Hidden Agenda

Simple, but cute!

I was in the mood for something sweet and easy to digest to just escape reality for a while and not think too hard - and in that regard, this show did not disappoint!

One thing I really appreciate is that the characters actually communicate (yay!). Conflicts get resolved pretty quickly, which can be a hit or miss depending on what you're looking for. For me, it gave the series this kind of episodic vibe, light and easy to follow, which was exactly what I wanted to watch at the time.

I am impressed by Joong's acting in particular! The character he plays, Joke, is also one of my favourites in this, mostly because he's so relatable to me. Joke is a musician at uni and as a musician at uni myself, I do enjoy the music aspect of this show a lot and find it genuinely enjoyable and cute!

I do have some gripes though. Sometimes the story feels a bit wonky and there aren't exactly many overarching plotlines that go beyond one or two episodes. Besides the central romance of course, and maybe one or two additional threads. Nothing groundbreaking or revolutionary, but to be fair, I didn't expect this to be a story-heavy show in the first place, so I'm not disappointed. Just keep that in mind if you're deciding whether it's for you.

Watch this if:
- you want something light and easy to watch
- are in the mood for a cute, relatable romance
- enjoy university settings

Skip this if:
- you prefer a complex, intricate storyline
- are not into character-driven slice of life shows dealing with self-worth, identity and family related issues
- are just generally tired of the romance genre

In summary:
A cozy, low stakes series that's simple but charming.
7.5/10, made me want to join a debate club lol

Read More

Cute, but nothing more

I hadn't watched anything else from JoongDunk, so I wasn't sure how the pairing would be. I found the couple to be very fun and cute, and while the storyline lacked some substance, it was a very cute romance that was a fun watch. I will admit, as many of the reviews here point out, there was no "hidden agenda". There was a slight misunderstanding and that's about it.

Zo (Dunk) has a crush on Nita, a girl in the debate club with him. Nita recently got out of a relationship with Joke (Joong), but the two seem to still be hanging out a lot. Zo decides to approach Joke and ask him if they're dating - and if not, ask for advice on what Nita likes so he can ask her out. Joke decides to coach Zo on how to win over Nita by going on fake dates with him; however, it's clear from the beginning that Joke's real motive is to win Zo over for himself.

Based on the summary and the title, I expected a lot more time in the show before Zo and Joke ended up dating. The relationship pacing felt a little off considering the premise, but I really wasn't opposed to it. I thought the romance between teh characters was really nice and it was a light and fun story. I did that that towards the end, they tried to bring in too many family conflicts which took away from the relationship. I assumed the issues would revolve around them coming out to friends and family and maybe some other relationship troubles, but instead their issues were totally unrelated to the romance, and still for some reason affected their relationship. These conflicts should have either been brought up earlier, or framed in a way that directly impacted the relationship of the main characters. Overall I enjoyed watching it and thought it was a cute romance that could have benefitted from a bit more plot outside of the relationship.

Read More

hidden gem?

While I realise that this is a GMM series so it can't really be a hidden gem because it was WILDLY popular at the time it aired, this series to me was first not really that appealing.

In fact I disliked the first episode so much I dropped it for a year and I didn't think I would be coming back to it. But here we are!
Disclaimer: I did watch most of the episodes at 1.5x speed.

I quite enjoyed the story, although there were some plots that weren't necessary for my enjoyment imo. Some of the scenes dragged on and on and some good editing could've helped the episodes flow better. Most of my complaints are minor and bearable if you know thai BL. Plus it also hugely improves watching everything in at least 1.25x speed and only slowing it down for the emotional scenes. Speaking of which: the emotional scenes are amazing! The acting from both couples was great and tugged at my heart strings.

I really liked the cast as well! Shoutout to Louis <3 !

All in all, I'm glad I watched it but it's not mindblowing and I won't be rewatching it.

Read More

This series was OK, not great or bad, just OK

I liked the premise of the story and the story itself was fine. It was a little bit different twist on the college story, there wasn't one engineer in the whole thing! All kidding aside, they explored how families can affect relationships, and how parents can unintentionally mess up their kids by stuff the parents say and do. The acting was good, and this was clean and something even your Grandma could watch.

