Between Us (2022)

Had the pieces...executed poorly

Guys, I really tired. I was so excited for this BL since I loved the chemistry between Win and Team and the book of Hemp Rope was alright. But OMG this drama was BORING. It started off really well and by episode 7/8 the momentum just died down. The story became repetitive and the motivation behind each character's action was random and made no sense. No character development really and some of the scenes were dragging and worn out. To be honest there really was not enough substance for this BL to be 12 episodes and the plot was flimsy at best. It was like pulling teeth to get through some episodes. And I was so disappointed with Team and Win's confession scene. It was overdramatic for no reason! The acting between Boun and Preum was good, but the writing was just terrible. Most of the writing on this show was terrible. Unlike UWMA, there was no depth in emotion and the music was subpar at best. So disappointed. Still love Boun and Preum and hope they have good projects to show off their skills and that their chemistry is good. But this BL was not it.

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Between Us Never Stood A Chance

Listen, UWMA is one of my favorite BL's. So this series I was already worried about. I like Win and Team don't get me wrong, I just didn't see a full series worth of material for them. I think I was right...but this was an okay side show. It had its cute moments, however part of the problem is many of them weren't involving our main couple.

Team's backstory in this was interesting, nothing too crazy but I wanted to see it play out. Win was just kind of there for most of it, which sucks because I really like Boun. His character didn't get much to work with other than just to be an emotional support to Team and to have rich boy problems. The plot was soooo slow though, like give us something interesting in between! Not just mostly filler of eating or sitting at a table outside of school. The side scenes we get of Dean and Pharm were adorable, loved those. Even Wan and Tul had me interested! Although everyone else I was like meh.

Part of the problem with Win and Team was that even though they looked the same to in UWMA. They didn't feel as connected for some reason to me? Like their acting was stiff, the chemistry mostly wasn't there. It's not good when our side characters had better kiss scenes than our main. I wish the series had really gone for it rather than feeling half-baked. I really do hope to see Boun and Prem in more series though! I quite liked them as a special guest showing in "Cutie Pie".

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Comfortable and slightly emotional watch

BounPrem was arguably one of the strong Thai BL couples out there. In this series, they have proved once again why they had to have their own story after "Until We Meet Again".

Admittedly, the script writing could have been better but I'm all here for their strong chemistry and acting skills.

I just wished there were less other couples to watch. They could have stick to the romance of our main and second couple but to add three more is just too chaotic and unnecessary. I honestly have to skip these scenes as it seemed like it's just a filler, which made it boring and dreary.

If you enjoyed watching UWMA, you'll definitely do so with Between Us, that is, if you can forgive some inconsistencies in the story line, overlooked the unnecessary side couples and just mainly focus on the romance part, you'll get to appreciate this series too.

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They took the time needed!

I must confess that I have no memory of Boum and Prem from UWMA. Those I still remember, vividly, because they left an indelible impression are Kao and Earth(they DID steal the show!). So when I kept coming upon WinTeam raves I had no idea what they were about! Then the short series came out with their daily life and it was cute and funny and sweet! So I went into this series based on those short sketches not UWMA and I loved it.

It is a slow burn romance starting with a one night stand turning into friends with benefits becoming lovers. I loved the pace, the time they took to introduce properly characters, the time they took to develop properly the relationship. I loved that they both behaved and reasoned as adults asking and giving consent. This is such a huge step forward: there are more and more thai bls where even students are behaving as adults who ask for permission, for consent.
The series dealt with a numerous issues: survivors guilt, family pressure, public image and they took the necessary time to develop each issue. It was eventually perfectly clear that complicated life issues are not solved by falling in love(as is often the case in dramas!) but by talking about it, having patience and taking time!
In spite of the slow development and the time they took, it was really well done, it was the right way to do it. There are no shortcuts in life!
I liked the idea of the hemp rope which is stronger than the red string therefore people connected by this rope have a more solid relationship!
And, last but not least, they know how to swim correctly! Very often there is a character is thai bls who is supposed to be an athlete, a swimmer but when you see them paddling through the pool, it is obvious they can barely keep their heads above the water! For the first time in my thai bl watching, there are actual swimmers, it looks like these actors can swim correctly!
Cinematography was gorgeous: beautiful beaches, pool scenes, rain.... Music as well.

