1A Deep Dive into Human Emotions ft. Frustration and Sexual Tension
Between Us is a series that is mainly focused on deeply exploring each characters’ emotions. It’s slow paced (EXACTLY like UMWA was too), but unlike its predecessor it doesn’t contain any action / mystery elements that made UMWA interesting even to fans who prefer plot-focused shows. So it’s definitely not everybody’s cup of tea, but if you like relationship focused shows, this one is a MUST WATCH for sure, no matter if you have watched UWMA before or not.The big debates around the rating of the show and it being a 'masterpiece' or a 'disappointment' come from the fact, that it focuses on the side couple from UWMA - which was hugely succesful - and also from the fact, that people didn’t do any research about the show / its plot / its novel whatsoever and went into it blindly, expecting UMWA pt. 2. But it is not, in fact, UMWA pt. 2 - it’s Between Us, a beautiful show that will drive you crazy with frustration, give you butterflies with its cuteness and make you drunk with its sexual tension all while making you cry too.
So I would like to talk about those issues and comparisons with UWMA and then I will try to objectively review Between Us as a stand alone series.
UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN AND BETWEEN US
Like already mentioned, most of the viewers who are watching Between Us have already seen UWMA before. Expecting Between Us to be a “UMWA pt. 2”, many have not even noticed that Between Us is a different genre and went into watching the series with false expectations. And when it became apparent that Between Us is different from what they imagined, they felt disappointed.
UWMA has become a staple bl - it started a new era and was on top of bl lists of majority of viewers when it came out. Even though it was a relationship focused and a slow-paced series too, because of its action / mystery elements it became enjoyable even to people, who usually prefer action and plot-focused shows. It also carries the feeling of nostalgia, as it was the first bl show for many, with the bonus of the "pre-covid times" nostalgia too. And while it really was that good at the time, if you rewatch it now you'll likely find it not as grand as we all remember it being. It was an s-tier for 2019, but would be considered an a+ tier today. Which adds another point to the “disappointment” of Between Us - many viewers expected an s-tier series (by today’s standarts) and got an a+tier one.
Another thing I'd like to point out is the belief that "Between Us has been made purely because of the fans' love for Win/Team". It stands from the fact that the series took 3 years to release and fans hyped it up throughout them all. But here's the thing - it was stated by Boun and Prem that they were told about filming Between Us at the end of the filming of UMWA - before it even aired. The series is based on a hugely popular novel called 'Hemp Rope', which is set in the same universe as 'The Red Thread' (a novel from which UMWA was adapted).
If you look at other bl releases, you'll find it very common for directors to adapt all novels set in the same universe. A lot of Mame's novels - like Tharn Type and Don't say No, LITA (it adapts 2 novels), but also the amazing Manner of Death, Triage and Transplant (which is coming soon). Still, some fans believe that they are the sole reason for this series' existence, thus feel somehow entitled to it and criticize of every little mistake.
PLOT
Some people are saying that the plot is not moving forward and “what else could be expected from a side couple”, completly disregarding the fact that BETWEEN US IS FOLLOWING THE PLOT OF THE NOVEL. If you feel that the series is stretching the plot, that’s exactly what UMWA did too - even more so, as they stretched a 29-chapters light novel into 17 episodes. And it’s also P’New’s (the director’s) style of doing things - he likes to play with our emotions, letting us hang at the end of episode while laughing about it at home (at least that’s what his friens said).
Between Us focuses on deeply exploring the protagonists’ emotions. The plot is focused on the relationship aspect between the pairs and it takes its time exploring everybody’s point of view. Basically, the relationships are the plot. Every pair also explores different topics / traumas, so the whole series takes a somehow deep dive into a human psyche. Especially the uncertaity that Win / Team face throughout the whole show - being afraid to take that step forward - is very well portrayed. While mildly frustrating, it’s also very relatable and gives the show a more realistic vibe, which P’New also mentioned. (More explained at the end of the review)
WHAT I LOVED IN BETWEEN US
- CINEMATOGRAPHY - it's simply beautiful. It has a very high production feel to it, the portray of scenery is great and every shot feels well planned out.
- MUSIC. Not only did this series use some of the most beloved sounds from UMWA, it came with another set of musical masterpieces. This is the place I feel that P’New's productions never disappoint.
- CHEMISTRY between the main pairing is amazing. Scorching hot at places and sweet at others, it really delivers everything we have longed for.
- CONSENT in this show is exemplary and should be applauded.
- PORTRAY OF EMOTIONS. They know exactly how to make us laugh, cry, coo, thirst and how to give us butterflies.
- TOPICS being explored. This series takes its time in exploring interesting topics through their pairs - self blame, forgivness, mental health, trauma, following dreams, meeting parents' expectations, meeting your s/o online, the sacrifices of being in the entertainment industry and dating a celebrity.
- A, BEE, SEA are a nice comedic relief that doesn't feel forced.
NEUTRAL
- SLOW PACING of the show and the FOCUS ON RELATIONSHIPS. Some people love it, some people hate it. Eighter way, that is personal to everybody, so I’m putting it in the neutral section.
- Between Us has a lot SEXIER TONE than UWMA's sweet one.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE AS MUCH
- If you've watched UMWA, you pretty much know what is going to happen in terms of Win / Team (like the result of the competition), so the expectation and built tension is somehow lost. I actually feel that it would be better to watch UWMA afterwards, as Between Us doesn't give away that much about Dean and Pharm.
