Until We Meet Again (2019)

Loved It

I’ve seen a lot of lack luster reviews about this drama and honestly I highly disagree. This drama is amazing, I wish I could erase my memory just to rewatch this drama again. This isn’t a heavy plot drama, but the plot twists are so worth it and well earned. The characters could use a bit more development, but the small details that make up the four main characters (Dean, Pharm, In and Korn) make this such an enjoyable show. The love story seems a bit slow, but I honestly didn’t mind as I felt Pharm and Dean had a lot to work through. The side ship is 100% one of the great parts of this drama and the side characters are so fun.

Now on to the SPOILERS:

Pharm is the reincarnation of Intouch and Dean is the reincarnation of Korn. One of the main things I love about this drama is how it sets the reincarnations a part from their past lives. The details make it that much more enjoyable. You’ll see what happened in their past lives take a mental toll on them in their reincarnations. Pharm, who witnessed Korn’s suicide as Intouch, now has ptsd, even though he has no idea why.

And at the climax you’ll see the full effects of Korn’s decision to kill himself on Pharm. I saw in some reviews that people didn’t like how reserved or prudish Pharm seems for someone that is supposed to be in love. But I think it’s important to realize that Intouch had been such an out going and affectionate person which is not contrasted with Pharm who seems a bit more emotionally constipated and afraid to show his love, because essentially that is what lead to both of them dying in the first place.

The changes between Korn and Dean are much more subtle. I don’t think we ever see Korn cry, or it’s very rare. Where as Dean cries many times and feels the full weight of his choice and the guilt is consuming for him. At first it seems that Dean is just as reserved as Korn was, but I don’t think that is the case. Dean has friends where as it seemed Korn only had his siblings to confide in. I think Dean has grown and matured a lot since his past life as Korn and has become more mindful of his decisions and their effects.

I don’t want to spoil too much, their are some amazing plot twists and truly heart wrenching scenes. I cried a lot watching this drama. I highly recommend it.

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A Perfect Balance of BL and LGBTQ+ Drama

I have re-watched this drama for so many times and I never failed to end up crying a river. The story was just so beautiful and Fluke's acting was impeccable, to say the least. Now let's get into the pros and cons.

PROS

1. Acting

Fluke's acting was, again, excellent. He has shown time and time again that he is one of the best actors in Thailand. The last episode alone has showcased his range. His ability to cry on cue, his amazing skills to switch from one character (Pharm) to another (Intouch) in a single frame, and his subtle yet profound expressions have basically carried the whole show.

I also want to praise the veteran actors who played Dean's mother, Dean's grandma, Intouch's father and Korn's father. Their acting was sublime and they elevated the drama. Other actors did decent too, although not reaching the same level as Fluke and the veteran actors.

2. Story

The story is one of a kind. No other BLs have reached the level of complexity that UWMA had at that time. This would make you cry buckets of tears yet at the same time would also wrap you in a lingering warmth. DeanPharm's story was a fated one. This might seem boring to most people but I personally think it portrayed a healthy and mature relationship between two young individuals—which is unfortunately rarely shown in BLs. Dean was full of desire but also patient, while Pharm was meek but also firm.

I was quite impressed when Dean was making physical advances to Pharm by grabbing his behind when suddenly Pharm took a stand and said a firm no to Dean. Dean respected that and apologized to Pharm, which showed that 1) Dean succumbed to his desire, he made a mistake, but he recognized that mistake and apologized profusely; 2) Pharm knew his boundaries and was not foolish enough to let someone he loved to cross those lines, and 3) Consent was clearly a major key in this drama.

How this drama portrays family acceptance/rejection was also another major plus. In DeanPharm's arc, we would see how family acceptance became the stone that built both individuals. Meanwhile, in KornIn's arc, we saw how rejection from their fathers broke their lives apart and created a long-lasting, detrimental effects to all parties involved. BL dramas rarely showed, let alone elaborated the extent of the latter scenario. LGBTQ life in Asia, in fact, is not all butterflies and rainbows and UWMA had successfully portrayed both sides of the coin really well.

There are also other great points that the drama brought up, such as the importance of safe sex and care after sex (!!!). The use of condom/protection has been brought up multiple times in BL drama and I will never get tired of it, but I believe UWMA was one of the first ones that brought up the after-sex care. Sex, especially for the first time, can be mentally/physically exhausting and painful, especially for the receiving end. After care is needed and Dean showed his love for Pharm by providing care package afterwards. I found that very thoughtful and sweet, and it was a major plus to me. UWMA also gave us a serious conversation on same-sex marriage, which is surprisingly rare in BLs.

