Late in Season 2 of “Pachinko” waits a frame that's as flawless as it is simple, in that it holds two people. By then we've watched their yearning for each other sigh and strain through several episodes leading up to that perfect picture capturing them as they finally face what they know to be true and yet, cannot be. The pair stands inches apart but the lighting, airy atmosphere and the weight of their suppressed affection turn that length into miles of impossibility.
Such bubbles of longing buoy most love stories, although they're employed as sparing oases between expositional expanses. Soo Hugh’s adaptation of Min Jin Lee's exquisite novel refuses to be so stingy, following the lead of her heroine Sunja Baek. Seen as a both 30-something mother in 1945 (Minha Kim ) and a revered elder in 1989 ( Yuh-jung Youn), Sunja's wealth is her resolve, and Hugh uses her story as the thread connecting the lives and loves around her like precious beads.
