The police are frantic in the wake of Young-chul’s escape and while Detective Choi kicks himself for being duped, Dong-chul calls Min to warn him. Min panics when he sees the blue glow of Abyss bouncing towards Se-yeon and bolts after her just as Young-chul is stopped by a security guard. Unfortunately, the guard buys Young-chul’s lie about finishing up some gardening, but no sooner does Young-chul resume stalking Se-yeon, than he’s attacked from behind with a rock.

Young-chul looks up and is furious to discover his attacker is Hee-jin’s mother. Frightened, she drops the bloody rock and runs as Young-chul gives chase. Meanwhile, Min manages to catch up with Se-yeon, who’s been completely oblivious to the danger, and fills her in.

Min and Se-yeon hit up the security office on the property, but the head guard says there’s no suspicious activity on the the CCTV footage. Se-yeon questions whether Young-chul is even there, and Min admits he didn’t see Young-chul but he did see Abyss, noting curiously that the color has changed.

Se-yeon is more worried about Hee-jin and rushes off to check on her. They arrive just as Hee-jin is trying to calm her mother who is adamant that they run away, but can’t tell Hee-jin why. Se-yeon and Min deliver the news of Young-chul’s escape. Hee-jin is offended when Min asks if she’s hiding anything from them and points out that now that she has her mom, there’s no reason for her to betray them.

Returning to their room, Min urges Se-yeon to be extra careful now that Young-chul is loose again. He sends her to bed, but despite her efforts, Se-yeon can’t fall asleep. She sneaks out of her room and nearly jumps out of her skin when she bumps into Min, who’s guarding her door. He sighs that he’d told her not to go anywhere alone and Se-yeon stutters that she just wanted some water. Min fetches some for her and Se-yeon grimaces as he shoos her back into her room.

Time passes and Se-yeon tries to sneak out again, only to find that Min is still sitting where she’d left him. She demands how long he plans to guard the door and Min groans that he’s tired of it too. Se-yeon barks that she didn’t ask him to do this and tells him to go to bed, to which Min replies, “Sleep with me.”

Se-yeon is flustered, but Min explains that his tall physique needs to be supported properly on a quality mattress. He argues that they need to stick together as long as Young-chul is loose and therefore the only option is to sleep in the same bed. Se-yeon feels something is screwy but has a hard time rebuffing Min’s matter-of-fact delivery and before she knows it, they’re lying side-by-side in bed.

She’s still struggling to fall asleep, and when she looks over at Min, Se-yeon is peeved to see him sleeping soundly despite sharing a bed with her. She grumbles that he wouldn’t even notice if Young-chul took her and Min rolls over, sliding his arm under her and urging her to try and rest. This only flusters Se-yeon further and when she peeks over at Min, she sees he’s wide awake and staring back at her.

Min quietly admits he actually can’t sleep either and leans in to kiss Se-yeon…. only to interrupted by someone banging frantically on the door. Min leaps out of bed, vowing to fire the offender, but freezes when he sees it’s the security guard and he’s holding the bloody rock.

In the guesthouse, Hee-jin tries to teach her cellphone number to her mother. Mom scratches it out and writes down a different number, which she says belongs to “Tae-jin.” Hee-jin explains Tae-jin died a long time ago but gives up on the exercise. She instead hangs a cellphone on her mother’s neck, showing her that she’s programmed in as “1” on the speed-dial.

Se-yeon, Min, and Dong-chul drop by to share that they found Young-chul’s and Hee-jin’s mother’s blood on the rock from the garden. Hee-jin is alarmed that not only was Young-chul there, he’d had an altercation with her mother. Dong-chul suggests she live with him if she feels uncomfortable with Young-chul knowing she’s at Min’s but Mi-do arrives and immediately shoots down his offer. She instead offers her own place, deeming it fortuitous that Min had called her to represent Hee-jin’s mother in her case against Young-chul for kidnapping and imprisoning her for so many years.

