The Next Prince 1×01 Review: Episode 1

One of the most highly-anticipated Thai BLs of the past few years has finally premiered, and the first episode is everything that I hoped it would be. The production quality, the world-building, the orchestral score, and the attention to detail hopefully indicate that The Next Prince will continue to live up to the hype. But for all the work that has gone into the creation of the fictional country of Emmaly, in this first episode, we’ve yet to spend much time there.

The episode opens with a brief introduction to the history and families of Emmaly. It’s a super basic, family-friendly explanation, which is nonetheless necessary to explain both why Khanin is so important to the story and how the politics of the country work. I thought it was pretty clever that they used Thatdanai for the narration, and that he’s telling the story to a young Khanin as a bedtime story. Voiceovers are a common tactic in BLs, and I always appreciate when they try and do something unique with it.

We immediately go to Emmaly, to the home of Charan (Zee Pruk), one of King Thipokbowon’s trusted royal guard. (An interesting thing we learned in the behind-the-scenes is that all of the paintings featured in this show were all specifically created for the show. And everything was painted by hand.) Charan is summoned to an audience with the king, but he notices something is wrong right away. He is attacked by a knife-wielding assailant; however, as soon as he has his attacker subdued, the king appears and reveals that the attack was a ruse to test his skills.

We’re not even five minutes into the show and we have our first action scene. Given all of the politicking in the trailer, it won’t be the last one we see. (It’s not even the last one in this episode, so I’m expecting some action that isn’t just fencing scenes.) There were some interesting filmmaking techniques used in this sequence, like the slow motion, and the camera tilting. I thought the scene was well done, and it helped increase the tension. Charan is a main character, so you know nothing is going to happen to him this early, but you don’t know that the fight is a test, so you are still worried about what’s going on.

The scene between the king and Charan is done almost entirely in code. Charan asking the king which type of tea he wants served is him asking what kind of conversation this is going to be. And the king going on and on about Earl Grey, which is imported from England, is the king instructing Charan to fetch his grandson Khanin (NuNew Chawarin), who is currently living in London.

Now, this was a conversation that was clearly in code, but not to the point where it felt like the audience was being spoon-fed the information. That happens a lot in modern-day television, where it’s assumed that the audience is stupid and needs everything explained to them. Nuance is a lost art in dialogue-writing, apparently. And it’s interesting that they speak in code despite the king having requested that Charan treat him as a mentor rather than his sovereign. This implies to me that the king is worried about the task he is giving Charan (which turns out to have been for good reason), and that possibly he suspects someone close to him.

One gripe I do have with this episode is that none of Khanin’s friends in England sound like English is their native language. Which it’s entirely possible that it isn’t; it’s not like they explain the nationality of all the minor characters. But I was of the opinion that these are British students, and I know there are actors in Thailand who are fluent in English (there are even some native English speakers), so I feel like they could have tried harder to find actors who don’t sound so awkward speaking the language. Did this have to be set in England? (It’s them not even being able to pronounce his anglicized name properly. Why even bother giving him one then?)

Charan shows up at one of Khanin’s fencing competitions, and Khanin clocks him in the audience very quickly. I’m not sure what it was that Khanin noticed about him (maybe it’s his visible disappointment in his fencing skills, which is honestly hilarious), but when he spots Charan following him later, his guard his already up. (Nice to see that he has some situational awareness, as he will likely need that later.) I suspect Charan has to be purposely letting Khanin notice him, because there is no way this man doesn’t know how to be sneaky when necessary.

Charan and Khanin’s first conversation is a perfect representation of how I expect their relationship to go for much of the show. Khanin makes a lot of assumptions – first that Charan can’t understand him, then that Charan is trying to pick him up. Meanwhile, Charan insults Khanin’s fencing technique before just full-on noping out of the conversation, leaving Khanin frustrated and annoyed. There is absolutely going to be a lot of push-pull in their relationship, which Zee and NuNew are exceptionally good at. I’m excited to see them having a different dynamic than they did in Cutie Pie. (In the sense that NuNew’s character will be the one with most of the power, based on his royal status.)

