Netflix Original series, “The Believers,” is a crime thriller show about three friends: Win, Dear, and Game. They have a gaming business together, which is thriving, but someone from the inside betrays them, which puts them in a lot of debt. They come up with a plan and decide to help an abandoned temple and make money out of it to repay their debts. The story revolves around the hurdles they face and the life-threatening circumstances they need to escape from. The show also has the calmness of a Buddhist temple with preachings at the backdrop of a crime that is taking place.
This article contains spoilers.
The Believers (Season 1) Recap:
Episode 1: To live is to want
The episode opens with Win at the police station. The cop asks Win where the money is, but Win is confident, and this makes the cop wonder if he and his team have successfully moved the money. The cop calls Win a devil scumbag for leeching off money from religion and faith. Win responds by saying if it were illegal, he would arrest everyone. The cop has a liking towards Win as it is fun talking to him.
At present, we see Win, Dear, and Game have started an online gaming team with designers and coders called Pirate Hell. The game tokens are skyrocketing, and all three of them are thrilled and want to let the prices rise so they can pay off their debt. Game wants to buy a Lamborghini, and Dear wants to invest in her shop. Win has always dreamed of being rich, and it is coming true now. Game spends time at home with his family and shares his frustration with his sister about their father helping others unnecessarily. Game’s sister is pregnant and is working tirelessly to prove something to someone.
Win takes a nap, and we see a flashback to his childhood. He and his father blew balloons and stuck torn newspapers on them. His father tells Win never to believe anything he sees, as often things are not always what they seem to be. Win wakes up from the nap and sees the token price for the game has fallen more than 50%. The entire group meets, and they need Golf’s help to figure out who has hacked the system. However, Golf is not reachable, and the entire group panics.
They realize they need to pay the loan shark money in less than 30 days, and the loan shark calls. Game offers to help out a little by asking his family. Yossaphat, from legal representative of SU88 Tech Company, reminds the group about repaying the loan with 200% interest. If they fail to do so, they will charge an extra 20% on it, and they need to repay the whole amount in less than two months. The team suspected Golf and the loan sharks of the hacking, as the loan sharks were more interested in the interest since that’s how they make money.
Dear calls her dad to talk about problems. However, she hears he is busy with Jamie and decides she will call him later. Game hesitates to ask for money from his family, and seeing his pregnant sister, he decides not to pursue the idea. That night, some men attack Win, and a video is sent to Dear. Game and Dear meet at the office and see it getting shattered. Game calls the cops, but Win shows up bruised and asks him not to take the cop’s help as it is pointless. He asks them to help clean up.
Dear tries to contact Win, but he ignores the calls and messages as he goes back home with his mother. He sees many people donating money to the temple his mother goes to. When Win was a child, his father went missing, and his mother sobbed and prayed for his return every day. Win’s mother tells him that someone had moved into Dear’s old house a while back. Win decides to go to the temple with his mother. In the temple, he is surprised by the millions of Baht donations the temple makes.
Win researches temple donations and calls Dear and Game to a temple. He tells them his idea of taking over a temple and using modern marketing techniques to promote the temple and make profits, and once they pay their debt, they will run. He also tells them the different ways they can make money, from providing offerings for the temple to giving packages with different price ranges, as you cannot put a number on faith. At first, Dear and Game are unsure. Win tells them it is surely risky, but if they don’t try this, it is going to be riskier. They all agree to be a part of the plan.
Episode 2: Good Deeds
The episode begins with a flashback to the time when the group opened their gaming company. Game buys champagne to celebrate. Golf seems like a nerd, and he does not drink, but Game asks him to just for one day. Dear takes a picture with Win to celebrate, but Game photobombs them, saying they cannot take a co-founder’s picture without all of them. Win asks Game why he asked him to join with him, and Game says there wasn’t any reason.
Game asks Win since he was a valedictorian, why did he choose to leave his studies to join him? Win says any business is risky, but it’s about who conducts the business. Game, in his drunk state, writes we will take down Metaverse, and all three use ketchup to put their thumbprint and say no matter what, they are in this together. At present, they visit many temples, and either they are too old or have a lot of competition, or bigger temples already have committees that are making a profit.
