(Indulge me. As we near the Season 5 premiere of Lost, I’m going to run through the current crop of main characters. There are spoilers.)
A lot of people think Sun is a sympathetic character, the vulnerable young Korean wife whose domineering husband made her first weeks on the island miserable. A lot of people think she’s quite a good person, because she and her husband, Jin, played such pivotal roles on Lost over the past four seasons. And a lot of that is due to the incredible acting ability of Yunjin Kim.
But I disagree with most of it.
I’ve always thought Sun was not a very good person. She’s an habitual liar, she manipulates people, she’s cold and calculating, and she doesn’t treat other people very well. Think back and you’ll see it.
I suspect Sun will be a serious adversary in Season 5. She’s mad at Ben, she’s mad at Jack … and she’s really mad at Kate, who said she would go get Jin out of the freighter’s engine room, but didn’t, consigning Jin to his mysterious fate. If all the Oceanic 6 have to return to the island, I’ll say Sun will be the toughest sell.
Highlights:
- The moment she reveals she can speak English.
- Shooting Colleen on the sailboat. This was one of the first times we saw Sun being a hardass.
- Her reaction to the freighter explosion. Sometimes an actor just blows up, too. Yunjin Kim stands out among a cast of fantastic actors.
- Her conversation with her father after her return, when she takes over Paik Industries. Gold!
Problems:
- I can’t believe Oceanic paid a settlement large enough to take over a multinational industrial corporation.
- There’s a weird moment that has always bothered me in Season 2 (“Collision”). Sun talks to Michael and knows Jin is alive and on his way back. So when Jin, Bernard and Libby make their surprise appearance at the beach camp, Sun is … washing clothes down by the water? Then she acts surprised to see Jin. I suspect this is a post-production error, but it’s still jarring. On second thought, it’s kind of in keeping with Sun’s cold, adultery-committing character.
