Reviews

This was an extremely good action movie. The acting of course was top notch. The plot was convoluted the way a lot of Korean dramas are. I particularly like that the female lead was an intelligent and ethical individual. The male lead's admiration and devotion for the female lead reminded me of Red Swan. The movie held together with surprises along the way. The ending was totally appropriate to the script. I was disappointed that the male lead and the female lead we're not able to end up together. It made for a somewhat more impactful ending although a less emotionally satisfying one. I personally love to hear movies in their original language and read the English subtitles. This movie was dubbed very well. I still would have preferred to be able to hear the actors original voices since the Korean actors and actresses are so excellent.

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Between Boun and Prem

First time reviewing a BL that didn’t air recently I was a little worried of applying today’s standards and expectations to it ("error of presentism"). However, once I realized that "Between Us" aired roughly the same time as "My School President" and a year after "Bad Buddy", I knew I could safely apply my current standards and expectations to it. After all, 2022 is not 2016. Having that out of the way: as far as I understand, this show is inspired by the Win-Team storyline outlined in "Until We Meet Again". Generally it is new/original content for that couple that – I assume – should match glimpses into their relationship the audience got in "Until We Meet Again". I haven’t watched "Until We Meet Again" and even if I did, I wouldn’t check whether plotlines of both couples – Dean-Pharm and Win-Team – do properly interlock between both shows. I’m reviewing "Between Us" mostly as a standalone show and should I watch and review "Until We Meet Again" I’ll maintain the same approach.

The writing – as with most Thai BLs, both in 2022 and 2025 – isn’t the best.

Both main and side plotlines suffer from being generic (which on itself isn’t a problem) and there’s a lot of repetitiveness. Almost every episode main characters seem to be going full circle and returning to square one – and with little progression of their relationship the show drags on. I’ll blame it on the writer and her inability to write an intriguing and involving "slow burn" type of story.

Dialogues are bland, uninspired and often unnecessary (like stating the obvious or telling the audience something that should have been shown). Don’t get me wrong: there are meaningful and emotional exchanges, especially between Team and Win, there are examples of proper use of humor, banter and even sneer, but in general it sounds pretty mundane, like written by an early version of a chatbot.

What also surprised me was not the number of side characters – some of which were "inherited" from "Until We Meet Again" and sort of had to appear – but the number of side stories. Including a very rough outline of the Dean-Pharm was, to some extent, understandable and justified, but why were all the other side stories in this show? Did it really need all 4 (that’s four) side couples, and if so - why? Thanks to MDL I know that the writer of "Between Us" went on to co-write "We Are" and write (on her own, but basing on a novel by JittiRain) "Perfect 10 Liners", two shows suffering from the multiple couples syndrome, but did it begin here? Filling every paragraph of script with "couple content" and assuming that the more couples the better hardly is the correct way to do it, especially when the writing is bland and paper-thin. Was is done to fill the episodes with something besides Team and Win content? If so – what’s wrong with having 8 or 10 episodes instead of 12 or cutting all episodes to 45 minutes? Why not focus on the main couple and develop its story properly? There are other BL of similar length that have done it more than successfully – take "A Tale of 1000 Stars", which has one couple, a classic, nearly perfect "slow burn" buildup and more than enough content for 10 episodes.

What I liked about the writing was – despite of everything above – giving both Team and Win a proper background, revealed slowly and actually influencing what kind of persons they are, what they do, how they perceive the world (including themselves and each other) and what their relationship is like. While it may seem obvious that a script should include certain background elements for its main characters, this is often not the case – hence so many BL characters, including main ones, appear more like cardboard cutouts rather than actual humans. Not here, fortunately; both Team and Win are fully fledged characters. Team, in particular, is written like a proper multifaceted character, and this is the main reason why I’m not condemning the script of "Between Us" entirely.

