As I sat there, tears streaming down my face, watching the heart-wrenching final scenes of Pachinko, I couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of admiration for Sunja and Isak. Their love story is one that transcends time, culture, and adversity, and it left an indelible mark on me.
Warning: contains spoilers for Pachinko season 2 episode 2.
In the second episode of this season, Pachinko opens with an ominous atmosphere. The wind sweeps around Noa and his younger brother Mozasu, both now grown slightly older, as they traverse the slums that have been their home. The area remains quiet, save for the distant wail of a mother who’s just learned her husband has perished in war.
1945 finds a tempest brewing over Japan, a force that threatens to rend the nation asunder. However, prior to the wailing sirens and the rain of bombs, another storm, silent yet potentially more catastrophic, is heading for the embattled Baek family in Korea, who find themselves right in the eye of the turmoil.
Upon coming home, Noa encounters an unexpected visit from a man who looks unwell and disheveled. This unexpected guest turns out to be none other than her father, Isak, who had been imprisoned several years ago for supporting Korean factory workers in their fight for improved work conditions.
Despite all obstacles, Noa remained optimistic. Throughout these difficult times, the eldest Baek child made a decision to continue living in the slums, waiting for Isak, with the intention of following him as he trained to be a pastor.
Indeed, it seems like his father’s arrival couldn’t have been more timely, doesn’t it? With the family facing hunger due to the advancing war, their long-awaited wish has finally materialized. They’ve been brought back together once more as the family they were always intended to be.
It’s clear from his appearance that Isak isn’t going to live much longer, given the severe abuse he suffered and the frail state of his body, which is already emaciated. This is why, upon their reunion, he implores Sunja to remain. However, she firmly refuses.
In simpler terms, “The doctor assures her, ‘You’ll recover soon,'” she explains. “Sunja, who exhibits tremendous strength throughout this series, struggles to hold in her emotions of fury and despair, and swiftly departs from Isak to search for someone.”
Kyunghee mentions that all doctors have been deployed to the frontlines, which is concerning Isak’s sister-in-law. She expresses her worry, “What if it’s already too late? Shouldn’t you be with him instead? You don’t know how much time we might be running out.”
Even though Sunja is hopeful, Isak has been ill for most of his life, dating back to when he was a young boy under the care of the benevolent pastor. “He’s proven he can conquer death,” Sunja says confidently. “He can do it again. I am certain of it.”
We know better, of course.
From the outset, readers of Min Jin Lee’s novel have been aware of Isak’s impending fate. Yet, even without prior knowledge of “Pachinko”, it’s evident that Isak’s days are numbered. The poignant struggle Sunja undertakes to save his life is a kind of heartache one hopes no one in reality has to experience directly.
Meanwhile, as Noa goes to get the pastor and Mozasu sends a telegram to Isak’s brother in Nagasaki, Sunja requests aid from her former lover, Koh Hansu, to locate a physician for her.
In essence, Noa’s biological father doesn’t seem very interested in Isak. However, it was he who facilitated the pastor’s release by assuring a prison official of safe passage. Yet, his actions were driven by the understanding that Sunja would never abandon Osaka without her husband, and their departure had to happen swiftly due to the impending war.
I’ve struck a bargain with Sunja: she and her boys need to flee with me to the serene countryside, irrespective of Pastor Isak’s ability to join us. Another skeptic doubts if the impoverished clergyman can endure what lies ahead… as a devoted moviegoer, I find myself playing the part of the determined protagonist guiding his allies on an uncertain journey.
Simultaneously, Isak convenes a private meeting with the new pastor who assumed his responsibilities after his arrest. In front of Noa, he swiftly accuses the man of betraying him years ago, and indeed, it was justified because this seemingly benevolent priest whom Noa had always admired was, in fact, the one who ratted out Isak to the authorities, causing his family to disintegrate.
The pastor admits that he once held strong disdain towards someone, which stemmed from his mentor’s love for him diminishing upon the arrival of Isak in their lives. Despite this petty and malicious act, Isak chooses to forgive. Mercy, asserts Isak, is not a gift or a power; it is an acknowledgement. This serves as the final gift to Noa and Mozasu, so they may comprehend its essence.
Over the course of many years, their lost family moments are encapsulated in a single, bitter individual. Remarkably, Isak extends forgiveness towards him, and this act imparts a lesson far greater than any spoken words could. This is because their time as a family is rapidly dwindling.
Isak says, “I have a lot I’d like to share with each of you, but here’s something important to remember: Regardless of anything else, you are my sons, and I am your father.”
As a movie buff, I step in accompanied by a doctor, offering words of comfort to everyone present: “Things will get better now.” However, it’s evident that the situation is far from improving. The doctor later confides in me, revealing that the patient’s lungs are clogged with mucus and he’s fighting sepsis, a severe blood infection.
