With a score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, the second season of Apple TV+'s 'Pachinko' has emerged as an early Emmy contender. In the series, "The hopes and dreams of a Korean immigrant family across four generations as they leave their homeland in an indomitable quest to survive and thrive." The ensemble cast includes Youn Yuh-jung, Minha Kim, Lee Min-Ho, Jin Ha, Jimmi Simpson, Soji Arai, Noh Sang-hyun, and Anna Sawai. But what did the critics say?
Laura Sirikul of IGN Movies praises the series, stating, "Pachinko Season 2 is a masterpiece of storytelling, performance, production, costume design, cinematography, and direction. Like its characters, the series has learned from past mistakes." Continuing, "Throughout these stories and across the decades, Pachinko’s cinematography, production and costume design, and direction remain lavishly satisfying, with apt attention to detail regarding the cultures it represents. Whether it’s the fabrics in the period wardrobes or the kimchi and noodles Sunja makes at her merchant stand, the imagery is poetically stunning. The dialogue `s, too: As Sunja and Noa share a meal at a tofu stand, Sunja reflects on the struggles she has gone through, dreaming of a better life for her sons. “I made a promise to your father,” she tells him. “No matter what, you and your brother must thrive. I intend on keeping that promise.” Nico Muhly's brilliant score elevates the bold and touching story they share, adding a delicate resonance to moments between mother and children."
Dan Einav of Financial Times writes, "The exquisite, era-spanning inter-generational saga Pachinko returns after more than two years for a second season on Apple TV+ that confirms its standing as one of the most visually striking, emotionally stirring shows of the past decade."
Peter Martin of ScreenAnarchy says, "Featuring stirring performances and splendid period costuming, production design, and makeup, Pachinko picks up right where it left off, casting an absorbing, spellbinding, and troubling vision, unlike anything else I've seen in recent memory." Concluding, "Pachinko is a show that resides on a teeter-totter of emotions, informed by personal experiences and the lasting damage that systemic discrimination can have, crossing generational lines. The deep hatred that can develop between neighboring nations can become so ingrained that residents of one nation may speak out in knee-jerk fashion against residents of another nation. (As a light skinned American-born person I can't tell you how many times I've heard white people mutter 'dirty Mexican' around me, without realizing that I'm of Mexican-Irish descent.) Rarely explored in mainstream movies or television shows, the animosity between Japanese and Korean people dates back multiple centuries to Japan's invasion of Korea, which was only heightened when Japan annexed Korea in 1910, increasing up to 1945, which is when Season 2 picks up. Discriminatory words are frequently heard throughout the series, which can be enraging for all concerned."
Nick Schager of The Daily Beast notes, "A stirring small-scale epic of heritage, hate, and hope. In its sophomore go-round, it remains one of television’s finest." Adding, "The series is rife with sexism, Japanese intolerance of Koreans, and lingering scars (in both 1945 and 1989) that thwart attempts to resolve the myriad problems at hand. Still, the show is never preachy; rather, its bitter prejudices, romantic entanglements, and split allegiances are natural outgrowths of its time periods and its protagonists’ particular situations. The quest for identity is tangled up with the onerous weight of responsibility in Pachinko, and the show juggles (and commingles) its concerns with impressive deftness. Everyone in this era-spanning saga is contending with strained loyalties to others, themselves, and their Japanese homeland, in which they’re viewed as second-class citizens."
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| Image Courtesy of Apple TV+ |
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