Lah Ruk Sut Kop Fah – Episode 12

Kamin is still an ass, but I think Mattana gets used to it.  Anyway, we still get a few final cute moments before the chaos starts. And Hareutai is a smart cookie; for all her joy in the pregnancy, she’ll soon discover why her husband is always lost in thought and sad.

EPISODE 12

We start back in front of the Witoon residence,with a very very unhappy Grandpa. Clearly, Kamin wasn’t his first choice of son-in-law. Hareutai stops her father from shooting him; the reward is to be thrown out of the house and disowned. That’s okay, chica, you are better off out of that poison pit! She offers him a final familial bow before Kamin leads her away.

They walk to his, no their, place. Typical bachelor pad, clothes and books scattered everywhere. He offers her the bedroom, opting for the couch since that is where he spends most of his time. He makes her laugh for a moment, and comments that she must become a positive and happy person, in order to grow a positive and happy baby. He tells her to not dwell on  the past, but live in the present and look forward to the future. Since she doesn’t have any personal items, having been all but kicked out of her home, she will need someone to purchase those for her.

Kamin continues to straighten the place. While cleaning up the bedroom, his eyes linger on the black leather couch, and he flashes back to the tickle session with Mattana. Now who is dwelling on the past he just destroyed?  He shakes off the melancholy and continues the housekeeping.

Mattana has no physical labor to focus on, so she is just sighing in her chambers. She hears her door open, but she is in no mood for Mintra, and asks to be left alone. But it’s not Mintra, it’s Mom!  She’s finally here in Raya; Mattana launches herself into her mother’s arms and has a meltdown.

It’s lighter between men; the king warmly greets his college friend. The guys catch up on stuff. Thammarat was worried at the news of the king’s ill health, but Inthra brushes it off as old people issues. He smiles as he tells Mattana’s father about the positive changes in his son since they stuck the two youngsters together.

But back in Mattana’s place, her eyes are swollen as she sobs out her homesickness. Mom soothes her as best she can and offers to walk with her outside, but all her daughter wants to do is stay curled up in her room. Her depression disappears when Hayman appears with a snappy salute and greeting. More people from home! She’s not ready to forgive him, though, and flashes him an angry look before swiping away her tears and striding past him.

Sinthorn declines helping Kamin with buying Hareutai’s personal items, citing his extreme business in arranging security for the Phrakoomun’s parents and assistants.  Kamin wants to know why, so Sinthorn tells him, spoiling for a fight.  Kamin told him that his decisions with regards to the Crown Prince have been ostensibly for the sake of the nation of Raya. So how does he categorize his action to take Hareutai into his household?

Kamin calmly tells him that his decision is for his own personal reason.  Sinthorn is taken aback; does his boss love her? Kamin doesn’t answer directly,  deflecting with a question of his own.  Can’t a beautiful noble woman of good character be adorable or be loved?  Sinthorn tries again.  Is the baby really Kamin’s?  Our noble idiot answers in the affirmative, effectively taking the wind out of Sinthorn’s sails. Really, Sinthorn, just tell your captain that you really like her, and you can become her bridegroom. But no, he says nothing, and Kamin sends him off.

Hayman catches up with Mattana, wondering what he did that set her off.  She growls that he abandoned her and never even wondered how she was doing.  He is honestly surprised; Kamin had been phoning in regular reports that she was happy and adjusting well. WTH?  Mattana’s temper reaches boiling point and she storms off after yelling out her hate at Kamin.  Hayman is alarmed though, thinking that her ire is directed at him.  He chases after her.

She finds her target standing guard outside the royal living room. Kamin warmly greets the Thai entourage while Mattana snipes that he should be enjoying a honeymoon with his wife rather than working. Everyone (but Mattana) congratulates him. She wonders aloud if the bride was born under an unlucky sign. Kamin has to suppress a smile at her behavior.

She tries to storm past him, but her legs get tangled and she trips – right into his arms, of course. They stare for a moment, until he whispers that she’s acting like a brat. Before she can do more than pinch him, the Crown Prince shows up. There’s more greetings around. Mattana strokes Makey’s ego a bit, and they walk in arm and arm, followed by the rest of the Thai people. And leaving Kamin outside, looking in.

The greetings continue with the formal introduction of Mattana’s mother to the king and queen. During the conversation, Queen Savitri wonders aloud if such a modern household can produce someone who respects traditions. Mattana’s parents present the queen with a custom handcrafted benjarong vase. She literally gives it a passing glance and pushes it aside. Wow, she is such an ambassador to her country! And by that, I mean not at all.

