Hemp Rope (2022)

Between Fanservice and a Plot Fanservice Seems to Win

Fan service... Fanservice... For as Far as the eye can see there will be Fanservice... I seems like the creators of this where faced with a choice to offer fansevice or plot but not both...

This is the highly anticipated parallel story of Win and Team who many of those who watched Until We Meet again wanted to see more of... And indeed we did get to see more of those two, a lot more.. And while they pretty much offer some kind of consistency with the main story and its timeline, and though there is a trauma that they do try to adress... This drama seames to be missing that all important plot that the mother drama has.

While the leads are lovable, fun to watch and take off their clothes a lot, I am not sure there is much of a plot. There are some good lines here and there, splashes of humour, and I dare say even high quality dialog at times. There are even signs of angst, misunderstandings and the oh so entertaining plot line of people who need to communicate with each other better but there is very little build up and yes as I seem to say a lot I found it hard to find the plot most of the time.

That said the dialog about consent in this is gold, so is the general message of actors have the right to love too... Most of the characters are entertaining, lovable and sweet. The acts of friendship are adorable to and I dare say the main couple while lacking in build do have great chemistry and provide a whole lot of fan service... And are a pleasure to watch. I also enjoyed seeing a swim team without perfect abs and that seem to act like most bodies do when bended showing us some skin and fat too.

A lot of the acting in this drama could have been better, like a lot better I do not have any complaints about Boun Noppanut Guntachai/ Win his acting was pretty decent but when it comes to the rest of the cast I know they can do better, I have seen several of them do better so I do not know if this drama was rushed or if it due to the writing but they did not bring out their best work for this drama.

Watching this drama (both the cut and uncut version too) felt a bit like sitting next to someone who is driving a manual car for the first time as it the shifting was al jerky and off... So again either the editing or writing was a bit off... At I kept feeling that something was missing most of the time while other times it felt draggy instead.

I do not know if I can truly recommend it as I am sad to say it is so inconsistent in quality and lacks a plot so I can not really say it was good. But I did enjoy parts of it a lot, it is an easy binge and yes I did fall for the fanservice I guess... It is also gif friendly Oh and Boun is definitely going on my crush list after this.

P.S. The official sights subbing is even worse than the lack of plot... and has even more grammatical errors and typos than most of my reviews. I am still grateful towards those who added subs to this, for without them I would be lost.

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swam in circles

Overall: this is a kind of sequel/retelling of Until We Meet Again with a shift in the main couple focus from Dean/Pharm to Win/Team. People will enjoy Between Us more if they've seen Until We Meet Again first. Note that when Team says 'brother' it means his cousin, not his biological brother. Aired on Wabi Sabi's YouTube membership channel and iQIYI.

Content Warnings: non con touching/kissing, manhandling, slap, past death, grief/trauma, homophobia (another huge content warning in a comment under a spoiler)

What I Liked
- seeing some familiar faces/characters from the first series reprise their roles
- new and extended scenes of Win and Team (return of the broccoli!)
- Win checking on Team's intoxication level
- sweet moments
- some funny moments
- the discussion about homophobia
- Win's older brother/gaming couple
- friendship between Pharm, Manow and Team
- Win and his siblings' relationships (especially Win and his younger brother)
- how Win didn't push Team to tell him about his past

Room For Improvement
- my main issue was that they went around and around, this story could have been told in 6 episodes instead of 12
- 5 couples was too many couples
- I don't understand Win's character, if they had given some background about a bad breakup or something then his actions would make sense, but they haven't shown us as an audience and so he just seems really hot and cold
- Team was oddly reluctant at times and also oddly hot and cold (mostly cold), how was Team more reluctant than Pharm (Pharm!!!) in the final episode?!?
- terrible communication between Team and Win
- for people who did not see UWMA I think this would be a bit confusing, I did want to see when Team, Pharm and Manow first met because all of a sudden they are talking as friends
- Win feels more of a jerk (what on earth was that dialogue during the hurt/care scene in ep 1) and Team is more vulnerable/less sassy and I didn't like the change
- the non con part before they went to the hotel room in ep 1
- Win's shifting hair roots (didn't take off review points for this though)
- camera blocking shots in the kissing scene in ep 1
- the conversation between Bee and Prince in ep 9 was odd, university students in Thailand don't know about bi/pan as a possibility?
- using almost the exact same music (even background music) from UWMA one of which goes with a really tragic scene in UWMA

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So much wasted potential

So I have not seen the original series, this was my first introduction to the characters and I knew next to nothing about them going in.

