Until We Meet Again (2019)

Heart wrenching, tearjerker, and overall a well balanaced story

Usually, I don't feel very emotional when watching a film/series. But this drama is the exception. My heart is full, my eyes are wet, my hands are shaking. NGL this series has left me with a pain in best, worst and the sweetest possible way.

Let us come to the plot and the storytelling. A very well written script. The mystery factor of how the story is unfolding is kept until the end. The plot is well developed. Pharm and Dean, the main leads are university students but they keep dreaming of two people whom they never met yet feel like they know all along. When they meet each other in the university for the first time, they feel an instant connection of attraction and pain that overwhelm them.

I like the reincarnation theme used in most Asian media. Reincarnation is a trope that is I am very familiar with. My country has been successfully using this trope in films since 1949. In fact, by now it is overused to the point that all juices has been squeezed to nothing. Most of our films usually use the reincarnation theme in two ways. First is to tell the stories of lost lovers where usually one party/sometimes both remembers their past life or somehow (almost always by some accident) they remember about the past life. Second one is there maybe lost lovers who were killed and in the new life they want revenge.

Until We meet Again fall in the first category. And they use this theme masterfully blending the two timelines.

There is an instant attraction between the main leads, Pharm and Dean but there is slow burn that builds up their relationship. I like that very much.

The plot also talk about homophobia and unacceptability of gay people in their home. It is already proved that suicidal thoughts, attempts and rate of it is usually higher in lgbtq+ community. So, iIcan understand and completely empathize with Korn.

Coming to the acting Ohm Thitiwat as Dean is brilliant. Every glance, every smirk, every expression of confusion and pain, his broody attitude, his stares at Pharm and the softness around his eyes as he looks at Pharm, every touch and caress is lively.

Fluke Natouch as Pharm is amazing. His shy glances and innocent face while he is in love is very open. And he describes pain through his expression flawlessly. Every time he remembers the past and his expressions contorts into agony and tears, especially at the last scene when he finally meets the man who hurt him and his love, and the look of horror as he breaks into shambles is so well acted, I could hear my heart beating fast.

I love their dependency and trust in each other. When Pharm is crying Dean is their by his side. When Dean suddenly has a meltdown (ep.15) Pharm is right by his side. A good balanced relationship.

Do I need to talk about Earth Katsamonnat? Because the boy is the epitome of beautiful acting. Earth has never disappointed me. Kao Noppakao has done his job very well.

Characters are very well written. Let me talk about the side pairing. Boun as Win and Prem as Team are good. They have done their roles as supportive friends very well. Their own dynamic is interesting too. I love how Win looks at Team with open fondness on his face. Team is a bit tsundere when it comes to love. But their dynamic is different than the main leads and I loved the different flavour.

I love Manaow. Although I disliked the body shaming that Team was doing but I loved how Manaow tackled them all. Her story with Pruek is completely out of the blue. I wish they had cultivated the relationship a bit more.

I loved loved the showcase of Thai food throughout the show. It definitely added a delicious touch to the whole story.

Cinematography is good. I will not say it is excellent but it's good enough and does its job well. Music elevated the whole watching experience. I love the OSTs and also the BGMs used.

Overall a really good experience . I will rewatch it sometimes for sure.

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Past Connection

The story was great and had a huge potential but the execution was not good. They could have shown it with a proper timeline in better ways. it was way too much repetitive. The theory of red strings is something which intrigued me and having a past connection was really something wonderful which could have been shown in a more better way. The characters fell too quickly in love to connect with in both past and present. Also I really loved the second couple though they were not given much of screenspace especially now they have a separate Series so I am quite excited to watch thar.

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Pleasantly surprised.

