Mindless Fluff, Weakly Written
You might enjoy this if you like cute, mindless fluff and don't mind newbie acting. The main couple's "love language" seems to be bickering but their more intimate romantic moments are very sweet.The chemistry between the leads is undeniable and they are most natural when interacting with each other. However, they are still newer actors and their inexperience shows (in line delivery and reactions). Joong's acting is a 5 and Dunk's is a 3 (out of 10).
The actors aren't helped by a weak script with stiff, contrived dialogue and a boring, poorly executed plot. I'm glad for JoongDunk that they are getting some experience (it's a great way to continue improving their acting skills), but I just got too bored by the end of episode 8. After pausing for a couple of weeks I decided not to continue at all.
Both the actors AND the writers could benefit from more workshops to work on their craft before doing another project. At this point, I won't be looking forward to whatever they produce next.
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Boring plot
I miei was so exciting to watch another JoongDunk series but this one really disappointed me…The plot is so boring and the characters too, in particular Joong’s one who I found it very passive.
I LOVE the chemistry between this couple and for methey were wasted on this series :(
I also would have liked something more from the side couple ㅠㅠ
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A disappointment.
This show is so disappointing. for start, I had liked the pilot, especially the activist plot that the side couple seemed to have, and the final product ended up being anything but what the pilot offered.the acting are meh the ost is meh the story is all over the place and doesn't seem to be cohesive at all.
The relationship between Zo and Joke started with good communication and then it didn't because they needed drama between them. (at least they have chemistry, but a what cost?)
The side couple is the most painful thing about this show, criminally wasted potential, they went from having what seemed to be a promising subplot about a public and activist couple to the trope of a closeted soccer player and their screentime was nonexistent, so sad.
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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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This review may contain spoilers
it's the dollar store how good can it be
Let me start with a disclaimer that I kind of gave up on this show (more than once) but still wanted to write a somewhat robust review so I forced myself to skim the last two episodes. This means I might have missed some important nuance (surely) or events somewhere in the show and my review isn't super detailed.And yeah I skipped the side couple's scenes. Sorry! I heard they were good but I just didn't care to watch.
- Plot and Writing -
The writing for Hidden Agenda is pretty bad. I don't think it's awful and unwatchable (on writing alone) but the show felt directionless, as if it was being written in free-form. This could just be a taste thing. I'm not a slice of life person, which is a source of potential bias against Hidden Agenda and it's very simple story. But I don't know. Either I'm wrong, or the show is bad.
I think perhaps what bothered me most is that the show is called "Hidden Agenda", the same agenda by which the show is driven forward. When this ordeal is resolved before the climax of the show (instead of WITHIN the climax of the show) it induces audience whiplash. I imagine it's how people feel when they talk about Riverdale's billionth season being about completely random shit. Except GMMTV shows average 12 episodes. Which means the hidden agenda could have been drawn out to fill those 12 episodes. Instead, the story wastes a lot of space and leaves a lot to be desired. And I saw many MDL commenters sharing this same sentiment.
However, I've seen people praising the simplicity and feel-good aspect of Hidden Agenda. It's an "easy watch" (not for me, which I'll talk about in the acting section) and doesn't raise your blood pressure or expose you to intense content. Hidden Agenda is quite comparable to 2gether the series in this way. The acting is also quite comparable. I dislike both shows.
- The Hidden Agenda Reveal (ep. 9) -
There were a lot of mixed responses on MDL to the Hidden Agenda reveal (and all of Joke's actions leading up to this reveal). Personally I was on the side of finding Joke's approach manipulative in the earlier episodes, but the framing of the show wasn't clear enough to show this to the audience. From what I read about the manga from the comments, it is more obvious that Joke is manipulating the situations he and Zo are in as a means of getting closer to him. "Manipulation" not being an inherently sinister word, but I personally found Joke's use of manipulation too heavy-handed. I was on Zo's side here.
When it was revealed to Zo that Joke had this "hidden agenda" the whole time, Zo becomes upset and expects an apology. For this, half the MDL comments seemed to believe Zo acted hypocritically. "Didn't he do the same thing?"
