Princess Alice is back! That was hot to see her kicking ass again, because the strength of the show isn’t when our princess is down and out, but kicking ass and taking names. confident and alluring at the same time. Doesn’t hurt to have one really fine, really capable Lieutenant Commander to back her up either.

But more importantly, it’s an episode about how you treat the person closest to you, whether that is your best friend, your no good for nothing cousin, your father who doesn’t want you to gain power, or your fake wife who is as obstinate as they come, because how you treat them defines who you are as a person. Dawin learns that if you loosen the reigns a little bit, they might just surprise you and show you what they’re made of.

EPISODE 5 RECAP – “Best Friend”

Kate and Alan review the security footages and surmise that Jacee must have been the person in black, but they wonder why she came to his room. Alan notices that the person in black attempts to slide an envelope through his door, but that Muat Paen had confiscated it by tucking it discreetly in her waistband.

Alice dislikes Dawin’s silent recriminations and tells him to speak his mind. Dawin retorts that he doesn’t care what she likes or dislikes, since she doesn’t seem to even care about herself. He scolds her for risking her life to see Prince Alan and that it was wrong of her to give confidential intel to other people, not to mention sneaking out and lying to him. He wonders if he didn’t get there in time, whether she would reveal herself to “other people”. Alice tells him that she didn’t intend to do such a thing but Dawin adds that he followed her because he thinks she might reveal herself to someone else too – Prince Will. He thinks since she trusts the man so much, she might seek his help. Alice is caught off guard with the abrupt change in subject, she’s like “are you mad because of the document or because of P’Will?” HAHAHA.

Oh Dawin, why are you mad indeed? Who are you trying to kid, lol.

Alice laments that she must handle it herself because that’s her brother (cousin) in trouble, she wasn’t about to rely on anyone to help her. Dawin questions whether that’s her job to personally deliver the intel to her brother – and he continues furiously that if anything happens to her, his dream team – him – they’ll get into so much trouble. To which Alice concludes that that is all he cares about. Dawin admonishes that that is all she could understand.

As Alice shuts the door to her room in tears, we get the rest of their conversation. Dawin is frustrated because she said that she trusts him yet her behavior doesn’t support that. While Dawin thinks back to what she said about Alan, that he’s in danger and no matter how much he hates her, he’s still the little brother that she loves. She won’t stand to see her loved ones in danger, and if anything happens to her while protecting her loved one, then she’ll take full responsibility.

Alice holds her aching ankle and thinks to when he came to her rescue, collecting her from the floor and carrying her away from danger.

Muat Paen presents to Alan his fanmail, lol. She tells him that the woman in black from last night was just a hardcore fangirl who hightailed out of there the minute she sees him. Alan doesn’t believe it one bit but he says it doesn’t matter who it is, he wants that woman to stay out of his business.

Meanwhile Dawin gets chewed out by his boss, who is not pleased that he allowed the princess to be in danger and getting hurt in the process. If worse case scenario did happen, the general questions how Dawin plans on taking responsibility. Dawin blames it on his own failed plan, which surprises the general because Dawin is always a very cautious person, and it makes the general wonder if there’s something else that he doesn’t know. Dawin denies it and promises not to let it happen again.

A firm reminder of the princess situation is clearly needed, with a violin accompaniment to boot (played by Kate). This scene is both sad and funny: the general tells Dawin that the King has been poisoned, which shocks Dawin. We see that Alice gets out of bed, still hurt from the fall. The general reminds Dawin that the princess is surrounded by foes and the real villain hasn’t even been caught yet. Then Alice enters the kitchen, attempting to reach for the pot.. while Dawin arrives home, feeling bad for speaking to her so harshly. He thinks to make up to her by plucking a single red rose from her rose pot. As he knocks on her bedroom door, we see Alice losing a footing and slipping, hitting her head against the counter and collapsing to the floor. If Dawin doesn’t feel badly by now, the violin should help with the sympathy lol. Thankfully this scene shakes up their angry banter a bit, and puts them on even ground. Dawin finds Alice unconscious and bleeding on the kitchen floor. He rushes her to the hospital.

