Fai Nai Wayu (Fire in the Storm) – Episode 2

An episode of cinematic beauty and poignant score, Fai Nai Wayu continues to surprise me. The directing is really something else. But let’s get into the story. Huge revelations are made, by yours truly that is, and I’m glad that the story doesn’t drag us along wondering who the real Khun Wayu is, because our hero already has quite the mystery to unravel. Not to mention, prove his innocence. There are still layers yet left to peel. So let’s peel away.

EPISODE 2 RECAP

Khun Yai paces the porch and wonders how it is possible that Khun Wayu is selling the farm. He flashes back to the time he woke up to a dead Khun Kraigoon. Lawang rushes into the room and cries when she sees Kraigoon on the floor, blood puddled around him. She turns to Khun Yai and asked him why he killed Khun Kraigoon. Khun Yai could only shake his head in shock.

“I didn’t do it, really,” he stammers. But Lawang exclaims that since the gun is in his hands, he obviously killed Kraigoon. Khun Yai releases the gun to the ground, shocked to the core. He felt even more devastated when Lawang points out that this is quite the present for Khun Thara on her birthday, her dead son on the floor. Khun Yai clutches his head and mutters over and over, “What should I do?” He finally decides he needs to confront Khun Thara with the truth, that he would tell her everything. Surely she would believe him?

But Lawang grasps his hand- and if she truly thinks that Khun Yai killed Kraigoon, her supposed “husband” then her reaction to his death is an understatement- she tells Khun Yai to get himself together, because if he tells Khun Thara, the older woman would surely be in shock, would he want to be responsible for that too? Khun Yai grasps Lawang’s hand, pleading her with his eyes. “What should I do, Lawang? Tell me what to do!”

She suggests he run away and avoid Khun Thara for now, she (Lawang) would take care of everything and notify him when the time comes. Furthermore, since Khun Yai doesn’t have any place to go, she suggests Wayugoon Farm.

With that final piece of flashback, Khun Yai face contorts into anger and he utters one word: “Lawang!”

Meanwhile Khun Thara informs Lawang that Wayu has been found: he’s currently at the farm. Lawang questions when Khun Wayu had arrived because she had called the villa but the employees indicated that he wasn’t there. But Khun Thara says that it doesn’t matter, and that she wants Lawang to focus on searching for Kraigoon now.

Wayu on the other hand takes his anger out on the lantern and shatters it.  “Ai Yai, you murderer,” he curses. “Where the hell have you gone to?”

Unbeknownst to him, Khun Yai is a mere horse ride away. Khun Yai hops onto his horse with a fluid motion thinking to search for Wayugoon farm. But his shadow, Lookwa, decides to follow him, too curious for her own good. She tries to be inconspicuous as she spies him from the tree, but she trips and made herself known. Khun Yai gallops away with annoyance.

Wa is undeterred and spurs her horse forward, only to find herself cornered by a skilled horseman.

“Why are you following me?” he questions.

“And why are you going to Wayugoon farm?” she questions back.

“It’s none of your business,” he spat. “Let me warn you, do not meddle with my affairs or you’ll get into trouble.”

“And why not?” she ponders out loud, “Are you a bad man, Mr? Did you commit a crime? Why do you have to be so mysterious?”

Her series of questions flared his anger (and probably his fear too.) His response? A really fast horse ride back to the stable. Boy knows how to ride, why is that sexy?

Kaew discovers he has been jilted by Wa on their morning horse-riding ritual. He spots a man returning and learns that he’s the Khun Yai. According to the employee, Khun Yai is Wa’s super VIP customer (haha, why is that funny? Perhaps it indicates how obsessed Wa is over this particular guest.) The minute he sees Wa riding back, he immediately hackles at her. “That man doesn’t look trustworthy to be riding with alone.” Wa chides him for judging someone before meeting him, but Kaew retorts,“I have seen him- albeit briefly- but I can tell he’s up to no good.” As if that explains everything.