I liked how the main couple's relationship started different than in most other series I have watched - when kicking things off with casual sex, there was a lot of potential for it to form an interesting dynamic balancing horniness with developing emotions but then... none of that happened? There was 0 horniness. They continued to be awkward and not touch eachother for about 70% of the series and even when they had had sex multiple times, Team still continued to behave like he had never touched another man and it was just weird to see. Kisses between them were particularly bad and all the sex scenes very stiff and uncomfortable.

They could have done so much with the backstory as well, it was always about Team but even then, they just showed the one flashback over and over again and even that became a little stale. The climax of that story was emotional if a bit stiff but I did enjoy watching it.

As for acting, it was.. ok, they didn't really have much to work with and everything was so stereotypical without any big surprises. Team started out as a whiny and chidish, and continued to be that way the whole 12 episodes. Win was better, I could actually see some caring and loving emotions in him. I loved Mannow, she was so weird.

Tul/Waan and Mannow/Pruek were my favourite couples even though they both got a very little screentime. But at least they actually seemed to enjoy touching and spending time together, which was fun to see and I bought the idea that they could be a couple. Prince/Bee did seem promising too but I have to admit I skipped 90% of their scenes, mostly just because I found the ABC gang so very annoying.

One thing I have to say about music, I didn't really pay attention it, it did not improve the visuals in any way but the reason I rated it particularly low was the sound editing(?) I guess? The mics used were very bad and you could constantly hear kind of gross mouth noices which was pretty upsetting and distracting.

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When a Series Adaption too close to the Novel, It feels like Heaven.

First of I'm a novel fan. When a series is adapted from a novel I would be really particular to see how the works is being made to one. I read the Hemp Rope and I'm so inlove between the story of WinTeam. All that they did, all the emotion they have, all the words they speak of, all that are like your favorite food that will make you full but you'll continue to eat it because it makes you happy. While adaptation have the rights to change most plots and adds other stuff, I like how Between Us had choosen to keep the main plot in full, even the amazing lines they said, It was nice to read it but hearing it is even more better. My heart is very satisfied with this adaptation, I almost cry with happiness as to how Boun & Prem personified WinTeam. They have done their best and I approve them and will only consider as the only Hia Win and Team could ever be. I also understand the series tweak some important details from the novel as the novel is emotionally too heavy to deal with. Nonetheless all WinTeam centered plot both novel & series is like heaven for me.

Talk about acting Boun & Prem can truly deliver. I'm almost in awe. I love how they know their characters so well and executed main-heavy scenes superbly. It gives me goosebumps with their powerful acting. It's just great. Their acting potential is limitless, they can explore more and improve and grow. I will look forward to their future projects.

Just like any other bl drama, this series has some flaws as well (repeatitive flashbacks, too many micro stories -they're really good and well executed but feel off, 2 new cp, over screentime to certain frames ) but it was negligble to me as I am always drawn to good acting by Main Leads and overall imagery of the series and this one just hit all my checkmarks to be a series I would surely rewatch again.

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Bad Writing Failed The Actors

LIKE:
Boun & Prem’s chemistry
Waan & Tul story
Manow & Phruek
Location shots (the resorts)
Boun riding motorcycle
FX: blood injury looked real

DISLIKE:
WRITING:
Making Team so childish and whinny, got annoying fast.
Flashbacks used too often and the same ones over and over.
No in-depth back story to explain Win’s fear of commitment. He’s a peace keeper in his family, he’s rich…. AND?
Too many side stories & characters, when focus should’ve been on Team & Win, Manow and Phruek.
No character development for anyone.
Pacing issues caused by repetition and dragged out moments, making it boring without the intimate scenes.
Badly handled mental health issues; once again writer/production team carelessly approached the mental health problems of the characters.

PRODUCTION: Shaking camera moments, please don’t get the k-drama syndrome and use your film stabilizer. Sound editing was not good (either a mic issue or something else).

MUSIC: over powered actors voices too often and certain songs overplayed.

