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Well, now, that was just Fricking adorable
Rated= 8.5 ~ 34.5/50 ~ 6.9RPG Scene // Mermaid Vibing in the Flower Meadow. Sword Dancing practice.
I was having a drama slump and my years on the internet have taught me that when I feel like that, bored and restless and searching for something to die for, just randomly start clicking on things. It's like pasta on the wall. You will absolutely find something. And find something I did.
First 2 seconds I fell in love with Boun who plays Win. Daaaamnn, that man is FINE with extra emphasis on the F. God damn, I think I drooled through the first few episodes LOL
Unbeknownst to me, thanks to my randomly clicking, I have learned that this is a sister story to the original plot which follows Dean and Pharm, who are featured as a side couple in this one. I did find it hilarious, since I havent watched the original series, knowing that there was a whole drama happening in the back and I know nothing about it LOL I can just feel that the heat happening off screen LOL Having said that, Pharm, for his little appearances absolutely stole my heart and I feel like I'm about to lay down my life for him when I start watching his series, which is definitely coming next. No question. When I sit my butt down next for a series, I am clicking for Pharm and Dean LOL
Anyway, back to this series. This show follows Win, a punk'd out Vice President of the swim team and Team, initially a very innocent and sheltered young swimmer with a tragic past. Since I havent watch the parent story, Win seemed liked the kind of guy who had his eyes on Team previously and when he finally gets his moment with Team, Team jumps head first into bed with him, much to his delight.
It's a casual fling which naturally develops into heavier emotions, which casual sex usually does, for at least one of the people involved. That's how the brain works. We like to get attached to things lol
Overall, I found the couple pretty cute. The consistent nod to consent for me, was very sexy. Boun's acting is pretty piercing. He says a lot with his eyes. Prem, I felt was a little off at times but that may have just been me. He had a lot of very emotionally powered scenes and I think he did well through most of them.
His character has a legit tragedy in his past and his reactions and behaviour are very understandable for someone who has to carry that for the rest of their life. Normally, I would find the tsundere types annoying but I actually understood his moods here. I did really feel for his pain and felt the relief with him when Win comforted him.
As for the other couples, wow, there were so many.
Pharm and Dean, for what I seen, looked very stereotypical but were nonetheless adorable. 8/10
Bee and Prince - I actually really loved this couple. They seemed very genuine and Bee was an absolute sweetheart. 9/10
Win's Brother and Tol - I felt like this one was a little random. Like they had to squeeze some more gay in but I went with it. 4/10
Manow and Pheuk - this seemed like a really sweet and genuine straight couple in a BL and Manow was adorable and kind of funny. They looked cute together. 7/10
Overall, it's not a tense show despite it's content. It has a very warm and heartfelt BL that deals gently with life's more serious questions but doesn't leave you feel empty or hopeless.
I left with a big smile on my face for everyone. Definitely worth a rewatch.
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Wasted Potential! Would Have Been a Great BL if it Wasn't a UWMA Spin Off!!
Between Us would have a higher score if it wasn't a UWMA spinoff. As an individual drama, Between Us is better than most of the BLs out there, however, since it's a spinoff, we can't help but make comparisons to UWMA. When compared to UWMA, Between Us fails to meet our expectations.•❅──────✧❅✦ Between Us as a Standalone Drama ✦❅✧──────❅•
As a standalone drama, Between Us is superior to most of the BLs being made today.
The storyline is not cliché and the main characters, as well as most of the supporting characters, are not your stereotypical BL characters. Between Us has a dark storyline about mental health and childhood trauma and chooses to explore it in a very realistic and mature way. If this were a typical BL, the childhood trauma arch would be finished in an episode or two, in a love conquers all kind of way, and would focus more on how Team and Win fall in love, rather than focusing on how Win helps Team through his trauma. That is by no means saying that Between Us is the next Until We Meet Again, but the way that the drama is presented and the characters deal with their issues is what makes Between Us stand alongside some of the better underrated BL dramas like Not Me.
If you take away any relation to UWMA, Between Us is a must watch drama. How Win and Team deal with their issues, especially Team's mental health, is phenomenal. Their love isn't connected by a red thread like most BL couples out there. There wasn't instant attraction and sweet love from the beginning. Win and Team started off with a toxic relationship and they built their relationship into one that can be accepted by others. Regarding mental health, Win doesn't just magically erase Team's trauma. He tries, but Win doesn’t erase it. So again, love doesn't conquer all in this drama, so it’s interesting to watch.
