Do Your Worse – Rang Tawan Episode 4

You’re all probably wondering what the hell went on in that late night, terrorizing moment on the beach. This episode goes dark and dirty, and just when we think our beast might be softening up a bit. I like this push and pull, watching the beast trying to understand the extent of his own aggression and why it is that people get pushed further and further away from him. It’s natural to regress a few steps. Taming of the beast isn’t the easiest task to take on, especially when SHE didn’t even sign up for it. I’m not even sure if our hero understands the deepest and darkest cavernous side of his own self.

It all continues from Dum Gern (the shooter) who had been making murder attempts on Suriyen’s life in order to save his wife and child. We learn that Dum Gern has been working for Suriyen for three years now but recently got threatened by Tarwut who hates Suriyen’s guts. He’s jealous of Suriyen’s power and influence over the townsfolk, especially his own father, and is determined to take Suriyen down. He has applied several tactics, but one of the biggest one is pitting Visut against Suriyen. Tarwut makes Suriyen think that it was Visut who is out for blood, but Visut doesn’t play along since he figures someone is trying to make the two farms fight. Although he needs to avenge his father’s death, his goal is just to find Athit (Suriyen’s father) whom he thinks is hiding somewhere in Rai Phu Tupdao. He wants Athit to pay for his father’s murder, but he refuses to fight it out with Suriyen.

Visut decides he and Pen will try to find evidence of Athit in the farm while they will utilize the cop’s help to find out more about Suriyen’s former relationship with Designer Rujira aka Khun Kim. They learn that she had been the only woman that Suriyen loved but need to know why Khun Kim hightailed to Bangkok. They think Suriyen must have done something to her. That is the tertiary love story for this lakorn, which is much more interesting than our secondary characters, because at least their story is relevant to Suriyen with a much darker tone. Because a romcom story, this is not. I wanted to get those subplots out of the way before we delve back into our main storyline, where Show really should be focusing on. Even a minute out of Suriyen and Tarntawan’s world makes this show less fascinating.

Dum Gern fails in killing Suriyen again, the bullet grazes his shoulders, thanks to Tarntawan who alerts the household that there’s a sniper in the trees. Although she thinks Suriyen’s a beast, she still worries about his safety. I like that she’s the only one who dares to call him out and anger him. I’m not sure if I would be as brave and poke the bear. When she learns that Suriyen has hidden cameras in every nook and cranny in the room, including the bathroom, she waits in the hallway for him – just to say he’s a pervert. He goads that he saw her using the bathroom three times yesterday but that there’s really nothing to look at. She balks that it’s an invasion of privacy and he’s a cad for doing that. Haha. Tarntawan warns him to remove the cameras or she’ll bash it, which Suriyen welcomes, because he’ll show her what a real pervert is like. I hope he was just messing with her, just as she messed with him earlier and made him build a child’s playhouse.

That scene was really cute because without anyone asking him, Suriyen orders his men to bring ALL of Nong Phit’s toys and familiar things from home, including his nanny. He wants to make sure he frees up Tarntawan’s time during the day to work on the farm to pay for her brother’s safety – but we all know he’s a big softie and really cares about Nong Phit. As he builds that playhouse, more and more of his employees witness his softer side – and so do we – which adds great complexity to his character.

Suriyen is also very smart. Dum Gern gets caught trying to hide his weapon, and he shoots the capturer, putting the blame on him instead. It’s a pretty savvy move, but Suriyen is smarter. He did not become and maintain his Big Boss status without thinking like a villain. The suspense was played perfectly as Dum Gern thinks he has the upper hand and everyone is none the wiser that he’s the real perpetrator. Suriyen merely lied that the capturer (his name is Jonn) told him that Dum Gern double crossed him, which caused Dum Gern to get defensive and pulls out a gun to shoot Suriyen as a last ditch effort. But Suriyen merely made that up, Jonn did not utter a word but Suriyen has a deep suspicion that Dum Gern was the true culprit.

Tarntawan’s friend, Pen, discovers a secret squirrel route from Rai Plai Fah (Visut’s farm) and Rai Phu Tupdao. As she sneaks around, she discovers that Dum Gern is the shooter and she immediately alerts Tarntawan. In a frenzy, they chase Suriyen’s car to a dark road in order to alert him of the betrayer – not knowing that Suriyen is HANDLING it. As they barge in, the commotion gives Dum Gern an opportunity to escape, which angers Suriyen and further makes him think that Visut must have hired Dum Gern to kill him, and that Tarntawan is in on it. He hauls her out of everyone’s site and they make it back home, where shit hits the fan.

Suriyen thinks Tarntawan is a professional gold digger. He wonders why she didn’t come after him since he’s so much richer than Visut. He yanks her by the forearm and tells her that she BELONGS to him and she’s not permitted to be someone else’s property. Tarntawan says that she doesn’t judge a person by how much money they have, but whether they have any humanity. Tarntawan manages to break free of his hold and slaps him, and Suriyen barks that he will rape her. Good god.