Meanwhile Kate attempts to question Muat Kan whether a scenario such as a princess coming to Thailand and seeking their team’s protection due to a dangerous situation ever occurred before. Muat Kan looks uncomfortably back at her, but he immediately reports that she should ask the general these questions and that he’s only here to look after her. She wonders if his boss could come watch over her, because she knows their team is very skilled. We find out she just wants new information and learns of Dawin’s identity.

Jacee overhears Muat Hin telling Muat Ling that their commander is acting out of character; he’s never looked at anyone with that much concern in his eyes. Muat Ling just laughs, saying that his boss is professional and can keep his personal feelings at bay, besides, he thinks it’s impossible for his boss and a PRINCESS to happen in real life. Jacee doesn’t seem to like what she hears.

Alice comes to and sees Dawin by her side. He tells her that her brain scans came out normal and she received some stitches. I mean, when will this girl stop getting hurt?! As he tries to excuse himself, Alice wonders out loud that she must have implicated him again. She apologizes for always causing him trouble, from the very first time they met. She says that she thought he would have excused himself from the mission by now, but she’s thankful that he stayed. Well, aw. She thanks him for taking care of her. Dawin turns to her and fesses up his apologies as well, for speaking harshly to her the other night, but that he said those things because he was concerned about her. And if she trusts him and sees him as a friend, then she can’t run away like that. He says to tell him if she wants to do something, but she wonders if he’ll let her go. Dawin says no, LOL, but that HE would be the one to risk it, not her. Her life is much too important to do things like that. This is when Jacee walks into the hospital room, and witnesses the princess promising not to run away again and that she will tell him everything. Well, I’ll be darn.

They even do the cutest pinky swear, sealing the promise. I’m sure Jacee has never seen the princess acting this way with anyone before either. She watches Dawin lingering by her bedside as the princess falls asleep, holding her hand.

Kate makes headway on her own investigation, trying to find out where Alice is. She makes the correct assumption that the dream team must be the team that is taking care of Alice right now, even though everyone denies it and do not walk into her trap. Muat Paen reports this to Dawin who isn’t concerned, because they can’t know for sure that he’s protecting Alice, they can only assume. But he will be more cautious. Muat Paen also reports that Prince Alan has been quiet lately, as if he’s focused on something. He has been spending lots of time with Dom while Prince Will has been spending time with Kate. Muat Paen adds that Alice is really pitiful right now and that he should ease on the scolding lol. Dawin chastises the team for gossiping and relents that he treats all VIP the same way without sympathy, especially when rules are broken. Mm hm.

Said VIP is walking out of her hospital room (looking for someone?) when she sees Dawin overseeing her safety and yawning. She gives him coffee with a smile.

Kate shares her findings about Dawin and the dream team with Will, who thinks it will be hard to get to Alice through Dawin. Kate has an idea as she peers at Muat Kan. We flashback to the first time she met him where he helps her from a fall. She had already established a connection with him (of the female, wily variety?)

Dawin helps Alice into bed ever so tenderly and Alice tells him that she’s quite alright. She instructs Jacee to return to Hrysos since Kate has seen her face, and if she leaves how, Kate may think she saw the wrong person. The personal assistant is reluctant to leave since no one would take care of her, but Alice laments that Dawin will take good care of her. Jacee asks to stay until the princess has healed.

Muat Hin seems like he would miss his sidekick, Jacee, who instructs him to keep his eyes open for 24 hours, since he missed it when the princess fainted. In his defense, they didn’t have a security camera in the kitchen, but he made sure there is one now. Besides, he says that the commander won’t let her out of his sight. The reminder of Dawin prompts Jacee to have a conversation with him. She gives him another reality check, that the princess trusts him more than anyone but that the situation is only a temporary one, once they find the culprit, the princess will return to Hrysos immediately. Dawin is well aware of the reality and thanks Jacee for the reminder.

When Dawin gets home he sees that the princess has fallen asleep waiting up for him. He carries her to bed and gently tucks her in. I like these quiet moments where he just looks at her sleeping and tucking her hair behind her ear. But the reminder from Jacee works because as he thinks about his moments with Alice, he also promptly throws away the dried up rose.

