Season 3, Episode 2:
The Glass Ballerina
In flashbacks, Sun as a child breaks a valuable glass ballerina, but tells her father that a maid did it, resulting in her being fired. A married Sun has an affair with Jae Lee, which Mr. Paik discovers. He tells Jin that Jae Lee has been stealing from him, and to "put an end to it". Jin attacks Jae Lee, but spares his life. However, Jae Lee commits suicide moments later.
At the Hydra, Ben instucts Danny Pickett's wife Colleen to find the Elizabeth and take it. Sawyer and Kate are forced to work on a runway the Others are building. Sawyer kisses Kate, and briefly steals one of their guns, but is forced to drop it when Juliet threatens Kate. Ben informs Jack that the Others have contact with the outside world.
On the Elizabeth, Sayid insists on continuing to look for Jack. Realizing he has been captured, he plans to set a trap for the Others' scouting party. However, Colleen's team bypasses him and Jin, and finds Sun on the boat. Sun shoots Colleen, but has to abandon the boat to the Others.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Ambiguous Syntax: A fatal example. When Jin confronts Jae Lee, he asks if he knows who he is and threatens to kill him if he returns to the country and has "any contact." He was referring to Mr. Paik, but Jae Lee thought Jin knew about his affair with Sun, and commits suicide out of guilt.
- Big Brother Is Watching: Sawyer and Kate start discussing a plan to escape, unaware that Ben is watching them in the surveillance room.
- Character Check: Jin briefly reverts to his possessive characterization from Season 1, as he takes offence to Sun disagreeing with him. However, it's clear this is partly motivated by her pregnancy and a resulting overprotectiveness.
- Continuity Nod: Ben proves that the Others can communicate with outside world by showing Jack a video of the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series, recalling Christian's old saying about how they never would.
- Death Glare: Mr. Paik gives one to Jae Lee, but especially gives one to Sun when he sees her in bed.
- Driven to Suicide: Jae Lee kills himself by jumping out his hotel room window, ashamed by Jin's mercy.
- Evil Parents Want Good Kids: Mr. Paik seems very disappointed when Sun lies about who broke the glass ballerina, blaming the maid and getting her fired.
- Given Name Reveal: Ben tells Jack his full name is Benjamin Linus.
- Internal Reveal: Kate finally learns that Sawyer's real name is James.
- It's All About Me: Mr. Paik's main concern when he discovers Sun's affair with Jae Lee is that this is dishonoring him. He doesn't even bother to inform Jin that his wife is cheating on him when he sends him to deal with Jae, instead telling him that Jae is stealing from him, as if Sun is his property.
- Jerkass: Danny Pickett proves to be completely insufferable as he bosses Sawyer and Kate around while they work, makes perverted comments about Kate, and shocks Sawyer for petty reasons.
- Manipulative Bastard: Mr. Paik convinces Jin to deal with Jae Lee by telling him he is Like a Son to Me and giving him the approval he knows Jin desperately craves.
- Resignations Not Accepted: Jin tries to quit when Mr. Paik insists that a "message" won't be enough to deal with Jae Lee.
- Too Dumb to Live: Colleen may as well have committed Suicide by Cop with the way she continues to approach an obviously terrified Sun, who is pointing a gun at her and gives her several chances to stop.
- You Wouldn't Shoot Me: Colleen is certain that Sun will not shoot her when she has her at gunpoint on the Elizabeth. She's wrong.
