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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