Now on to what was wrong.
Not much but still important: lack of chemistry across the board, everything looked fake, well I was not convinced. The words were there, they were uttered correctly, the gestures were there and still...something felt off. I don't know exactly what, but I call it lack of chemistry. Or maybe the actors were just bored and doing the necessary minimum.
For a story about friends with benefits who could not keep the hands off of each other when they met, the story turned very tame: they'd have sex in strange places but they'd literally just sleep in their own bed! It looked loving and sweet but this constant change of pace was disturbing. On the other hand it does describe their relationship rather well.
Next item: too many relationships: is it really important to pair up everyone? The pairing that needed more time is Manow & Pruek. Waan & Tul's story was original.
Acting was iffy: Win is a pretty doll, Team is often speaking in a whiney nasal tone of a spoiled brat (that was really disconcerting: one minute he would talk like a little child and Win would pat him on a head and then the next he would reason like a grown up he actually is!), Dean is an expressionless robot, Pharm a happy face emoji and Prince a amorphous blob of amoeba.... The comic relief trio (A, Bee, Sea)save the day as does Manow with her quirky larger than life attitude!
The make up department was on strike during filming? Continuity staff as well? Just two items in this section: the abominable make up of Prince and Win's hair colour (which I ended not noticing eventually what I cannot say about Prince's makeup! I still shudder at the thought!)
Sound recording/editing was also bad! There were a lot of scenec wg=here the characters talked while hugging each other and the conversations were practically inaudible!

And still,in spite of all these , I loved the drama and was not bored for one minute! I'd probably rewatch it, sooner rather than later but skipping every scene Prince is in!

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The superior of the 'thread' shows

This little show was a joy.

When this show first began, I hadn't seen Until We Meet Again, so I quickly fixed that and found that the only reason I even finished it was because of WinTeam. I was not a fan of UWMA (review here). So, I was a little worried that whilst WinTeam were the only saving grace, I might not llike Between Us. I am so glad I was wrong.

This show was just...good. It wasn't rushed, but it wasn't too slow. I have seen people get annoyed that WinTeam didn't become an official couple until the second last episode, but if you ask me, I think it was perfect. They worked through so many things to get to that point; they didn't just throw everything at you at once. We got to see all side of their relationship and where it was going.

I also feel like through the little scenes of the side couples, DeanPharm were much more tolerable. In UWMA I always felt like it was a whole lot of nothing between them, but with the reincarnation storyline hanging over there, it was so much easier to just enjoy them. The other couples were adorable, too; especially WaanTul, which was a little more dramatic than I'd expected (I'd actually have liked a little more of them).

This is definitely going into my favourites list; I know this review doesn't actually do it justice, but it really is a fantastic show.

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Final thoughts

Between Us is the offshoot story of Until We Meet Again that many have waited for. It's taken almost 3 years to get here, and I think that due to the build-up in people's minds, a lot are disappointed. I only watched UWMA about 9 months ago, so I didn't have as much of a wait as some. Despite that, I honestly liked UWMA more because of the action. Between Us was more introspective, didn't have the mystery elements, and was a much simpler story. And I liked it. Matter of fact, I loved it in many places. It made me laugh out loud. It made me cry. It broke my heart a time or two. Do I think it lived up to the hype? Eh...probably not, even for me. It still wasn't a bad story.

Since this story timeline occurred at the same time as UWMA, there were some scenes that overlapped. Within those scenes, there may or may not have been some minor changes. I didn't mind the changes within the scenes. What I did mind was the change in attitude. It would have been a little more exciting if Win had kept his bad-boy attitude. That didn't stop him from having some bad-boy moments, and I did appreciate his introspection at times. Still, there was somehow a difference in the way Win (or maybe Boun) projected his energy. Even then, I can chalk it up to this being a completely different drama. But I missed that energy.

There were things that people were annoyed with, such as Boun's hair. Due to shooting the scenes out of order, sometimes Boun's dark roots were showing through his blond hair more than other times. This didn't bother me. Santa's hair did bother me, as his then current blond was covered with colored hairspray or something similar, making his hair a distraction from his acting. Luckily it wasn't that way in every episode. And poor Benz needed less makeup and more treatment. Some of us are more naturally prone to acne, but trying to cover it with pancake makeup is not the solution. His skin just looked smothered.

Another thing that people complained about were the side characters. Sorry, but I loved the side characters. All of them. I was sorry to see Sammy's overacting though. She's a better actress than that. I know her character is OTT but I thought her directions should have been to tone it down rather than to ramp it up. But I loved that Pleum still loved her. I also loved the "ABC" gang so much! I'm in the minority in that, but I think they gave us a good break from Team's angst. And the Waan/Tul ending kinda left me with my mouth hanging open...

I love the fact that, although there was a 3-ish year wait, they still went through with the production. Boun and Prem were kept relevant with stages and interviews, v-lives, and even some adorable short (5-8min) Between Us Special episodes that you can catch on YouTube. Those special episodes were the best marketing ploys ever!

