The Next Prince 1×02 Review: Episode 2

Charan and Khanin have safely reached Emmaly, though not without some struggles. But after a car chase, the world’s worst assassins, and a poorly thought-out handcuffing, they now have to deal with something even worse: politics.

Episode 2 picks up basically right where last week’s episode left off. Armed gunmen (well, one armed, the rest have knives, I’m too American for this nonsense) have stormed the house after Khanin. Thatdanai wrestles the attacker for the gun, and in the struggle, it goes off…shooting a vase on the kitchen table. So we have the answer to the cruel cliffhanger from last week.

For about five minutes, and then they pull the same move on us again. Charan naturally doesn’t stick around, as his first priority is to get Khanin to safety. They are rushing to Charan’s motorcycle when they hear the gun go off again. Khanin obviously breaks down, worried about his father, but Charan convinces him that they need to flee.

Now, Thatdanai doesn’t appear again in this episode, but that doesn’t mean he’s dead. The first rule of media is that if you don’t see a character die, you should never assume that they’re dead. And even then, it’s negotiable. I’ve seen enough horror movies and soap operas to know that. Charan points out that Thatdanai is a trained soldier; he won’t knowingly risk Khanin’s safety, and despite how long-running this operation has been, there will still be a fallback plan.

What I really like about this episode is the back-and-forth in Charan and Khanin’s dynamic. In the first episode, Charan was just some annoying guy who showed up and ruined his life. But now Khanin has firsthand experience with the danger that he’s in, and Charan is constantly stepping up and protecting him. There are times when Khanin is clinging to Charan; now that Thatdanai is presumed dead, Charan is basically all that Khanin has, for all he’s only known the guy like three days. But when he thinks they’re safe, he reverts back to being a little brat.

(Please tell me the handcuffs come back later.)

There were a lot of tried and true tropes in this episode: forced cohabitation, shared danger, hurt/comfort. Plus, the additional Thai BL mainstays like getting caught in the rain and riding double on a motorcycle. I’m of the opinion that these two are already gone for each other and just don’t know it yet. Which, I’m not going to lie, is kind of my jam.

It’s in the little touches, honestly. Yes, it’s in the bigger moments, like when Charan just stripped off his shirt in front of Khanin and the boy literally bluescreened. But it’s also in the moments like when they grabbed each other on the plane, or Khanin touching Charan’s knee in the back of the cab. Things are going to change when they’re in Emmaly and their difference in status is more of an obstacle, but for now, I’m enjoying watching them fumble around each other.

Something that this episode makes obvious is that perhaps one of their biggest stumbling blocks is Charan’s position relative to Khanin. He flat-out said last week that it was his duty to protect and take care of the heir to the throne. Now, we have Khanin worrying that the man who raised him, whom he loved as his father, only did so because he had to. He’s afraid that it will be the same for Charan. Charan takes the opportunity to reassure Khanin that Thatdanai wasn’t only doing so out of duty, thus laying the groundwork for Charan to make the same claim about himself at some point.

One thing that I did not like about this episode was that it looks like many of the fight sequences are going to follow the same formula. I realize that Zee is not exactly an action star, but spin kicks are my favorite thing ever in a fight scene and it looks very much like it was edited to imply that a spin kick happened, but there was no kick.

But also, these have to be the worst assassins in the world, for them to so consistently fail. Charan legitimately froze at one point during a fight (he has rain-triggered PTSD, which I’m sure will be important later) and they just, what, let him regress? Not to mention, there are more than one of them and Khanin clearly cannot protect himself – just grab him while Charan is distracted! And they were so obviously hired goons; let’s wear all black and baseball caps and be menacing and make no effort to blend in.

Speaking of the assassins, we’ve gotten our first hint at who might be behind everything, and it’s someone who wears a very distinctive bracelet. They also have the power to command (or the money to bribe) law enforcement, as at least one of the attackers had a badge. I’d wager that they’re not going to wait to introduce the villain, so it has to be someone who has either made their appearance already or will show up next week. Right now, I have three theories.

First, and I think the most obvious, is Prince Rachata. In the scene where all the families met up to talk about the economy, Rachata mentioned that his province was struggling to sell their number one export (diamonds) and asked the king for help. The king basically brushed him off. In addition, Rachata’s son, Ramil, is apparently the only viable heir who can replace the king once he abdicates. 

If it’s not Rachata, it could be Ramil. From what we’ve seen of Ramil, he is arrogant and possessive. (And misogynistic, because even in made-up countries, women can’t catch a break.) He is bragging about being the only viable candidate, as though winning by default is anything to be proud of. His relationship with his butler, Paytai, seems to rely a lot on Ramil taking advantage of his status. And he clearly wants his family to win.

Also, their house crest has a snake on it. Not to stereotype but… Yeah. Khanin represents a threat to the Phuchongphisut taking the throne, so it makes sense for them to want him eliminated. I won’t be at all surprised if it’s someone from the Phuchongphisut family, but I will be a bit disappointed. They’re so villain-coded it’s ridiculous, and I’d love it if it turns out to be someone less on-the-nose.

Next, somewhat of a dark horse and based purely on a random Tumblr post I happened to come across while scrolling through the tag, is Prince Tharin, Khanin’s biological father. Now, if we believe what we’re shown, Tharin is only now learning that his son is alive. The Tumblr post that I saw included the phrase “pretends to be shocked”, and as someone who hasn’t read the novel, I have no idea whether or not that’s a spoiler.

However, given that he visited his wife’s grave after learning his son survived and promised her that he would take care of Khanin, I don’t put much stock in this theory. He wouldn’t privately make a promise to his dead wife if he had intentions of killing his own son.

Third is the one that I’m leaning towards, although admittedly I don’t have any proof. Just vibes. I think it could be King Thipokbowon himself. First of all, I think it’s very odd that Charan apparently knew that Khanin was alive, but Khanin’s own father did not. (He was also so blasé about telling Tharin. Like, “P.S., your son’s not dead.”) Second, if he did actually want Khanin to win the competition, surely he would have brought him back sooner, or at least instructed Thatdanai to raise him knowing the truth. Raising him as a “regular” person and then tossing him to the wolves doesn’t indicate a strong contender. 

I don’t really have a motive for him, but if he is the culprit, it’s not going to be obvious. Right now, we’re taking everything at face value because we don’t know all the players yet. The king does tell Tharin that he only trusts him to rule the kingdom after he abdicates, but that could be a charade. Maybe the king hates Tharin and has been keeping his long-lost son a secret to twist the knife a little deeper. But then why bring Khanin back at all, if that’s the case?

I also could be totally off the mark here. Maybe the as-yet-nameless enemy isn’t even from Emmaly but somewhere else. It could be someone we haven’t met yet. We are only two episodes in.

Someone in the reddit discussion for last week’s episode called The Next Prince their Game of Thrones, and at the time, I was like, “Yeah, I guess I can kind of see that, with the royal families and the politicking.” And then they legitimately busted out a full-on Game of Thrones-style opening credits. If they weren’t inspired by the iconic GOT credits, I’ll eat my hat. But the credits were sometimes my favorite part of a GOT episode (especially after season 5), so I’ll allow it. Because it was really cool, with the miniaturized versions of the royal families’ households.

The Next Prince continues to deliver. I cannot wait for next week’s episode.

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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