When Wayu drives out of the farm and around the cliff, one begins to worry whether he’s going to see Khun Yai riding about on a horse. But thankfully, Wayu is merely going sightseeing and appreciating the flora and faunas around him, smiling at the potential profits he would gain.

Angry that he isn’t able to reach Wayugoon Farm, Khun Yai returns to his cottage and attempts to make a call. But his cellphone battery is dead, and in a fit of anger, he tosses it to the ground, where most things end up when they piss him off. He decides against using the resort’s telephone.

Khwan receives a visit from her ‘friendly’ neighbor, Wayu. He introduces himself, compelling her with his pretty face. But she questions him on how he is familiar with her name, and he praises her reputation that has made its round. Who doesn’t know the owner of Raicha Khwan Kaew? As he follows her to the bench, he admires her land. Probably calculating the commission he would get if he could convince her to sell her land too.

The sharp Khwan gets right to the heart of the matter, “Your hotel development has made its rounds to me. It looks like most of the larger plots in the area have been sold for the development. I sure hope that your appearance today doesn’t pertain to convincing me to sell the farm either.”

Wayu laughs, “Like I said earlier, I’m only here to make your acquaintance today.”

“Does it mean that next time you’ll ask to buy the land then?” she questions.

“And if that’s so, would you be willing to (sell it?)”

“Nope. If that’s all you want to know, I’ll be getting back to work.”

Wayu is left with a challenge.

Back at the resort, Kaew tells Wa that his sister misses her and wishes to see her soon. He invites her over today (right now) but Wa declines. She urges him to leave and to help his sister with the farm. I’m sure an idle, lazy man does not make the heart flutter.

When Kaew returns home he learns that Wayu paid his sis a visit. Khwan surmises that he probably came to survey their farm, but that if they refuse to sell, there is nothing other people could do about it. Kaew begs to differ; he fears that those guys would do everything in their power to force them to sell. For once, he could be correct.

Khun Yai finally decides to call Lawang from the resort phone. He doesn’t give away his hideout, but questions her on how she disposed of Kraigoon’s body and how Khun Thara is faring. Lawang assures him that she will take care of the problem (does that mean she hasn’t taken care of the problem? I can imagine Kraigoon’s body rotting away in a closet or garage.) Before Khun Yai could reveal where he’s at, he hears Khun Thara’s voice and hangs up.

Meanwhile the buyer’s middle man pays Wayu a visit. He wonders whether Wayu would regret selling such a beautiful farm, but Wayu feels that it’s a waste of land to keep it around. He shares with the middle man that Khwan doesn’t look like she’s going to budge on her position with the farm, to which the middle man replies that he can order his minions to teach her a little lesson to speed up the process. Wayu asks to negotiate with her first; he can make her come around, because he doesn’t like to use force.

Lawang’s no-good-for-nothing brother appears and eggs for more money. He whines that she’s living the high life and leaving her brother in the ditch. Lawang hands over money, and orders him to search for someone for her.

Back at the resort, Khun Yai is experiencing some cabin fever. He browses through the channels and doesn’t see any news he’d like to watch, then tosses the remote to the ground in anger. His signature move. He gets a bright idea and asks Kem (the funny employee) to bring him newspapers, three days’ worth of them, that is. Kem goes on a mad dash for the papers in the lobby, but gets stopped by Wa who offers to deliver the papers for Khun Yai instead, much to Kem’s relief.

Wa spots him sitting on the rock and makes her presence known by shouting his name. It startles him and he wonders whether she is capable of speaking in a normal tone. Wa smiles and smartly says that the last time she was quiet he had scolded her. As she trails behind him, he stops in his tracks (which nearly knocks her against him) and tells her to stop following him. Ha.

But she does put her ears to his door, listening to any activities in his room. Khun Yai browses through the newspapers but doesn’t see any news about Kraigoon, only a small column about Khun Thara’s birthday party. He crumples the papers and throws it against the door, startling her. Curious indeed.

