When last we left Prince and the Rebel, everyone was in jail, Noble Father was going to beat Prince, and the King arrived.
Prince/Worradej immediately tattles on their father
Noble Father defends himself. Kosol defends Banjong, Prince/Worradej, and Jade, taking all the blame for everything. And the King accuses Noble Father of plotting a rebellion against him. It’s a lot.
In the end, we’re back to Kosol being the only one in jail, having to fire-walk to prove his innocence.
The King is disappointed that Prince/Worradej hasn’t come up with a plan for saving Kosol yet. He needs Kosol to protect him from the corrupt nobles. But after eating some food, Prince/Worradej has a plan.
Not that we get to learn it
Also, Prince/Worradej happily hands Jade to the King to be his personal page. Maybe someone should ask Jade what he wants?
Jade and the King switch places so that everyone can learn lessons about classism. Jade isn’t into the role reversal. The King is. But neither is good at pretending to be the other. Dressed as Jade, the King nearly gets beaten by a random noble, until Jade defends him.
Later, Jade sneaks away to tuck Prince/Worradej in, and the King catches him. The King understands Jade can’t let go of his old master, and only asks that he not neglect him. Lucky Jade has two bosses now.
Also, the King had a great time during their market date. Jade, not so much. They talk about their different positions, and the King admits he feels unsafe as the King, because everyone wants to kill him. But it’s worse to be a peasant like Jade who has no power.
Time for Kosol to walk through fire!
The King announces that if Kosol is innocent, the divine will keep him from being burned. There are rebels in the audience in disguise. So, not a complicated secret plan.
Before they can do anything, the King announces a witness has come to take Kosol’s place.
It’s Prince/Worradej! Looking fabulous in heels and a black cloak, ready to put on a show. Prince/Worradej strolls through the fire, and with a “ta-da” declares themselves God’s chosen one. Earlier, they fire-proofed the fabric, but it can’t be in the flames too long, and Prince/Worradej stays too long. Their cape catches fire.
Kosol breaks his chains, grabs Prince/Worradej from the fire, tosses the burning cape, and scolds them for ruining the lame secret plan.
Prince/Worradej kisses Kosol in front of everyone
Just to prove they helped him of their own free will. That’s all. No feelings here.
Noble Father wants them arrested for their icky love. But the King would rather not. Noble Father tries to start his rebellion with the help of the guards, but the rebels finally reveal themselves.
The guards have spears. The rebels have guns. That’s that. Kosol aims a gun at his brother, horrifying everyone, but it’s just brotherly fun.
Not that Kosol likes his brother, he’s going to use him against that guy we haven’t met, Saenyakorn. The King is okay with being a team that way, and Prince/Worradej makes the brothers shake hands.
Kosol carries Prince/Worradej back to his place and drops them on the floor. He demands an answer to the question he asked the day Worradej “first gave in to me”. Sexy.
Flashback to Kosol rescuing Worradej from the other rebels. Worradej cries about having no place in the world, but Kosol says his place is with him. Having sex.
But sex doesn’t fix Worradej’s problems. Kosol wants him to forget about Banjong and pushes Worradej about whether he has feelings for him or not.
That’s the answer Kosol wants now.
Prince/Worradej thinks Kosol preyed on Worradej when he was weak. But that doesn’t keep them from wanting to answer “yes” on their own behalf. But they think Worradej would likely say no. Whose answer should they give?
They settle on sex, since for some reason they’ve decided they’re returning to the present any minute now. We get some good kissing and vamping.
Sex doesn’t fix things for Prince/Worradej either
Upon waking, still in bed with Kosol, they cry. Kosol is amused. Prince/Worradej blurts out that they aren’t Worradej, just want to go home, and don’t know how. Kosol tells Prince/Worradej they can’t go home, they’ve been sentenced to hard labor because they’re Noble Father’s son.
Prince/Worradej asks about what else the rebels are trying to accomplish, because maybe THAT’s what Worradej wants. Kosol says they need to storm the capital and take down Somdet Saenyakorn. Then, they can change the horrible laws.
Kosol wants Prince/Worradej’s help. They do not want to help. But more sex is okay.
Finally, we see Saenyakorn, but just to learn he’s not going to give up his power.