As they see the women off, Se-yeon notices Hee-jin’s mother dialing a number. The phone rings and Ji-wook is surprised to find it’s actually a call on the phone hidden in his desk, musing that Mom remembered it. He picks up, and hears Hee-jin hang up the phone before saving the contact under “J.” Se-yeon programs her own number into Hee-jin’s mother’s phone (saving it as speed-dial number 2 under “Second Daughter.”

Turning to Hee-jin, she asks who the “Tae-jin” her mother was trying to call was. Smiling sadly, Hee-jin says it was her brother who passed away over 20 years ago. “When Oh Young-chul was giving us hell,” Hee-jin recalls, “he was helpful to both of us.”

Young-chul’s female accomplice returns to the hideout she’d found for Young-chul with medicine for his head wound. She notices Young-chul staring at his wanted poster and says they’re plastered everywhere, but she took down any that she saw. “You don’t have to do that,” Young-chul tells her, holding up the flier, “Because this guy won’t exist in this world anymore.”

Se-yeon exits her room and balks when Min says she’s accompanying him to the office today. He points out they have to stick together and she whines that if he’s worried, he should accommodate her schedule. Min fires back that she’s unemployed and should come with him so he can at least feed her. Hee.

Meanwhile, Min’s mother returns from her trip and gets an update on Min and Se-yeon (aka “Mi-do”)’s relationship. Hearing that Min has created a position specifically for Se-yeon at the company basically as his personal assistant and won’t let her out of his sight, Mom thinks she should set things in motion. Oh no…

At the office, Se-yeon angrily hands Min a cup of coffee, only growing further irritated when he isn’t pleased with what she’d made. Min stands and makes it himself (as well as one for Se-yeon) while the women outside the office moon over Min and gossip that Se-yeon can’t possibly be his girlfriend.

When he returns to his desk, Se-yeon gripes that CEOs in dramas always go home early, but Min sighs that as a director, he has to work harder than anyone else. Se-yeon asks to leave since she’s worried for her parents, but Min tells her she has to stay until he’s done with his work and doesn’t budge even as Se-yeon pouts.

Meanwhile, Min’s mother arrives in the countryside and can’t hide her disgust. Mi-do’s parents walk up and ask why she’s standing outside their home and once inside, Mom introduces herself and says she’d like to move ahead with the wedding. Mi-do’s parents are confused since last they’d heard, she was dating Dong-chul.

Mom waves this off and slides over an envelope, saying that no matter what, she thinks they should have a proper wedding. Mi-do’s mother’s eyes bulge at the stack of bills inside while Mi-do’s father is deeply insulted by the strange gesture. He kicks Mom out and everyone is left feeling confused.

Blissfully unaware of the brewing mess, Mi-do consults with Hee-jin over her mother’s case. The phone rings and Mi-do answers a call from her mother and quickly puts the pieces together. Unfortunately, her mother isn’t willing to listen, so she tells Hee-jin she’s heading home to clear things up with her parents.

Meeting with Young-chul, Ji-wook chides him for his prison escape. Young-chul snaps back that Ji-wook lost Hee-jin’s mother and reminds Ji-wook he needs her for his plan to work. “This is why I don’t think you’re ready,” Young-chul tsks. Young-chul says to let him handle things if Ji-wook wants to continue living under his current identity. Ji-wook asks his plan is and Young-chul brings up Abyss.

Sensing Ji-wook’s disbelief, Young-chul points out that Ji-wook witnessed that Se-yeon is walking around despite guessing Ji-wook had been the one to finish her off. Ji-wook flashes back to that night and as he rode home in a taxi after sending Se-yeon off, a text had come through from Young-chul stating that things were taken care of. Ji-wook had turned around and found Se-yeon in her apartment.

