Barb Ayuttitham (Injustice Sin) – Eternal’s 1st Impressions/Recap

Are you feeling blood thirsty lately? Not enough revenge plots in your drama life at the moment? Barb Ayuttitham may be the show you need to get your heartrate up a bit. It is a fast-paced lakorn following the story of Chittawan Phitsunawadee (Boy Pakorn) whom we first meet in prison. He’s been serving 11 years in jail for a crime he did not commit. Newly minted attorney Plaifon Tiyakul (Yeena Salas) is determined to reopen Tawan’s case, but she needs his permission first. Tension mounts in their first meeting as Plaifon makes her plea with Tawan. She remarks that her professor, who had been his attorney at the time, has been greatly disappointed by the verdict of the court since he believed wholeheartedly that Tawan is innocent. Now that her professor has passed away, Plaifon thinks he wants her to finish it, and that Tawan should receive justice.

Tawan on the other hand isn’t impressed by her excuse, he leans over the table and grabs her wrist, her pulse beats rapidly, and he asks why she’s nervous. Plaifon explains it is because he is her first client, but her eyes tell us that there is something more to helping Tawan than what meets the eyes. She states she has new evidence to show him, but Tawan was done, the nightmare from 11 years ago doesn’t feel so long ago.

As we flashback, we see that Tawan was a promising medical student about to graduate, he had his whole life ahead of him. His girlfriend Namthip (Yoghurt Nattasha) was also expecting their first child, and our hot-blooded hero made swift plans to marry her – though he needed to overcome one huge obstacle first – they needed her father’s blessings. Daddy was Phuket millionaire, Khun Chonlathee, who did not give Tawan and family the time of day to even ask for her hand in marriage. Instead, he tied his daughter up and locked her in the room. Tawan wasn’t one to back down, as he was self-labeled as “crazy” and proceeded to enter the house and elope with his girlfriend.

Daddy had been meeting with a friend’s son named Katapetch (Bomb Tanin), who pleaded for the older man not to tell his father about a mistake he made. Daddy said it was too big of a mistake to hide, but before he could discuss further, the maid informed him that his daughter’s boyfriend had come to rescue her. With gun in hand, and anger in his blood, Daddy ordered the maid to phone the cops and he stopped the duo. He believed that Tawan was after his fortune and refused to accept him as a son in law. Thip made her decision to be with Tawan and so her father disowned her. Petch pretended to sympathize with them and offered his condo for the night, since the police were on their way to Tawan’s home too.

Tawan took in his baby mama and wife to be, the plan was to stay with his family for a few months, get married and then buy a home. However, his plans came to a screeching halt when Petch decided to shoot two birds with one stone: kill Daddy and blame it on Tawan so that he could not marry the woman that Petch wanted. He hired hitman Boon and his little sister Bua for the job. The day of Tawan’s wedding, he got a text message from Daddy that he needed to talk about Namthip. Tawan seemed to think that perhaps Daddy would finally give his blessings to them and he could surprise Namthip with the good news on their wedding day. He headed to the meeting point, which was a warehouse (red flag anyone?), Tawan got held by the neck with a noose and injected with something that caused him to fall asleep instantly.

Meanwhile Hitman Boon texted Daddy on Tawan’s phone to meet Tawan at a new location. Little Bua asked Daddy if he’d like to buy a garland, and the man bought all of them. That was the last thing he knew when he was immediately shot in the chest. Little Bua crouched on the ground, terrified. But she had one more task to do.

Several hours later when Tawan finally came to, he managed to break out of the warehouse. Disoriented from the sleep, Tawan staggered around hoping he went to the right location. On his way to the wedding venue, he stumbled through a procession full of people, music, and incense smoke. He even fell once, and someone helped him up. By the time he got to the venue, the cleaning crew were packing up the site. Things looked bad, very bad. And it was about to get worst. Tawan immediately got arrested when he arrived home, the cops took him for questioning at the station. The police lieutenant took his statement, but it already seemed like he had his ducks in a row and everything was pointing to Tawan as the culprit – especially when an eyewitness (Little Bua) pinpointed that Tawan was present at the time of the incident. Her mission accomplished, Little Bua could only look on at Tawan and his parents with sadness.

In court, Tawan was found guilty and is charged with the murder of Khon Chonlathee, where he will spend the rest of his life in prison. Tawan was in a state of shock – his mom sobbing in the background and dad promising to seek an appeal – and Namthip looking on with tears scalding her face. But no one had to endure serving time in jail when one was innocent like Tawan.