Boun and Prem, having been together for so long, have no problems acting together. I think they did a great job with the script. Actually, the only one I who's acting I was actually truly unhappy with was Win's father. I still wish they'd kept the same energy as in UWMA, but overall this wasn't a bad drama. I'm glad to have watched it.

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Wow. That's all. (ep by ep. Review)

Ep. 1 That was one hell of a first ep. They did not waste time delivering on promises. I only hope we will keep this level of chemistry and excitement!

The air was positively crackling between Win and Team and the episode left me breathless and wanting more.

I do not care much for the ABC triplets, i hope they either become funnier or disappear altogether. Really....

I'm happy to see Marwon, Pruek, Dean and Parm again and I hope they get their own wrap-up without straling from WinTeam.

Ep. 2 & 3. Team has no idea where to go with all these feels. But safe to say neither does Win. He's just a bit more confident and hides it better. They go from cute to hot and back in seconds and in these seconds they speak volumes with small gestures, glances, smirks. It's a wonderous sight. I like that we kind of know what we can expect, but didn't know the whole story yet. Like we knew at some point Team starts sleeping in Wins room a lot (at least if you saw UWMA and/or the Between Us prequel). But now we know how and why that started. We are getting spoiled with this BL. The cute last scene of ep.3! I squealed! I raised the rating from 8 to 8.5.
4/5/6
The high quality is kept so far. All characters get a good amount of story and development, maybe apart from Dean & Pharm since we know their story already. All cp are very different which is interesting. Both Win & Team are scared of a relationship and or love, but Win has the hardest struggle with his feelings. It is all portrayed so painfully well, it has me completely submerged.
Ep. 7. The struggle gets realer. Teams nightmares are apparently getting worse and he doesn't seem to have a clue why that is. Meanwhile Win seeks advice and searches his heart and struggles with what he finds. Waan and Tul are either heading towards a toxic relationship or a disappointing break. Bee and Prince are the cutest flustered boys. The end scene (cliffhanger!) again left me breathless hating the fact I have to wait a WHOLE WEEK before it continues from this sizzling atmosphere.....!
Ep. 8. A bit of a calmer episode. The end scene from last week did not get the follow up I hoped for, instead Win makes a grand gesture towards Team. Bee & Prince are really getting into relationship territory and Waan & Tul keep running circles around each other. Ah welp, let's just wait 2 (TWO!!) weeks for next ep.
Ep. 9. Could I be more in love with this series? Every ep. gives us more depth, more love, more.... just more! This ep. the love that Win has for Team becomes painfully clear when he leaves everything and goes to Team when he needs him. The way he takes care of his Team is so full of love, respect and admiration, it makes me cry. I sincerely hope Team realizes this when he has recovered a bit and will reciprocate all this to Win as the boy deserves all the love he gives to come back to him.
Ep. 10: I'm genuinely mad as hell at these stupid boys who don't communicate and act all tough but are scared of feelings and rejection. Win tries to mask it with being his spicy blonde self which atp stopped working because Team realized he's in love and wants more than physical affection. It's a glorious mess. Put into the mix a little cute Bee & Prince and confused Tul and Waan and I'm again not ready for next week.
Ep 11. What can I say. Tearful confessions done well. Another change from the prequel but we don't care, this is better. Having to stop and rewind or just stop and catch my breath more than once. BounPrem supremacy!
Ep. 12 All is well. Everyone is blissfully happy. Even Waan and Tul make up (and out!). Sadly no kisses for Phuen and Manow, though they are super cute together. Everyone is in white like at a wedding and I am going to miss all of them so so much.
It is rumoured some special eps will air, so maybe we will get to see some actual wedding(s)??

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Very well balanced

Okay I am so impressed with this bl. Typically in bls, there are confusing plot lines or something that’s not explained well. This one blew all my expectations away. I watched and felt completely satisfied with how it ended and the story. For bls the side stories are typically very poorly explained or whatnot but not this one. All the side stories are explained very well and I feel in love with each and everyone of them. They were all so cute. I don’t have really any criticism to give it. However I would have liked to know why Win chose Team. It’s not very well explained in my opinion. I would have also liked to know why Dean chose Pharm. and why they all chose each other. Otherwise it was very well done.

The acting was so good. Like holy crud. It was so good and probably the best I’ve seen. The only thing is Waan and Tul’s relationship didn’t really have a spark for me. I didn’t really get the feeling they were together or dating or seriously in love as compared to the other side stories. The acting and the cast did an excellent job with their characters.

