Doctor Climax on Netflix is a bold show, really informative, and packed with drama. It’s all about this guy, Doctor Nat, or Doctor Climax, as everyone calls him. He’s not afraid to talk about bedroom stuff, which was a big deal in conservative Thailand back in the late 1970s. But of course, stirring things up like this gets him in trouble. There’s this MP guy, Pornchai, and a cop named Captain Poe who are out to expose him. Then there’s his love life, which is a mess. He’s married to Tukta, but then there’s Linda at work, whom he starts falling for. And if that’s not enough drama, there’s also some friendship betrayal happening with Thong Tien and Prompal in his office. So many characters, and so much going on! Doctor Climax’s actions affect everyone around him, directly or indirectly. Let’s get into the characters now to learn more about them.
Spoilers Ahead
Doctor Nat
Doctor Nat, played by Chantavit Dhanasevi, was Thailand’s famous venereal disease specialist. He was bold and progressive, never shied away from talking about pleasure and sex, and educated people on these topics. However, he grew tired of examining people’s private parts; it no longer excited him. Even intimacy with his wife, Tukta, felt like a chore rather than something he enjoyed. Despite preaching about how to be better in bed, he lacked excitement in his own relationship. Writing erotic fantasy novels became his escape. Things changed when he got hired to write a sex education column for the famous Bangkok Express newspaper. There, he met the seductive Linda and began a secret affair with her; he hid it from everyone, including his family and friends. He knew it was wrong but continued because he loved her and even hid his marriage from Linda as well. Eventually, when the affair was discovered, Nat struggled to cope. He pretended to be progressive but lacked the courage to do the right thing. He felt guilty and tried to make peace with everyone, which only made things worse. but he stood up for the gay community and helped a homosexual fan named Sangjaan come out to his parents. Despite the difficulties, he supported Sangjaan because Nat knew the struggle of building up the courage to come out, as his own father was gay, and he had never been there for him because he was afraid to go against society’s rules. It showed that Nat wanted to be better. In the end, to save his friend Thong Tien from being fired from the newspaper, Nat exposes himself as Doctor Climax. He knew this might ruin his reputation and safety, but he wanted to save his friend’s career. However, he was still a coward. He told Linda to have an abortion because he wasn’t ready to take responsibility, and on the other hand, he wouldn’t divorce Tukta to avoid shaming his prestigious family. We don’t know how he’ll manage all this, but we hope he can figure it out in the next season.
Linda
Linda, played by Arachaporn Pokinpakorn, was the woman Doctor Nat had an affair with at the Bangkok Express office. She was bold, smart, mischievous, and felt like one of the sultry, seductive characters Nat always imagined in his erotic novels. She was everything Nat missed in his wife, Tukta. Linda was the art director and a colleague, and everyone thought she slept around a lot, but that was far from the truth. When she started seeing Nat, she was devoted to him and eventually fell in love. You can imagine how shocked she was when she found out he was married. It hurt her so much that she left her job and went to stay with her mother. But Linda wasn’t selfish. Unlike Nat, she knew she was being a homewrecker and told Nat he should take responsibility for his actions and be with Tukta. She decided to be nothing more than a colleague to him, which showed she was a true girl’s girl. Linda was also a gay rights activist and believed homosexual people should live their lives their own way and stand against society’s prejudices. When Sangjaan wanted to kill himself, she convinced him not to and to stand proud and firm for other gay people. But being bold and strong didn’t end well for her. She ended up pregnant with Doctor Nat’s baby. Even though she tried to run away and hide her feelings, she blamed herself for making the situation more complicated. We don’t know if she’ll have an abortion or keep the baby. We’ll have to wait and see in the next season.
TuktaÂ
Tukta, played by Chermawee Suwanpanuchoke, was Doctor Nat’s wife. She married him when she was only fourteen because her parents told her to. She thought marrying a doctor would be for the better, so she sacrificed the love of her life, Tong, to be with Nat. But that was far from the truth. Marrying into a prestigious home with a doctor-husband brought security for sure, but it didn’t bring love. She did everything to be the best wife—cooking, cleaning, devoting herself to and listening to every word her husband said. She even took vitamins, which were actually birth control pills, just because Nat told her to, without question. But what did it lead to? Her husband cheating on her. The shy girl who always kept to herself even bought seductive clothes to excite her husband, but nothing worked. She realized that no matter what she did, it wouldn’t change anything because her husband was in love with another woman. So, she decided to stop being the perfect housewife and have her own bit of fun, and she started to sleep around with other men. Eventually, she fell in love with one of them and became pregnant. That’s when she thought enough was enough. She was ready to divorce Nat because there was no point in staying in a loveless marriage where neither of them would be happy. But her lawyer ex-boyfriend, Tong, warned her that she might end up losing everything—her dignity and even a chance to have a family. We don’t know what will happen to her and Nat’s relationship, but the way she changed herself and learned to voice her thoughts suggests she might stand up to Nat and eventually separate from him.
Pornchai
Pornchai was an MP in Thailand. He was a proud man who thought he was the guardian of society’s dignity. But in reality, he was a flawed man who didn’t know how to satisfy his own wife and refused to seek help because he was a “man.” When he saw Doctor Climax giving people sex education in his column, he couldn’t handle it. Maybe he thought Doctor Climax was pointing out people’s flaws and putting bad thoughts in their minds by being a menace and destroying society. So, Pornchai took the help of a perverted police officer, Captain Poe, to catch Doctor Climax and reveal his true identity. Even though he knew Captain Poe was involved in all sorts of perverted stuff, it didn’t bother him as long as his own plan succeeded. But eventually, they captured the wrong man on suspicion of being Doctor Climax, Thong Tien. In the end, both Pornchai and Captain Poe got arrested because they were involved in spying on people’s personal business without permission, so Pornchai’s story did not end well, and he got shamed in front of the whole media.
Prompal
Even though Prompal, played by Tonhon Tantivejakul, was one of the side characters, his role was pretty important. He was this cute, childish guy who always seemed to be snooping around to get the latest gossip, but he was a true friend in need and proved it time after time. Even though he knew Doctor Nat was married and having an affair with Linda, he didn’t reveal it to anyone because he knew it would bring shame to the famous doctor. When Doctor Nat broke Linda’s heart and Prompal had the chance to sleep with her, he didn’t take advantage of her because he knew Linda was hurt. Also, when Sangjaan was about to kill himself and the bullet mistakenly hit Prompal, he got admitted to the hospital but held no grudge against anyone. He even went to the police station and took the blame by saying it wasn’t Sangjaan’s fault and that he accidentally shot himself while handling the gun. At the end, when the police went to find Doctor Climax at the swinger’s club but mistakenly arrested Thong Tien, Prompal was the one who alerted everyone about the police arrival.