Back at present time, Plaifon requests another meeting with Tawan. She adamantly states that she would not stop until he grants her the power of attorney. Tawan attempts to be crude so he could scare her away, he gives her the once over and says she didn’t do her homework very well if he killed someone. Plaifon doesn’t bat an eye, she says she has done her homework perfectly which is why she knows he didn’t kill anyone. She lays out her evidence and story to corroborate with what happened. As it turns out, Plaifon discovered a key missing piece even for Tawan. During her exhaustive research, she found a video of a religious parade that took place eleven years ago, and he was seen stumbling among the procession. The time stamp alone would ensure he gets acquitted, because the location of the procession is ten minutes away from the crime scene. There would be no way for Tawan to have been at two places at the same time.

The news of the case appeal reaches Petch who orders Hitman Boon to look into Tawan’s attorney, and to kill her if necessary. Hitman Boon is surprised when he hears the name of the lawyer. Petch decides not to inform Namthip regarding the news of her former lover.

In the court appeal, Plaifon proves her case with new witnesses, specialists, and evidence that Tawan is indeed innocent. Due to the distance and time of the crime, the court rules in favor of Tawan and he becomes a free man. His parents cheered, Tawan looks on in relief, and Plaifon just won her first case in court. When Tawan is release from jail, that was a moving scene. Even Plaifon came to congratulate him, and Tawan pulls her in for a hug, surprising everyone. He thanks her and says he is indebted to her. Plaifon spies a blue car waiting for her in the corner. She accepts the family’s dinner invitation and excuses herself for work.

Meanwhile Namthip learns that her former love is acquitted which only means that he was accused of her father’s death. Devastated she sees her husband, Petch, walking into the house. He corrects her that Tawan is her “old” lover and that the past cannot be changed now because she belongs to him now. Namthip begs to differ when she says that the future can be changed though.

Plaifon gets into the blue car and we see Hitman Boon peering at her angrily, Plaifon is his Little Bua. He tells her that she’s borrowing trouble by doing this, but Plaifon/Bua laments that she suffered every night since the incident, and she had to make things right. She promised not to meddle with the issue again, but Hitman Boon argues that Tawan would be the one who would meddle with them. She let the tiger out of the cage and he’s going to seek revenge. He reminds the part she took in Tawan’s demise. Plaifon/Bua states that she can look after herself just fine.

During the dinner celebration, Plaifon can tell how close knitted the family is. She notes to Tawan that she is very jealous of his family, and Tawan says the door to their home is always open for her. But Tawan isn’t done, he says he has lost 11 years: his future, his love, his family. He will make everyone pay: the people who framed him, and the eyewitness that pinpointed him. He turns his angry eyes at her and says, “you will help me find them too.” Plaifon’s face pales as he corners her against the street pole, damn, her brother was right.

Ah, nice reveal in the first episode. I had a feeling that Plaifon was Little Bua, since her eyes hinted to the fact that she wasn’t saving him on her professor’s behalf or for her own professional ethics, but she was saving him to save her soul. But now the tables have turned, and the hunter is being hunted. When she was just a young girl who did what she was told, she knew what she did was terribly wrong. Now that she’s a grownup with a bright future, she goes about trying to fix her mistake. But she might have just put a target on her forehead, that’s such a great conundrum that I don’t even know how she’ll get out of this one. Good luck, girl. Nice knowing you.

Boy Pakorn is amazing as Tawan, the hot headed, “crazy” doctor that he pegged himself to be. Everyone at the jail seemed to respect him and call him “doctor”, which makes me wonder if he continued studying medicine while in prison and perhaps have helped some of the inmates/polices with medical aid.  They were happy on his behalf that he is acquitted, but still, Tawan is now out for blood. He’s going to make sure everyone is burned for what they’ve done to him. I am also wondering if Namthip had her baby or if she had an abortion. Looks like she is still in love with Tawan. I also think that the police lieutenant must be in cahoots with Petch as well, because to think that if any good cop did a little digging about Tawan’s statement, they would find out about the large procession just ten minutes away.

Maker K or Y! I always get the production team confused because they belong to one big family. But one thing is for sure, my favorite director is behind this – Aew Ampaiporn – which is no wonder this show is so well directed! She is the queen of stirring up drama, doing epic angst, and then turning it around to make you weep when the leads find their way back together. If anyone could make an impossible possible, it is her. She knows how to keep it tight and keep it interesting.

I always thought Bomb Tanin is a very stiff actor, but being the villain really suits him. You can also tell the chemistry between Boy and Yeena right off the bat, which will make for a bubbling heart burn so good. If you’re due for a revenge plot and slow burn, this one is for you.