Introduction
If you’re looking for a crime drama that’s a little darker and stranger than the usual murder mystery, the 2025 Thai drama The Yarns is worth a look. The story revolves around a series of brutal murders, with one particularly creepy detail connecting the victims—a piece of yarn-coded knitwork left behind at each crime scene. What starts as a bizarre clue gradually turns into a much bigger mystery as the investigation digs deeper into the killer’s motives and the secrets surrounding the cases.
Drama Info
Drama title: S&X (Native title: ปริศนาปมไหม )
Alternative title: Pritsana Pom Mai
Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Crime
Aired: 17 Jan, 2025 - 21 Feb, 2025
Episodes: 12 | Duration: 55 min.
Director: Petch Varayu Rukskul (เพชร วรายุ รักษ์กุล)
Screenwriters: Chayanin Leoparote (ชญานิน เลี่ยวไพโรจน์), Tinna Simapaisal (ติณณา สิมะไพศาล), and Phanek Chuaychusap (พันธุ์เอก ช่วยชูทรัพย์)
Where to watch: Catattack (fansubber)
Awards
Asian Television Awards 2025 for Best Southeast Asian Drama (Original Screenplay). Winners: Chayanin Leoparote, Tinna Simapaisal, and Phanek Chuaychusap.
Star International Awards 2025 for Best Leading Actress in a Standout Role: (Bua) Nalinthip Sakulongampai.
Trailer
Synopsis
The Yarns tells the story of a serial killer who leaves no traces, only strange knitted yarns placed on the victims. Inspector Pilanthorn partners with Sky, an autistic woman with an extraordinary ability to decode complex patterns, to uncover the meaning behind the yarns and stop the killer before the next murder takes place. (Source: MyDramaList)
Characters
Main Characters
Bua Nalinthip Sakulongumpai (นลินทิพย์ สกุลอ่องอำไพ) as Sky
New Chaiyapol Poupart (นิว ชัยพล จูเลี่ยน พูพาร์ต) as Pilanthorn Traikanon
Supporting Characters
Anya (Neen Chatchaya Samroengraja) – forensic examiner
Marc (Heng Thatpong Rojsangruang) – forensic photographer
Sukhwan (Ple Hattaya Wongkrachang) – Sky’s mother
Review
Story and Plot
Story
Not your typical (Thai) crime drama
In my opinion, The Yarns is breaking away from the typical Thai crime drama. Instead of spending most of its time on relationship drama and emotional melodrama, it puts quite a bit of attention on the actual investigation.
I liked that the show takes its forensic work seriously. We get detailed autopsy scenes, evidence collection, and plenty of time spent figuring out how the clues fit together. The investigation doesn’t always move at lightning speed, but that actually helps make the murders feel more real. It gives the whole yarn-killer concept a gritty, believable foundation instead of making it feel like just another exaggerated TV mystery.
The Unlikely Romance
There is no romance genre listed, but The Yarns has a romance between Sky and Philantorn—and very lightly between Anya and Marc.
The romance in The Yarns is definitely a slow burn, and honestly, I liked that it wasn’t shoved into the story just because the leads needed to have a love line. With all the murders and mystery going on, there isn’t much room for a full-blown romance, so most of the relationship develops through small moments rather than big romantic scenes.
The relationship between Sky and Pilanthorn is one of the more interesting parts of the story because they approach everything from completely different directions. Pilanthorn is methodical and works within the system, while Sky relies much more on patterns, intuition, and the way her brain connects information.
That “opposites attract” dynamic works pretty well, especially when they’re trying to solve the same mystery but don’t necessarily see things the same way.
Plot
The plot of The Yarns is a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse where a brilliant detective and an extraordinary civilian race to stop a methodical serial killer. Here is a simple breakdown of how the story unfolds:
The Core Mystery
A brutal serial killer is terrorizing the city, but the police are completely stuck. The killer leaves behind absolutely zero DNA, fingerprints, or physical evidence. Instead, the only clue left with each victim is a distinct, hand-knitted ball of yarn.
The Partnership
Realizing traditional police methods don’t work for this case, Pilanthon recruits Sky. Sky has a unique talent for spotting complex visual patterns that others miss. She discovers that the yarn isn’t just a random calling card—the knitted stitches contain hidden codes. Together, they realize these patterns form a macabre roadmap predicting who the killer will target next.
The Twist
As Sky cracks the codes and the duo gets closer to the truth, the story takes a dark turn. The clues begin pointing away from a random stranger and toward their inner circle. In the final stretch, Pilanthon is forced to face a terrifying reality: the killer might be someone close, playing a game with them from the very beginning.
Character and Acting
Sky (Bua Nalinthip)
Although the police conduct the crime investigation, Sky is the star in The Yarns. One thing I really liked in this drama is that Sky’s autism isn’t just there as a character detail. It actually plays an important role in the story. The way she processes information and notices patterns allows her to see things that the police investigators completely miss. She can pick up hidden geometric and mathematical patterns in the knitting that would probably look meaningless to everyone else.
I also thought Bua Nalinthip did a phenomenal job as Sky. If you’re used to seeing her in romance or melodrama roles, Sky feels like a very different performance from Bua. She brings a lot of subtlety to Sky and makes her feel like a real person rather than simply “the autistic genius who solves the case.” Her performance is one of the things that makes Sky such an interesting character.
Pilanthorn (New Chaiyapol)
Pilanthorn represents the conventional authority figure. He is initially introduced as a highly capable, textbook detective. However, his reliance on traditional forensic paths backfires entirely when facing a killer who leaves zero physical context or DNA traces.