Khanin’s annoyance continues when a) Charan’s advice about his technique proves accurate and b) for seemingly no reason at all, this random dude apparently knows his dad and is now staying at their house. Khanin knows that something is going on, but neither Charan nor Thatdanai seem eager to offer any explanations, so Khanin deals with the situation by, basically, being a bit of a brat. Which, honestly, good for him. Everyone’s lying to him. He’s allowed to be in a snit about it.

The party that Khanin’s friends throw to celebrate his victory in the fencing tournament is ridiculous. Apparently, in the novel, the party was a much more intimate gathering with just their small group of friends. The party in the show is more reminiscent of a rager thrown by the rich kids in American teen movies. Anyway, Charan has wormed his way into attending the party (to keep an eye on Khanin, though Khanin is not yet aware of this). And naturally, someone suggests they play the Pocky Game (you know, like you do at parties? in England?).

This is a BL, so you know Khanin and Charan are going to end up together, and the Pocky Game is the perfect excuse for them to have the traditional pre-kiss-kiss. (The neck grab, though? Yes, thank you.) I’d much rather have something contrived like this rather than the typical fell-on-top-of-each-other-and-lips-accidentally-touched, which is super common and so overdone. Charan reacts with shock, which you at first think is because he knows that Khanin is the heir to the throne, but then you later find out that it’s because apparently no one kisses anyone in Emmaly unless they are madly in love, and it’s meant to seal two people together.

So, essentially, Khanin and Charan are now bound together. Which, yeah, they are. Realizing that that’s probably Charan’s first kiss? Khanin thinking about the kiss later and touching his lips? Yeah, baby. I am so here for this. This is Jane Austen-level romance and I cannot wait.

Eventually, Khanin discovers the true reason why Charan is there when he overhears a conversation between Charan and his father. Well, the man whom he believes is his father. As we know from the king’s request, Khanin is his grandson. As it turns out, Khanin and his mother were attacked when Khanin was very young, and his mother was killed. Khanin, however, was rescued by Thatdanai, who fled with him to England and raised him in secrecy while the king led all but a select few to believe he had died.

But now the time has come for King Thipokbowon to abdicate, and Emmaly law dictates that each region must send an heir to compete for the next monarch, and Khanin is the only one from his region.

The scene where Thatdanai tells Khanin the truth is so heartbreaking. I am not at all good at the Thai language yet, but there’s a really good analysis of how language is used in this first episode. In this scene, Thatdanai starts using formal language with Khanin instead of the informal, familial language he had been using. (Actually, Charan does the same.) Not to mention the bowing. Khanin’s breakdown is a wonderful example of NuNew’s acting prowess, with Khanin sobbing that all he wants is a normal life with his father.

In a stunning display of emotional regulation, Khanin takes some time to sort out his thoughts and feelings before going to Thatdanai and asking for a full explanation. (We’re going to ignore the bit where he tells Charan that he ruined his life, because of reasons. I do feel that this will define their relationship, though. You can literally see Charan putting distance between them.) He rejects the decision that he must move back to Emmaly. He doesn’t want to, and he doesn’t feel like he should have to. 

However, he isn’t going to have much of a choice in the matter, as the episode ends with armed assassins breaking in and attacking. Charan and Thatdanai are trained soldiers and able to subdue the first round. (Khanin, a champion fencer, grabs a vase? I’m choosing to believe this is because he’s still kind of in shock, and also because fencing is not really survival training. It’s a different skillset entirely.) Unfortunately, there are more men, and they have guns. When Thatdanai tries to wrestle the gun from the attacker, it goes off.

And that’s where the episode ends! Because they hate us and they want us to suffer for another week.

There is so much more that I could say about this episode. I am so glad that they actually put a budget behind this series, because this is a show that really needs this grand scale behind it. Once we get to Emmaly, we need the sweeping sets and intricate costumes. This is a fantasy, and you need to spend the money to make it believable. I’m so glad that they did.

It’s only been one episode, so it’s too early to know for sure. But having watched the behind-the-scenes documentary and knowing how much work and care went into crafting this series, I cannot wait to watch the rest of it. In fact, I think it’s a crime that I have to wait for each episode. So mean. Why do they torture us so?

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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