Meanwhile Mona gets word that the king is ill so she demands a visitation, despite Petra trying to stop her, when in fact, she’s just trying to find out if the king is truly ill or not. King Henry pretends like all is well and tells her to get out of his palace. The moment she leaves, he collapses, causing a stir. Mona rushes to Andre and tells him they need to prove their innocence, the king thinks they are responsible for poisoning him. But Andre immediately goes to see someone, with Petra close behind, taking a picture of them.

Dawin is summoned to meet with Kate and Will. He agrees to meet with them because saying no would give them a reason to be suspicious and investigating them to no end. He mentions it’s a good opportunity to find out what they know.

Will asks Dawin to help them find Princess Alice, to which Dawin feigns ignorance. He wonders why they are asking him to help, so Will says he trusts in Dawin’s skills and he had also been the one to send Alice home – however, she never made it back. Kate plays the concerned sister card, though it makes you wonder if she’s genuine or not. Will makes a case that they are the two people that Alice trusts the most – with him being the future fiancé – lol, what? Let’s just slide that in there, even Kate gives him the look. They encourage Dawin to tell them anything he knows, but Dawin repeats that he knows nothing, and that if anyone should know Alice’s whereabouts, it ought to be the people she trusts the most. Touché, Dawin.

Meanwhile Alice tries to get a hold of Dawin to no avail – she gets more frustrated and won’t eat as the hour goes by.

Dawin reports to the general who feels that maybe Kate and Will are truly concerned about Alice. Dawin thinks maybe they just want her and that he doesn’t trust anyone. The general says that even though Will may not be trustworthy, he indicates that the most untrustworthy thing is one’s heart, because it doesn’t allow one to stay in control of the situation. This can cause unforeseen circumstances, and as a soldier, Dawin needs to remember this. Geez, everyone and their mom is doing what I call “preventative ass-whooping.” It’s like Dawin can’t even THINK about falling in love with the Princess. The general thinks the meeting was good though, because now they know Kate and Will are onto them and they need to be extra careful.

When Dawin returns home, he sees Alice asleep waiting for him again and food untouched. Dawin fixes her ankle dressing and wakes her slowly. But she’s been waiting allll day and gives him a piece of her mind about turning his phone off. Dawin says he was occupied with a secret mission, to which she has a million questions. At the end of the day, she’s frustrated because she hadn’t been able to get a hold of her grandpa or Petra, and not being able to get a hold of him was too much.

He tells her about his meeting with Will and Kate and that they suspect she’s with him, but that he denied it. He asks if she feels better now but she’s all, I wasn’t anxious. Just 238 times anxious, as proof on his text message. HAHAHA. She says she needed to consult with him about her grandpa and that he’s not allowed to turn off his phone again. Then her stomach proceeds to growl loudly and Dawin finally understands – she’s hangry. LOL.

I love it when one of them is anxious and one of them is calm. It’s so cute. Much better than when they’re screaming at each other.

Over dinner (finally the girl gets to eat, always feed the girl) Alice broaches the subject of her grandpa and how she hadn’t been able to get a hold of him or Petra. She wonders if Dawin knows anything about that. Dawin of course knows but deflects and says that he’ll tell her the minute King Henry sends news.

Meanwhile King Henry finds out that his son met with his former bodyguard who betrayed him. Petra surmises that he could very well be the culprit since he never agreed with Alice being the crown princess. The king orders Petra to keep an eye on Andre, and then summons his son for a personal meeting. Petra brings the soldiers with her, and I love how that pisses Mona off.

King Henry confronts his son with the evidence that he’s been seen with a traitor, but Andre claims that it’s perfectly normal that he met with a former bodyguard and that dad is being biased by having someone follow him. The king argues that they wouldn’t have known these things if they didn’t have Andre followed. This makes Andre furious because dad is insinuating that he’s met with a traitor. Dad says he only means well because Andre believes someone too much, but Andre laments that this time, it’s not Mona’s fault. Dad starts to show signs of collapsing again, but Andre doesn’t notice as he’s too angry, and questions that even without Mona, would dad let him succeed the throne? He tells dad to punish him if it makes him feel better, he’s willing to go to jail and die by dad’s hands. When he stomps off, the king finally collapses.

