Raise your hand if you were counting down the days to seeing Gong Yoo in a new K-drama! If you were like me and gobbled up the eight episodes in record time, I’m sure you have some queries about the ending.
The anticipated thriller that pairs Yoo with Bae Doo-na could not have debuted at a more perfect time, that is, Christmas Eve. The spirit of The Silent Sea, however, is anything but festive.
The Silent Sea is set in the near future, where environmental conditions have turned Earth into a desert, causing scarcity of food and water.
But in some senses, this world does look a little like ours: Those with money and power have higher water grades ensuring their access to water is never cut. The lesser privileged are left to pay exorbitant prices for even a single liter of it.
1. Meeting the SAA Crew
This reality ties in with protagonist Song Ji-an, an astrobiologist recruited by South Korea’s Space and Aeronautics Division (SAA) on a mission to the moon. Song has a personal reason for accepting this mission: to uncover the death of her sister on the Balhae Lunar Research Station.
Han Yoon-jae joins this mission as captain despite being retired. He is promised a higher water grade which is he is in dire need of as his hospitalized daughter’s life depends on it.
The crew members include Lieutenant Ryoo Tae-seok as the head engineer, co-pilot Lee Gi-Su, Chief Gong Soo-hyuk and Dr. Hong Ga-young as the team’s doctor, among others.
But little do the crew know that Ryoo Tae-seok and Lee Gi-Su are not who they seem to be.
2. What is the Crew’s Mission?
The Balhae Lunar Research Station was an initiative by South Korea’s National Ministry of Defense. Five years ago, the research station had to shut down due to a radiation mishap that killed all the crew on board.
The SAA is now sending the new crew to retrieve at least one research sample from Balhae in what should be a simple 24-hour mission.
3. The Truth of Balhae Research Station
Turns out Balhae shutting down due to radiation was all a lie. The station was set up in the first place by Song’s sister Dr Song Won-kyung to research how lunar water can be made useful for Earth.
The SAA lets Captain Han know what the real mission is about — which is, retrieving these very samples of the lunar water. What they don’t tell him is that it was the lunar water that killed Balhae’s first crew.
The lunar water is like normal water in every sense except that once it finds a living host, it acts like a virus. It feeds off its host and multiplies, ultimately drowning the host from inside out and killing them. So yeah, not the elixir of life we were hoping for.
Now every science experiment needs a good ole lab rat. In this case, Balhae used human clones named Luna, into whom they injected the lunar water. As expected, most of them died. That should’ve been a warning sign, but no — the team kept working till a mishap occurred, the crew got infected by the lunar water, and the SAA abandoned them to die.
Despite the fact that it has already killed one team, SAA’s Director Choi is determined to bring the lunar water sample back and tame it (if that’s even possible).
4. Find LUNA
One of the clues that Song’s sister leaves her is the very cryptic “Find Luna.”
As we find out, Luna is the only surviving individual (and clone) on Balhae, whose body adapted to the lunar water instead of becoming its victim. Although she did rip an E1’s hand off, I really enjoyed how the little girl scared the daylights out of the whole crew.
Song figures out that her sister was adamant to harness the lunar water, even if it meant killing a couple of clones. This was all part of her sister’s promise of showing Song “the sea,” something that no longer existed on Earth.
However, when her mission goes sideways, she sends a message to Song to rescue Luna as she could be the key to counterbalancing the lunar water and actually making it safe to consume.
5. RX’s Sabotage
Remember Ryoo Tae-seok and Lee Gi-Su? Both of them were working for RX (Resource Exploration for Space Mining and Planetary Development). To describe the organization nicely: Scoundrels who ruin research missions, steal resources and then sell it to the highest bidder.
While Lee’s motives may have been purely monetary, we find out that Ryoo’s were more personal: Ryoo was part of South Korea’s Defense crew that had to stop Balhae’s first infected crew from escaping, even if that meant gunning them down.
This left a sour taste in his mouth, stirring him to join RX in secret to sabotage the SAA. (This makes a good discourse of who’s the real enemy!)
His mission was to crash Han’s craft, leave the crew stranded, and escape with the lunar water when RX comes to pick him up.
6. Going Home
By the time we reach The Silent Sea’s last lap, most of the crew has died from being infected by the lunar water, encounters with Luna, or Ryoo Tae-Sook’s betrayals.
Song convinces Captain Han that Luna must be taken back to Earth and protected (instead of being handed over to the SAA). Captain Han, in turn, convinces Kim Jae-sun (Chief of Resource Group of Aviation Administration) to blindside Director Choi and send them a rescue craft.
The remaining team, Song, Captain Han, Dr Hong, Chief Gong, Ryoo, and Luna, finally prepare to leave.
…Only if the lunar water allows them. With a new pile of (dead) hosts at its disposal, the water has been multiplying unbeknownst to the crew. Just as they’re about to leave, the lunar water floods station from different ends.
Although Ryoo’s betrayal is revealed to the crew, the reason he was left behind is because both he and Chief Gong both get infected.
Captain Han ensures that Song, Dr Hong, and Luna are safe inside the decompression chamber but belatedly realizes that it can only be activated from the corridor slowly being engulfed by the lunar water.
Captain Han chooses to stay behind, and his sacrifice ensures that the three escape the station safely.
Luna and Captain Han never did develop a trustworthy bond, but when she stays by his side during his last moments, they both do find some sort of peace.
The Silent Sea ends with the rescue craft hovering over three remaining survivors. It is unknown what lies ahead for Song and Luna. But some questions are better left unanswered.
7. About The Silent Sea
The Silent Sea is an upcoming South Korean sci-fi mystery thriller series based on the 2004 short film titled The Sea of Tranquility. The short movie was written and directed by Choi Hang-yong, who is also directing the series for Netflix.
The drama includes a star-studded cast of veteran actors Gong Yoo, Bae Doona nad Heo Sang-tae along with Lee Joon.
Set in a dystopian Earth in 2075 where food and water are scarce, a team of space explorers are tasked with a mission to bring in samples from an abandoned research station on the moon. The 24-hour mission includes Han Yoon-jae the exploration team’s captain, Doctor Song Ji-an, an astrobiologist and Captain Ryoo Tae-seok, a head engineer.
The Silent Sea will premiere on Netflix on December 24, 2021.
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