In one temple, the abbot realizes that they have evil plans for the temple and kicks them out. They are on the way, and Dear spots a temple, and the group checks out the place. The temple seems abandoned, but Dear and Win think this is the temple they should work with. Game meets Tang in the temple, who tells him that the Abbot is old and he is resting. He further says if they wanted to meet him, they needed to come back another day. Game donates to the temple and leaves. The three of them think of Tang as wacky but know he has the key to the donation box.
The trio follows Tang, and because of one wrong turn, they lose him. However, Win remembers the phone number that he had seen on Tang’s truck and calls, and they hear loud music in the background. They spot Tang’s truck near a karaoke bar. Tang takes the stage, and he abuses the trio for following him. They sit him down and talk to him about the temple business. Subsequently, they give him an advance payment and ask him to act as an advisor. They lure him in with money and tell him about the bonuses he will make. Tang agrees and sets up a meeting with the Abbot.
Water bottles from Game’s family are donated to the temple. The Abbot is happy to work with them and entrusts supervising them to Tang. The first order of business is to renovate the temple, and they begin their work. Tang tells them that they need to make maximum money on Buddhist holidays, and the trio prepares for a soft opening as a big Buddhist festival is approaching. Game, Dear, and Win go all in for this project, so this is do or die. The festival turns out to be a bummer as it doesn’t have many people. Tang tells Win that opening a temple isn’t like opening an amusement park, and it needs to be done slowly. The trio converse and decide to bring in a presenter or a famous representative for the temple to get things moving.
Episode 3: We found you lost
The episode begins with the trio finding the right monk to attract the crowd at the Phummaram Temple. They decide on Monk Dong-won, who is half-Korean and half-Thai. He is part of the forest temple called Dharma Niwet Sawat Forest Temple. Game and Win visit the temple while Dear stays back and helps organize the flea market. Dear visits the market and informs everyone, and she bumps into Win’s mother. They grab lunch, and Dear sees her ex on Television.
At the forest temple, there were bookings made for a month to meet the Monk. But Game befriends the group that has booked the week to listen to Monk Dong-won. Game misses his sister’s delivery, and he sees her niece on a video call. He also gets into the VIP group of the forest temple and is informed by the grandmothers of the sermon the next morning. Game and Win reach the temple to find out Mon Dong-won has left for Bangkok. They decide to travel to Bangkok, but they hear another monk, and they are mesmerized by his voice. They decide to pick him to be the face of Phummaram Temple.
Win helps a grandmother carry a basket, and she reveals a Dharma Retreat planned by Monk Dol, which was on hold for many years because of a lack of funds. Game and Win find a place for the retreat and ask Dear to send the construction plan by the next day. Dear meets her childhood friend, and she wants Dear to take over the wedding set-up. She also teases her about her relationship with Win, calling it eternal love.
Game and Win meet the abbot of Forest Temple and propose a twin pavilion, one near the forest and the other near Phummaram Temple. The abbot gives them the approval but asks them to talk to Monk Dol to make him decide on what he wants. At first, Monk Dol refuses, but Game and Win convince him to come to Phummaram Temple. The flea market is a huge success, and Monk Dol arrives in the city.
Dear shows Monk Dol the construction area and explains the details. The photographer is impressed with Monk Dol and does not charge the group any money. The marketing for the sermon is high, and the people seem to love Monk Dol and his sermons. They have made close to two million and have found ways to increase their income. Tang joins them and asks them to increase the parking fee so he can get some money, and the trio agrees.
Dear is at a construction site, and Monk Dol runs into her. They converse, and there are fireflies, and Dear gets excited and starts taking pictures. Tang spends all the money on alcohol, the bar girl, and his friends, but he says he may have a way for them to stop leeching off him and make money. Win sees a Monk and follows him, and the abbot introduces him as Monk Ekachai, who has just graduated from Bangkok. The abbot tells Win that if he needs anything from him, he has to contact Monk Ekachai.