However, the story is not without flaws. I found WinTeam's arc to be unnecessary. It felt like a filler and I was compelled to skip through most of them, although I understood that it served as an introduction to the sequel (or spin-off?) which focuses on WinTeam. Still, I wish the drama could have focused more on KornIn and DeanPharm.

3. Music

I found myself listening to the OSTs from time to time. The orchestral music did its job to intensify the watchers' feelings in emotional scenes. I also appreciated the different opening soundtracks. I noticed that they changed the opening soundtrack depending on the overall mood of the episode, which I found pretty neat.

CONS

1. Editing

I hate to admit this but the editing was sloppy at times. There were some scenes that could have used better transitions or been cut a few seconds shorter. There were also some filler scenes that I find unnecessary as they added nothing to the main story and added little entertainment value. They also missed some minor details were quite bothersome for the watchful eyes.

2. Pacing

My goodness, the pacing was the biggest flaw of the series. It would've been a 1000000/10 if it had 12 episodes or so. Some of the scenes were awfully slow. I felt like the middle part of it was quite draggy, while the ending was a bit rushed. That scene where Pharm and his friends went to the BBQ (??) place was unnecessarily long, in my opinion, and could have been used to flesh out Pharm's mental journey to separate his love story with that of Intouch.

CONCLUSION

Despite the flaws, this drama is a trailblazer in BL genre. I often found the acting in BL drama to be lackluster, but Fluke really showed his acting chop and served the best performance out of all BL drama. The story was solid and deep, unlike most BLs that often have surface-level plot. As I said at the beginning of my review, UWMA truly is *the* perfect balance of BL and LGBTQ+ drama.

Citeste mai mult

Best Show I have watched, period!

I'm new to the whole BL Drama genre and this was the fourth one I have watched in the past 3 weeks. I was simply blown away by almost every aspect of the show. The acting was amazing, the storyline was believable and gripping and it left me wanting to watch it all over again once it was over.

Without giving away any spoilers, the story was beautiful in almost all aspects from the romance, the plot, the script, the mystery and the characters. If I could have a friendship group like the one depicted in this show I would be over the moon! The actors were all excellent in their roles. They were so believable and the emotions on display hit hard, particularly towards the end of the series. I'm not ashamed to admit I shed a few tears towards the end and I am not a big crier. The music was also excellent, I'm currently listening to it right now as I write this.

All in all, this was a fantastic show and has probably spoiled me for the genre now as it was so good! I would defo recommend it but don't forget a box of tissues, especially for the last few episodes :)

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No tears left to cry

I was excited to watch this series because of the good reviews. The premise of this series is different as it is more on the drama side of things and touches on several topics as the story progresses. I like how food and old Thai culture were used as plot devices, it is rare to see a BL series that shows these.

Things get really slow later on in the series and there were a lot of internalization scenes, wherein we watch the character cry or reminisce the past and we'd be shown a flashback that we've already seen before. Sometimes, these scenes would last 5-10 minutes. 5-10 minutes of Pharm just crying.
And there are too much staring and just looking at each other. There are no episodes wherein this would not happen. Literally no tears left to cry for Pharm.

The family tree also gets messy and really this took away the drama because it left me confused as to whose family is who. I had to google their family tree for me to better understand this (okay maybe I'm nitpicking on this part).

The actors were great and you can feel how professional Fluke is. I can see a little struggle with Ohm and Nine on some of the crying scenes, but other than this they were both enjoyable to watch. As with many other BL dramas, I always find myself shipping the supporting characters. Team and Win are just adorable and I always look forward to their scenes. I'm also happy that Sammy finally gets a boy!!!

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TW: Suicide

i love this series !! if you haven't watched this series, you are missing something. this series is just an emotional roller coaster i'm serious about it, this series makes you cry, laugh and makes you butterflies in your stomach. each of these couples is so great and each of them has a nice chemistry .. this story is just wow and made so awesome! sometimes it's a bit more complicated with the family story but at some point you understand it. and wow they all played so well, most of them Kao, Eearth, Fluke and ohm their acting was so good, the others were all so good too .. this series is absolutely not to be missed !!!

