Entre Nós (2022)

AMO GAAAAAYS

me tornei o ser humano mais triste do mundo depois que terminei

esperei por isso desde 2019, e não poderia ser melhor ??

o relacionamento deles começou de forma "errada" mas a forma como ela foi sendo construída depois é linda ?? o win conseguindo finalmente se permitir amar alguém, o team superando a culpa.

OS CASAIS SECUNDÁRIOS SIMPLESMENTE LENDÁRIOS, beeprince eu vou amar vocês pra sempre ???

o final foi a coisa mais linda, chorei a beça e olha que foi feliz, depois de tanto sofrimento, meus meninos mereciam um pouco de felicidade.

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PARA PASSAR O TEMPO E RELAXAR

Vou começar dizendo que eu amo a química entre esses dois atores e tem vários outros atores familiares na trama, eu gostei muito disso.
O comecinho é muito perfeito e antecipa tudo que vem a seguir mas em alguns momentos a história se arrasta um pouco, parece que a relação deles estagna num certo ponto e leva um tempinho para engrenar de novo, mas durante esse meio tempo a história é engraçada e é gostoso de acompanhar o que está acontecendo envolta.
Eu amo como eles vão descobrindo o amor juntos, tudo começa com uma única noite juntos e desenrola pra eles descobrirem seus reais sentimentos enquanto mantém uma amizade bem intima.
O Team é um pouquinho infantil e mimado mas não me incomoda tanto e o Win é absolutamente perfeito.
A química deles é excelente, eu amo as tatuagens do Win e tem várias cenas incríveis.

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A espera valeu a pena

Desde 2019 aguardando essa série, mas em 2022 ela veio e lavou a alma do blzeiro, roubou o coração de todo mundo e ficamos órfãos quando ela acabou. Confesso que tenho medo de segundas temporadas ou de séries com spin-off, como é o caso, mas graças a Deus nesse caso tudo funcionou muito bem.

O roteiro é muito bem escrito. Não é fácil pegar um sucesso estrondoso, como foi UWMA e fazer uma série derivada que tenha o mesmo sucesso. Cada detalhe foi muito bem pensado e encaixado da maneira correta. Apesar dos dramas pesados, a história tem muito alívio cômico para quebrar a tensão, e essa comicidade está bem na medida certa. A relação entre Pharm e Deam teve seu destaque, afinal a série deriva da história deles, mas sem tirar o protagonismo do casal Boum&Prem. Nesse sentido, achei justo a retirada dos personagens parentes de P'Deam, já que dariam mais foco a ele na história. Alguns personagens que eram amigos dos meninos em UWMA também não apareceram, mas também não fizeram falta, seus papéis eram quase de figurantes. Nossa amada Manoaw teve sua história melhor de amor melhor detalhada, e gostei muito do foco que deram, mesmo que em pouco tempo de tela, para o carinho que Pruek nutria por ela, como ele a conhecia bem e nutria bons sentimentos. Os momentos em que mostraram o lado mais frágil dela, onde ela fala que está sempre sorrindo para deixar as pessoas felizes e não parecer frágil me quebrou, pois me lembra muito a mim mesma.

Sobre a história do casal principal, que tínhamos visto da forma mais genérica possível na outra temporada, só posso dizer que foi perfeita. A história individual de cada um foi bem contada, sem lacunas. Os traumas, medos e anseios dos dois foram explicados, e a forma como desde o primeiro momento tudo entre eles foi feito de forma consciente, consentida, sem pressão, chega a ser exemplar. A maneira como a relação, antes apenas sexual vai ganhando forma e se transformando em amor é incrível, o jeito como eles enfrentam seus demônios e acabam se entregando um ao outro, falo o coração, pq o corpo eles já usufruíam faz tempo kkkkk.

Sobre as histórias paralelas, muito a ser dito! Assuntos importantes foram abordados, e da forma correta. Antes de tudo vamos falar sobre as famílias. A de Win, com um pai que só pensava em dinheiro e deixava o amor familiar em segundo plano mas que conseguiu reconhecer seus erros (um pouco tarde, mas melhor que nunca), a bela relação dele com seus irmãos. Eu gostaria de ver a reação dos pais sobre Team, os irmãos aceitaram bem, mas sobre os pais, jamais saberemos.

