Spoiler Filled Review--You Have Been Warned.

Ok.

Ok.

There are 12 episodes in this series.

That's how many times I have seen this show.

12.

And counting.

So I've read both "The Red Thread" and "Hemp Rope"(waiting for the rest of the English translation about killed me, but there you go).

I've see UWMA(like a month ago so I didn't have to wait as long as everyone else for more WinTeam) and now I've seen Between Us.

UWMA BROKE ME (in a good way).

Between Us DESTROYED ME(in a good way).

How. HOW is it possible to tell such a RAW, EMOTIONAL, CHARACTER-DRIVEN story that won't get out of my head. HOW? Boun has an uncanny ability to act with just a flick of his eyes, and he makes me want to squeal, or hug Win, or strangle Win, depending on the situation. Prem tugs on my heartstrings and delivers Team's survivor guilt trauma to perfection. When the two of them are onscreen, the chemistry crackles. And yes, I'm not going to lie and say that it wasn't there before, but it UWMA, they were the side couple--the bad boy and the comic relief--but this time they are FIRE!!!!

We see almost immediately why Win has his bad boy mask, and Team has puppy face. Team's PTSD struggles and Win's "I don't want to love anyone because I don't want to lose anyone" issues perfectly balance and the flashbacks of Team's drowning and the revelation of Win's difficult home life helped flesh out why they acted the way they did. Both of them have adapted personas to hide what's really going on an that's so true to live that I LOVE IT! The way Win makes Team feel safe and Team makes Win feel needed makes me both squeal and cry.

Also, consent. This starts off as a Random Situationship, but even then, Win never pushes Team to do something he deosn't want to--even though it's a One Night Stand ("I'm not going to do this if you're drunk, or unconscious...Are you dating anyone?"). And when Team asks him about it from the beginning, it's there that this is relationship has consent("We're both benefiting, right? No one is being taken advantage of, right?" "Yes.") Win truly cares about Team and wants him to feel comfortable in whatever the situation is(just like Boun cares so much about Prem). So bravo for including that as part of a healthy relationship(which they have, even if it's complicated because they won't COMMUNICATE properly. It's fine, I'm fine.)

Some reviews have said this show is boring because there is no plot. But WinTeam ARE the plot. Neither of them are willing to confess their feelings out loud(because both are afraid to lose the other one) and so the relationship gets more and more complicated because they basically start word fencing("are you asking me to be your boyfriend" "if I say yes, then do you have answer for me" "did you really mean to ask me that" UUUUGH JUST SAY "I LOVE YOU "YOU STUPID BOYS) which, again, is so true to life.

The show also takes it's time with Win and Team coming to terms with their feelings individually and then as a couple(Team avoiding Win after their One Night Stand and then realizing he's in love after talking to Pham and ABC Gang--who I also LOVE; and Win basically running away from Team after saving him from drowning and then realizing he's in love and it's ok after taking to Dean/Waan)It's slow burn romance/relationship GOLD.

Whether you've read the novel or not, or seen UWMA or not, it is clear from the second you see these two how much Win needs Team and Team needs Win, and it was nice to see them taking care of each other, especially when:

1. Team breaks down over his winning of the gold medal and the first person he calls is Win, so

2. Win drops everything goes *on a two hour bike ride* to Team, consoles him while he cries *in the pouring rain*, takes him to a hotel to sleep(yes *just* to sleep) and then

3. Win gets sick from riding in the rain(I mean, who wouldn't, all he had was a WINDBREAKER and the WINDCHILL factor is real, even in Thailand) so then Team stays up most of the night to take care of him

I find the above sequence particularly beautiful because Win is someone who doesn't like to rely on anyone to the point where he almost passes out in Team's room rather than tell anyone--including Team--that he's sick, and when Team asks him why he tries to bravado it off even though he feels like shit but falls asleep as soon as Team tells him to lay down. The little scene of Team giving Win the meds and trying to bring down the fever has very little dialogue and it's a short scene but shows how much Team actually truly cares for Win, which I thought was a very nice touch.

Also, the fantastic scene about how to handle homophobia(and one of my favorite parts of the novel) was PERFECTION. "We can't control everyone. But we can choose not to care." Yes. SO MUCH YES!!! That quote is now on my wall.

The Confession.

OMG THE CONFESSION.

Yes, it took it's sweet time to get there and yes, it was in the second to last episode, but you know what? It was perfect.

I read this scene in the novel and I cried.

I saw the scene in the series and I was a blubbering mess(do you know how hard it is to get through emotional scenes when you can't see the screen--it's insanely hard)

I loved the songs, I loved the rollercoaster of emotion, and I loved that Team asked Win to confront his personal feelings before his romantic ones ("Do you even know who you are? You..help everyone...But I've always wondered, who takes care of you" open heart, insert dagger), and was brave enough to say "if you won't say it first than I will", and Win's "enough I love you, do you hear me". Boun and Prem acted the HELL out of that scene and it was truly a highlight among Love Confession Scenes.

Ignore the haters, go read the novel if you're unsure, and then watch this series. Then watch it again, and again and again, because you will never get sick of it.