Hidden Agenda

Somehow Joke and Zo's friend Pat start chatting about Joke's interest in Zo and then Pat helps Joke be around Zo. That's it. That's literally it. Pat doesn't tell Joke how to act or what to say so that Zo will reciprocate Joke's interest or feelings. Pat doesn't even tell Joke to be nicer, he only mentions that Joke isn't the most polite person on the planet (alliteration!). Point is, Pat isn't manipulating anyone or anything, and neither is Joke. Joke just wants to be around Zo so he can get to know him. Pat tells Joke that he will suggest that Zo talk to Joke about the woman Zo likes because Joke knows her well, and then later Pat tells Joke that Zo is leaving town.

Neither Joke nor Pat did anything wrong. You know who did do something wrong? Zo. A few things, actually. Why are you reading other ppl's messages when they leave the room? Red flag. Why didn't you just ask Joke about what you read when he returned? Why assume the worst when this man has done nothing but be good to you, protect you, worry about you and take care of you? Why didn't you thank Pat when you found out that your friend helped Joke have the opportunity to get to know you? Why not appreciate how hard it must have been for Joke to watch you drooling over a woman, and to say he'd help you get a date with her?

I understand that Zo had an experience where a supposed friend kinda pushed him toward a guy who he knew would hurt Zo. Joke didn't know that when he and Pat were discussing Zo, and i doubt Pat knew either. I wish the writers had leaned more into that being the issue rather than having Zo say their relationship was based on a (nonexistent) lie. I wish that Zo had simply said that Joke should've told him about Pat when Zo told Joke about Zo getting hurt by his friend and that guy. I also wish Zo had taken a second to remember that his current relationship may have begun similarly but certainly did not end the same way as before. I also-also wish that Zo, upon remembering that things worked out this time and he has a great relationship with Joke, had been the one to apologize to his friend and Joke for overreacting. Then Pat and Joke could apologize for the fact they inadvertently recreated a very painful scenario for Zo, and Joke could apologize for not telling Zo when he should have.

Now the other couple, the soccer player and his secret relationship, that was a story worth telling! Would've been nice to see some of the things the couple mentioned...the teammates who made him feel like he couldn't be himself, being somewhere (not necessarily together) when ppl flirt with one or the other and they have to pretend that they aren't together or don't even know each other, etc. The stalker storyline should've lasted longer. He should've been given more time to cause chaos for our MC and try to break them up by pretending to be Zo's friend and by still messing with old girl (can't recall her name) which would cause Joke and Zo to be around her more so they could each harbor doubts about the other's feelings for her.

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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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TRUST ME IT GETS BETTER!!!!

Honestly I stopped watching during the second episode and didn’t pick it up for a while. I was so excited about joongdunk because I love them so much but felt something lacking at first. I get its easy to drop but take this from someone who also was on the verge of dropping DONT! When I picked it back up episode three and on became smooth sailing. Eventually you will start to see scenes that just feel like joongdunk and not them “acting.”
Honestly dunk has improved his acting but it’s true he still feels a bit stiff but his chemistry with joong kinda camouflages his lack of acting. And GWORL you will be squealing, kicking your feet and giggling very soon! Episode 7 part 4 is all I’m GONNA SAY! Joong as always shines so bright with his acting and the way he portrays his character joke is well done!
Give it some time and don’t completely write it off!
Joongdunk have so much natural chemistry off set and you can see it in hidden agenda a lot in many scenes as it seeps into the show!
You can really see how much more comfortable they’ve gotten with each other. Like pondphuwin when they did their first project together phuwins kiss scene felt awkward much like dunk in his kiss scenes but baby did they change that real soon! Joong has always seemed natural when kissing his on screen partner and dunk felt awkward and not confident but girl did he show us all wrong in Hidden Agenda!
ALSO WATCH IT FOR AUOBOOM!!!! Their chemistry is insane and natural and they need their own series!