My thing is, Zo's hidden agenda with Nita was acts of kindness, like trying to carry her stuff, or inviting her to the library under the guise of studying when he actually wanted to read her a story and gauge her response, asking someone she knows for advice on how to date a person, aka actually getting to know her. I think that's pretty harmless. Meanwhile, Joke's approach was being a weirdo. Backing people into walls, sneaky wedding rituals, "we have to go to my house oh its coincidentally a huge mess omg its midnight already I guess you have to sleep over promise I won't do anything weird! Change your style, change your food preferences, I'm super possessive around your friends." Like how is that the same as what Zo did?
I was also stunned by the fact that Zo is one of the least perceptive characters of all time, allowing Joke's hidden agenda to work in the first place. If Zo was a bit less dense he would have realized Joke's hidden agenda sooner. But I won't judge. He has trouble reading people, he has mommy issues, etc. He's a troubled boy. It's not his fault. But what bothered me about the big reveal is that, at that fucking point, the two of you are already dating, you know that he likes you, so did you not put 2 and 2 together? While I don't blame Zo as a character, I blame the writers who gave him so much goldfish-brain that it also deprived the audience of retrospective thinking.
- Supporting Characters -
One noteworthy scene was the Wave and Trin flashback story in episode 10. It was one of the few times in Hidden Agenda where I actually stopped and watched the full scene without pausing or skipping ahead. This is probably attributed to the relative acting talent of these supporting actors, as well as the way it stood out from other scenes.
The problem is that this scene served as insignificant exposition within the greater context of the show. It was a singular, self-contained conflict that explained another singular, self-contained conflict. This wouldn't have been an issue if the screenwriters had found a way to incorporate other self-contained conflicts throughout the show. Sprinkling in the supporting cast throughout the show, instead of just oh there's a stalker at the beginning, an old crush in the middle, and some random beef between seniors towards the end. Maybe we could have learned more about Zo's friends, maybe we could have learned more about Nita (because she was pretty cool), maybe we could have seen a little more of Joke's grandma (she was the best).
- Joong and Dunk and Acting -
So there's the enormous elephant in the room surrounding acting talent. Specifically the two lead actors, the stars of the show, the people who the entire show revolves around.
Personally, I find Joong and Dunk so hard to watch. Both together and separately. I have to do a lot of pausing and skipping, a lot of trying to hold myself together, because I'm very susceptible to secondhand embarrassment. I may have even had an easier time watching Star In my Mind, since I didn't know the actors yet and it was their first time acting together and you can only go up from there, right? Well they haven't gone much farther up yet. Honestly there was a moment in ep 10 where Dunk delivers a mini "you're being an asshole" monologue in the scene between Zo and Wave. That was pretty good! For Dunk standards, that was pretty good. But overall, the acting in Hidden Agenda was just not good enough.
But I want to say something very extremely important. Whenever you go into the Hidden Agenda comment section you're going to see 10,000 comments calling Dunk talentless. This may be true. But you'll also see those fans who try to desperately save Joong from from getting joint criticism. Saying Dunk is dragging Joong down and that Joong deserves a better partner and his career is being impacted by the evil dark energy that is Dunk. This is delusional. You just think Joong is sexy.
Dunk may objectively be the worst actor in this cast, and you might even expand this debate into the greater GMMTV roster, but that doesn't mean that someone who is better at acting than Dunk is a good actor. Joong may not have won 1st place in the GMMTV Worst Actors Contest, but he's still somewhere on the podium.
Joong is, once again, playing the monotonous quiet type. He's been playing discreet characters, in contrast to Dunk who's been playing the clumsier, nerdier, more animated and outwardly emotional characters.
This is tangential, but I want to note that this dynamic commonly follows couples in BL, and it's typically the case that this dynamic is superimposed onto the ever-present pest that is the top/bottom dynamic. Whenever the trope is reversed, it becomes a subversion. I find it the case that this dynamic follows masculine/feminine expectations, which are then projected outwardly onto the actors. Not only is a lack of acting talent more evident when your character requires more expression and dialogue, but the trend seems to be that, unless this actor is extremely capable with a solid reputation, it'll be the "bottom" who receives criticism disproportional to their performance.
This might be a hard sell when I'm using JoongDunk as an example, considering the fact that Dunk is truly a terrible actor. The criticism he gets is valid. But given the characters JD have been typecast as twice, and the comments that Dunk gets compared to Joong, I think it's fair to bring this issue up here. Because Joong is also, truly, a terrible actor.
