Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Pachinko Season 2 Episode 7.

Apple TV+’s Pachinko features many different kinds of love stories. In this season alone, there has been the unrequited love between Kyunghee (Jung Eun-chae) and Mr. Kim (Kim Sungkyu), the complicated, toxic connection between Sunja (Minha Kim) and Hansu (Lee Min-ho), and the burgeoning friendship between older Sunja (Youn Yuh-jung) and Kato (Jun Kunimura). But there’s also a platonic love story that is every bit as powerful, and that’s the one between Sunja and her boys. In Episode 7, each of these relationships develops further, although some come with heartbreaking results.

Solomon and Mozasu Have Villainous Traits in ‘Pachinko’ Season 2 Episode 7
Image via Apple TV+

In the 1989 timeline, Naomi (Anna Sawai) meets with the director of Shiffley’s and Tom Andrews (Jimmi Simpson). Tom informs Naomi that allegations have been made that she has breached security protocol. He claims she has leaked confidential client information about the IPO with Yotsuba Finance. She protests that she’s done nothing that would jeopardize the IPO from moving forward, but they tell her that this lapse in judgment means that they will need to accept her resignation. It seems to slowly dawn on Naomi that Solomon (Jin H a) is the one who has put this plan into motion, and she escapes to her office to break down out of view from the others. Tom then calls Solomon to let him know that he’s carried out his plan to get rid of Naomi, and that everything is primed for their takeover to happen. This is the only insight we get into Solomon’s situation in this episode, but it is enough to know that he has reached a point of no return. He was willing to sacrifice his relationship with Naomi and her happiness in order to seal the deal for his future business ventures.

Sunja and Kato have been spending more time together, and Kato mentions that he’s always had a dream of seeing America, but that he doesn’t have the money to be able to do so. He sadly states, “We’re told to live a long life, but no one ever told us how to pay for it.” Kato also tells Sunja that he’s thinking about moving in with his daughter in Nagoya. Sunja looks heartbroken and then offers to give him money as a loan. He seems reluctant to take it, but then asks if they can go travel together, saying, “I would very much like to see America with you.”

Mozasu (Soji Arai) gets his report back from the investigator he hired to look into Kato. He tells Mozasu that Kato lives alone and hardly sees his family. He has no real assets and lives on a pension, but has something suspicious in his past. In a later scene, Mozasu gives Sunja evidence that Kato played a part in a sordid chapter of Japanese history. In August 1948, he was part of a unit of soldiers that massacred 139 American POWs. Mozasu thinks that knowing this about Kato will end Sunja’s relationship with him, but she just pushes back, saying that she doesn’t understand why it was okay for Mozasu to have a Japanese wife and Solomon to have a Japanese girlfriend, but that she isn’t permitted to have a Japanese friend. In a heartbreaking statement, she says that she needs Kato in her life “because I am lonely. Too many of those I have loved… they are gone.” The last scene featuring Sunja in the 1989 timeline shows her looking longingly at a travel book. Will she take up Kato on his offer, despite what she knows about his past? It doesn’t seem possible that the sweet Kato could actually be after Sunja just for her money, but could Sunja’s loneliness be clouding her judgment?

‘Pachinko’ Season 2 Episode 7 Features a Showdown
Image via Apple TV+

In 1950, everyone is celebrating Noa (Kang Tae-Ju) going away to Waseda University. The only person who doesn’t seem to be joyful is Yoseb (Han Joon-Woo), who is shown inside, alone. Later, when just the family is gathered for dinner, Yoseb complains about Kyunghee’s cooking and angrily gripes that he doesn’t get enough respect in their home. Finally, Mosazu (Masaku Takada) explodes, asking, “How much longer will you go on like this?” It becomes clear that Yoseb hasn’t left the house in the five years that the war has been over. The boys finally convince him to venture outside, even though he is terrified (and wears a shawl over his head to hide his burn scars). They take him to a baseball game, and while watching the little kids play, Yoseb is finally able to forget his troubles for a little while.

In a later scene, Mr. Kim and Yoseb interact for the first time in the series. Mr. Kim tells him that he’s going to join the fighting in Korea. He thanks Yoseb for allowing him to live in his home, but Yoseb answers bitterly, “What choice did I have?” He admits that he does have respect for Mr. Kim, and that he understands this is probably why Kyunghee loves him. It is terribly sad to see that Yoseb has understood all these years that Kyunghee really does love Mr. Kim instead of him. In another heartwrenching moment, he asks Mr. Kim to stay, saying, “If you leave, she will shatter.” He admits that he doesn’t want to be a martyr, and he also doesn’t want to be a cage that keeps Kyunghee from being happy, but he states, “She deserves so much more than what I can give her. She’s always deserved more. Go tell her, she is free. I won’t be the wall to stand in her way.” In this selfless act, Yoseb has shown that he loves Kyunghee more than himself.

