(S03E18) I don't know about you, but the last scene in that episode kind of freaked me out. Naomi the parachutist had better do some talking next week. Creepy revelations aside, how incredible was Yunjin Kim's performance? Between Sun's overall awesomeness and Jin's fighting skills, those two deserve their own spin-off. I haven't loved the Sun-Jin episodes in the past, but this one was amazing!
The Flashback
A long time ago, Sun and Jin were the cutest newlyweds ever. I couldn't stop grinning as they flirted and declared that they loved each other "madly." Their early happiness only makes their later troubles more depressing. The couple barely had time to enjoy moving into their first apartment before dealing with their first crisis.
Worst. Mother-in-law. Ever. Jin's supposedly dead mother approached Sun soon after the wedding and blackmailed Sun for $100,000. She didn't reveal her identity at the time, but she threatened to tell the press that Mr. Paik's little girl married the son of a prostitute. Sun wisely decided not to tell Jin, but she paid a visit to Mr. Kwon instead.
Mr. Kwon confirmed that Jin's mother was with "a lot" of men, and that she was still alive. Jin might even be someone else's son. Like Sun, Mr. Kwon was once faced with the choice of telling Jin the truth or sparing him "the shame of where he came from." Sun did a kind thing by keeping the blackmail a secret from Jin, but she hurt him in the process.
Mr. Paik would make Jin bear the debt by making him his personal assistant ("...In Translation"). Personally, I would rather hear an unpleasant truth about my parents than become some shady rich guy's violent enforcer, but that's just me. Ironically, Jin made a point of saying that he wanted to avoid being in Paik's debt, after finding the $100,000. This situation reminded me of Kate's flashback a few weeks ago. Even when you try your best to help the ones you love, you can fail.
Sun really proved that she was her father's daughter when she paid off the blackmailer. She told Jin's mom that she knew exactly who she was, and threatened her life for good measure. The tough look on Sun's face as she walked off was priceless; do not mess with the Paiks, people.
The Beach/The Staff Station
The great debate over the father of Sun's baby was finally resolved. Jack's sudden appearance in the garden made Sun suspicious of his motives. It's interesting that Sun doesn't trust Jack as implicitly as before. Perhaps she's not alone. That scary music as Jack approached her wasn't helping matters for me, either. Eventually Sun got to the truth, after a dramatic argument with Juliet. Again, Yunjin Kim rocked this episode like nobody's business.
Juliet came to Sun in the middle of the night and led her to the medical station where Claire was kept. Sun was probably too concerned over her possible death to ask Juliet why she was being so secretive, so I'll give her a pass. But it was the first of several flags raised by Juliet's behavior. Her heartfelt story about wanting to give pregnant women good news was the next flag.
Juliet showed Sun the hidden room where the island's pregnant women went to die. I could do without any more scenes in the Staff Station; that place gives me the heebie-jeebies. Sun confessed that she had cheated on Jin, and that Jin was sterile. My heart broke when she tearfully said "I lose either way." Please, someone, give this woman an acting award. Juliet determined the date of conception, and told Sun that the baby was conceived on the island. Sun will probably die in two months, but she was too happy that the baby was Jin's to care about herself.
Before returning to the beach, Juliet innocently went back to the Staff Station. She found a tape recorder in one of the lockers and left a message for Ben. At least part of the Others' plan for Juliet was explained; she's there to get samples from the other women. Oh, and she hates Ben. I know that last part was meant to make us sympathize with Juliet, but I'm not on board with that. Are you?
The Jungle
I'm not sure what to think about the campers' encounter with Mikhail. Hopefully the writers will provide more of an explanation than Mikhail's statement that "on this island, the rules are a bit different." Obviously the healing process is accelerated on this island, but Mikhail looked pretty dead to me. Honestly, I'm not that upset over the lack of detail this time around. It is Lost, after all, and I was sorry to see Mikhail go after two episodes.
It's likely that Mikhail was brought back for more than just medical assistance. He was able to save Naomi in one of the grossest on-screen medical procedures ever (probably not, but I'm easily disgusted). Patchy also found time to get in an impressive fight with Jin and to mess with everyone's heads. Thank goodness that Jin realized Mikhail took the satellite phone. If Mikhail bothered to steal it, there must be some way to make it work.
Finally, a little news from the outside world. Naomi informed Hurley that Oceanic 815 did crash, but the wreckage was found. All of the passengers were dead. Start your conspiracy theories--huge cover-up, parallel timelines, etc.
Final thoughts/questions:
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How can Juliet be so confident that she'll have Kate's sample soon?
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How many languages does Naomi know, anyway? What's the significance of her being multilingual?