He’d found a suture needle at the scene and pocketed it before taking some scissors and removing the stitches on Se-yeon’s wounds. He’d heard Min calling for Se-yeon and turned off the light. As he watched Min walk away, he’d heard Se-yeon call out for Min and turned to see she’d regained consciousness. That’s when he’d coldly noted that she was still alive.

In the present, Ji-wook snaps that Young-chul is the one that made the mistake in the first place. Young-chul asks if Ji-wook believes him now, but Ji-wook says regardless of belief, he’ll play along since he can’t prove otherwise. Satisfied, Young-chul reveals his plan to lure Se-yeon out and commit murder-suicide. Once he’s declared dead, he’ll have Hee-jin revive him with Abyss and continue his life with a new face.

Hee-jin’s mother wakes up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and wanders outside. Once out there, though, she becomes disoriented and panics. She wanders the streets in tears until a concerned cab driver pulls over to ask if she’s okay. With his help, she calls “Tae-jin” and Ji-wook’s face breaks into a wicked smile as he asks where they are.

At home that evening, Min starts to vacuum only to have Se-yeon rush over and offer to do it instead. Min notes the 180 on her character and laughs that he’d have sent her parents to the vacation home sooner had he known this would be the result. Meanwhile, Ji-wook picks up Hee-jin’s mom from the roadside. He turns her cell phone off and hands her a drink.

Min exits the bathroom to find Se-yeon passed out on the couch. Her position is so funny, he can’t help but snap a few photos before his phone rings and a frantic Hee-jin tells him that her mother is missing. In Ji-wook’s car, Hee-jin’s mother struggles to stay awake and manages to turn her phone back on before passing out.

Min, Se-yeon, and Dong-chul arrive at the apartment to help and Hee-jin cries that she keeps calling, but her mother’s phone has been off and she can’t find her. Dong-chul says the CCTV footage shows Mom leaving on her own, not being kidnapped and Se-yeon tries calling her cell while Hee-jin sobs. The phone rings and Se-yeon tells Dong-chul to track it.

Ji-wook pulls up to Young-chul’s hideout and dumps Hee-jin’s mother on the bed. Young-chul praises him and Ji-wook tells him to control her like he did in the old days. Young-chul suggests they have a drink together before his identity changes but just as Ji-wook raises a glass, Hee-jin’s mother tackles Young-chul to the ground and screams at him to run.

Ji-wook flashes back to his childhood when Young-chul had finished beating Hee-jin’s mother and moved on to Ji-wook. She’d suddenly jumped up and grabbed Young-chul, screaming at young Ji-wook to run. In the present, Young-chul throws her off of him and reels back to hit her… but Ji-wook grabs his wrist.

Ji-wook reminds Young-chul he needs her for his plan, but Young-chul is enraged that Ji-wook is disobeying. He strikes Ji-wook and then men begin to fight. Mom wakes up and tries to pull Young-chul off but gets thrown backwards and hits her head on a cabinet. Ji-wook gains the upperhand and starts choking Young-chul with a sinister smile. “The devil can create something worse than himself,” Ji-wook sneers, “I may not have been strong enough then, but not anymore.”

Young-chul manages to grab a bottle and smash it on Ji-wook’s shoulder. Once free, he picks up a heater and is about to bash Ji-wook with it when his female accomplice rushes in to warn them the police are here. Dong-chul leads his team inside, and they find Mom unconscious but the others are long gone and we see Ji-wook struggling to drive away with his bloody shoulder.

While processing the scene, Se-yeon notices there are two different male shoe prints in the blood. At the same time, Ji-wook is having a nightmare. It’s a flashback to when he was young and excitedly looking at a birthday invite from the real Ji-wook.

A body had fallen from a balcony as he’d passed and he’d looked up to see the man that’s his current adoptive father. Ji-wook had gone upstairs to find the man frantically trying to revive his son and had asked if the man wanted him to cover the incident up for him.

