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‘Pachinko’ EP Soo Hugh on That Big Season 2 Finale Secret, Why Blackpink’s Rosé Covered Coldplay and the Show’s Uncertain Season 3

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‘Pachinko’ EP Soo Hugh on That Big Season 2 Finale Secret, Why Blackpink’s Rosé Covered Coldplay and the Show’s Uncertain Season 3

SPOILER ALERT: The following interview contains spoilers from “Chapter 16,” the Season 2 finale of “Pachinko,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

The Apple TV+ drama “Pachinko” has once again delivered emotionally fraught season finale.

The time-jumping family drama about Korean immigrants, based on Min Jin Lee’s 2017 novel, put the focus of the season-ender primarily on a college-aged Noa (Tae Ju Kang) in 1951, as he experiences not only college life and his first serious girlfriend, but also finally arrives at the point we’ve been waiting for all season — his finding out that the wealthy and corrupt businessman Koh Hansu (Lee Min-ho) is his biological father.

Courtesy of Apple TV+

Also, in the 1989 storyline, the older Sunja (Youn Yuh-jung) ends her budding romantic relationship, while her son Mozasu (Soji Arai) must confront someone from his past as he attempts to stop his ambitious son Solomon (Jin Ha) from going down a dark path he knows all too well.

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“Pachinko” showrunner Soo Hugh talked to Variety about what all these storylines coming to a head mean for the characters, how she got international pop star Rosé from Blackpink to cover a Coldplay song for the episode — and the future of the drama, since a Season 3 renewal has yet to come.

First of all, by the time we get to the end of Season 2, where are we with how the book unfolds?

I would say for the present-day storyline, it’s all pretty new, because we already caught up to the book in Season 1. For the past storyline, I feel like the foundation and a lot of the outlines are still there. We’re still in the book’s timeline for this past.

Courtesy of Apple TV+

This is a really big episode for Noa. How much do you think he actually has known about his father even if he didn’t admit it to himself?

There’s a line Hansu says to Sunja [Minha Kim] that he’s a smart kid and he’s going to find out. I think he has this inkling that something feels off, but I don’t think in his mind he can even understand that it’s possible for his mother to have had a baby out of wedlock. Those definitions don’t exist for him. He knows something, but he has no idea what that is.

In the scene where Hansu is confronted by Noa, Hansu has a choice not to tell him — but instead he tells him everything. Did you ever think about him not telling him, or did it have to happen?

I definitely wanted that moment. The camera lingers on Hansu’s face for a minute, and if you look closely, he even tears up slightly in that shot. Part of him knows that he’s cursing his son in that moment by telling the truth, but he’s been waiting for so long to do it. He’s waited 20 years to tell him, “I’m your father.” It’s really like “Star Wars!”

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How much alike do you think Noa is compared to Hansu? We see some flashes of Noa’s anger in this episode that’s similar to Hansu’s.

Well, it’s interesting the way he reacts when Akiko [Kilala Inori] says, “Noa, Hansu is your father,” and his first instinct is this huge, violent push. Then, afterwards, you see this fear in his eyes. I think he realizes “This blood that runs through this man, this blood that does have that propensity to violence, perhaps it’s in me as well.”

When Noa goes back home to see his mother one last time, he doesn’t tell her he knows. Later, she says that that was his mercy. Is that how you see it?

It’s funny. When you shoot scenes, you always want to give yourself as much room as possible to reinterpret those scenes in the edit room, right?  But you have to make decisions and in the edit room we had to. The editor and I had to pick the moment when Noa decides he’s going to leave. “When is he going to abandon his name? When is it?”

There’s one cut where he decides earlier with Hansu. If you look closely, when Hansu says, “I’ll make them grovel upon your feet,” there’s this look where Noa is breathing really hard — and all of a sudden, you see him calmly breathe, he catches his breath and he gets really still. In the editing room, we said, “That’s the moment.” So, when he goes to Sanja, he’s already made up his mind, and there doesn’t need to be an argument because his decision won’t be swayed. He’s really come to say goodbye.

I’m just glad he’s still alive in the end, since this show does have its tragedies. I was worried he might kill himself, or truly disappear but then we see him in Nagano.

