Hidden Agenda

A subpar level of an average BL lovely dovey-ness overload

So this one is a bit enjoyable at least for me. I know y'all be so down bad to treat this but I think for me it's okay. Nothing special. Good for those who wants lighter series or starting out on BL genre. The show fell short way too much.

The chemistry was there but the well-written script and plot were definitely HIDDEN. I think the plot serves no AGENDA and it's all just a lovely dovey-type fluff series. It failed to captivate me that much nonetheless I was entertained which is the bare minimum of a series to do to keep my attention.
The running time is way too long, just about any average BL produced in GMMTV. The plot also can be told and narrated in just this much eps, like just 5 eps is enough to deliver the missing plot.
The plot felt like something that when pointed out then what happens next kind of thing. I felt like, ok after pursuing Zo and they got together and Nita is out of the picture then what now?? Are there something that needs to be tackled about that's interesting?? Also they didn't reveal their relationship to both of their families. I get it that in the last ep, the show tried hard to give inner chaos inside freaking Zo and Joke respectively but such last minute problems are what I'm not a fan of. I never understand why producers would introduce a problem in the last ep when it should be addressed prior to the ending. Other aspects that didn't make sense if we were to talk about the plot are: Nita's stalker, perceived dishonesty of Louis's character, JengPok's love quarrel and the club's mentor's trouble one-sided love.

There are more flaws in this series that understandably failed expectations of many audience including me. For a JoongDunk fan like me, it's disappointing that GMM didn't give them a worthy series with convincing plot to take us anywhere but 55555 being wasted away with the same formula used in most BLs.

Overall, this was okay but lackluster, pretty entertaining though so yeah........

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Hidden Agenda is Mid

So basically after I finished watching I realized how bad it was. Now I love Joong and Dunk but the plot sucked really bad. Some scenes didn't really connect and I sometimes didn't know if a scene was a flashback or real time. Some issues were slightly unrealistic and Dunk's character was poorly put together. The chemistry in the show made me feel like I was watching a hallmark movie but worse. Also some characters were straight up assholes and didn't fit in with the plot. others seemed like they were thrown in last minute. Now I know that Aou and Boom are not the main couple but they had too little screen time for me to really grasp the point of them being there.

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The Hidden Agenda Is Behind a Glass Wall

It seems like we have been hit with a lot of GMMTV BL’s that start with one lead attempting to swoon another person but eventually falling in love with their “surprisingly” attractive male counterpart. We saw this with Fish Upon the Sky, then currently with Be My Favorite, and now with Hidden Agenda. It’s not that I don't like it, but it is losing its impact, imo. (but go watch BMF anyway, it is amazing.)

The first episode starts off with a story read by Zo (Dunk) in a recording studio. Joke (Joong) and him get into a small fit as Zo went overtime by 5 minutes, which now makes him “owe” Joke something. I am not wild about this first interaction, especially how strong Joke came off (he backed Zo up to a wall and…idk for a first impression it didn’t hit bc I knew how uncomfortable I would feel if that happened irl).

They see each other next on a bus ride when Zo’s friends talk about his crush on Joke’s ex aloud — not knowing Joke was a few seats away. He offers his help to Zo and he turns him down. Again, not totally wild about this interaction and it supports my worries of liking the original trailer more than the newest.

When the original trailer came out seven months ago, I liked how mysterious Joke seemed. He was quiet, respectful, but there was a passion to him (honestly like Khabkluen). I felt it balanced well with Zo being the eager and friendly person he is. However, in this new rendition of their story, Joke is a bit more aggressive. For example, their first meeting when he backed Zo up to a wall, and 25 mins in when he said Zo has “no spine.”
Joke is a bit unserious and I don’t particularly like this route. For instance, I liked how in og trailer, Zo approached Joke to help him date Nita, and Joke is quietly happy because he likes Zo, and it just ends up being super cute and wholesome. Though, in this version, Joke seems mostly forward to help Zo, and it doesn’t hit the same, imo.

Random Ramblings:
• I want to add that I don’t like how Zo’s “unattractive” phase continues the “glasses make you less cute” trope. Bit of a bummer, tbh. Like, Dunk is clearly societally attractive anyway. Just because you style his hair down and put plastic rims around his eyes, we can still see his features so why not just have his other look to begin with?
• I hope I don’t get annoyed with Zo’s friend group and I hope they actually give him good advice/are there for him when he needs them. I’m a bit iffy of them as of the first ep. especially since they left him drunk.
• Music is what it is for GMMTV. You’re gonna get those random soundbites and fading in and out music.
• Thank GOD we have a character that plays the guitar!! I have no clue what I would do without that! /j
• Happy Joke was able to be there for Zo when he got sick in the bathroom, but the scene after, when Zo was confronting Joke, Joke said he wasn’t making any sense when all Zo was saying was sense?? But then, Joke’s comment that, “If you think you don’t stand a chance with Nita, just give up,” was very right.
• The flashback from their freshman year at ~39 minutes had me very confused- it came out of nowhere.