Sunja bravely battles, vowing to cover any expense necessary to rescue him, disregarding personal consequences. However, it’s already too late. The heart-wrenching phrase nobody wishes to hear echoes then: “Your spouse is hanging on by only a few hours at best.”
Witnessing a loving father endure a painful, unfair death would already be excruciating, but learning about his kindness – such as adopting Noa when he wasn’t the biological father, and rescuing Sunja from distress – adds an unbearable layer of sorrow to the scene.
According to the doctor’s words, “What was done to him… it’s truly horrific.” However, what lies ahead for us might be even more unbearable.
In their shared bedroom, Sunja and Isak were lying beside each other, their faces near one another. Isak expressed regret and pleaded for forgiveness, saying, “I didn’t realize the price we would have to pay.”
“Sunja responds, ‘There’s no need for forgiveness.’ Over the years while you were away, numerous people have shared tales of your kindness with me, recounting what you selflessly did for others. That man, who I first met 14 years ago and who I see now, is unchanged by the world. The world may have transformed, but you remain constant.”
By this stage, breathing is a struggle for Isak. He barely manages to keep his eyes open and utter words, yet he finds the strength. This is because Isak realizes that this may be the only opportunity he’ll ever have to see his wife again. Every second matters now. Despite dedicating himself to helping others throughout his life, and facing countless hardships, it’s finally time for Isak to express his feelings and articulate the anxieties that are gripping him.
“I long for the boys to mature, and I yearn to embrace Sunja, my beloved wife. Indeed, I ache to continue living – so intensely.”
As a cinephile, I’ve always yearned for life – a struggle that mirrors Isak’s story. Despite being battered by various health issues and maladies, he clung tenaciously to each day, miraculously enduring torment just long enough to bid farewell.
“When I am gone, you must find someone,” Isak continues.
Sunja politely declines to listen, as it’s too difficult for her to bear the implication of farewell at this moment: “Please don’t speak of that,” she answers instead.
“You have so much love to give,” says Isak. “I know that.”
“To be loved by my husband, to be honoured by you. It has been everything.”
“But how will you go on?” he asks.
Sunja gently touches Isak’s face, offering him the affection he has longed for during his years spent shrouded in darkness.
She assures you, “Don’t concern yourself with our wellbeing. I guarantee it. Our children, Noa and Mozasu, will lead flourishing lives.”
In that instant, even amidst his pain and fear of death, Isak appears content. His tranquility stems from the certainty that the ones he cherishes the most will fare well.
With a heavy heart, Isak takes his final rest, causing a solitary tear to trickle down Sunja’s face. As the scene dissolves into darkness, she makes her way to Noa to say, “Your father was one of a kind. Always remember that.”
If justice prevailed, both Kim Min-ha and Steve Sang-Hyun Noh would be contenders for Emmy awards in an ideal world, particularly during the final scenes when Sunja exits, clearly distressed, still clinging to the house that she and Isak once shared as their home.
In this heartrending moment, I can barely suppress my sobs, for my beloved spouse has just passed away. Yet, with teardrops streaming down my face, I clasp a hand over my mouth to keep my children from hearing my sorrow. At this very instant, my thoughts are with them.
The camera guides us through deserted streets where the wind howls once more, evoking the same disquieting atmosphere from the beginning of the episode. However, the torment isn’t finished yet. During Isak’s funeral, as his coffin is being placed into the crematorium, the air raid alarms start wailing.
“Sunja cries out as she’s forcibly removed,” she exclaims, filled with anger at the realization that she and Isak are being separated, even in their last moments. However, she has no choice but to go because a storm approaches, carried by the wings of American aircraft. And Isak’s death is merely the start of a greater ordeal.
Although it didn’t necessarily have to turn out this way, given the modifications showrunner Soo Hugh made to her adaptation, there exists another reality where Isak could have survived – or at least had a little more time with his family before passing away. To be reunited for such a short while is the most heartbreaking scenario conceivable.
But to change Isak’s fate would have changed too much – the very essence of Pachinko, in fact. Because the structural oppression responsible for his death at the hands of the Japanese, not to mention the suffering Sunja and the rest have faced, is the same systemic hate that follows Isak’s children into adulthood — and even Sunja as an old woman too.
Despite how difficult it is to accept, Isak ultimately met his end. Acknowledging that his demise was imminent and that the anguish associated with it was unavoidable, only intensifies the poignancy of the situation. Yet, it lends a profound significance to his story within the broader narrative that Pachinko is constructing. If only it could have been someone else who had to bear this burden…
Pachinko streams on Apple TV+ – sign up to Apple TV+ now.
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2024-08-30 21:34