***This review may contain subtle spoilers***
Honestly I am relatively new to watching bl dramas. This show had been on my list for awhile but I kept putting it off as I got distracted by flashier or newer dramas. Finally decided to sit down and give it a try, and I found myself entertained from the get go. About midway through episode 1 I was distracted by tiktok and came across a post discussing bl, a common theme in the comment section of that post were people dissing this show. Despite the tiktok comment section I decided to proceed with the show and I am glad that I did. The plot of the story is interesting- I have always enjoyed the trope of reincarnated lovers. I'm ngl I did sometimes get a little annoyed Pharm cried so much but I understood that the dreams are traumatic- what did annoy me more is how much the crying was kind of ignored, like why weren't people more concerned. The pacing of the show was also a little slow- felt like it was being dragged unnecessarily at certain points. I don't know if making them reincarnate into each others family was necessary, it just felt like they were trying too hard to add in shocking factors. Okay, so lackluster elements aside, the drama has good selling point from the interesting story line, to the darker subjects they touch on. Homophobia, domestic violence and suicide are themes shown in this drama. Touching on these darker themes bring the show closer to reality. Another thing to look forward to is the second could, I really wish they had been given more screen time. It is also very interesting to observe the differences between the characters personalities of their past lives and their present selves- the similarities and differences- For instance Pharm in his past life was more confident & a more aggressive pursuer, in the present he is shyer and calmer. This show is a much watch, I could go on and talk about this show but its best to just be seen.

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It Was Okay...

Not going to lie, this series had a very unique plot going on. Honestly it was cool and all, but it got boring real quick. I would've liked more of a focus on Dean and Pharms relationship rather than seeing scenes from their past life all the time. They could've showed what happened in their past life for 1 or maybe 2 episodes and then focus on the present Dean and Pharm.

The best couple of this series was Win and Team. Boun and Prem are just too cute mannn and I soley watched this series for them, cause I spoiled myself on their scenes on YouTube XD

The theme song on the other hand is really cute and adorable!

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Best Reincarnation Story To Date!

Until We Meet Again has the best reincarnation storyline I've ever seen between all BL and Het dramas.

~~ STORY ~~

UWMA's plot revolves around Dean and Pharm, who are the reincarnations of Korn and Intouch. Korn and Intouch's love story was a tragedy since they were born in a time when homosexuality wasn't widely accepted. In the present day, Dean and Pharm are instantly drawn to each other due to being the reincarnation of Korn and Intouch, yet they struggling to cope with their past lives that still haunts them.

UWMA did amazing portraying how Dean and Pharm's past lives haunt them in the present. Everything that Dean and Pharm do is a result of their past lives. UMWA does a great job at showing the parallels between Intouch and Korn, and Pharm and Dean. Having all four characters being portrayed by four actors instead of just changing the appearance of the two actors for present day and past was a really big help. It really helped drive the fact that yes, they are reincarnations, but they are actually all very different people. The reincarnations plot was really tragic and intense that there was never a dull moment. However, there was a very clean distinction between the moments where the reincarnation plot was happening and other things were happening... And it's not a good distinction.

Any great series would be able to juggle the main plot and side plots, however, UWMA seemed to have a hard time mixing them together. Every time the reincarnation plot was on screen, it was very interesting, but when the plot shifted to just present day Dean and Pharm, just being Dean and Pharm, it was very boring. Dean was a little to stoic and once Korn's influence on him fades, he is boring. Similarly, Pharm's obsession with cooking is just annoying after a while. At first, the cooking is interesting since it has direct relations to Intouch. However, it later just becomes foodporn and really takes away from the story. If Pharm isn't crying over Intouch's influence on him, he only talks about is food and cooking. Even the other characters just start to see him as a food machine, so all they talk about his Pharm's cooking. It's really boring and annoying after a while. Also, using Mannow and all the girls as commercials to advertise their sponsor's beauty product was really unfortunate. Mannow just ended up being a commercial and it really took away from her as a character and the plot. They should have found other ways to advertise discreetly rather than being so obvious about it.


DEAN x PHARM

Dean and Pharm have a really good relationship with each other. Dean respects Pharm's boundaries and never crosses them. He's willing to take things slow and at Pharm's pace. He's also a very supportive and protective boyfriend. Pharm can only think about Dean and is clearly in love with him. Pharm's only real charm point is his cooking, which Dean (and everyone else at the school) when enjoys.

As Korn's reincarnation, Dean feels very sorry to Pharm, which comes out as being more caring and overprotective; all things that Korn couldn't do for Intouch. Dean is the person that Korn wanted to be for his lover.