In my opinion, Pilanthorn has a lack of emotional depth compared to Sky, making his character arc feel less emotionally engaging than Bua’s. He functions mainly as the narrative vehicle to guide the audience through the police procedural elements of the show.
As for their relationship dynamics, what I enjoyed most was watching Pilanthorn become more protective and understanding toward Sky. He doesn’t simply treat her as someone who can help solve the case. He gradually starts to understand how she thinks and respects her differences. For Sky, that trust matters because she doesn’t easily let people into her world.
New does a really good job as Pilanthorn, especially because this isn’t a character who wears his emotions on his sleeve. Pilanthorn is quiet, serious, and very controlled. I liked how restrained New’s performance is. A lot of the time, he lets his facial expressions and body language do the work. You can tell when Pilanthorn is suspicious, frustrated, worried, or starting to lose control, even when he doesn’t say much.
Visuals and Production Value
Another thing that is praiseworthy about The Yarns was how serious it looks. The production doesn’t have that typical glossy Thai lakorn feeling. Instead, it goes for a darker, more grounded crime-thriller look, which fits the story really well.
The cinematography is realistic as the camera stays close to the characters, crime scenes, and clues rather than trying too hard to make everything look cinematic. However, some visual choices are dramatic, there to create tension and make the murders feel disturbing; for example, when the killer is shown sitting near the dying victim and knitting the yarn piece.
The murders and forensic scenes are presented in a fairly graphic and realistic way, and the camera doesn’t always shy away from the unpleasant details. There are bodies, blood, autopsies, evidence collection, and all the little things that make the investigation feel like actual police work rather than something that happens in the background. Even New mentioned in an interview that the crime scenes felt so realistic during filming that, without seeing the cameras and lights, they could almost feel real.
I also like the way the show uses lighting. A lot of the scenes have darker lighting, heavy shadows, and muted colors, which creates this constant feeling that something isn’t quite right. It works especially well with the whole yarn mystery because the show wants you to look at the background and the details and wonder if something important is hiding there.
The knitwork itself is also used pretty effectively from a visual standpoint. It’s such a simple object, but the different patterns, colors, and shapes become part of the visual identity of the series. Whenever another piece of yarn appears, you immediately know that there’s another puzzle to figure out.
My Rating
I used my rating system with additional scores of:
- + 1.0 for the interesting premise of the killing motif and murder clues (knitworks)
- + 1.0 for Sky’s positive presentation of an autistic person
- + 1.0 for Bua’s acting
- + 1.0 for the production value (graphic crime scenes and forensic examinations)
Total rating 10.0/10.
Conclusion
Overall, I had a pretty chilling time watching The Yarns. The yarn-based murder mystery is definitely the biggest selling point for me. It’s a clever idea, and I liked how the killer turns the investigation into a game, forcing the police to figure out the clues before another victim is added to the list.
The drama also benefits from the combination of Pilanthorn and Sky. They are very different characters, and watching them slowly learn to trust each other is one of the more enjoyable parts of the story. I especially liked that Sky’s autism isn’t treated as just a character trait. Her way of seeing patterns is actually important to the mystery and gives her a real purpose in the story.
I also appreciated that The Yarns takes its crime investigation seriously. The forensic work, crime scenes, autopsies, and darker visual style give it a more grounded feeling than a lot of typical drama mysteries.
I think The Yarns is worth checking out if you enjoy crime dramas with a different kind of mystery. It has a unique premise, a creepy serial-killer game, strong character chemistry, and enough twists to keep things moving.
And by the way… they will make a sequel to this drama! Because, essentially, the drama doesn’t give the audience a completely satisfying closure!
Spoilers
Who is/are the killer(s)?
Fah, Sky’s long-lost twin sister, with her two friends as her accomplices. Bua also plays Fah, but I don’t want to disclose her second character here as it’s a major spoiler.
What is/are the motif(s)?
There are three layers of the killer’s motifs:
Firstly, a game challenge for the authorities, in this case, is represented by Inspector Pilanthorn Traikanon.
Secondly, the underlying issue is a social vendetta, as the victims are connected to the fictional “Killer’s Gene Control Law” (กฎหมายควบคุมยีนฆาตกร), a fictional concept established by Health Minister Dr. Chonlathorn Traikanon, who is also Pilanthorn’s adoptive father.
Thirdly, the final victim is none other than Dr. Chonlathorn, who is Fah’s target as her personal vendetta, as she believes he raped her mother.
What is this so-called law about?
Proclaimed by Dr. Chonlathorn, the “Killer’s Gene Control Law” establishes that individuals can be born with a genetic predisposition to becoming serial killers. Anyone identified at birth as carrying this “killer gene” faces severe restriction of their personal freedom. They are placed under “special monitoring,” must report to a police station every three months, and are strictly banned from working in specific trusted professions (such as doctors, nurses, or police officers).
What is the major plot twist at the end of the drama?
Dr. Chonlathorn did not rape Fah and Sky’s mother, but his personal assistant did.
What is the ending? [short answer]
Happy ending.
How does the drama end? [long answer]
Fah is arrested and sentenced to the death penalty, but she committed suicide by ingesting cleaning products. Dr. Chonlathorn, her final target, didn’t die but is in a coma. Sky and Fah’s mother is taken care of in the mental institution with the help of Sky’s adoptive mother. Sky and Pilanthorn are together.
