Sex education is still a contested topic in many places across the globe. So, we can only imagine what it must have been a couple of decades ago. The internet has become readily available in the last two decades or so. Before that, the case was much different. Set in the late ‘70s, “Doctor Climax” (Original title: Dxktexr khilmæks pucchâ phâ seîyw) on Netflix follows the life of a dermatologist who gets roped in by a news publication to be a sex columnist. The series follows the doctor-turned-writer’s journey as he answers people’s queries while struggling with issues in his personal life.
Spoilers Ahead
Doctor Climax (Season 1) ‘Netflix’ Recap:
“Doctor Climax” is about a dermatologist who becomes a sex columnist at a local newspaper in the late ‘70s. He tries to help people with their queries related to sexual endeavors while going through some issues in his personal life.
What happens in ‘Doctor Climax’?
Episode 1: Masturbation
Set in the late ‘70s, “Doctor Climax” follows Nat (Ter Chantavit Dhanasevi), a dermatologist and a specialist in venereal diseases, who is unsatisfied with his job & wants to be a writer. He doesn’t like his monotonous job and wants to break free. Even at home, his marriage with Tukta (Praew Chermawee Suwanpanuchoke) isn’t going well. He struggles to satisfy her in bed. Still, she remains subservient to him. During this time, a local newspaper called The Bangkok Express is getting overtaken by its competitors. So, the editor Choo (Somlek Sakdikul) makes an ambitious plan. His team decides to start a column where they will answer people’s queries about sex.
Thong Thien (Tob Chaiwat Thongsang) brings Nat to share his expertise in this topic. Despite his initial hesitation, Nat agrees to take this job after he sees Thong Thien’s colleague, art director Linda (Goy Arachaporn Pokinpakorn), and falls for her. Soon after, Nat responds to a reader’s queries in detail. After the first column gets published, the newspaper sales suddenly rise, and their office starts receiving piles of letters. Nat learns that his column helped his teenage patient, who was struggling with shame related to masturbation.
Episode 2: Ejaculation
Nat gets angry at The Bangkok Express for using an alias called ‘The Doctor Climax’ to share his views. Linda mentions that it was her idea. Meanwhile, a local authority figure, MP Pornchoi (Bobby Nimit Lugsamepong), speaks out against the sex column and calls it ‘glorified porn.’ Due to that external pressure, the newspaper chairman plans to stop the column. Choo manages to convince him against it. Later, Linda shows up at Nat’s clinic for a check-up, where Nat gets aroused by her.
Pornchoi shows up at the newspaper office to meet Doctor Climax. But the staff manages to throw Pornchoi out. As the questions start pouring in, Nat starts seeing himself as a superhero, saving others from their sexual issues. The questions often reflect people’s fears, shame, or lack of knowledge about these topics. Nat answers them like a friend. Eventually, he decides to post an anatomical image of a vagina against Choo’s orders.
Episode 3: Fetish
After the newspaper publishes a scandalous picture, Pornchoi enlists Captain Pao to find the person behind the Doctor Climax alias. While that happens, Choo saves the column once again from getting axed. Tukta presumes she is pregnant, but the test comes back negative. At the office, Linda keeps teasing Nat about being gay. Frustrated by it, Nat claims that Linda likes him. Then, within moments, Nat & Linda start having sex in the office. Back home, Nat keeps having intimacy issues with Tukta, who blames herself for it. Still, Nat keeps having sex with Linda. Before doing so, she always throws her underwear at him.
Meanwhile, Nat gets letters from a sex worker frustrated over a client’s strange fetish where he covers his face with his sexual partner’s underwear. Turns out, Pao is her client. At night, he sends some men to covertly enter their office and click photos of their column-related documents. Linda notices them and takes those documents back. Meanwhile, Thong Thien starts bringing letters to Nat’s office to avoid his real identity being exposed. After his duty, he opens the box of letters to read. Linda shows up there and reads one of them while he is away. It talks about a man’s sexual problems with his wife. So, she assumes Nat wrote that to ask Doctor Climax about his struggles.