Ji-wook’s adoptive father meets with Park Ki-man. Ki-man says he doesn’t have any ulterior motive other than to make things right. Referring to Ji-wook, he spits, “If only you hadn’t put him where he is today, Oh Young-chul’s murders might not have come this far.” Ji-wook’s adoptive father tries to feign ignorance, but Ki-man slams down a photo of his real and comatose son. Ki-man tells the man it’s his last chance to earn forgiveness and reveal the truth about Seo Ji-wook.

Dong-chul and Se-yeon get the report back on the blood at the crime scene and realize that Young-chul’s accomplice is his own son. They’re confused since there’s no record of Young-chul having a son. Recalling her conversation with Hee-jin, Se-yeon realizes that Young-chul must’ve reported his son dead the same way he’d done with his wife, Hee-jin’s mother.

Returning to the hospital, they ask Hee-jin about her step-brother and she says he was a good brother despite being raised by Young-chul. She can’t remember much since she was so young, but he’d just disappeared one day. She adds that no one knew he was Young-chul’s son and he’d never been permitted to call Young-chul “dad.”

Se-yeon sends Hee-jin home to get some rest, promising to look after her mother in her stead. Dong-chul escorts her and when Se-yeon returns to the room alone, Ji-woo is waiting. He claims he just wanted to pay Hee-jin’s mother a visit and Se-yeon allows him inside. She has to step out to sign some papers and while she’s gone, Ji-wook’s face hardens and he growls, “To be honest, I’ve always hated you for provoking him when you couldn’t even protect me, Mother.”

Se-yeon returns and Ji-wook takes his leave. In the hallway, he calls Young-chul to report where Hee-jin’s mother is, hanging up when he runs into Min. Then men exchange icy barbs while Se-yeon opens the bag of Hee-jin’s mother’s things and finds the sketchpad Hee-jin had used to try and teach her mother her phone number.

The bottom number isn’t in Se-yeon’s contacts and when she flashes back to seeing Mom dial “Tae-jin” at the house, she realizes it’s Young-chul’s son’s number. She dials it and is surprised to hear it ringing outside. Following the sound, she chases Ji-wook down and rips back his shirt, revealing the bandaged arm. She flashes back to her death and for the first time, she can clearly see Ji-wook’s face before he killed her.

 
COMMENTS

Hey y’all! Sorry for the delay. I’m pulling surprise double-duty this week, so things are a little backwards and my comments for this one are likely going to be kinda short. So… we’ve already known for a while that Ji-wook was Young-chul’s son but it’s nice that the rest of the Scooby-Doo squad is now aware that there is a son and he’s the accomplice. At least our main trio. I’m honestly not sure why they didn’t fill Hee-jin in since I feel like that would’ve probably been the smarter move but this drama is sadly chock full of illogical choices (looking at you Detective Choi!). I can’t even count how many times Hee-jin’s mother has gotten away from her at this point and it’s ridiculous. Nothing sours my feelings towards a drama more than making characters dumb in order to facilitate a plot.

As I’ve said before, Ji-wook is a much more compelling villain than Young-chul and it kills me that they’re still dragging out Young-chul’s role. I guess this is yet another drama that likely would’ve benefited from a shorter run and more concise editing on certain plot points, while allowing more room for the better parts of the show like Dong-chul and Mi-do. I am fascinated by Ji-wook’s trajectory, though. Hee-jin remembers him as a good brother despite the environment, and yet as we can see now, Ji-wook has gone off the deep end. Seeing his point-of-view from Se-yeon’s death has me back to thinking maybe he did have some feelings for her and when she basically wrote him off that night (by laughing that he didn’t see her as a woman) it’s possible that made him angry. It’s all conjecture because even as we see more glimpses into Ji-wook’s past, I’m still as puzzled as ever to what makes him tick. I get that he’s determined to live this life he’d created out of Young-chul’s abusive shadow… and yet he’s been wrapped up in it all this time. There’s more story to be told and as we wind down towards the end, I just hope we get some answers.

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