Eileen Sun is one of the main characters in the Netflix streaming series The Brothers Sun. She is the mother of Charles and Bruce Sun, living in Los Angeles. Eileen is portrayed by actress Michelle Yeoh.
History[]
In Pilot, Eileen and Bruce are both living a quiet, boring and frugal life; nothing like the life of luxury that Big Sun has back in Taipei. It turns out that Eileen is not supportive of Bruce's passion for improv, and she pressures him to become a medical doctor. Once Charles is in LA, he visits his mother's house, but finds an mystery assailant waiting for him there. The masked man attacks Charles, and they engage in a fight. He kills the mystery man, and waits in the house for his mother. Eileen soon returns home, and is happy to see Charles. She updates him with everything, and says Bruce thinks his father is a gambler and his brother is in Antarctica studying penguins. The dead body in her house doesn’t surprise Eileen. She instead asks Charles to clean up by dismembering the body and hiding them in separate locations. Sometime later, Bruce brings Charles home, and is shocked to see his mother cleaning up a dead body. Eileen asks Charles to freshen up and help her, and orders Bruce to sleep as he has school the next day.
In Favor for a Favor, Eileen asks Charles to get rid of the chopped body and drop Bruce off at school as he has a test, which would be taken into account for the final grades. Eileen later calls Charles to tell him that he did not need to do any favors, and had to only dispose of the body. Obviously, Charles is scared of his mother, and drops Bruce off at school to take his test.
In Whatever You Want, Eileen calls Charles, and informs him about Bruce’s kidnapping. The mother and son duo both visit the school, and Grace Hwang fills them in about June Song, whom Eileen seems to know who she is. Later, Eileen and Charles both play Mahjong, but Charles thinks it’s a waste of time. During the game, Eileen manages to get some intel. The information leads them to Tony Tang, who owns the #1 seafood restaurant in Alhambra. He also sells drugs to the White Crane Gang. Charles and Eileen both have a different approach to getting information on Bruce. Charles beats the drivers who work for Tony Tang outside, whereas Eileen enters the restaurant to deal with him face-to-face. Charles takes June, Bruce, and TK to the new place that Eileen had found as a hideout. Eileen then comforts and takes care of Bruce and TK Lee. Eileen and June then discuss the situation, and June agrees to kill Tony Tang as he is responsible for May’s death.
In Square, Eileen, and her two sons, reunite with Xing and Blood Boots, who have come to LA as Sleepy Chan had sent a sign that he has agreed to meet with Charles. Eventually, Eileen asks Bruce and TK Lee, who are having a meal together to leave so the others can freely discuss some serious issues. While Charles still believes Bruce should be a part of the discussion, Eileen stands her ground. Eventually, Drowsy tells Charles that he agrees to all the conditions, except for one. It turns out to be that Eileen cannot be present for the meeting. Eileen is upset, but carries on with her duties in spite of this.
In The Rolodex, Eileen instructs Blood Boots to find Charles while she investigates the unfolding situation. Xing is assigned to keep an eye on Bruce. In class, Xing realizes the significance of Sleepy Chan’s words, and realizing that the new gang is after Eileen. Later, she meets Lao Hong for information on the masked men, but is betrayed as they have already bribed Hong. Thus, she unknowingly walks into a trap, leaving Bruce and Xing desperate to find her. Bruce and Xing both successfully track down Hong in the Mahjong room. Bruce resorts to violence, revealing his gangster side to extract information on Eileen’s whereabouts. Eileen, now captured by the Boxers, is coerced into revealing secrets about the Dragon Heads. Unbeknownst to her, Blood Boots disobeys her order, and goes after Eileen instead. Unfortunately, the Boxers find Blood Boots, putting Eileen at a disadvantage. They demand information, threatening to kill Blood Boots. Eileen and Blood Boots both reach an understanding, and the Boxers' top member shoot him. Eventually, Eileen decides to give Bruce crucial information to save himself, but Bruce is reluctant. Eileen then insists it’s the only way to ensure his survival.
