Lost has been quite good since returning from it’s hiatus.  This may be due to we are seeing the payoffs to the setup of the first nine or so episodes from back on 2006.  I thought I would reflect on two of my favorite characters on the show.

I was thinking about the evolution of Sun (Yunjin Kim) and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim).  First of, I had a bias in favor of Daniel because I was an Angel fan, so I was pleased to see he was a regular on a new show (I don’t watch E.R. or 24, so I missed his appearances there).  And he and Yunjin make a striking couple on the series.  Now, you should know, spoilers are about to fly readily and with reckless abandon.  So, you know, if you do not want to read spoilers from the first two seasons (because, for some crazy reason you do not like Lost) and are thinking you want to start watching the show?  STOP READING NOW.

Anyways, when we first met Sun and Jin, it was immediately clear that Jin was oppressive and demanding.  Early on we see Jin telling Sun to stay with him at all times, and we see him treating her as if she were a mere child.  They apparently only speak Korean, so there is a tremendous language barrier between them and the other survivors*.  While Sun clearly wants to reach out, Jin does not trust anyone but himself.  He’s stern and demanding, and Sun appears to be the stereotype of the submissive wife.

When we get to see the first flashback, we discover that (as is often the case) Jin was not always like that.  In fact, while having a strong sense of honor and respect, he was quite gentle.  It appears that only after going to work for Sun’s father so he can get approval to marry Sun, does he start to change.  This is evident in the moment where Jin storms into the house, hands covered in blood and begins washing his hands.  He won’t explain to Sun what the problem is, and in a moment of extreme frustration she slaps him.  The expression on Jin’s face is, well, one of quiet rage.  He doesn’t strike with a fist, he simply points back to the fact that he is working for her father, which subtly points it back at Sun.  “I’m doing this for us” seems to be the unspoken message.

On the Island, Jin attacks Michael (Harold Perrineau) and brutally beats him, for no apparent reason.  With Jin handcuffed to a section of the crashed plane, Sun gets an opportunity to contemplate their situation.  The big shock is that we viewers (and Michael), discover Sun speaks quite fluent english.  In flashback it is revealed that Sun was actually planning to leave Jin behind and start a new life.  However, at the moment where she has the choice to walk away and disappear, she makes an impulsive decision to not walk away.  Jin does not know his wife speaks english, and she fears him finding out.

In what could have been a terribly cliched story about an abusive husband and the wife to scared to leave is instead more nuanced.  When Jin finally does learn that Sun can speak english, he shuns her, feeling betrayed.  This isolates Jin even more, while Sun becomes a part of the survivor family.  It’s clear this power she has hurts as much as his sense of her betrayal.  But in the course of the first season, we see it is not Sun on the journey of realization.  She is in fact quite enlightened, generous and forgiving of people.  It’s Jin who needs to see with new eyes.  And the experiences on the island are what he needed to see clearly.  In a powerful and tearful moment, we see him confessing his regret of how badly he treated Sun.  And he starts to work towards being the kind of man she deserves.  In fact, Jin has really grown from being an overbearing and frustrating character to being a charismatic and engaging character, as likeable as Sun.  They have reflected both good and bad as to what a relationship can look like.

I like seeing that they have come through this journey stronger and loving each other more.  I like that Sun and Jin are no longer islated, and what’s really impressive is that while Jin has become funny and charsmatic, he still speaks almost no english(and on a show made for American TV, you can bet a fair number of viewers do not speak the Korean language).  I also like seeing Jin realize that his wife trumps some sense of pride about “being the man”.  Now he depends on her skills as much as his own.

It’s been a great character arc for this couple.  Which leads to one important question…where the hell are Rose and Bernard.  I want more Rose and Bernard!

*One of the cool things the Lost crew came up with is that while we get subtitles when Jin and Sun speak to each other away from everyone wlse, when they interact with the other characters, we do not get subtitles, so if you do not know Korean?  You are in the same boat as the english speaking characters on the show.