Under showrunner Soo Hugh’s deft leadership, the second season of “Pachinko,” a sprawling epic drama from Apple TV+, continues to astound. The rich, broad strokes of Min Jin Lee’s bestselling 2017 novel of the same title interweave with perspicuous details in the show’s dual narrative lines as the Baek family moves through the 20th century.
The first season of “Pachinko,” which explores cyclical repetitions of suffering, greed, mercy and joy across four generations of a Korean immigrant family, premiered in 2022. Its portrayal of a family’s determination to persevere despite Japan’s legacy of colonial rule, ingrained prejudice and generational trauma was met with numerous international awards and critical acclaim. On Aug. 23, the show premiered its second season, once again enriching its storytelling with lavish cinematography, beautiful costume and set design and inspired performances by an ensemble of dedicated actors.
The first season mostly adhered to its source material, taking the novel’s chronological story and chopping it into two timelines, one which charts the journey of its central figure, Sunja Baek, from Japanese-occupied Korea to Osaka as a newlywed and young mother, and the other taking place in 1989 Tokyo and Osaka. In the latter timeline, Sunja is living in financial comfort as she reconnects with her grandson, Solomon, who has returned to Japan after receiving an education in the United States and pursuing a high-flying Wall Street career. He’s after a much-deserved promotion that he will not receive unless he closes a billion-dollar real estate deal in Tokyo.