Early Access: Pachinko E2 (Patreon)

E2. I'm coming to the conclusion that with Show employing this technique of the dual timelines, and giving us fragments of story at a time, in each timeline, kinda makes me feel like I'm approaching the full picture, in a Rubik's Cube sort of fashion.

Things looks different from different angles, with each twist of our narrative, and it's only when the final narrative piece is twisted into place, that I'll get a proper look at the full picture that our story wants to show me.

One of the more abstract things that I find floating around in my head, while watching this show, is how.. rootless, almost, the diaspora experience is.

For example, Solomon is Korean, and therefore isn't considered properly American nor properly Japanese, and we get glimpses of how that has haunted him, even from his childhood.

That snippet of story that he brings up with his friend, where said friend had told him, when they were kids, that his father had said that Koreans must have been raised by dogs, is so casually cruel, dismissive and insensitive.

At the same time, Solomon wouldn't be considered properly Korean either, because he's lived in America and Japan for what looks to be his whole life. If not for his grandmother Sun Ja, he wouldn't even be able to speak Korean.

This feels like a recurring theme that Show is touching on, and of course it would be, since this story is all about Sun Ja and her family, and how they fight for a better life, by eventually leaving Korea.

I don't have quite the same diaspora experience myself, but this does make me reflect on the fact that my family roots are in China, but I've never lived in China.

And while I learned Mandarin in school, and read and speak it, I will never be accepted as "properly Chinese" by a Chinese person who's actually from China, I don't think.

My context is just very different from a Chinese person who grew up in China, and our context is what makes us who we are.

I'm fortunate to live in at time and place where this doesn't actually have an impact on my life, but it's not that difficult to put myself in Solomon's shoes, and imagine what it would be like to actually have it make a difference to my daily life, and my chances of career success.

It's not a fun picture, and that makes me sympathize with Solomon, even as I watch him work to "defy gravity," as he puts it.

I do feel that Solomon's got some emotional (perhaps even spiritual?) awakening ahead of him, judging from how things go for him, this episode.

First of all, he fails miserably, at persuading Han Geum Ja, the landowner, to accept the deal that he's offering. This, when he'd been so sure, that his Korean heritage, would be his trump card to success.

Clearly, he still doesn't understand the heart of the matter for Han Geum Ja, and I have a feeling that in coming to understand her - which I suppose he will have to, if he's to close that deal - he will come to learn something about himself and his heritage too.

The other thing is, I'm intrigued by his reaction to the phone call that he receives from Hana, who appears to the his stepmother's daughter. Or at least, I'm assuming that Etsuko is Dad's wife, judging from the way he relates to her.

If my assumption is correct, that Etsuko is Solomon's stepmother, then Solomon's bond with Hana, which vibes as much more than simply familial or platonic, does feel rather complicated.

From the way Solomon talks to her, and from the tone of desperation in his voice, which indicates that he'd run out there and find her, regardless of the cost, it makes me feel like he's got some soulmate thing going on with Hana.

It makes me wonder about what had happened, and in what order.

Had Solomon and Hana gotten to know each other before their parents had gotten involved? And if so, is that why Solomon had been sent away to study in America? If that's what happened, I can only imagine the heartache that would have caused.

All that said, I guess I should withhold judgment until Show is clearer about the nature of all these relationships, and what exactly the deal is, between Solomon and Hana. I'm very curious, for the record.

The big thing in our 1924 timeline, this episode, is Sun Ja's growing connection with Lee Min Ho's character Ko Han Su.

Again, the fact that we get to see Sun Ja in the 1989 timeline, adds a layer of context to the developing feelings between Sun Ja and Han Su, in 1924.

From the what Sun Ja's sister-in-law asks her, about whether Sun Ja wonders how her life would have turned out, if she'd chosen differently, and from Sun Ja's sad, wistful, shifty gaze, as she ponders the question, we can already tell, that Sun Ja's relationship with Han Su, doesn't end very well.

I also get the sense that this relationship with Han Su has had a great impact on Sun Ja's life; that if Sun Ja had made a different choice, her life would have been entirely different.

This creates a deeply poignant undercurrent to what we see in our 1924 timeline, as Sun Ja and Han Su grow closer.

What makes it even more bittersweet, is the fact that Sun Ja had started out wanting nothing to do with Han Su.

Even though she'd had some level of curiosity about him, from the way she listens in when other people talk about him, she'd been quick and decisive, in turning down the gift of fish that he'd left for her, with the fish seller lady.

It's just, when she gets attacked by those Japanese guys, and Han Su comes along and saves her from being brutally raped, and then speaks to her kindly and goes so far as to escort her home by taking the boat with her, it's pretty hard to remain stoic.

Plus, Han Su doesn't stop there; he continues to visit her, and talk with her, on a regular basis. For Sun Ja, whose life has been so confined in her small world, Han Su represents a whole new world, with his stories of Japan, and America, and all the amazing things you can find there.

On top of that, Han Su prompts Sun Ja to expand her world, by asking her what her dream is, and if she's never wanted to leave her world, for a bigger and better life.

For someone as curious as Sun Ja, I can totally see how she would be drawn to Han Su, in spite of herself.

And he's handsome, rich and charming in his roguish way - and with a humble beginnings sort of story, to add to his appeal. AND, he appears to be sincere, in his desire to get to know Sun Ja. He's basically Temptation on legs, for Sun Ja, isn't he?

The thing is, the fact that Han Su tells Sun Ja that people are rotten everywhere, and that he feels no sense of loyalty to anyone, and she shouldn't either, gives me pause. I mean, he's literally warning Sun Ja not to expect loyalty from him, right?

Yet, he does it in such a disarming manner, putting them in the same basket, metaphorically (I don't, and you shouldn't too), that I don't think it registers with Sun Ja, that she ought not to trust him.

All that roguish charm, and those apparently soul-baring conversations, add up to quite the heady mix, and I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, that it isn't long before we see Sun Ja, um, succumbing to his charms.

I find it a very curious storytelling / directorial choice, to not only intersplice Sun Ja's encounter with Han Su with scenes of Solomon's desperate conversation with Hana, but to also overlay scenes of Sun Ja and Han Su, with voiceovers from that phone conversation.

To me, Solomon's situation with Hana is, so far anyway, characterized by heartache, darkness and separation.

To have those qualities layered on the scene of Sun Ja approaching Han Su and allowing him to have his way with her, creates a sense of foreboding around Sun Ja's future with Han Su, to my eyes.

The fact that I already know that this decision is going to change Sun Ja's life irrevocably, also adds a deep sense of pathos to the scene.

It makes me feel helpless, in a way, because even though I wish that something would happen to stop Sun Ja, in this moment, the truth is, I already know that her future's already been decided.

Next episode notes will be out on: Saturday, 9 Apr 2022!