Second chances

I watched it and I loved it – plain and simple. Aspects of the show I found most appealing include the following.
- Universal topics. Issues raised by the show include first love, trust, search for happiness, expressing feelings, difficulties of communication, fear of getting hurt, fear of hurting a loved one, longing for love and companionship, overcoming insecurities, dealing with trauma and emotional baggage – among others.
- Relatability. Myung-Ha and Yeo-Woon – so different and yet sharing many similarities – are like mirrors reflecting issues we all have. Myung-Ha’s “I don’t know what to do when I like someone” and Yeo-Woon’s “You’re my first everything” and “Whenever I see you, I both feel good and want to cry” sum it up perfectly.
- Minimalism. No time was wasted on filler, unnecessary scenes or gestures, also there is almost no “fluff”. Despite focusing on one couple and one plot (Chun Sang-Won and Ahn Kyung-Hoon are not primary nor even secondary characters in this story – they are merely there, just like the rest of the cast, for the main couple to have someone to interact with) the show managed to convey an abundance of story and content. The storytelling was very concise and highly effective.
- Performances. Lee Taevin and Cha Joowan did a superb job, their performances are very strong and convincing. Both actors were visibly comfortable with the material and each other, displaying a top-tier on-screen chemistry. Very impressive.
- The switch. Initially Myung-Ha is the active one, getting through to Yeo-Woon, but once Yeo-Woon embraces his feelings he takes the lead, while Myung-Ha begins keeping his distance, realizing his own problems. In someone else’s hands this shift could be wasted or become incomprehensible or would require more time to be developed – but not in LFLS.
- Serious tone and humor reduced to a minimum.
- Very good cinematography and camerawork.
- Memorable and well-chosen music, with the instrumental bit accompanying Myung-Ha’s search for Yeo-Woon in ep. 1 (as well as Myung-Ha’s and Yeo-Woon’s reunion at the beach in ep. 8) being my absolute favorite.

This was the second Korean BL I watched (“Choco Milk Shake” being the first one) and this might explain my initial surprise at the difference between Thai BLs and LFLS. As I tried to explain to a colleague of mine: when I watch Thai BLs I treat the characters as Polish (I am from Poland), only played by insanely good-looking guys. That is the level of similarities and relatability I sense when watching Thai productions. LFLS was initially different – either because of cultural differences, Korean style of BL making, source material, artistry of Kim Kyun-Ah or other factors. That feeling of otherness, however, lasted for about 10 minutes.

LFLS is a true gem. It is not perfect, however its flaws are so few I decided to omit them in this review. Some might be surprised that so far I did not mention the computer game like setting and everything connected with it (including the “plot twist” in ep. 7). The reason for that is rather simple: I did not find it important. This is, after all, a love story, and not a story about computer games; what matters is the plot – not the setting.

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Like or dislike it, but it's something new. At last something new!

The story of the two mains is barely there in episode 1; highlights for episode 2 reveal a little and it seems that in this BL events move faster that it is usual. Whether it’ll develop into something really good – remains to be seen, but that’s not why I’m writing a review after watching just the first episode.

It’s the setting of the series that’s really interesting. You’re making a BL series? Let’s set it on … the set of a BL series! You know those “behind the scenes” specials that supposedly reveal how a series is produced? Forget about them; we’ll show you the real “behind the scenes”. In episode 1 it worked great – and it doesn’t matter if you take this part seriously or as parody. The whole casting part, with YouTubers showing up, with Kaownah and Turbo as a famous shipped couple forced to do fan service (and clearly tired of it), the comedic casting scene, the later meeting and discussing who’s really gay and what the producers of a TV series can support and what goes too far – all of that was well done, interesting and new. Even the first encounter of Gene and Nubsib was used to mock BL productions – when lights went out, spotlight hit the two mains and Nubsib began his over-the-top performance, Gene was almost shocked by the surrealism of this scene. BTW: all of that showed that the series has a lot of distance to itself and to the genre as such – which is a good thing. But where episode 1 shined for me was Aey’s bathroom scene. Unlike all the other scenes, which are comedic, the bathroom scene is played not for laughs, but completely straight. The cheerful music ends and the tone shifts to sober. Lack of dialogue and focus on Aey’s face only add to that. The hesitation, the frustration, the struggle to keep smiling even when he’s alone: thanks to that you can see cracks in a sycophantic, phony façade he forces himself to put on. Aey just might be truly relatable (unlike other characters): a lonely person trying to stay strong in a world were likes and comments on social media are how success is measured. The tonal contrast between this scene and the rest of the episode makes it stand out; I watched it 3 times before continuing with the rest of the episode. A little gem.

I cannot decide whether “Lovely Writer” is meant as a parody (as some have assumed), fiction, social commentary, criticism of BL’s or a blatant attempt to exploit BL fans by supposed criticism of what they love and uncovering fake secrets of the industry. I cannot decide and I’m fine with that – I’m writing this after watching episode 1 and it would be weird for me to know the above. Maybe later episodes will explain that – I don’t know. What I do know is that it was much more entertaining and interesting than any episode 1 of any BL series I’ve seen.

