The Silent Sea - General Discussion

[AnimeMania]

All 8 episodes of South Korean Drama Series "The Silent Sea" streams December 24th on Netflix.    

Based on a critically acclaimed short film from 2014 ("The Silent Sea/The Sea of Tranquility") by the show's director Choi Hang-yong. Park Eun-kyo adapted the screenplay and Jung Woo-sung is the executive producer.

 

 

Set in 2075, the Earth has undergone catastrophic climate change, resulting in widespread desertification that's causing a worldwide famine. A group of 11 astronauts are sent to find a mysterious sample at an abandoned Korean research facility on the Moon. The sample potentially holds the secrets to combating the decreasing natural resources back on Earth. With an already low 10% survival rate, before the astronauts can complete their mission, things at the base take a deadly turn from an unforeseen threat. 

Gong Yoo (player recruiter from Squid Game) plays Han Yun-jae, the exploration team leader who is willing to do anything to ensure the safety of his crew, even if it puts his own life in jeopardy.
 

Doona Bae (Sens8) plays Doctor Song Ji-an, an astrobiologist determined to uncover the truth behind an accident at the now-abandoned Balhae Base research station on the moon, especially what happened to her sister.

Lee Joon plays Captain Ryu Tae-seok, a head engineer who was an elite member of the Ministry of National Defense, but volunteered for this dangerous mission in an attempt to escape the stifling environment at the Ministry.

Sun-young Kim 

Mu-saeng Lee 

Heo Sung-tae (Jang Deok-su, Player 101 from Squid Game) 

Lee Sung-wook

Choi Hee-Jin

[Anduin]

Looks like it leans a lot more towards drama than astrophysics, but it might keep me going until For All Mankind returns.

[AnimeMania]

Episode Titles and Descriptions

Spoiler

S01E01: Balhae Lunar Research Station
Director Choi's briefing about the mission leaves Song Jian displeased. Reaching the research station alone proves no easy feat for the crew.
S01E02: Three Storages
The crew's initial findings are at odds with their knowledge of the research station. Split into threes, the members set out to look for the sample.
S01E03: Cause of Death
Jian's body cam captures a startling moment of life and death. Submerged in sweat, Gong Soochan shows worrisome signs of an unusual infection. 
S01E04: The Truth Comes Out
Han Yanjae updates the director and gets access to a restricted area. The crew learns of the sample's powers and the true motive behind their mission.
S01E05: Secret Storage
Recalling her sister's encrypted message. Jian searches the database for Luna. A young intruder and a double-crosser emerge from the shadows.
S01E06: Key to Salvation
E2, Ryu Taesuk and the samples go missing. Seeing a familiar name on the intruder, Jian follows her down the vents for answers.
S01E07: Luna
Jian opens a hard drive that chronicles Song Wonkyung's life and work on the station. Meanwhile, others uncover the remains of the experiment.
S01E08: The Silent Sea
Racing against time as the research station falls under destruction, the surviving crew members decide on the fate of the mission - and their own.

 

[Melina22]

We just watched the first two episodes and really enjoyed them. They really held our interest. I thought I recognized a couple of actors from Squid Game, but I don't think I'll check till after I finish the series. 

I always prefer to watch foreign language shows with subtitles. I find it confusing though when watching Korean shows, that the subtitles will clearly mention a person's name, or a place name, and no matter how hard I listen I never hear them say anything even remotely similar. Just me? 

[Enero]

I’m enjoying this. Love Bae Doona (Stranger, Sense 8, Kingdom) and Gong Yoo (Train to Busan, Guardian). Saw Gong in Squid Game, but that was the worst didn’t deserve the hype it got. There are so many Korean shows/movies out there that are/were significantly better than that train wreck. I didn’t even make it past episode 3 it was so bad.

But I digress  Both are great actors and have been in some really good shows/movies, especially Bae. 

