Seducing Drake Palma

Trashiest ML

I started this drama just because the poster looked pretty (that orange was gorgeous), and honestly… I don’t regret watching it, but I also wouldn’t recommend it. It’s the kind of drama I’d be embarrassed to admit I watched.

It’s based on an old Wattpad story: Alys likes her best friend Sheen, but he likes Kei. Kei likes Drake, so Sheen asks Alys to seduce Drake. Yeah… you can imagine where this is going.

Was I entertained? Absolutely. I tuned in every week just to hate-watch, lol.
Drake is hands down the trashiest male lead I’ve seen in ages, such a walking red flag. No growth, no character development, just an asshole to the bitter end. Every single line out of his mouth was painful, and the actor being so wooden only made it worse. Cruel and expressionless? A combo nobody asked for.

There was zero reason for Alys to fall for him. She started off adorable, but oh girl… she turned into a complete idiot. Forgiving him over and over without so much as an apology? Self-respect, who?

Tripp was the classic second male lead, kind, actually had chemistry with Alys, and treated her better as a friend than Drake ever did as her boyfriend. I actually enjoyed their dynamic way more.

Aya and Alys’s friendship was one of the best parts. