Upamanyu Biswas
In the fourth episode of the Thai anthology horror show, ‘Terror Tuesday: Extreme,‘ a young couple named Nat and Dao find themselves being hunted down by a vengeful local goddess who wants the two lovers to reveal all the secrets they have been keeping from one another. Near the story’s end, both characters dig through their personal issues, alighting upon numerous lies they had been telling one another. With the Black Hills Goddess pouring down their necks, they are left with no choice but to air their dirty laundry once and for all, letting out their deepest and darkest secrets. However, the act of spilling their real feelings has unintended consequences on their relationship and the episode’s final resolution! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Nat and Dao’s Fragile Love
During a party, Nat lies submerged in a swimming pool with his head faced downwards. A worried Dao plunges into the pool, fearing that Nat might be drowning to death, which turns out to be a false alarm. The pair swim to the pool’s side and connect with one another over their personal struggles and griefs. Eight years later, Nat and Dao sit outside a temple shrine, where Dao regularly prays. She senses that Nat is hiding something from her, but he does not reveal the truth. In fact, Nat has been chosen as a project architect at a firm in Sweden, a development he is afraid of exposing to Dao as he does not want to dash her dreams of being together forever.
As the pair head into the temple to pray, they learn that the Goddess of the temple, known as the Black Hills Goddess, has an incredible legend relating to spurned lovers who keep secrets hidden from one another. They pray at the temple, unwittingly causing the Goddess to latch on to their relationship and the festering secrets within it. That night, Nat is beset by the sight of a mysterious figure watching him from afar as both he and Dao settle into their resting spot at the Black Hills Resort. Subsequently, the figure reveals itself to be the Black Hills Goddess, who wishes that Nat and Dao share the secrets they have been keeping from one another or face punishment for their actions.
Under the pressure of the Goddess, Nat tells Dao the truth about his job as an architect at the Swedish firm, shattering Dao’s heart. However, it is shown that the young woman has been sheltering secrets of her own that she has never told Nat. The Goddess then compels her to reveal them, bringing into question several aspects of their relationship, including her recent loss of feelings for him. Dao wants to get married so that she can rekindle the love she once had for him, fearing that her life would be worse if he disappeared completely than if they were together somehow. As they shed more and more light on the truth about their relationship, the pair start winding towards a precarious position where it seems their relationship cannot be mended again.
What Does the Goddess Want?
The legend of the Black Hills Goddess is central to the supernatural plot of the episode. According to the lore, the Goddess was once a normal woman who fell in love with a prince. Because of their cross-class love story, there were many obstacles for their romance to be accepted by those around them. When she realized this, she was so disappointed that she ended up taking her life. However, much later, it is revealed that the man with whom the Goddess fell in love was, in fact, a betrothed man. Affronted by his lie and for misleading her completely, she turned rage upon him and tore him to pieces by conjuring a rain that scored his skin and caused his flesh to burst open. Therefore, in honor of her story, all who pray to the Goddess must adhere to her principles of never keeping secrets from their lovers.
When the Black Hills Goddess visits Nat and Dao, her primary intention is to make them realize the folly of their actions and the lies they have been telling one another to keep the facade of a perfect relationship alive. While at the temple, Nat read a fortune slip, which stated that his and Dao’s relationship would fade to exist if they kept uttering false words to one another. However, as it reminded him of the secret he had been withholding from her – the job in Sweden – he ignored the warning out of pure fear and insecurity. It is only when the Goddess herself arrives on their path that the two begin having an honest discussion without trying to mask their feelings behind a wall of lies.
Although her methods may seem harsh, she is intent on changing the lives of her subjects by inducing a sense of terror in them to rectify their ways. It is not the most benevolent approach, but it is effective. She experienced the harshness of a misleading relationship herself and is vehement that those who follow in her stead do not make the same mistakes again. Every time Nat and Dao attempt to run away from the truth by escaping into the rain, she scores them with sharp bursts of dagger-like drops that she once used against her own lover in the folktale. Thus, they have no choice but to come clean and stop themselves from being their own worst enemy, as their relationship is already on the brink of tearing to pieces.
Did Nat and Dao Reconcile From Their Broken Trust?
While the story initially makes it seem as if Nat is the only one holding back secrets in his relationship with Dao, it is depicted quite comprehensively that the two of them are equally culpable for being disingenuous towards one another. In many ways, they are both guilty of the same crime – selfishness. Nat has dreams of going abroad, something he has harbored for ages. However, owing to his relationship with Dao, he has made several compromises. Meanwhile, Dao herself is very selfish about keeping Nat all to herself. On many occasions, she has constructed situations in such a way that he has no choice but to stay close to her. Unbeknownst to her, even her father wants Nat to stay with her for a while despite knowing that he has applied for a job in Sweden.
Because of her constant interference in her abroad aspirations, Nat feels a deep-seated resentment towards Dao. He has kept it buried underneath a facade of understanding and acceptance, but he is well and truly disappointed that she always gets in the way of what he wants to do. Similarly, Dao feels that Nat is always distant from her, never espousing too many things, which constantly worries her about his thoughts. She thinks that he might leave him any day, a fear that has turned so pathological that she tries to pin him down however she can, either through practical means or even when she’s praying to the Goddess herself. Her paranoia and anxiety over their relationship have caused her to delve into some regretful choices.
At the end of the story, however, both characters seem to go through a mutual catharsis after letting out all the poisonous things they wanted to say to one another. Nat even embraces her at the edge of the pool, breaking down into tears at the things they had been bottling up inside their chest. By all indications, they learn to accept and understand each other more profoundly after going through the night’s events, no matter how harrowing or scary it seems at the time. The final moments depict Nat showing Dao his offer letter from the Swedish firm, reflecting that he trusts her even more than at the story’s start. Consequently, the Goddess stops haunting them, having achieved her goal of bringing the two together without any masks to hide their real feelings.
Read More: Terror Tuesday Extreme Episode 3 Ending, Explained
