S01.E08: Chapter 8

[Scarlett45]

Quote

Sunja learns that Isak has been arrested and searches for him with the aid of her young son; Solomon makes a fateful decision.

Season Finale. 

Air Date: April 29, 2022

[Spartan Girl]

I’m calling it now: Hansu was the one that ratted Isak out. He’s obviously been spying on the family for some time, and him popping back up to see his son was too coincidental.

RIP Hana.

We had BETTER get a season 2.

[TimWil]

Yes, it’s happening.

What a gorgeous series this is. The acting by everyone is fantastic.

I loved the real life interviews at the end of this episode. The 95 year old lady with the “bright smile” seemed to be quite a lovely person inside and out.

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/pachinko-renewed-season-2-apple-tv-plus-1235254017/

Edited April 30, 2022 by TimWil

[chocolatine]

On 4/29/2022 at 8:54 PM, TimWil said:

I loved the real life interviews at the end of this episode. The 95 year old lady with the “bright smile” seemed to be quite a lovely person inside and out.

That was my favorite part! All of those women looked great for their age, especially after everything they've had to endure.

[Nicmar]

Those women at the end, they looked good for their age especially that one that said she celebrated her 100th birthday.

[Scarlett45]

On 4/29/2022 at 5:42 AM, Spartan Girl said:

I’m calling it now: Hansu was the one that ratted Isak out. He’s obviously been spying on the family for some time, and him popping back up to see his son was too coincidental.

RIP Hana.

We had BETTER get a season 2.

We are getting a season 2. I am very excited. 

Hansu is a shady asshole forever, but damn was he fine to look at. Did you notice the costuming choice of him in the CRISP PRISTINE white suit surrounded by all the grime of the dirt path?

 

I just realized with episode 7 being all about Hansu and his past, Lee Ming-Ho is the only actor to be in every episode so far. 

On 4/29/2022 at 10:54 PM, TimWil said:

Yes, it’s happening.

What a gorgeous series this is. The acting by everyone is fantastic.

I loved the real life interviews at the end of this episode. The 95 year old lady with the “bright smile” seemed to be quite a lovely person inside and out.

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/pachinko-renewed-season-2-apple-tv-plus-1235254017/

The acting was fantastic by everyone. I am looking forward to more scenes of young Kyunghee and Sunja raising the boys together. 
 

I don’t dislike Yosef. He’s a good man and he’s wants to be the provider, but his damn pride- Sunja did what she had to do. 

We will have to wait a while but I’ve been enjoying this series very much. I wish it had more buzz!

[twoods]

Lee Ming-Ho is absolutely gorgeous. I have a hard time focusing when he was onscreen, even if his character is a pile of shit.

[aghst]

Just finished watching.

I knew there were controversies about Koreans living in Japan and the comfort women, which this show didn't touch on.

The open racism is to be expected, the occupying power have to dehumanize the people they're occupying.  That justifies probably treating them like slave labor to build up Japan.  The talk of building the first subways in Asia with Korean laborers sound like the Asian laborers who were exploited by Qatar to build up stadiums for the World Cup.

It felt a lot like Roots in a way, people having to endure oppression and racism just to survive.

Seems like the family is solidly middle class in the 1989 timeline so future seasons would show the path by which they improved their lot.

But Solomon cutting a deal with that shady businessman and the dogs outside the old lady's house appear ominous.  Even if you want him to get his revenge on his former employer, it shouldn't be at the expense of anyone else, who in this case didn't do anything to him, other than express her desire to be left alone.  She also had grievances about what she'd endured in life, which wasn't too different from what Sunja had gone through.

Solomon's father was looked down upon because he earned his living running pachinko parlors?  Is it only Koreans who run these places, because only thing I'd known about pachinko was that is was supposedly very popular over there.

 

 

[chocolatine]

21 hours ago, aghst said:

Solomon's father was looked down upon because he earned his living running pachinko parlors?  Is it only Koreans who run these places, because only thing I'd known about pachinko was that is was supposedly very popular over there.

Spoiler

According to the book, the Japanese wouldn't hire Koreans in any "respectable" profession, so one of the few opportunities Koreans had to prosper in Japan was in the gambling industry. It reminds me a bit of how Jews were also barred from working in many professions so they were restricted to "dishonorable" jobs like banking/money lending. And then when they thrived doing that, they experienced even more discrimination.