Looking back, the Thai series “Sathu (The Believers)” season one exposed a money-making model based on temples. It followed three young people—Win (James Theeradon), Game (Peach Pachara), and Dear (Ally Achiraya)—who transformed an abandoned temple into a religious business using digital marketing and merit discourse as tools to generate income.
It clearly reflected Thai society and raised a significant question: Can our faith be so easily transformed by some groups into tools for creating money and personal gain?
Now, the return of “Sathu 2,” streaming on Netflix from 4 Dec 2023 GMT+7, presents a more complex form of “Buddhist commercialism” through the full perspective of a so-called “startup” group using faith again as a channel to earn money and pay off debts.
What makes Sathu 2 compelling is its portrayal of a more intense and expanded temple money-making model, extending into "networks of influence and local politics." It shifts from mere "cheating" to creating a "monopoly system" supported by political stability and local power figures familiar in Thai society, making the story larger in scale.
The series also satirizes political policies via the 'merit policy' of the Dhammappatana Party, including projects like digital almsgiving, half-cost ordination support, double tax deductions for temple donations, and merit-leveling donation certificates — all aimed at raising funds to build the Nong Kha temple hospital.
This analysis invites us to explore why a faith system protected by local power is so formidable and serves as a stronger business model than typical superficial scams.
Financially, the business of Win and his friends in the first season was "High-Risk, High-Reward." They had to invest to build credibility, face legal risks, and compete against "real" monks.
However, Sathu 2’s trailer reveals a major character, MP Ae - Chamaiporn (Donut Manatsanan) from the Dhammappatana Party, representing local political power. They are buying what is known as "Regulatory Capture," a term from political economy.
Local politics aims to control the continuous "cash flow" entering temples. Political patronage means paying to buy a "faith business license" that grants monopoly status, immunity from outside scrutiny, and sometimes politicians themselves orchestrate operations through "nominees."
This business model resembles investing to transform an illegal operation into a "system" that is legal and politically secured. Political backing creates high barriers for new competitors. Temples tied to patronage become de facto monopolies of faith in their areas.
Director Watthanapong Wongwan said season 2 tells of people who think they can manipulate the system but are ultimately manipulated by it. This reflects a key political economy principle: as a business model shifts from individual cleverness to stronger power structures,
season 1’s model relied on probability and Win’s personal cunning, which was high risk because it depended on individual decisions and could "fail." But in season 2, the main driver is a political party with an extensive network.
This significantly lowers business risk because it is endorsed by local power and distorted laws. Thus, Win and friends’ business no longer depends solely on personal skill but on the resilience of the entire power structure, which remains stable even if individuals fall (such as Phra Don defrocking). The system can replace them as long as benefits circulate and power structures endure.
In Sathu 2, another key turning point is the return of Phra Don (Pup Potato), who has defrocked to find himself. This underscores the price paid when someone leaves a system controlled by entrenched power.
Phra Don’s defrocking means losing spiritual capital, which was the highest-value asset in Buddhist commercialism—his "spiritual credibility" and social status tied to his monk’s robes vanish. He reappears with zero starting capital, opposite to the power and acceptance he had within the system.
A crucial question in Sathu 2 is whether Win, Game, and Dear, as system creators, will continue to "play the system" or find ways to dismantle the politically backed monopoly system. Their original stake began simply as a need to pay off debts.
Ultimately, the series "Sathu 2" is not just about deceitful monks or startups using faith marketing to cheat, but a dissection of the political economic mechanisms that enable continuous, legally sanctioned fraud. It reveals how monopolies backed by power are more stable and dangerous than volatile startups, suggesting we may all be mere pawns in a system designed long ago.
Source: Netflix
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