Between Us

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.

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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 us

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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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I actually quite liked it, whoops

well, I quite enjoyed it. admittedly, I was kinda confused at first because I haven't seen until we meet again yet when I started this. I think it worked in my favour tho because I didn't have the hype factor as the other series. it wasn't like 'blow my socks off' amazing, but it made for an enjoyable journey throughout. the characters felt like actual people trying to figure themselves out and it was really sweet! so yeah, a pretty good time all around. I probably should've watched Until we meet again first to get all these loose ends tied up, but hey it is what it is.

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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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love the show but i think we needed more.

I love the chemistry between Team and Win but it taking them 11 episodes to make their feelings known to each other was annoying. I understand where both of them are coming from with win being the middle child having trouble relaying his feelings because being the middle child often feel ignorant having to take care of his family and brothers but I feel like he could rely on Team more on that aspect. It was mostly Team relying on Win. Team helping win with his family problems, maybe the family business, etc. I feel like for team we could have gotten more into the backstory and how he started having trouble sleeping. The Last few episodes we see a bit of what he's dreaming about but we don't see what happens to him after that. Does he go to therapy? Does his parents know he cant sleep? Did he go to the doctors for help ? We know that after the accident, he started training more and ended up getting a scholarship for swimming because he was trying to amend his cousin death as it was always their plan to get the gold and silver medals at the competition together.

On another note, I would have loved to see more of Prince and Bumble Bee (Bee). I love their relationship and the chemistry between the two actors is phenomenal. However, near the end of the series I feel like it was rushed. I think they could have took ore time developing their bond with one another or do a series focusing on their relationship. Bee was my favorite supporting actor in the beginning for how award he was but in the middle he seemed to change. I'm happy he stuck up for his relationship but his attitude change drastically ( at least to me ) I know this series was more focused on the relationship of WinTeam but if they wanted to add more relationship I fee like they could have given us more updates on what was happening. In the pilot episode we see more of Team's friendship with the ABC crew but then we hardly see them after a few episodes.

Now, on to the relationship of Tul and Wan. I love how they first met on the game and confine in one another. Wan really needed someone to talk too other than his family. Someone that understood him and was willing to listen to what he had to say. With win being away at University he couldn't really confine with his closest brother. I don't like how the made Wen automatically push Tul away when he found out who T-Rex was in person. After talking to him for so long and pushing him away after finding out he's your brothers friend. Just verity that Tul's fear of being rejected was right. Tul only lied because he was scared that Wan would only see him as his little brothers friend. Not even bothering to hear the explanation on why he didn't tell him about knowing who he was and why he kept his identity a secret. I could understand not trusting Tul for a while after that and making him work for your trust. I understand Wen having the trust issues that he has already then finding out the one person you trusted with everything going on in your life , was lying is a horrible realization. But you trusted him for a reason. Ill admit Tul not telling Wen was wrong but falling inlove with someone that is a relative to a friend is a scary situation to be in especially if you don't know how they feel about you.
The last episode when they go to the hotel is another story, when I love how Win's trying to help Wen and Tuls relationship . Secretly getting Wen to admit his feeling , not knowing Tul's listening. If that's not little sibling behavior I don't know what is. But when Tul and Wen talk in the hotel room and Tul kisses him. Wen pushes away and says Tul's moving too fast and doing too much after just forgiving him but a few seconds later its Wen's who escalates things farther than just a kiss.

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an attempt to a non bias review (as a bp and winteam fan)

i, very much, believe that anyone giving between us anything less than a 4 a very harsh review and are viewing this as the fantastical series like uwma (which it isn’t) this is an emotion based plot, emotions are what drives our two main characters. i also believe that people are still viewing winteam as the comedic side pairing from uwma with the sponsored scenes. trust me when i say that i am trying my hardest to give an unbiased review, between us has been in the works since uwma stopped filming, bounprem were told by new that a hemp rope series adaption was in the works (at the time the novel wasn’t finished) but obviously covid happened along with medical emergencies and a hiatus from lazy sheep (author of red thread and hemp rope) causing the project to be delayed.

besides that, between us was never going to be the same story or be any where near the same story as uwma. between us is a love story that can happen to anyone unlike uwma (the concept of reincarnation) i’ve read many reviews stating that win and team were out of character in between us compared to uwma and that where i’m stumped because … how are they out of character?? we have very limited screen time of any solo win/team scenes in uwma, all we knew at the time was win and team are in the swim club alongside dean and have something going on (and team has a very deep love for chips.)

i believe that anyone who is calling winteam “out of character” are just looking for reasons to be upset or give between us a bad review.

now im not calling between us a perfect story/series not a single show is perfect and between us definitely isn’t. i did have a problem with screentime dealing with winteam and the side pairings. i love every single one of these characters but would i have loved some more screentime for winteam? yes i would’ve! the thing is that the hemp rope novel at the start of filming had enough content for seven episodes AT MOST, so of course they are going to need to fill in that space with side pairings (not complaining i love all side pairings).

back to winteam: i love them. they are such raw and emotional people. boun and prem did such an incredible job portraying them after so many years. they are such realistic portrayals of two people being scared of pursuing a relationship. “why didn’t they get together sooner?!/?-$:?” 1.because it’s studio wabi sabi and they love to play with our emotions. 2. because not all relationships start conventionally. some back story on team (in the novel) he has only been in one relationship that ended after two months so it wasn’t serious. that night in the first episode was his First Time, he is 18 years old, he is basically still a kid, a kid who has had to dealt with some pretty nasty ptsd, so yeah an 18 year old with ptsd is going to have trouble with communicating his feelings. win, my dear 20 year old bisexual middle child who has had to shove his feelings down to take care of everyone else around him, will also very clearly have some difficulty with sharing his feelings as well.

this is both their first attempt at a very serious relationship (not taking into consideration team almost dying in front of win) so OF COURSE THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE TROUBLE COMMUNICATING RELATIONSHIPS ARE DIFFICULT WHEN YOU TAKE IN ACCOUNT CHILDHOOD TRAUMA.

i’m going to end it off here because i can actually sit here and defend every single last point to this show because i’m crazy and over analyze every single last detail to this show.

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