- This one is a clump of topics that is criticised a lot, but since they are connected, I wrote them as 1 point: TOO MANY PAIRINGS -> too many topics to explore in too little episodes -> paradox of a show being very slow at times, while also overloading viewers with information.
TOO MANY PAIRINGS ?
If you haven’t seen UMWA before, then yes, there may be too many pairings in Between Us that are given too much priority.
The main pair: Win / Team. The side couples: Bee/Prince, Wan/ Tul, Manaow /Pruek. A couple that we see occasionally: Dean and Pharm. Yes, it's five of them.
During the promotions and the New Year Special there were only 4 couples, Dean / Pharm (Ohm and Fluke) were not included. It may be because their own series - 609 Bedtime Story - aired very shortly after Between Us and there were clashes with the promotions, but I feel like it also represents the structure in Between Us fairly well. Dean / Pharm are mostly mentioned, with only a few scenes together. But even then, they are an acknowledged pair, thus being an official fifth couple.
That makes the series a bit confusing for non UWMA watchers, who are served 5 couples to get familiar with. Nevertheless, the series does its best at introducing them and exploring each of them slowly. That’s the only real problem I see when it comes to Between Us’s performance as a stand alone series.
WIN / TEAM
Boun and Prem have really delivered. Their chemistry is impeccable and the sexual tension can be felt through the screen. They can be the comedic duo, the fluffy bunnies or deliver the sad feels, they can do it all. Their acting in ep 11 was their best yet. They also explore a variety of interesting topics in this series. For Win it's the impact of being the middle child - being afraid of owning things and then losing them, keeping a family together and always having to be the perfect, responsible son. That’s also where his fear of falling in love comes from.
For Team it's dealing with trauma and guilt. Usually in bl shows we see a childhood trauma from an accident that the child thinks they have caused, but it actually wasn't their fault. In Team's case it was his fault, but still, he was a child. Navigating this trauma, self-blame, insomnia and being in an unconfirmed realtionship creates a very strong, onion cutting cocktail. But no matter what, Win is always there for Team and I love that, together with him alway asking for consent.
WAN / TUL
Although their love story is interesting, I think that they don’t fit into the story as seamlessly as the other couples. Their story is happening somewhat outside of the others - a bit like Kim and Porschay - and their chemistry is just okay. Obviously it's because they talk online, as they are exploring the topic of dating online and falling in love without knowing each other irl, but still. And because all of their interactions happen through a mobile game (that we don't even get to see), the cinematography gets mundane very quickly - it’s 2 guys sitting down and playing a game on their phones.
Still, I think the actors did a good job and I really like the hesitation about keeping the other’s trust while staying anonymous, or possibly losing the other’s trust but getting to meet irl. The whole ‘meeting in a game’ concept is very fresh and we’ll definitely see more of it in the future.
BEE / PRINCE
This pair quickly became one of my favourites. I simply adore their interactions and wish they had more screen time. I like how both Bee and Prince are a little unsure but still go for the relationship. Prince deals with a few different problems - dating as an actor, past scandals and the sacrifices you have to make to stay in the industry. I feel like other bl shows that talk about 'the industry' focus mainly on the relationship aspect of it, so it’s really refreshing to see the sacrifices in terms of personal time. When you think about it, balancing school, studies, hobbies or other jobs with acting is something that actors go through on daily bases, so I appreciate this topic being brought up.
For both Bee and Prince there is the prominent topic of dating: Prince has his set of worries, as an actor who may get hate because of dating, while Bee - as a person outside of the industry - worries that he won't be able to match Prince's level and protect him from the harm. I very much appreciate Prince coming out as gay and Bee acknowledging that he's gay too - in so many shows it's "You're the only guy I like, that doesn't mean I'm gay", whereas Bee clearly said "I like you, so that means I'm gay". Thei chemistry is great and I genuinely love all of their moments.
MANAOW / PRUK
They once again deliver flawlessly, though I feel like they may be cursed. Despite being great together and having an awesome chemistry, they got little to no screen time as a pair in UWMA, so I was super excited to see bigger focus on them in Between Us. And while we got many much needed cute and funny moments, there were little intimate moments. I understand that their relationship is based on Manaow's quirky personality and they are used as a comedic relief at times, but I really want to see some actual intimate moments between them. Especially since their actors irl have very cute chemistry.
I think it has to do more with the fact that it's a straight couple in a bl series more than anything, but I think that Manaow - the best supportive girl she is - deserves better. But in terms of their on-screen performance, their pair always delivers and you cannot help but to fall in love with them. Plus they explores the topics of dreams and expectations, which is a familiar struggle for many people.
DEAN / PHARM
Do I even need to say anything? Top-notch performance as always, there’s no doubt about that. Though they only appear occasionally, as they already have a whole series dedicated to them. So if you'd like to see more of this OG couple's beautiful and sweet romance, check out UMWA after you're done with Between Us. But be prepared to grab some tissues - their story cuts very deep and you'll find yourself crying a lot.