Episode 4: The Joy of Giving
The episode begins with Win and Dear having dinner. It is Dear’s birthday, and Win gives her something cheap as a present. When she asks him to splurge, he tells her she isn’t his woman. Dear gives a gift to his cat Salt. The next morning, Win and Game wonders if Monk Ekachai will be a problem for their plans. Tang comes to them with the good news that a local politician’s daughter will be sponsoring their temple event.
Some new monks are being ordained, and among them are Tang’s three friends. Tang takes a proposal to Phummaram Temple’s abbot to build more Monk residences since more Monks are staying at the temple, and he gives permission. Game pays a visit to lawyer Yo to pay that month’s debt. Lawyer Yo asks him for the 20% interest, but Game says it’s a lot. A rival temple in the district sees the poster for the sponsor for Phummaram Temple and is mad as the politician usually sponsors their temple.
The new monks are fighting, and Ekachai stops them and asks them to pay repentance. He handles the money for the services the monks give and puts order at the temple. Monk Ekachai asks Tang to hand over merit funds to him and notices a gold watch on Tang’s hand. Ekachai asks Game to help him distribute the money equally among the monks and asks him to keep the rest for the temple’s general funds. That night, some goons disrupt the peace of the temple.
They ask the cops to put up a checkpoint, and Ekachai makes a calculated guess it must be the rival temple making a fuss because Phummaram Temple has grown and gained popularity. The note shows Game a picture of the rival temple’s Monk, and Game buys out the gaming café and defames the Monk. Dear conducts a podcast with Monk Dol, and she asks a question about love and Buddhism. However, before he answers, Win takes her away.
Monk Dol finds Dear and answers her question by saying love and suffering are two sides of the same coin. The district abbot visits Phummaram Temple’s abbot, and he asks him to stop all activities at the temple and restrict them to merit-based ones. The group is mad and wonders how they will pay their debt. The abbot also tells the trio that he knows they are making a living from working at the temple. Tang assures them that he will speak to the abbot later. Monk Ekachai is going on rounds that night and hears a thud and sees what it is. It is the abbot who has fallen on the ground, and next to him is Win.
Episode 5: Fallen
The episode begins with Abbot Father Kwi in the hospital. Ekachai is glad Win found the Monk, and he is out of the critical stage. He also asks the trio to continue with the temple’s festivities. Father Kwi is moved to his residence at the temple along with his medication. Game goes out to exchange money to pay the next debt. He visits the lawyer, and he asks if Game’s business is doing well as he has paid the debt on time along with the interest and cleared a lot of the principal amount.
Monk Dol bids goodbye to Father Kwi, and Dear escorts him outside. They bid a heartfelt goodbye to each other. Game visits home and brings his grandfather a rare alcohol, but he is only interested in Oat as he is being interviewed. At Dharma Niwet Sawat Forest Temple, Monk Dol is reciting the wrong verse since thoughts of Dear distract him. Tang is caught sneaking out of the temple, and when Monk Ekachai asks him what he is doing, Tang is vague about it. At home, Win finds a box with torn newspapers and a balloon that reminds him of his dad.
At Phummaram Temple, the NCB has come to arrest monks as they got a tip on drug smuggling within the temple. Tang is missing, but his three friends are arrested. A man from the police takes pictures of everything, and he takes pictures of the trio as well. The police take a urine test of the rest of the monks as well, just to be sure. The public is divided on how they feel about the temple, and people stop visiting the temple.
Monk Ekachai asks the trio to continue operating the temple and says if people have faith, they will return. Monk Dol struggles to understand his emotions and prays when a firefly enters his room, reminding him of Dear. The trio comes up with an idea to make amulets and sell them using storytelling techniques to get people to come back to the temple and also make money.
Episode 6: Believers
The episode begins with the trio deciding to make a one-of-a-kind amulet. They needed a famous monk to bless the amulet and gain sales. Monk Dol has come back to Phummaram Temple and is taking blessings from Father Kwi to change his sect. They decide to take Monk Dol’s help for the amulets. Monk Ekachai helps the trio by contacting temples he knows they can visit to collect rare substances that are required to make the amulet.
