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Hero of the episode: Jin Zero of the episode: Mikhail
Quote(s) of the episode: “Everyone else might be all right with you washing your clothes and eating our food, but I want to know what’s going on.”—Sun to Juliet | “Because my whole life I’ve pretended to not know what you do.”—Sun when she asked her father for money | “How about I take your other eye? Would you respect that?”—Charlie to Mikhail | “My husband believes that you are dead. Do not force me to make that a reality.”—Sun to Jin’s mother
Music vibes: hurried music as Desmond speaks of getting the injured woman help; threatening as Jin chases Mikhael through the jungle; rising drumbeats and horns when Sun and Juliet visit the medical station
Little things: Hurley is so quick to answer Mikhail’s questions about the woman while Charlie is looking at his find like he’s crazy.
Episode notebook:
Opens with Sun working in her garden. Jack comes to help her, but it’s a ruse.
Sun wonders why Jack is asking questions. Has Jack been compromised? Do the Others want her baby?
Kate tells Sun about Juliet researching pregnant women on the island.
Sun wants answers from Juliet.
Desmond, Charlie, Hurley, and Jin argue how to help the woman they found.
An unexpected guest, Mikhail, shows up.
Mikhail says he can help the injured woman, but only if they let him go after.
Flashbacks to the early days of Sun and Jin’s marriage.
Mystery woman, who turns out to be Jin’s biological mother, wants $100,000 from Sun to keep quiet about Jin’s past.
Sun visits Jin’s fisherman father. Jin’s father begs Sun to spare his son the shame of his past.
Sun asks her father for money, but it comes with conditions. Jin is no longer an ordinary employee in his business; now, he must work directly for his father-in-law as an enforcer.
Juliet offers to help Sun. Both women make confessions to the other.
Mikhail helps the injured woman, but not before trying to steal her satellite phone.
The real reason for Juliet’s presence on the beach is revealed.
The injured woman awakes and tells Hurley some jaw-dropping news.
Episode recap: For most of their relationship, Sun and Jin have lived behind a façade. Off the island, both did their best to pretend that Sun’s father wasn’t a heavy presence in their relationship. The weight of their secrets, Sun’s affair and Jin working as an enforcer for her dad, consumed them off the island and nearly tore them apart on the island. They’ve finally found a happy medium. But that peace is disrupted by Juliet’s arrival.
While Jin, Hurley, Charlie, and Desmond are arguing about how to help the injured mystery guest, Sun starts another day in her garden. Under the pretense of helping with the garden, Jack starts asking questions about her pregnancy. Any morning sickness? Tiredness? Bleeding? Sounds like a doctor stopping by for a house call, but Sun is suspicious. Speaking with Kate, Sun questions Jack’s loyalties. Jack spent over a week with the enemy, is he still the same person? Kate pleads the case for Jack but soon realizes the only solution is to tell Sun about Juliet’s research. A reluctant Juliet admits to Sun that pregnant women on the island all died. Is the same fate on the horizon for Sun?
Off the island, Sun and Jin’s marriage started full of hope. They constantly professed their love for each other. They were starting out in a new home, filling it with furniture and happy photos. But ghosts from the past threaten the façade. A woman claiming to know Jin is the son of a poor fisherman and a prostitute wants $100,000 from Sun. If she doesn’t pay, she’ll expose the truth to Sun’s father, business associates, and, worst of all, Jin. In some cultures, this wouldn’t be a big deal, but for Jin it would humiliate him—a shame that he could never live down. A visit to her father-in-law reinforces that Sun should pay the extortion. Her father-in-law carries the shame of being poor; he’s always wanted better for his son. Marrying into a wealthy family was a fresh start for Jin; his father wanted more than anything for his son to maintain the illusion. The illusion that Jin’s parents were dead, and with it, the shame of his origins.
On the island, Jin and Sun have been looking forward to being parents. But is Jin about to lose his wife and child? Juliet offers to help Sun by taking an ultrasound and determining the D.OC., aka the date of conception. The pregnant women who died all conceived on the island. If Sun didn’t conceive on the island, she’ll live to see her child born. If she did conceive on the island, what then? They’ll cross that bridge when they get to it, off to the medical station they go. Why is Juliet helping her? Sun wants to know the answer.
Before the island, Juliet got to tell women happy news. Since arriving on island, Juliet has only delivered bad news, losing nine patients. Just once, Juliet wants to give good news. As we’ve seen in previous episodes, Juliet was consumed with guilt and grief over losing her patients. It moves Sun to admit her affair and the possibility that the baby isn’t Jin’s. But any way you slice it, Sun is in for some heartache. If the baby was conceived off the island, that means the baby isn’t Jin’s. If the baby was conceived on the island, Sun won’t survive the pregnancy. The ultrasound brings bittersweet emotions. The baby was conceived on the island, which is happy news to Sun but also a crushing sadness that she’s unlikely to live beyond a few months. What’s next? Juliet vows to help Sun, but how?
While Sun grapples with her own mortality, Jin is trying to protect his friends from an intruder. Desmond wants to run back to Jack for help, but Charlie thinks it’s a bad idea to split up. A new face, Mikhail, crashes the party. The Dharma Initiative alum whom Locke thought he killed (see Par Avion) is alive and well but doesn’t stick around to answer questions. Running through the jungle, Mikhail is brought down by Jin. Cornered, Mikhail offers a deal: he’ll help the injured woman, but only if they let him go afterward. Reluctantly, Desmond agrees, much to Charlie’s chagrin. Their enemies have wreaked havoc on our survivors, kidnapping and murdering people. Why keep letting them go? Desmond, Charlie, and Jin work on a stretcher for the injured woman, who awakens next to a curious Hurley. Is she here to rescue them? Does she know they were on Oceanic Flight 815? Through labored breaths, the woman reveals Flight 815 was found—with no survivors! Huh? How is that possible? No one is looking for our survivors? Do people think they’re dead? How does this nugget of news fit into the larger puzzle? Hmmm? More mysteries ahead, please come back next week from my recap of episode nineteen.
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