There was discussion whether or not we needed the Nagano scenes at the end. Some people felt “Why do we need this?” And it’s for exactly your reason. It felt like schmuck-baiting not to have it.

We see that Sunja is destroyed by Noa leaving, but how is this going to affect Hansu?

Equally. He’s so affected, because he’s wanted to be the father for so long, but there are ways of dealing with it that are going to be very different. We’ve always said that are two very different worldviews of how they look upon the rules of the world. In the episode’s last shot of Hansu, he looks straight into the camera and it’s almost like he is looking at us and saying, “OK, this is who you want me to be. I’ll be your monster.” If there is a Season 3, we get to see that spiral continue.

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A monster of his own making, right? He’s orchestrated a lot of this.

That’s really interesting. I don’t know if Hansu would say it was of his own making, in some ways. I don’t know if he would, but that’s interesting.

Once we see Noa in that Nagano scene, he doesn’t just change his name, but also says he’s not Korean. How significant is that to the story you’re telling, given the show is so much about the identity of Koreans in this Japanese world?

What’s interesting is if you did a shot of people walking on a street in Japan, you would not be able to pick out who the Koreans were, because it’s a homogenous country. Koreans look similarly within the band of Asian-ness. It isn’t until, perhaps, someone opens their mouth or you hear about their families that you understand, “Oh, you’re not Japanese.” But Noa was born in Japan. He speaks Japanese like any other Japanese child, so in his mind, he’s just becoming who he’s meant to be. Which could have tragic consequences for him.

The narration over the final scenes with the dialogue about shadows is really beautiful, and fitting for all of these characters. Is that from the book?

It’s not from the book. It was actually in Season 1 originally, but we cut it. When Sunja goes into the water after Hoonie’s [Lee Dae-ho] death, we hear Hoonie’s voiceover say, “Dear Sunja…”This was dialogue that was supposed to go there and it didn’t work. It was too abstract at that time. We wrote it so that Hoonie did a more direct address to Sunja, but I’ve always loved this dialogue. I always loved this metaphor of the horses. And I was like, “Try it again here. Let’s see if it works.” And for some reason, it did work better here.

In the 1980s timeline, the older Sunja has been getting close to Kato (Jun Kunimura) but is ending their relationship since Mozasu thinks he just wants the family’s money. But you give Kato a chance to tell his own tragic story. Why was that important?

Maybe this was just totally naive of me, but it wasn’t until we were conceiving his character that we realized every Japanese man in that age range would have been in World War II, so every man of that age has a story of some sort. It’s almost like the ordinariness that becomes extraordinary, which really is so much of the heartbeat of this show. He tells this really harrowing story, but I love his performance because he’s very matter of fact. It’s been 50 years that he’s dealt with it, and he’s processed it. It just felt really honest.

Let’s talk about Solomon and his father, Mozasu, who doesn’t directly tell his son not to go down this dark path in his business but instead goes to Mamoru Yoshii (Louis Ozawa), Solomon’s boss, who he has history with, to stop this. What does that say about this father-son relationship?

So many families I knew that were from the Asian immigrant community, and I feel like I’ve also heard this from a lot of immigrants, not just Korean or Japanese, but it’s amazing how so many things could be solved if you just talk about it. Like this whole Thanksgiving dinner does not have to be this dramatic: If someone had just said what’s bothering them, and communicate!

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I think it’s so much more of this time period, especially of this generation. Mozasu feels like he’s a failed father if he voices it out loud. One of the things we said about the show was, as the seasons go on, the past and present are going to collide, so we get more of that backstory and why Mozasu is so haunted as we go on.

The last we see of Solomon is when he gets the news of the death and possible suicide of Katsu Abe (Yoshio Maki), which he’s responsible for indirectly by calling in his loan. What does that mean for Solomon moving forward?

I always find it funny that you aim for something, and then when you get it, why does it not taste as sweet? And we as humans know it never works out that way, ever. And then we just put another rung on the ladder to reach for hoping that’s going to be the sweet bite of the apple. Solomon, he’s 28 years old. I had nothing figured out at 28, so at the end of the season we shouldn’t expect him to have it all figured out. But he’s starting to get an inkling that it wasn’t right.