OVERALL
Like stated at the beginning, Between Us is a MUST WATCH, it’s easily an a+tier stand alone show. If you are the target audience - you enjoy shows focused on relationships - you will enjoy Between Us very much. It’s a beautiful series with good acting, beautiful cinematography and top-notch music. There are some flaws, but the pros outweight them by a giant margin. It has many cute, funny, sexy and sad moments to offer. The topics being discussed are diverse and we really dive deep in some places. The chemistry between the pairs is awesome, plus the main leads’ sexual tension Between Them is very prominent, so take a few deep breaths and feel free to dive right in.
PS: A year ago, Between Us Special was released. It was a little project initiated by Boun and Prem themselves. These are short episodes without any plot, filled with Win and Team’s fluffy and funny moments in their domestic life. It’s one of the cutest and most hertwarming things, so if you haven’t yet, please give it a watch, it has healing properties.
PPS: About Between Us and P’New. P’New appeared in the reaction channel “NungNaRong” during reaction to the episode 6 of Between Us. He has talked about many things including filming of the series, but also working in the film industry while making BLs. He even said that Love by Chance was almost not aired, as the station it was supposed to aired on cancelled 3 days between the release date. He also mentioned that he has wanted to make Between Us more realistic than his previous works. The whole episode is interesting (he talks throughout is, it’s not an interview) and their channel also invites other guests (usually actors) to watch some episodes with them, check them out if you’d like to.
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you better put your rose-colored glasses on for this one guys
Let's set the scene.Imagine you are a teenager, just discovering BL and watching a show called Until We Meet Again and you fall in love with a little side couple called WinTeam. And there are rumours that they will get their own show!? The years go by and you still harbour the hope that maybe, just maybe they will get another chance at telling their story again. And then, it happens. News breaks out. Between Us is happening! It is actually happening. You mark your calender and count the days, actively following the countdown on the company's instagram. You stumble over the cast and are little shocked to find five (!) couples listed in there, but you tell yourself it's gonna be fine. You waited three years for this, they know what they are doing. And finally on Nov 6th, the first episode airs. You are thrilled. And you think this show actually managed to live up to the insane hype it gathered over the past few years. Can it be? A show that actually can live up to someone's expectations? And then you keep watching and a few weeks later, you suddenly catch yourself fast forwarding through an episode of your beloved show and you stop and ask yourself: What happened?
If you think to yourself: Wow, this reviewer didn't have to ramble so much in such great detail to tell us this story, it got boring pretty fast. Well, then I guess this show and I have something in common.
Sometimes the best stories are the one's untold. What makes Goncharov so good is that it doesn't exist. And maybe what made WinTeam so popular is the fact that they got just enough screen time to get viewers interested but never enough to give us something. But I'm rambling again.
This show is said to start with Win and Team entering a FWB situation. But the writers, directors, or whoever is to blame for this, didn't seem to know what the key factor of a friends with benefits story is, it's the friends part. They are friends first. Friends before anything else. But Win and Team were barely aquaintances before they hooked up. That's why I think FWB set different expectations that were impossible to fulfill. If you'd ask me I would describe their relationship as a one-night-stand that slowly turned into casual hook-ups with no emotions, then they got to know each other and became friends and developed feelings for each other afterwards. If they had labeled it as such, I'm sure more people would've set their expectations accordingly. There was never a line that got a little too blury for them between being friends and being in a relationship, because they were never friends to begin with.
This show also had a massive time problem. I already mentioned the five couples, one of which only get's blick-and-you'll-miss-it screen time, which is fair because they got their own show already. For the other four well... To summarize it: Wayy too much time was wasted and there was too much back and forth that led to the ending feeling rushed.
Win and Team: Okay, let me be straightforward for once, they could not carry 12 episodes. The beginning was strong, but towards the middle they became more boring. If took these guys 11 out of 12 episodes to finally confess their love for each other. That only gave us one episode with them being happily and sort-of openly in a relationship. And I wish BLs would stop pretending that after you enter a relationship everything is perfect and your get a HEA. I want to see them get together AND how they work in a relationship.
Team's "does he like me or does he treat everyone like that?" didn't make any sense. In UWMA yes, maybe. But not in Between Us where my man was out here leaving his room unlocked for his teammember to come in the middle of the night and sleep in his bed. He was making him breakfast, paying for his lunch, taking care of him when he got sick, driving to his dead cousin's grave to pick him up in the middle of the night while it's pouring, and a bunch of other stuff (not to mention that he literally said something about his FEELIGNS FOR HIM). And Team looked us straight in the eyes and said "yeah but maybe he does it for everyone"??????? ARE THESE OTHER PEOPLE HE'S DOING IT FOR IN THIS ROOM WITH US RIGHT NOW??? And Win too like "nothing every belonged to me, I always had to share" my guy this is not a Barbie doll or your favorite jumper, this is another human being. I'm sorry that you as well suffer from being the Middle ChildTM but pLEASE.
Speaking of which, I would've loved to see not only Team's trauma, but also Win's struggle with trying to please both his parents and supporting his siblings.
Prince and Bee: Their scene felt so out of place, like they gave off such different vibes that I was always so violently taken out of the story every time they appeared on the screen. They were cute, yes, but the acting was lacking. With a little more experience they will make a great couple. I also partly blame the material they had to work with. They couldn't get me invested. Sadly, because the concept was interesting. Also, if my friends would constantly make fun of me, I would not consider them my friends. I'm so over the friend group just being complete assholes to the guy and it never being called out. Saying that a guy is out of his league is one thing but to constantly rub it in his face and make fun of him for trying to make an effort to get with the guy and calling him dumb and whatnot, A and Sea were truly a waste of my time.
