12

Good lord! The premise of this Thai drama series is enticing and has just enough to keep you watching/streaming. For a non-gamer, I was surprised I could get into the story – although some terminologies remain a challenge for me to grasp. The relatable scenarios like how a company gets into trouble is one reason I kept on watching, other than how the very Thai characteristic of one’s faith and beliefs is used and central to the story. This is a smart strategy to appeal to the young and old to stream the series.

Three startup founders have to settle their mounting debt before time runs out, expounded by the fact that their premises have been broken into by intruders – although it is suspected that it is linked to an insider working at the company. One of the startup founders comes up with the idea of refurbishing an existing temple and taking advantage of these devotees.

Some scenes which contain key information that will explain the consequent scene were too fast, while others were too slow, making it quite difficult to watch at times.

The script was excellent and sharp at certain points – achieving its desired effect. At other times, it felt predictable – for example, in happiness there’s also suffering.

That small part on the monk’s love interest came as a surprise though. Then again, it serves as a reminder that those in monkhood are humans after all.

The music and tunes used to complement scenes in the series either add to the suspense or give out a calming effect.

Not that I’m condoning the scheming behaviour of these three startup founders, however, I do think the way it is carried out is seriously smart – which is why I concur with the ending, where someone else is roped in to help these three startup founders run a temple on a much larger scale. But whether or not it is going to be a smooth endeavour even with supposedly godly and faith-based intentions, you and I are going to have to find out in season 2.

Oh yes, did I mention how much I like the crisp and brief opening that’s also filled with visually symbolic and colourful illustrations?

In season 1, there are a total of nine episodes - each varying in runtime from about half an hour to about an hour.

The original audio is in Thai, with a little English, courtesy of a character that is of Thai-American parentage, both offscreen and onscreen.