Episode 4: Adulterer
Tukta assumes that it is her fault Nat is unsatisfied with their married life. She tells Nat’s mother about her fear that Nat is having an affair. Nat’s mother calls Nat’s clinic to learn that a handsome man (Thong Thien) often visits their office and spends a lot of time in Nat’s cabin. Since Nat’s father is gay, she assumes Nat also is. So, she hires a man to keep a watch on Nat & Thong Thien’s meetings. This detective clicks their photos, which increases her doubt about them. Meanwhile, Captain Pao tells Pornchai that Thong Thien is likely Doctor Climax. While Nat keeps having sex with Linda, Thong Thien has trouble having an erection.
Tukta assumes Nat doesn’t find her attractive. So, to appease him, she goes to buy some sultry clothes. In the market, she bumps into Linda, who helps her buy undergarments. She mentions that she recently bought a similar pair. But it doesn’t help her in bed with Nat. So, Tukta writes a letter to Doctor Climax. Nat realizes that Tukta wrote it. So, he questions her. She questions him about his letter to Doctor Climax. He doesn’t know what to say because he hasn’t told her that he is the infamous Doctor. Eventually, Linda and Tukta come face to face in Nat’s clinic. Linda learns that Nat is married & Tukta realizes that Nat is having an affair with Linda.
Episode 5: Impotence
A reader sends a letter asking for a partner to join her in some sexual adventures. Thong Thien sees it as a sign to get past his performance anxiety. So, he joins this female reader on her sexual adventure at a shady club. At home, Tukta notices red underwear similar to hers. It solidifies her belief that Nat & Linda are having an affair. So, she decides to explore her options outside marriage to have a sexual adventure. She meets an old friend and keeps speaking with him under the stars. But he leaves her high and dry. Right after, she crosses paths with a stranger and has sex with him. He satisfies her sexual cravings.
Nat questions Tukta for where he was till so late even though he hasn’t been accountable. Meanwhile, Linda grows distant and dismayed after learning that Nat is married. So, she joins her colleague, Permphol (Ton Tonhon Tantivejakul), at a club. Then, he goes back to her place, and they kiss each other. However, after this night, Linda returns to her native home for the final rites of a relative of hers. Nat realizes that Linda went home with Permphol and confronts him. Permphol clarifies that he didn’t sleep with Linda. On the other hand, Pornchoi is still hellbent on his political agenda to expose Doctor Climax to claim his moral superiority.
Episode 6: Perversion
The readers continue asking some incredibly perverse questions to Doctor Climax about their fetishes. While Nat tries his best to answer them, Pornchoi starts a campaign to stop the column. Still, the newspaper team decides not to axe it. Meanwhile, Doctor Climax receives a letter from a young gay man, Saangjaan (Ud Awat Ratanapintha), about his attraction toward a male friend. But Saangjaan is afraid to tell his parents, who are planning to marry him off to a young woman. So, Saangjaan asks Doctor Climax for advice.
In the past, Nat didn’t answer queries about homosexuality because of his issues with his father, who came out as gay, which broke his marriage. However, Nat responds to Saangjaan and tells him to be honest about his identity. While Tukta goes on her sexual escapades, Nat travels to meet Linda, thinking he can win her back. But she refuses to be with an adulterer and be the reason for breaking their marriage. So, Nat returns home to win back Tukta’s trust. Nat’s mother eavesdrops on them like a creep because she wants their marriage not to fall apart like hers.
Nat & Linda’s marriage
On the night of Nat’s return from Linda’s native home, he tries to have sex with Tukta. But she gets disinterested and stops. Nat feels bad because he doesn’t get what he wants instantly. So, he keeps seeking Linda’s help. He also assumes that Tukta’s rejection means Linda would want her back. Linda tells him to be patient with Tukta. Later, Saangjaan shows up outside their newspaper’s office to confront Doctor Climax. Turns out, Nat’s advice created more issues for Saangjaan. Since his parents are homophobic, they disown him.