Waan and Tul: Probably the side couple I was most intruiged by. They got like five minutes of screen time every other episode and it was not utilised at all. They spent too much time on them talking to their phones. You tell me that Waan who told Tul multiple times "I don't want to meet you in rl" had the audacity to blame him for not telling him immediately that he was T-Rex??? And for some reason Waan hates liars so much that he is not even ready to hear Tul out but we never find out why??? Their story was so intruiging and I liked their chemistry. And the NC scene in ep 12 UFF what happened my dudes? I don't know if it's Yacht or O being uncomfortable kissing men or if it's the directing or idk. But it was really awkward and happened way too fast. We just had the big fight between them and they are already making up in the next episode. Give me at least a few minutes of angst and pining, jesus.
Manaow and Phruek: Oh what trist and grey show we would've gotten without them. While I wasn't sold on them in UWMA, I was definitely on board with them in Between Us. Sammy has a great on-screen presence and I love her energy. Even though I gotta say that I wish they would allow Manaow to be a little more serious sometimes, because Sammy can do serious scenes, but the constant over-acting was getting on my nerves a bit. Especially when it was used for cheap comic relief.
Wiew is a ray of sunshine and I'm glad he was added to the cast. But it seemed like he was a middle schooler rather than a high schooler, because he was acting like a child, not a teenager. His naivity was bordering on stupidity a few times, but Santa has a certain charm that makes you overlook it.
I wish this show would've cut down on WinTeam's drama a bit and maybe a couple or two and use this time instead to show us more of the friend group. I missed Team, Pharm, and Manaow so much and the little crumbs we got of them was everything to me.
Between Us feels very 2019 to me, even though this show tried to make some changes and adjust. And I was on board with some of the changes (most noteably the sheer amount of CONSENT LIKE YESS!) but not so much with others. Like New tried to recreate UWMA. Instead of P'Deeeaaan we got Hiiaaaa, ever other second. And now Team is suddenly scared of intimancy and doesn't like kissing his boyfriend for...reasons and he seemed to whine a lot more. And Win is suddenly no longer the flirty, grinning, always down for a joke type of guy but very serious and overprotective of Team. This show tried so hard to be UWMA, but it's not and therefore it didn't hit as much as it could've. Because the passion was there, you could feel the love of the cast members who put their heart into this show. That makes it even more sad that Pharm and Manaow and their friendship with Team felt more like an afterthought, since they got pretty much sidelined with their boyfriends. I did appreciate it though that Win got some bro-love from his two besties.
After seeing a lot of BLs directed by New, I think it's save to say that I just don't vibe with him. I don't know what he's doing but it's not it for me. On top of that I just disagree with his stance on NC scenes. The shade he has thrown at them just doesn't sit right with me. He acts as if Nc scene are inherently something dirty to be ashamed of. And if that's what he thinks, than the problem is him. And I wish he would just get over himself and leave high heat projects alone and get himself some BL scripts that are "pure" and have almost no heat in it. So everyone can be happy. Alas, he seems to get so many stories with interesting concepts (and with a high heat source material).
While we still haven't fully moved past the stereotypical portrayal of a gay relationships, we now get more shows that portray the two parties as equally in love and not one having to constantly chase the other. And excuse me, I have to get this off my chest: IF I HAVE TO WATCH ONE MORE SHOW WHERE ONE PARTY (USUALLY THE YOUNGER/SMALLER ONE) OF AN ALREADY ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP SEEMS TO DISLIKE KISSING THEIR BOYFRIEND IN THE COMFORT OF THEIR OWN HOME WITH NO ONE WATCHING I WILL LOSE IT!!!
PS: To like the five people who have not watched Until We Meet Again before watching Between Us, I'm sorry. Seeing Pharm and Dean having a cameo every other episode with little to no context of what the heck is going on must have been confusing as hell. You are truly stronger than I am.
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Not awful, but a disappointment.
On the positive side, the cast is really good, especially the side characters, but Prem is surprising at times and can be really affecting. I guess it's not really surprising given how much presence he had in My Only 12%. Tae Weerapat is both adorable and sexy as the bumbling Bee, Yacht and O are a great pairing, and I even like Manow's romance.But there are two central issues. The main one is that they've taken a side couple that had 20 minutes total screentime in a previous series and stretched it out to twelve episodes, and for that to work, you have to add plot and character elements to the central pair, or you end up with a dull, repetitive, boring mess. How many times do we have to watch the flashback of Team's friend drowning? For that matter, do we need two flashbacks of every scene? If it's about something that happened at least an episode ago, fine - but sometimes it's the previous scene. If the actors can't convey to us what they're feeling about the previous scene without a flashback, you either need better actors or to trust the actors you have (it's the latter in this case).
And this problem intensifies the other one: Win & Team's relationship is icky. They don't interact as boyfriends, they interact as parent and child. Team is infantilized to the point that it's hard to see him as a man, or even an older boy - he's a small child, who needs protection from everything and constant guidance from his "dad". A power imbalance in a relationship is fine, but this is way too extreme, and not sexy, it's just creepy. The power imbalance is hot when it's physical/sexual. When it's emotional to this degree, it's disturbing.