OVERALL:
The actors did well with what they were given. No excuse for bad or lazy writing with characters and zero plot dimension. They had 2 years during the pandemic to focus on what the fans wanted story wise, but failed in so many ways [see all the negative reviews for in-depth analysis of plot/story/writing issues]. (I like Boun and Prem, I want to see them working with other writers and production companies. If Boun won’t do BL without Prem, how about give him a female love interest?)
I will watch certain moments again, or just wait for someone to do a scene compilation on Youtube. I would recommend it to someone who is just starting to watch the BL (Boy Love) genre.

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Between Us, It's Not Worth The Wait

Creating spin offs focused on the side couples that captured the audience's hearts has been a thing for a while. Sometimes it's done really well, but in a lot of cases as showcased here with Between Us, it just ends very poorly. The thing with side couples is that they're just that, side couples. They can bounce in and out as needed to provide whatever is needed, some levity to keep the show from being too heavy, a nudge to keep the plot rolling, a touch of ingenuity to get the lead couple together or back on track, etc. They're not central to the story, but they do play an important role. The problem comes though, when you try to take them and make them the leads. Unless both stories are planned out at the same time, it's bound to get messy which was the case with Between Us.

I watched Between Us and then promptly went and skimmed through UWMA which means that the differences between the two were positively glaring. Since these two dramas were obviously not planned out at the same time, there were inevitably going to be differences, that was unavoidable. However, with that being said, I think they could have done a much better job of making those differences less obvious.
-The most obvious were characters that were prominent in UWMA that were just completely omitted in Between Us, namely Dean's sister, Del. She became a good friend of Manow and Pharm and was frequently seen with them at the swim meets and such and with Manow in the drama club. I don't know if the actress was unavailable, uninterested, or if they deliberately omitted her but it was weird to have her absent. Same with Alex who was also part of the drama club and again was almost completely omitted aside from one comment about him that Manow made in Episode 1. If they didn't want those characters in there, then so be it, but find a way to explain why they don't show up. Pretending they don't exist is not the way to go. Your audience isn't stupid.
-Similarly, part of Manow's journey was her discouragement of not getting any acting parts and just working backstage. This was another fairly major change since she acted in a short film that won a prize in UWMA and acted in something for the club's open house as well. Don't get me wrong, I actually liked the change, but it just felt like they didn't care about consistency and staying true to the original story.
-Sticking with Manow for a second, her and Pruek's relationship was also completely different. This is another change that I liked, I actually adored their relationship, more than Win and Team, if I'm honest, they were so wholesome, but again, nothing like what transpired in UWMA.
There's definitely more but I'll stick with those so I don't keep rambling.

The biggest problem though with Between Us, is that there simply wasn't enough story to stretch for 12 episodes. There just wasn't. Again as side characters, as a side couple, Team and Win were fantastic, they were the comedic relief together, separately they were confidants for Pharm and Dean respectively. It worked. But with them as the leads, their characters also changed. Team was almost infantilized. He was whiny and childish. His constant complaint of "Hia" became increasingly grating as the drama dragged on. And Win, who was teasing and mischievous in UWMA, was suddenly possessive and overprotective. The teasing came out as well, but to a lesser extent and as the drama went on; their relationship took on an almost parental note which was weird and felt unnatural. Their relationship in UWMA, for as little as we saw of it, felt natural. That's part of why it was so charming. What we needed was something that told us why they worked. Not a one night stand, not family drama, or a traumatic back story, just them, what was it about their personalities, who they were, that just clicked and unfortunately we got everything but that.

But while I feel like starting their relationship with a one night stand wouldn't fit with the narrative initiated by UWMA, it could have worked. If they had showcased what started out as just sex slowly developing into something more. But instead, they kept their relationship painfully awkward, particularly on Team's part, hesitant to touch or be touched, and the kisses were just not great. There should have been a steady improvement, but there wasn't. I'm going to guess neither the writer or director have ever been in relationships and have no idea how they work because seriously, there should be growth and development, not just physically, but emotionally. But again, we have the weird parent/child dynamic between the two that never goes away. We have Win's apparent fear of commitment that's never really addressed. There's also Team's completely unfounded fear that he's not truly special to Win that's also not addressed. Those are two aspects that would have been interesting to explore and could have given insight to the characters, providing growth for them as individuals and as a couple. We also have scenes like the one where Team apparently sits in the rain for two hours waiting for Win to rush to his side. Really? You're visiting your parents, they're probably 10 minutes away, but you're going to call your boyfriend who's two hours away. And then Win, who has a car, decides to ride his bike. The levels of stupidity in that one scene were just off the charts. And then the episode where they finally admit they love each other but spend half of it chasing each other around. Basically, by the end of the drama, I wanted to bash their heads together, not that I think it would have actually done any good.

