Good acting but boring storyline...
The only feeling I had throughout was that the series had been wrongly named. I expected different with such a strong name... Comparatively I really enjoyed Only Friends, which has been made at the same time...It felt too dragged at some places...
I have no complaints regarding the acting. The cast has really acted well... It really feels like they have adopted the characters into themselves.
But the storyline seems too straight...
Or it might be that watching other dramas with likable content has set my bars high...
But don't give this review too much importance... Watch it and decide for yourself... Mightbe you enjoy it...
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A subpar level of an average BL lovely dovey-ness overload
So this one is a bit enjoyable at least for me. I know y'all be so down bad to treat this but I think for me it's okay. Nothing special. Good for those who wants lighter series or starting out on BL genre. The show fell short way too much.The chemistry was there but the well-written script and plot were definitely HIDDEN. I think the plot serves no AGENDA and it's all just a lovely dovey-type fluff series. It failed to captivate me that much nonetheless I was entertained which is the bare minimum of a series to do to keep my attention.
The running time is way too long, just about any average BL produced in GMMTV. The plot also can be told and narrated in just this much eps, like just 5 eps is enough to deliver the missing plot.
The plot felt like something that when pointed out then what happens next kind of thing. I felt like, ok after pursuing Zo and they got together and Nita is out of the picture then what now?? Are there something that needs to be tackled about that's interesting?? Also they didn't reveal their relationship to both of their families. I get it that in the last ep, the show tried hard to give inner chaos inside freaking Zo and Joke respectively but such last minute problems are what I'm not a fan of. I never understand why producers would introduce a problem in the last ep when it should be addressed prior to the ending. Other aspects that didn't make sense if we were to talk about the plot are: Nita's stalker, perceived dishonesty of Louis's character, JengPok's love quarrel and the club's mentor's trouble one-sided love.
There are more flaws in this series that understandably failed expectations of many audience including me. For a JoongDunk fan like me, it's disappointing that GMM didn't give them a worthy series with convincing plot to take us anywhere but 55555 being wasted away with the same formula used in most BLs.
Overall, this was okay but lackluster, pretty entertaining though so yeah........
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This review may contain spoilers
This is the story about Zo & Joke. As MDL told us, this drama begin with Zo that decided to pursue his long-time crush Nita before graduation. In order to pursue her, he approaches Joke, Nita's ex, for dating advice. In exchange Joke ask for a place in the debate club. Or, at least, that's what he tells Zo, cause like the title said, Hidden Agenda.What I like:
+ Zo is good man, weird sometimes but good. He bothered to explained his feeling to nita before moving forward with Joke.
+ Joke & Zo have problem with their parent. I like how they help each other to deal with their parents, Zo help Joke & Joke help Zo. And how everything solve & be better in the end.
Now what I feel strange about this drama:
- The plot feel weird. I don't know, it feel like jumping from place to place. It feel like there's something missing, but they don't include it in the final cut. It's like when Zo said he gonna enlisted in military during vacation, but we never see him join military. Or when Zo's dad get into hospital, he just make space with joke, yeah he explained it later but before that feel like there's missing scene...
- The chemistry between Dunk Natachai Boonprasert & Joong Archen Aydin themselves feel strange. It feels like they uncomfortable with each other. It feel like the actors is not gay but force to play gay man & had to kiss a man make them uncomfortable.
Overall this just another drama on my list
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Disappointing Tale with a Good Concept
**Brief Synopsis**B (Student): Zo
T (Student): Joke
- Beginning: B is in love with a girl and would like to know her better. However, he doesn’t know where to start so he decide to ask T, the girl’s ex, to help him with wooing her. T agrees in exchange for help getting in to the debate club but it was obvious from the beginning he was only interested in B and not debating. To teach B how to date, T brings B on a date, help him dress better and generally be true to himself. During his date, B’s heart started racing, but he doesn’t know what to think of it. He still goes on a date with the girl who finally notices him, but for some reason, when he finally got to sit down with her, he finds the experience lacking and his heart stayed silent. He retells the experience to T who assures him that it was fine. But when T puts an arm around him, B’s heart started to pound again.
- Middle: B and T spends more time together, thanks to T’s efforts. They go on trips and they get to know each other better. B still treats T as a friend which T takes advantage of to get closer to him. Finally B notices that something is up because T is acting way too intimate with him and starts distancing himself a little. T finally confesses to B and asks him for a chance to woo him. B did not refuse even if he still doesn’t know what he is feeling. He is obviously not comfortable with the PDA but is not repulsed by it. And when T does things such as hug him or spooning him while they sleep, he makes a slight show to refusing and then seems to enjoy the intimacy. After a while, B finally admits that he has feelings for T and kisses him.
