Reviewer Rating: 4/5.0
4
The premiere of the second season of the Apple TV+ movie series Pachinko, based on Lee Min-jin’s novel, was definitely worth the two-year wait.
This episode almost takes us right back to where we left Sunja (Kim Min-ha) at the Osaka market in 1945 at the end of season one.
But World War II isn’t the only conflict the Junko family faces in this century or the new season.
The Season 2 premiere features a dual timeline, with Junko dealing with poverty in 1945 Osaka, while her grandson Solomon Shiro (Jin Ha) is trying to broker a huge investment deal in 1989 Tokyo.
They both try to move forward and thrive, but find that their past is never far away from them.
Osaka survival mode
Sunja’s achievement of selling the best kimchi in the market means little as her last batch of kimchi is almost sold out and there is no cabbage to make more.
She once again overcame the difficulties of survival, but found that she had to face new challenges.
Or rather, her familiar nemesis of poverty now had a new face.
Speaking of new faces, Mr. Kim (Kim Sung-kyu) seems to be a loyal customer, studiously ignoring Noah while showering Mozas with smiles and compliments.
This difference in the man’s attention aroused the young boy’s suspicion, and Sunja seemed too fascinated (or tired) to notice anything out of the ordinary.
Hinting at some foreshadowing…
We’ve just seen the brothers running around the market laughing, making them look closer in age than they did when teenage Noah was sullen and buried in a book. It’s easy to forget just how young these two boys really are.
Noah has endured sadness throughout his adult life, while Moza has been joyfully precocious.
The two balance their family dynamics well, with Noah providing support for Sunja and Moz providing much-needed humor.
Their school life reflects their different lifestyles.
Moza turns his bully’s lunchtime taunts on their head, turning them into TV commercials showcasing his mother’s cooking prowess. He definitely inherited Sunja’s sales talent.
Noah responded to his bullying behavior with silence and relied on the teacher to intervene. Moz is full of ambition and sparkle, while Noah’s dreams for the future are gentle and subdued.
I honestly forgot that their father, Isaac, was still alive at this point, just in prison. Sunja seems ready to follow him there after her pirated rice wine business is busted, but she survives because of… Mr. Kim?
Moza’s prediction about him being a spy was correct, but I have to say it surprised me. I knew something was off with him, but I didn’t expect Mr. Kim to be Go Han-soo’s (Lee Min Ho) protective eyes and ears.
It’s war time for the rich too
We’ve seen Heo Han-soo go about his mysterious business, have a serious Raiders of the Lost Ark flashback at an Osaka train station, and be shielded by a cunning underling at a high-stakes dinner party.
Mozasu would have immediately figured out that Koh was trafficking tungsten, but once again I was surprised (I swear I was paying attention to this episode!).
Mr. Xu has a very ambivalent attitude towards who to sell tungsten to—the Soviet Union or the Americans. Despite this, he is still very Interested in getting Junko and her family out of Osaka before it is bombed.
It’s a bit unclear how Sun-ja (or rather Mr. Kim) would have contacted her if she hadn’t been arrested – or so Why Was the market raided that day?
If Mr. Jin watched her so closely, he must have known that she was brewing and planning to sell rice wine. I hope he plans to buy as much as he used to buy her pickles.
Putting aside the logistics of Mr Kim and how he obtained information from his employer, it seems the only thing Koh had to do was No It has become known that Sunja is still deeply in love with her husband Isaac, and she is determined to stay and be blown to bits rather than leave him alone in prison.
Because it will let Koh know that she doesn’t actually need him.
Although their entire dynamic is pretty much him swooping in to save her from a dire situation while looking incredibly handsome at the same time.
tokyo survival mode
Solomon is trying (unsuccessfully) to recover from that period, when staying true to his own ethics caused his career to collapse.
Even though his kindness to Tetsuya during his student days led to him a huge investment, the deal fell apart when his former employer Abe-san found out about it and forced his friend out.
Standing up for his principles isn’t profitable for Solomon, but losing them over the counter of a racist grocery store bakery doesn’t do him much good either.
Neither did the goodwill check from his father and grandmother, especially after he tore it up.
Accept it, everyone who still loves me!
He is indeed Shunzi’s grandson.
On the bright side, Osaka’s home pinball machines have been repainted in cheerful and optimistic pinks and greens!
Keep moving forward this season
Solomon started off the proposed deal with confidence and as coolly ambivalence as Koh Hansu, but by the time he glowered from behind at the awards ceremony, he was effectively broken.
I assume Mr. Nice Guy left the building and sounded the fire alarm on his way out.
Solomon is still trying to integrate his ambition, vulnerability, pride, and inherent decency.
Cutting ties with his family was like numbing his conscience, but he should know by now that it could only be numb for so long.
Solomon is in grave danger of this destructive pattern that will harm not only himself, but everyone important to him.
His battle this season isn’t against Abe, or even his grandmother. Nor is this an attempt to escape his poor business reputation.
Solomon had to reconcile many different worlds. He is a fragile, independent bridge between cultures, classes, generations and languages.
Now, he doesn’t see how all of this can coexist, and to be fair, he doesn’t have much proof of that yet.
But if his grandmother Sunja has shown us anything so far, it’s that her family is incredibly resilient at every point in time imaginable.
The episode starts off a bit slow, spending more time establishing the threads of season one rather than introducing new story aspects. Still, it’s an impressive cinematic start to Pachinko’s next chapter.
What did you think of the pacing and tone of this episode?
Does it feel like a true premiere or just an extension of last season? Let us know in the comments!