The other thing bogging down this drama was, as usual, the myriad of side couples. Now the two I didn't mind were Manow and Pruek, as I already mentioned, and, for the most part, Tul and Waan.
-Manow and Pruek had a good, steady development in their relationship and I loved his endless support of her. Seriously, Pruek is boyfriend goals. If he has an older brother exactly like him, I want him as my boyfriend thank you very much. I also loved how he just accepted her as she was with all her quirks and oddities. He took everything in stride no matter how weird and it created some truly adorable scenes. I just cannot describe how much I adore them. I liked the depth given to Manow. I loved her in UWMA, but there was more to her here. She wasn't just the funny friend, she was a whole character. And she had so much personality! BL's and dramas, in general, take note. A woman does not have to be a skinny, pretty little thing with no personality to be appreciated. Not that Sammy isn't pretty, she is stunning, but I love that she doesn't fit that typical mold. I wouldn't have minded more of a focus on her struggles and efforts to be an actress despite not fitting society's idea of how an actress should look, but I'll take what I can get.
-Tul and Waan, for all that they didn't have a whole lot of screen time, were an interesting couple if nothing else. They added an element of intrigue with the whole will Tul get the cajones to tell him who he really is or not. They reasonably developed characters with a mostly believable story. I liked their interactions both through their game and in person. Their ending was a bit rushed for my taste, definitely a 0 to 60, and the chemistry seemed to be a bit lacking there, but I didn't hate it.
-Bee and Prince were my least favorite side couple. They had some cute moments, but I didn't feel their relationship was well developed. When I first wrote this review, I really didn't get Prince's struggle and it seemed over the top. Now, having seen more how celebrities in Thailand and Asia are treated, I have a much greater appreciation for his dilemma and the trials he and Bee were bound to face. So that aspect I felt was well done. But as a whole, their relationship felt choppy. They hadn't interacted enough before they were in love for me to believe it was something lasting or to even fully see how they got there. Still, I did find myself rooting for them and for their future together.
-Pharm and Dean are of course in there, but they're not added into the story very well as a couple. Honestly, they're just kind of there. Dean, as president of the swim club and Win's friend pops up more than Pharm, but past the first couple of episodes, he's mostly there as a sounding board for Win. Since his and Pharm's story has already been told, I don't really have anything to say about them, other than, I did like Pharm more here. I don't know if it was because I can tolerate him better in smaller doses, he seemed more mature, which he did, or there were a lot fewer scenes of him being all shy with Dean after they'd been together for a while. Whatever the reason, it worked.
-They weren't a side couple but I was not fond of A and Sea. Frankly, they were jerks toward Bee and if I was him, I would have dropped them as friends. There is good natured ribbing and there is bullying/mocking. In my opinion, they went past good natured straight to bullying/mocking. He was obviously serious about Prince and rather than offering their support, they just mocked him. Who needs or wants friends like that?

And this was yet another drama that clearly thought its viewers had short term memories and so must show flashbacks at least once every ten minutes. I'm exaggerating, but the number of flashbacks really was unnecessary and excessive. Other than the music reused from UWMA which was just as lovely as I remembered, I wasn't overly impressed with the OST. It was mostly pretty forgettable and there were definitely moments where the music was too loud and it made hearing the actors' voices hard. The cinematography varied. Some of it was really great and beautiful, but then there were moments of shaky camera work, some awkward shots or lighting that really detracted from the quality.

