Reviewer Rating: 5/5.0
5
Congratulations to Pachinko actress Naomi for winning the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Ms. Mariko in “Shogun”!
There was so much going on in Pachinko Season 2 Episode 5 that the dance credits were skipped to make room.
This mega-series is still full of laughs, but they’re definitely hard-earned.
Joseph White in Nagasaki
After we’ve become accustomed to the gauzy golden hour light of paradise on the farm, the opening factory scene in a black-and-white newsreel is shocking.
It was great to learn about life in Nagasaki while Joseph White’s family was in the country. I’m glad to see that the email actually arrived and that Kyung Hee’s knitted sweater did arrive safely.
For some reason I thought the factory and Nagasaki itself would be more chaotic. Instead, they were almost perfectly organized.
Honestly, I forgot that Yosef was a real person and not just a vague existential threat to Kyung-hee and Mr. Kim’s flirtation. He’s been absent from the family (and the show) for so long that his position as head of the family is more honorable than anything else.
This episode was a much-needed reminder that Joseph White, while isolated in a sleazy factory town, was still contributing to the family.
One thing I remember about Joseph White is how rigidly he adhered to the class structure. Just as his brother Isaac stubbornly held on to his religious ideals, Joseph rarely abandoned his faith.
Tae-hun, a young would-be assassin, certainly challenges Joseph White’s strict sense of right and wrong. It was obvious that Joseph Bai couldn’t let Tae-hoon’s plan go forward, but Wow I didn’t expect him to gouge him in the chest for that.
And so much blood! How sharp is that damn chisel anyway?
Joseph White doesn’t have to wait long for karma to kick in, although I’m still not sure how a truck with what looks like a canvas roof offers any more protection from a nuclear blast than a building.
Well, I guess unless that building was a munitions factory, it was probably destroyed.
That truck still looks very fragile, but if a refrigerator saved Indiana Jones in a similar situation, anything is possible.
last days on the farm
To allow Joseph White to recover on the farm, the show switches back to color. The montage from his perspective is a fun and effective way to depict his recovery and how his family is dealing with it.
It’s not ideal for Joseph to fully regain consciousness when Han-Soo is the only one in the room. To be fair, the high school freshman started off pretty neutral, calmly reporting what had happened to Joseph White.
But it’s over real When Joseph Bai identified Gao as Noah’s father, it didn’t take long – seriously, when everyone around him knew, how could Shunzi ever think of keeping this secret from Noah forever? — and trying to assert his dominance over the situation.
Coe deftly dispels any illusions that Joseph White still holds any real position of authority within the family, or has any say in Coe’s relationship with them.
Using a mirror to show Joseph Bai his disfigured face may have been unnecessarily cruel to Gao, but it effectively took away the last shred of dignity from Joseph Bai and made him submissive—at least to Gao.
Yoseph turns his anger at Gao’s impotence toward Kyung-hee, lashing out at her for trying to help him. This appears to be a new family dynamic that will continue long after Joseph White’s bandages come off.
Return to Osaka
The war was finally over, and Gao allowed his family to stay on his farm until Osaka was safe. His definition of “safe” was quite generous, as the family parked next to a pile of burned and broken wood that had once been their home.
As they flee Osaka, Kyung-hee is right to ask for a few more minutes to bury the family heirloom. These items are still there and undoubtedly aided in the reconstruction.
However, Joseph White didn’t seem happy to see Mr. Kim helping his wife dig them out, which could be a sign that he’ll view them with suspicion in the future.
new decade begins
The time jump to 1950 is bittersweet because we have to say goodbye to actors Eunseong Kwon and Kim Kang-hoon who played Moz and Noa.
They’re all great, but Eunseong Kwon’s performance as the precocious young Moz needs some kind of award recognition.
The “new” versions of teenage Mozzie and Noah do a great job of embodying the qualities of the characters we saw when they were kids.
It’s great to see the family relatively prosperous, with plenty of food, and a rebuilt house filled with light. Of course, money was still a problem, mostly because Noah refused to help Coe in any way.
It’s hard to watch the gorgeous shots of Kyung-hee alone in the kitchen, where she’s physically and emotionally trapped in the middle of the house, where her husband’s ghost lives upstairs and Mr. Kim lives among the guests like a soulless husk.
Speaking Mr. Kim…it was stressful watching him saunter into Koh Hansu’s bar like a sullen teenager and say something stern to his boss.
Well, don’t you remember what happened to Mr. King, the farm foreman?
Gao also made a dig at himself when he thought casually that Mr. Jin should have gotten over his crush on Kyung-hee by now. But it’s a safe bet that once Noah gets settled in college, he’ll be able to move out of her house.
Add Mr. Kim to the long list of investors investing in Noah’s college entrance examination.
Unrelated news: Noah is stressed about his upcoming exams. After studying all night and working at the telegraph office all day, he didn’t even have time to flirt with the tofu stall girl.
I’m a little surprised that Koh didn’t anticipate such a romantic interest in Noa, or at least Mr. Kim didn’t notice and bring it up in real time. But then again, Mr. King isn’t doing much for Koch these days.
Noah seems to have the support of his mother’s noodle stall patrons and the community at large to support his success in college.
But he was moved when he confessed to the tofu stall girl that he was worried about failing the entrance exam because this was a weakness he could not reveal to his family. and courseshe told him he got this!
The future is golf
Okay, I just forget Did Tom and Naomi have an affair at some point or is this new information?
This is obviously news to Solomon as well, so…(clink).
This completely recreates the scene where Tom and Naomi sue their bosses in the boardroom over Mr Abe’s loan.
Naomi made a very convincing argument against Shifley’s request for a loan, while Tom was almost drowning in the sweat of defeat.
It was obvious that Tom was in a good mood at this meeting, but now that I know he and Naomi were having an affair, his statement, “Do you really think the past can be wiped out so easily?” read like more than just wartime. Secret cemetery.
Solomon’s shady investor, Shinmaru Yoshii, is completely uninterested in his business proposal for a members-only golf club, until he discovers that Tom doesn’t know that Solomon is dating Naomi and senses there’s some drama going on.
Yoshii is now fully involved in the golf club deal, but only if Solomon himself can get Naomi to give up saving Abe-san.
Solomon agreed!
Naomi…you’re there Dangeryoung woman.
Notes and Observations
Noah’s old friend and bully Ren returns to his snot-nosed ways, completely ignoring his friend during the entrance exam. I don’t think his time in the country changed him at all.
Where is Koh Hansu’s family? I think I remember he said before the air raid that he was going to get them out of Osaka, but they’ve been missing since then.
Koh’s father-in-law is everywhere in this episode, but it’s like they’re the only two people living in his Osaka house. Where are Koh’s wife and daughter?
Gao has a new rival and old enemy in the form of Liberal Party leader Black Gold. How long until the two of them confront each other?
This episode is rich in content and innovative in style. What are your favorite scenes and storylines? Let us know in the comments!
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