Aahana Swrup
‘Terror Tuesday: Extreme,’ the Netflix Thai show that presents an anthology-style collection of numerous horror stories ripe with uncanny conclusions, brings a terrifying finale through episode 8 titled, ‘Viral Curse.’ In this episode, the narrative takes a bit of a meta-turn as it follows Ple, a single mother struggling to make ends meet as she prepares for her daughter, Kaew, to start elementary school. After the woman comes across a horror radio show, “Terror Tuesday,” and overhears a horrifying story, eerie things begin happening around her own house. Thus, Ple’s reality shifts on its axis as a seemingly supernatural presence surrounds her daughter, putting Kaew’s life under imminent threat. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Ple’s Financial Crisis and Kaew’s New Friend
Ple, a single mother and the owner of a self-run laundromat, finds herself in a significant financial crutch as the time comes for her daughter, Kaew, to enroll in elementary school. Since the mother wants to provide only the best for her kid, she enrolls her in an expensive school to ensure she gets the best education possible. However, the same equates to a myriad of troubles for Ple, who was already struggling to pay her other bills. Still, she remains determined to see her plans through and works tirelessly to make enough money.
One night, as Ple works, she comes across a horror radio show where a caller regales a tragedy that unfolded in her neighborhood. In her story, a single mother lost her kid after she drowned at a temple fair. Afterward, the mother from the story went mad, claiming that a ghost had taken her child away since the latter often talked about a non-existent sibling before their ultimate demise. The radio show leaves Ple disturbed due to her identical family dynamic as a single mother with an only child.
Nonetheless, Ple doesn’t pay much attention to the story as more mundane troubles—unpaid rent and upcoming school tuitions—overtake her life. For one, her decision to send Kaew to an expensive school brings skepticism from outside, including the school’s headmaster, who attempts to dissuade her from her decision. For the same reason, when she finds a gold necklace in one of her customers’ clothes, she pockets the item for herself.
The same night, Kaew finds herself at home alone late into the evening after Ple leaves to catch up with some old friends. On the mother’s walk back home, she receives a cryptic call from her daughter that sends her running to the house only to find a terrifying, ghastly, wet woman in the bed. The encounter only lasts for a minute before Kaew enters the room—safe and sound. Nonetheless, Ple realizes with a sense of dread that her daughter has drawn images of a non-existent sister—identical to the alarming apparition she had seen earlier.
Who is Haunting Ple? Why?
Ple leads a fairly normal life as a struggling mother with big aspirations for her daughter’s future. The family of two has been living in the same apartment upstairs from her laundromat for years, with little change in their routine. Therefore, their run-in with the supernatural seemingly comes out of the blue. Nonetheless, the narrative lays down the exact catalyst behind the mother-daughter duo’s predicament. The supernatural spirit only begins haunting Ple and Kaew after the former hears the tale about a mother losing her daughter on the horror radio show.
In the shared story, a single mother loses her daughter after a ghost befriends the kid before drowning the latter to death. Shortly afterward, identical events start happening around Ple and Kaew, as the kid begins seeing an apparition whom she calls her sister. Therefore, it seems like after hearing the story on the radio show, Ple unwittingly inherits the same curse that plagued the other single mother. The origins of the curse are unknown, but it remains evident that it passes down from one person to another through stories.
Once someone vulnerable enough learns about the curse, they become open to being haunted by it. Ple’s situation with Kaew’s upcoming school enrollment remained a consistent source of frustration and agitation for the woman. As such, she was also in a perpetual state of vulnerability. Thus, it is likely that once hearing about the tale, Ple unwittingly mirrors a state of mind similar to that of the grieving mother, becoming a vessel for the curse to latch onto. For the same reason, the cursed apparition parallels Ple—in similar build and clothing—almost as if it’s the worst manifestation of her own struggles.
Does Kaew Die?
Once the nature of Ple and Kaew’s haunting becomes clear, the narrative seamlessly enters a precarious stage where the audience can’t help but wonder whether or not Kaew would end up in the same demise as the other kid who drowned. Upon the apparition’s first visit to the kid, she remains relatively safe after Ple manages to rush back home in time. Yet, the family isn’t out of trouble just yet. While the curse haunts them at night, they have more than enough problems to pester them in the daylight.
Consequently, it’s only a matter of time before trouble arrives on their doorstep in the form of the customer whose necklace Ple had stolen. As it turns out, the actual owner of the necklace learned about her theft after talking to the local pawnshop owner. Nevertheless, Ple has already used the money from the sale to pay for Kaew’s school and the rent for the house. As such, the owner gives her two days to return the money before the police would take her away. Naturally, the same increases the single mother’s problems.
As Ple ponders over the situation to find a way out, Kaew consistently pesters her about the same, unknowingly becoming a source of annoyance. For the same reason, the mother ends up sending her off to take a bath alone to buy her a moment of peace. As Kaew retires to the bathroom, the mother begins packing her things, planning to run away from her predicament. However, soon after, she realizes that Kaew is no longer in the bathroom and has somehow been taken away to the abandoned house across the street.
Earlier, Kaew mentioned the apparition coming for her from the same house, compelling Ple to believe whatever spirit was haunting them had taken her daughter to the same house. As such, she rushes out of her home and into the other house, only to realize it is a run-down replica of her own laundromat. The only thing different about the place seems to be the distinct lack of her daughter—even from photo frames.
Ultimately, Kaew hasn’t been taken away to the other house by any spirit. Instead, she is still at her own home—alone without her mother in the bathtub. Thus, in Ple’s absence, the young child ends up drowning in the bathtub as it overflows with water. Ple realizes the same as she returns home and finds her daughter in the bathroom—no longer breathing. Rather than killing Kaew, the apparition instead filled Ple with a deep sense of paranoia and dread, which in turn distracted the mother. Thus, Kaew drowned alone in the house, fulfilling the curse.
What Happens to Ple? Does She Die?
After Kaew’s death, Ple closes up her business and moves out of the house. The landlady, Hom, seems to believe the woman has gone to restart her life now that she no longer has a kid to care for. Earlier, some of Ple’s friends had also suggested that she could use her degree to work abroad. Nonetheless, she had struck down the idea, unwilling to leave her daughter alone. Therefore, it is possible that the curse preyed upon these same ideas to bring the woman to her final predicament. Still, the curse doesn’t quite leave Ple alone after Kaew’s death.
The established pattern suggests that the curse first kills the kid and then drives the mother insane. The same happens to Ple, who begins to get haunted by the apparition—a possible metaphor for the guilt and regret she feels in Kaew’s absence. Once Ple leaves the house, landlady Hom moves her own things in only to one day find the roof has leaked. While cleaning up the mess, the same radio show from before plays in the background—but this time, an agitated Ple calls the radio show, claiming to have caught the curse from their episode. She reveals that she is still haunted by the cursed apparition, which is out to kill her. However, as Hom mindlessly overhears the story, the landlady becomes the next unwitting target for the spirit. While Ple’s predicament remains hauntingly unknown, the story ends itself establishing the curse’s cyclic nature.
Read More: Terror Tuesday Extreme Episode 7 Recap and Ending, Explained