It’s also a big deal that Rosé from Blackpink sings the Coldplay song “Viva La Vida” at the end of the episode. How did that come about?

I knew there was going to be a needle drop there. And very early on, I thought it was going to be the Coldplay song, but I really resisted that. I loved that if you listen to the lyrics of that song, they really speak to our show — and specifically Noa. But I was worried that it was just too well known and that if we put that in, it was going to pull people out.

We tried, I think, 200 songs, but then I went back to the Coldplay song and I realized it’s just that Chris Martin’s voice is so well known so what happens if we don’t use Chris Martin’s version? We were looking at different covers, and then Rose’s name came up being like, “Hey, do you think she would ever cover it?” I thought it was a pipedream, but it turns out she really had a connection to that song. The whole song is beautiful. We recorded and mixed the whole song as a single, so we’re hoping to be allowed to drop it soon.

With this show that talks a lot about the past and the present, what’s the future for “Pachinko?” Should we be hopeful for a third season?

You call and ask them. We have so many more stories to tell. One of the things that we’re battling is there’s just so many shows out there, right? Our fans are the best fans, and we’ve been blown away by how generous the critics are. But I think it’s just really hard to make noise in this time and space.

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This interview has been edited and condensed.

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Who was Osman Hadi; why is Bangladesh on fire over his death?

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December 19, 2025

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Who was Osman Hadi; why is Bangladesh on fire over his death?

Violent protests have erupted in multiple cities in Bangladesh after prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi died at Singapore’s General Hospital on Thursday.

Hadi died from gunshot injuries sustained during an assassination attempt in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, last week.

Here is what we know so far.

Who was Sharif Osman Hadi?

Hadi, 32, was a prominent leader of Bangladesh’s 2024 student-led uprising.

He acted as a spokesperson for Inquilab Mancha, or “Platform for Revolution”, and was planning to stand as a member of parliament for the Dhaka-8 constituency in the Bijoynagar area of the city in the upcoming elections, expected in February 2026.

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Hadi was also an outspoken critic of India, where Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled following the uprising last year, and its influence on domestic politics in Bangladesh.

Protesters block Shahbag Square in Dhaka, Bangladesh, demanding justice for the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, a student leader who had been undergoing treatment in Singapore after being shot in the head, in Dhaka, Bangladesh December 19, 2025 [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]

Where, when and how did Hadi die?

Authorities in Singapore and Inqilab Mancha announced his death on Thursday.

He died in a hospital in Singapore, where he was receiving treatment after being wounded in an assassination attempt on December 12. He was shot in the head by two assailants on a motorcycle, which pulled up beside the battery-powered auto-rickshaw he was travelling in. He was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Hadi was found to have suffered brain stem damage and was transferred from Dhaka to Singapore General Hospital’s neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on December 15 for treatment.

“Despite the best efforts of the doctors … Hadi succumbed to his injuries,” Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Thursday.

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In a Facebook post late on Thursday, Inqilab Mancha announced: “In the struggle against Indian hegemony, Allah has accepted the great revolutionary Osman Hadi as a martyr.”

On Friday, groups of mourners began to assemble in the Shahbag neighbourhood in central Dhaka, awaiting Hadi’s body, which was expected to arrive in the capital on Friday evening, Al Jazeera’s Moudud Ahmmed Sujan reported from Dhaka.

How have Bangladeshi authorities responded to the shooting?

On December 12, Bangladeshi police launched a hunt for the attackers who shot Hadi.

The country’s counterterrorism unit, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) is also involved in this manhunt.

In a news release on December 13, the police released stills of CCTV footage of the incident, showing two key suspects. Police offered a reward of five million taka (about $42,000) for information leading to their arrest.

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Both men in the CCTV stills are seen wearing black clothes and glasses. While one is wearing a black hoodie, the other is wearing a black dress shirt and a wristwatch.

Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star reported that the country’s police and border guard have arrested at least 20 people linked to the incident so far, but the investigation is ongoing.