On to more positive things:
• I really hope they add more to Nita’s character! She seems so sweet and I’d love for her to be deeper than your love-interest turned non-love interest. I also like how they made Joke and her friends even after their breakup <33
• Yay, for JoongDunk getting a drama with 10 eps! I hope their chemistry continues to grow and I am happy they seem comfortable with each other.
• I like how the plot’s environment is centered around a club. I don’t believe we have seen that from GMMTV yet and it is nice to see a new aspect than your typical college classmate.
• On a similar note, I like that it is a debate club. I think they can implement some great moments of tension from their personal love-life which then seep into the club debates.
• The college’s campus seems pretty.
• Favorite line: “Why should I hurt my hand by punching you?” (ep. 1, 35 mins.)
• So far, it's better than Love in the Air, but that bar is pretty low!

Pinterest plug: https://www.pinterest.com/ed3nelle/drama-hidden-agenda/

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Re-watch worthy? Absolutely not.

(Please understand that this is my own opinion and what I enjoy and prefer in a series, I do not shame people who loved and enjoyed this series)

I got a suggestion to try this drama and I feel like I have been scammed. Dropped it immediately.

The plot, the acting, and the overall interest and chemistry for me were practically a zero. I couldn't make myself watch past episode 3. I tried to enjoy it and I even gave it chances to be more interesting, but I just couldn't see myself enjoying the rest of the episodes.

The story and the way it was presented was a basic approach and I felt like I had nothing to be excited about for the upcoming episodes. Overall the story felt dry and moving too fast.

The chemistry between the main leads was null and void. I just didn't seem connected enough with the characters and the acting to make me believe in the story that they were presenting as a couple.

Overall the three episodes that I have seen seemed like they were moving too fast for no apparent reason, with no interesting plot and chemistry that didn't even exist.

Would I ever try to watch it again? Absolutely no.

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The concept was better than execution

From the first episode Hidden Agenda felt like a improved version of Star In My Mind with some elements from Fish Upon The Sky, but it showed some potential having a lot of the situations being solved with dialogue what is something that you don't see happen a lot in those type of stories where misundertandings are the base of the plot. But soon the series became too much talk and little to no story.

The pacing was weird, some things were dealt with too fast and others too little too late, multiple arcs coming and going without a really satisfying conclusion. It is like the writers were rushing in to put all the elements that they had planned without worrying if it would add or not the the overall plot.

They carried the parents approval arc until the very last minute, making it the core of the story, but still were not able to build it up as they should. Introducing Joke's father on the second to last episode felt like there was little thought before writing, making the resolution fall flat and out of place. Zo needing two different talks with his mother to finally accept and understand his feelings for Joke and his mother's feeling for him, looked as if they had wrote two different version of the same scene and in the end decided to keep both instead of bothering to write another one.

Acting wise, it is clear that there was some improvement, Joong had some solid acting moments even if his character was underdevelopted and with little to no space to shine in more dramatic scenes. Dunk would favor himself by taking some acting classes that could help him control his expressions better to learn how to emulate the characters feelings without so obviously struggling to do so. They do have good chemistry what makes me believe that if they were given a better script with better directing they would do much better than they have been doing so far..

The story was all over the place, the second couple was criminally forgotten, the third and possible couple that actually seemed to have something interesting going on were left as a foot note and Nita was there to serve as a type of foil to Zo's character, once as the objection of his affection and later as his rival.

In my opinion the story managed to walk well for the first four episodes but after that it started to go downhill, on the last two episodes it was nothing but a shadow of what it could have been. I can safely say we are tired of this type of story being told and retold thousands of times in the laziest way possible. It's time to write different characters in different sets with different plots and then maybe we can get something good out of it.

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Writer failed

Actually, the plot is poorly written. The first few episodes were okay, but after that the drama dropped a lot. Even the episode-to-episode progression felt messy to me. What even is that storyline?

Let’s say it’s fine to not have a deep story—some dramas are light rom-coms—but even those usually have a strong romantic buildup. This drama completely failed to build the romance. I’m honestly sad for this couple.

This drama can’t even be compared to Star in My Mind, not even a little. In that drama, even though Dunk’s acting wasn’t perfect at the time, the storyline and Joong’s performance balanced everything and made it feel great.

Here, Dunk didn’t improve his acting at all—I actually feel like he got worse. And Joong didn’t get any chance to show his talent because the plot gave him nothing to work with, so he also came off boring.

But even though the drama failed, their chemistry is still the same. I love that. Whenever they are together, I still get butterflies in my stomach. 😁

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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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