Manner of Death – Episode 2 Recap/Review

Let me start by saying, wow! This show has me hooked. I had to remind myself to stop at the end of episode 3 instead of binge-watching the rest of the episodes. The tension is fantastic, and the plot enjoyable plot I think I know where it’s going, but it could end up somewhere completely different. I’m in it for the ride, so let’s do this!

Warning: This post is long, contains spoilers and is basically a summary with my thoughts & theories.

Characters

I asked my kiddo in college to read for cohesion, and he kept getting confused as to who was whom. So, I decided to include a brief description of the characters in this episode. A few new people appear in this episode, and I’ve included them.

• Jane – The deceased childhood friend of Bun, whose death seems suspicious
• Dr. Bun – Forensic pathologist & acting local MD for the hospital
• Tan – Mysterious man involved with Jane (also the one Bun kissed while drunk) – teaches high school science where Jane worked.
• Pued – A childhood friend of Jane & Bun. Also a local prosecutor.
• Por – Pued’s older brother
• Rungtiwa – Jane’s older sister
• Dr. Oat – Dr. Bun’s apprentice
• Fah – Nurse at the hospital working with Bun & Oat
• Inspector M – Primary police officer assigned to Jane’s case
• Gun – Secondary police officer assigned to Jane’s case
• Pat – The eyes everywhere nosy reporter/photographer
• Sora/Sorn – Teen boy who’s friends with Nam
• Nam – Teen girl who’s friends with Sorn

Episode 2 Recap/Review

We begin the episode as Rungtiva, dressed in evening wear, rushes into the mansion, past the ambulance, to arrive at the scene of her sister’s lifeless body. She collapses into Bun’s arms in grief, wailing her sister’s name. Her grief is palpable. It isn’t portrayed with histrionics but with the weight of shock. My heart aches for the grieving sister.

When the police at the scene talk to Tan, they ask about medication found on her bedside table. We find out Jane had been diagnosed with clinical depression. She took antidepressants (Sertraline, generic form of Zoloft) and an anxiety medicine (Diazepam, generic for Valium). At first glance, it seems a simple suicide.

Then out of nowhere, Pat, the local town newspaper reporter/photographer, appears and begins to take photos of the crime scene and Jane’s lifeless body. He is herded off the premises by police, but no one confiscates the camera. He’s allowed to leave with the pictures on his camera. It seems a glaring omission in the protocol, but I don’t know police procedure in Thailand, so maybe that’s not what they do there.

Tan hurries off to teach a class. He appears remarkably calm and composed despite seeing the girlfriend (said to Bun) he cared for dead in front of his eyes. He proceeds to teach the class but gets interrupted as the news of Jane’s death spreads on social media, with the students’ phones buzzing in class. They ask him to confirm that Ms. Jane committed suicide. For once, his composure is a little shaken as he struggles to find the words to say to the students about this.

The next scene is Bun preparing to perform the autopsy on a dear friend. He holds her hand, and tears come to his eyes. He is strong in my eyes because that has to be a hard job to do. Especially on one person, you care about.

During the autopsy, Bun asks for a urine sample to test for various drugs in her system. As Bun & Oat perform the autopsy, they discuss multiple discrepancies with the possible suicide. There is enough evidence to suggest Jane has led a more colorful life than he knew. There are track marks in the crook of her elbow, which would indicate casual drug use. There is a bite mark on her neck and a needle puncture around her shoulder. They assume that suffocation was the cause of death but have to weigh the evidence presented.

Oat reminds Bun to send a sample of hair in to be analyzed. Some drugs can be identified by closely inspecting a hair follicle.

Inspector M looks through Jane’s phone. Three people were the last calls made to Jane’s phone. Pued, Bun, and Tan. Interesting. I will tell you my thoughts about Pued when we see more of him.

Transition to a scene of two teenagers studying outside of a restaurant. The boy, Sorn, decides to head home, but Nam, the girl, wants to stay longer. I am a bit apprehensive that two women have died recently in their sleepy hamlet, but since she’s outside a well-lit restaurant, I will forgive him.