How have Bangladeshi leaders reacted to Hadi’s death?

The country’s interim government head, Muhammad Yunus, expressed his condolences and described Hadi’s death as “an irreparable loss for the nation”.

“The country’s march towards democracy cannot be halted through fear, terror, or bloodshed,” he said in a televised speech on Thursday.

The government also announced special prayers at mosques after Friday prayers and a half-day of mourning on Saturday.

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“We are deeply saddened by the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of Inqilab Manch and independent candidate for Dhaka-8 constituency,” the acting chairman of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), Tareq Rahman, wrote on Facebook.

In a news statement to local media reports, the National Citizen Party (NCP) said it was “deeply saddened” by Hadi’s death and expressed condolences to his family.

How have protesters responded to his death?

Following the news of Hadi’s death, violent protests broke out in Dhaka and other parts of the country on Thursday and were continuing on Friday.

Protesters are demanding the resignation of the heads of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Law, accusing the authorities of failing to ensure Hadi’s security. They also demand the return of the gunmen, who many believe have fled to India.

Reporting from Dhaka, Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdhury said: “It’s mostly students, but also people from all walks of life, with some political party elements as well.

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“Their main slogan is ‘We want justice’ for the killer of Osman Hadi.

“They’re saying the gunman must be brought to justice as soon as possible, or they will continue to protest.”

One group of protesters gathered outside the head office of the country’s leading Bengali-language Prothom Alo daily, which they view as taking a pro-India editorial line, in Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar area. They then surged into the building, according to online portals of various leading media outlets.

A few hundred metres (yards) away, another group of protesters pushed into the premises of the Daily Star, also viewed as pro-India, and set fire to the building.

Protesters shout slogans in front of the premises of the Prothom Alo daily newspaper after news reached the country from Singapore of the death of a prominent activist Sharif Osman Hadi, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Protesters shout slogans in front of the premises of the Prothom Alo daily newspaper on Friday [Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP]

The outlet reported that 28 journalists and staff members were trapped in the burning building for four hours.

Soldiers and paramilitary border guards were deployed outside the two buildings to monitor the situation, but did not immediately take any action to disperse the protesters.

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Local media reported that protesters threw stones at the Assistant High Commission of India in Chittagong on Thursday.

Dhaka star
The Prothom Alo newspaper office in Dhaka is attacked following the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent student leader, on December 19, 2025 [Abdul Goni/Reuters]

What were the 2024 student protests in Bangladesh about?

In July 2024, students in Bangladesh took to the streets to protest against the conventional job quota system, under which jobs were reserved for descendants of Bangladesh’s freedom fighters in 1971 and who are largely regarded as the political elite now.

Hasina ordered a brutal crackdown as the protests escalated. Before she was eventually ousted and fled to India, where she remains in exile, nearly 1,400 people were killed and more than 20,000 wounded, according to the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).

In July this year, Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit obtained recorded evidence that the former Bangladesh leader had ordered police to use “lethal weapons” against the protesters.

Last month, Hasina was convicted, in absentia, of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by the tribunal in Dhaka. India has so far not agreed to send her back to Bangladesh to face justice.

Why has this stirred up anger towards India?

In Dhaka on Friday, Al Jazeera’s Chowdhury reported: “There’s a strong anti-India sentiment in the crowd. They say India always meddles in Bangladesh’s affairs, particularly right before the elections – and that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been making provocative statements from India, where she is taking shelter.”

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Now, following Hadi’s death, many Bangladeshis are sharing theories on the internet that the assailants have fled to India. Some politicians from youth parties have repeated these claims.

Local media quoted Sarjis Alam, a leader of the youth-led National Citizen Party (NCP), saying: “The interim government, until India returns assassins of Hadi Bhai, the Indian High Commission to Bangladesh will remain closed. Now or Never. We are in a war!”

Nadim Hawlader, 32, from Dhaka’s airport area and an activist of a Bangladesh Nationalist Party-affiliated volunteer organisation, told Al Jazeera that Hadi had been “brutally murdered” to silence dissent.

“We have come to protest his killing and what we see as Indian aggression,” Hawlader said.