We cut to Wa finally visiting Khwan and Kaew at their farm. Khwan complains that it’s been so long, and Kaew explains that Wa has been busy with her super VIP customer, lol. Apparently Kaew has been whining to his sister about Khun Yai and how much he detests being tossed to the side after Khun Yai’s appearance at the resort. Wa tells him that she’s never considered him that way before, whether Khun Yai is there or not. I love her.

Khwan is curious as to the reasons why Wa is so interested in Khun Yai’s case. Wa explains that at first he appears like a possible criminal, but after further consideration, he just seems pitiful. She tells Khwan what she has told her uncle about Khun Yai. For now she fears that Khun Yai would commit suicide. Khwan agrees that she should keep a close eye on him, if for the fact that it’s bad PR for the resort should someone die there (suicidal or not.) Kaew chimes in that she ought to send him elsewhere, get him out of her hair. Wa chides him that she’s not evil and besides, her uncle advises to let the resort heal Khun Yai, perhaps peace and nature will work its magic. Kaew teases her to turn her resort into a treatment center then, to which Wa jokes that he would be her first patient: a child who lacks love. Hahaha.

Wayu crashes their happy banter when he came for a visit. Kaew immediately states that there is no way they would sell their farm. But Khwan is much more polite and classier than that. She introduces Wayu to Kaew and Lookwa. In the kitchen, when alone with Wa, Kaew explains that Wayu wants to convince them to sell their land. He just doesn’t like the man.

Wa returns home to report to her uncle that she met Khun Wayu at Khwan’s farm, Khun Yai happens by (what impeccable timing!) and overhears. Dr. Pupa tells her that she has met Wayu a long time ago when she was little.

Khun Yai corners Wa later to ask about Khun Wayu, he wants her to describe the man’s appearance. Oh.. interesting.

“Why do you want to know?” she inquires. “Or is it because you have something to do with Khun Wayu and the farm? Is that why you’re so invested in this?”

“Can you refrain from questioning me or speculating about my circumstances?” he retorts, “now answer me, what does he look like?”

Wa doesn’t give an inch, she tells him that she will only answer him if he answers her questions too. This frustrates Khun Yai who proceeds to manhandle her, but releases quickly.

Wa doesn’t give up, “Khun Yai,” she says, “do tell me about your problem, perhaps there is something I can do to help?”

“You can’t help me.. no one can,” he replies, and walks away. Wa is left even more curious.

Khun Yai splashes water roughly on his face and glares at his face in the mirror. “Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you want to sell MY farm!”

Khun Yai flashes back to the time he was little, and we finally get to see his parents’ faces. They were the faces in the picture frame that made Wayu so angry (when he arrived at the villa.) Khun Yai loves the farm and his father pulls him close and tells him that the farm is his.

Back to present time, Khun Yai glares into the mirror and spat that the farm is his, he will not be selling it. His promise is made with a fist to the mirror, shattering it in his wake. Blood seeped through his knuckles. The vision of blood brings chills through his body as he recalls Kraigoon’s dead body. “I didn’t kill you, Kraigoon!”

[How many times can a person say innnterresting in this drama? I will refrain, for your benefit.]

On their morning ride back to the stable, Kaew figures something is wrong with Wa because she’s so quiet. He guesses that it must have something to do with Khun Yai and feels put out that she’s always thinking about the other guy. Kaew mentions that Khun Yai is only here momentarily so she shouldn’t dwell on him too much, he’ll come and go, just like the others. And for some reason, this made her sad.

Witu and Lukyie’s wedding invitation made it to the resort and both the employee and Dr.Pupa are concerned that it will make Wa even more sad. Despite her convincing exterior, the wound is still deep. Wa walks in on time to notice the invitation as all eyes are on her, searching for a reaction. Kaew tries to throw it away for her, but she refuses. It’s her sister’s wedding, she can’t toss it aside. She assures everyone that she’s okay, but just disappointed to thinking that her mom and sister mailed the invitation to her, as if she’s an interloper and not their family member. (Apparently she and Lukyie are half-sisters, but Wa never considers her other than her own sister.) Furthermore, for her sister, she can sacrifice a man (a wicked one at that.)