And as if Team isn't infantilized enough, he actually sleeps between his parents in their bed. I half-expected him to breast-feed, especially as there had been a lot of cow/calf comparisons in their scenes.
I come away from it feeling like Team needs serious psychiatric help. He has two kind and loving parents, but still seeks a parental figure in a lover - he behaves like a sexually abused child. His dad seems sweet, but I'm keeping my eye on him.
There's a scene (which was one of the best in the series) where Team and the mother of his dead friend are processing their grief at a grave, and Prem plays this perfectly, showing just the right amount of grief - tears without wailing, like an adult. But then this is destroyed by him calling Win for help, wailing like a child, and he sits in the rain at a gravesite for TWO HOURS waiting for Win to come rescue him, when his actual parents are a few blocks away. This is supposed to be romantic, but it makes my skin crawl. His friend died over ten years ago when he was 8. Come on. You can still feel grief and guilt, but if you're that incapacitated you need mental health treatment.
The end result is that I end up hitting the +10 seconds button repeatedly through their scenes (you only need one second in ten to grasp it all. Actually you need 0 seconds in ten because all their scenes are the same) to get to the other much more interesting relationships.
This series is a real disappointment - I remember how much I liked them and what a refreshing respite they were in Cry Babies and Their Talking Mannequins (Sorry. I was that one guy who didn't like UWMA.)
A highlight for me was Tul & Wan, who for me stole every scene they were in - both of them were able to create fully realized and consistent characters with very little screentime, and their conclusion, which was quite sudden, worked. Because we'd seen Wan's desperate loneliness and frustration & repression throughout the series, when Tul came on to him, you could see his natural defenses try to fall into place, until a lifetime of pent-up need blasted them like the walls of Jericho. He still did the planking-sex, but at least there was some real heat between them.
Minor points: It was nice to see Fluke's hair non-mutilated by whatever sadist was styling it in Sunshine Night. Someone spiked Santa's Refreshing Tea Drink with cocaine - but it worked and I enjoyed him. Art is so beautiful it hurts to look at him and it's a crime only Aam uses him as a leading man. I love that Tae has a "dad bod" instead of the usual seme's chisled abs and pecs - he's not pefect but very sexy. Boun's hair isn't long enough to tie up and I don't like it. He looks so good when it's down.
Why do Thais allow anyone anywhere near a swimming pool? We already know water in Thailand is deadly since your chances of getting a debilitating fever if rain touches you is 100%. Your chances of drowning are 90%. That's one of the reasons why Team's past didn't really move me. If you drown within 30 seconds of entering a pool, maybe you're not supposed to live.
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BL Veteran votes this as A+ Disappointment
This story isn't the Until We Meet Again parallel story that we were hoping for and anticipating. For one, Win and Team (especially Team) feel like completely different characters. And not just between UWMA and this drama, but even within this singular drama, they weren't consistent. They don't feel like the same couple.I'd even go as far as saying that they weren't WinTeam at all, but rather DeanPharm 2.0. All of the same points that people complained about UWMA are here in spades, just without the reincarnation plot. Trauma and nightmares. Enough crying scenes to desensitize you and make you cringe. Even Team's constant "Hia" can rival Pharm's "P." Anybody got a count going?
But the thing is, I loved UWMA. This drama didn't have its charm. For one, I know very well that this cast can act their butts off. But I didn't consistently feel that here. And Team's whining and crying started getting on my nerves, rather than move me. The music was poorly chosen, even the bgm, and was so mismatched that it came off jarring at several occasions. The main story went around in so many circles. And there were way way too many side couples and support characters that were irrelevant to the main story. It made Win and Team feel like support characters in their own drama.
In the beginning, it felt like you would need UWMA to understand this drama, due to the flashbacks. And while Dean and Pharm stayed continuously as a sloppy afterthought, you actually don't need UWMA. In fact, DO NOT WATCH UWMA. They deviated with this couple in several ways. Not even just character traits and expression (which we saw with my baby Manaow as well), but even scenes. Several scenes were different. And skipped. No matter how important they were to the WinTeam story.
Don't get me wrong, it was a good story. But terrible writing. It was like they had too little material/ideas for the number of episodes they had. So they just started throwing everything in and stopped caring about finessing what they had. They seemed to hope that Boun and Prem (the main actors) would carry the drama regardless of the story. Or maybe even hoping that they could sell these newer Wabi Sabi actors that made up the support cast through them. Think Love By Chance (one of this director's earlier works) and you've got a pretty good sense of the style this story wound up taking.
◼ I liked Prince and Bee as a couple and their overall storyline/message, but it should have been in another drama. It didn't fit here.
◼ I expected to see Manaow and Preuk here. Manaow is part of Team's friend group. But they were another afterthought. That, again, didn't feel consistent with UWMA.
◼ Tul and Waan were the saving grace of this drama. Very cute. Quite relevant. And with a relatively refreshing dynamic.
◼ The ABC Gang/Idiot trio shouldn't have been included. They were a waste of time. Not to mention how terrible A and Sea were to their friend Bee and it never got called out.
◼ Dean and Pharm were so poorly incorporated that they might as well not have been there at all.
◼ Win and Team dragged and went around and circles, meanwhile everyone else felt rushed. And everyone felt poorly-thought out.