O romance de Waan eu achei desnecessário, pois não tinha uma história tão marcante, e não gosto de excesso de casais, mas a série resolveu isso de forma leve também.
A família de Team é maravilhosa, amei que eles simplesmente perceberam de imediato o romance e além de aceitarem bem, não constrangeram os meninos.

De início eu não gostei da introdução do casal Bee e Prince, achei que já tinha casal demais, que o Prince estava usando muita maquiagem, coloquei vários defeitos. Mas com o passar dos eps vi como era necessário abordar o assunto deles, pois Prince era um ator BL a quem o gerente não queria permitir que tivesse um romance com Bee por causa dos fãs, como se os sentimentos dele não importassem, e eles terem ficado juntos e felizes foi uma vitória e um tapa na cara dos fandons tóxicos.

A história termina como uma das melhores séries que já vi, inclusive a cena da declaração de amor de Win e Team sempre me faz chorar, com todo aquele sentimento que eles transmitiram, como uma represa de medo e sentimentos presos que se rompeu em forma de desabafo e lágrimas. Eles se curaram juntos, mas foi necessário abrirem o coração para que o outro pudesse ajudar.

Os aspectos técnicos são excelentes, uma ost linda, inclusive com músicas da primeira temporada, filmografia e cenografia maravilhosos, locações belíssimas, uma fotografia encantadora, atuação de milhões e um elenco inteiro com muita química.
O que achei estranho, não foi bem um erro, mas o uso de cenas da primeira temporada em alguns momentos, e o cabelo do Boum, que a cada cena mudava a cor, ora a raiz estava escura, ora estava retocada.

è uma série muito reconfortante, mas é importante que se veja UWMA primeiro. Com certeza irei rever muitas outras vezes e indico muito! Série maravilhosa!

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muito chato uma ode do nada

nossa esse provavelmente é o Bl mais chato que tive o desprazer de acompanhar não acontece absolutamente nada e como muitos dizem o casal principal parece pai e filho o tal Team é muito infantilizado será que o único dialogo dele é HIA....HIA....HIA... nossa estava me irritando de uma forma a pessoa com mais paciência nesse mundo é o Hia, toda hora que ia ter um beijo o Team ficava sabotando com alguma brincadeira chata, irritante e infantil. Esse negócio de por sexo no 1 episódio é um completo engana troxa, depois não acontece mais nada nem beijo da para entender que alguém falou pro ator vai lá dar uma enganada pra pagar umas boletas. Eu até ia comentar que seria bom pra quem está iniciando o mundo Bl mas acho que tem outros de tema escolares melhores.
Nesse parece que eles só comem, dormem e nada literalmente. E aquela repetição do flashback do Team zzzz

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sla

vou escreve qualque coisa aq:jwkskwiqioqoqlmdnbdbxhxhudueiwiwkqkqkkskmsnbshYyuwiwiwiqiqiqkqkwjwjejuwu2i1ii2jueuei3i92998iwisksnnsusj&&×&×&&&_kuwuwiwii2828ijb bjuuu828keiie3ii2i1i22i2iii3i4u4u4u4u4u4uu4u3ueieieieieeiie ueuwi222oo2o2iiii2wiwiiiwiwiwiiwooqoqoooqoqiiiiiu3ieiieiieiiiiiiiikkeiiuuukiiiij3j3u3u3u3uuu3i3iieiiekkekikwsklslsllllllllloooooöoooosisiisiiswiwiwiiwiiwiwiiwiwiwiiwiwiwiwiwiwiwii2i2i3i3i2ieiei3i3i3ieiei3ieii3i33u2uu?ii3u3u2u2i22u3u3ui3i3i3i3i3i3i3ii3i3i3ik3jjfjfjfjfkrkrllrlrlrlrlllllllllllkkrkrkkkkkkkkrkkririiiiiiieeiieieieieekrkrjfjfjfjrjjrjrjrjfjrjfjjjjjskskdkdkdkdkkddkdjdjjddjdjjddjdjejjejjejeejjejejejejejfjrjrjfjjfjffjfjjfjffjfjfjfjfjjfjrjrjrjrjfjjfjffjjffjrjrjrjrjrurururruruuruururugufuguuturutjtjtttutktktktktktktkktkkki4krkekekkekek

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A 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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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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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.

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais