The Silent Sea
What happened at Balhae Station in the past?
Episode 8 of The Silent Sea begins in the past, as we see more of what happened to the research station. The area we saw covered in fauna is evacuated, as numerous people rush to get free. A solitary seed on the ground is crushed, as the Lunar Water oozes across the ground and reacts to the seed, which is why everything started to grow so drastically. Now, on the station it turns out Director Choi made a grave decision to trap everyone aboard the station and try to keep the accident on Balhae a secret. She closed the gates while armed guards kept all of those inside at bay. This explains the numerous dead bodies piled in the storage rooms.
The Flooded Station
Skipping forward to the present, water floods through the station. Thankfully it doesn’t reach our surviving characters (at least not yet), who deliberate over what to do about Luna in the medical bay. Human experimentation and cloning are both illegal operations and it soon becomes clear that Jian’s place on this mission was a calculated gamble. Given Jian’s sister was at the front of this operation, she deduced that Jian wouldn’t speak up about her crimes. Unfortunately, things take an awful turn when Jian begins to experience symptoms of the infection. As her vision blurs, Jian scrambles to isolate herself from the others. Just as she locks the door, she begins vomiting water.
Luna’s purpose
However, Jian recovers, thanks in part to Luna. When Jian heads back out to see the others, Dr Hong deduces that this could well be to do with Luna’s DNA which seems to serve as an antibody of sorts. She could well be the key to preventing the infection and saving the world. While they talk, Han and Sookyung deduce that Gisu and Taesuk were both working for RX, a rival company down on Earth. When Han finds out, he immediately speaks to Mr Kim. Now, the rescue shuttle is inbound to their location but Han’s attempts to organize a coup and overthrow Director Choi comes up trumps. Unfortunately this also means going back to Earth is out the question, at least for the time being. Instead, Jian decides they should head up to the International Institute of Space Biology together. That way they can take Luna to neutral territory and try to organize a more suitable plan from there. Another who’s infected happens to be Taesuk. Oh no, what a shame! Anyway he begins experiencing hallucinations, including seeing a whole bunch of soldiers in front of him. This links back to echoes of the past, as he panics and begins to question just what he’s doing. After Han gains Luna’s trust, bonding over his special badge given by his daughter, the astronauts find themselves scrambling to safety as the Lunar Water begins to spread throughout the station.
What happens with Taesuk?
With the gates closing, they eventually find themselves face to face with Taesuk, who’s delirious and clearly not of sane mind. As we soon learn, he was actually one of those soldiers on the station back when Choi ordered everything to be shut down and he has been haunted by this ever since. Soohyuk has heard enough and shoots Taesuk dead, knocking him down so they can scramble to safety. Unfortunately Soohyuk takes a fatal bullet for his troubles, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to make it. As Taesuk vomits watery blood, the others grab the samples and make it through to the next part of the base. However, Han sacrifices himself to save the others and allows the water to consume him. But why? Well, it turns out in order for the group to ascend to safety, they need to activate the decompression chamber from outside and Han, as the Captain, bravely volunteers himself to do this, much to the horror of the others when they find out what he’s done.
How does The Silent Sea end?
Dr Hong, Jian and Luna all make it to the surface. Heading outside the base – and presumably with enough oxygen to travel 7.6km! – Luna actually takes off her spacesuit and wanders across the surface. Apparently she can breathe in outer space too and as she holds onto Han’s badge, a spacecraft hovers overhead, ready to take them to safety.
Has Earth been saved?
Based on what we’ve seen, it’s fair to say the water will be restored on Earth. Hong and Jian both had the water samples and this should be enough to save the planet. Luna will presumably turn into a guinea pig, with her strange abilities examined and prodded by scientists. I can’t see Jian’s plan of skipping across to this alternate space station working, especially as Choi is still in charge. However, I’d imagine they’ll find a cure to the Lunar Water disease from Luna and potentially use that to offset the effects of this water, making these vaccines mandatory in order to drink the water. A lot of this is all guesswork though, given the show ends so openly. But what do you guys think? Do you have a better theory and idea? Do let us know in the comments below!
The Episode Review
Well, that was rather rushed wasn’t it. The Silent Sea bows out with a conclusive and exciting mad scramble out the station. Unfortunately, this also leaves lots of questions unanswered. The biggest and most pressing concern here comes from Luna. How was she able to just wander across the moon without a spacesuit? How did she not burn or freeze to death? Have they developed clones that can exceed human capabilities? What are the extent of Luna’s powers? She seems to be unstoppable! We’re also no closer to finding out if Earth has been saved or doomed to its fate while the situation involving Director Choi is left unresolved too. Given the show made a big deal about that these past few episodes, the lack of resolution is a little disappointing. However, as a simple and enjoyable mystery/ horror hybrid, The Silent Sea certainly has some positives. It feels very reminiscent of shows like Nightflyers and Origin, while the claustrophobic feel and the concepts are solid, albeit ones rife for plot contrivances and logical jumps. Despite that, if you can go into this one and not think too much about the twisted logic, there’s enough to enjoy. It’s been a bumpy ride but the ending does at least round out the story with a presumed happy conclusion. At least it’s not a cliffhanger!