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I was a bit hesitant about this show because of the love triangle aspect. I can sometimes tolerate love triangles if they’re one sided and the lead doesn’t reciprocate, but I don’t usually do well if the lead is into someone else. The love triangle aspect in this show wasn’t that bad. By ep 3, Zo realizes that what he feels while interacting with Nita doesn’t match what he feels while interacting with Joke. From that point on, Zo is only really focused on Joke. By ep 6, Zo realizes that what he felt for Nita was admiration, not romantic feelings. There are no romantic moments with Nita and it never feels like Zo is betraying his feelings for Nita or that he’s still hung up on her.

Joke was a bit domineering and overbearing at times. In the first episode, he invades Zo’s personal space and gets up in his face for no real reason. When Zo is drunk, Joke manhandles him and doesn’t let him leave — trying to “take care” of him, but doesn’t give him a choice in the matter. It’s not caring for someone if that person doesn’t get a say or choice in the matter. There are times where Joke grabs Zo to keep him from leaving when Zo is telling him to let go. There were points where Joke would invite himself along when Zo was trying to go somewhere alone, or insist on giving Zo a ride, or refuse to leave Zo alone when he’s clearly trying to avoid Joke, or even show up to his family’s home uninvited after Zo told him he didn’t want him to come along…all portrayed as romantic, but again, it’s not romantic when Zo doesn’t get a choice. There was a point where they were discussing a story in which Aphrodite’s lover got killed and she was too late to save him, and Joke says that if it were him, he never would have left his lover alone for him to have been in danger in the first place, and Zo thinks its very romantic, but that kind of reflects his attitude as a whole. He’s always there, whether you want him there or not.

There was one scene where Joke was insisting that Zo eat something that he didn’t want to eat because he wanted Zo to try new things. Zo’s friend blows up on him for being pushy, and I so appreciate Zo calling him out and telling him that he needs to respect boundaries even if he means well.

The consent was good as a whole though, despite Joke’s overbearing-ness. Joke tells Zo he can wait until he’s ready many times. He reassures him that he can stay the night and that he won’t make a move, that he cares about his physical safety. He tells Zo to take it slow and that there’s no rush when Zo is about to kiss him but is still unsure of his feelings, and Zo takes the opportunity to backoff. When Joke asks to cuddle Zo, Zo turns over in silence, and Joke double checks that silence means “yes” before holding him. When Joke wants to kiss Zo, Zo says “not here” since they’re in public. Joke says there’s no one around and Zo agrees, but looks uncomfortable, so Joke only kisses him on the nose and backs off.

I didn’t feel like Zo adequately showed that he was as into Joke as Joke was into him, or properly reciprocated Joke’s level of commitment, care, and affection. Even after they got together, Zo often dodged and didn’t reciprocate verbal affection like “I miss you” and “I love you”. He often rejected physical affection like hugs and kisses. Joke was always, always there for Zo, and was always going out of his way to do small things to care for Zo. I don’t feel like Zo really reciprocated that daily-small-ways-of-caring part of things. When Joke is getting stalked, he’s still the one protecting Zo from being caught in the cross fire, not the other way around. In the finale, Joke is having a hard time with his family, but Zo isn’t aware because he’s dealing with his own family issues. But Joke is always aware when something is wrong with Zo, regardless of whether Zo voices it or not. When Zo is dealing with his family issues, he tells Joke that he needs to focus on his family and that their relationship is a distraction. It was always Joke pursuing and Zo pushing him away, Joke making grand gestures and Zo accepting them, Joke asking for physical affection and Zo granting it, and I wanted more reciprocity. Joke always took the lead, and I wanted Zo to take on that role sometimes too.

As far as the whole “hidden agenda” aspect of the shows go, I don’t think Joke truly justified getting involved with Zo with ulterior motives. Even when Joke makes his final apology that Zo accepts, he was saying things like “don’t you feel sorry for me”. He never really acknowledged that what he did was wrong, and said that he did what he did because he loved Zo. He just says that wouldn’t lie again, and Zo accepted that, but it didn’t seem like he thought what he did was wrong. Pat’s (Zo’s friend who colluded with Joke) apology was much better in my opinion because he explicitly acknowledged that was he did was wrong and apologized for it. Joke should have acknowledged that what he did was wrong and why.