He alleged that India had exerted undue influence over Bangladesh since 1971, and accused New Delhi of backing Sheikh Hasina’s rule during the past 17 years, over which time, he claimed, political repression and killings took place.

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Hawlader also alleged that the perpetrators had fled to India and said the protests would continue until “Sheikh Hasina and all those responsible for killings are returned”.

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Video: Fans in Tokyo Visit Twin Pandas Before They Head to China

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10 hours ago

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December 18, 2025

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Video: Fans in Tokyo Visit Twin Pandas Before They Head to China

new video loaded: Fans in Tokyo Visit Twin Pandas Before They Head to China

Thousands of people have flocked to Ueno Zoo in Tokyo to see two giant pandas before they leave for China. There were fears in Japan that the twins would not be replaced amid political disputes between the countries.

By Jake Lucas and Axel Boada

December 18, 2025

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Zelenskyy calls for US to respond to ‘signals’ Russia is ‘preparing to make next year a year of war’

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December 18, 2025

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Zelenskyy calls for US to respond to ‘signals’ Russia is ‘preparing to make next year a year of war’

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday called for the U.S. and other allies to respond to bellicose “signals” from Russia.

“Today, we again heard signals from Moscow that they are preparing to make next year a year of war. These signals are not only for us. It is crucial that our partners see them, and not only see them but also respond — especially partners in the United States, who often say that Russia wants to end the war,” Zelenskyy asserted in a post on X.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment. 

“Over the past few weeks, the President’s team has made tremendous progress with respect to ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, and as the President stated, he believes we are closer now than we have ever been,” a White House official noted.

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UKRAINE SAYS IT CARRIED OUT FIRST-EVER UNDERWATER DRONE STRIKE ON RUSSIAN SUBMARINE IN NOVOROSSIYSK

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pictured during a press conference with Friedrich Merz, Federal Chancellor, on Dec. 15, 2025, in Berlin, Germany. (Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images)

“Yet the signals coming from Russia are the exact opposite, taking the form of official orders to their army. This Russian mindset must be recognized — and acted upon. When Russia is in this mindset, it will also undermine diplomacy — seeking, through diplomatic language and pressure over specific points in documents — to merely mask its desire to destroy Ukraine and Ukrainians, and the desire to legitimize Russia’s theft of our land. And then come other countries in Europe, which someone in Russia might one day label their so‑called ‘historical lands,’” Zelenskyy asserted in the post.

“Real protection is needed against this Russian case history of madness, and we will continue working with all partners to ensure that protection is in place. Security measures are needed, financial measures are needed — including actions on Russian assets — political measures are needed. And the courage of all partners is required: to see the truth, acknowledge the truth, and act accordingly. I want to thank everyone who supports Ukraine,” his post concluded.

Zelenskyy also conveyed the message in a Ukrainian-language video.

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US OFFICIALS TOUT PROGRESS IN TALKS TO REACH ‘LASTING AND DURABLE PEACE’ BETWEEN UKRAINE, RUSSIA

In this photo distributed by the state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin speaks during an expanded meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry Board at the National Defense Control Center in Moscow on Dec. 17, 2025. (Mikhail TERESHCHENKO / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared during a Defense Ministry board meeting on Wednesday that Russia will accomplish its goals, through either diplomacy or military force.

“The goals of the special military operation will undoubtedly be achieved. We would prefer to accomplish this and address the root causes of the conflict through diplomatic means. However, if the opposing side and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive dialogue, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means. The task of creating and expanding a security buffer zone will also be carried out consistently,” Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript.

HEADED FOR THE EXITS: WHY 3 DOZEN HOUSE MEMBERS AREN’T RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION

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Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., arrives for a House Republican conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on May 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a staunch proponent of U.S. support for Ukraine, asserted in a post on X, “Again… the U.S. should send 200 long-range and extremely accurate cruise missiles to Ukraine. Maybe then, Putin will get serious and seek peace. Putin started this war, and he’ll stop this war once he realizes he cannot win and that the cost of war is too high.”

President Donald Trump’s administration has been attempting to help broker peace between Russia and Ukraine.

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Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

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