...In Translation

Flashbacks

Jin-Soo Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim) visits Sun's (Yunjin Kim) father, Mr. Paik (Byron Chung), to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. Mr. Paik asks Jin about his dreams and his family. Jin states that he would like to own his own restaurant and hotel, and that his father is deceased, as well as telling Mr. Paik that he would do anything for Sun. Mr. Paik offers Jin a job but is unspecific about its requirements. Later, Jin tells Sun that they will be able to go on their honeymoon after he does some management training.

Jin gets promoted and Mr. Paik assigns him to go to Mr. Byung Han's house and "deliver a message". There, he tells Mr. Han that Mr. Paik is displeased with him. As a way to make Mr. Paik happy Mr. Han gives Jin a puppy, the same dog seen earlier in Sun's flashbacks. Sun prepares a candlelit dinner for her husband, but they are interrupted by Mr. Paik, who is upset that his factory has been closed. Paik blames Jin for not delivering the message properly. He sends Jin, along with a mercenary companion, back to Mr. Han's house.

Before the other man can kill Mr. Han, Jin beats him up, telling him in the end that the factory must open tomorrow and that he just saved his life. Again, Jin is shown washing blood from his hands in the bathroom and Sun slapping him, but this is now followed by Jin crying for what he has been forced to do. Jin visits his father, who is still alive and working as a fisherman. Jin apologizes for being ashamed of his family. They talk about Sun and Jin's marital difficulties, and Jin expresses his wish to "start over". In the end, Jin's father tells him to go to America with Sun to start a new life.

On the Island

On Day 32, October 23, 2004, Sun is wearing a bikini, but Jin rushes to cover her as they argue. Jin takes her by the arm and drags her. She falls in the sand. Michael Dawson (Harold Perrineau) rushes to her aid and threatens Jin. Sun slaps Michael in the face. He stands there shocked as Jin and Sun walk away. As Sun dresses, Jin asks if she is involved with Michael and she says no. Sun apologizes to Michael for slapping him while he is working on the raft. She said that she did it to protect Michael, because he doesn't know what Jin can do, implying her slapping him saved him from a far worse beating.

Shannon Rutherford (Maggie Grace) and Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews) flirt, while Michael works on the raft. Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) comes over and Michael tells him the raft can only fit four people. Jack asks about the available spots on the raft and Sawyer says that he bought one in exchange for some building materials. At night the raft catches fire and all the islanders (namely Michael) blame Jin. Sun then finds Jin covered with burns and he does not speak to her.

Sayid informs Shannon's stepbrother, Boone Carlyle (Ian Somerhalder), that he may be dating Shannon, and Boone warns him that she is using him. The next day, Sayid tells Shannon that it might not be a good idea for them to date. Shannon goes to confront Boone, but runs into Locke instead. He advises her to start a new life rather than confront Boone. Sawyer ambushes Jin while he is gathering water and knocks him out with a kick to the head. He ties Jin up and escorts him to the beach.

Back at the beach, Michael beats Jin up. Sun (for the first time speaking publicly in English) then tells him to stop and that Jin did not burn the raft. Jin burned his hands while trying to put the fire out. Everyone is surprised that she speaks English. She goes on to attest that Jin is not a liar. Locke then says that it would be unlikely that one of the survivors burned the raft, implying that the Others burned the raft. Michael concedes the raft is gone and decides to make a new one. Sun goes to see Jin and says (in English) that she was going to leave him and that he changed her mind about leaving. Speaking Korean, she asks him if they can "start all over". However, Jin tells her that it's too late to start over.

At night, Shannon decides to stay with Sayid even though Boone does not like Sayid around her. Also, Locke asks why Walt burned the raft and he says that he doesn’t want to move anymore, that he likes it on the island. The next day on the beach, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia) listens to Damien Rice's "Delicate" on his CD player but the song cuts off midway when the batteries die. Meanwhile, Sun goes into the ocean in a bathing suit as a free, but lonely woman and Jin helps Michael build the new raft.

Production

The episode was directed by Tucker Gates and written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Leonard Dick. Its flashbacks are from Jin's perspective and mirror those seen in "House of the Rising Sun", an earlier episode also written by Grillo-Marxuach. It was filmed in January 2005.

The episode's guest actors included John Shin, an actor from San Francisco, as Jin's father Mr. Kwon. Despite meeting Dae Kim on their first day of shooting, Shin sought to exude joy and warmth over seeing his character's son again.

Reception

"...In Translation" first aired in the United States on February 23, 2005. An estimated 19.49 million viewers watched the episode, which finished in second place for the night among all major American networks, behind American Idol. Among viewers aged 18-49, the episode finished in ninth place for the week with a ratings share of 7.5/20.

Writing in 2008 for IGN, Chris Carabott criticized the episode for not advancing the series' narrative, describing it as "yet another good character piece" but "fail[ing] at really moving the story forward at all." In a 2009 list of his favorite Lost moments, Zap2It's Ryan McGee praised "...In Translation" for "recontextualiz[ing] Sun's flashbacks in "House of the Rising Sun", calling this "storytelling of the highest order."

In a 2013 ranking of all Lost episodes, Todd VanDerWerff called Sun and Jin's relationship "the best romance on the show" after Desmond and Penny. Myles McNutt of The A.V. Club wrote in 2014 that the episode was "beautifully rendered", and gave it an A.