Other small things: When Joke is tutoring Zo on pursuing Nita, he tells him to change is posture, change his clothes, change his eating habits, etc. But then he tells him not to take her on a rooftop date because it’d be changing himself. If anything, the opposite is true. Doing a one off activity that your partner enjoys but you don’t is much less “changing yourself” than everything Joke suggested Zo do. When Zo and Joke make up after Joke’s hidden agenda secret comes out, Zo punishes Joke by saying there would be no kissing for a month, when it’s really toxic to use physical affection as a form of reward or punishment. Also, the last few episodes were just focused on family drama surrounding a desire for validation, and were pretty boring.

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Disappointed after all the wait!

I'm here for Joong Dunk, I really love their role in our Sky. I'm disappointed they end up in yet another typical school BL, like we've not had enough of this.

It's somehow really boring in 1st episode and somewhat frustrating as the focus seems to be on the girl (at least for now). I don't know, I just feel like its too complicated lol

I just want to watch Joong Dunk in a good role, good storyline and goood chemistry but I didn't get any of this in episode 1 , so Im dropping it.

I'd rather drop it and keep the good memory I've of this couple in Our Sky!

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joongdunk saved it

starting was good but ending was tooooooo rushed ....acting was good ....their visual chemistry ....those kiss scene ....saved the drama BUTT the plot was soo plain and poor ....we cant blame joongdunk but the writers ....joongdunk really deserve better projects ...worth watching but not rewatching

if u are a joongdunk fan u will love the chemistry ...yep u will get bored too
last ep was soo rushed ...its like the writers were forced to to make the last ep....the hidden agenda was soo hidden that i could n't find it
i will suggest not to keep high expectation while watching

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The agenda wasn't really hidden at all.

The plot and the pilot trailer got me hyped up, but in the end, it wasn't such a good experience at all. Let me explain.

I have been expecting this since the pilot trailer, and I think that the original plot was more intense, hot, and fun. I was already a little down when the official trailer showed up. What upsets me is that the "Hidden Agenda" was so mid. Not really hidden at all and the plot was all up the table so early in the episodes. It wasn't enjoyable. At least their development as a couple was... good? I'm not sure. However, I understood the choice to focus on their development as a couple and not focus on their dynamic. But it was just... boring.

What I liked, was the secondary couple. Jeng (Aou) and Pok (Boom) were incredible, even with a tiny screen time their fights and problems were so much deeper if you compare them to Joke and Zo. Their acting was amazing too. Well, Joong (Joke) and Zo (Dunk) were good too actually. And they got better since their last series (Star In My Mind), so it's good to see them improving.

And just a little observation: The OST was soooo good. And the photography was really cute too.

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Something happened, but idk what

I really wanted to love this show down bad. I just came from watching the first three episodes of The Heart Killers, and this would be my first JoongDunk BL ever after intensely watching their latest performance on said show. I'm absolutely in love with their chemistry, and it's no doubt it's there. But what in the duck was the plan? The agenda wasn't hidden, it was sitting on the coffee table with some donuts and booboo roses, there was no secret?Everything was highly predictable, and honestly so much could've happened instead nothing did. I wish the thing with Nita would've hit a little differently. Maybe Nita is still in love with Joke and kinda competes with Zo, maybe she does like Zo back but Zo realizes he doesn't actually like her and messes with Joke. Idk it could've gone so many ways but it barely stepped out the house. I definitely hope for some more JoongDunk series' because this just ain't the one that's doing it for me, y'all.

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A re-do of Fish Upon the Sky without all the things that made it funny and amusing

At least FUTS was able to get a few giggles out of me (and the fact that it's somewhat self-aware of how ass its plot and writing actually is helps it immensely with comedic time).

I strongly dislike series with "white knight" love interests like Joke because they always give way more than their partners ever give back. Always makes the relationship feel extremely one-sided.

