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Pachinko Season 2 Review: Lee Min Ho and Kim Min Ha’s poignant sequel brings angst, drama, and longing to life
Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko returns to the screens with a passion as Lee Min Ho and Kim Min Ha’s love story moves ahead amidst war. Read our full review below.
Name: Pachinko season 2
Premiere Date: 23 August, 2024
Cast: Lee Min Ho, Kim MIn Ha, Jin Ha, Youn Yuh Jung, Kim Kang Hoon
Director: Kogonada, Justin Chon
Creator: Soo Hugh
Writer: Based on the novel Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
No. of episodes: 8
Genre: Drama
Language: Korean, Japanese, English
Where to watch: Apple TV+
Pachinko plot
The story of Pachinko follows four generations of a Korean family that moves to Osaka under Japan’s rule over Korea with the lead character Sunja leaving her parents behind. The turmoil that accompanies her as well as her kids and grandchildren is explored with a deep-running connection to the Japanese gambling machine called Pachinko. Sunja’s life is portrayed via three of its most crucial periods with Jeon Yu Na, Kim Min Ha, and Youn Yuh Jung acting as her childhood, young adult, and old age selves.
Sunja harbors a complex relationship with Lee Min Ho’s Koh Hansu and weds Steve Sang Hyun Noh’s Baek Isak, giving birth to kids with each one, called Noa and Mozasu respectively. Jin Ha as Solomon Baek, is Sunja’s grandson and the bearer of generational trauma and corporate racism as he battles between life as a Japan-born Korean, doing business with the Americans. Pachinko season 2 continues with after Isak is arrested by the Japanese militia and trails with Solomon’s thirst for revenge. It also proposes Koh Hansu and Sunja’s possible reunion as the kids grow up amid an ongoing world war as well as the air attack on Japan.
Watch Pachinko season 2 trailer
Initial thoughts on Pachinko season 2
Following an impressive run all through its first season, Pachinko rode on high expectations from fans. With one of the best cinematographies for a series in its release year of 2022, the stakes were just as demanding as ever. The Baek family is further pushed into survival mode during World War 2 and the impact will arguably be the worst in Japan, where they reside.
The narrative of season 2 places its bets on the emotions of yearning between Koh Hansu and Sunja who have now been separated for about 14 years. It introduces a teenager Noa who holds his father, Isak, on the highest of pedestals. However, unbeknownst to him, the blood running in his veins will demand its rightful place someday. Meanwhile, Mozasu, Sunja and Isak’s biological son, is thrown into a cutthroat world that molds him into the money-loving man that he eventually becomes.
Solomon fights his own battle with the Japanese and the Americans, trying to triumph over the deep-running racism and elitist behavior stemming from both sides. The show brings Anna Sawai’s character Naomi face to face with Youn Yuh Jung’s Sunja, and the moments shared between the two are some of the most underappreciated ones from the show. The welcoming of a Japanese woman into a Korean household with a Japanese upbringing highlights countless nuances throughout the scenes as Solomon tries to gel with the idea.
Acting performances in Pachinko 2
Kim Min Ha is absolutely brilliant once again as the young adult Sunja, turning into a teenager’s mom and then a tween’s support system as her kids grow through the various atrocities that life throws at them. Youn Yuh Jung’s nonchalant wisdom and fearless stance are almost paradoxical at a point as she becomes one with the ideologies of life in Japan as a Korean-born woman.
Noh Sang Hyun or Steve Noh as Isak returns for a brief but very crucial scene that is enough to make anyone shed empathetic tears as we witness a heartwrenching exchange of emotion between two strong-willed but helpless people. Jung Eun Chae as Kyunghee is a character heavily underrated for her influence on the life that Sunja lives and her perception of the world as an elderly figure in the Baek family. Her pining for love and adoration is almost palpable.
Jin Ha as Solomon leads a one-man show in a world that is almost an alternate universe and yet very much filled with the same horrors as his family, while he tries to maneuver the complexities of discrimination, in what he considers to be his homeland, Japan. Kim Kang Hoon as Noa is yet another splendid portrayal by the young actor as he deals with racism in his school and then learns of his roots.
Last but surely not least, Lee Min Ho as Koh Hansu brings a compelling portrayal to the screens, almost going back to the basics with carefully curated expressions. The Hallyu King makes it out of the box with a mean embodiment of the heavily misunderstood character and keeps his hat on while doing so.
Pachinko season 2 review: Should you watch the upcoming release?
If you’ve read the book by Min Jin Lee, season 2 of Pachinko will be able to provide you with Soo Hugh’s calculative take on it as the changing timelines breathe life into an otherwise linear story. If this is your first rodeo with the New York Times bestseller adaptation, what are you waiting for? Pachinko season 2 promises an equally engaging watch, if not more, with its pilot season which exceeded expectations globally.
Pachinko season 2’s characters will get you agitated, while the realistic nature of its storytelling will make you think about the world we call home. It’ll elate you in the most unexpected moments and bring a sharp pang of sorrow as you witness loss like never before. The periodic recounting of the real-life events that have shaped the two countries’ present and the realities of the people living is like an infinity mirror to stand against. Finally, the warmth shared between the members of the Baek family will hit home in more ways than one.
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