The queen makes a comment about the remarkable attributes of Thai women. The king, the phrakoomun, and the captain of the guard know exactly what she is saying, but Mattana’s parents chose to consider it a complement, and not a dig. But Savitri takes it a step further. Her daughter is very good at keeping the guards exercising, whether trying to jump off a cliff on a horse, or disappearing from the palace.

The atmosphere degenerates fast, but Mattana smoothly admits she is like a chameleon and able to change colors to blend with different environments. Makey adds a lame joke, and everyone lets the previous conversation slide, even though the queen tries a final dig about apples not falling far from the tree. With that, she stands to leave and “accidently” knocks over the benjaraong vase to the floor before sailing away. What a royal ass!

Hayman chases Mintra and demands what happened to Mattana since she has been at the palace. Mintra bites back that he should have taken the troublemaker back to Thailand, but they know it was never an option. Still, Mintra promises Hayman will get a chance to see the destruction of the woman he loves. He presses for more information, but she says there is nothing he can do, so there is no reason to tell him.

In the queen’s chambers, however, Mintra is singing a different tune as she throws herself to the floor to ask for mercy. The queen’s voice is icy when she declares that a lack of punishment is mercy enough, considering she has done nothing to help get rid of that Thai upstart. Mintra mentions the video evidence that Tayvee lost, and begs the queen to accept her into her inner ranks of her ladies-in-waiting. Savitri wonders if she’s a spy for Mattana, and Mintra is quick to jump on the statement. If she can find irrefutable evidence of Mattana’s affairs, can she join? The queen sniffs; after all, Kamin is already married to Hareutai, so any evidence is meaningless. But Mintra smiles her evil smile through the crocodile tears; what if there was evidence of other men?

Hareutai is playing Happy Housewife with a vacuum cleaner. Sinthorn stops by with all her purchases while Suthep secretly spies on her, and runs to her parents to report on the security surrounding the compound. Tayvee whines that she doesn’t want Kamin for a son in law, and asks her husband to kill him if they can’t succeed in breaking the two of them up. General Witoon is cautious, though, since the rancor between the two men is well-known, and any action against Kamin is likely to boomerang back.

After she leaves, General and Flunky discuss the situation. Because of the guards, they can’t go with Plan A, so what now? Witoon will use ‘other’ hands to attack the captain of the guards.

And by “others”, he means Atit and the goon in Thailand, who are back in their empty and sad workout room. Goon Dad receives the phone call from the General and is ready to cross the border intoRaya. Meanwhile, Akanee is complaining to Mintra over the phone that Daddy has confined him so he can’t do anything to ‘save’ Mattana from her terrible fate. But she convinces him to sneak away without letting his father know.

Khunying Manavika is vexed with her daughter. Obviously she sees the tension between Queen and Queen-To-Be. Mattana says it just usual in-law interaction. Mom is worried, so she tries another track. If she wanted to return to Thailand, would Mom let her? Manavika looks thunderstruck, so Mattana backs off and pretends she was kidding. Psycho assistant sees the conversation, but in Mintra’s evil little mind, the other girl is just challenging her.

Mattana makes it to her bedroom before breaking down in tears. After a few moments, she wanders around a bit, not realizing that a certain heartachy idiot is hiding under the trees for a glimpse of her. Kamin watches as she wipes the tears out of her eyes, but does nothing.

Did he stay under her window all night? The sun is up when he makes it back to his house. He’s pleasantly surprised; the place is clean, tidy, and breakfast is set when he completes his morning routine and heads for the kitchen. I’m pretty sure Mattana wouldn’t have managed all that. Darn it, I guess Hareutai really is perfect. I can’t tell if he is really happy, or pretending to be happy to make Hareutai happy. It doesn’t matter really, he is still a jerk for hurting Mattana.

Together the couple head for the temple, only to bump into Mattana, Prince, and Thai group as they are leaving. Introductions are made all around. Both Mattana and Sinthorn flinch at Kamin’s use of the word “wife”. Mom is properly impressed with the bride’s appearance and piety, and wishes them well on the birth of their baby.

Mattana can’t resist commenting that they hadn’t exchange consort earrings yet. Kamin is stone-faced while she explains the tradition to her mom, but smoothly asks them to be their witnesses at the temple while they do so. That surprises Hareutai, but poor Mattana, that one boomeranged on her. She endures watching her earring go to a nice upstart while she flashes back to all her interactions with Kamin: first kiss, dancing in the foyer, backing in the kitchen, their time in the village.