•❅──────✧❅✦ Between Us as a Spinoff to Until We Meet Again ✦❅✧──────❅•
As great as I think this drama is, Between Us is a spinoff of UWMA, and it fails to meet our expectations as a spinoff. UWMA is a phenomenal drama, and any follow up would obviously be compared to it. The expectations were high, and Between Us failed to deliver. Why? Because there was a genre switch, and the side couples did not meet our expectation.
First, let’s talk about the genre switch. UWMA is every romantic's dream come true. Dean and Pharm are reincarnated lovers, bound by fate. They are soulmates. Dean and Pharm's love is very unrealistic, but we all want that kind of love. Between Us, on the other hand, is very dark and realistic. No one wants to deal with a love that isn't fated, let alone complicated. Win and Team's love is so dark, realistic, and depressing it doesn't bring us to the happy place that UWMA did. Win and Team are not soulmates connected by a red thread. There isn't any proof of it, so when we see them we don't cry or sympathize with them. We don’t want their love like we wanted Dean and Pharm’s.
Lastly and probably most frustratingly, the side couples were not up to par with UWMA. In UWMA, Dean and Pharm were the main couple, but we got Korn and Intouch as a beautiful side couple with an interesting storyline. Even Win and Team, and Mannow and Pruek were appealing side couples. Win and Team’s storyline about the swim team's resident bad boy falling for the innocent and naïve freshman was the stuff of dreams. Mannow also had a storyline about always being a supporting character and finding love. When the spinoff was announced, we looked forward to the relationship Win and Team. Maybe even get to see Mannow and Pruek's love blossom! However, in Between Us everything changed. The swim team's bad boy and naïve freshman storyline was thrown out to accommodate a darker story about mental illness. Which is okay, it has potential to be another amazing story, which it was. However, the side couples in Between Us, did not meet our expectations. Mannow's storyline, which many fans were looking forward to, wasn't in the spotlight. Dean and Pharm? They were barely in the series. All of the UWMA characters that we grew to love were replaced by a brand-new set of side characters and couples. Which would have been okay, if they felt like they were part of the UWMA universe. Bee and Prince's story felt like it was coming from Love By Chance. Even Waan and Tul's story felt like it came from another drama despite Waan being Win's older brother and Tul being a very, very minor character in UWMA.
It's a shame that Between Us has wasted its potential this way. Even if Between Us switched genres from fantasy to realistic, maybe if Between Us kept the original cast from Until We Meet Again and just expanded on their storylines instead of giving us a brand new set of side characters and couples, the spinoff would have been just as great if not better than the original.
•❅──────✧❅✦ CHARACTERS ✦❅✧──────❅•
~~~ Win x Team ~~~
Win is the boyfriend we all wish we had! Sure, he has commitment issues and is afraid of love, but he takes care of Team without any expectations of a return. Due to his issues, he doesn't really communicate his feelings well verbally to Team, but his facial expression usually gives away his thoughts and Team is able to pick up on it, even if it does confuse him sometimes.
Team, on the other hand, is a ball of confusion. He is too naïve for the world and the life he was given. His childhood trauma makes him unable to mature into the person he has the potential to become. It seems like while he's grown up and can handle himself, he also can't handle conflict because he couldn't forgive himself after his childhood accident. He could never get past that accident, and it affects him to this day.
As a couple, Win and Team are not soulmates. While the drama tries to make us believe that they are soulmates, they are not. Win is clearly in love with Team and has been from episode 1, however, it seems like Team is clinging to whoever was the first to help him through his trauma. Yes, Team loves Win, but there is no proof to show that it's not because Win was there to help him sleep through his nightmares. Team depends on Win a lot, but in the drama, Team is never given a chance to be there for Win. Win's commitment issues are swept under the rug for Team's childhood trauma, that unless someone tells you it's because he's the middle child and had to sacrifice so much in his life, you would never know just from watching the drama. However, they are cute together.
~~~ Bee x Prince (and the ABC trio) ~~~
Bee or Bumblebee is Team's clubmate and part of the comedic ABC trio. He falls in love with his classmate Prince, who is a famous actor. They end up having a secret romance because as a famous actor, Prince can't disappoint his fans by having a lover, let alone a male lover.
While I like Bee as a character, and am curious about his love for Prince, these two and their relationship have no business being in this drama. They give off Love By Chance vibes that as soon as I saw Prince, I thought he was Pete (Saint) 2.0.
Bee and Prince do have an interesting storyline, but it has no business being in this drama and should be a new drama all together. The screen time given to Bee and Prince's storyline should have been given to Mannow or Waan's storyline.