Wayu notices Khwan chatting with one of her customers (the same one that has a crush on her and is asking to take her home.) He pulls over and plays the friendly neighbor offering her a ride home. [This guy is charming, how could you not resist believing such a pretty face? I must be the only shallow one, ha. ] Wayu is glad to be taking her home so he doesn’t have to be alone. Because yunno, he doesn’t know anyone in this town and she’s his first and only friend. Wayu tries to broach a sensitive topic: he asks whether she would notice any strangers who happen to do business or wander by in this small town. Khwan says she doesn’t know anyone like that, but she rethinks it- making our hearts pound in fear that she would say Khun Yai’s name- but she says that he’s the stranger. Ha. I love her.

Khun Yai stares at the resort phone, willing it to ring? Provide feedback? He finally succumbs and dials Wayugoon’s farm! He questions whether Wayu is available and how long he is looking to stay there.

Meanwhile Wa brings a basket of clean linens for him but stands by the door reluctant, wondering if she’ll be scolded again. Just to see what he’s up to, Wa spies through his cottage window. Can you blame the guy for being weary of her? I’m sure she’s violating some sort of privacy agreement between guests and resort owners.

Khun Yai calls Lawang and tells her that he’s somewhere around Wayugoon Farm. He wants her to investigate who’s actually at the farm. Which we know that she knows who’s there, but unfortunately, Wa notices a creepy spider on her and yelps in fright, ending the phone call. Khun Yai peers through the window and Wa smiles cheekily at him from the floor.

“I came to change your bed sheets,” she explains when the door is opened for her.

“If you are here to change my bed sheets, why were you spying on me?”

“I just want to make sure that you were inside- let me change it for you-“

“That won’t be necessary,” he cuts her off, and takes the basket. “Stop nosing around my business.” Hee.

Miffed by this Khun Yai, Wa opts to go on a shopping errand with Kem and Uncle Karp instead. At the local shopping center Lawang’s brother asks the townsfolk if they recognize a face on his phone. But we don’t know who he’s referring to, only that the man in the photo is handsome. He tells them that the man is very dangerous, he recently murdered someone. Unfortunately no one recognizes the man. He missed Kem and Wa by seconds.

The brother takes a different method. He drives up to Wayugoon Farm and asks the workers there whether they’ve seen a friend of his. His name is Wayu. The employees immediately perk up and reply that Wayu is the owner of Wayugoon Farm. The brother shows them a picture on his phone but the employees all note that he must have the wrong person, because that is not Wayu! Interesting. See, there’s that word again.

“This is not Wayu.. what the hell?” Exactly. I feel your pain.

Wa is adorably incorrigible. She had purchased a Pinocchio doll from the market for Khun Yai and leaves it at his doorstep. But Khun Yai has no interest in presents or nice intentions as he tosses the bag in the garbage.

The middle man tries to encourage Wayu into investing in his casino, but Wayu doesn’t have any interests in sinful endeavors. The middle man retorts that what he’s pursuing isn’t all that legitimate anyway. Touché. Wayu reassures the man that he will get the deed under his name soon. Notice that the middle man hasn’t once referred to him as ‘Wayu?’ In that same casino, the brother just lost another hand in a game. He didn’t’ see Wayu walking right past him.

Khun Yai broods by the pond and notices two boys fighting over a toy. He overhears the father instructing the elder brother that because he’s older, he must sacrifice for his younger brother. The father spots Khun Yai and he seems to recognize the face. Khun Yai high tails back to his cottage.

Khun Yai flashes back to his time in the office where that same father had requested for a month extension on his company’s takeover, but Khun Yai rejects the extension. So maybe I am right! Perhaps Khun Yai is Wayu! No happy dance yet- we must wait for more clues.

