Doctor Climax follows a dermatologist who secretly writes a newspaper column to help people who seek his advice while managing his own personal problems. The series is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
In 1970s Thailand, Nat, a dermatologist, wishes to be a writer. He shows the novel he is working on to his friend Tien, a journalist who works for Bangkok Express.
Tien does not find his writing exciting. What gets his attention is a letter Nat receives from a teen girl who wants him to answer her questions about masturbation.
Siam Bulletin, the biggest competitor of Bangkok Express, consistently has higher sales because they publish pictures of erotic models to boost their numbers.
To compete, Tien suggests introducing an informative column in Bangkok Express and getting Nat to answer people’s questions about sex.
Nat only agrees to write the column because Bangkok Express’ editor, Choosak, promises to get his novels published if the column is a success.
Like his novels, Nat’s life also lacks excitement. As the son of one of Thailand’s most renowned surgeons, he seems to lead a perfect life, but that is not the case.
Nat does not love his dutiful wife, Tukta, who has dedicated her life to pleasing Nat. On top of that, Nat’s mother keeps pressuring them to have children.
What Tukta and Nat’s mother do not know is that Nat has been giving Tukta birth control pills under the guise of vitamins. He does not tell them about the column either.
Nat shares an office with Linda, the art director, who publishes Nat’s answers under the pseudonym “Doctor Climax” to make the column more appealing.
The column does raise sales, but it also causes problems. MP Pornchai is a conservative who disapproves of discussing taboo topics like sex, considering it immoral.
Pornchai vows to uncover Doctor Climax’s real identity. While some people find the column perverse, many others find it helpful.
The newspaper starts receiving more and more questions. Eventually, Bangkok Express’ sales surpass those of Siam Bulletin.
Pornchai seeks the help of a police officer named Captain Pao to uncover the identity of Doctor Climax. Captain Pao comes very close to catching Nat, even reaching Nat’s clinic.
It is because of the efforts of Nat’s colleagues that Nat is not caught. Captain Pao then abandons the investigation to pursue another criminal.
Meanwhile, Nat finds himself attracted to Linda, who helps him with his work. Soon after, Nat starts having an affair with Linda without telling her that he is married.
Tukta finds a letter in Nat’s clinic and starts believing that Nat has written to Doctor Climax about their unexciting sex life.
Tukta tries to change herself to please Nat, but her efforts go unappreciated. Eventually, Tukta and Linda meet at Nat’s clinic.
Linda finds out that Nat is married, and Tukta suspects that Nat is having an affair with Linda; her suspicions are later confirmed.
Tukta finally acknowledges that she is unhappy in her marriage. She has tried and failed to improve her relationship with Nat. Her failure leads to her feeling helpless.
Tukta goes to a school reunion and meets Tong, the boy she used to date back in school. Tukta realizes that she would have been happy if she had eloped with Tong when she had the chance.
However, it is too late now, as Tong has a family. That night, Tukta, uncharacteristically, goes out drinking alone and ends up sleeping with a stranger.
Tukta continues meeting the stranger and starts exploring her sexuality. She becomes bolder and more confident as she discovers what she truly likes.
On the other hand, Linda breaks up with Nat after finding out that he has been lying to her. She goes to live with her mother for a while.
Nat visits her and apologizes to her. Linda agrees to return to work on one condition: Nat has to apologize to Tukta and help her.
However, Tukta is no longer interested in improving her relationship with Nat. She throws out the birth control pills he had been giving her and remains distant from him.
Nat faces troubles at work as well. When he gets a letter from a gay boy named Sangjaan, he advises him to follow his heart.
Later, Nat finds out that Sangjaan followed his advice and came out to his family. As a result, he was disowned by his family and beaten up by his boyfriend.
Sangjaan later shows up at the newspaper office to confront Doctor Climax for not answering his second letter and attempts to shoot himself.
Nat and Linda manage to stop Sangjaan, but Pol, a boy who works at the newspaper, gets shot in the process.
Ending explained:
Making amends with his family
While Sangjaan is arrested, Nat and Linda are left shaken by the events. Linda resigns, and Nat stops writing the column.
Feeling lost, Nat goes to meet his father. It turns out that Nat’s parents separated because his father is gay. His father now lives with his partner.
Nat admits to his father that he is Doctor Climax, and his father assures him that his replies can help everyone, even though Nat claims not to understand homosexuality.
This meeting not only helps Nat understand his father better but also brings clarity to the issues he is facing.
Nat then visits Sangjaan in prison, giving him a letter in which he apologizes for the delayed response and offers hope that the world will become more accepting.
Nat’s father helps him realize that his mother’s insistence on him having children stems from her fear that he might also be gay. Nat now reassures his mother and agrees to her wishes.
He also apologizes to Tukta and sleeps with her, only to realize that Tukta has changed a lot and that he does not know her well.
Nat’s attempts to return to his old life without Linda fail, as he realizes that he is in love with Linda and that he is not the person he used to be.
However, even without Linda, Nat gets convinced to write the column again after Choosak shows him a pile of letters he has received from Doctor Climax’s supporters.
A trap for Tien
After catching the criminal he was chasing, Captain Pao returns and rejoins Pornchai in uncovering Doctor Climax’s identity.
Captain Pao had earlier suspected that Tien was Doctor Climax. Now, he and Pornchai form a plan to trap Tien.
Tien has been sleeping with a woman named Plern, who had written to Doctor Climax. Together, they have been frequenting a swingers club.
Captain Pao’s men corner Plern and force her to bring Tien to the club on a designated day. Reluctantly, Plern convinces Tien to go to the club with her and perform on stage.
On the same day, Pol goes to the police station to get Sangjaan released and overhears Captain Pao talking about capturing Doctor Climax.
Pol knows that Tien has been going to the club and calls Nat and Choosak there. The three of them try to get Tien out of the club before he gets arrested.
Despite managing to leave with Nat, Tien still gets arrested while trying to hide Nat from the police. He is then interrogated by Captain Pao and Pornchai.
Choosak arrives at the police station with a lawyer and accuses Captain Pao of conducting an unlawful interrogation with no evidence.
Nat then calls Captain Pao and claims that he is Doctor Climax. Although Tien is released, the fact that he went to the club leads to him losing his job.
Taking responsibility
Nat no longer wants to hide his identity, believing that it has hurt too many people. He is now going to write the column under his own name.
He then finds out that Tukta is pregnant, but he cannot bring himself to be happy about the news, which further breaks Tukta’s heart.
Tukta has realized that Nat never loved her and she did not love him either. Despite this, she still accuses Linda, who is also pregnant with Nat’s child, of breaking her family.
Nat comes up with a plan to get rid of Pornchai and Captain Pao. Earlier, Nat’s mother had suspected him of dating Tien and had hired a private detective to follow them.
The detective had taken pictures of Captain Pao’s men following Tien. Choosak reveals these pictures during the press conference where Nat is going to announce that he is Doctor Climax.
Choosak accuses Pornchai and Captain Pao of hiring decoys to entrap Tien. With Plern also testifying against them, they are taken to the police station for questioning, and Tien’s name is cleared.
Moments before Nat is supposed to reveal his identity, Linda breaks the news of her pregnancy to him. Nat’s reaction to the news leads Linda to tell him that she is going to get an abortion.
Nat then faces the press as Doctor Climax, but he remains speechless. He can only think about the advice he had earlier given to a young girl.
At that time, facing pressure from conservatives like Pornchai, he had told the girl that abortion is a sin and asked her to take responsibility for her actions.
As Nat’s own words echo in his head, Tukta goes to get an abortion, and Linda runs into a man named Khomson.
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