As Intouch's reincarnation, Pharm is very sensitive. Pharm seems to be more in-tuned to Intouch's feelings and emotions than Dean is to Korn. Pharm sometimes confuses his Intouch's emotions with his own due to his sensitive nature. While Pharm is a better cook than Intouch, Pharm is less likely to take action, while Intouch is more outspoken and quick to act than Pharm.


KORN x INTOUCH

Korn and Intouch's relationship was very sweet and loving before tragedy struck. Intouch was able to bring Korn out of his shell and Korn was able to fall in love and be himself with Intouch. They would have been the ideal couple if their families didn't tear them apart.

After death, Korn feels responsible for Intouch's death and wishes he could have done more to help Korn. He searches for the reincarnation of Intouch to be able to fulfill his promise of finding each other again after they die. Intouch, on the other hand, blames Korn for giving up on them.


WIN x TEAM

Win is the vice-captain of the swim club and Dean's friend. Team is Pharm's friend and on the swim team. Team is very awkward and a bit childish. Win has a thing for Team as soon as he laid eyes on Team. Win tends to flirt and tease Team constantly. Their storyline is very cute, but they progress very quickly and it's very clear that things are happening in the background that we aren't seeing. They will get a spin-off called Between Us which will explain their relationship.


~~ ACTING ~~

The acting is amazing!!!!!

Fluke, Ohm, Earth, Kao really set the bar high for BL actors. They definitely were not hired for their pretty faces. All four actors were able to portray the complexity of their characters naturally.

Kao (Korn) and Earth (Intouch) are the best actors of the series in my opinions. Some might say Fluke (Pharm) was the best, but I found that all he did was cry. The other scenes with him weren't as eye catching compared to his crying scenes. Kao and Earth's scenes were very emotional and were the most complex. Their scenes in the flashbacks were the diving factors of the plot, so despite having very few scenes compared to Fluke and Ohm, they were able to make a statement. I cried every time they were on screen.

All four actors were amazing, but I did find that Ohm was the weakest out of the four main characters. He was able to cry on cue, but he didn't really invoke as much emotion from me compared to Kao, Earth, and Fluke.

~~ OVERALL ~~

UWMA isn't perfect, but it is a must watch. If you can get past the food scenes and Mannow's obvious product placement advertisement, then it's a really good drama. The way they did the reincarnation plotline is what really makes this series a must watch drama!

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UWMA

Eu passei essa série inteira tentando encontrar um defeito, mas sendo honesta, não encontrei nenhum significativo, tanto que já revi várias vezes e sempre sinto a mesma emoção. Eu tive um pouco de resistência a assistir pois não curto histórias de amor com temas que envolvem o sobrenatural, acho que fica muito irreal e longe da realidade, mas nesse caso a história foi tão bem elaborada, tão bem dirigida, que nos envolve, nos faz sentir cada dor, chorar junto com eles e até acreditar que tudo isso é possível de acontecer na realidade (quem sabe né?). Se vc acha que o elenco perfeito não existe, ainda não assistiu UWMA, cada ator se encaixou perfeitamente em seu papel, com certeza a direção do gênio P'New tem muito a ver com isso. Outro ponto de destaque é a trilha sonora, com destaque para Boy Sompob, que mais uma vez fez um trabalho brilhante com as canções. Sem mais, recomendo essa série sem medo, os protagonistas dão um show de interpretação e a história, apesar do ambiente universitário, não envolve os tradicionais medicina X engenharia, além de fazer com que a universidade não seja o pano de fundo mais importante.

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Beautiful, deep story od eternal love, charming, bitter sweet when it comes to main couples on the present and the past. When it comes to secondary couples it is funny, sassy and more vibrant. Actors are realy well selected and matched ( plus Ohm (Dean), Kao (Korn) and Boun (Win) are handsome as hell), music is chosen perfectly, almost everything in this drama is great. Almost. Although I understand that this was justified by some kind of artistic expression few things did bother me. First: there was to much crying for me , especially Pharm with constantly wet face was driving me crazy. First it was understandable but they exaggerated with it on a second half od the show. For me tears in the eyes and sometimes lonely tear drop were more powerfull expression od they sadness and longing than shower od tears all over the face. Second: I get IT from other dramas, that there is usually one person in a couple who is shy, innocent, pure and almost asexual still Pharm was annoying with that too. Third: slowness. After 3/4 od the drama I catched myself on fast- forwanding every episoded. Especially main protagonist - not only they move slowly, look at each other slowly, speak slowly, kiss slowly but creators showed us this on slow motion!!! Yet, nevertheless, I loved this story, I liked every character in it and straight away after finish it I started to watch "Between us" - love story of Win and Team. Loved it even more!