Regarding this show, I’m currently on Episode 3. When they were trying to find out how the crew member got infected, I don’t understand why they didn’t check his body camera. It would’ve shown how and when he got infected. Perhaps they will think of this in a later episode?

For man to have the technology to fly to and live on the moon (and I believe they said Mars too) the technology they’re using seems a bit antiquated. Using a joystick to land the shuttle was very 80s. The ship itself looked very old school as well. Even the device they used to track movement at the station reminded me of something from the movie Aliens which was also from the 80s. I’m guessing maybe the budget for the show didn’t allow them to go completely high tech with the gadgets and such. Hence the old school landing gear and ships.
 
Lastly, why in the world would the agency send them to retrieve the samples knowing A) as soon as they got there they’d know the crew at the station didn’t die from radiation poisoning. B) there’s some type of alien entity roaming the station and C) there’s some type of illness at the station that essentially drowns a person in their own bodily fluids? Whatever they’re trying to retrieve will probably, I’m assuming,  give someone the ability to produce more water on earth which will in turn bring them significant power and money, but they should’ve at least given the crew a heads up about what they were walking into. Because I don’t believe the agency is as oblivious as they claim. They never are. 
 

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by Enero

[Melina22]

I finished the first season tonight. I say first season because the ending, while relatively satisfying, seemed to be setting up a second season. 

I won't say too much about the ending yet because I don't want to spoil it for people partway through. 

It wasn't the greatest thing I've ever seen, but it held my interest all the way through, which is a lot more than I can say for a lot of series. By the end, I was starting to really like certain characters. 

 

[Enero]

12 hours ago, Melina22 said:

I finished the first season tonight. I say first season because the ending, while relatively satisfying, seemed to be setting up a second season. 

I’d be surprised if we see another season only because it is rare to see K-dramas do a 2nd season. There are some out there with more than one season but very few. 

I finished this show last night. Like you I found it good, not great. Towards the end the story seemed to meander a bit, but it still kept me entertained. So based on what was shown, the incident wasn’t an incident at all? But was likely created by the agency once their illegal practices were about to be discovered? Otherwise why would armed soldiers conveniently be there as soon as things went haywire to ensure no one got out who could tell what they were doing?  Also, I don’t understand why they didn’t just get the samples then rather than waiting 5 years. I do think them trying to bring the samples back to earth was irresponsible. Setting up a new lab off planet to continue the research would’ve made more sense. 

Lastly I didn’t understand why the water suddenly started reproducing to the point of flooding the ship? Was the conductor of its activity the plants and trees they found in the secret lab? I’ll need to rewatch that episode again to understand what happened. 

Anyway, good series. They could definitely explore more story if they made a 2nd season.  

 

[Melina22]

3 minutes ago, Enero said:

Lastly I didn’t understand why the water suddenly started reproducing to the point of flooding the ship?

Yes! It seemed to be triggered by that one person but should have stopped when he died. As you say, the plants could have increased it, but how were the plants there anyway, in the dark with no source of lunar water for 5 years? 

How could a couple of drops of lunar water create gallons of... anything? Do we even know where the lunar water came from? 

And don't get me started on Luna, where she came from, or why she didn't need a space suit. 

I think we need a second season to answer at least a few of these questions. 

[libgirl2]

We just finished episode 3 last night and so far, we are really enjoying it.  

[Enero]

6 hours ago, Melina22 said:

And don't get me started on Luna, where she came from, or why she didn't need a space suit. 

I agree with all your points. I too don’t understand why Luna didn’t need a space suit and could walk around in sub-zero temperatures wearing only a thin gown and no shoes. Regarding where she came from, I was under the impression she was cloned? They were using the cloning program to try and develop human immunity to the virus that was the water. I also got the impression that Director Choi had a personal connection to Luna. Was she a clone of the child who was in the picture on her desk? Perhaps a grandchild? I’d have to rewatch to check. 

