Lost recap #3.5: House of the Rising Sun
Season 1, episode 6
Hero of the episode: Sun
Zero of the episode: Jin
Quote(s) of the episode: “Remember when all you had to give me was a flower.” – Sun to Jin; “We don’t need to bring the water to the people. We need to bring the people to the water.” -- Jack
Music vibes: creepy vibes when Jack, Kate, Locke, and Charlie set off into the jungle for water.
Little things: Jin giving Sun a flower while they were dating. | Kate wants to know the story behind Jack’s tattoos. I know we get an episode about the tattoos, but much later. | Charlie and Locke bonding.
Episode notebook:
ANOTHER EYE SHOT, this time from Sun, who appears to understand the conversations going on around her.
Jack, Kate, Charlie, and Locke head to the caves to fill up bottles of water.
Flashbacks to Sun and Jin falling in love. They had to date in secret. They were romantic with each other. They nearly eloped, but Jin wants to do it right. He wants her father’s permission. Who is Sun’s father?
Jin beats up Michael—unprovoked.
There are skeletal remains in the cave, not from the plane crash. We do find out who those people were in the later seasons….I think.
Charlie tries to break from the group to get a fix. Can’t go without that heroin. What was the plan when he ran out? There probably wasn’t one. Charlie does give up his drugs to Locke. For how long?
“Omar” – Yet another nickname Sawyer gave Sayid.
Michael is offended when people question why Jin attacked him. As if Michael is to blame for his own attack.
Michael realizes his son doesn’t know who he is. How long were they apart?
Jack thinks the caves could make a good shelter. Why keep trekking back and forth to get water, when they could set up camp in the caves?
Jin gets permission to marry Sun, but it comes with consequences. What kind of man is Sun’s father?
Sun reveals to Michael she can speak English. Jin attacked Michael over a watch he was wearing. The watch belonged to Sun’s father. The watch is about protecting honor, and in Jin’s mind, Michael was showing disrespect by wearing it. Again, what kind of man was Sun’s father?
Episode recap: The opening eye camera shots continue. When I’m done with season one, I’m going to have to look up why the creators fell in love with this particular camera angle.
Back to Sun, she’s still just observing. She’s hanging back, wanting to find ways to communicate without upsetting Jin. The camera angles/perspective in this episode show that Sun understands more than she’s letting on. Up until this episode, Sun and Jin have only spoken Korean. They don’t speak English, or at least that’s what it seems.
While Jack, Kate, Charlie, and Locke set off for the caves to get water for the group, there’s drama on the beach. Out of nowhere, Jin attacks Michael. There has to be a reason for beating a man into near unconsciousness. What’s Jin’s reason? We don’t get Jin’s perspective, yet. Instead we get Sun’s perspective. Flashbacks to their past reveal a couple that was very much in love. Their relationship had hints of Romeo and Juliet. A love that grew in secret, even thinking about getting married in secret. But Jin wanted to do things the right way, getting her father’s permission to marry Sun. But that permission came at a price of working for Sun’s mysterious father. Was dear old Dad a gangster? The creators certainly hinted at that. One night, Jin comes home bloody and bruised saying, “I do whatever your father tells me.” Hmmm? What did Jin do on this night? I think we get those answers in a later season.
Even with the focus on Sun and Jin, this episode had a lot going on. Locke and Charlie get to know each other, more than Charlie realizes at first. Charlie thinks Locke is just another fan of his former band, Driveshaft. But Locke sees what Charlie is trying to hide—his drug addiction. It’s time to deal with his addiction, but is Charlie ready?
Jack has another plan brewing. Going back and forth to the caves for water is not the way to go. Carrying bags laden heavy with water bottles is tiring. Why not set up shop in the caves? Fresh water all day. Shelter from the sun. Less chance of animals attacking. But is this giving up or a reality they must face? It’s only been eight days, and there’s still a chance they will be seen by a plane or passing boat—but only if they stay on the beach. Some of the survivors are on board with Jack’s plan, but some, like Kate, Sayid, and Michael are not. Oooh. The first signs of a crack in Jack and Kate’s budding relationship.
Sun was ready for a change of her own before boarding flight 815. Fed up with Jin’s evasiveness and lies, Sun was prepared to leave him for good. But instead of slipping away at the airport, Sun stayed. At the exact moment, 11:15 a.m., when Sun was supposed to leave, Jin showed a glimpse of the man she married with just a simple act. A flower. He presented her with a small flower, the same kind he gave Sun when they had to keep their love a secret. >Sniff< A small gesture with a big impact, it made Sun realize how much she still loved her husband. How could she leave him? >Sniff<
Please come back next Thursday for episodes seven and eight.