Lost - D.O.C.

 *** / ****

Date of Conception

With all the daddy issues that exist among the principles of Lost, Jin’s shame for his is simply because he was a fisherman. Just because of his lot in life, this fisherman is considered such a disappointment to Jin (well, maybe not but if he wants to get anywhere in life, concealing his father’s “low economic status” is a must in their country). I can’t really express here in word how my heart just ached for this man when Sun meets him, how he begs her not to let Jin know of her visit (or that he has a prostitute mother blackmailing Sun to keep hush-hush about her relation to Jin) to him. He understands the way things are and how culture perceives those with and those without. He realizes his son, in order to succeed, will need to do so with a type of clean slate that affords him no past baggage to drag him down. But this fisherman raised Jin alone, without help. This fisherman didn’t even know if Jin was his son, yet raised him anyway because he felt the kid deserved a chance…a chance his mother didn’t help provide. And yet the mother coerces Sun into going to her criminal kingpin father for money, which in turn burdens Jin with a debt he’ll have to pay with violence and bloodshed. All of the off-the-island issues the principles face, so often it is the result of bad decisions. But Jin’s suffering comes from outside actions unbeknownst to him. It was better than Jin never knew what kind of mother he had. Jin’s martial arts training and skills are used by Sun’s father to keep those beholden to him in line. Jin’s debt created because Sun kept the secret of his mother’s blackmail from him. Sun’s father using her needing that blackmail money as a reason to incur debt on her husband and utilize is skills as intimidation. Sun committing adultery with “a friend” as Jin is completely unaware of his inability to have children due to his “bad sperm”, creating the possibility that the baby inside of her could be the product of an ongoing fling. All of that mystery as to who the baby’s father is will be answered by Juliet. And either way Sun’s predicament is dire. If the child is Jin’s it was conceived while on the Main Island, so in all likelihood, two months Sun will die. If the child is Jae’s, then Sun will live with the knowledge that her adultery was responsible and the man she loves has been led to believe  he’s the father when that isn’t the case. This is a lot to absorb!

Sun’s daddy issues are a bit different than Jin’s. While Jin’s father works for a living just fishing, Sun’s pops does so illegally and often quite cruelly, using fear and intimidation to great effect. And yet within their society, Jin’s father is the one considered of low degree while Sun’s pops is recognized as someone of certain prestige…Jin’s father, though, is a good man who helped to mold Jin with character while Sun’s father is a reprehensible monster.

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“On this island, the rules are a bit different.” says Mikhail. Locke and Rose would agree.

“They found the plane. There were no survivors. They were all dead.” says the “parachute girl”.

“What?” says a spooked Hurley.

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The sperm count is higher on the island and yet all the women who get pregnant on the island die. This is Juliet’s news to Sun as she is taken to the abandoned Dharma medical station. Juliet tells Sun this is where the women were taken to die. Seeing her baby on the sonogram and hearing its heart beating—what an extraordinary moment. Juliet has been through this before, though. Determining if the baby was Jin’s or Jae’s is as suspenseful for Juliet as it is for Sun. Juliet, however, returns to the station after her and Sun leave it, thanked for her help. It is revealed that Juliet is keeping tabs on the women remaining of the 815 Oceanic, leaving messages for Ben in a tape recorder hidden in a locker. She also mentions how she hates him. That is understandable considering what he has put Juliet through. And Juliet delivering the news (whether it is good or bad is up to each viewer) that the baby is Jin’s and how much time she has before death overtakes her (prior to the third trimester all women—nine Juliet tells Sun—impregnated on the island die) establishes a dreary time table for one of the series main principle characters. Quite a downer.

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The trip down to the island for the girl in the parachute didn’t exactly treat her kindly. A tree limb puncturing her lung, filling it with blood, Mikhail (supposedly electrocuted to death by Locke through the push into the Others’ community sonar shield) conveniently arrives (and tries to flee, with Jin taking his ass down) to help keep her from perishing—thanks to Desmond. Charlie is in favor of killing Mikhail, while Hurley fires off a flare as a signal for help. Landing with this girl is a radio, which Mikhail tries to steal, but Jin notices the attempted theft. Desmond does prove a point when Charlie talks about executing Mikhail…the death count would seem to indicate the Others have lost more than the 815 in this struggle between the factions. Because Desmond gave Mikhail his word that if he helped to save the parachute girl he could go, this creates quite a bit of friction between he and Charlie. Mikhail gives Charlie this mischievous grin as he gets to walk away…this is far from over. Hurley being told by the parachute girl that the Oceanic didn’t survive is good bait for the remainder of the third season. What on earth is she talking about?

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I like that even if the character story isn’t about Jack or Kate that little asides are included featuring the main focused character (in this case, Sun). Sun asks Kate what is up with Jack, that he isn’t the same as he left. Jack’s loyalty to the 815 is even under subjection by Sun, wondering if he is working with the Others. Kate doesn’t believe that at all, even giving Sun a look of contempt for just suggesting it. Kate does see that Juliet is probably what has changed Jack. Jack asking Sun about how her pregnancy is going encourages suspicion. But it could just be Jack showing concern for Sun, hoping everything is okay. Just the same, that bit of cloud of suspicion regarding Jack and what his current motivations are produces a seed that will either grow according to his future behavior or die depending upon his actions.