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"Awful prediction" after watching episode 2: Nubsib was coaxed into "becoming sexual" with Gene (possibly a package deal: Nubsib gets to star in the series based on Gene's first novel but has to get involved with him) by Gene's publisher to make Gene's next novel hot & steamy. Eventually Nubsib will fall for Gene, but the truth will get revealed - much to Gene's horror, creating the necessary BL drama. I'm rather dumb, slow and drawing conclusions isn't my forte, but I came up with that "awful prediction" after the last moments of episode 2 - I think it was Nubsib's voice saying he didn't want to open his eyes while kissing Gene, as he was afraid of breaking character. That was my clue and I concluded that Nubsib is playing a role, pretending to be interested in Gene.

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After watching episode 5: Aey has several times more backstory and stuff to work with than Gene. Aey's character might actually have some depth. The way the story of Gene and Nubsib is told, seems conventional (with something weird about Nubsib and things he's hiding), while the story of Aey is told in a different manner (and there's much more of a story to tell). Him and Mork? I'd vote for that!

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A bit bland, but JoongDunk saved it

tl;dr: JoongDunk chemistry elevates this underwritten and troubled show – it was their dynamic which made me watch all 12 episodes.
Acting
Joong’s acting may not always be on point, but he was still superior to the rest of the cast. Dunk did his homework in this department too; his abilities are still limited, but he was nonetheless able to portray a new character, different from “Star in My Mind”. Both actors give their characters qualities some would attribute to the actors themselves: Joong’s Joke is effortlessly cool and nonchalant, but also caring and a tad clingy, while Dunk’s Zo poses as timid and withdrawn, while being perfectly able to stand his ground. Also, they get intimate quite often and seem very comfortable about it; no forced, non-consensual nor awkward kisses here!
Script
My overall reception of the show suffered due to weaknesses of the script.
My biggest complaint regarding the show is that it feels messy, but also bland, lukewarm, at times even boring. It’s not hot nor cold, it leaves you with a “meh” feeling. No idea how this was accomplished, as the script includes two plots to win someone over involving the main characters, a stalker pestering one of the main characters to get back at the other main character, strained relationships with a demanding parent, a past heartbreak, a side couple with their own problems and drama etc. etc. The content is clearly there – but it doesn’t translate to a captivating story.
As with many other BL’s this one doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be about. Is it a rom-com? A coming of age story? Family drama? Thriller (see the stalker episode)? You can include elements of all of those in a show, but you have to be smart about it – otherwise you’ll get a tonal mess. "Hidden Agenda” has this problem – it’s all over the place.
Hard to say what the titular “Hidden Agenda” really was/was supposed to be. Was it Zo’s attempt to win Nita over? Joke’s attempt to get Zo? BTW: depending on how you judge Joke’s motives and actions (and some reactors claimed that Joke didn’t do anything wrong – any normal person would act in a similar way) the hidden agenda may not exist; even if it does, it’s not important enough to have the show named after it. Spoiler warning: both the initial trailer and the official trailer are misleading, as the whole “Joke helps Zo to get Nita in order to get Zo” gets resolved in something like 3 episodes; the rest is about a variety of other issues, like family, ambition, friendship, competition, communication and so on.
The script introduces several important issues, like Zo’s relationship with his mother and Joke’s with his father, pretty late in the show. Since both issues seem to be late additions they do not appear to be important. It’s a shame we didn’t get more of both these storylines in earlier episodes. This would allow them to grow naturally, would explain more of Joke’s and – more importantly – Zo’s backstory and motivation, would show Zo and Joke as more than just students in love. Balancing every important aspect of the story, introducing them in the right moment, giving them more time to breathe – all of that would greatly improve the show.
Pacing
Pacing is generally okay and helps the show; only ep. 2 felt redundant (the “Joke gets into Zo’s club” storyline could have been a subplot in a different episode or be omitted entirely – have Joke be a club member when the show starts).
Cast
The support/secondary couple (Aou’s Jeng and Boom’s Pok) felt unnecessary. With only a handful of scenes (I think it was less than 1 per episode) we didn’t really get a storyline with them; it’s not clear to me what was their purpose in the show.
Same can be said about several other characters. Only Nita, Pat, Joke’s grandma and father as well as Zo’s parents do things that make the story progress. I loved to see Pod, Guy, Arm and AJ, but they were heavily underused and their characters didn’t have much to do.
Music
Both songs (“Hidden Agenda” and “Your Smile”) were decent, with nice MVs. Joong sings a bit in this show and he’s rather good at it. I enjoyed most of the background and ambient music used in the show, both the subtle emotional vibes and the cool electropop used to good effect throughout the series.
Favorite scene
I wanted to end my review with something good from the show. It has its moments – I enjoyed most scenes with Joke and Zo as a couple and plenty of other things (like Joke’s grandma – she’s a treasure), but the grand prize has to go to the finale of ep. 9. It actually moved me to tears. Joong’s delivery – quiet, but deeply emotional – was nearly perfect. Dunk remaining silent for the whole scene and non-verbally expressing Zo’s doubt, hesitation, sadness and how moved he was – great. To top it all the scene was shot in a very smart way, with Joke and Zo in the same room, but staying apart, with Zo packing his things and Joke trying to bridge a gap between them in one last attempt. That scene alone let us glimpse what this show might have been – and that JoongDunk can do magic. Would love to see them again in a BL as the main couple – this time with a good script.

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