Lost: 5 Times We Felt Bad For Jin (& 5 Times We Hated Him)

Character development was one of Lost‘s greatest strengths. The show featured a cast of deeply flawed characters who gradually grew into better versions of themselves. Jin Soo-Kwon was one of the characters who developed the most throughout the show’s six seasons.

Jin was initially depicted as a problematic character, as was his relationship with his wife Sun Hwa-Kwon. Through flashbacks and his evolving experiences on the Island, Jin became a more nuanced and likable character as the series progressed. Particularly in the earlier seasons, he proved he could be despicable, but throughout the show, he also provided many moments where he was worthy of sympathy.

10 Hated Him: Neglecting Sun

Jin became consumed with the work he did for Sun’s father. This caused him to neglect Sun. He rarely engaged with her anymore and when he did, he was often distant or easily agitated.

Even though Jin loved Sun and was only working for her father to maintain their marriage, his neglect made Sun feel unloved and unwanted. On too many occasions he treated her like a nuisance. All of this caused the passion and trust in their marriage to erode.

9 Felt Bad: Forced To Do Terrible Things By Sun’s Father

Sun’s father Mr. Paik forced Jin to do some terrible things for him. The worst was when Mr. Paik would order Jin to send a “message.” These messages required Jin to physically beat or kill those who threatened Mr. Paik’s work or honor. Jin was asked to do this to a government official who shut down one of Mr. Paik’s factories. He was also asked to send a message to Jae Lee, who unbeknownst to Jin was sleeping with Sun.

Doing these terrible things made Jin hate himself, and he felt unable to share the truth with Sun, yet he felt powerless to resist, as his marriage was contingent on appeasing Mr. Paik.

8 Hated Him: Claiming That His Father Was Dead

Mr. Kwon was one of the only good fathers in Lost. He was a kind, cheerful fisherman who raised Jin all on his own. He made Jin an excellent fisherman and always had a positive outlook on life. When Jin and Sun’s marriage started to fall apart and Jin felt trapped by his work for Mr. Paik, he returned home and sought his father’s advice, who helped his son find a way forward and focus on what was important.

Despite all of this, Jin told Sun and everyone else that his father was dead. He was ashamed to be the son of a poor fisherman. Jin was ambitious and didn’t want to be held back by his heritage, but that doesn’t excuse the lie he told about his wonderful father.

7 Felt Bad: Loneliness And Isolation

While many of the Oceanic Flight 815 survivors quickly formed friendships and connections with each other, Jin struggled with loneliness and isolation in the show’s first seasons.

The preexisting strains on his marriage with Sun factored into this, as did the language barrier, as Jin struggled to communicate with many of the other survivors. This was particularly apparent when numerous survivors knew Sun was pregnant and were talking about it, but he was in the dark about it.

6 Hated Him: Attacking Michael

During one of their first days on the Island, Jin suddenly began to attack Michael. One second Michael was hanging out with his son Walt and the next second Jin was viciously beating Michael.

Jin’s attack had to do with the watch Michael was wearing. Michael found the watch after the crash and took it for himself, not knowing that the watch was a matter of pride for Jin as delivering it was going to be the last thing he did for Mr. Paik before running away and rekindling his loving marriage with Sun. Michael had no way of knowing this, and it was completely uncalled for to beat Michael in front of his son.

5 Felt Bad: The Time Jumps

After surviving the freighter explosion, Jin found himself caught up in the Island’s time flashes. Jin was transported through many time periods, unable to control how much time he’d be stuck in any given time flash.

Many of these time flashes involved him in the tragedies that befell Danielle Rousseau and her science expedition team. Rousseau didn’t understand what was happening to Jin and at one point tried to kill him because she believed he had become “infected” like the rest of her team.

4 Hated Him: Tearing Apart Sun’s Garden

Jin didn’t want Sun working in her garden after she was abducted there during the episode “The Long Con.” When Sun insisted on still working in her garden, Jin ripped out all of the plants and destroyed her garden.

Destroying the garden his wife took great pride in was a childish and selfish thing to do, regardless of his desire to protect her. He later made amends for this by replanting the plants he tore out, but that can’t excuse his explosive and possessive outburst.

3 Felt Bad: Separated From Sun

Jin survived the freighter explosion, but Sun thought he was dead. Jin was stuck on the Island as he went through the time flashes and when they stopped, he was stuck in the 1970s for three years, during which he worked for the Dharma Initiative.

Through all of this time, and in the first days when he returned to the present in season six, Jin remained separated from Sun. When told that it would be dangerous for Sun to return to the Island, Jin even gave his wedding ring to Locke. Locke was to tell Sun that her husband was dead to prevent her from returning to the Island. He didn’t know what happened to her or their child, and didn’t find out until they finally reunited in season six.

2 Hated Him: Shaming Sun

Throughout the first few seasons, Jin shamed Sun on a number of occasions. He’d shame her if her clothes weren’t conservative enough for him, telling her to button all the way or to cover up. When he didn’t like what other characters like Michael or Sayid told her, he’d sometimes launch into a tirade about how these men weren’t her husband and that she needed to listen to him because he was her husband.

Sun and Jin eventually developed a mutual respect for one another, but it took a long time to get there, and it can’t erase all the ways he emotionally and psychologically abused her.

1 Felt Bad: His Tragic Death

When the submarine exploded, Sun became pinned down by a piece of the wreckage. With Sun unable to escape, Jin chose to stay with her. He refused to abandon her and was determined to stay by her side, even though it meant they would both drown.

As if that wasn’t devastating and shocking enough, it also meant that Jin would never meet his daughter Ji Yeon. It would be best if Ji Yeon was raised by Jin’s kind father, but it’s unlikely that a poor fisherman would gain custody over Sun’s deeply wealthy and corrupt parents.

About The Author

Matthew Rudoy
(278 Articles Published)

Matthew Rudoy is a freelance writer who loves to write about his favorite movies and TV shows. In addition to Screen Rant, he also currently contributes to Dork Side of the Force. He has previously self-published two fantasy/sci-fi novels titled CORRUPTION and DESTRUCTION. While his favorite movies and TV shows tend to also fall in the fantasy and sci-fi genres, he enjoys and is open to anything that provides an engaging story, strong character development, and in-depth world-building. Matthew is grateful for the opportunity to write for Screen Rant and looks forward to continue contributing to the site.

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