She runs out of his grasp and he promises that tonight, he will be worse than an animal, he will rape her wherever he finds her. I can’t believe this is in a script.

He chases her all the way to the waterfront, where sand meets sea, the night is pitch black, there is no where to run. He compliments her place of choice. He pulls her down on the water and starts to ravage her, among her resistance and screaming, a sentence made it to his comprehension. “THIS IS WHY KHUN KIM ABANDONED YOU!”

Suriyen stops in his tracks. Tarntawan adds that Khun Kim couldn’t stand his unscrupulous ways, that’s why she hightailed to BKK and never returned. “I know how she must have felt, who can stand living with a wild animal who’s only in tune with his animal instincts?” BURN. She says that love is a delicate thing that a beast like him could never fathom. He tells her that she doesn’t know shit so she ought to shut her trap. Tarntawan beckons him to do his worse, make her afraid because that fear will turn into bravery and she will take Nong Phit away from him. He dares her to try it and he will kill her brother. Tarntawan doesn’t give a rat’s ass because as far as she can tell, reasoning won’t work with him, and he’ll end up doing what he wants, including killing her brother.

“Go ahead – RAPE ME if you want. DO YOUR WORSE.” Damn. Balls of steel, this one. “If you rape me, I will take Nong Phit away. Just like everyone who abandoned you.”

He’s so angry, he couldn’t find words.

“Don’t you pity your life? Your dad, mom, older sister, your ex girl-“ Tarntawan’s shoving at his chest now, “everyone YOU love left you. Your remaining minions, are you sure they love you? Or are they just afraid of you? They’re just saving themselves. In actuality they HATE you. They wish you DEAD. Nobody in this world loves you. NOT EVEN ONE. Go ahead, rape me. It will confirm that everything I’ve said is true.”

“NO!” He bellows. “Get the hell out.”

Goddamn.

Tarntawan runs for her life and makes it to her room, where she falls against the door, clutching her shirt in wretched tears.

Suriyen roars into the ocean like a wounded animal, and them wretched tears also escapes his eyes. Gah.

That OST though, it just hits where it HURTS.

What a crazy, powerful close call. But the worse didn’t happen and I applaud you for that, Show. I can finally breathe, realizing I’ve been holding my breath all this time. Both Aum and Chippy really nailed it.

But Tarntawan might be wrong in her assessment that his minions don’t truly love him. They do, the closest one to him, his lawyer. What an astute man he is. He notices that Tarntawan has guts and maybe the only person who could stand up to Suriyen. He’s like the couple’s counselor, advising them on a coexisting relationship. First he tells Suriyen that he needs to control his emotions around Nong Phit, he doesn’t agree that Suriyen is acting ruthless and caddy in front of his nephew. YES, you tell him. He wants Nong Phit to see his uncle as an approachable person at least. He also suggests that Suriyen should be a little nicer to Tarntawan because she’s a big influence on Nong Phit. She’s the only one who can keep Nong Phit here, and Suriyen knows that. The lawyer offers a solution, how about a little smile every now and then? Haha. I love how he drops the dagger and quietly walks away.

Then he goes to Tarntawan and drops another dagger, only probably said a little more than he ought to. He asks Tarntawan not to pick a fight with Suriyen all the time. Because you know he’s like a ticking time bomb. (My words not his). He says that if she follows the news, everyone pits Suriyen against all of the crimes, illegal logging, drugs, human trafficking, you name it – but all cases were groundless. He adds that Suriyen is a lot more pitiful than she thinks, he really wants a family and is willing to do anything for his nephew. Oh my. Tarntawan catches this drift and smiles, he is willing to do ANYTHING eh? Oh, I hope it is a sweet, sweet payback. I am liking Tarntawan now, not only because she’s gutsy but I realize, like the lawyer realizes, that she truly is the only one who will turn Suriyen around. With a weaker heroine, there might already be a successful R scene, but with Tarntawan, girl will make you cry for even trying it. She might send you to hell and back just for attempting the unthinkable.

I love all of the metaphors in this episode about his wild animal instincts. It’s simple: he’s a beast. A beast who has no idea that his method of dealing with people he love is actually pushing them away. Probably for a long time, Suriyen victimizes himself – he believes that people who have a responsibility for him- parents, sister, girlfriend (responsible for his heart) – are the very people who should love him, but end up abandoning him. So he holds a grudge and blames them. But I don’t think he has ever looked at his own behavior and find it unacceptable. Like a lost child, he’s left to his own device, he became a young Big Boss and learned to be ruthless. He now thinks that he is who he is and people need to accept him. But shoot, what if that person he has become is nothing short of a beast?

Can an old dog learn new tricks? Can this beast really see himself for his scary behavior and change, or will he be relegated alone and beastly forever? And if so, does he deserve it? You be the judge of that.

I don’t know, that was close. SO CLOSE. Whew.