Back in her chambers, she looks at the photos on her phone and cries. One more flashback where Prince Makey explains that they all grew up together, even experiencing an earthquake where Kamin risked his life to pull Hareutai out of the danger zone. Makey thinks this is proof of love, but Mattana sees it as friendship and duty, not love of a man for a woman.

Mintra is roaming the local market, but she can’t seem to find what she is looking for. A buffoon in a fake mustache accosts her – it’s Akanee! Disguised as a bean seller? I didn’t get that either. Anyway, she drops him off at a safe house the Queen prepared, and warns him to sit tight until she can smuggle him into the palace.

Our Evil Servant happily trips back into the palace. Hayman meets her at the door and comments on her unusual positivity, especially in light of taking poor care of Mattana at best. She just smiles. Mattana is grown, and she came to Raya as a companion, not a servant. Hayman replies that Mattana doesn’t feel easy in the palace, and she should be more important than shopping. Mintra says she was on a mission from the Queen, which trumps everyone else, including Mattana or her mother.

Sinthorn is working out with some hand-to-hand exercises with another guard. The prince shows up and demands some sparring time. Oh yeah, Sinthorn can’t wait to do this. It’s seems pretty even only for a short time, before the professional guard has Makey at his mercy. In his mind he goes over all the times he has seen Hareutai hurt by the man he currently has in a choke-hold.

And he snaps. The prince manages to break the hold, but Sinthorn rides him to the ground and prepares to punch the daylights out of the Heir Apparent. Just in time, Kamin shows up and pulls the furious guard back. He prepares to dress down his second in command. What if the prince had gotten hurt? It’s only practice and doesn’t need this much force. Sinthorn, however, is unrepentant. Injuries are part of training, so if it happens it happens. Makey jumps in as well, and agrees with Sinthorn. It doesn’t matter, Kamin demands he apologize to Makey. With great reluctance, Sinthorn goes down on one knee. And, as additional punishment, he has to muck out the horse barn and bathe the horses. Sinthorn bites his lip as he obediently heads out.

When it’s just the two of them, Makey comments to Kamin that Sinthorn doesn’t seem to like him very much. But more importantly, if he can’t win against one soldier, how can he protect his fiancee?

Someone else is also getting a scolding. King Inthra is furious at the queen for her lowly behavior in front of his friends. She is as unapologetic as Sinthorn. In her opinion, things that shouldn’t be in the palace shouldn’t be tolerated. She gets ready to depart for an appointment, but the king stops her. He knows she is going to see some farang businessmen, and warns her that they are tricky and do not have the best intentions for their country. And if the queen is communicating with them, it gives them the bridge to come to Raya and plunder their resource. It goes in one ear and out the other; she doesn’t care. Have I already mentioned what a lousy monarch she is?

Our resident mopey Noble Idiot is standing on his balcony and sighing, thinking about Mattana’s tears when they were in the dungeon. Hareutai brings a basket of yard and brightly asks what color would be best for the baby. He doesn’t hear her. Twice. He even tells her the tea she made tastes great, even before putting the cup to his lips. Yep, he’s mooning, and Hareutai knows it. He excuses himself to go check on security.

Speaking of tea, Mintra offers some to all the guards who are on duty in front of the palace. Once she’s done, she quickly runs inside and sends a text message. Hayman sees this, but not what she’s sending. The text reads, “Everything is coming up roses.”

The queen is having a stroll with her son when she receives something on her phone. She decides right then and there to check out the accommodations of the Thai group, to make sure they are properly treated. Makey is happy that his mom seems to now care for his future in-laws.

Mattana is sitting in the dark on her bed. Oh no, it’s Akanee! He taps her on the shoulder, and hushes her surprised yelp, but before anything else can happen, the prince, the queen, and the lackey show up! Oh crap, now what? The queen starts yelling “affair” and slaps Mattana. Mintra gloats from behind as the guards are called to drag them both away.

Oh wait, it’s Mintra’s day dream as she stares at a sleeping Mattana. This shows does love those bait-and-switch dream sequences don’t they. Her movement wakes up Mattana, who was restless anyway. She requests her friend to find her a sleep aid. That’s perfect; she can set the scene much more easily.

Kamin is walking outside, and realizes there is no guard movement outside the palace. We see all the guards sleeping in various places. Mattana gets ready to take the sleeping pills, but she sees someone creeping around outside. Immediately, she goes into fighting mode, grabs a robe, and runs downstairs to check it out.

A figure steps through the sliding glass door in the dining room. It’s Kamin, but Mattana can’t see that from her hiding place. The moment the figure comes close, she attacks!