Might be a good beginner BL. But as someone who has seen a ton of Thai BL dramas, even from this same director and cast, it was a giant disappointment.
Edit: Ultimately, the problem was that this drama didn't deliver on its promises to viewers. There wasn't anything problematic about the story, so I have raised my initial score after some reconsideration.
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Wasted Potential
This committed the ultimate sin of boring me to tears.The show runners literally must have asked themselves, “How can we drag a 4 episode special out into 12 episodes for maximum profit?”
I swear to god, it felt like this show was the same 5 scenes over and over and over again. I’m sick. I’m tired. Please end my suffering.
Literally, here’s how you fix this show:
4 episodes-unless they created a new plot, that is how far this plot can go
Aside from the original main cast, scrap all the side couples. They were unwanted, unnecessary, and only served to pad the runtime.
Stop dragging shit out, it’s fine that the trajectory of their relationship was a physical to emotional one. That’s a perfectly normal situation that many adults find themselves in. But stop with this will they/won’t they garbage. They were basically cohabitating in the first 4 episodes. Done, you can stop now. Condense the script, edit things down. There was so much repetition I swear to got I could skip every other episode and not miss a beat.
This has been my Ted Talk.
Seriously though, Boun and Prem have good chemistry. Hopefully they will find a series that makes good use of it, because this was unfortunately not it.
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CONTRARY: Between Reality and Fiction
Let me start with a quick rant over some of the reviews:First off, I´m all aware that reviews are very subjective, and so are opinions and tastes. Honestly, I don´t get any of the lower ratings. (4 and lower) Even if the story is somewhat critical, how could you let their acting and the production/ cinematography drop into a negative light as well? If you review something, you sort of have a 'responsibility' to consider all aspects of a show. A show is not only about the story. Despite being the main aspect, the story can´t portray all the functions of a series alone. How many good stories have failed in their execution because of bad acting or bad production? Taking this into consideration and then watching "Between Us", how is it a 3.5-star series? I just don´t get it. Is it because you were hoping for something less troublesome and simple, or were you hoping for more tension? What is it exactly that made you drag a solid show down to this level?
I´m just sad that people tend to be so impulsive in judging a show just because they had high hopes and huge expectations. It could not meet what a 3.5-star rater had in mind?`Okay. Does it mean the show is necessarily one of the worst and most unpleasing shows to watch out there? No. Can they still rate it that bad? Yes. Why? Everyone is allowed to have their opinion. Can I still feel offended by this harsh rating? Yes. Why? Read below.
STORY / PLOT 5.5
Having said that, I had my issues with the screenwriting as well. There were some aspects that could have been executed better if they had paid more consideration to it. However, considering that this is a Spin-Off of "Until We Meet Again", one of the most famous Thai LGBTQIA+ shows, I think they offered us a solid series with deep emotional insights into the vulnerabilities of people that one might not see at first glance.
The story is everything but light. There are a lot of mature topics and struggles that the characters have to deal with. Dealing with Trauma is suffocatingly exhausting and therefore does not contribute to a hoped-for "Coming Of Age" story. Also, I think Win´s struggles were very much justified and realistic. There are people with avoidant attachment styles on this earth that have a hard time opening up to the idea of being in love and dependent on another person. Saying that this is cliche and a bad plot extra leaves me irritated. Criticizing his behavior is, of course, not wrong at all. After all, you can not be okay with characters/people's behavior. However, there is a big difference between criticizing behavior and criticizing a show for PORTRAYING that behavior. One should not confuse these two aspects.
I think that the dialogues were top-notch and the discussions they stirred. Watching this, I feel like other viewers could also step into adopting more consent and consideration for others in their daily lives. Not everything is visible on the surface.
ACTING / CAST 8.5
I´m really surprised by the few people who criticized the acting. I wish I could be more considerate and understanding of this view because to me their - main couple - performance was very satisfying to watch. They executed EXTREMLYdifficult scenes and touched my heart. Of course, there is room for improvement for the supporting cast but Boun and Prem did NOT disappoint! Don´t confuse acting skills with an unpleasing plot. A bad plot doesn´t necessarily make the acting bad.
REVIEW VALUE 5.0
I was not disappointed with "Between Us", however, the story was quite heavy, and even though I tend to prefer watching darker, heavier more mature content in series, I rarely rewatch them. So I am just being realistic here.
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Between Me and You, These People Need Therapy...
I'll start this rantview with admitting that I was never that charmed by winteam in UWMA. But I was still waiting for this series for all these years because UWMA is legit one of my most favourite BLs.And in my opinion, everything went wrong for Between Us.
The script was bad. Uneventful. After the initial fun with fwb thing (2 episodes), the script became downright uninteresting. The WinTeam couple had no story worth of 12 episodes (at best we could squeeze 8 okayish episodes) and kept repeating same shit all the time. I've heard several times that perhaps the way WinTeam not talking about their feelings/situation for 9 episodes (!!!) of this drama is not that unrealistic - apparently gay men don't talk about their feelings. And ok, point taken, i'm not a gay man so i can't talk on this matter. Even if it was true, that doesn't mean this story is any less bad. No matter how/if realistic, this is not an interesting main story that could carry a whole show and people would want to watch.