As for performances, the situation is complex. With different writing I’d be inclined to say that most of the cast gave serviceable performances, but since 8 cast members were pushed from being conversation partners for main characters to being main characters in their own little side plots – one needs to include that. Ohm’s everlasting blank stare and Fluke’s permanently frightened expression – and the fact, that they stayed like that in almost every scene they were in – are signs of how poor their performances were. Sammy was annoying and difficult to watch while Bosston was just kind of there (Manow’s and Phreuk’s first encounter was cringy). Of the remaining side couples I was considering rooting for Prince and Bee, but there was too much of goofy, unfunny elements in Tae’s performance and something off-putting in Benz for me to actually do it.

Unsurprisingly, the only performances I was fond of were those of Prem and Boun – in that order. With very few exceptions, Prem did all of the heavy lifting here – and did a very good job. The multifaceted Team I mentioned before came to life thanks to Prem’s performance: Team the infantile teen, Team willing to go all in with a senior, Team trying to get a grip on himself after his first time, Team happy to eat everything around him, Team haunted by his past, drunk Team… Those and many more faces – all convincingly portrayed. An actual actor – more by talent and skill than by education or training – Prem stuck out every time he was in frame with someone else than Boun, outperforming the rest of the cast with ease. As for Boun, he had the "easy" job of portraying the nonchalant (but not cocky nor arrogant) senior – and that he did so effortlessly that one has to wonder whether he was acting or just being himself (judging from what he’s like behind the camera, during events, interviews etc. – yes, he was acting). But there’s more to the ethereal Win than that: a secret doubt, a vulnerability buried deep and hidden behind a façade of coolness – and Boun conveys it well. Together, Prem and Boun manage to make the often clunky dialogues sound good, doing the best with the material they got. Their efforts pay off and are by far the best part of the series, not just making it watchable, but making it actually worth watching. Where the script fails to create a true emotional progression, Prem and Boun do it themselves and end it with a powerful culmination in ep. 11. I cried with them during that long opening scene, filled with fear, love and sadness. Simply beautiful and very moving – a sure sign of true skill of both actors.

The soundtrack is rather average, with three songs receiving "official" MVs: "Your Smile" by Boun, "Unexpectedly" by O & Soodyacht and "It's Always You" by Prem. Out of the entire soundtrack it is that last song that stands out - not because of Prem's vocals (which aren't the strongest and get a lot of help from the music), but because it's a good song and an even better love/BL song performed with full dedication. Out of all Prem songs - and I'm writing this with a 2025 perspective - "It's Always You" is the best and I added it to my permanent BL playlist.

"Between Us" is a tad like two shows: the BounPrem main event surrounded by a plethora of side stories. My advice: skip (or fast forward) the inferior C-plots and go directly for what Prem and Boun bring to the table – that’s the meat of the show, the real money, the BL gold.

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A masterpiece of subtlety and raw feelings

What a masterpiece.
It’s hard to find a show without any boring episode, especially one with 36 episodes, but I was glued to the the screen from beginning to end. Despite the pretty simple plot line, the show manage to nail it and keep it entertaining.
The chemistry between the FL and ML was honestly through the roof with how playful yet subtle they were… THE LONGING AND YEARNING ??? Yeah, I wanted to gouge my eyeballs with how good it was.

Both of them were fully fleshed out and their decisions always made sense with their characters. The acting was just phenomenal, I had a hard time realising it was just acting as they barely had any long and unrealistic staring contest you usually see in these shows, the main couple were perfect for the role !

My only complaints would be with some of the side characters plot lines but as they weren’t that present in the show, it didn’t affect the overall quality for me.

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Heart warming love story

What a beautiful love story, this is what's meant by going through thick and thin together. A story about love, pain, powerplay, and sacrifices.
For me the story could be even a bit longer, i would have liked to see what happened to them after the pressconference and operation. I would be happy if there came a second season or just some special episodes.

Visuals and music are beautiful!!
Acting very good and the chemistry and dynamics between both couples was good enough. The kisses were very "polite" but i wasn't mad at it.