Yoseb rushes off to tell Kyunghee that they can finally be together. He explains to her that Yoseb knows about their feelings for each other and that he’s made peace with it. But instead of her looking happy, Kyunghee has a pained expression on her face. She says, “So, the two of you decided what is to come of me?” She tells Mr. Kim that she broke her vows when they kissed back in 1945, and then her husband “was nearly obliterated” by the bomb. She continues, “I’ve long accepted that I am meaningless to this world… I made a covenant and my husband came back.” It’s not that she doesn’t love Mr. Kim, it’s just that she sees no way to go back on her word. Then, in a final, agonizing and loving act, she insists that Mr. Kim still goes off to fight, but that he must also survive, “because the thought of being in a world that you are not a part of, I cannot bear it. And when it’s all over, come back to us. Bring your wife and your beautiful children.” This is truly the end of this unrequited love story, but perhaps by Mr. Kim leaving, he will be allowed to start over (especially if it’s with someone that he can have a real future with).

Noa Heads Off To School in ‘Pachinko’ Season 2 Episode 7

In 1950, at the celebration for Noa, Hansu gives his son the watch that he once gave to Sunja. He explains to her later in the episode that he bought it back from the pawnbroker she sold it to in Season 1. He tells Noa that “this is just the beginning” for him. As Noa is preparing to leave, he spends time with Mozasu. First, they go to a pachinko parlor, where Mozasu explains how the games work to Noa (this is a nice nod to how the parlor will re-enter his life in the future). Then, later on, they are sitting on the roof of their home, and Noa tells Mozasu that he needs to look after the family now. Mozasu confesses that he wants to go to America, because “in America, I don’t have to be the person they see me as here.”

As Noa and Sunja leave for the train station to head to Waseda University, the family tearfully says goodbye (even Yoseb comes outside to wish him well). At first, it doesn’t seem as though Mozasu is willing to hug Noa goodbye, but as he watches his brother leave, he runs after him, and the two embrace in a touching moment. Mozasu starts crying, saying, “Don’t go! I can’t make it by myself.” Noa tells Mozasu that he will need to fight for his dreams, declaring, “Look forward, Mozasu. Always look forward.”

Noa and Sunja arrive in Tokyo to get Noa all settled in. A large, expensive trunk arrives, courtesy of Hansu. Noa and Sunja are both in awe of the urban setting and the huge buildings. Sunja is able to give Noa one more pep talk before she leaves. She says, “Your grandfather, he always wanted me to fly, to fly high, so I could see just how big this world really is. Now, it’s your turn, Noa. You’ll have to fly high. Every so often, you come back and tell me. I want to know as well, just how big it is.” They embrace, and she walks away, leaving part of her heart in Tokyo. This speech is also incredibly relevant, as it speaks to what Sunja has had to give up in order to raise her family (and why it would be so important for her to finally get to travel out into the world in 1989).

Hansu Takes a Drastic Step in ‘Pachinko’ Season 2 Episode 7
Image via Apple TV+

Towards the beginning of the episode, Hansu meets with his father-in-law, and they talk about a man named Yoshii Isamu. He is taking over some of their black market sales, but his father-in-law says Hansu shouldn’t worry about him. He also admits that the man who is set to marry Hansu’s daughter has decided that Hansu is not invited to the wedding ceremony. Hansu meets up with Sunja later and tells her that he is worried about his daughter marrying a man who despises him. Sunja doesn’t have a lot of advice for him, but then he starts reminiscing, asking her, “Do you remember the days at the laundry cove? How happy we were? But too naive to know it? I’m rotting inside now.” Sunja does have words of wisdom regarding this sentiment, and she tells Hansu that his only recourse is to cut out the rot.

In the last scene of the episode, Hansu’s father-in-law is at home, when a man appears. It is the infamous Yoshii Isamu that they discussed earlier. Yoshii says, “I wanted to thank you for your help with the markets,” and savagely stabs him in the stomach. The camera zooms out to show Hansu watching from the shadows, making it evident that he has orchestrated this assassination. His father-in-law falls into a nearby koi pond, floating lifelessly on the surface. It is a shocking step for Hansu to take, but it illustrates that he is someone who will stop at nothing to get what he wants (and he can be ruthless when it comes to taking revenge for being slighted). The only downside to this episode is that this scene is shot in very dark tones, so it is a bit difficult to see all the nuances play out on the actors’ faces during this pivotal moment.

Episode 7 wastes no time moving each of the storylines (in both timelines) along. With only one episode left in the season, several love stories have ended or become more complicated. And with Sunja’s blossoming friendship with Kato, could it possibly be time for her to strike out on her own after decades spent living for other people? Sunja might just learn that the most important love story is often found by accessing the love you have for yourself, and maybe she can take Noa’s advice to always look forward to the future.

New episodes of Pachinko Season 2 are available to stream every Friday on Apple TV+ in the U.S.

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