The acting is honestly pretty mediocre. I didn't find myself impressed with any of the leads, no one really jumped out to me which was kind of disappointing. But then again, that's pretty much how this whole drama sums up. Boun and Prem for all that I did like them in UWMA lack chemistry. They have a couple of scenes that should have been hot, but frankly I didn't feel anything. Other scenes, where they were messing with each other or even when they were having a few heartfelt conversations, there was chemistry. They just severely lacked it physically. And should say that not everyone was mediocre. Sammy was once again a delight as my girl, Manow and Bosston kept giving me warm, fuzzy feelings every time he was on screen, so I will give credit to those two for keeping me invested.

I came into this drama really wanting to like it. I was excited for Win and Team's story, to see it unfold and develop. Unfortunately, I ended up disappointed in so many ways from the change in both their characters to the lack of development in their relationship to just how bland the story was overall. If you enjoyed UWMA, I really can't recommend watching this. Actually, I just can't recommend watching this period.

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More Weiw Please!

After waiting for 3 years for Between Us, I'm glad that this came out to be a good series, which was entertaining and complex in the plot. I was worried we were going to have a Love By Chance 2 or any other terrible sequel to an already perfect series. But this outdid itself.

Let's Die In.

This takes place at the very beginning of UWMA, but from Win and Team's perspective. They still intertwined some moments between Dean and Pharm, which I absolutely loved. Their story was good, it kept me entertained, it only falters a bit due to some poor communication that I feel like at Win and Team's big age they shouldn't have, but other than that, it's good. Prem is seriously an incredible actor. The pool scene was done so perfectly that I got teary-eyed (which rarely happens). I'm glad that we get to see both of them shine here. Their chemistry is amazing, they have such a dynamic that it's so clear through the screen.

Then we get more into Win's family situation while Team is going through his own problems with the death of his friend (cousin?) from when he was young. Waan was an okay character. His story with Yacht's character was really intriguing, but they literally drag it out so much that they don't get together until the end of the series, which was a bit annoying. They were giving me superman vibed because how could Waan not hear that the voice on the phone was obviously Tul's? Anyways, I'm in love with Weiw and I wish that he had his own pairing.

I really enjoyed the ABC group surprisingly. Bee and Prince's story felt a little out of place, but Benz was so cute, so I don't mind. Kind of sort of the same with Pluek and Manow, I didn't care for them but she's so adorable and hilarious that I don't mind it.

I really appreciated how there wasn't any heavy makeup or bright filters placed over the actors. We could actually see their skin and even some actors' acne, but it just adds on to the reality of all this. I want more barely there makeup, it looks so good.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - It's good! Some spots falter because it's just back-and-forth miscommunication. Other than that, it's a great plot!

Acting: 10/10 - I never usually give a 10/10 to the acting, but there's literally not a singular person who didn't do a good job. Prem being the best, and it just follows after that.

Music: 8/10 - They brought back some of my favorites from UWMA!! Yay!

Recommndation Value: 7.5/10 - Highly recommend. Especially if you were a UWMA person. I still think UWMA is better, but this series does it justice, and it really is an enjoyable watch. I didn't skip over anything, I didn't hate watching one couple than the other, it was really great.

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Watching this show made me genuinely sad. Not because the plotline was moving or emotional, but just because of how incredibly awful everything single aspect of this show was. I think this show single handedly made me straight. This show has five couples that we are meant to cheer for, but somehow they managed to make me throw up whenever I see any of them EXCEPT the one straight couple. After episode 8, I couldnt do it anymore and had to watch the rest of the show in 2x speed because the pacing was horribly slow. Scenes lasted far too long. The MLs could take up a whole episode inching towards eachother

Team and Win.) Team is the most annoying character I have ever seen displayed in media. He is constantly whining and complaining. He asks his boyfriend to do everything for him then hits him and insults him when he does it. Win does everything for him and all Team ever does in return is be the most annoying bottom in BL history. I don't know how anyone could ever enjoy such a pathetic character.

Yaoi Monster and Pharm.) This fucking twink started crying because Yaoi Monster grabbed soup for him. This is the stereotypical yaoi couple. The big, strong, masculine top and the weak, crybaby, bottom. At the beginning of the show, they set up a plotline for this couple to follow and then after it was set up for them, the writers just completely forgot about and showed them once or twice in each episode. Though, honestly this was probably a good thing because if I saw Yaoi Monster and Flower Boy anymore than I already did, I would have a brain aneurysm.