Definatly a must watch!

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Enjoyable but could have been better!

With two of fav's leading this, I had to drop in to watch no matter how the story started. I decided to take it from there. The first 12 episodes were a bit of chore to watch. they weren't bad. But I felt very detached about all of it, especially whenever Haoming was on screen. He just felt like this creepy dude from a stalker movie and the marriage was obviously a facade, so I kept waiting for things to fall apart and then I could watch the real show.

Episode 14 was so damn revealing, Haoming's monologue about them using each other I sat through with my eyes glued to the screen. That was intense. Poor Xu Yan, she tried to reach out despite that with an olive branch but he shat on that. I am not sure if he is even capable of redeeming himself at this point, but if they are to end up together I hope that he grovels a lot. I am not even mad about the child, yes, he lied but she has lied as well and I don't think to Xu Yan him having a child matters at all. Poor baby just wanted a little love.

Ep 15 to Ep 20: I felt so damn good for Xu Yan when she initiated the divorce. All the choices she has made since then have been so damn good for her mental health. Her mother-in-law (ex) has now started to grow on me. Both she and Haoming are busy with work. Haoming is slowly coming to the realization that she didn't approach him for the riches. I don't know where her sister's story is heading, I hope it is headed in a better directions than what happened in the novel. (I haven't read it but came across some spoilers)

Ep 21 and 22: Well, look now who's done a complete about turn and claims he has always loved her but was slow to come to the realization. As if.

Ep 23 to 32: Apart from that one monologue by Haoming in episode 14, none of it was that impressive. Did I enjoy watching the whole drama yes, but honestly it was the actors that made me continue watching it. If it were anyone else, I would have put it on hold and come back later to complete it (because of the damn closure I need). TBH this wasn't their best performance, especially William Chen.

Xu Yan's eye makeup just keeps reminding me of Queen of Tear's actress Lee Mi Sook, especially her character there. I'm sharing a link of her picture here just for fun: https://kisskh.at/photos/d0ov5g_3

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Feels Like Watching The Wrong Show

Let me summarize, this show is more like a western action show. The problem is, the reason I watch K-Dramas is because I'm sick of them. The plot is half-baked. Build up phase is really good, but the resolutions are all awful. Too much politics involvement and trivial things in the plot. Everyone is betraying everyone, but at the end of the day the resolution is morelike emotional and family matters. Yes, the main goals for the villian is to rule the world. Sounds more like Marvel or James Bond villains.

The good thing in this show is of course Jun Ji Hyun. Her return is quite remarkable, although it's far from spectacular. On the other hand, the casting on this show is very questionable. Lee Mi Sook is lack of expression. And for someone who acquaintances "multiple lady of the world leader", her English is pretty awful.

It annoys me a lot that they decided to make this as an action show and ignore the details. However, first thing first then. WHY DO THEY HAVE TO KISS IN CRUCIAL SITUATIONS? LIKE YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLEFIELD AND YOU CHOOSE TO... KISS??? Also about the "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas Code", doesn't it mean the US is going to start a war? However after Mun Ju and San Ho hear the song, they are being ambushed, hiding and planning to strike back, yet nothing happens related to the war. The ambush at the port is beyond tolerable makjang limits. The special force doesn't seem so "special". It just takes one smoke grenades to turn all the personnel into a bus stop passenger's queue; they really have zero awareness and clueless like WTF. The final ambush is of course a makjang. How come Mun Ju easily find her mother's room and telephone when it's her first time in that boat? I feel like all the internal family problems just exist to shortcut the process to resolution. Kang Han Na knows that Ok Seon is Stella Young (she is the one who tells about the deposit box without name) and she kills Jun Ik, but instead she insists to take revenge on Mun Ju. Hwa Rim resents Mun Ju a lot, now her daughter-in-law turns into an evil person, where does she go? Also what happens to Jun Sang after the boat incident? More importantly, there isn't any clear backstory between Mun Ju and Jun Ik, how they end up together and why Jun Ik's family are against it initially.