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EMOTIONAL, SWEET AND SLOW BURN ROMANCE

Reincarnation and Red string of fate bl plot...Okay, Hands down, I'm in for this one..

I'm glad that this BL drama put a twist to the common university themed/setting dramas by placing this premise. I love how the story is slow burned and I'm sorry that some might prefer a fast paced plot in which the main characters get together immediately and have some steamy scenes but in all honesty, This drama is so wholesome and I'm glad that it didn't take that route. The way the main couple's (Dean and Pharm) relationship progressed or developed in the story is beautiful. The struggles that they had up until the end in which they overcame it was great.

Another thing that I love about this show was also the fact that it tackled the important issues of the LGBT community (acceptance and forgiveness).

This drama definitely is a must watch for those who are into wholesome and slow burned romance or melodrama.

Although, the execution of this drama was not perfect because some of the acting scenes of some characters tend to have long pauses or there are unecessary scenarios.. I can definitely say that what brought me into finishing this drama was the story of how Dean and Pharm loved each other - the acceptance and forgiveness...

Cheers to the cast for portraying their characters and cheers for the one who had written the story..

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Overview

In a time when Thailand churns out some 20+ BL series per year, Until We Meet Again has solidified itself as one of the top Thai BLs of all time. Ever since the global craze began in 2015, Thai BLs have been plagued by low production costs, rookie actors and a sense of naivety that often detaches from reality.

UWMA is a welcome surprise, as the fantastic director and cast brought us a modern gay romance with a mature artistic focus, while still not losing the lighthearted charm of Thai BLs. The series sends a powerful message through its story of reincarnation: love transcends life and death.

Directing

The director New Siwaj is known for works such as Make It Right Seasons 1 & 2, and Love By Chance. MIR was one of the first successful Thai BLs, but until it reached the later parts of Season 2, the series lacked focus and was often distracted by a over-saturation of support casts. Love By Chance was a much better production, and could squarely be considered the model Thai BL: fluffy, lighthearted, and approachable.

Surprisingly, New has scored a major breakthrough with UWMA. Ever since the first episode in the series, there is an artistic direction that is rarely, if ever, seen in Thai BLs. In particular, the use of lighting in several scenes gives the series an artistic direction that is a welcome change among Thai BLs.

Overall, the story progressed at a steady pace, with a great focus on the changing emotions of the characters, against the background of a gradual revelation from the past. This is in part owing to the original novel, which I am sure is well-written, but in part also attributed to the director's work.

Acting

Fluke Natouch is known for his role as Bank in the movie My Bromance, which at the young age of 17, he played with surprising maturity. His lesser-known role in Red Wine in the Dark Night also allowed him to show what he is capable of as an actor with tremendous range and his own unique style. The role as Pharm in UWMA has finally given Fluke a chance to shine on the small screen, and it is an understatement to say that he delivered. Much more can be said of Fluke's acting prowess, but he was definitely the star of the show in UWMA.

The rest of the cast, even including supporting cast with only minor roles, has a consistently high quality. Ohm Thitiwat is a new face in the BL scene, and a welcome one as he portrayed Dean well in the more emotional scenes. A shout out to Earth Katsamonnat, who already showed promising skills portraying Tar in Love By Chance, and once again brought the audience to tears in his touching performance as Intouch. Nine/Kao Noppakao delivered his portrayal of Korn with the same coolness as Ohm's Dean, but with a fearful lack of confidence that shone through in the limited amount of scenes he had.

Criticisms

Overall great use of music, however, the cliche of an a cappella solo ballad cutting in with way too much reverb as a couple is about to kiss is one that Thai BLs need not keep in the future. The instrumental tracks of the series were well-composed.

There are some minor inconsistencies and blemishes, but they do not affect the enjoyment of the series. For example, room numbers were switched with no explanation, which was probably an oversight. Some scenes have inconsistent lighting, and others have distracting ambient noises that need not be there. The most apparent are the driving scenes, which consistently have poorly made computer effects that clearly superimpose a static image on the glass: we can see that the car is not actually moving on the road.

One final criticism has to do with rewatch value. Several flashback scenes seem repetitive as the series goes on, and definitely harms the rewatch value of the series. On the first viewing, there is still the anticipation of the revelation of past events, and Dean and Pharm's growing realisation of their past. However, on a second viewing, some of these flashback scenes will begin to seem redundant and repetitive, as they often add nothing more to the story; they simply serve as opportunities for the actors to shine.