There’s a flurry of hand-to-hand marital moves, until they both end up rolling on the floor. When they stop, Kamin has Mattana pinned against the floor, but they both stop fighting once they realize who the other person is. Their faces are so close they could kiss. Kamin realizes this first and tries to pull away, but Mattana’s scarf has tangled between them, trapping them both together. Hee hee hee, good scarf.

All their squirming around just means body parts are rubbing together as they take turns for who is on top. The knot seems to be out of reach for both of them. Thanks to all that movement, they are now every more tightly entwined, and noses are rubbing. Kamin finally gives in to kiss a now-unresisting Mattana…

But the Royal Biatch, her slimy son, and the hyena bootlicker are walking through the residence on the way to the Phrakoomun’s bedchamber. The lights are bright above them when the queen decides to visit Mattana.

In the darkened dining room, they don’t even notice the people walking by; they are still wrapped up in each other and their mouth to mouth. Kamin tries to pull back again, mumbling that they shouldn’t be together. Mattana’s eyes flash as she snarks back that she doesn’t want to be known as a husband-stealer either.

Kamin admits he can’t seem to untangle them while Mattana accuses him of taking liberties. His final solution? A switchblade! She yelps that he shouldn’t kill her; he bites back that right at the moment he feels like it. One quick slice, and the scarf is no more. The two break apart; Mattana is still intent on checking out where the intruder is. Kamin thinks it was his movements she heard, but, nope, the noises she heard came from a different direction. He wants to escort her back to her room, but she wants to play security guard, so he’s forced to chase her.

In her bedroom, Akanee crawls up to a prone figure on the bed and tries to get handsy, but we all know that it’s not Mattana. By the time he realizes this, he sees movement on the floor next to the bed. The female figure asks for help with her headache – is she drunk? Akanee is scared enough to run screaming, sure that it’s a ghost. He runs right into our Royal-ass party. Makey easily subdues him just as Mattana walks in from the other direction. Mintra is pissed – another plan foiled!

Akanee is tied up in the dungeon when Kamin begins his interrogation. First of all, who is the insider that helped him? Because outsiders cannot easily get onto the palace grounds. Since the outside guards are still unconscious, they know for sure someone helped him. But despite his blustering and usual wimpiness, the prisoner doesn’t say anything, and Kamin chooses to wait until the morning. That way he can talk to the guards before deciding on further action.

Mintra again has to throw herself on the mercy of the queen, this time spinning a tail of flirtation between Mattana and Akanee that has Savitri convinced her future daughter-in-law is a whore. And probably Kamin will point the finger at Mintra. The answer? Kill the lover.

Kamin is debriefing Crown Prince Makey, who, of course, just wants to punish everyone without any understanding of the situation. Kamin tries to make it a learning experience for the Royal Idiot. Why did he and the queen decide to go to his fiancée-to-be’s bedroom yesterday night? Makey tells him it was his mother’s decision.

Before the captain can delve further into the mystery, a regular guard arrives. Queen Savitri has removed Prisoner Akanee from the dungeon!

The queen loftily says to a grateful guy that he doesn’t look like a criminal. This opens his mouth to the queen’s questions: Khun Mattana sent him a text message begging him to rescue her from her horrible situation. He tells the queen that they are deeply in love. With this, the guards drag him away to his execution.

Akit is having a discussion with General Witoon while walking through the palace, but when they get to the Queen’s chambers, they are stopped by the guard. She is interrogating a criminal that entered the Phrakoomun’s chambers the night before. Akit wonders who is crazy or stupid enough to do this. Whups, it’s your son!

The Thai goon kneels before the queen, who is understandably angry that one of the farang she is working with is involved. Akit promises that his son will keep his mouth shut, and Witoon presses upon the Queen to focus on the long-term goals.

Kamin arrives to take possession of Akanee, which Savitri considers an affront to her sovereignty. She stops them in their tracks, and Akanee is handed back to his father. Kamin tries to reason with the monarch: the guards had been drugged and there are clear signs of a traitor in their midst. She gets huffy and snaps at him, but just then, King Inthra shows up. Now it’s a spitting contest between our rulers. Akit throws himself down again and pleads for the life of his mentally-disabled son.

Next thing we know, the king allows his release to his father. Mattana scoffs that Akanee is a walking hormone, but there is nothing wrong with his gray matter. Even Mintra and Marnvika voice their disbelief. Hayman assures them that Kamin will get to the bottom of it in his investigation.

When talking to the disgraced guards, Kamin hears about the tea that Mintra strangely gave them all.

