After two years, "Pinball" is finally back for its second season. This drama adapted from the best-selling novel "Pachinko" attracted much attention when it was launched in 2022, not only because of the popularity of the original novel, but also because of its high production cos

After two years, the second season of "Pinball Game" is finally back.

, a drama adapted from the best-selling novel "Pachinko", attracted much attention when it was launched in 2022, not only because of the popularity of the original novel, but also because of its high production cost, with a single episode costing more than 13 million US dollars. When the first season of

ended, the series had a pretty good reputation, with a Douban score of 8.3. After the second season was launched, it did not receive much attention. In the two weeks since it aired, only more than 500 people have marked it, giving it a score of 8.1. Some viewers have complained a lot about the plot of the first three episodes.

So, is it still worth pursuing? Compared with the first season, what is the problem with the second season?

Before figuring this out, we might as well review the previous season a little bit. The first season of

"Pinball Game" uses cross-narratives throughout, telling the ups and downs of the lives of the two protagonists in different eras: one is Shanci, a girl who lived during the Japanese occupation of Korea, and the other is Shanci's grandson who lives in Korea. Solomon during Japan's bubble economy.

Shanci, who was born in poverty, not only lost his father when he was a child, but also had a bumpy road to love when he grew up. She fell in love with the married man Gao Hanshui and became pregnant with his child, but her stubborn and independent character made her unwilling to become Gao Hanshui's mistress.

Fortunately, the young pastor Isaac had a special liking for charity, and the two got married and traveled to Osaka, Japan to make a living in a foreign country.

Solomon, who lived in 1989, was a young talent who had worked in the United States for many years. In order to rise to the top of the company, he plans to use a deal that is extremely difficult to complete as a stepping stone. But the result was that not only did he mess up the deal, he was also kicked out of the company and lost all face. At the end of the first season of

, Shanci suffered a tragic fate. Not only was her husband arrested and imprisoned, but even basic survival became a problem. Solomon gradually darkened in despair and planned to use underworld means to achieve his goals.

Grandfather and grandson both seem to be in a worrying situation, but their attitudes are different. In the process of setting up a stall to sell kimchi, Shanci gradually became frank and frank from the low self-esteem and shyness at the beginning. She was not afraid of the future. On the other hand, Solomon, who was highly educated, wavered between conscience and interests, as if he had lost his mind. The point of life. The second season of

generally continues the story line of the first season. The Shanci family entered 1945 with difficulty, and at the same time, their situation became even worse.

You must know that at the beginning of the first season, although Shanci and his father were ravaged by the Japanese invaders on their own land, they lived with their compatriots and were not alone; but in the second season, Shanci and his family Living humbly in Osaka, Japan, they have become "second-class citizens". Once the US military captures Japan, Korean immigrants like Seon-chi will inevitably become "third-class citizens."

Therefore, there is a scene in the film that is very intriguing. The Shanci family, together with the surrounding Korean immigrants, practiced with weapons under the compulsory requirements of the Japanese army. The intention of the Japanese army is self-evident. They regard these Koreans as cannon fodder and as victims to resist the US military.

Fortunately, with the help of Gao Hanshui, the Shanci family hid in the countryside and survived.

As for Solomon, who has suffered repeated blows, he is still trying to wrestle with the big chaebol to win back his dignity. He first played the bitterness card, defeated the old lady who was the nail in the door, and won the chips in the game with the enemy. After that, Solomon planned to spread unfavorable news and disrupt the development plans of the large chaebol, in order to drain the bottom of the fire. Whether

Solomon will succeed in the end is yet to be seen. After all, compared with the big tycoons, Solomon is just a weak lone wolf. Even if he falls into the trap again, it is normal.

Judging from some of the scenes, the second season of "Pinball Game" is still remarkable. The most impressive scene happened in the second half of the second episode.

The kind husband Isaac finally returned home after being imprisoned for many years. The dying Isaac's only wish before his death was to call the priest who framed him and forgive the traitor in front of his eldest son Noah.

Isaac not only interpreted the true core of Christianity at the last moment of his life, but also wanted to pass on the most precious spiritual legacy to his son: to let Noah put aside hatred and cherish life.

Will Noah follow the teachings of his father Isaac?

Here, the series cleverly intercuts Solomon’s storyline. When he begged the old lady of the nail shop, he was furious, vowing to take revenge on the wealthy people, and he felt sorry for himself for the life he had not experienced suffering. The beauty of this cross-editing of

is that it interweaves and contrasts the personalities and destinies of the three generations of Isaac, Noah and Solomon: Isaac chose to let go of hatred, while Noah and Solomon will pick up Hatred.

You must know that the original novel "Pachinko" is actually narrated in linear time, and does not deliberately match the life trajectories of Shan Ci and Solomon. But the "curse" of identity flowing in the blood of generations is the top priority of author Lee Min Kim's writing.

Furthermore, the reason why the first season of "Pinball Game" performed well is not only because the theme it expresses coincides with the current topic of "identity politics", such as "The Universe" and "The Past" and other popular movies. This has been discussed before; more importantly, the echoes generated through cross-editing make many seemingly irrational emotional transitions appropriate and real. In the first season of

, the old lady from the nail shop had mixed feelings when signing the contract. While recalling all the hardships she had gone through, she asked Solomon to give her advice from the perspective of a Korean.

Solomon, who was originally firm in his stance, was influenced by the old lady's emotions and finally suggested not to sign the contract. It's hard to believe this paragraph alone. After all, Solomon's personality as a professional elite is unlikely to change temporarily.

However, precisely because of the cross-editing section that followed, it was a scene of the Koreans at the bottom who had traveled across the ocean to resist the oppression of the Japanese powerful and sing the songs of their hometown together.

Therefore, it seems reasonable for Solomon to change his position and no longer associate with capital, but with the ethnic group. Here, cross-editing has become a law of cause and effect across time and space, which closely connects Shanci and Solomon's life. The reason why the level of

dropped in the second season is also because it is no longer as particular about the use of cross-editing as in the first season, always paying attention to the internal connection between the two time and space, but just using it as a tool.

In addition, the relaxation relationship between the two story lines is also unbalanced.

From the plot point of view, the story line of Shan Ci is obviously more magnificent. Starting in 1915 and ending in 1989, the ups and downs of life for more than seventy years are full of mixed flavors of life. On the other hand, Solomon's story line basically revolves around the hotel development project. The superficial and sloppy capital business war makes this story line even thinner.

Season 1, due to proper editing, often used the dramatic tension of the charity story line to make up for the dullness of the Solomon story line, making it still watchable. In the second season, the boredom of some plots suddenly increased, and there were even side stories such as the love line between Solomon and his female colleague, the sunset love of the elderly and kindhearted people, which diluted the already dry plot.

The fundamental reason may be that the director lineup of the second season was changed from Guo Gongda and Quan Zhitae to Lee Sang-il, Liana Wareham and Chen Junlin, which caused a large gap in the overall narrative and editing of the series, and the characters The level of emotional delicacy is also not as good as before. However, considering the high investment in this drama, the extremely high degree of restoration of historical scenes, and the good details of persuasion, and the story line of Shan Ci is quite exciting, this drama is still worth watching.

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