A glass shatters as it falls to the ground in Alice’s rooom, and the way she stares at it gives me a bad feeling.

Alan’s illegal gold dealing plan goes into action. The dream team gathers with the princess to discuss how they’ll proceed. Commander Dawin instructs everyone that their mission is to protect Alan only. They will not meddle with capturing the villains or claiming the gold/money since that will be the police’s job. It’s a covert mission and they must remain anonymous. Alice is good with the plan except one thing, she wants to tag along. Dawin makes a deal that she can only observe but she can’t participate.

But she sure dresses like she’s part of the team, lol, packing a large duffel bag for someone who’s just observing.

Will sits back in his spa waiting for his manipulation to pay off. In a flashback we see him telling Dom not to tell Prince Alan that this is actually illegal. Then later we see Will instructing a 3rd party mercenary to kill everyone that is involved except for Prince Alan, but if he stands in the way, he has permission to kill Alan as well. The goal is to get the gold and the money.

The exchange takes place and both parties are happy with it, when suddenly a group of skilled men shows up and shoots everyone down. The Dream Team activates with the commander instructing the three snipers to protect Alan while he infiltrates and controls the situation.

Alice summarizes that there must be three groups and realizes that they are outnumbered. She quickly pulls on her safety vest and covers her face with a black bandana. She disappears out of the control center. Alan realizes that he was betrayed and tries to get back to the gold. He gets shot in the leg as he attempts to get to the gold. As he almost gets shot down, a black ninja shows up and saves him. He gets a good look at her eyes, recognizing immediately that it’s his P’Alice. Muat Paen helps him up and they make their escape, while Alice proceeds to be a freakin badass.

The fighting sequence is really awesome as the Cool Commander capably shoots down the enemies and they (Alice-Dawin) proceed to work as a team to take down the gunners, like the first time they met each other. Alan peers at Muat Paen as she stops his bleeding, kinda looking like a deer caught in the headlights. He tries to go back and save the gold but Muat Paen says someone is looking out for it and they need to get him out. Dom gets shot in the head per Will’s instruction to ensure he doesn’t run his mouth. And finally Alice and Dawin escape by motorcycle as the police force arrives (so handy these cops).

It’s one sexy, motorcycle ride home, with Alice hugging him close. Dawin squeezes her hand that’s holding him, as if he’s telling her that she did a good job. God, that’s hot. Are we watching a movie or a lakorn?

When he’s quiet and vulnerable, not boastful or annoying, I’m starting to like Prince Alan. He thinks back on how Alice saved his life in the warehouse, and then when they were kids, how she always looked out for him. He asks Muat Paen to confirm if the woman who saved him was his sister. Muat Paen plays dumb but he reassures her that he won’t tell anyone, he just wants to know if she’s safe.

His other sister came for a visit, the interim heiress, and the first thing she does is berate him on how much of a disappointment he is to Mona and their dad. Rule #1 for being a good sis, you defend fiercely and whoop his ass later. Even if he is a disappointment, she could have said that she’s glad he’s alive. When his mom hears of this, she is furious as Alan’s failure could jeopardize their reign. Andre says that things are not going well, his dad is very ill but Mona begs to differ, she says that the cabinet is supporting them. Andre is questioning her motive now (thanks to grandpa) that all she cares about is herself and getting power. Mona makes the excuse that she’s looking out for him, and if he doesn’t care about his own future, she’ll have to take matters into her own hands.

Alice compliments the dream team for their job well done and wonders what kind of punishment will befall Alan. Dawin says they’re still reviewing the case since they have to be sensitive about the relationship between Thailand and Hrysos.

Cut to the general meeting with Alan. The older man indicates that they are aware that Alan was not aware that the gold deal was illegal. Alan says that his friend betrayed him and he wonders who the 3rd party gunners were. The general wants to discuss about the ramification for his actions and Alan claims that he’s prepared to accept whatever punishment. He’s just worried about sullying his grandpa and parents’ reputation.

