There’s a reason Until We Meet Again has stayed with us throughout the years. UWMA had all of us emotionally invested back in late 2019 and early 2020, and it’s still just as impactive for the second time. Did we ever really get over it? Here’s why we think it’s time to rewatch it now — whether it’s your second or tenth run with the show.
Trigger Warning: The show contains suicide, homophobia, and panic attacks. We at The Honey POP encourage you to be mindful of this before deciding to watch.
Unique Storyline
Okay, UWMA is definitely not your typical lighthearted fluffy storyline that sorely depends on BL tropes. The BL industry and audience are growing together, giving space to more mature topics recently; UWMA kind of had to run so that these plots can walk today in the mainstream BL world.
There’s a distinctive narrative to the storytelling that explores the intertwined past and present in parallel. Pulled out of chronological order, the show opens up with the tragic double suicide from the main couple’s (DeanPharm) past life (KornIn), and follows up on the concept of reincarnation and soul mates. For the first watch, this made us eager to see how the characters recall the memories the viewers know from the beginning, while the rewatches give us a better chance to pinpoint the little details we might have missed during our initial watch. And emotional breakdowns. Because there are plenty of them with the storyline discussing not only suicide, but its serious consequences, homophobia, anxiety, and panic attacks. They’re all portrayed with seriousness and a level of respect that is often hard to find in the entertainment industry.
Balance
We’ve put all the heaviness on the table, but UWMA is actually just as funny, simple, wholesome, and sweet as it is complex, heavy, and emotional. And that balance is one of the reasons we are more than happy to rewatch this show even after our initial ugly cries.
UWMA received a fair amount of criticism for its pacing, but we believe it added to the purpose of the intriguing story. It gives us time to feel all the emotions, having our hearts ache or skip a beat between giggles. It also creates a more relaxing atmosphere which spares us the unnecessary additional discomfort that a faster pace could add to the heaviness of the story.
Details
We mentioned that UWMA doesn’t depend on BL tropes, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have them. The seriousness mixed with familiar tropes helps emphasize the differences between the past and present regarding LGBTQ+ acceptance. Without going into too many spoilers, in case someone new stumbled upon this article, the story includes many other subtle details which might be easier to catch during a rewatch – like the differences between the characters of Korn and Dean, and In and Pharm. Showing how they must have learned sometimes from their past lives. The dilemma of whether Dean and Pharm’s love for each other is their own or just emotions left behind by Korn and In. Or when we physically see Dean and Pharm detaching from their past selves, just to mention a few.
Between Us
Okay, up until now, we discussed what we like about UWMA. But here’s our real excuse to rewatch it. Like, right now. And do we need to say more? After three years of waiting, we’ll finally see how the side couple, Win and Team’s, relationship actually develops, parallel to what we’ve seen in UWMA. According to our predictions (and what we read in the novel), Between Us will give us a more conventionally enjoyable BL story. AKA less heavy and more lighthearted compared to UWMA. But since we are up for another 12 episodes, there might be some room to explore some emotions and challenges on top of just two university students falling in love. Unfolding the reasons behind Team’s sleeping trouble and Win’s way of approaching him. The show starts airing on November 6 on iQIYI, and you know we’ll be tuning in each week!
If you’ve read the novel, you know very well what’s happening in the scene (and right after 👀🫣) in the first clip we got from the series ⬇️
You can rewatch all episodes on the official Studio Wabi Sabi YouTube channel. Don’t forget to let us know your favorite moments from UWMA, and we would also love to see what you are most excited about Between Us! You can tweet us at @thehoneypop or join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.
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