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Apparently Jin was in the Army at some point. Are the writers creating content for future flashbacks?
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So, Mikhail is alive. I need more.
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Juliet lost nine patients in three years. We saw Sabine's death during "One of Us." Will we learn about any of the other women?
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Hurley wins the day for funniest lines: "Oops" (after firing the flare); "Like I'd tell you" (after spilling the beans to Mikhail); and, "Mom?" (talking into the phone).
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What was with the weird cut during Jin's fight scene? He had Mikhail in a headlock, and suddenly Desmond pushed Mikhail against a tree.
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Did Mikhail think that someone else set off the flare? Why did he respond to it?
In spite of the unexplained Mikhail appearance, I'm giving this episode a 7 out of 7. Yunjin Kim earned it. Elizabeth Mitchell is no slouch, either.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
4-26-2007 @ 12:59AM
hot zizzy said...
I give it 4/5. Most of this episode was decent, but the ending was amazing. Just that made this a good episode, not to mention the return of Mikhail and everything else that went down. The ending shakes the foundation of everything the survivors believe though, and it seems really important. I think either the crash on the island or the remains that were recovered were set up, but I really don't know which one.
As for the flashbacks, they were alright, but not really that great. I could have done without them.
Anyway, check out my full review:
http://www.arrogantics.com/2007/04/26/lost-season-3-episode-18-doc-review/
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4-26-2007 @ 1:12AM
Bill said...
Military service in South Korea is mandatory for men, so while it still may be set up for later story, it'd be unrealistic for him not to have a military background.
And yeah, this episode was really cool. Since the hiatus, they've been on a roll. Sucks to be one of the people who bailed in the fall.
http://popculturejunk.blogspot.com/
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4-26-2007 @ 1:15AM
agentmichaelscarn said...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but early on in the show's history I remember hearing theories that this was actually Purgatory. Could it be possible that these people really did die and the only reason that they are not in heaven/hell is because their fate is on the fence.
Perhaps those who died in the initial crash had a clear pathway and thus did not have to wait for their respective judgements. Those who are on the island still have to validate a particular fate before getting off the island.
A few weeks ago that couple died on the island -- would it be that they had sealed their fate as good or bad people and therefore no longer needed to be on the island? The girl was willing to kill for the diamonds -- despite the fact that they have no monetary value on the island, the guy was willing to dispose of them in order to save a relationship that he wanted to continue. They were involved in the death of that television producer but had yet to seal their fates. Desmond washed up on the island -- perhaps he died at sea and must repent and make up for leaving Penny. Kate and Sawyer's problems with the law..... I could go on but the point is that everyone basically has a shady past and perhaps this is where their fates will be judged.
Or perhaps I took too many hits off the bong today. Does this soud too far-fetched?
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4-26-2007 @ 1:17AM
Aram said...
well Jin should have finished his mandatory military service since he's a Korean citizen. Nothing special about that.
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4-26-2007 @ 1:20AM
Danny Cohen said...
This episode should've been combined with "Catch-22."
D.O.C. was an amazoing episode. They continued some good storylines: Juliet, Sun, Catch-22's, Charlie's hatred of Others, and more.
They are walking a dangerous line with all this outside world stuff cropping up on the island. I hope they pull it off well.
http://shameless.plug.net/
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4-26-2007 @ 1:20AM
Danny Cohen said...
Oh, lovely spoiler putting our Soviet friend on the front page, duders.
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4-26-2007 @ 1:26AM
Charles said...
Maybe, because of Desmond's release of the electro-magnetic-whatever, 815 was "cloned" or something and those who didn't die before now have to make amends with their life before being "course-corrected" by Smokey.
Or... maybe I should wait for more information before I sound like a stoner. :P
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4-26-2007 @ 1:27AM
Victor said...
I give the show 9 out of 15 stars. We just got lots of answers (and new questions) to stuff I wasn't all that desperate to receive. Sun's baby-daddy? Enh.
I'll have to go back and watch the earlier Kwon-centric episodes, but it seems like tonight's episode contradicts some of the earlier ones, in that previously, Sun seemed surprised or shocked that Jin was actually her dad's enforcer. Now, it would make no sense for her to be surprised. The moment her dad moved him to a new job she'd know exactly what it was for.
And the implication of even more rapid healing than we previously knew about seems a bit too convenient and a just a way for them to justify bringing Patch Adams (Mikhail) back from the dead (and presumably that's the setup for other 'dead' people to still be alive down the line). My problem with this is that this isn't the first time someone has been seriously injured on the island. Granted, the injuries have all seemed to undergo miraculous healing, but that was always attributable to the magic of TV healing. Sawyer's been shot, Charlie hung, Jack had a bad cut on his back, etc etc etc.
