...In Translation

Plot

Jin-Soo Kwon goes to see Sun’s father, Mr. Paik, to ask for permission to marry her. Mr. Paik questions Jin about his aspirations and his background. Jin replies that he hopes to run his own restaurant and hotel, mentions that his father is no longer alive, and says he would do anything for Sun. Without giving details, Mr. Paik offers Jin a job.

Later, Jin tells Sun that after he finishes some management training, they can take their honeymoon. Jin is sent to deliver a message to Byung Han, the Secretary for Environmental Safety, conveying Mr. Paik’s disappointment over the factory closure. Han, hoping to appease Mr. Paik, gives Jin a puppy. Sun sets up a candlelit dinner, but Mr. Paik arrives upset that the factory is still shut.

He accuses Jin of failing to deliver the message correctly—Jin had not realized he was meant to threaten Han. Mr. Paik then sends Jin back to Han’s house with a hired thug carrying a silenced pistol. To prevent Han from being killed, Jin savagely beats him in front of his wife and young daughter, demanding the factory reopen by morning. He tells the thug that Han understood.

Jin goes home and scrubs blood off his hands, then breaks down crying. He travels to a fishing village to see his father, admitting he lied to Mr. Paik about his father being dead and asking forgiveness for being ashamed. His father hugs him. They talk about the problems in Jin’s marriage, and Jin says he wants to start over.

His father mentions that Mr. Paik’s next task for Jin is to sell watches in Sydney and Los Angeles, and urges Jin to go to America with Sun to begin a new life.

Production

Tucker Gates directed this episode, with a script co-written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Leonard Dick. The flashback sequences, told from Jin’s point of view, parallel those in an earlier episode also penned by Grillo-Marxuach, “House of the Rising Sun.” Filming took place in January 2005. Guest star John Shin, a San Francisco actor, portrayed Jin’s father, Mr. Kwon. On his first day of shooting, Shin met Daniel Dae Kim but aimed to project happiness and warmth at reuniting with his on-screen son.

Reception

When it first aired in the U.S., the episode drew about 19.49 million viewers, placing second for the night among major networks, just behind American Idol. In the 18–49 demographic, it ranked ninth for the week with a 7.5/20 share. Chris Carabott of IGN later said the episode was a solid character study but didn't push the overall plot forward. Eric Goldman, also writing for IGN in 2014, ranked it 101st out of all Lost episodes for the same reason. Ryan McGee of Zap2It praised how it reshaped the meaning of Sun’s earlier flashbacks in "House of the Rising Sun," calling that kind of storytelling top-tier. Dan Kawa of Television Without Pity gave it a B. Emily VanDerWerff, in a 2013 ranking, described Sun and Jin’s relationship as the show’s second-best romance, after Desmond and Penny’s. Myles McNutt of The A.V. Club called the episode beautifully rendered and awarded it an A.