- End: But after they have gotten together, B finds T’s chat logs and realizes that everything he thought was fate was actually a lie because T has planned everything out including pretending to help him get the girl. He is hurt that their relationship started with a lie and runs away. T goes to B to apologize and tells him how he had fallen for him in the first place. B is touched and ends up forgiving him. The show ends with them graduating and B telling T that he wants to stay with him forever.
**My Opinion**
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT:
- I actually liked the characters despite how underdeveloped they are. That is normal because the focus was entirely on their relationship rather than them as individuals.
- I really liked how the actors looked. They are really good looking and fits well together. I really like how B looked after he had taken off his glasses and started dressing more stylishly.
- I actually like the fact that I could feel the romantic tension between them since the beginning. The actors did an okay job in portraying this state of mind.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT IT:
- The plot is practically non-existence. The story is cliche and predictable and does not have any memorable moments.
- There were some subplots but the other characters aren’t developed enough for me to care about their stories.
- Acting can get a little awkward at times, especially when strong emotions needs to be displayed. Reactions can get cringey and underwhelming at times. For example, when B admits to his friends that T is trying to woo him, the way they react is way too calm. Or when T meets the guy who was a jerk to B before. Scenes with only the two of them are fine but once there are other people, it feels badly acted.
- Dialogue can get a little awkward as well. It’s moments like this that reminds me this is just a cheesy rom com. There is absolutely no depth to this show and every time they attempt to add depth, it comes off as unfinished and not thought out. For example, there was something about a stalker but it was resolved so fast that it didn’t leave an impression, just felt it was to extend the run time.
- The intimate scenes are pretty tame but I feel that something is just missing. It doesn’t feel as passionate as with other shows.
- The angst lacks the emotional punch because it’s just so cliche and the characters themselves doesn’t look to distressed about it. The angst comes from lying to your partner to get close to them and then them finding out, which is also an overused trope.
**Conclusion**
It was frankly a rather boring watch as I feel nothing happened and there was no reason to cheer the main couple on. It was a good concept but it was badly executed.
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Making your parent proud can be tiresome~
For the first few episodes I skipped quiet a lot. It was somewhat slow and the "agenda" wasn't well hidden. The back and forth denial and what not.Nevertheless, the story did bring out a warm message towards the end. Having to please your parent, making them proud with everything you do in life is never easy. It can back-fire if you're not careful. Seeking for family's approval really drains you out; not to mentioned your mental health. But then, having someone next to you, supports you - even when you can't support yourselves is more than enough.
I love how at the end they managed to resolved the issues they have towards their family. While Jeng really showed how much he loves Pok. He changed for the better and paid off all the sacrifices Pok made for him all this time. Definitely in love with Boom's acting and wish could see more of Boom & Aou together - (2nd couple syndome here~).
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It's over for me!!!!
I don't think I'll watch this series until the end. I finished the episode 3 weeks ago and can't bring myself to continue. I need to tell this "I'm sorry, but it's boring".When I saw the trailer, I was so excited, because it promised a lot. But the story isn't good for me. I expected things to happen differently. Joke even trying to help Zo with Nita and their feelings developing along the way. I would have liked to see Zo trying to win Nita over, not fall for Joke so quickly.
I like a soft love story with no big drama, but let's be serious, this isn't "My School President".
I like Dunk and Joong, but I don't see the chemistry between them. I didn't see it in their preview series "Star and Sky" either. I always get the feeling that Dunk can't get emotionally involved, that he can't convey the feelings to us, the viewers. When I see Zo, I see Dunk. They have the same behavior towards Joong/Joke.
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I'm sorry, but no
This series is supposed to be romance but the script makes it feel like horror comedy, I had to cover my face due to its cringey-ness and I laughed because some of the scenes just don't make senseLook, I'm trying to finish this series but after 4 episodes it didn't get better, it just got worse... Joong and Dunk might be not the best actor out there but even this is not about their acting anymore. This is not the case of good story bad acting, it's more like decent acting horrible story. I don't even understand the story progression, suddenly they're here, suddenly they're there, suddenly this happened and boom! they fall in love even harder with each other. It just doesn't make sense, there are so many plot holes and the story feels like a fever dream. It's all over the place. It feels like you're trying to piece a long script from scraps of scenes, it has all the tropes that you would find in a cliche romance story, but even doing all that didn't bring anything to the table. Sad. The dialogues are cringe, their gestures are cringe, their acting are cringe, at this point I feel like this is not JoongDunk's fault, it's just the story and directing is bad. Which is sad because GMMTV had produced better series, and THIS NOT IT!!!
