Ji Yeon (Lost)

"Ji Yeon" (/ˌdʒiː ˈjiːɒn/; from Korean 지연 [tɕi jʌn]) is the seventh episode of the American Broadcasting Company's fourth season of Lost and 79th episode overall. The episode was written by co-executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, and directed by regular Lost editor Stephen Semel. It was first aired in the United States and Canada on March 13, 2008. It is the first episode to feature Harold Perrineau since his departure at the last episode of the second season, and features Zoë Bell as a guest star. "Ji Yeon" was watched by 12 million American viewers and received mostly positive reviews.^[2] Before the premiere of the fourth season, the principal cast of Lost called "Ji Yeon" the most shocking of the first seven episodes.^[3] The title of the episode is the name of Sun's daughter, and means "flower of wisdom."^[4]

The episode's story focuses on married couple Sun (Yunjin Kim) and Jin Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim). In late 2004, on the island, they debate whether to defect to the rival faction of survivors led by John Locke (Terry O'Quinn). Intercut throughout the episode, a series of off-island scenes show Sun about to give birth and Jin experiencing a series of difficulties in his efforts to reach the hospital with a gift of a stuffed panda. The ending shows that Jin's and Sun's scenes do not focus on the same birth; Jin's scenes are flashbacks to events before the plane crash, while Sun's are flashforwards to sometime after she escapes the island. A subplot follows Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews) and Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick) on board the Kahana, where they learn more about the freighter's mission and find somebody they once knew.