Knowing that this is airing on ViuTV is incredibly disappointing. I feel like we've been waiting forever for this, but international fans will likely be ignored given that company's track record with non-subbed series. *Sigh*
My Day was bad. My Story was worse. But this is truly awful. All the bad from the previous seasons is here again on full display. And the one good thing about My Story has been completely destroyed. The youtube views are dwindling each week as they should. Idk how much longer I can stick with this. The episodes are too long, too uninteresting and with SO MANY more episodes and nothing to look forward to, I'm ready to move on.
Personally I like the amount of time they spent having Tammy being a central part of the story. Phumjai like her…
Yes!!!!!! Exactly! I was so surprised when I found out that they've known each for so long. We've seen irl friends play roles as a couple and it is rarely this electric. I've seen some of them together on social media and it only made me want to see a lot more of them. BTS would be wonderful.
I'm a bit confused about all of the characters' motivations. But I'm enjoying MaxNat as leads so much that I'm fine with all the ridiculousness. I like this soooooo much more than CP. And Nong is always adorable and Makorn is the coolest BL dad I've seen in a long time. Definitely looking forward to a big reveal next week
Personally I like the amount of time they spent having Tammy being a central part of the story. Phumjai like her…
We all have different perspectives. I don't watch boys love to spend the majority of a series seeing a main character chasing after a woman he's not going to end up with. For me it feels pointless. From the second we met these characters, we knew Tammy wasn't end game. But she spent the whole series being the happy helper, she helped the business that everyone failed at and she helped Phumjai grow up. That's great for Phumjai, but she is alone and that's what always happens to female characters in series with these types premises. He's happy and in love, she's tossed to the side and might not even be in the finale. I feel bad for her, will she get a happy ending or meet someone who actually likes her as a person and isn't just obsessed with her as a fan or because of idol worship? For the writer that doesn't matter, she served her purpose and now we move on.
But that's just my opinion. I've enjoyed the series because of Daou and Offroad and I wanted to see more of them as a couple.
That was easily the best episode of the series. I'm sad that our leads have been together for such a short amount of time and the series is ending next week. Daou and Offroad have more chemistry in a few minutes together per episode than most Thai ships do after years of working together in multiple series. It's obvious that their relationship prior to the series elevated an average script by A LOT. I REALLY hope they costar in more series in the future.
Too bad the writers spent sooooooooooooooooooooooo much time focused on Tammy instead of spending that time on Yang and Phumjai. Tammy was a catalyst that helped our leads get past the enemies stage of their relationship. If she had left the series sooner nothing about the story would have suffered and the audience would have gotten to spend more time watching the main relationship grow over time. More episodes also would have been great. I feel like the action is just starting and it's pretty much over 😢
Hi, thank you for your review. I couldn't agree more (perhaps with one exception: it's ONE of the worst series…
Thank you. I agree mostly with you too. This series was a disgrace. But I've probably seen too many BLs this year because IMO, My Story, Tin Tem Jai, Crazy Handsome Rich, Dinosaur Love and Zenra Meshi are worse. But no matter if it's the absolute worst or one the worst series of the year, it was BAD.
*Sigh* I think anyone who finished this deserves an award. Easily the worst GMMTV BL of 2023. I know the audience is divided, there are the people who thought this wasn't good and the JoongDunk fans and people newer to BL who disagree. Whatever side you're on, your opinion is completely valid.
But I'm disappointed because it could have been better than it was. The issues were obvious from the first episode, the acting and script. I think most people want to see competent acting when they watch a series. And usually when people point out subpar acting it's not to hurt the actor, it's because they wish the actor tried harder. Any Thai actor working at GMMTV has already hit the jackpot. It's one of the biggest media companies in Thailand. They have LOTS more resources than most companies. There are around 100 Thai BLs per year, most of the actors have very little experience. And yet some of those smaller studios and newer actors do a better job than what we got in Hidden Agenda. Acting is a job, no one is entitled to be an actor and many actors work VERY hard to improve. If this was school, these people would be C or D students. Is it wrong for us to ask that they try for at least C+ or B-? Why should we be ok with below average performances in 3 series? (I'm including their Our Skyy 2 episodes) Why should we keep making excuses for them? They are adults, they have time to take acting classes and they aren't being forced to star in anything. If they want to be actors, they should be expected to put in the work. And if/when they don't, others have the right to say that.
Maybe I'm strange, but I want the actors I like to do a good job. I want to see improvement series after series. I want them to embody the characters they portray. I'm proud when they receive awards. And even though every actor can't be the greatest actor ever, I truly appreciate the effort many put in to do a good job. The leads of this series, did not do a good job.
But I really don't blame them that much because the script is the biggest problem. Even great actors would have struggled to make either of these characters interesting or relatable. They spent most of the series doing weekly activities to fill the time. Every conversation had the depth of a greeting card. And each conflict was either resolved in minutes or contrived and stretched out to fill the time. The darker aspects of Joke's character were quickly tossed aside to turn him into a typical bland seme.