I do think these two have been kinda victimized by GMMTV. This is their second project together and both shows were shit. That sucks, even considering acting talent. I think with good screenwriting and/or directing, even bad acting can be concealed within a show. Midnight Museum managed to do this and that show wasn't even good. Of course with GMMTV, and especially with JoongDunk, quality isn't the goal. These two actors are young and attractive and they're fanservice menaces. The only thing being monitored right now is profit.
But there is always room for improvement! I believe deep down in my heart of hearts that Joong and Dunk can improve as actors and put on a decent performance. I hope they get cast in a show with good writing and directing and gorgeous cinematography and good hairstyling and makeup. Joong and Dunk are too good looking to waste. And they might be terrible actors but when it comes to kissing they really go for it. That's kind of impressive. I've never seen two BL actors actually allow their bare skin to touch in a scene before. JD have courage and it should be sent to the acting workshops and used by good writers and directors.
- Overall -
Hidden Agenda wasn't good. It might have been watchable with different actors, or with the same actors and better writing. If it had different actors and better writing, it might be an excellent show. But those are hypotheticals and Hidden Agenda did not have different actors or better writing. Some people enjoyed it. I'm happy for them. I did not enjoy it and I would not recommend it, even as something to have playing in the background. If I was studying or cleaning my room and I heard a line delivery from Dunk or looked up to see Joong furrowing his eyebrows on my screen I don't think I'd be able to handle it. You're stronger than me if you can. But the intro OST was catchy I might go listen to it after this.
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Finally a 2023 Thai series that gives me butterflies :)
I have developed a complete love for this series and both men since the end of ep 2. This episode gave me so many sweet, warm fuzzies, and I am so grateful I came across this gem from Thailand! I had lost a lot of hope for Thai series this year, but this show is wonderful and I plan to shout that from the digital rooftops!!!! I just finished episode 4 and am so eager for episode 5. No, the storyline is not very original, but it is well done and I think the actors are doing a great job so far....does it help that I find both leads super gorgeous...yes, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this is the first Thai show this year that I haven't had to force myself to sit distractedly through an episode and that I am 1000% rewatching! It's honey-sweet and the pacing is phenomenal thus far. The music is lovely and fits the story better than average too. I want to say this will be one of my top ten from Thailand, but there are 6 episodes to go, and I don't want to jinx it. Right now, I am loving this show and all the butterflies it started giving in ep3 and that are still there through ep 4.Was this review helpful to you?
A disappointing show
Basically almost everything is subpar in this series, if not downright bad. The cinematography is standard, neither good nor bad, and so is the editing. Some sound effect/music choices during the episodes are confusing but I love the ost and all the songs produced for this show - Joong and Dunk are both really enjoyable singers.Writing-wise, the premise is pretty simple - a boy requests a friend's help to hit on his crush and ends up falling (requitedly) for his friend instead - but the writing fails at carrying it out properly. Starting from ep 5 onwards, the « plot » abounds with fillers, and there’s no sense of direction. The story does attempt to tackle complex themes such as family relationships in its last episodes, but their handling and resolution ends up oversimplified.
The secondary characters are either entirely functional (Pat, the other friend), or criminally underused (Pok, Jeng, Nita), which is mind-boggling considering all the time dedicated to fillers in this show, which could instead have been used to develop them and their storylines. Joke and Zo’s relationship, despite being the main focus of this series, still needs work by the end of the 12 episodes, and I could never fully engage with Joke and Zo as characters (in Joke’s case, because he’s too pushy and too entirely defined by his love for Zo - and in Zo’s case, because I didn’t understand what he was thinking half the time, which is both a writing and an acting issue).
I like Joong’s acting but I felt like he was at 50% his capacity half the time. Dunk's acting, while slightly improved since SIMM, still needs a lot of work.
Still, some moments managed to capture my heart in the few occurrences when good writing and acting came together to deliver beautiful scenes (most of ep 3 and 4 for Joke/Zo, ep 7 and 9 for Jeng/Pok). Joong and Dunk’s chemistry is also amazing and the kiss scenes were all brillant.
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This was not good...like at all.