It's actually disappointing because I love Joong and Dunk, I also feel like they deserve better movies because they had the potential as a couple, great chemistry, and both are good looking. They have all the equations to complete the formula to be a big BL couple. But sadly they somehow always ended up doing movies with a bad script. I thought they would get something better after Star in My Mind (which I liked), that's why I am anticipating Hidden Agenda. It has the same story outline like 2gether but somehow this fails miserably. Hopefully, they will got better projects in the future. Good luck Joong Dunk!!!
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A Good Bad Series
I enjoyed this series a lot. It made me fall in love with JoongDunk.HOWEVER:
1) Imagine if they used "the struggle to make someone proud of you" as a theme throughout the series! It had so much potential, but they chose to use it only at the end of it. WHY?
The wrinting wasn't good. Unfortunately, this has become a recurrent thing in many GMMTV shows.
2) I love JoongDunk's chemistry and I want to see it again in future series, but PLEASE give Dunk more acting class! Chemistry alone cannot carry a series by itself. In some scenes, his acting wasn't good enough. And I was sad to see it. It felt like it got worse since SIMM.
3) WHY THE HELL JengPok had so little screen time??? It's not bad writing, it's a crime at this point. So many series benefit from giving screentime to a second/side couple, but not this show. WHY? Their storyline could be a series by itself.
Moreover, Boom (Pok) acting was so good that it surpised me. Give him a main role!
Another wasted potential!
Despite all the flaws HA has, it was an enjoyable show. It also made me cry here and there!
If you are looking for a series where you don't need to use your brain, I suggest to watch Hidden Agenda.
Especially if you like good kissing scenes ;D
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Don’t understand all the hate
Okay, I get this wasn’t a 10/10 but man people have a lot to say LOL. I actually sooooo enjoy JoongDunk together. They have wonderful chemistry. I ended up watching this after the show finished so for me it didn’t feel boring since I was able to watch back to back. I can understand how if you were watching week to week it could maybe get slow for you mid show. Half of the show was just them being a couple. If you prefer a lot of angst this definitely may not be for you but sometimes personally I just enjoy watching the couple experience. I do feel like there were alot of random plot points lol maybe the writers should have just picked like 2 main plot points and stuck to that.I agree that the next show they do I would love to see something different and not related to school since this is their second show like that. However, I love them as a couple and how GMMTV lets then explore more!
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love everything...first impression
the story kinda fresh summer vibe...gives me butterflys<3the actors have a strong chemistry makes u wanna go on with episodes ,everything seems magical idk how but i love it... cant wait for the 5th ep >maybe the idea of the glasses removed anyoned me bit cuz glasses not a bad thing or bad mejor in look yk what i mean...abit fast but doesn,t really bothers me at all.
><100% worth the shoot to watch and countine untill last ep.
ik abit much for onnly4 eps but trust me in love hooked already invested in the story and the couples...at the end i cant say much and give 100% clear view untill the last ep>
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Re-watch worthy? Absolutely not.
(Please understand that this is my own opinion and what I enjoy and prefer in a series, I do not shame people who loved and enjoyed this series)I got a suggestion to try this drama and I feel like I have been scammed. Dropped it immediately.
The plot, the acting, and the overall interest and chemistry for me were practically a zero. I couldn't make myself watch past episode 3. I tried to enjoy it and I even gave it chances to be more interesting, but I just couldn't see myself enjoying the rest of the episodes.
The story and the way it was presented was a basic approach and I felt like I had nothing to be excited about for the upcoming episodes. Overall the story felt dry and moving too fast.
The chemistry between the main leads was null and void. I just didn't seem connected enough with the characters and the acting to make me believe in the story that they were presenting as a couple.
Overall the three episodes that I have seen seemed like they were moving too fast for no apparent reason, with no interesting plot and chemistry that didn't even exist.
Would I ever try to watch it again? Absolutely no.
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Warm Heart, Script Hiccups: My Take
I dig the show's overall idea, but they really need to polish up the script, there's this issue of things just popping up out of nowhere in the episodes. If they took the time to build them step by step in the script, it could've made the story so much richer. Personally, I believe you can craft incredible stories on a shoestring budget; it's all about those little details. They had all the elements to create something more compelling. It's just my take on it. I know there are a lot of people who enjoy it. I really liked Joke's character, and I'd love to see Joong in a story with a well-crafted script ♥Was this review helpful to you?