Moreover, Teams backstory was beaten so much until it just was totally unwatchable. By the end, i had 0 sympathy. Win's middle child syndrome of a boy from rich family (booohoo your father works so hard so now you and your family have rESoRtS, hOtELS and eXpeNsIVe cArs but you can't anymore go on family trips?) was just absurd.
The characters, which many people loved in uwma became shells of themselves. Every character had barely 2 character traits. Team was constantly acting like a oversized toddler and Win went from charming almost-bad boy to... tihgtlaced bitchass.
Not to kinkshame, but the odd father son dynamics between was not it. I don't feel the chemistry between WinTeam (BounPream?) - haven't for 12 episodes and quite frankly, i don't ever plan to watch this duo in any show again.
Now for the side-couples.... Oh, the side couples. The only thing i found interesting was TulWaan and their set up but in the end, the writers missed so many chances with this couple and their ending was stupid and yet another missed chance (and therefore fitting of this drama, i guess). In a grand scheme of things, i didn't hate BeePrince but they felt out of place. PrukManow were cute, and i wish they got more space, BUT if this show has taught me ANYTHING it is not ever wish for more story for a side-couple...
The dialogue was absolute disaster - normal people don't have 20 seconds of silence when they take turns talking. THEY. REALLY. DONT.
And ANOTHER disaster happened in department of makeup artists. Do i need to even mention it? I'll skip this topic but you all know where im heading with this comment.
The acting was gruesome. I can't believe someone says anyone did a good job in this series. The only person who was ok was Yacht. Actually, Yacht was really great. I wish Yacht gets a main role soon, the guy deserves it.
Another thing that kept getting on my nerves was soundtrack. Now.. i actually love the soundtrack. But the fact that it was taken from uwma will remind you in every fucking scene that there exists a sister series set in the same universe with same characters that is more interesting and better executed in every single aspect than this waste of time and money.
One more jab and im done, i promise. The translation (the official one on their youtube channel!) was horrendous. I can't still believe they wanted people to pay for the drama. It's been a long time since i've seen so many spelling and grammar errors. Straightup embarassing to read. (i can't talk about how in/correct the translation was in terms of meaning, i'm not a thai speaker)
Despite this all, i would still rate it 6/10 as the biggest issue of this show is that it is boring and... not very well acted (but also not the worst acted i've seen). Im bringing it down to 5/10 as this show, or its showrunners have done one more additional CRIME. They made paid "uncut" version of this show with additional scenes. At first it seemed there will be only additional smexy time, which is not important for the plot. Well later on it turned out they started adding scenes that have more weight/relevance in terms of story development. As a result, the story editing became chopped and it gave already boring plot even worse pacing than it had.
Overall... i cant believe people who made UWMA were the same people who worked on this show. What happened? Where the passion for this universe went???? Were all these people replaced by aliens?? I. DONT. KNOW! And honestly... i dont even care anymore....
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Completely Disappointed
We waited 2 years for this! The whole story could have been told in 1-2 episodes max.UWMA scenes repeated in every episode that we could've done without...why? Because we saw it all in UWMA. The locations were a school with slightly better locker rooms, some badly built sheds and a hotel with woodchip wallpaper, not even painted correctly. The beach was the redeeming feature, breathtakingly beautiful!
Teams nightmares were a lesson in stiff acting and I have seen Prem do so much better. Boun and his gorgeous smile even seemed to be lacking.
I feel that they didn't get the support they needed. We all remember how amazing they were and know they are capable of so much more.
ABC were changed and again not for the better. Why not just leave the three of them together? Weak plot and no reason for it.
It was really refreshing to see Dean and Pharm being normal and not bursting into tears in every other scene. Having read the books and knowing it doesn't happen as often in them, it feels so over the top, as if they were trying to add more drama when if wasn't needed.
BTW don't expect much in the uncut versions. Every series uses UNCUT for the NSFW/UC content..... there is none of that.
It is a very immature plot and should be rated PG only. It pretty much put one pinky toe over the Bromance line into the BL category.
Guessing studio wabi sabi is aiming for a very young audience given the lack of progress! Compared to all the other studios releasing content and getting bigger audiences, bringing in many more sponsors due to the raised quality.
Would love to see Boun and Prem in another studios production that would provide the support and experience to help them grow and reach their full potential.
Even Disney stars grow up!
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A love story that failed to triumph in the face of poor editing.
I know that the series is a spin-off of "Until We Meet Again" which I purposefully didn't watch because the actors except Boun and Prem didn't make me want to, so I waited patiently to have the full story centered on them. My main problem is that the show was all over the place. Not only did the "side" stories of the two other gay couples take up a good half of each episode, leaving just the other half for the main couple, but in addition, I feel that their relationship here was not developed, I even felt that overall they didn't seem to know how to write their story.So mainly, I'm annoyed with the writers. I know they have to link the series so the other couples have to get some visibility, but my god that's encroaching on the main couple and their story.
And then like I said, their relationship progresses so slowly and only through random moments, it pains me to say it but it was lackluster and bland.
I expected more, and saw that the actors did everything they could with their acting, which isn't bad by the way, their characters are even endearing and as an audience you want to root for them, but I really felt they were let down by the writers who just shot different scenes and patched it up hoping it held up.
So overall, maybe I'll go against the opinion of many fans, but it felt rushed and badly written, I would have liked better for them because they are good actors.
Do I recommend, of course. This series is still enjoyable but honestly I admit I hoped for more. Now that this chapter is closed, I hope they can move to better scripts and series.
