The Glass Ballerina

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"The Glass Ballerina"
Season	3
Episode	2
Airdate	October 11, 2006
Flashback	Jin-Soo Kwon Sun Kwon
Days	68-69
Writer	Jeff Pinkner Drew Goddard
Director	Paul Edwards
Guests	M.C. Gainey - Tom (Mr. Friendly) Tania Raymonde - Alex Paula Malcolmson - Colleen Michael Bowen - Pickett Byron Chung - Mr. Paik Tony Lee - Jae Lee Sophie Kim - Young Sun Joah Buley - Luke Tomiko Okhee Lee - Mrs. Lee Teddy Wells - Ivan
Transcript	S3E02 - The Glass Ballerina Transcript

The Glass Ballerina episode directs here. For the object of the same name seen during this episode, please see glass ballerina (item).

"The Glass Ballerina" is the second episode of Season 3 of Lost. Jin, Sun and Sayid worry when the other party makes no contact with them after they lit the signal fire. Meanwhile, the Others realise that the survivors acquired a sailboat.

Synopsis

Flashback

The glass ballerina

Mr. Paik talking to Jin

Jae Lee dead on Jin's car

A young Sun Kwon runs away frightened after smashing a glass ballerina.

Later, her father confronted her to ask if she broke the glass ballerina. Sun lied, telling her father that it was the maid who broke the ballerina. She stood by her story even though her father told her that he would fire the maid if Sun accused her.

Years later, an older Sun laid in bed with Jae Lee. Jae Lee offered her a string of pearls, saying that he didn't want to share her anymore. Before she could answer, Sun's father broke into the room, told Sun to get dressed, and warned Jae Lee that his actions would have consequences.

Mr. Paik assigned Jin, Sun's husband, the task of "delivering a message" to Jae Lee. Paik made it clear that he wanted Jae dead. When Jin refused, threatening to quit if this must be his job, Paik called Jin "son". Jin went home, and was further aggravated by Sun and her risky suggestion to run away to another part of the world. He finally stormed out to deliver the message.

At the hotel, Jin violently attacked Jae Lee. He warned him to leave Korea and never return. As Jin got into his car, the body of Jae Lee suddenly landed on the hood, clutching Sun's pearl necklace. At Jae's funeral, Sun asked her father whether or not he would tell Jin about Jae Lee's relationship with her. He said that it was not his place to do so, and left, telling Sun to go home to her husband.

Ben instructing Colleen to get the boat

Sayid building the second signal fire

Sawyer kisses Kate in defiance to the Others

Ben shows Jack a recording of the Red Sox's winning the World Series

Realtime events

As Ben and Juliet shared a moment outside Jack's cell, Colleen ran up to warn Ben that Sayid had discovered the decoy village, and that he had somehow aquired a sailboat. Ben told her to gather a team and capture that boat.

Sayid, Jin, and Sun debated over the best course of action, and finally settled on moving to a different part of the island to light another signal fire. As they built the signal fire, Sun wondered aloud why it was so large. Sayid admitted that he suspected the other party had been captured, and intended to attract an attack by the Others to capture two of them as hostages. He knew that Jin would be too concerned with Sun's safety to carry out this plan, and asked her to lie to him until it was time. Jin, however, told Sun that he had learned more English than she thought, and understood her betrayal.

Once night fell, a group of Others boarded the sailboat from the water, avoiding Sayid and Jin's trap on the beach. Colleen found Sun below deck, and Sun shot her in the stomach and barely escaped the boat under heavy fire. She jumped overboard, and swam through the darkness back to Jin.

While Sawyer and Kate were working outside, Sawyer kissed Kate in an apparent display of romantic passion. When Pickett stepped in to roughly break the two apart, Sawyer punched him, sparking a fight. The resistance was finally put down when Juliet held Kate at gunpoint. Once back in their cages, Sawyer revealed that he did it to test the strength of their guards.

In the shark tank, Ben visited Jack and formally introduced himself as Benjamin Linus. He told Jack that he would need him to do something for him in the future. Ben then showed Jack a video of the Red Sox winning the World Series, as proof that they had contact with the outside world and could take Jack home.

Trivia

• This episode was originally planned to air as the third of season three, but it was switched with "Further Instructions" for unknown reasons.
• The number two was shown on the elevator outside Jae Lee's room, which may indicate a floor number, or just an elevator number.
• Ben gave the current date on the Island as November 29th, 2004.
• Ben claimed he "sent" Michael and Walt "home", but he will "take" Jack home.
• The canteen Juliet offered Sawyer appeared to have the Staff logo on it, just as Ethan's Canteen did in "Maternity Leave".
• When Sayid, Sun and Jin are disagreeing on the boat, the weather appears to change as the camera angle changes.
• The gun on the dash of Jin's car was the same type of gun as Sayid gave to Jin.
• According to closed captioning, Colleen tells Pickett that Ben wants her to take the Galaga to get the sailboat from Sayid, Sun, and Jin.
• The monitors that show trees on the top left and right show the same shots of trees as:
  1. A scene where Sayid and Jin are waiting by the boat - pictures for comparison.
  2. A scene from the season two premiere where Walt is standing in the woods dripping wet - pictures for comparison.

Cultural references

• Ben reveals to Jack several news headlines from late 2004:
  • Christopher Reeve died. This actually happened on October 10, 2004.
  • The Boston Red Sox won the World Series. This actually happened on October 27, 2004.
  • America re-elected George W. Bush as President. This actually happened on November 2, 2004.
• Jack is shown a clip from the 2004 World Series, in which Joe Buck, the sportcaster says "...back to Foulke... Red Sox fans have longed to hear it! The Boston Red Sox are World Champions! It has been 86 years, generations have come and gone, and for the first time since 1918 the Boston Red Sox are champions of baseball! A clean sweep for the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Red Sox celebrate in the middle of the diamond here at Busch Stadium." The italicized text is omitted in the clip shown to Jack.
• "You taste like strawberries" is a quotation from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer sixth-season episode "Wrecked." Writer Drew Goddard worked on Buffy, as did Lost season one writer/producer David Fury.
  • A strawberry was also featured prominently in the pilot episode of the Joss Whedon series "Firefly" which Goddard & Fury also had contributed.

Recurring themes

• Colleen said Sun was "not a killer" which alludes that Sun was considered a "good person". (Good and bad)
• Colleen is shot by Sun, and nears death. (Life and death)
• Jin briefly fears Sun has died. (Life and death)
• Sun lies and tells her father that it was the maid who broke the ballerina. (Deceptions and cons)
• Sun continues to have an affair with Jae Lee. (Deceptions and cons)
• Sun's father, Mr. Paik, tasks Jin to kill Jae Lee. (Parent issues)  (Life and death)
• Jae Lee commits suicide after Jin stops short of killing him. (Life and death)
• Jae Lee's hotel room number was 1516. (The Numbers)
• The Metronome that Young Sun is playing along with is set at a tempo of 108 BPM. (The Numbers)

External links

• Press Release
• Promotional Photography