Lawang inquires her brother on the status of his investigation. He reports that she must have sent him the wrong photo, because the workers at the farm says that Khun Wayu is back at the farm but the picture he has isn’t the picture of Khun Wayu.

Lawang finally confirms that Khun Yai is Khun Wayu, the eldest son of Khun Thara. She wonders who’s going around pretending to be Khun Wayu. She orders her brother to search for Khun Yai’s whereabouts and also to uncover the identity of the man pretending to be Khun Wayu.

Happy dance! We’re so right!

Khun Thara gets hospitalized after a lightheaded spell. Doctor advises Lawang to keep Khun Thara overnight for observation. Lawang makes a face right when the doctor leaves.

Dr. Pupa leaves Chiang Mai the following morning to visit Khun Thara and gives a warning to Wa to stay out of trouble. Since her uncle is not around, Wa must tend to Khun Yai since no one else in the resort would go near the man. Kaew offers to be the one to do it since he wants to see the man’s face close up. However as they make their way there, they spot Khun Yai bending over a hurt boy. Wa immediately assumes that he was responsible for hurting the boy.

“I didn’t do it,” he says and walks away.

Wa stops him, “I don’t care whether you’ve yelled at me or bully me in the past, but I can’t let this one slide.”

Khun Yai remains firm that he didn’t do it- which he didn’t because the boy ran into him and fell on his own. But Khun Yai doesn’t offer this information, and Wa is accusing him of it.

He spots the familiar father who’s making his way over and Khun Yai rushes out of there. The boy finally speaks up that Khun Yai was helping him. Wa’s face is priceless, she had been working so hard to get him to warm up to her and now she just went and ruined any chances of that. Nice going, Sherlock.

Wa rushes to Khun Yai’s cottage and apologizes for misunderstanding him. But Khun Yai beckons her to leave him alone. Kaew ushers her away. He tells Wa to find a way to kick Khun Yai out of the resort, and Wa asks to borrow his gun so she could shoot Khun Yai, that ought to kick him out. Ha.

Just when Khun Yai is trying to avoid the father (familiar face) he gets hit by his car. At close range, the man recognizes Khun Yai’s face immediately, “Khun Wayu-“ he says. “It is you. I thought I recognized you.” He helps Khun Yai to his feet, but the man brushes off and left without another word.

Dr. Pupa visits his old “friend” at the hospital. Khun Thara cries that perhaps Dr. Pupa is the only person who cares about her. Dr. Pupa asks whether Khun Wayu has returned since he didn’t get a chance to swing by Wayugoon farm to ask. But Khun Thara surmises that Wayu probably doesn’t care about her, she’s just a stepmom. And Kraigoon is still nowhere to be found. Khun Thara is devastated that her sons pay her no mind.

Lawang panics when she hears Dr. Pupa suggesting that they report Kraigoon missing to the police. But Khun Thara doesn’t want anyone to know about this yet. Hm. Regardless to the impact on your business, when your kid is missing, don’t you want to report it to the police so they can help you find him? Lawang lies to Dr. Pupa that she will call Wayu at the farm and inform him of his mother’s conditions. Next she calls her brother to quit dilly dallying over there- they need to find Khun Yai and find out who is the other Khun Wayu.

Wayu pays another visit to Khwan, offering to help her work at the farm so he can have a friend and she can have a little helper. She doesn’t think he could handle the hard work, but he’s persistent, so she assigns him to pluck the tea leaves.

Wa is stressed out about her behavior this morning and is looking for a way to make it up to him. But she learns that Khun Yai is missing from his cottage, and double checks that he hasn’t checked out of the resort. She searches the empty bed chamber and takes stock of the damages, that’s when she also notices her present sitting in the garbage basket. Sadden, Wa finally leaves the cottage, taking the doll and the keys.