Watch this if you are searching for actions, and to see that you can kiss under tense situations.

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The drama presents a compelling setup: the glamorous anchor Xu Yan and the urban elite Shen Hao Ming appear to be a perfect couple, admired by all, yet their marriage is built on fragile facades. Xu Yan, who marries through her carefully crafted image and his influence, eventually breaks free after conflict, while Shen Hao Ming undergoes his own realization of love and begins his journey to win her back. As they gradually shed their pretenses, the story delivers a message about rediscovery, love, and growth.

Overall, the drama is engaging and paced well, with the main couple’s dynamic keeping viewers invested. However, not all characters are written with the same finesse. Xu Yan’s sister, Qiao Lin, stands out for all the wrong reasons. Her actions are troubling and make her character deeply unlikeable.

Qiao Lin breaks off her engagement with Lin Tao not out of personal conviction or emotional struggle, but merely because of her boyfriend’s parents. It feels as if her own relationship meant nothing to her—she drops a marriage like it was a casual commitment. Instead of showing remorse or reflection, she runs to her younger sister Xu Yan as if she had happy news to share. There’s a disturbing lack of empathy towards Lin Tao, the man she was supposed to marry.

Lin Tao’s anger and accusations of her being a “cheater” don’t feel exaggerated; in fact, they appear justified. Qiao Lin accepted the bride price, allowed her parents to send it, then ran away to another city while blocking her fiancé. This comes across less like heartbreak and more like a calculated escape—almost resembling a marriage scam.

Adding to the discomfort, the direction makes Qiao Lin swoon over her college crush within days of leaving Lin Tao. The portrayal makes her appear flighty, superficial, and careless about human emotions. Instead of building sympathy, her arc generates disgust.

The character Yu Yi Min doesn’t help matters either. His appearance seems malnourished, and the way the show frames his scenes with Lin Tao—emphasizing his height as if that alone makes him superior—is not only unnecessary but disturbing. It almost gives the impression of an underhanded reference to masculinity and sexual innuendo, as though being taller automatically justifies “stealing” someone else’s fiancée. Such direction choices feel cheap, distasteful, and insulting to viewers’ intelligence.

In contrast to Xu Yan and Shen Hao Ming’s layered journey, Qiao Lin and Yu Yi Min’s subplot drags the drama down, distracting from the emotional core. Instead of adding depth, it leaves audiences questioning whether the writers truly intended for Qiao Lin to be so unsympathetic.

Final Verdict:
The drama is worth watching for Xu Yan and Shen Hao Ming’s emotional arc and the overarching themes of love and rediscovery. However, poorly handled side characters—especially Qiao Lin—introduce a sense of frustration and disgust that undermines the show’s otherwise strong storytelling.

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A Masterclass in Short Drama Quality

Wow where do I begin? What a beautiful slice of life drama! It's beautifully realistic, at times poignant and bittersweet, at other times steadfast and fluffy. Overall, love was the main theme—love in multiple forms. Sisterly, friendship, maternal, familial, and most of all, the steady, sacrificial love of a soulmate who understands you innately.

I adored the story. Although it was quiet and simple, it didn't ever become boring. The conflicts felt real and not thrown in for the sake of drama. The familial difficulties were real, relatable, and pulled at my heartstrings. I believe anyone who has ever felt misunderstood by their family or felt the pull of a dream that wasn't supported would be able to relate. On the other hand, I loved how it was portrayed and eventually how it ended. Not everything has to be dramatic, not everything has to be black or white. Sometimes it requires give and take, other times it requires facing truths you don't want to. It gives people hope that someday, the other person may understand, or at least accept what you wish to say or do.