Dear speaks to Monk Dol about the amulet idea, and he thinks it is superstition. But Dear emphasizes how much it means for the city folk. Dear and Win take Monk Dol to visit various temples across all directions to collect the substances. Dear tells Win that they need to construct the pavilion for Monk Dol, considering they are making use of him, and they need to do something in return, but Win asks her to wait until things settle down.
Monk Ekachai asks Game to be the Monk’s assistant as it will be easier to conduct business, and he agrees. Dear is by the sea, and Monk Dol notices her and joins her. Monk Dol was ordained when he was young as his family was poor, and his parents passed away. Dear confesses that both their lives are similar, and she lost her mother as well. Investigative inspector Pol. Maj. Kritsanaphol Atchariyaphon sees news about Oat (Game’s brother) and his successful water company and realizes who Game is. Meanwhile, Mon Dol is struggling with his emotions.
In a flashback, we see Dear is caring for her mother, and she dies. Win calls the hospital to check on her. Dear breaks down, and Win consoles her. At present, Game is taking money from the donation box, and the cop, Kritsanaphol Atchariyaphon, prays. He waits for Game outside and asks if it isn’t strange for a member of a well-known family to be counting money in a temple. Game responds by saying there isn’t anything strange about it.
Episode 7: Empty Promises
The episode begins with Monk Dol having a dream about Dear. Inspector Kritsanaphol gets permission to dig deeper into Phummaram Temple and the trio. Game pays the next debt, but since it’s less, the lawyer threatens him with a fake gun and gives him a warning. Outside, Kritsanaphol is waiting for him and asks about the tokens of his game. In anger, Game smashes into his car. After calling the insurance company, he realizes Kritsanaphol is a cop.
Win, Dear, and Monk Dol visit one of the forest temples, but the abbot tells Win that he can see through his intentions. Monk Dol visits the abbot separately but he is wounded as the Father probably didn’t trust him after he changed his sect. Dear takes care of Monk Dol’s wounds. Game is called home as his grandfather collapses. At home, he asks his father for 10 million Baht, but his father tells him he doesn’t have that kind of money.
Game is scared and angry and yells at Win and Dear for letting him take the bullet, and cops are following him around. They ask him to relax as the cops don’t have anything on them yet. The sales for the amulet are not going at the pace they want, and it is worrying the three of them. Dear meets her childhood friend, who offers her another interior designing gig which could be a long-term job. Game gets a photo from an unknown number with pictures of his family. Game and Win get into a fight.
Dear tries to calm them down but fails. Win asks Dear to meet him at the firefighter’s location. He pretends to be a reporter and gets videos of the group. He uses accident victims to put the amulet on them and boost sales of the amulet. They reach out to the truck driver they rescued, but he is mad and refuses to lie for them. A nurse finds the amulet in his room and places it on the table. The truck driver wakes up and looks at his legs.
Episode 8: Miracles happen only to those who believe in them
The episode begins with truck driver Pairach able to walk again after the accident. He believes the miracle happened because of the amulet. The news is covering the incident, and the amulet sales are skyrocketing. The trio is making more models of the amulet, and both physical and online sales are booming. Game fights with his father to buy the amulet.
Monk Dol is disappointed when Dear does not turn up to conduct the podcast. He visits the office, and Dear says after this, she may not work at the temple anymore. Tang finds Game and asks for money, and he promises he won’t show up again. Game gives him the money. Tang blackmails Game again, asking for more money at gunpoint. Game, out of fear, hides him in his family business’s factory.
Kritsanaphol finds the truck driver and accuses him of carrying drugs and was on it when he was driving the day of the accident. He denies it, but Kritsanaphol cuts to the chase and asks what deal he made with Win and Dear. Game visits Tang with food, and Tang is terrified of someone finding and killing him. The group has met its target sales, but Win has no intention to quit and wants to create more things. Dear, on the other hand, wants to quit.
Win visits the lawyer, clears the debt and the principal, and tells him that he knows what he has done. The lawyer gives him his card and asks him to reach out for any help. Game comes to the temple and checks the documents of donors. He visits Father Kwi and asks about who Tang is working for, but Game can’t understand. He then asks Monk Ekachai and explains the situation, but he can’t help either.