In Country Boy, Eileen tells Bruce that he has to go into hiding as his life is in danger, and she is going away for a while and won’t tell him where. Thus, Eileen ends up visiting Taiwan, and gives presents to various people. She also pays her mother a visit, whom she has not seen for several years. Her mother then tells her that her only sister had passed away, because of pancreatic cancer. Eileen is furious to learn of this, as she had requested her ex-husband to contact her only if her family was in danger or if something happened to them. Eileen then goes onto visit her, ex-husband, Big Sun, in the hospital. She pricks his nail to check if he is faking a coma, but he does not react. She tells the man that she is furious he hadn’t called when her sister died, and now she is going to take away his precious empire and do whatever she pleases. Once she leaves, he opens his eyes.
In Gymkata, Eileen is now back in LA. She tells the group that she has warned the ghosts, A.K.A. the other Triads, about the threat they face from the Boxers. The ghosts take the warning seriously, and kill the Boxers who have come to attack. Then, she announces that with the ghosts now coming to LA, she will announce her wish to be the next Dragon Head in charge of all the Triads. Just as Eileen and Charles are planning the meeting, they are interrupted by Charles’s friends, the Wang Brothers, visiting from Taiwan. Eileen is surprised to see her husband as well, and is initially scared. Big Sun insults Eileen for wanting to take the lead. He asks her to admit that she has lost and move on. He tells her he has sent her to LA to serve his purpose and nothing else beyond that. Eileen is upset and agrees that she has lost. The day of the meeting arrives, and Charles is begrudgingly prepared to take over. Unfortunately, Eileen and Bruce are both not allowed to be at the aforementioned meeting. Right when Big Sun nominates Charles to be the Dragon Head, he is interrupted when Eileen shows up. Eileen for her part, comes prepared and starts to address the group that Charles is not to be elected since she informs the group that Big Sun is a coward by faking his coma for a long time for the other Dragon Heads to go down before him, but Bruce stops her. A Boxer member has planted a bomb in the dessert cart, and he takes it away. In the chaos that ensues, Bruce and Eileen manage to escape, thanks to June Song and TK. With Big Sun humiliated and feeling betrayed, he vows to punish Eileen, but not by killing her: rather by making her suffer every minute of her life through Charles killing Bruce.
In Protect the Family, Bruce and Eileen both rest in a motel to hide out for a couple of days. Eileen still wants to be the Dragon Head, but Bruce tries to tell her that she isn’t a crime boss and she is an ordinary mother now. Eileen, for the first time, loses her temper and tells Bruce that nobody has ever asked her what she has wanted, and this is what she wants. Charles finds Bruce and attacks him, but he is unable to pull the trigger. Later, Eileen stops Charles, and he tells her that Big Sun has sent him to kill Bruce, but that he is unable to do it. While Eileen and Charles both agree that standing up to Big Sun won’t be easy, they realize there's no other way. Later, Xing asks Eileen to move away as she wants to kill Bruce. She also insults Eileen, telling her that she does not have what it takes to become the Dragon Head. Eileen shows her combat skills and fights Xing, eventually resulting in Xing's death by strangling her with a phone cord. When Bruce comes home with canned, condensed milk and is confused about the situation, Eileen gets upset with him as he had brought the wrong kind of milk. When the dust settles, She tells Bruce that she is going back to Taiwan to lead the Jade Dragons, but in her own way. Bruce tries to stop her as he has done everything to protect the family. Eileen thanks him, but tells him that’s what she wants. However before she does, Eileen has one last thing to do. Eileen visits Big Sun in the hospital, and gives him insulin, even though he doesn’t have diabetes, as this will ensure a slow and painful death. In Eileen's final scenes, she spends time with her sons, June, and TK normally, and she pleads farewell to her Mahjong friends and Bruce before heading back to Taiwan with Charles and June to become the next Dragon Head.
Appearances: 8/8[]
Trivia[]
- Eileen is around her late 40s or early 50s.
- Along with Eileen's mother, Eileen is the only character in the show to speak Cantonese language.
- Eileen had an ex-boyfriend at a bar before marrying Big Sun back in Taiwan.