If the actors had been given even an average script, the series would have been MUCH better. So I'm placing most of the blame on GMMTV. They have a formula for their newer actors. Turn them into idols and make a lot of money off of them. The ship is more important than their talent or skills. They've decided that their fans will be satisfied with anything as long as the ship stays strong. The company makes many great series and has many talented actors, but unfortunately, they keep churning out the same lazy content for some ships.
I'll forget this series in a day or two. I'd be surprised if Hidden Agenda expanded JoongDunk's fan base. All of the side characters were wasted. But Aou Boom did a good job and could be interesting leads in the future. The best character for me was grandma, she was awesome!
I like Joong and I like Dunk. I hope they get better in the future.
I'm not sure what a questionable age gap is, but does History 2 Right or Wrong, Daddy Love, Love Tractor, Tin…
You're welcome. I'm pretty sure there were debates around most of them. Maybe not Love Tractor, because the story is very innocent, but the webtoon also had NC17 content.
I have zero problem with the age gap, let me say that upfront.But for the life of me, I can’t think of a BL…
I'm not sure what a questionable age gap is, but does History 2 Right or Wrong, Daddy Love, Love Tractor, Tin Tem Jai, or Method count? I wouldn't consider Method to be a BL, but I'm pretty sure all of them had older tops.
I've been this show's biggest cheerleader, but this episode was all over the place IMO. Maybe it was the editing or the pacing, but the last 2 episodes haven't been as strong as the earlier ones. I hope next week is better.
The first 2 episodes were adorable. I suspect that the low rating is from people who didn't finish both episodes. It's a light hearted comedy and I'm cool with that.
The fact that episode 2 released 5 hours ago and there's not a single comment for the day really goes to show…
I agree with everything you said. And it's so sad that Vietnamese BLs don't get more attention. Their scripts are always unique, the actors do great job and the companies obviously care about creating good series. But sites like MDL ignore the whole country and so many fans have no idea they exist.
But that's just my opinion. I've enjoyed the series because of Daou and Offroad and I wanted to see more of them as a couple.
Too bad the writers spent sooooooooooooooooooooooo much time focused on Tammy instead of spending that time on Yang and Phumjai. Tammy was a catalyst that helped our leads get past the enemies stage of their relationship. If she had left the series sooner nothing about the story would have suffered and the audience would have gotten to spend more time watching the main relationship grow over time. More episodes also would have been great. I feel like the action is just starting and it's pretty much over 😢
But I'm disappointed because it could have been better than it was. The issues were obvious from the first episode, the acting and script. I think most people want to see competent acting when they watch a series. And usually when people point out subpar acting it's not to hurt the actor, it's because they wish the actor tried harder. Any Thai actor working at GMMTV has already hit the jackpot. It's one of the biggest media companies in Thailand. They have LOTS more resources than most companies. There are around 100 Thai BLs per year, most of the actors have very little experience. And yet some of those smaller studios and newer actors do a better job than what we got in Hidden Agenda. Acting is a job, no one is entitled to be an actor and many actors work VERY hard to improve. If this was school, these people would be C or D students. Is it wrong for us to ask that they try for at least C+ or B-? Why should we be ok with below average performances in 3 series? (I'm including their Our Skyy 2 episodes) Why should we keep making excuses for them? They are adults, they have time to take acting classes and they aren't being forced to star in anything. If they want to be actors, they should be expected to put in the work. And if/when they don't, others have the right to say that.
Maybe I'm strange, but I want the actors I like to do a good job. I want to see improvement series after series. I want them to embody the characters they portray. I'm proud when they receive awards. And even though every actor can't be the greatest actor ever, I truly appreciate the effort many put in to do a good job. The leads of this series, did not do a good job.
But I really don't blame them that much because the script is the biggest problem. Even great actors would have struggled to make either of these characters interesting or relatable. They spent most of the series doing weekly activities to fill the time. Every conversation had the depth of a greeting card. And each conflict was either resolved in minutes or contrived and stretched out to fill the time. The darker aspects of Joke's character were quickly tossed aside to turn him into a typical bland seme.
If the actors had been given even an average script, the series would have been MUCH better. So I'm placing most of the blame on GMMTV. They have a formula for their newer actors. Turn them into idols and make a lot of money off of them. The ship is more important than their talent or skills. They've decided that their fans will be satisfied with anything as long as the ship stays strong. The company makes many great series and has many talented actors, but unfortunately, they keep churning out the same lazy content for some ships.
I'll forget this series in a day or two. I'd be surprised if Hidden Agenda expanded JoongDunk's fan base. All of the side characters were wasted. But Aou Boom did a good job and could be interesting leads in the future. The best character for me was grandma, she was awesome!
I like Joong and I like Dunk. I hope they get better in the future.