Reviewer Rating: 3/5.0
3
The mood in Pachinko Season 2 Episode 2 takes a dark turn as Sunja’s family suffers yet another loss and an air raid approaches.
The dreamy change of tone can’t hide the fact that this is the second episode of the season, and we continue to focus on the unresolved narrative threads of the first season of the Apple TV+ series.
The good news is that we may now finally be getting a second season.
It’s hard to tell at first whether the episode’s first scene—empty streets and smoky skies—is real.
Our expectations are subverted when the ominous figure wearing a gas mask turns out to be a human friend rather than a ghost.
These expectations are upended again when we learn that the real messenger of death is arriving on a bicycle.
Neither a gift nor a power
The episode spends a lot of time between the dead and the living.
But its overriding theme is mercy: who gives it, who withholds it, who takes it, who deserves it.
Isak’s (Roh Sang-hyun) unexpected return home feels otherworldly at first, but he quickly reestablishes himself as the spiritual center of the family, even while coughing.
It’s a great reminder of how important he is to his family and why Soon Ja (Kim Min Ha) is so loyal to him.
They’ve lived in hell without him for so long, it’s painful to see them together in a moment that’s about love and not just survival.
Unfortunately, it’s also a reminder that both Isak and Sunja have self-destructive idealistic tendencies.
Sunja is very pragmatic, except for Isak.
This vulnerability, along with her refusal to leave Osaka without him, exposed her family to the potential danger of air raids.
She rightly suspects Go Han-soo (Lee Min-ho) was responsible for Isak’s release, and he could have taken action earlier – e.g. Year Early.
Koh’s excuse is that he can only bribe one guard now in the run-up to the explosion, which makes some sense and, for all we know, is probably what it is.
But it looks like he could have done more for Isaac in some capacity earlier and perhaps protected his health.
The last night together as a family
The scene with Isak and Moosa was funny and touching, and damn, there was definitely a tissue nearby.
Less interesting is Isak’s conversation with Pastor Hu (Junyoung Choi), who admits that he reported Isak to the authorities years ago.
This exchange left Noah so shaken that he may now give up on church for good.
If that happens, at least Noah hopes his teachers in college will be happy!
Isak immediately forgives Pastor Ho, which is completely in keeping with his character, but also maddening.
If anyone has reason to feel uneasy about the world, especially Pastor Huis Isaac.
Although his noble behavior is indeed noblewhich also reminds us how rigid his principles are. His family paid the price.
When he went to jail, he left Sunja with a burden of pragmatism, but apparently he was pure of heart enough for her and the rest of the family to ignore that fact.
Of course, Sunja loves him.
After all, he made Noah his own and gave her a legal home.
He loved her as fiercely as her father, a level of loyalty that was rare in her world.
Isak’s death was the kindest gift he could have given his family, because if Sunja was still alive and in need of recovery, he would never have left Osaka.
Still, when the air-raid siren finally sounds, Soon-ja lets her sentimentality get the best of her one last time, and she has to be dragged from Isak’s crematorium to the air-raid shelter, almost sacrificing herself again in his memory.
Disturbing the dead
Solomon asks for mercy from Mr. Abe, but it doesn’t go well.
His former boss said: “You remind me so much that I’m going to crush you.”
This made Solomon realize something.
First, he will no longer appear on Abe’s payroll; second, he will never be able to do business in Tokyo.
Well, at least now he knows.
Solomon visits Halmoni’s graffiti-covered, dark house that looks like something out of a horror movie.
This is reinforced when she accidentally reveals that her land is extremely cheap because the army dumped bodies on it years ago.
What.
This raises the question of how much we owe the deceased.
We just saw Solomon confess his sins to Halmoni (Park Hye-jin) and admit that he doesn’t deserve her mercy.
No one in his generation truly deserves this kind of mercy because they were so far removed from the horrors that they had to survive to provide them with the world they now enjoy.
But here Solomon is asking for another favor from Halmoni and the deceased: permission to sell her land and spread rumors if he tries to build a secret wartime cemetery beneath Mr. Abe’s hotel.
To be honest, this threat doesn’t seem like enough to bankrupt Abe.
Of course, some investors may pull out, but this seems like something Japan’s businessman of the year could easily buy off or force himself out of.
Still, it’s a glimmer of hope for Solomon. This also provides an opportunity for redemption with Harmony, while also giving her enough money to improve her living situation.
Unfortunately, Solomon skirts around all of this and just says “Tell him it’s me!!”
This business is nothing more than to avenge him.
Just when we think, like Halmoni, that Solomon has finally learned to recognize and avoid manipulation.
clear way forward
This was another slow episode that put the spotlight in the rearview mirror, although it did set up a course of action for Solomon this season.
Now that Isak’s story has been (literally) put to rest, Sunja and her family have nothing left to keep them in Osaka and fully move on with their lives.
There’s no doubt Gohansu will continue to play an important role in helping them, although Sunja may now be better at recognizing the different versions of the help he provides.
Pastor Woo’s betrayal seems to set the stage for Noah’s character development this season.
Noah has been silent for so long, I have a feeling something big is going to change soon.
Solomon begins to play a very dangerous game with a powerful man who wants to destroy him. Hopefully Halmoni can stay safe on the sidelines.
What did you think of this episode?
Now that Isaac’s storyline has been resolved, do you believe the show’s pace will pick up? Let us know in the comments!