~~~ Waan x Tul ~~~
Waan is Win's older brother, while Tul is Win's clubmate. Waan meets T-Rex, Tul's username, while gaming online. T-Rex accidentally overhears Waan's father scolding him while gaming which leads to Waan unloading his issues to T-Rex. T-Rex becomes Waan's safe space, but he never wants to meet T-Rex in person.
Waan and Tul have an interesting storyline and it's nice to see their romance on screen... However, as a spinoff to UWMA, myself and most of the audience wanted to see more of Mannow's relationship with Pruek, so their relationship came out of left field. I still want to see more of Waan and Tul though, since their storyline is very interesting.
~~~ Mannow x Pruek ~~~
If you've watched UWMA, you know Mannow ends of dating Pruek. Between Us just fills in some of the gaps of how they got together... However, maybe because this is a BL and Mannow and Pruek are a straight couple, the screenwriters chose to focus on the other gay relationships. Once again, Mannow and Pruek get very little screentime and are pushed off to the side. We do get a little more detail into how they got together. But unless you watched UWMA, you could care less about this couple. Their storyline is given in bits and pieces that you need to watch UWMA and Between Us to get their whole storyline. If you don't and are watching Between Us as a standalone drama, you won't understand why Mannow is so important and why she is in the drama.
~~~ Dean x Pharm ~~~
Same with Mannow, Dean and Pharm are there to remind us that this is a UWMA spinoff. They mostly just are a cameo and are just odd reminders that this is a spinoff.
•❅──────✧❅✦ OVERALL ✦❅✧──────❅•
While Between Us wasn't the best as spinoff to Until We Meet Again. It is a good drama. I recommend when watching this drama, that you think of it as a standalone drama rather than a spinoff. If you leave the UWMA aspects out, Between Us is a good drama, so I enjoyed it. Boun and Prem gave amazing performances and I will probably rewatch it a couple times since I really enjoyed Boun's acting here.
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Running circles around each other
Okay I am going to break it down my couples. This show didn’t take long at all. I could actually get through it and eat and drink and not completely loose my appetite like it’s lovely parent drama, until we meet again. The average was an 8.8, but a bitch rounded down.Win + Team
These two have great chemistry with their 8 shows together. Uh I loved their dynamic. Win was getting on my nerves though. Teams crying and everything felt so real. Good couple and I am glad they got this necessary but also really unnecessary spin off.
Dean + Pharm
Glad these two still got some screen time in this one. It’s interesting to see a different side of their dynamic and stuff. Glad it focused on them but didn’t make the whole thing about them and what the first one was about. Love these two to bits.
Pruek + Manow
My favorite and only straight couple. The scene where Manow got spun around was actually the cutest thing ever I couldn’t. Pruek can do no wrong he is the biggest green flag ever and I am really glad he got her to open up to him and their dynamic is really cute and I’m glad they got more screen time.
Wan + Tul
I didn’t not even expect these mother fuckers to pull through but they did and more. He forgave him mad fast, but he is like I’m old bruh pickings are slim. And the way they looked at each other had me actually going crazy. And then the necessary tity sucking scene banger. Great couple needed slightly more screen time.
Bee + Prince
Our last lovely lovely couple. These two were cute. The actor who played Prince is actually such a cutie, I mean they all are really, but his beauty was definitely overlooked. The way he talked and held himself was just magnificent. Their little scene in bed was so cute and Prince coming to support his bae was so cute.
Great show with an even greater cast. I feel like they could have finished this sooner but who doesn’t love some sexual frustration and tension. Not even bad at all. Okay now I’m onto bed friends which I’m hype for.
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Wasn't horrible but still disappointing.
A lot of fans were looking forward to this series and hyping the couple up so this being the result is just disappointing. It's not the worst BL series ever but it just didn't live up to the hype. Until We Meet Again was considered a classic because it introduced a new genre to the Thai BL world and showed that BL can be more than just romance. UWMA did such a good job at juggling the plot with both romance and mystery. Because of it, we got series like Manner of Death and KinnPorsche. So having this be the follow up? It's just not it.And I get it, they want it to be a separate story. They want something different from UWMA and this was supposed to be a fun, romance story like most BLs out there. That's the worst part though. The romance they're focusing on is NOT THERE. There's literally no tension between the characters. It honestly just feels like Win is taking care of Team as a brother and they see each other as siblings rather than romantic partners. Without the occasional kiss, you would not remember they were lovers. It does make sense that Team seeks a brotherly figure after his brother died.