Gameboys.) These motherfuckers were so incredibly weird I didn't even bother learning their names. They played games together online which was like, cute, okay, I can get behind that. BUT once this freakazoid goblin finds out his little crushes personal identity, he begins stalking him. Stalker Goblin somehow manages to made any pleasant or causal interaction the most creepy and just absolutely horrendous thing to watch. He is always so creepy around his crush, trying to touch him and get him to cuddle. AND THE OTHERGAMER BOY CALLS HIM OUT ON IT. LIKE “youre so weird, why did you stalk me” AND THEN THIS GRIMY DOLPHINMAN IS LIKE “sorry,, I just really liked you 🥺”. AND THEN THEY GET TOGETHER???? LIKE COME ON GIRLS…

Bee and Twink.) I can’t do this anymore.

I liked the actors, but I cannot handle this fucking show

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In With a Bang...Out with a Wimper

Let me just start by clarifying: this is not a bad show. It isn't horrendously acted, it doesn't have a ludicrous plot that makes you want to rip your hair out. It's a perfectly serviceable, if a bit bland average to mid BL series.

So why did I rate it so low? Because I'd almost rather have the exceedingly bad trainwreck. At least those shows tried to do SOMETHING interesting, even if it ended in a disasterous dumpster fire.

This show had me in the first couple of episodes. I was excited to see where they went next. And then...they didn't go anywhere.

This show's worst crime is that it is exceedingly BORING. There's no forward momentum with any of the characters. We're 8 episodes in and everyone feels like they are in the exact same place they were in from episode 1. I think I finally figured out that this is because there is no story here. TeamWin was a wonderful side couple in UWMA who served the plot perfectly by giving much needed light-hearted catharsis. This is why we fell in love with them. They were a release of tension when the plot needed it. But their story is too thin to fill a twelve episode run. So instead of giving us an interesting look at their characters, or more of what made us like them in the first place, we get an endless parade of side couples, each more bland then the next. All of the couples suffer because none of them are given any time to develop in any interesting way.

Maybe it's time to come to terms with the fact that sometimes we like side characters simply because we don't delve into their stories. There's a little bit of mystery, we only see the best bits of their relationship. Between this and EvenSun, I'm coming to the conclusion that Boun and Prem can't carry a series as leads. (I came to this same conclusion about OhmFluke. I loved UWMA but everything else they've been in has been a muddled mess, and let's be honest: the heart and soul of UWMA is actually KaoEarth.)

This should have been good. It had all of the pieces in place, all of the same actors as UWMA, two characters who had legitimate chemistry at one point. I don't know if the pandemic can be blamed, or if the delays in filming just led to apathy, but that's what I feel from these actors when I watch this show. They're phoning it in. They don't care, which unfortunately leaves me not to care either.

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They had better series.

I kinda expected more. Somehow in this series I felt like they are lacking chemistry or maybe characters didn't fit them that much. I didn't felt romantic mood and the story is really all over the place. Music don't help to create mood. Sometimes it doesn't fit at all. Many times it looked like they only shoot the scene once because the amount of mistakes or clearly not planned scenes was huge. It's just generally speaking not that well planned. I kinda blame producer and production stuff for it but to be honest it also kinda felt like supporting actors actually acted better than main couple and that surprised me because I've seen them acting much better in other series. The fact that full version is for people having membership is not that greatest idea and the cuts where they say it before every episode are just irritating... You can easily find full episodes on other sites so making it like that will just make them loose views. Visuals are as usual great they are both good looking but it's not enough to make me repeat this series.

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good objectively but didn't live up to the hype

If you're like me and have been waiting literally 3 years for this show to come out, I think its quite obvious to say that I was kind of disappointed that it wasn't all I was hyping it up to be. TBH I thought this show was going to change the trajectory of my life but honestly, it was just like. Okay. If I watched it without all of the hyping up I gave it I think I would have liked it a little more, but unfortunately, I've been waiting for this since 2019. I absolutely hated that there was FIVE COUPLES?????? Any more than one side couple is just farrr to many im sorry. Half the episode most of the time was not even about winteam and I always found myself wanting to skip through prince and beeprince and pruekmanows scenes. tulwan was a pleasant surpise though- I ended up really really loving them, and would love to have been able to see more of them. So yeah overall it was okay and im not upset that I watched it, but it could have been better considering how fucking long it took to come out.

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