I’m also really impressed with the character Manow. I don’t typically really like female support characters in bls because I find them annoying if anything(if not family). But Manow is literally the best. I love her actor and her character so much. She was so funny and did such an amazing job I would love to see more of her work. Like dang. I love her so much.

The story was really good. I could follow along very well and never really felt lost in the drama. I always knew exactly what was happening. The reason I gave 9 stars is because of Waan and Tul and a couple explanation errors. It’s just Waan and Tul while cute isn’t very much needed in the story. Could’ve ended up as friends in my opinion. The way they explained Waan and Tul was actually not the best. Sure Tul lied but the jump from Waan being mad at Tul to them having sex is very terribly explained. It’s like what happened to everything? Waan just forgave him and moved on? Weird. Also I would like more backstory with Win and his family. It does give some but I want to know more about Win. I want to know his feeling and what he’s thinking. With Team it was perfect but with Win it almost skimmed over it. Although I really love how they show the internal conflict with Win. How he feels or why he may be unsure of loving someone. It’s just amazing. I love the part where Team has to take care of Win because for once Win has to rely on someone to take care of him. This bl just addresses so many things that are relevant and it was amazing. The character development is truly something. I love it all. All the characters had a unique growth and it was truly amazing. I will definitely be rewatching today.

I would definitely recommend giving this a go. It’s one of my favorite ones. Right up there with We Best Love which if you haven’t seen you should. Be prepared to have tissues handy because this one pulls the heart strings just right.

Thought: I honestly forgot Between Us is the side story of UWMA. So I understand better now. I think on its own Between Us is fine and a great series but since it follows UWMA it needed to incorporate some of UWMA. Like I honestly had no idea and completely forgot. I know Between Us focused on WinTeam but like bro. Got to incorporate here.

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IT'S A GOOD STORY FOR ME

Done watching it and I'm gonna say that it's really worth it. At first I didn't want to watch this but after trying to watch the 1st episode, I was like "THIS STORY IS INTERESTING". And of course, this story isn't like the plot of UWMA because THIS IS THE STORY OF TEAM AND WIN. At first I was wondering why the title is between us, but then after knowing the story I eventually realized that it's because of their relationship. I hope studio wabi sabi will continue this storyline with Waan and Tul series next because I really want to know their story, and also, because they have good chemistry together.

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BounPrem deserved more screen time

Now with the headline that isn’t me saying don’t watch this. In fact I enjoyed myself a lot. This will be short and sweet but I just want to share a few of my thoughts

Firstly I like the development between Win and Team, with each of them have their own background to give them depth. I understand why they fell for eachother but something didn’t add up.. the lust they had for eachother at the beginning that initially brought them together- where did that go? I understand with them becoming a couple things would be more respectful between the two.. but it just seemed a little flat. I wishes things could be more intense leading up to them getting together. They slept together and it could’ve been shown how much they lusted for eachother and their thoughts of regret for crossing that line. They touched it briefly but the screen time to fully flesh that out was lent to other characters we didn’t need. Win and Team could’ve had more moments to show their conflicted feelings wondering whether they really loved eachother and why?

I really liked the development they had and every scene with the both of them was good. Side characters had too much time while the leads stories could’ve been pushed further. So what was there between Win and Team was not bad, I just wished that they could’ve made things more intense. Not in a sexy way all the way.. but emotionally. Like the scenes that were really good like the pool scene was amazing. The budget seemed to be on another level. The raining scene and then the confession were both really good. Boun and Prem have so much chemistry and their acting for those scenes in particular are overshadowed by the other nonsense happening in the show. It’s drastic shifts from them to the B Plots. Boun REALLY did amazing and had a lot of emotion he showed, I wished he had more scenes to show off his acting talents but really he was amazing in the emotional scenes.

The side couples didn’t need to be there other than Manow’s. But hers was given the least? Every other side couple wasn’t in Until We Meet Again so that gave the show plot holes. Like they existed in this story but not the other and I wished the two series were more consistent. Team had a LOT of PTSD and a lot to work with, at the beginning this show was doing really well so I don’t know what really happened. Each episode was fun to watch but they grew less engaging.

So I didn’t hate this show. I really liked it, I’m just at odds with the execution. I wanted this to be really really good with the long wait- but it was just pretty good. You can skip side characters and focus on Win and Team and you’ll have a good watch.

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Started off strong but struggled to stay afloat

Between Us was three years in the making. It had an existing fan base for the lead actors and from Until We Meet Again. It was well set up to succeed but, for me, it ultimately failed to live up to the bar set by UWMA and its own early episodes. Though it was one of my most anticipated series - and one which did have moments when it shone - I can't help but be disappointed.