As for the acting, it was absolutely beautiful, especially the Male Lead. Liu Xiao Xu impressed me with his acting. I love that he didn't overact, but every move felt impactful. Even his vulnerability was wonderfully soft and true to his character as Yu Wen Zhou. His tears were real, his gaze full of quiet affection, his gestures subtle but poignant, and his heart simple yet steadfast.

The Female Lead also impressed me. Her actions were not overly childish like many short dramas and even high budget dramas tend to do. She was playful, but knew when to be serious, yet you could also tell when she was around family that her upbringing forced a level of maturity into her that came as a result of needing to constantly prove herself.

The side characters as well were all wonderful. The FL's sister, the ML's best friend, and all their family on both sides were absolutely wonderful. They fit the aesthetic of the story beautifully.

Lastly but certainly not least, I must applaud the production. The director and production crew clearly knew what they were doing, and the cinematography reflected that. For a low budget drama, it felt more expensive than many high budget ones I've seen. Although the sets were simple, the camera work made each setting feel like it was meant to be that way, that anything extra would ruin it.

My favorite part was how quiet the drama was. There were no loud music clips that didn't fit the story. If anything, I didn't hear any music. Although the end clearly had music that was cut off, it didn't feel annoying because the entire drama had already been intentionally quiet.

All in all, 10/10! It's a wonderful comfort drama that I might rewatch on a rainy or quiet day. I loved every moment!

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11 Years Later, Still got it... A Re-Watch Review For Old Time Sake!

I watched this drama back in 2014... I recently re-watched it again. I tend to always go back once in a while and revisit the dramas that made me love k-drama's and this one is one of it. This drama still stands the testament of time. This is what I think a drama should be when you want to introduce it to a new drama lover. It's got the suspense, the rom-com, thriller and everything that made us all a drama lover.

I yearn for those days when I first watched this and awaiting for the episodes every week and loving all the suspense this drama revealed. Those discussions with fellow drama lovers on Dramabeans and love reading those recaps and comments users posted! Those iconic OST used to be my mobile ringtone back in the days and I still get goosebumps when I hear it and makes me feel as if I am in a high chase thriller!

I wish we got more dramas like these which made our hearts skip a beat! I especially love it when I go back and re-watch and enjoy all over again... There is never a boring scene... never made me go like that's enough times I have watched it... I know I will go back again after a year or more later and rewatch it again when I miss dramas like these! This review after 11 years later is just a love note to this drama that I thoroughly enjoyed watching over the years!

And if you haven't and new to k-dramas, please do watch it. I promise you, you would love it as much as I did!

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What an accurate title for the drama: We Are All Alone!

I have seen Cristy Guo in some supporting roles here and there but this drama is where she shone bright like a star.
As Lin Xiang, her story was the most riveting and the ending was unexpected yet not surprising.

Lin Xiang, wasn't a character that I liked, her self-obsessive nature couldn't see anything apart from herself. There was a time when she could have helped Mo Xiang Wan but their relationship was very one-sided. Xian Wan mothered her expecting nothing in return and Lin Xiang thought of it as her due. (How I wish they had gotten Lin Xiang a therapist but alas...)

I added this drama to my watchlist thinking that it would be second chance romance for the leads, but the romance took backseat in this drama. Although there was romance, the majority of the drama was heavily focused on the workings of the showbiz.

I am glad for one the most, Guan Xian dumping Yu Jiang. That guy kept stringing her along, making promises he couldn't keep. He already disappointed his previous wife and was ready to do so with Guan Xian as well.

This was also my first Godfrey Gao drama and I feel that he was a underutilized resource in this drama, but still managed to make his presence known. His character eventually became a strong pillar of support for Mo Xiang Wan, something she was in desperate need of.

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A puzzling friendship

I have to say, I dont really understand what this show is trying to convey.

This isn't a story about great friendship or great love. It seems to be mostly about a woman who is gracious to the point that the word "pushover" comes to mind. With a bit of family and romantic drama sprinkled in.

Eunjung is just average in most respects, but has an innate ability to draw people to her. Sangyeon is intelligent and tenacious, but also prickly and unable to get out of her own way. This makes for a complex decades-long friendship.