This series feels ANCIENT. It's so old-school i was actually shocked when i found out it was released in mid-2023.

If you came here from The Heart Killers, don't bother. Just wait for "Dare You to Death" next year. Seeing them in THK made me feel like this next series of theirs have immense potential.

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Star in Your Mind pt. 2

The first teaser for the series was exciting. I really liked how the vibe and the characters seemed different from those in Star in Your Mind. I was excited about it and was really looking forward to seeing Joong and Dunk in something a bit more angsty. And then the second trailer dropped. And then the series. And all my hopes went down the drain.

The plot ended up being kind of messy and confusing with quite a few plot holes and inconsistencies. There was no reasoning behind a lot of the things, including some very crucial aspects – like why Joke likes Zo. They just went from arguing to Joke looking at Zo with hearts in his eyes. I was expecting the whole Joke – Nita – Zo triangle to take longer to both develop and solve, especially as it was shown as the biggest part of the plot in the trailer. And yet it was done and over so soon. The whole idea of the hidden agenda was also not explored enough. It was hinted at and glossed over so quickly, it’s like it has never happened. Generally speaking, problems were not given enough time to properly develop and to have some sort of reasoning behind them.

And as much as I hate to do this, the whole series felt like Star in Your Mind part two or an alternative universe version of it. Not only did the characters played by Joong and Dunk appear to be pretty much the same in both series, but there was also the whole thing with Joong’s characters having a (ex)girlfriend and pinning after Dunk’s character. I found the series to be quite boring most of the time. It was just Joong and Dunk being cute. It was sweet the first time we saw it, the second time around was just boring.

Don’t get me started on the debates. It’s like they have done no research on how a debate actually goes. I tried to see if this is the Thai structure, but I couldn’t find anything online. But I can tell you that it is definitely not the NOVA structure of a debate. I have seen my fair share of debates in real life (even participated in one or two), and the Hidden Agenda version of a debate is very far from the reality of it.

Joke & Zo: they were cute together; I’ll give them that. Joke appears to be more closed off and quite awkward at times. His relationship with family seems to be quite strained as well, but it’s not really explained why. It just is. Zo also has a strained relationship with his mom, but that is something that is addressed in the series. And it makes sense. Zo seems to be kind of naïve at times, but there is more to him than that. The way their relationship happens, and progresses is very strange. It goes from nothing to everything very quickly. Almost too quickly. I have already mentioned how Joke’s feelings for Zo are never really explained. At least Zo’s feelings make sense. And while the two of them talk about some important things – yay for communication and setting boundaries – they also tend to either forget or ignore what they talked about. Joong and Dunk have great chemistry, there was definitely a lot of improvement when it comes to their kissing scenes. But there is something about Dunk’s acting that just doesn’t sit right with me. I don’t know what it is exactly, but it just feels off at times

Jeng & Pok: I like the fact that they were an already established couple dealing with realistic problems. Pok is such a cutie! He might seem adorable and naïve only, but he can be very mature and can stand up for himself when it’s needed. Jeng is struggling with who he is and who he shows to others, he fears rejection and judgment from his friends. And that is something that leads to a lot of tension between the two. Aou and Boom both did great and had an amazing chemistry. I wish we could have seen more of them.

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Felt like I was watching Star in My Mind 2

but with much better communication between Joke and Zo. At least they're problems they were able to fix quicker by actually talking to each other unlike Kluen and Dao. Still the story is basically the same: two college students, one has a one side crush on the other at first, there's a girl heavily involved: rinse, recycle, repeat. I only liked it a little more than SIMM because the characters are way more mature emotionally, esp Joke. At least in this one I didn't want to tear my hair out with any arguments the characters may have had etc. Other than that, it's essentially the same story. Dunk's acting is still stiff, and I still have to feel any chemistry between JoongDunk that's not forced. I hate those forced, cliche, chemistry moments and there was ton here. As for rewatch value: I'll probably rewatch when I'm bored or don't have anything else to watch.

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