Edited December 28, 2021 by Enero

[Paloma]

On 12/28/2021 at 5:23 PM, Enero said:

Regarding where she came from, I was under the impression she was cloned? They were using the cloning program to try and develop human immunity to the virus that was the water. I also got the impression that Director Choi had a personal connection to Luna. Was she a clone of the child who was in the picture on her desk? Perhaps a grandchild? I’d have to rewatch to check. 

It did seem clear that they were using clones, because in the video that Dr. Song (the astrobiologist) watched all of the children that were shown as test subjects seemed to have the same face. I also thought that Director Choi had a personal connection based on the picture, but I don't think the girl in the picture had the same face. I would have to rewatch to check. Bad enough that Director Choi was OK with doing lethal experiments on children (or any humans), but so much worse if they were cloned from someone she loved.

[libgirl2]

On 12/28/2021 at 4:23 PM, Enero said:

I agree with all your points. I too don’t understand why Luna didn’t need a space suit and could walk around in sub-zero temperatures wearing only a thin gown and no shoes. Regarding where she came from, I was under the impression she was cloned? They were using the cloning program to try and develop human immunity to the virus that was the water. I also got the impression that Director Choi had a personal connection to Luna. Was she a clone of the child who was in the picture on her desk? Perhaps a grandchild? I’d have to rewatch to check. 

They were all clones and I'm sure they are a clone of her daughter or grand daughter who might have died earlier or could be dying. 

 

[AnimeMania]

Recommendation Machine: ‘The Silent Sea’ Finds a New Horror on the Moon in Netflix Space Drama

A recommendation from IndieWire.

[Ottis]

I started out enjoying this, though I don’t know why they wouldn’t wear helmets/protection from viruses, especially when they found the first “drowned” person. I was less happy when they introduced a mysterious “monster,” and even less so when they revealed it. The show was much more interesting when it was about Earth, water and a shady space mission. Those were the best parts by far. I also enjoyed the Korean perspective on bad guys and gals, and good ones. 

[Ottis]

On 12/28/2021 at 9:09 AM, Enero said:

Lastly I didn’t understand why the water suddenly started reproducing to the point of flooding the ship?

I *think* we were to believe that the vault where the water was "growing" was more fortified and could hold it back, but once it was released the interior of the structure wasn't made to hold it. Or it just took that long to break through. I'm not sure *why* it kept growing - didn't it need an organic host? Maybe the dead body provided enough energy?

On 12/28/2021 at 9:19 AM, Melina22 said:

And don't get me started on Luna, where she came from, or why she didn't need a space suit. 

I think we need a second season to answer at least a few of these questions. 

I think the answers to those questions were clear:

Spoiler

Luna was a clone, one of at least 73 (maybe more) made with human experiments to try to adapt humans to the lunar water. She was the first one who actually adapted, and also because she was a clone, had no real understanding of what was happening so she escaped (probably hurting others around her) during the experiment and hid. Because Luna was a combination of human and lunar "DNA" (and maybe other animal DNA, who knows what they did in those experiments) she could survive on the lunar surface (the show has been hinting at some nonhuman DNA throughout by having her click her eye membrane a few times, as well a her sharp and strong nails). And because she was able to adapt, her blood or cells getting into Dr Song's cuts allowed Dr Song to survive the lunar water after being infected. And they needed to get Luna off the station because basically her DNA is what could help all humans adapt to lunar water, and lunar water on Earth would provide water again.

Now ... why the other crew members didn't then do what Dr. Song had done to help them resist the water (i.e. the antibodies), or whether lunar water would help or hinder Earth flora and fauna besides humans, the show didn't answer.

Spoiler

Also, and I may have missed it, why did the last dude sacrifice himself as they were leaving the station? The guy with the daughter? Was there limited air or something? UPDATE: I read an online summary and saw the explanation. I must have looked away when that happened. It sucks to be a dude on this show I guess.

 The moral question of whether the things that were done on the station, to try to save Earth, should have been done was interesting. I would have liked more of that, and less sneaking around the station.

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by Ottis