Javier Grillo-Marxuach tackles his second Sun/Jin centric, this time teaming up with Leonard Dick. This episode delves much deeper into the impossible quandary Jin finds himself while serving Sun's ruthless father. Sun is apparently unaware of how violent and extreme Jin's tasks have become, and Jin is slowly becoming a hardened, emotionless husband.
The flashbacks are effective to the extent that they elevate Jin to something better than a monster. And frankly, the more I think about it the less I tend to think Sun is blameless in this whole mess. When her husband comes home with bloodied hands, you'd think the lightbulb would eventually go on and she'd realize her own father is destroying her marriage.
The on-island confict was set up beautifully, with Jin's reputation continuing to plummet prior to the raft going up in flames. When Sawyer dragged Public Enemy #1 to the beach for his obligatory beating, that was as good a time as any for Sun to shock everyone (except Michael and Kate) with her little English secret. Jin takes her revelation as yet another betrayal, which I thought was an interesting (though not surprising) reaction.
The last five minutes are the highlight, mostly due to two twists:
1. As Jin begins packing his things to head for God-knows-where, we see a flashback of him returning to his father in a fishing village. It was a short, heartwarming conversation which convinced me a happy resolution was just around the corner. Instead, we return to the caves and Jin tells Sun their marriage is beyond repair. Wow. Talk about a sock to the gut.
2. Locke joins Walt in the caves for a nostalgic game of Backgammon. After a short round of chit-chat Locke asks Walt why he burned the raft. The look on Walt's face speaks volumes. Once more LOST sends us a message: don't assume anything on this show.
Yunjin Kim undoubtedly gets top honors in this episode. She spans the full emotional spectrum — anger while slapping Michael, fear while confronting a bloodied Jin, elation while freeing herself from fabric shackles and stepping into the ocean in her bikini. She's positively radiant in her pre-wedding flashbacks, then positively broken in the caves when Jin walks away.
Daniel Dae Kim is still narrowly defined as a character at this point, so there's not much he could do to flex his range beyond perpetual anger and physical acting. However, with English being his native language it's often easy to forget just how hard he's working. The flashback scene with his father was a welcome departure, giving us a rare glimpse of a humble, vulnerable Jin.
Bonus points for Malcolm David Kelley in the Backgammon scene. He really has a sense for how long pauses can sell a moment, and he nailed this scene like few other actors his age ever could.
I figured this episode would be difficult to rate in the "Visuals" department, mostly because it's a fairly tame narrative with few extreme challenges in terms of directing and effects. However, there were a few small things I noticed along the way:
Early on in the episode, Jin gets irritated at Sun and storms off (what else is new?). Just as he leaves the view of the camera, we watch a well-dressed Jin ascending a flight of stairs in an office building. A small detail for sure but I love this sort of visual transition.
Near the end of the episode, Jin leaves Sun standing alone in the caves after telling her it's too late to salvage their marriage. Tucker Gates opts for the wide, distant shot at that moment and it's the perfect choice. She looks as desperate and isolated as she feels.
Bonus points for the easter egg in the scene at Byung Han's home, where you can briefly see Hurley on the television.
Unfortunately the episode suffers a bit in the Longevity department, simply because most of its themes are addressed in other episodes. Mr. Paik's impact on Jin/Sun's marriage is a path well traveled. Michael suffers a setback on the raft, but he goes right back it next episode. Shannon and Sayid will have lots of opportunities to make googly eyes at each other.
As well-written and divisive as the conflict is between Sun and Jin, I'd never describe it as a joy to watch over and over again. It's very necessary to advance their arcs for sure, but few of their scenes put me on the edge of my seat in anticipation.
The unfortunate thing about "In Translation" is that its most memorable moments have little to do with its centric characters. After all, any LOST fan remembers the shock of the raft going up in flames or Locke screaming, "We're not alone on this island and we ALL know it!"
However I do think it's a nice transition episode which closes some doors and opens others:
1. Sun reveals her secret to everyone, just in time to avoid that storyline getting tiresome.
2. Jin offers to help Michael with the raft, ending their feud.
3. The Sun/Michael romance which seemed inevitable was pretty much buried.
4. Hurley's CD player dies while a montage is in progress. I interpreted this as LOST poking a little fun at itself, a recognition that montages could easily be abused Ally McBeal-style if they weren't careful.
Big-time deductions for the official launch of the Sayid/Shannon relationship. There's just no on-screen chemistry between these two and it's much closer to sour than sweet.
