Performers of the Week: Minha Kim and Steve Sang-Hyun Noh
THE PERFORMERS | Minha Kim and Steve Sang-Hyun Noh
THE SHOW | Pachinko
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THE EPISODE | “Chapter Ten” (Aug. 30, 2024)
THE PERFORMANCES | Isak’s homecoming after a seven-year imprisonment should have been a joyous moment for Sunja and the boys. But when he unexpectedly tumbled through the front door, collapsing from sickness, bruises and weakness at a confused Noa’s feet, it became starkly apparent that this family reunion would be, at best, bittersweet.
“I’ve come back,” Isak gasped, as his sister Kyunghee rushed to his side. “I’m home.”
Not long after, Sunja laid her own eyes on Isak, barely allowing herself a smile as she processed his damaged state. Yet she had the presence of mind to assert that, in his absence, she and the boys “were lucky” to endure the way they did.
Throughout the taxing episode, Steve Sang-Hyun Noh (with an assist from the Pachinko makeup department) almost challenged us to take a a good look at what Isak had become, after suffering god-knows-what sorts of abuse. His face was drawn, his lithe form downright gaunt, every attempt at communicating with his family framed by coughs and wheezing.
Minha Kim in turn wonderfully captured the whirlwind of emotions — joy, concern, love, an unspoken dread — that washed over Sunja as this fervent wish was fulfilled in unexpected fashion. And that was even before Sunja sneaked off to ask Hansu what he might do to expedite medical attention. I am desperate, she admitted. Hansu agreed to send over the best doctor not lost to the war, provided that Sunja and her family accept his offer of a countryside retreat from Osaka. Kim took a moment before responding at all, then gave the gentlest of nods.
Back home, Noh had moving scenes with both Kang Hoon Kim (as Noa) and Eunseong Kwon (Mozasu), including a gripping reunion between Isak and Pastor Hu, whom we learned played a role in Isak’s arrest. Noa was aghast to learn of Hu’s betrayal, but Isak cleared the air with a quiet “I forgive you” to his friend.
The medical prognosis for Isak was not good — sepsis, among other things. So in what would be his final minutes of life, he curled up with Sunja to say a fraction of the things on his mind. Here, both Kim and Noh masterfully used the quietness of the moment to punctuate the few spoken words.
“I want to see the boys grow up. I want to hold my wife,” Isak whispered. But we know he won’t. “I want to live. So much,” he appealed. “I am dying to live.”
Isak urged Sunja to find someone after he is gone, for she has “so much love to give.” But she instead focused on him, and their legacy as parents. “Do not worry about us,” she assured her husband, cupping his face. “Our children will live good lives. They will thrive.” And based on the 1989 storyline, we know at least one of the boys is chasing such a destiny.
Scroll down to see who scored Honorable Mention shout-outs this week…
HONORABLE MENTION: Charlie Vickers
Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has returned, this time positioning Charlie Vickers’ Sauron as its focal point. The Sauron we see here is a challenging role, but Vickers is more than up to the task. The new season’s second episode, “Where the Stars Are Strange,” saw him temporarily re-adopting last season’s Halbrand veneer, selling us on a Dark Lord who can subtly flit between currying favor and advancing his dastardly schemes in ways that his fellow Middle-earthers miss but his viewers catch. Vickers did this almost entirely through his body language. He definitely talked a good game, but it was the gleam in his eyes, the small smiles and the casual way he held himself that took his performance to another level. Here, Vickers again proved he’s the right man to bring Sauron to life. — Hayden Mears
HONORABLE MENTION: Meredith Hagner
Meredith Hagner’s knack for playing self-obsessed millennials has been making us laugh since Search Party, and she’s finding new ways to crack us up as scam queen Eve on Apple TV+’s Bad Monkey. This week, she was a riot as we flashed back to Eve’s days as an (awful) aspiring actress, fake-crying her way through a scene from Ghost in her acting class. Hagner sparkled as Eve struck up an unlikely romance with Rob Delaney’s Nick, basking in his adoration and gyrating for him as a bottle service girl. Eve has claws, too, though, and Hagner surprised us with her steely menace as Eve gunned down a witness in cold blood and then suggested to Nick that they might need to off his daughter, too. It takes a great actress to play a terrible actress, and for that, Hagner deserves to take a bow. — Dave Nemetz
Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments!
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