Also doesn't help that they have this many side couples. They have 4 side couples. Meaning, we're watching 5 different love stories play out at the same time. This is just Waterboy all over again in that there's so many side couples that none of them are well done and there isn't enough for the audience to be attached to.
This is in no way on par with UWMA. It isn't even on par with other BL series that focuses on romance.
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Kinda disspaointed.
So. I have been waiting for 2 years for this? I genuienly loved WinTeam in season one but in between us i honestly just started skipping their scenes at the end to get to the side couple scenes which there were not many.I feel like acting is not why the show was a disaster, bounprem did a goor job and their chemistry was good.
Now, my main issue with this series was. WinTeam's issue was so DRAGGED to the last episode, and so many of the episode just felt like filler. And their whole plot point was 'one problem' just repeating.
I saw one person mention WinTeam do not have enough plot for a whole 12 episodes, but honestly thats fine they could have just got more scenes of the side couples and voilà PROBLEM FIXED.
SIDE COUPLES: this is what im most upset about, they dragged on winteam's story line to the end but refused to give Prince/Bee and Waan/Tul and actual storyline and SCENES. THEY GAVE THEM FUCKING NOTHING
SPOILER:
in episode 11 i do feel, that the climax is good but what should have been a short car drive, turned out to be a whole PLANE FLIGHT. It was dragged on to the point i didn't even feel as much during the emotional confession.
POSITIVES:
Just view. I loved him. Scenes with him were SO GOOD.
The side couples were bomb, Prince/Bee and Waan/Tul esp. The last ? Waan Tul scene was SO GOOD. came out of nowhere but i was pleasantly surprised.
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Loved it but some parts were wtf is going on
I generally loved a lot tof things about this drama, i loved WinTeam in UWMA so i was super excited for this series. I loved almost all parts of the storyline of WinTeam, DeanPharm felt very repetitive as ive already watched UWMA, enjoyed PhreukManow to an extent too. The other two couple felt unnecessary or unimportant for almost all the series, at least Tul and Waan storyline had a connection to hold on to but Bee and Prince storyline felt like it was thrown out of nowhere. Also some of the acting felt extremely cringe and unnatural from side characters. But for what it was WinTeam storyline was good and serious yet funny at times and would've loved if the story focused on them more rather than adding unnecessary pairing.Was this review helpful to you?
Too many couples
I started watching this knowing that there were like 5 couples in total. i already knew from the start that i simply wouldnt care about the others and exactly that happened. not one of the other couples striked my interest so i mostly even skiped through their parts. i honestly dont know why they decided to put so many couples in this, especially because team and win wouldve had enough story for a show alone. I understand that dean and pharm were in this simply because they were already in until we meet again and i really didnt mind their screentime but everything else just seemed too packed for my liking. i did tho really enjoy team and win they were already my favorite couple in uwma so i didnt expect anything else but yeah i kinda lost my joy watching because of the amount of characters and different plotlines they squeezed into this. But overall i enjoyed watching between usWas this review helpful to you?
A slightly different flavor of BL
I almost didn't watch this series because of a few negative comments, but I'm glad I didn't listen to them. I wasn't as into Until We Meet Again as other people seemed to be, but I waited for this series, because Team and Win seemed intriguing. By the end of episode 1, I was hooked.First of all, I have to commend the acting and chemistry of pretty much everyone in this series, because they're all more or less on equal level, with the leads being obvious standouts. I even find the side couples adorable. I have a soft spot for more femme guys like Prince, so I was able to look past some of the more awkward aspects of the writing in that sideplot. The commentary on actor lives and being gay in the industry was probably something many needed to hear, but it was a little on the nose. Still, him and Bee were really cute.
I like that the main romantic storyline isn't predictable and cheesy, but flows naturally with the personalities and insecurities of the characters. Their development is organic, starting as physical attraction, and coming to care for each other the more time they spend together, slowly getting over their fears of the painful sides of opening up to another person and learning to embrace each other. There were I few times I wasn't sure what the writers were trying to achieve, but it could've been down to the translation. Overall, I found the development satisfying and way more fun to watch than the usual "I'm putting off confessing my feeling because of reasons".
Most of the characters, to my surprise, felt genuinely queer, which a lot of BLs fail to achieve, or rather don't even try to achieve. Aside from a few moments where I thought "Was this written by a straight person?", most aspects of their identities and relationships felt realistic to queer experiences.