Win’s mother takes him to Phummaram Temple, saying she has always wanted to visit. She gives Win an amulet and asks him to pray for his father’s return. Win says he might be dead, and his mother slaps him. Monk Dol meets Dear and tells her that he wants to quit being a monk, and when she asks him why, he expresses his love for her. Dear is taken aback and shocked, so she apologizes and leaves. Kritsanaphol comes with a warrant to Win and Dear. Game finds Tang dead, and he is terrified.
Episode 9: The Eternal Wheel
The episode begins with Game running away from Tang, and he receives a message from Dear stating that the temple has been raided. Kritsanaphol questions Dear, Win, and Monk Dol separately. Win decides to take Lawyer Yo’s help and tells the cop that he will wait for his lawyer. Meanwhile, Kritsanaphol reveals the pieces of evidence he has against them. Games’ signature as Monk’s assistant means he also handles the money for the temple. The truck driver confessed to the incidents after the accident. The cop, along with embezzlement, is charging them with a drug case.
Kritsanaphol reveals to Monk Dol about the trio’s previous company and how they have used him throughout. Monk Dol still believes that the trio had good intentions. Kritsanaphol gets on Win’s nerves when he calls his mother pitiful as she sees her son being taken away by the cops. Monk Dol asks Dear why she would do such a thing, especially when she is talented and has a future, and asks if she used him for her gain. Dear could only manage to apologize. The cops reach Game’s house, and his sister calls him to ask what has happened. He asks her to take care of their parents and hangs up.
Game gets a message from Monk Ekachai saying he has handled the Tang’s case. Game sneaks into the temple and asks Ekachai what he meant by the message. Ekachai wonders what he has done with Tang’s dead body, and Game is fearful because of the details Ekachai knows. Ekachai’s villainous side comes out, and it turns out he is the reason for Father Kwi’s deteriorating health. Game asks what he wants, and Ekachai says he only wants the trio to continue doing what they have been doing and expand the temple business.
Kritsanaphol goes to his superior to ask permission to put the trio behind bars, but the superior asks him to let them go. Kritsanaphol is frustrated. Win and Dear get out of the police station, and a man with a gun is waiting. He informs them that the person who saved them has called them for a meal. Before the man arrives, Dear tells Win about Monk Dol’s confession, and he does not seem surprised. Win assumes Dear knew about it.
The two of them are taken to a private area in the restaurant where the politician’s daughter and Game are waiting. The woman tells them that she needed them to run a provincial temple this time, and she wasn’t giving any option, and if they declined, there would be consequences. A man brings a plate, and Tang’s cut hand is on it. Win barfs, and the other two are terrified. In a flashback, we see Ekachai telling Game that to help his friends, they need to run the business on a larger scale.
The Believers (Season 1) Ending, Explained:
How does Game save Win and Dear?
The trio are sent out, and Win leaves the two of them to go home. Dear finds a letter from Monk Dol, who thanks her for coming into his life and testing his heart. He tells her that he does not want to create any more bad karma and wishes Dear well. Father Kwi passes away. Win reaches home to find Kritsanaphol waiting. He tells Win that he has had a chat with his mother about the things he has done and tells him about his father.
Win attacks Kritsanaphol, but he holds him down and asks him to help catch the corrupt politicians. Only then will he reveal his father’s disappearance. Dear is prepared to leave for America and contemplates whether she should block Win’s number. Game goes home to find his entire family ready to yell at him. Win realizes something his father had said, opens the balloon they had made, and removes a piece of paper from inside it.
The ending of the series suggests a possibility of season 2, considering it is left open-ended and has many unanswered questions, We don’t know what happened to Win’s father and what information he found on the piece of paper. Will Dear really leave Game and Win in such a dire situation and go to America? Dear still has feelings for Win, but he does not seem to realize or reciprocate them. His family may disown Game. If there is a season two, then the trio won’t have any choice but to do as the politician says. There is also a possibility that Win may help the cop reveal the secrets of the politicians.
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