As a straight man, Nat doesn’t think about the social and financial implications and thinks solely from an idealistic perspective. But when it comes to facing the consequences of his irresponsible advice, he isn’t ready. Since Saangjaan tries to kill himself, Linda stops him and talks about how being gay isn’t wrong. But inadvertently, she exposes his sexuality to a crowd that is also homophobic. They beat him to death. Amid this ruckus, Permfol gets shot. So, afterward, he gets put behind bars and not the crowd.
Episode 7: Sadism Masochism
After feeling rejected by Linda & Tukta, Nat goes to meet his estranged father to get over his guilt and mend their relationship. Later, Nat meets Saangjaan and admits that he is Doctor Climax to apologize. Meanwhile, the Aids epidemic puts the country in conflict. The authorities start their homophobic campaign demonizing gay people. On the other hand, Tukta starts looking for an escape from her marriage, but her romantic interest refuses her proposal to maintain the sanctity of marriage.
So, Tukta remains stuck in a marriage that doesn’t care for her pleasure. Thong Thien’s new sexual partner, Plern (Jukkoo Salita Klinchan), pushes him to test his limits at the sex club. Pornchoi and Pao notice Thong Thien with Plern at the club. Subsequently, they employ Plern to expose Thong Thien’s true identity, whom they believe to be Doctor Climax.
Doctor Climax (Season 1) ‘Netflix’ Ending Explained:
Does Nat’s identity as ‘Doctor Climax’ get revealed?
In the final episode of “Doctor Climax,” titled “Abortion,” we see Nat & Tukta trying to have sex but fail as Nat goes through a strange psychological episode. Nat & Choo join hands to protect Thong Thien from getting caught in the club. But the plan backfires on them. So, Pornchoi & Pao catch Thong Thien and confront him about the Doctor Climax column. Thong Thien repeatedly states that he isn’t Doctor Climax. Then, Choo arrives in Pornchoi’s office to stop him from torturing Thong Thien. Nat speaks with them on a call and claims he will reveal his identity at a press conference.
Meanwhile, Linda realizes that she is pregnant. Probably because of her guilt about her affair with Nat, she seeks an abortion. Tukta also realizes that she is about to have a baby. Eventually, at the press conference, Nat and Choo reveal Pornchoi & Pao as the criminals for entrapment charges. After the conference, Linda tells Nat that she is having an abortion and tells him to be mature and start behaving like an adult. Finally, Nat reveals his identity as Doctor Climax.
Doctor Climax (Season 1) ‘Netflix’ Review:
The staging in “Doctor Climax” seems inspired by the flashy style of Hollywood films. In its retro setting, the show plays around with different kinds of attention-grabbing editing styles, funky soundtracks, and vibrant costume design. Every element has a sexual undertone and seems to be made to arouse you. The series follows a skin doctor who moonlights as a sex columnist. After gaining fame, it shows him imagining some fantastical episodes where he is a masked superhero helping people by solving their sexual problems.
“Doctor Climax” brings many intriguing themes related to sexual expression to the discussion. However, instead of exploring the depth and complexity of these subjects, the show often resorts to soppy melodrama, which becomes infuriating at times. Even to express their most obvious thoughts, it makes you sit through excruciatingly long periods where nothing intriguing happens. I’m all in for slow cinema if there is a purpose for a stretch of emotion or silence. Over here, it just appears woefully empty. So, it slowly starts feeling like a chore to sit through. At times, it feels satisfied in merely putting on a show for the sake of its aesthetic choices.
The show’s attempt to inject humor through its characters’ quirky behavior feels stale and redundant in 2024. Thus, it wastes the opportunity to do anything substantial with its noble intent.
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