Chapter Nine – As the second season of Pachinko begins, Koh Hansu (Lee Minho) is greeted by an accomplice. The cargo is being unloaded. The accomplice asks whether it’ll be the Soviets or the Americans. Koh admits it’s not clear yet. When he’s alone, the accomplice looks at the cargo and finds tungsten. In 1945, two brothers work selling kimchi. Noa (Kim Kang-hoon) is asked by his mother why he’s encouraging his brother. Noa explains he won’t get his brother out of the house on time if he doesn’t. Mr. Kim comes over to speak to Noa and his mother. Sunja (Minha Kim) speaks to Kim about cabbages being in short supply. She’s confident they’ll make do somehow. Mozasu (Eunseong Kwon) suspects Kim is a spy. His mom reminds him not to say such things. They notice American planes overhead.

Pamphlets are dropped from the planes. Noa reads one and explains that the Americans want them to surrender. Otherwise, things will be worse. Sunja questions what that means. Mozasu says it means the Americans are coming. Solomon Baek (Jin Ha) speaks to possible investors. He explains he’s neutral. From Tokyo, Solomon calls Brock to say it’s not hype. He wants Brock to invest in his fund. At school, another kid asks Mozasu about the stinky food he’s eating. Mozasu stands on his desk and eats in front of everyone. His teacher comes in and yells for him to get down before ordering him to stand against the wall. Noa is asked whether the rumors about him are true. The other student says he heard  Noa’s family lives with pigs. The teacher doesn’t say anything.

Later, Noa complains about the teacher not saying anything. He’s told the anger comes from feeling so powerless. If he doesn’t like it, he shouldn’t be Korean. Koh Hansu (Lee Min-ho) speaks to others about the contracts. They don’t want to displease Koh. Everyone in Osaka knows what happens when he’s displeased. One man asks Inoue-san (Nori Tomita) about being unable to get rice shipped to them now. He jokes they should strap it to the backs of the Koreans and make them swim it over. Koh is sent to look for the guests so he won’t say anything. He overhears two men talking about the fact that bombing is imminent. Next, Solomon is told he stirred up a hornet’s nest with Abe (Yoshio Maki). His friend reminds him they’re holding the awards ceremony for Japan’s Businessman of the Year tonight. Solomon admits he’s raised zero for the fund.

Tetsuya (Ryotaro Sugimoto) jokes he was once jealous of Solomon. He offers him 200 million. Tetsuya remembers that Solomon wasn’t cruel like the others when he arrived at the new school. Kyunghee (Jung Eun-chae) and the others are taught how to defend themselves before the Americans arrive. Sunja tells Mozasu not to destroy the straw dummy although he thinks that’s the point. Sunja speaks to a friend who has bruises on her arms. Sunja reveals her husband was taken away by the police for helping the laborers fight for better wages. She considers herself lucky because she has her brother-in-law. He was drafted to work in a munitions factory in Nagasaki last year. The money he sent helped, but they’ve been paying him in promissory notes lately. It’s been three months since her mother’s last letter.

Her friend says she keeps smiling for her children. She heard a few women make rice wine to sell at the black markets. She suggests they could do it together. Sunja refuses. Solomon goes to Osaka where he speaks to his grandmother, Sunja (Youn Yuh-jung). His father, Baek Mozasu (Soji Arai), talks to him about the new business, a pachinko parlor. Baek learns about Tetsuya’s investment. He and Sunja have decided to invest $700,000 as well. Baek reveals he took out a mortgage with the business as collateral. He isn’t worried because the banks are practically giving away money these days. Solomon is worried they’ll find themselves in trouble. Bando or Noa comes in first place in his class. After class, his teacher stops him for a chat. Noa tells him he’s reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Bando is reminded American books are forbidden. He’s told to continue focusing on his work so he can escape these wretched slums. Bando says he wants to stay there and become a pastor. They talk about his father. The teacher questions if his father doesn’t return. He gives Bando entrance exam practice tests for Waseda University. The teacher knows he’s Noak Baek. In the book, Noa finds a note saying it belongs to “Go Young Ho”. Sunja talks to Kyunghee about bootlegging. Kyunghee won’t allow it. Sunja worries about her children going hungry. Kyunghee reveals she found worms in the ration rice the other day. Kyunghee wants Sunja to promise that she’ll come home to them every night. Before long, Sunja and the neighbor start making rice wine.

In the present, Sunja watches people enter the new business. Once they finish, Sunja sets out to sell the wine. Solomon calls Tetsuya from Osaka. Tetsuya reveals Abe heard about his investment and he’s threatening to destroy both of them. He can’t go through with the investment. Sunja invites Solomon to come to the store with her. At the store, Sunja and Solomon learn they’ve messed up the order. The clerk tells them not to blame him for not understanding half-arsed Japanese. He tells them they should at least learn the language properly if they’re going to live there. He believes there are stores for people like them. Solomon yells he went to Yale and made his monthly salary in a single day. Once Sunja stops him, Solomon realizes everyone is looking at him. The neighbor arrives to tell Kyunghee there was a raid at the black market.

They learn that Sunja got arrested. At the pachinko parlor, Solomon apologizes for scaring Sunja. He argues he can’t live always feeling sorry for her. Solomon rips up the check and throws it away. Kyunghee tells Noa there is no news from the police. The boys have to leave for school. Sunja gets the young judge who recognizes her. He tells her she can go, but warns her not to count on her luck next time. Solomon goes to the business awards where Abe is giving a speech after receiving the awards. Kim Chang-ho (Kim Sungkyu) tells Sunja he went to the station, but learned she has already been released. He asks her to come with him. She goes with him and meets Koh Hansu who tells her about a mineral found in the bowels of the earth., tungsten.

He explains it’s beneficial for airplanes, missiles, and grenades. Sunja asks how he found her. Koh argues he never lost her because Kim works for him. Koh warns her the bombs are coming for real this time. They’ll carpet-bomb the entire city. Sunja doesn’t want to leave her husband to rot in jail. Koh asks if she’s willing to risk her children for an imbecile who got himself arrested. He realizes that she actually cares about him.

 

Pachinko Review

The opening episode of Pachinko’s second season was okay, but it’s going to take time for newcomers to become accustomed to the characters and the rapid time jumps. The core story of the episode was fairly predictable, especially Sunja’s story and Solomon’s story. The jarring time jumps really take away from each story and eliminate any chance to process what’s happening.

There’s no real warning for the time jumps although viewers will become accustomed to the characters and realize when they’re in the past and present. Still, linear storytelling would’ve made this so much stronger instead of telling multiple stories in spurts.

The cast is strong with some good, bleak performances throughout the episode. The characters in the past scenes are more likable and more interesting although their journeys aren’t really that original. Again, there’s a sense of predictability that makes the writing seem weak. Sunja being arrested and Solomon losing out on his opportunity were just too easy to see.

The episode was a good starting point although I really don’t have an emotional connection to any of the characters or their stories at this point. Instead, it feels like another soap opera set around World War II with a different setting and different nationalities but some of the same stories. The episode scores a 6 out of 10.

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