Mintra gets all defensive and annoying when Hayman wonders how that guy could make it to Mattana’s place, and finds it suspicious that she sent a text message just a few minutes before the intruder showed up. And that she wanted to know exactly what the intruder said. She goes on the attack, claiming that she was told what to do but stopping short of naming names. She goes on the defensive and offers to go before Mattana’s parents and explain their daughter’s previous behaviors with Akanee. And she will embellish it with all the embarrassing things that have happened since she has been in Raya. With that parting shot, she yanks her hands free and walks off. Honestly, her creepy crazy face is just icky.

In one of the ugliest piggyback rides ever, Dad Atit is carrying his son back to their Raya residence while his son plays with his beard. Akanee still wants to help Mattana no matter what, and expects his father to help, since he’s tight with the queen and a general. Later, Dad is on the phone, and confirms with the other party that they are ‘set up’.

The next thing we know, black-clad figures with tactical weaponry are killing villagers. Baldy plucks them off like chickens as they scurry past. Next scene, the mercenaries march through a town square without anyone paying attention, gain a balcony overlooking that square, and begin to open fire.

Ajarn and some of the armed men arrive and gunfire is exchanged, but they are hopelessly outgunned, pistols versus machine guns and high-powered rifles. Everyone retreats until the square is emptied with just a few fighters left. The mercs throw grenades and managed to capture a wounded Mali (if memory serves, she pretended to be Mattana during her first stay in the village and is Tagoon’s daughter). Tagoon wants to chase them, but there’s nothing anyone can do as the mercenaries clear out with Mali slung over Baldy’s shoulder.

In front of the Governing Council, General Witoon coolly calls the raid the work of mountain bandits, and requests additional troops. He also recommends high command staff to lead them. Prince Makey is quick to volunteer, since he wants to make his mark and do something that would make Mattana appreciate him more. The king is disappointed that he isn’t volunteering for the good of the citizenry, but to show off. Either way, that’s not the general’s aim.

Kamin steps right into it by volunteering himself to lead the troops, especially since he is familiar with the terrain. Witoon is happy, and approves, and King Inthra agrees.

Prince Makey meets up with Mattana to embellish the command. She wonders why it has to be the captain of the guard that goes. The explanation is that he is familiar with the village and that his old teacher lives there. Mattana mentions Ajarn Mayka’s name; Makey wonders where she learned of it. She is saved from answering by the arrival of Kamin.

Kamin is surprised she is asking questions about him, but she deflects her concerns. After all, he is in the throes of his honeymoon phase, shouldn’t he stay home with the wife and not go out on dangerous missions? But it’s his duty, which he will always fulfill. The prince gives him a blessing, but Mattana refuses; he has luck enough with his family at his home. That would be enough for him to not die easily.

“Yes, no matter what happens, I must come back.” Kamin solemnly tells her. She just sighs of her jealousy of Hareutai, having the love of a man like this. I think they forgot Makey was even in the room with them as they stare at each other.

But the bumbling idiot is there, and grabs Mattana’s hands. He promises to love her every bit of the amount of love Kamin has for his spouse and kisses her wrist. She looks over to the other man; he is stone-faced but his eyes look sad.

Outside, Sinthorn pursues his boss. Doesn’t he realize it’s a trap set by the General to take him out of the picture? Kamin understands, but there are people dying and it’s his duty to protect them. He commands Sinthorn to protect the prince, the Phrakoomun, and the spouse. Sinthorn isn’t happy, but he agrees.

Haruetai overhears the conversation, and wishes him luck. He’s happy she isn’t mad, and tells her she is stronger than anyone believes. She gives him a good luck charm; he gives her a brotherly hug.

In the provinces, it’s now full dark, and the mercenaries are waiting for Kamin and the troops to come through the area. Mali scoffs that the entire team is no match for one Kamin. Just then the troops show up, in leftover WWII European battlegear. They leave off Mali’s gag, but she is too busy trying to get free, to yell or warn them or something. Bad move, Mali.

The troops scatter as the mercs begin firing. Kamin manages to kill five, possibly six, before Baldy calls out for retreat. There appears to only be two of them left, along with Hostage Mali. They beat a backwards retreat until they reach a series of buildings. One trooper is shot as they storm the bad guy’s location. Baldy throws another grenade, which lands near Kamin. The resulting explosion knocks him out.

FINAL THOUGHTS

So, the coup begins, and already half the mercenaries are shot and/or dead. Still, the handful that are left are not without resources, given that their backers are the head of the national forces, and his sister the queen. I hope Kamin isn’t injured too badly, but I’m sure the rest of the soldiers will not continue pursuit with their leader down. Too bad, because with just a couple of bullets, this could be all over.

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