It was bad guys. Like I'm surprised how bad it was.The sad part is that I wanted so much better for them that this but this was horrible.
I blame the storyline the most because it was basically absent. Like there was not overarching theme that tied the events that occurred together. I mean if you're not going to make the relationship the forefront of the story, you gotta BRING IT. There was nothing captivating, riveting, or fun about this drama. It was honestly just so poor.
The acting needs to be criticized as well, because come on. There were no moments of me connecting with a scene or character because there really didn't seem to be any real emotion present. I think they were attempting to give the MC a TharnType type of relationship (one character blindly in love, other character being ambivalent/nonchalant but secretly loving it). However with MewGulf you could FEEL the passion from both of them. Although there were moments where I felt it from Joong (I appreciated his commitment) I often wondered if Dunk's character even liked Joke.
I want everyone involved in this production to reflect, because it was just horrible.
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The only thing hidden in this show was the plot
How should I start... let's say that the couple with the most potential here was actually WaveTrin (PodGuy) which was included completely out of blue at the end and wasn't even properly solved. I stayed mainly for AouBoom because the lack of their scenes in Vice Versa made me want more but it wasn't actually any better... And the main couple JokeZo... it was hell watching them at the start cuz I could not even imagine how could they get together with Zo's personality but it got better when they started dating.And wtf was that debate club?? I would expect they'd talk about serious and controversial themes with lots of opinions and trying to find solution to it but those topics were completely random and the contest is also pretty unfair when you are on the side where you can't say much about it.
And the hidden agenda?? Was it just that Joke did not want to help Zo get Nita but to date him?? That ended in like ep 3 or 4 and then it was pretty random.
I'm actually glad they added a serious theme like stalking into it but making it a cover for Nita's and Joke's relationship was pretty lame I'd say. And poor Nita... she was so plain and treated like a doll there. At first she was Zo's prey without even knowing, then a victim of stalking and sexual harassment and in the end she felt bad for winning scholarship which wanted Zo but his speech was so poor he did not even deserve it. I'd say wasted potential on side characters.
I also wonder why JoongDunk has much more chemistry irl and iconic moment on LOL fanfest but their characters' chemistry is below zero. Idk what show could make JoongDunk shine but SIMM and HA are not the ones.
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This review may contain spoilers
Not so hidden agenda
The description of plot and actual plot in series doesn't have much in common since Zo pretty soon find out he idolized Nita instead of loving her.To be honest; I enjoyed this series. At first I thought it's just silly lovey dovey romcom but at the end of the series we find out its not so glittery pink because both main characters have family issues which was showed in realistic way and as person who relate to Joke, ngl some tears escaped my eyes.
I also enjoyed second couple's plot, I think it's nice to see gay character understanding that they can't stuck forever in bubble and hide, especially when you're hurting your loved one.
Some scenes was unnecessary long; small talk between characters, characters standing in front of building for few seconds. I skipped some of it.
Going to characters and actors; I LOVE GRANDMA, she's absolutely my favorite. Also I fell hard for Joong and his smile... this man is so adorable and played Joke's characters so good especially when i have comparision to Fadel from THK where the character is much different. Joong really did great job.
In Dunk case; I think people are too harsh. It wasn't Oscar worthy performance but he wasn't bad, I can list at least worse 5 actors/actresses. He had better and worse moments. For example the first kiss scene was phenomenal. You can see all of Zo's emotions, I think its one of scenes which Dunk nailed.
I think the biggest flaw of this series is music. I'm also sick of BL characters singing and playing guitar. Just STOP I'M BEGGING!!!
There were also some threads without sense but in conclusion it's cute series. Did I like it? Yes. Will I rewatch it? Probably no.
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This review may contain spoilers
Disappointing...
Started and held out for the main actors but other than them it was meh.Lacklustre school setting, boring story and just generally disappointing.
I mean the debate plot was so flat and fake notmany things could've been worse.
Watched 8 episodes, about 5 normally then the rest on 2x speed, got halfway through ep 9 and realised i genuinely didn't care what happened so dropped it.
It was cute and while bad bearable at the beginning it didn't offer alot to warrant sticking around for 12 eps.
Hope the actors can star in something better.
Don't recommend, not even if you like the actors.
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