Alice has a suggestion that will resolve all of their problems, and we see her solution playing out in a press conference. They spin the illegal gold trading story to claim that Prince Alan has helped the efforts to reveal who these illegal players are, while also claiming back the tons of gold for his country. Both sides look like heroes, and Alan thanks the general’s team for saving his life as well. Alice tells Dawin that based on what she noticed during the fighting, Alan wants to protect the gold with his life, which tells her that he has some semblance of responsibility left.

Dawin thanks Alice for her brilliant solution. But one person doesn’t like the solution at all, he lost out on both the gold and money, Prince Will.

The two sit in Dawin’s jeep as they peer out into the beach. He asks her why she wanted to help Alan and she replies that she didn’t want Alan to feel badly about himself. His failure this time will not please his parents nor grandpa, and it could ruin his future, and Alice simply didn’t want that to happen. Dawin finds it bizarre that she helped them when they wish ill will towards her. Alice admits that it must be due to her own guilt for being the crown princess, jumping through 4 lines to get to the top. Helping them is a way to make it up to them, so to speak.

Alice thanks Dawin for explaining her intentions to his team. She knows what he starts to say “that it’s my duty” because it’s his favorite phrase, lol. But Dawin does have a few new surprises up his sleeve, he tells her to listen because this is new.

“While you say you are not suitable for the heiress position, I don’t believe it. I believe you are the most suitable,” he says. “Because you have compassion, you help others, you’re selfless, brave and kind to those around you, even to your enemies.”

She gives him a small smile and they walk along the beach as he continues.

“I don’t know what it takes to be an heiress, but the things I’ve mentioned earlier and what I’ve witnessed, whether in governing or negotiating, you are more than acceptable as an heiress.”

He earns another smile and she says that it’s nice to hear him speak nicely like this. Lol. Dawin questions whether he has a bad mouth previously and Alice confirms it was very bad indeed. Ah, they’re so cute. Alice reaches for his hand and thanks him again. She finally gets the gumption to say the one thing that we are all curious to hear. Alice says that the person behind this (the illegal trading) must be someone who knows Alan well, as well as the trade. Yay! Our girl has her smart pants on! She knows her “trusted” bro, Will, is the likeliest culprit.

Meanwhile in Hrysos, while the king is still unconscious, the cabinet rallies behind Prince Andre. The man thinks for a good long minute before he signs the document, which will probably give him the power of attorney – to takeover, the kingdom.

COMMENTS:

I don’t know how the rule of succession goes in this country, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out. We haven’t been given any rules yet, can Prince Andre take over the throne by having the cabinet support him? I recall the king mentioning that the people of Hrysos would need to support that decision too? Also, even though the king is ill, don’t we already have an interim heiress AND an heiress that can be called to hold court until the final decision has been made? I have so many questions.

But you know this only means one thing, our duo’s time in Thailand as husband and wife is coming to a close soon since Princess Alice may need to rush back to save her country. To be honest, I’m a little bummed Show didn’t milk the cohabitation/fake marriage hijinks. Can’t I just watch more of them doing everyday things? Like brushing their teeth, cooking (we never got the cooking scene!) watching lakorns together (I hear it’s a great distraction from royal duties) and just being merry together? They’ve spent a lot of time just slamming doors and getting all angsty that when we do get these understanding scenes in this episode where they’re just talking and smiling at each other, I realize I just want someone to kidnap them and take them some place where no one can bother them. Spoiler alert, I think we’ll get that in the next episode. Gah!

I’m happy to report that we got our girl back, hopefully longer than 10 minutes. I’m glad to see Alan growing up. For once his family member (Alice) has given him the opportunity to grow. Just by showing that she loves him, protecting him like a good sister that she is, Alan can hopefully differentiate the truth from the crap his mother spews.

Most of all, I’m glad Dawin sees in the princess something she hasn’t seen in herself. She’s a leader, and a badass one at that. I hope we get to see more of her brilliance and genuine vulnerability. And I’m noticing how she has started to initiate the contact with Dawin, because with all of the backhanded reminders from the general and Jacee, Dawin is holding himself at bay. What he doesn’t realize is that he has already fallen.