Back-forward-back in time we go
Prince got scolded in class for speaking in a feminine way, which is against the laws created by Saenyakorn. Adult Prince defied the laws, declaring themselves a transwoman named Prince. They became the first LGBTQ+ idol in the nation of Saenya. Oh, Saenyakorn, Saenya, got it.
These memories remind Prince/Worradej that they are a rebel. And if they defeat Saenyakorn now, this makes life better for themselves and countless others over the coming years.
Kosol is happy Prince/Worradej will fight alongside him. These laws and his defiance of them were why Kosol was stripped of his title and thrown in jail. He wants to legalize same-sex marriage and marry Prince/Worradej. Which Prince/Worradej finds flattering.
Oops, we’ve misplaced Jade
No one noticed that, like all Noble Father’s servants, he’s been forced into hard labor. Despite servants having no say in who they serve. Yes, this is unfair!
And Jade isn’t doing well, so the guards beat him to make him do better. It doesn’t work. Prince/Worradej sees this, but hesitates to interfere because revealing themselves will get them arrested. Once again, a flashback reminds them of when they stopped an abusive boss from striking their employee. Now, they do the same for Jade.
They are immediately arrested. But Banjong shows up to rescue them. He takes Prince/Worradej and Jade, but the other imprisoned servants also beg to be freed. The only way to rescue them is by getting power, changing the laws, and abolishing the monarchy. That’s all.
Banjong feels he owes Prince/Worradej an apology
First, we get to see when Worradej “killed” the other rebel. The other rebels were calling him horrible names and attacking him. He picked up a knife, and as far as I can tell, the man threw himself on the blade.
But Worradej took the blame, and Banjong gave him “water” (poison) to drink. Even knowing it was poison, Worradej drank it and told Banjong they loved him.
Also, Banjong admits to shooting them.
Prince/Worradej is horrified, but accepts Banjong’s apology for the sake of the rebellion. Banjong happily hugs them, says they’ll start over, and hands over a poem about their unending love. Prince/Worradej is still horrified.
The King wants Kosol to defeat Saenyakorn without violence
But neither of them knows how to do this. They need Man Man. They’re even playing a game, though it isn’t Go.
But Kosol can’t get people for an army, not even with Suradech’s help. He goes to Prince/Worradej, who doubts they can do much, but Kosol is certain they can.
The next day, strolling through the market, Kosol flatters Prince/Worradej about their ability to think about the box. Prince/Worradej needs food, and then they discover that after walking through fire, everyone thinks they’re a goddess.
Prince/Worradej uses this to stage a miracle, and forces Kosol to play along by not telling him what they’re doing ahead of time. Kosol pretends a deity has taken over his body and spouts gibberish at the crowd. Prince/Worradej translates this into a speech about how everyone must fight against their oppressors.
This gets them volunteers, but Kosol isn’t happy after being humiliated. He chases Prince/Worradej, while Prince/Worradej taunts him.
But unfortunately, most of their volunteers aren’t suited to fight.
Why did Kosol like the original Worradej?
Not that he’s unlikable. Despite society, privilege, and his father, he joined the rebellion to make the world a better place for everyone. Sexy. He had feminine qualities, which Kosol is clearly into.
But compared to Prince, he’s reserved and willing to drink poison rather than fight. He needs someone to counterbalance that streak of self-sacrifice. But Kosol admires Prince/Worradej’s aggressive qualities that are so much like his own.
Worradej and Banjong would be a better pair if not for Banjong’s habit of trying to kill Worradej. Prince/Worradej is right to be done with him after he confessed to trying to kill him not once, but twice. That should be a deal breaker.
The rebels’ treatment of Worradej makes it hard for me to support them. Their attitude feels very French Revolution. Worse, Pandao seems to hate Worradej because she wants Kosol for herself. Maybe she’ll be given more depth and reason later?
I guess since Kosol is (mostly) in charge, and monarchies suck, I’ll support the rebels. I don’t see this show turning into an epic tale of fighting and military strategy, so I’m guessing Prince/Worradej will help Kosol get power without people dying.
But I’m yearning for swoony moments. We know Kosol and Prince are sexually compatible, but I want some jealous, protective, self-sacrificing, carrying-in-the-rain type moments. Please.
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