Going in, I was expecting it to take place on a parallel timeline to UWMA. I haven't read the novel, so I didn't know what exactly to expect plot-wise, and don't know how much of it is true to the source material. Despite going in pretty blind, my expectations were high and I was excited to see the cast I knew and loved from the original series.

BU started off really well, though it did feel like they expected you to have watched UWMA. UWMA didn't tell us much about Team and Win as characters so they were brimming with potential. The early episodes had me hooked by setting up Team's childhood trauma and subsequent anxiety/insomnia, and hinting that Win also had attachment issues and family conflicts of his own. The lead actors also have great chemistry so that alone was doing a lot of the legwork. However, where the series fell flat for me is that is barely scratched the surface of these character backstories which seemed to be goldmines for compelling arcs.

I think this series was meant to be a character study more than something plot heavy. But character studies take *work* and it just did not feel like the writers put any in. By the later episodes, it felt more like they were trying to cram in tried and tested overly-familiar tropes than continuing to refine and shape their characters. By the end of the series, I felt like I barely knew Win better than I did at the start. As for Team, at least his storyline was resolved, but by the time the resolution came it felt like the plotline had been exhausted without getting much added depth.

As for the side characters, I wasn't expecting much more Dean/Pharm content since they had their own series. But I was hoping we would get to see more of Manow and Phruek since they were pretty sidelined in UWMA. Again, they set up a really compelling story for Manow - a young woman who wants to make in acting but feels like she doesn't have the right "look" - but instead of fleshing out her journey or relationship, they once again got a handful of scenes that seemed like they were just there to placate the audience rather than add to the story.

The new side characters didn't really work for me. I didn't have any qualms about the ABC gang as friends and comic relief, but I didn't feel like the Bee/Prince storyline was necessary. In the same vein, I didn't really get invested in Waan/Tul. These romances weren't explored or resolved well in any case, just going to show that the writers threw more balls in the air than they knew how to juggle. The show also, in my opinion, did a disservice to the friendships already established in UWMA. Though we got a handful of scenes, we barely got to see Win's friendship with Dean which apparently goes back to childhood - in fact, we barely got to see Win open up to anyone. And sometimes when Team would be pouring his heart out to ABC, I would be left wondering why he wasn't having this conversation with his alleged best friends.

Halfway through the show, the plot started to get all over the place - in a bad way. Character development does not have to be linear. Plots can be messy. But the writers didn't seem to have any grasp of how to build tension (and not let it deflate) or the concept of a "beginning, middle, and end" that most of us are taught in elementary school. Plots are meant to culminate in a climax which, by the time it came on this show, was dumbfounding because it felt so long overdue. Team's insecurities that Win was "like this with everyone" started, after a point, to sound delusional since we as an audience never saw him do this beyond looking out for his brothers. The writers could easily have added weight to his concerns by showing Win offering to help other members of the swim team, for example, instead of scenes dedicated to Bee wiping off Prince's makeup while he sleeps. As for Win's inability to commit, the dysfunctional family was more than enough to flesh out where this trait comes from, but, like Team, we basically end up knowing not much more than his coffee order.

Other aspects of the show were also not great. The background music was terrible (and often completely at odds with what was happening in the scene) and the OST most definitely did not need to be performed live during one of the most tense scenes on the show. There were a couple of moments when sexuality was addressed so bizarrely it was hard for me to grasp what exactly the show was trying to say. And the less said about the hair and makeup the better.

Ultimately, the show was kind of a flop for me. It had a talented cast and so much potential, but it almost all completely wasted on an unfocused plot and no clear understanding of its own characters. I had been hoping this would be one for the ages, but I don't think I'll even be thinking about it by this time next week.

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Don’t compare it to it’s prequel Until we meet again.

No action, no mystery - like in the prequel. Watch this first and then UWMA is my advice. I must say that I like this also novel based series a lot more.
Several couples, where the main story between Win/Team gets more attention than the other. Great acting and chemistry between the 2 main leads, Boun and Prem. The need a bit of a free hand in the script/acting to give their combined acting potential a super boost - like in episode 11. This was I think not the case in another of their series: Even sun - I didn’t end watching this series.
The depth in this series lies in emotional problems/characters and development in this area. There is attention for thoughts about the heavy consequences of being famous for a private live through the story of Prince/Bee. There’s als attention for starting to know each other online and making the step to a real relation (Wan/Tul). I like it that there was room for a non-BL couple (Manow ❤️/Pruek). The acting from all actors was good. Special attention from me for the 3 fiends A, Bee and Sea. Always worth a good laugh.
Great OST from Boy Sompob.

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