Wayu is worn out from the labor, he speculates that this is hard work for a woman and wonders if she ever thought about working in a different profession. She warns him that if his effort today is to convince her to sell her farm, then he’s wasting his energy. She’s not going to sell. He of course smiles and tells her that he’s just looking to make a new friend. Sure, because that’s how we all make new friends. But Khwan wasn’t born yesterday and tells him that she will wait and see- because people can’t hide their true intentions for too long.

Kaew is not too pleased to see Wayu at his house again. He even tosses a glass of juice on Wayu, testing out his patience. Wayu steels himself, refraining from leaping at his throat.

Wayu takes his anger out on the potted plants, shattering each one in his wake. I wonder if he learned it from the real Wayu. Certainly smashing things against the ground gives one certain satisfaction.

An employee reports to him that a woman called looking for him, which makes him panic. He orders the employee to unplug all of the phones and to tell the other employees not to utter a word about him.

That night Wa looks at her Pinocchio doll and tells him that one day he would be able to smile like this doll.

And Kaew can be kind of cute. We know he is very close to his sister and feels badly for his behavior earlier. He waits by her bed to apologize when she wakes up. He can’t fall asleep when he knows that his sister is mad at him. She lectures him to control his hatred towards someone, because if the other person has a gun, he would be in deep trouble. And what if the man wants to take it out on her? They don’t know Wayu well enough not to take precautions. Better to make friends then to create enemies. Kaew promises to behave.

The next morning Kaew visits Wa for their daily ride and learns that Khun Yai hasn’t returned nor has he officially checked out. Just the thought that the man is gone makes Kaew giddy. But Wa is not comforted, and doesn’t feel like horseback riding.

And it just so happens that Khun Yai has been sleeping at the stables! When he returned the night prior, he realized that his cottage door was locked. Now he wakes up moody to Kem’s loud singing and dancing. He orders Kem to bring him his cottage keys.

Kaew surmises that Khun Yai is sneaking around and not wanting anyone to keep track of what time he leaves or comes back, this is suspicious. Wa doesn’t care, she’s happy he returned.

Khun Yai is gone with the wind, riding on the horse at a neck breaking pace, amidst the beautiful landscape. One cannot stop gawking at this beautiful cinematic capture, not to mention the beautiful score. We understand why he wants to go out so far and so fast. He stops in the middle of the plain and shouts from the top of his lungs. Must feel good to do that. This is totally reminiscent of Borisut Bumbat Kaen, Aum’s lakorn with Ann, where he screams at the top of his lungs over a boulder. He instructs Ann that it will make her feel better. Must be a secret treatment for those filled with anxiety.

Wa follows close behind, witnessing such a scene. She doesn’t back down and races after him. As she sidles next to him, she challenges him with the fact that she has never lost to a race before. With that being said, the two gallops away.

And we close this episode with a breathtaking view of the beautiful Chiang Mai plains.

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COMMENTS

Sometimes I don’t know where to look because the cast members are all so good-looking and great actors. Should I hate the villain? Because the fake Khun Wayu is so charming. Should I be annoyed by Kaew? I don’t know, he’s too cute with Wa. Khwan is a smart cookie and I like that she keeps the fake Khun Wayu on his toes. Should I be mad at Khun Yai? No his character is too well written. His actions are totally justified, and even if he smashes things or throws things around, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Even our heroine is so level headed and loveable. She knows she messed up and tries to make it up to our guy. What’s not to love about her? The only thing I’m requesting? More screen time between our leads, please!

Whew, now that I’ve gotten my impressions of the characters out of my system, let’s talk about the mystery. SO, what we know is that Khun Yai is Khun Wayu. We still don’t know who the fake Khun Wayu is (perhaps he’s the supposedly dead Kraigoon?) Because the only way that he would inherit the farm  is if his brother died. But why frame Khun Yai that he killed Kraigoon? Because if Khun Yai or his mom sees him, they’d know that Kraigoon clearly didn’t die. That leaves the fake Khun Wayu to perhaps be someone else. I just know that I don’t know and I’m looking forward to getting more clues! Fun stuff! Until next Wednesday, my friends!

[Episode 2 Playlist]