Sun loses it while talking to Jin in LOST: Ji Yeon (2008).
© ABC

Mania Grade: B-
Episode: Ji Yeon
Starring: Evangeline Lilly, Josh Holloway, Matthew Fox, Michael Emerson, Elizabeth Mitchell
Written By: Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz
Directed By: Stephen Semel
Network: ABC

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LOST: Ji Yeon

I like being cleverly tricked by a book, movie, or TV series, but for that to happen “cleverly” it has to have weight, there has to be a plot centric reason for the trick. What we got in this episode was a trick just for the sake of a trick. That’s not exactly true, the trick is there to build an emotional response and for that it works. What it doesn’t do is make any difference in the mythology. With that complaint firmly lodged, this episode does still do many things right. This may have been one of the most emotionally powerful episodes of the series in spite of the flashback/flash forward trickery. To be able to go beyond “yeah this was good” or “that sucked” I’m going to have to really get into the story in this episode. If you haven’t watched it yet, go now and watch it, then come back and let’s chat about it.

I was really happy to see Jin and Sun getting some time this week. I’ve always really liked both of these characters, especially Sun, and have been wondering for a long time when they’d get to be a part of the show in a more important way again. The trickery that I’m speaking about is Jin and Sun’s flashback/flash forward. When we see Sun going into labor and Jin rushing to buy a panda for a new baby it’s obvious that he’s trying to get to the hospital to be there for his wife and new baby right? Well, for the majority of the running time we are supposed to think that’s the case. There are a handful of hints that this isn’t the case such as when the shopkeeper mentions that it’s “the year of the dragon” which is 2001 or 2012 but the hints are some subtle that you might not pick up on them if you’re really invested in what’s happening. Jin’s flashback shows him delivering a bear to an ambassador representing the company he works for. This story is completely meaningless. On an emotional level, maybe it shows what could have been had Jin survived. Sun’s flash forward follows her having her baby alone. In the aftermath, knowing that Jin is dead, thinking about Sun calling out for Jin while she was in labor was extremely sad. What was truly emotional was when Sun takes her new baby, with Hurley to Jin’s grave. The suspense for Jin and Sun up to this point has been whether they will make it off the island before Sun hits her second trimester where she and her baby will both die. We’ve seen the baby so we know that Sun is one of the Oceanic Six and her baby is born healthy so that suspense is over. We do still have suspense though, now the question is hanging in the air; when will Jin die? It’s even possible that he doesn’t die he just gets stuck on the island. The reveal of the baby’s healthy birth just asks more questions in regard to Jin and Sun. Yunjin Kim does an amazing job with the grave scene, I found it extremely moving. She also handles a scene on the island with Juliet quite nicely too. We’ve sort of been used to one or two facial expressions from Sun because she hasn’t had too much of a rollercoaster ride for a while but when Juliet reveals the fact that she had an affair to Jin the look she gives Juliet is of unadulterated anger and then came the slap!

We’ve been waiting for the Michael reveal for a while now and we finally get it with this episode. There was no surprise and this little twist didn’t even come at the end of the episode. I think it was really smart to do this reveal before the ending of the episode. The finally was a quiet ending focusing on Jin’s scenes making them more important. This show either ends on a twist or on an emotional crescendo and this is one of those emotional episodes. The reveals made by the captain are all questionable to me. He tells Sayid and Desmond about the faked crash and tells them that his boss believes Ben is behind it. I’m inclined to believe some of what the captain says but we’ve been told by a note under the door, probably from Michael, not to trust the captain so we’ll just have to wait and see how it all shakes out. I loved Jin’s story, and what little we got on the freighter was interesting. My only real complaint is with Jin’s flashback. I was even happy to see Bernard helping Jin work through the reveal that Sun had cheated on him. This was a fantastic scene between the two of them and the discussion about karma could be interpreted as commentary on what is to come for Jin. Only a little Kate this week and no Jack and no Locke, but I didn’t miss them. The highly publicized appearance of Zoe Bell finally came this week. You’ll know her from Grindhouse. She really came and went quickly, apparently a victim of this “cabin fever” that’s affecting the crew. There’s not a lot to talk about as far as this cabin fever goes because it’s sort of like checks being applied to a bulleted list. Yes, the island messes with people, yes, they need to get the freighter out of there, and yes, Michael is sabotaging the engines to keep that from happening. What’s more interesting to me is: where is Walt? Is Ben using Walt to control Michael again? So many questions, and I couldn’t be happier.