Naughty Babe (Thai BL) – Episode 1 Recap & Review

The Lonely Boy

Naughty Babe episode 1 reintroduces us to our beloved characters, Yi and Khondiao. Khondiao has been thinking about their relationship lately. In the opening narration, he likens Yi’s eyes to those of a tiger. He senses Yi’s eyes give off some deep sadness, but he never understood why. He claims he has never seen Yi’s true colours and is afraid of tigers.

Khondiao believes that Yi is only being nice and caring for him because it is his duty. Since we last saw them, their relationship has declined, and Khondiao can’t help but feel the distance between them. He loves Yi but is wondering if it is time to call it quits and start a new life. 

The scene cuts to Yi at a press conference; he is giving off a fierce vibe. Khondiao stands some distance away, deep in thought about their relationship. As Yi poses for the cameras, Khondiao silently walks away with a despondent look on his face. A few minutes later, On, Yi’s personal assistant, informs him that Khondiao has left. Yi asks if the young man has returned home, but On is unsure. Apparently, the CCTV cameras at the house are malfunctioning, but he has sent someone to check on Khondiao. 

The press conference continues as the journalists ask questions about Yi’s love life. They are curious when he will announce their wedding date as they have been engaged for three years. They wonder if there is trouble in paradise. Yi decides to give them a tip and asks them to cover the story for three consecutive days in return. He announces that he will be marrying Khondiao soon. He promises to set another press conference once the wedding date is set. 

Elsewhere, our sad Khondiao starts packing his clothes, ready to make his great escape from Yi’s life. He recruits the help of his beloved puppy to trick the bodyguard sent by On to find out if he is okay. As the bodyguard chases the puppy, trying to capture it, Khondiao fakes a stomach ache. He leaves his phone in the bathroom playing farting sounds, and uses that time to leave for the airport.  He is sad he can’t take the puppy with him. 

Meanwhile, Yi asks for a status report from On. He is shocked to hear Khondiao said he had diarrhoea.  He is sure something is off since Khondiao would never allow anyone to hear him fart. He calls Khondiao, but he is unreachable. Yi decides to drop by the house and check on his man. However, no one is home. At first, he believes Khondiao is not gone since his puppy is still at home.

He starts to panic when he finds the phone in the toilet room. He rushes to the bedroom, and Khondiao’s clothes are gone.  He immediately calls On to help him find Khondiao. He rushes down the flight of stairs and grabs the first car keys he sees on the table. He drives off and calls Kuea from his car phone. 

Elsewhere, Khondiao is at the airport, wondering if Yi even noticed he is gone. Part of him is hoping Yi will show up and stop him from leaving. Through a flashback, we learn what led him to make this drastic decision. You see, even though he is engaged to Yi, Khondiao feels lonely. Over the past few years, Yi has been neglecting him and focusing on work. Khondiao even suspects that Yi has been cheating on him with numerous women. He has been extremely disappointed with the relationship. However, he held on because he loves Yi and thought he would change. 

Through a flashback, we see Khondiao’s and Yi’s relationship before the decline. They jokingly planned their honeymoon while flirting over dinner. Khondiao mentioned his desire to visit Switzerland and see the alp cows. They also talked about the possibility of adopting a child when they are ready. Yi looked excited about the prospect of marrying Khondiao and honeymooning in Switzerland.

In 2024, they officially got engaged in a beautiful ceremony. Yi promised to take good care of Khondiao and acknowledged him as his life partner. He expressed his desire to get married legally, hoping Thailand would pass the same-sex marriage act. After the engagement party though, Yi’s dad, Makorn, gifted Khondiao a new luxury car. 

Over the years, he took Khondiao’s side and urged Yi to marry him. He felt Yi was taking too much time and worried Khondiao would leave and break Yi’s heart. Unfortunately, Yi continued to stall the wedding and focus more on work. This only served to frustrate Khondiao and make him question their relationship more. 

Khondiao confides to his best friend, Kuea, that he is lonely in the relationship and wonders if it is because his name means alone. He tells Kuea that his relationship is troubled to the point that they have not had sex for three years. The last time they had sex was in 2023, after Lian and Kuea’s wedding. Please note that Naughty Babe has a 3-year time jump and is set in 2026!

Of course, Kuea can’t relate since Lian is a demanding and devoted lover. Nonetheless, Kuea tries to comfort Khondiao and assures him things will work out. Kuea believes  Khondiao is allowed to choose his own fate. He asks him to talk with Yi before making any decision. On the other hand, Khondiao is scared of the answer. He thinks Yi doesn’t love him and is only doing this out of duty. All his life, his plan has been to marry and love Yi. What will he do if he ends the relationship? Khondiao is not ready to face the answer to this!

A few days later, Kuea contemplates whether to tell Khondiao about what he saw at Yi’s exhibition hall. After much thought, Kuea tells Khondiao, who decides to visit the store and witness the truth himself. Kuea sent him a photo of Yi looking exceptionally close to some woman. Upon arriving at the store, Khondiao finds Yi conversing with the woman and jumps to conclusions. He asks a shocked Yi how he could do something like this, but Yi is confused about what he is referring to.

Without waiting for an explanation, Khondiao angrily storms out. That night, he has the recurring dream of a young boy being attacked by a tiger and tries to calm himself down. Seeing the woman with Yi was the final straw for him.

Presently, Khondiao is at the airport when he gets a call from Kuea. Kuea informs him that Yi got in an accident on his way to the airport. Yi called Kuea, demanding to know where Khondiao is hiding. Kuea refused to tell him, and they argued on the phone. On then calls Yi on his mobile and informs him Khondiao is at the airport. Kuea is still on the phone call and overhears the conversation. He also hears Yi lose control of the car, and he gets into a terrible accident. Kuea immediately alerts his husband, Lian. 

After the phone call, Khondiao rushes to get to Yi. He cries as he runs around in the airport, blaming himself. He gets to the hospital and drops to his knees, begging Makorn for forgiveness. Makorn and Kuea try to comfort him and assure him he did nothing wrong. Makorn asks him to stay and take care of Yi and reconsider if he wants to leave after Yi recovers. 

Makorn believes Yi’s accident was an attempt on his life and tightens security. They all wait at the hospital, hoping for the best and fearing the worst. Khondiao stays by Yi’s bedside, waiting for him to wake up.  

The episode ends with Yi finally waking up but fails to recognize Khondiao. He remembers Khondiao as a 7-year-old boy. He kicks him out and asks for his dad. Khondiao is too shocked as Yi pulls away from him and insists he doesn’t remember him. 

The Episode Review

First things first, let us take a moment to thank P. Aof for hearing us out and giving MaxNat their own show! Secondly, we love Kuea and Lian in their husbands’ era; we can’t wait to see more of them.

Back to the main couple, we gotta admit that Max and Nat ate and left no crumbs! They absolutely devoured their scenes. The way Max portrayed Yi’s fear when he realized that Khondiao had left him was spot on. Everything was on point from the look in his eyes, the tremor in his hands and the desperation in his voice.

Nat also did a great job showing Khondiao’s sadness through his eyes, and the airport scene was deeply moving. Our heart broke for him in that scene as he rushed to see his man while blaming himself. He conveyed those feelings perfectly. 

The funny scenes in the show are also well-timed and executed. This may only be on its first episode, but we have no doubt that the show will keep its pace and have us thoroughly entertained for the next ten weeks! Are you ready for it?