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It was Just Between THem
And we waited fu*king 3 years for this. Like they really needed to kill an awesome manhwa vibe bl story like this. Like I had a better plot in my mind.Both of the characters were swimmers. How awesome the story could have been. Team's sleeping disorder could have a much better reason. Why agrhhhhhhhh Why?
Every episode was pure torture for me. I kept saying myself it would get better it would get better. But it was all an illusion.
LIKES
(+) Side characters like ABC group were more entertaining than the lead couple.
(+) Wann and Tul story was wholesome. They had a better plot and understanding relationship.
(+) Manaow stole the show again. Also like her love story. I wish she had more screen time
DISLIKES
I don't even wanna start. Most of the things were really irritating. Specially acting.
It was the most popular drama of November to January on MDL. Not even any Kdrama could bet it but what was the point when it's a disappointment.
Last but not the least thank god it ended.
~29/01/2023
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Between Fanservice and a Plot Fanservice Seems to Win
Fan service... Fanservice... For as Far as the eye can see there will be Fanservice... I seems like the creators of this where faced with a choice to offer fansevice or plot but not both...This is the highly anticipated parallel story of Win and Team who many of those who watched Until We Meet again wanted to see more of... And indeed we did get to see more of those two, a lot more.. And while they pretty much offer some kind of consistency with the main story and its timeline, and though there is a trauma that they do try to adress... This drama seames to be missing that all important plot that the mother drama has.
While the leads are lovable, fun to watch and take off their clothes a lot, I am not sure there is much of a plot. There are some good lines here and there, splashes of humour, and I dare say even high quality dialog at times. There are even signs of angst, misunderstandings and the oh so entertaining plot line of people who need to communicate with each other better but there is very little build up and yes as I seem to say a lot I found it hard to find the plot most of the time.
That said the dialog about consent in this is gold, so is the general message of actors have the right to love too... Most of the characters are entertaining, lovable and sweet. The acts of friendship are adorable to and I dare say the main couple while lacking in build do have great chemistry and provide a whole lot of fan service... And are a pleasure to watch. I also enjoyed seeing a swim team without perfect abs and that seem to act like most bodies do when bended showing us some skin and fat too.
A lot of the acting in this drama could have been better, like a lot better I do not have any complaints about Boun Noppanut Guntachai/ Win his acting was pretty decent but when it comes to the rest of the cast I know they can do better, I have seen several of them do better so I do not know if this drama was rushed or if it due to the writing but they did not bring out their best work for this drama.
Watching this drama (both the cut and uncut version too) felt a bit like sitting next to someone who is driving a manual car for the first time as it the shifting was al jerky and off... So again either the editing or writing was a bit off... At I kept feeling that something was missing most of the time while other times it felt draggy instead.
I do not know if I can truly recommend it as I am sad to say it is so inconsistent in quality and lacks a plot so I can not really say it was good. But I did enjoy parts of it a lot, it is an easy binge and yes I did fall for the fanservice I guess... It is also gif friendly Oh and Boun is definitely going on my crush list after this.
P.S. The official sights subbing is even worse than the lack of plot... and has even more grammatical errors and typos than most of my reviews. I am still grateful towards those who added subs to this, for without them I would be lost.
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swam in circles
Overall: this is a kind of sequel/retelling of Until We Meet Again with a shift in the main couple focus from Dean/Pharm to Win/Team. People will enjoy Between Us more if they've seen Until We Meet Again first. Note that when Team says 'brother' it means his cousin, not his biological brother. Aired on Wabi Sabi's YouTube membership channel and iQIYI.Content Warnings: non con touching/kissing, manhandling, slap, past death, grief/trauma, homophobia (another huge content warning in a comment under a spoiler)
What I Liked
- seeing some familiar faces/characters from the first series reprise their roles
- new and extended scenes of Win and Team (return of the broccoli!)
- Win checking on Team's intoxication level
- sweet moments
- some funny moments
- the discussion about homophobia
- Win's older brother/gaming couple
- friendship between Pharm, Manow and Team
- Win and his siblings' relationships (especially Win and his younger brother)
- how Win didn't push Team to tell him about his past
Room For Improvement
- my main issue was that they went around and around, this story could have been told in 6 episodes instead of 12
- 5 couples was too many couples
- I don't understand Win's character, if they had given some background about a bad breakup or something then his actions would make sense, but they haven't shown us as an audience and so he just seems really hot and cold
- Team was oddly reluctant at times and also oddly hot and cold (mostly cold), how was Team more reluctant than Pharm (Pharm!!!) in the final episode?!?
- terrible communication between Team and Win
- for people who did not see UWMA I think this would be a bit confusing, I did want to see when Team, Pharm and Manow first met because all of a sudden they are talking as friends
- Win feels more of a jerk (what on earth was that dialogue during the hurt/care scene in ep 1) and Team is more vulnerable/less sassy and I didn't like the change
- the non con part before they went to the hotel room in ep 1
- Win's shifting hair roots (didn't take off review points for this though)
- camera blocking shots in the kissing scene in ep 1
- the conversation between Bee and Prince in ep 9 was odd, university students in Thailand don't know about bi/pan as a possibility?
- using almost the exact same music (even background music) from UWMA one of which goes with a really tragic scene in UWMA
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