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Review++ lowkey a theory too??

Okay so actually Dean and Pharm are family from each other but they dont know that selfs (in the end of the serie they known) and i think that was the shockest moment (after the suicide scene). And if you think about it, they had sex and have kissed each other multiple times and to me thats very disgusting (dont @ me lmfao) but its not they had really a choice. When they died they were linked with the red string and they were recreationed but the red string hold them together no matter what and because they are recreationed they have the thoughts that they were together still++ the red string holding them together,,, so they didnt had a choice because theyre minds told them they HAVE to be together, because thats what the red string does. REVIEW;; The story plot line is good and very creative, it is something that you dont see quick in series. I dont want to say this is not something that doesnt happen in real life, but everyone handeld is really good. I almost know the most actors because they acted (obviously) in other series/movies(etc) and they have improved really good. In the special episodes they share too what was the most hard to act and they say the suicide scene because they felt a lot of pressure+ it was the first scene to film. You can see they really put them mind and soul in acting and they really mean it. The music was very good too and always fitted in the scene that was played. It does too really playes with your emotions too. I think i almost cried in every episode and i fucking hated that. I wouldn't watch it again because its actually so sad and it surely plays with your emotions, for real tho. I surely dont think they used "fill" scenes, because was connected to the plot so you always need to stay alert lmfao. In conclusion it is a very good and shocking serie and they put trigger warnings. It really can play with your emotions but i think it was a beautiful serie.♡

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This series could have been better. The story is unique. But the script wasn't how it should have been. Nevertheless, here I am, reviewing a Thai BL, that captured my heart.
Before, I had seen and like any, enjoyed the normal BL. But this, with a supernatural plus foodaholic theme, just captured my heart.
It's not your average boy meets boy, it's why is It this boy meets This boy !
I have to admit, Fluke does an outstanding job protraying Pharm. And Ohm was dependable s P'Dean.
The flow is really my only complain. Though they make a living out of endorsement, the pacing could have been better and the drama could have more momentum.
The music was also okay. Not outstanding, but decent.
Overall, what I enjoyed was definitely the acting of the leads. They gave me romance that I felt was genuine.

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This is the most terrific series/novel that I've watched. The story was kinda spectacular. But the only thing that's lacking is the revelations between Korn's family. I mean, it's not that quite revealing for me. I want to see their reaction when they knew it that Dean was Korn, something like that.

There's a part where I'm kinda confused, so I need to rewatch the episode again. I was thinking the first time that they were blood related, but realized that it's only Korn and Intouch's memory and not by blood.. That's why I need to rewatch it again to understand. Geez, my mind can't process accurately for this type of story, lol..

Fluke's acting was so damn good. But there's a time that he keeps on smiling that won't fit the scene. But it doesn't matter.

The only music that I like was the instrument, like, I think it's a violine, sorry, I don't know what's the title is. And for OST, not that bad.

It would be great if they're going to make at least a movie, or another series to finish the story of each cast, as well as what will happen after their school life..

But overall, I'm going to recommend this 'cos it's a-must watch series. It's more on story and not a couple sweetness as what other BL stories do.

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One of the most enjoyable dramas I've ever watched!

I am absolutely crazy about this drama. The story is incredibly unique, it's done really well and the balance between flashbacks and the present felt just right.
The acting was sublime. The whole cast did amazing! The chemistry between the actors is no joke! And not only between the main couple (DeanPharm). All the side relationships' (KornIntouch and WinTeam) chemistry was jumping off the screen and even the friendship dynamics were unbelievable.
The story was a bit slow paced, but that only made the drama better in this case, as it meant I had more episodes to watch :))
Most of the time I get bored of OSTs really quick since writers of dramas quite like to just paste it all over. That wasn't different this time, but it was far more enjoyable. I even found myself humming the title song when I was just doing something else. That's how front and center this drama has been in my head.
Seeing, not only the characters, but the whole cast, interact makes me unbelievably happy. I was so soft and mellow watching this drama, having a near constant smile on my face. I adore this whole drama and all of it aspects and I can't wait for Between Us to come out to just have more content about these characters to watch. Now, excuse me while I go and watch all of the cast content I can find.

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