As Sorn is leaving, a gang of teen boys approached him. They are looking for trouble. One, the leader, decides to start beating up the teen for daring to talk to his girl, Nam. Sorn doesn’t fight back but insists they are friends. Nam rushes over and scolds them. It turns out she wasn’t dating the boy who claimed they were in a relationship. The gang leader smacks the guy who lied, and they leave.

I think these teens might be crucial to the plot. That’s the impression I’m getting. I like Sorn, and he appears earnest and honest. Nam is willing to stand up for her friend, which I like too.

At the hospital the next day, we have Sora come in with shortness of breath. Bun finds that Nan had wrapped his ribs too tightly, cutting off circulation. He presses the teen for info as to who beat him up. After trying to claim his motorcycle flipped, Sora admits it’s some shadow figure Dan’s boys. He’s the local boogeyman that no one alive has seen his face. Of course, this reminds Bun of the masked man on film at the hospital who took a picture of him.

Back at the hospital, Bun talks to a patient, and the nurse then receive an ominous text with a pic of himself inside the patient area. The text tells him to declare Jane’s death a suicide or face repercussions. Bun looks troubled, but there is no one around. Who sent the text & why?

Tan is clearing out Jane’s desk when Bun walks in and accuses him of threatening him. I am enjoying the cat and mouse game already. Bun announces he will be watching Tan. He still believes Tan is his prime suspect in Janes’s death.

The eye contact is electric. And I love how fearless Tan is as he gets close to Bun. He proclaims his innocence. But warns Bun to be careful. After which, Bun warns Tan away with the trope of “I’ll be watching you.”

We see Pued again talking to cops, claiming that he argued with Jane over Tan and his wish to step in between Pued and Jane. Of course, this is under the supervision of his eldest brother, Por. Por dresses colorfully live in an extravagant house and reminds me of a Thai yakuza. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to find out he is a drug lord. We will see.

Bun is in bed when he sees a shadow around his door. He doesn’t find an intruder but feels uneasy.

The toxicology report comes back. Interestingly enough, there were traces of Meth in her system. This fact surprised me, but I shouldn’t have been. It appears the diazepam in her system was a lethal dose administered by injection. There is something suspicious about this, and all evidence indicates murder versus suicide.

He comes home, and someone breaks into his house. They struggle after the masked man issues a warning to rule the death a suicide or else. After the struggle, Bun is injured. The perpetrator leaves the scene. Bun ends up in the hospital to treat his injuries. Bun is fit as hell, and I assumed he’d better at defending himself.

Tan visits Bun in the hospital and brings him a cactus, The note on the cactus reads, “get well soon.” Tan once again professes his innocence, offering to help Bun catch the killer. Of course, Bun refuses.

As Pued comes to visit Bun, he passes Tan in the hallway. They exchange a frosty look between them, indicating there is bad blood there.

Pued takes Bun out for fresh air & they talk. They talk about why Bun won’t let it go. As they talk, Bun tells Pued that the dead don’t have a voice, so he speaks for them. It’s a beautiful sentiment. But this makes Pued look uneasy. Pued is scared or nervous about something. Then Bun proceeds to outline precisely how Jane died. This detailed explanation shakes up Pued, who asks Bun to stop investigating. Pued offers to conduct his own investigation, but of course, Bun refuses. He is stubborn.

The last event is Bun waking up in the hospital with a masked man in a hospital gown standing over his bed. He soon realizes someone tied his hands to the bed. As he starts to call out for help, the man shoved a cloth in his mouth. He is warned once again of the consequence of pursuing Jane’s killer. We see the masked man injecting a drug into his IV line. Fade to black.

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed the second episode as well. The plot is moving along at a nice pace. Think something shady about Pued and his brother Por. I feel that Nan is in over her head. Oat seems like one of the only other characters whose motivation I don’t doubt. And Sora/Sorn. They waffle between the names, and so do I.

I think there is a drug prostitution ring in this sleepy little hamlet. We shall see if I’m right.

Thanks for reading. Hugs. 🥰🤗 💕 – Jen