If this healing had been as fast as Mikhail is implying it always is, everyone would have said something before now.
It's just really inconsistent. But, it's going to be one of those things I know I'm going to just have to chalk up to the difficulties of planning a show like this. Not that I'm giving it a pass. Just nothing I can do about it.
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4-26-2007 @ 1:31AM
Victor said...
Nikki and Paulo were killed off for no other reason than the audience hated them. They were supposed to be around for the whole season, but they were despised too deeply to be kept around.
So any reading into their nature's or why they were killed is kind of pointless.
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4-26-2007 @ 1:40AM
Sam said...
So, in Lost time, Sun will be dying midway through season 5?
Also, I like how since TVSquad randomly started rating eps 1-7, everyone in the comments has to pick their own arbitrary number for their rating.
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4-26-2007 @ 1:46AM
agentmichaelscarn said...
Sam,
You make a very compelling argument.
I'll give you a 16.12 out of 17.66
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4-26-2007 @ 2:14AM
Ryan said...
Yunjin Kim was fantastic. I loved the flashbacks (pretty Sun outfits!), but her scenes with Juliet were amazing. Give those two awards. NOW.
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4-26-2007 @ 2:46AM
Brian said...
Great therys guys i like the theroy about peoples fate not being desided i like that on alot. And it makes since with mr. Eco to, hes heart relly did lie with being a preast so that was his path so it was detrimind that he was going to heave i geuss. I don't know but you could play with that theory and all the other stuff the black smoke has turned into. Horse, Herlys friend Dave, Jacks Dad, Etc..
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4-26-2007 @ 2:28AM
Priest said...
Well there goes the death pool....
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4-26-2007 @ 2:34AM
Sy said...
If everyone is already dead, a lot of things make sense now. I remember seeing the first episode and I said to myself ...NO WAY CAN ANYONE SURVIVE A CRASH LIKE THAT.
I give this episode a 60 out 69 rating.
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4-26-2007 @ 2:36AM
Dan said...
I'm thinking a 'split' or rupture in the timeline explains the ending. When Desmond was back in time meddling he got hit by a cricket bat which was meant for a different guy. This is where the split occured.
We get one timeline where Desmond was late or not on the island and the plane went past the island but crashed still. And one where Desmond did get to the island and brought the plane down.
Or Desmond bringing down the plane was the "split". They were all meant to die in a Plane crash and Desmond not pressing the button changed their fate. The universe "course corrected" itself. However due to the islands properties the universe/fate/time whatever could not touch them so an anomaly was created.
Either that or "The Others" agents in the outside world created a fake crash site.
too.much.coffee.
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4-26-2007 @ 2:54AM
karen said...
If the island is such a "healing" place, why do all the pregnant women die? And why didn't Sun have that as a follow-up question? And what "sample" did Juliet take from Sun? All I saw was the sonogram. I give this episode an A-.
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4-26-2007 @ 2:52AM
Akbar Fazil said...
I will second the fact of Jin having to have been in the military. I went to school with a cool guy from Seoul and was not thrilled about having to do military service after he graduated here.
I buy the island having quick healing since we have seen that from the beginning. Perhaps all the fence did to Patchy was it burst his ear drums pretty violently and caused a small brain fry. Not enough to kill you, but enough to trigger the healing to bring you back from something very uncomfortable. I also have a feeling that Mikhail has done it a few times. He is the loner. He is a little wacky. He lost and eye. I know technical guys who are total freaks and build all kinds of freaky shit and get hurt doing it.
The whole Sun story line was awesome. I had felt we couldn't add one more layer to their story and I was glad to be proven wrong. The fact that tonights flash back happened shortly after their marriage puts all post marriage flash backs (ie. the majority of them) in a whole different light. Accepting and living the fact that she is a gangsters daughter and no matter what kind of changes she tries to make and be "better" she will always be tied to her family is huge.
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4-26-2007 @ 2:54AM
Akbar Fazil said...
Oh man, the purgatory claims are coming back in droves. GAHHHHH.
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4-26-2007 @ 2:58AM
Akbar Fazil said...
man, I seriously need to finish thinking about things before I post ;)
My prediction for the future of the Sun baby story line.
-If ABC had the chutzpah Sun would die just like all the others causing Jin to go crazy.
-However I don't think they do. More than likely Juliet will find a cure because of Sun and she and the baby will make it. Finding this cure will be the deciding point for Juliet. Will she cure Sun against Ben's wishes? Or will she give into the bug eyed monster!
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