In the new Netflix series called The Believers, we’ve got the golden trio—Game, Win, and Dear—all in their mid-twenties, and they’re all about chasing that dream of being young and rich! They’re the masterminds behind this super cool NFT game called Pirates’ Hell. Things were going awesome; they were riding high on their success, but bam! Out of nowhere, their game gets hacked- Total disaster! Now, these guys are drowning in debt, owing money left, right, and center, but they’re not giving up. They put their heads together and came up with a genius plan: they’re going to turn a temple into a goldmine through rebranding, establishing a proper target audience, and making millions in a few months, as most temples do. It sounds like a solid plan, right? But hold on, it’s not all a smooth ride. They hit rock bottom, facing setback after setback. And poor Game, trying to keep everyone out of trouble. So, can Game pull off the ultimate save and rescue his buddies from financial ruin? Or are they going to get sucked into a nightmare of scams? That’s the burning question! Let’s see if these guys can turn their luck around and come out on top.
Spoilers Ahead
What Is Game’s Ambition?
Meet Game, the brains behind Pirates’ Hell! Now, if you’re from a typical Asian family, you might really get where he’s coming from. See, Game’s got this burning ambition—he wants to make his parents proud, especially when they’re always gushing over his Harvard graduate brother. That is naturally going to sting! Growing up in a typical Asian household, you know what it’s like—constant comparisons with siblings, cousins, even friends! And Game’s no exception. Poor guy has always felt the pressure to live up to his family’s expectations and become a doctor or lawyer like they wanted or to follow the same path as his brother by going to Harvard. Instead, he’s into gaming—not exactly what his parents had in mind! But Game’s determined to prove himself. So, when he decided to launch Pirates’ Hell, he went all out, even taking out massive loans from creditors. And he didn’t go it alone; he brought his childhood buddies along for the ride. There’s Win, the school valedictorian, and Dear, the graphic designer extraordinaire. Game’s got this one big dream: to become crazy rich and show everyone, especially his parents, that he’s more than just a gamer. He’s aiming for the stars, dreaming of buying himself a fancy Lamborghini one day!
Why Did Game Get On Board With The Plan?
When Game found out Pirates’ Hell got hacked and all their hard-earned millions vanished into thin air, he was devastated! Can you even imagine? It’s like your whole world came crashing down in an instant! And to make matters worse, Game’s well-known family, which runs all sorts of businesses, has become prey to the creditors. Why? They put even more pressure on Game, knowing he had a lot more to lose than his friends. One of the creditors, this lawyer named Yossaphat, was breathing down Game’s neck, demanding he pay back their massive debt with a crazy 200% interest! And as if that wasn’t enough, the guy even threatened to harm Game’s sister and her newborn baby if he didn’t pay an extra 20% interest—like, talk about ruthless! But then Win comes up with this wild idea about turning a temple into a money-making machine through some sort of faith-based donation scheme. I mean, in a country like Thailand, temples are everywhere, and you know how much faith and religion mean to us Asians. We’d choose temple visits over shrinks any day, right? Plus, people can be super generous when it comes to donating in the name of faith. So, Game’s all in! He sees this as a legit way to get back on track and maybe even make a boatload of cash while they’re at it. After all, he’s a family guy, and he’ll do whatever it takes to protect his loved ones from harm.
How Did Game Convince The Monk?
Game is a really smooth talker. While Win and Dear were busy brainstorming, Game was out there, making deals and winning hearts with his charm. People just naturally gravitate towards him, trusting him because of his good manners and persuasive ways. So, when they were scouting for temples, Game was the one who calmly negotiated with Tang, the caretaker of the 70-year-old Phummaram Temple. He pitched this whole consultant gig where they’d rebrand the temple and rake in the cash, and Tang was totally on board! I mean, the guy was drowning in debt, so this sounded like a golden ticket to him. Even when they needed a spokesperson for the temple to draw in the younger crowd, Game worked his magic again. They ended up hiring Monk Dol, a monk who totally bought into Game’s spiel about spreading Buddhism to the youth and building a twin pavilion to do that. And the monk, who usually lived in the forest, agreed to serve as a city monk for three months because they convinced him that their intentions were good. See, being a smooth talker actually paid off for Game!
How Did Monk Ekachai Take Advantage Of The Game?
You can obviously imagine how much of a risk they were taking. Game and the gang were playing with fire, not just trying to make money but also trying to do it on the down low. But let me tell you, they definitely didn’t keep it discreet enough! So, there’s this whole political mess at the temple, especially when Phummaram Temple starts throwing these extravagant events that catch the wrong kind of attention. And to make matters worse, Game had been making memes about the abbot of the Moni Tong Temple, who’s also the district abbot. Needless to say, they weren’t too happy about that! Then, things escalate when Monk Ekachai enters the picture. The next thing you know, Tang and his crew are accused of running a drug cartel in the temple! People stop donating, the temple gets shut down, the money-making is on pause, and it’s chaos! But thankfully, Ekachai steps in and clears things up, pinning the blame on Tang alone and getting the temple back on track. But here’s where it gets crazy. Ekachai, that seemingly good guy, turns out to be a real snake in the grass! He put Game’s gullibility to his advantage and made him his assistant so that he could pin the blame on him if anything went down in the temple. When Tang came to Game, threatening him in front of bullet point and asking for money, Game felt like he was in trouble. But he’s a sweet guy and wanted to help Tang since he had taken risks for them before. So, he was willing to pay him. However, he thought of taking a monk’s suggestion and talked to Ekachai about it. Big mistake! Do you know what happened? When Game went back to Tang with the money, he found him lying on the sofa—dead! Who killed him? Ekachai did—a monk! But Ekachai’s got his reasons—he thought Tang was tarnishing their temple’s reputation, so he figured he should take him out. But then he sees how desperate Game is to save his friends from jail and his family from harm, so he lays out this twisted plan. They have to do this money laundering, but on a larger scale, involving Ekachai and the district counselor as well. They will do it from a provincial temple so that there is less risk. And if they are not willing to do it, they will come after their family and harm them!
But thank God, the previous debts are paid off. However, this situation caused a huge rift in their friendship, tearing them apart. Now, the police have exposed Game of running a drug and money laundering cartel from the temple to his family—so much for making his parents proud! It’s all twisted, and Game knows his friends are in trouble too. Will they survive? They’ve got skills; they’ve done this before, so maybe they’ll pull through again, but the problem is, they don’t want to. They’re forced into it. And with Ekachai now in charge of Phummaram Temple after the old Abbott’s passing, things are looking grim. Hopefully, they’ll uncover his true nature as a deceitful scammer hiding behind the facade of a monk—fingers crossed! I look forward to the next season of The Believers to find out all about it!