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NICE BUT SLOW-PACED

I have only watched this BL series in 2023, as recommended by a friend. I liked the first few episodes, but as it gets towards the end, it somehow seemed to become a bit boring, or moving in circles that never seemed to end. The scenes of In and Korn in particular could have been edited, instead of making them too long and moving slowly. We already got the message that they committed suicide because their parents disapproved and scenes of their love story seemed to be dragging a lot, that I fast-forwarded these scenes.

Apart from that I like the acting of all actors/actresses, lead as well as supporting ones. As long as the story goes, it is unique. It didn't make the story line creepy, knowing that Pharm and Dean were reincarnations of Korn and In. I can understand the stresses and anxiety that both go through when they have nightmares or flashbacks of their past lives, but do we still need this on the last episode? There were many twists about each other's families (not knowing grandma, not knowing uncle, not knowing cousin), it would be nicer if the last episode was made into a happy family reunion, or reconciliation if you may, of both lead characters, instead of just having the two say they love each other. What about the planned trip to the USA? It would be a much nicer happy ending, showing the two ready to make that trip.

One burning question I have, since I do no know that much about reincarnations, if Dean consciously knows that In is his grandmothers brother, and Pharm consciously feels he is In, wouldn't this seem to be kind of a incestuous relationship? Also if In consciously knows that Korn is his uncle, then falling in love with Dean (who feels that he is Korn) is also sort of incestuous. But anyway, I just took it lightly and thought, oh well this series is for entertainment only, so no need to think deeply about it.

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Dull Plot and Lackluster Writing Prevented Me From Loving It :(

STORY:
I really, really wanted to like this drama because (1) I generally enjoy New's work and (2) I loved the theme of reincarnation and being reunited with one's soulmate after passage of time. Unfortunately, very early on I found that I was forcing myself to watch each episode, and it felt like a chore. Despite the interesting premise, the drama itself was rather dull, tedious, and boring (except for a few parts where it was excessively melodramatic). I hated the writing: scenes were repetitive, dialogue was largely trivial and shallow and often accompanied by long bouts of silence that did absolutely nothing to move the story forward, the pacing was bad (too slow), and the plot dragged on without accomplishing much. That said, I suppose you could characterize this as tending to be more character-driven (though that may just be a nice way of saying the plot is weak); I prefer plot-driven shows with deft character development, so whether you like this drama or not may depend in part on preference.

ACTING/CAST:
As typically happens in Thai BLs, there were hits and misses with the cast with the more seasoned actors performing more naturally and organically than the newer faces. No standouts to me, but none were absolutely terrible.

OVERALL:
I may slowly try to pick this up again, but as of right now, I made it about halfway through before deciding it was too dull and poorly written for me. If all you watch are Thai BLs, you may not have as much issue with this one as I did; but if you, as I, tend to also watch different types of dramas from different countries, such as China or especially Korea (which, in my opinion, generally fare better in terms of overall quality), then you may find this one lackluster.

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Cute promising storyline with a very disappointing execution. It's pretty obvious that the producers are really trying to milk this project and make as many episodes as humanly possible. As a result the episodes are unjustifiably long with painful pauses during and between different scenes. It's really sad because I started out watching it very excited, then I started pressing the skip button every 3 seconds until I eventually dropped it.
The cast is quite likeable, but the characters not so much.. Fluke is a really really good actor but I personally can't stand Pharm..
Lastly, the ads. Most BL's have them but UWMA couldn't incorporate them well into the story and I cringe every time they come up..
In conclusion I think it's a very overhyped BL that I don't think I will be continuing since there are other ones airing at the same time that are a lot more worth watching imo than this one.

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