There are things that bugged me, like the roots of Win's hair being very inconsistent and some scenes feeling too long, but those were far and few in between, and all of it was easy enough to overlook. What also annoyed me was that even after they slept together multiple times and even started dating, Team would still be like "wtf are you doing" when Win got too close and initiated physical contact. I know it's a BL staple to have one character be forward and another shy, but seeing it so many times without a change in dynamic over time is tiring, and I hoped I wouldn't have to watch it again.
Overall, it was a way more enjoyable experience than I anticipated, and now I'm off to read fanfics about these characters cause I got attached.
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Consent and communication are sexy: sweet BL romance handling well what could have been problematic
It could have been just a standard BL in a university setting but I found myself really impressed and entertained by the show. The main romance is beautifully simple, it checks all the usual boxes of a BL college drama but it is innovative in the way the main protagonists interact with each other with a lot of important conversations about consent, trauma, love and so on.The storytelling handles impressively well what could have come off as quite problematic if poorly done: the sex scenes includes consent checks in a natural way. The script is all about consensual relationship where the senior does not overtly subdue his junior in having sex with him: it is much more balanced than in most BL.
Still, the drama is not exempt of flaws: there are a bit too much of flashbacks, as well as too many secondary couples (4 in addition of the main one !) to manage to properly develop in a convincing way all the secondary relationships. Some are more interesting than others and it might have been better to focus only on the main couple and 1 or 2 additional romances.
I liked the ensemble cast, there was a lot of characters linked together in some way and the atmosphere felt really natural between them. The two main leads had a solid chemistry: whether it be in their crying scenes, or in the more sexy times, or in their funny banters...I was totally sold on their acting. My heart ached and rejoiced with them. I found so charming all the whining antics of Team and the adoring way Win was looking at him. The most rebellious is not the necessarily the one with the most piercings and tattoos... Some of the secondary role less central were a bit more average with quite a bit of over-acting but without undermining my entertainment.
I liked the OST, it was not standing out but nice. What I found really enjoyable was all the animal sound effects punctuating the conversations between the two main leads (kitty meow, lion roar,...): it was super cute and fun. Overall production was great, with some really lovely beach scenes. The super hot tattoos of one of the characters were entrancing and superbly highlighted by the filmmaking.
I would recommend this to people looking for a sweet BL romance which is constantly full of green flags with characters communicating with each other and having a nice evolution in their relationships. There are some dramatic elements to the plot but overall there are no major conflicts or non-sensical narrative choices: it is an healing love story wholesome and uplifting. I have not seen the parent story "Until We Meet Again" but I will likely give it a go after watching this drama already satisfying to me as a standalone.
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Win and Team Performed Well
The drama story was catchy, the same old university setting. There were lots of supporting characters. All the characters were beautiful and handsome (if you want to watch handsome men and their handsome bodies, this series is for you) it was sometimes annoying because I watched the drama as Art (I watch everything from production, acting, editing, song, story and everything as Art). Handsome characters were distracting and kept me not focusing on the story. maybe which was what the director was looking for.The Drama has everything a typical Thai university has but more scenes were based on the swimming club, dorm rooms, and Bar. All the friends get to gather and friends fun. With all of this fun, you will be totally about the story. The story wasn't much though. "Just spending life in university and finding love".
There were forced edit scenes of Dean and Pharm which were not needed at all and also distracting, making me think about the 'Until We Meet Again' series.
The drama Edits gives each supporting role so much screen time that it made every effort to make this drama general university life and not focus on the story. Even though the Win and Team story had lots of potential.
This drama pool side and water scene were shots early and all other scenes were shot in winter. Win had different hair colors. This showed that this drama didn't receive careful consideration from technical staff as compared to Dean and Pharm's series "Until We Meet Again".
With lots of Loopholes, This is a fun drama to watch with friends together on vacation or on weekends.
This drama has a good life lesson, that the writer might wanted teens and youth to know. Childhood trauma stays with us for a long time until we face it but we, alone are not strong enough to face it. we need our loved ones to stand with us to face it and heal our heart with their love and care. The second lesson was spreading awareness even though this culture has accepted different forms of relationships, the criticism still exists. They don't leave any chance to let you know how much they hate this with their harsh comments. This is our duty to not respond to it and to focus on our loved ones.
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AMAZING could it be better DEFINITELY!
if you haven't already definitely go watch until we meet again first.Definitely one of my favorite BL's. Ever since UWMA I wanted win and team to have their own drama. I love Boun and Prem's chemistry. I hope to see them in more BL's together.
my only complaint is that I didn't like there was 3 other love stories going on when this was suppose to be about win and team. IT'S CALLED BETWEEN US not BETWEEN ALL OF US! yeah there can be side stories, but don't have so many that take up 10 minutes each.
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