There are many raw, intensely realistic moments portrayed between friends, family and loves.

But where this show really messed up, imo, is 1. not showing enough moments, particularly past childhood, of Sangyeon behaving in a way that warranted Eunjung's loyalty and kindness, & 2. continuing a blasted love triangle from college years into their 30s. Surely there are other methods to explore a complex female friendship than putting a man in the mix.

The drama ends with these women in their 40s, and gives proper closure to the friendship, but not to the life of present-day Eunjung.

Do I feel it was worth the watch? I honestly don't know.

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a great example of what girls love stories can strive to achieve

be her resilience is, no doubt, one of the best shows of the year.

towards the end, it becomes clearer that the entire premise of the show is these women’s liberation from patriarchal oppression and it starts with the deceased mother’s last wish for her lost daughter being for her to never return home, as this home was where the women in the family faced abuse and humiliation. this is huoran and jiayu's journey as they navigate a male-dominated world and turn it (within their ability) into one where they no longer have to lie, manipulate, and scheme against each other to survive. the narrative not only treats these women as intelligent characters with depth, but it also respects our intelligence as viewers through all the nuances and the logic in the storytelling.

the show offers us a narrative that is truly empowering for women. women’s empowerment is depicted not through power as wealth and domination and being Just Like men, not like the ones we see in western and /westernized/ narratives, but through power as it can be redistributed and help uplift others. at the end of the show, these women haven’t just taken down their oppressors but they also used the freedoms provided by their newly-found power to transform their own community. change didn’t just happen individually but it was applied to the collective because we knew all along that these two women aren’t the exception and many others were also suffering under different men's rule in their society.

establishing a women’s college, prioritizing people’s wellbeing over profit in their pharmaceutical business, being involved members in their community instead of just being “philanthropists” merely donating money; all of these things showed us their /empowerment/ wasn’t symbolic or an attempt to co-opt progressive (gender/economic/etc.) politics. it was intentionally made nuanced through the writing.

there is also a lot of care imbued in the writing when it comes to depicting the intimate bond that developed between these women. we see the show bring up and reject certain gender scripts we have come to normalize in our society. for example, we see huoran hide her abilities and intelligence just to be able to survive in the huo family as a woman. women are socialized to make themselves smaller in personal relationships and remain supportive (“passive”) so as not to threaten men’s sense of superiority and the show parallels and addresses this gender script through the intimate relationship between huoran and jiayu, where when jiayu attempts to downplay her skills to make huoran happy, she rejects this saying you do not have to perform with me or consider my ego as i can tolerate you being intelligent the same way i can tolerate losing. this pushes for a non-hierarchical possibility of love and intimacy between them as neither party has to shrink themselves for the other’s social and personal benefit. then, care in this relationship becomes about respecting the other as an equal and trusting that they can handle conflict.

the show has many instances such as above where they showcase consistent and intentional writing, which makes the complete work feel very fulfilling. one piece of dialogue i particularly loved was a conversation between wen liyan and his subordinate where he presses him to reveal his feelings for jiayu, citing, "if a man and a woman want to protect each other, what else can they be besides becoming partners?", to which wen liyan says, "companions." this dialogue exists in juxtaposition with huoran and jiayu sacrificing themselves over and over again throughout the show just to protect each other. in the end, despite harbouring feelings for jiayu, it’s not wen liyan who becomes her /companion/; it’s huoran! they are companions, which is, as wen liyan says, a longer-lasting bond. so, this is how the show guides our understanding of the intimate bond between the two women and this is how the writers do a lot of work under censorship to expand our understanding of (queer) intimacy.

in the end, huoran & jiayu were able to transform their reality into one where they can rely on each other. they saved each other from patriarchal oppression; they imagined for each other a better life; they gave each other a chance to live with dignity.

so thankful for caring writers/directors such as chen wei qun!

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