I think part of the problem with this story it seems to drag in places, they could have edited this down to 8 episodes and had a much more cohesive story. For almost 12 hours of runtime, not a whole lot happens, at least not compared to something like A Tale of Thousand Stars, Not Me, or Manner of Death.

The other direction they could have gone is explored the side characters more. For example, Wave and Trin, they seemed to have some unresolved issues (possibly romantic?) even at the end of the series. Kot and Pat really didn't add much to the series, there were lots of ways those characters could have rounded out this series, possibly with those two dating each other, or showing more than a passing scene with them. Poor Nita barely got to speak during the whole show, and the story loosely revolves around her and the two leads. Then you throw in a stalker for a few minutes randomly.

I did enjoy this, but it wasn't the best thing I watched recently. It is worth watching, but don't think you are going to be watching a memorable or groundbreaking series.

Read More

Definitely one of the better 2023 BLs

I’ve watched quite a lot of BLs over the past 2 years but this the very first one I feel to add my review on line. I always read the reviews and for this series they were a bit unfair and a total of 7.3 is definitely to low, as the performance is quite above average but maybe not the best of the year.

JoonDunk have good chemistry and this shows throughout the episodes. Still today most of the BLs are too shy with a kiss but not here, those scenes were properly done I liked the sunflower popping up as it reminds of “star in my mind”. The characters are evolving and although the hidden agenda concept is watered down after 3 or 4 episodes other elements are build in like the stalking of Nina and onwards of the main leads. Also both face parents where they have great expectation from their children and the pressure it puts on them. The comments on Dunk’s acting are too strong, don’t forget he plays the role of a guy with low self-esteem who’s looking for himself.

It was also good to see other BL stars popping up from various other BL series.

And so in conclusion, give the show a chance. Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course.

Read More

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!

Read More

A good one with touch of a real life feeling

I liked it. It was a story of a couple getting together and how their relationship grows. There was less drama and unrealistic plots, it was more like what could happen in real life and how people feel things for real. Of course this series had its own share of not so great scenes so it wasn't perfect but enjoyable enough.

The plot handled different type of issues that were mostly solved within one episode. And most importantly the couples talked about issue not just being a drama qeen and being several episodes apart just because of some idiotic misunderstanding that could have been solved in seconds if they only have talked each other.

If you like more drama and anxiety this may not be your favorite but for others it's a nice and relaxing series to watch.

Read More

Failed Agenda

This was so boring. I feel that fans of Joong/Dunk aren't being honest with them.

Dunk needs to work on his acting and why does he keep moving his head like a bobblehead It's so funny. Zo is Daonuea(From SIMM) 2.0. He hasn't improved his acting skills yet, he showed only limited expressions.

Joong needs to take challenging roles more cos his character was exactly the same as his previous movie(Kluen).

They have more chemistry as Joong/Dunk than as Joke/Zo. They only upgrade was in their kisses, which doesn't matter if chemistry is too poor. They should either separate them to work on different projects and actualize their full potentials or give them better roles and serious acting lessons.

The story was so weak, I skipped so many episodes, it was like a combination of 2gether and Fish Upon The Sky... The background was so cloudy that their faces looked unreal and my eyes were aching from it. The sound engineer was just placing the ost at random places, it was so distracting. Don't get me started on the debate stuff, every member of the debate club needs an apology from them because what was that?
In all weldone everyone. I'm giving this 3.5/10 and that's for Joong's pretty face. 😍

Read More

Surprisingly well written!

Surprisingly, this is a smartly written, well defined adult-themed BL that unfolds from an infatuation to quite literally life partners. I was impressed with how well this series evolved and told a full and complete story. Sure, it had a lot of bumps along the way, and tended to be too much of a Soap Opera in places, but it had heart and grit and frankly never lost its way. It is one of the most solid BLs from Thailand to come along in quite a while. In the end, however, the story did something rarely seen in BLs and almost never in Thai ones. It had a graceful ending eluding to the notion that they were and remain a couple still deeply in love and still happy to be so. They are life partners, if not soulmates in every sense of that term.
You can read my full review of this pretty good series at BLBliss.com.

Read More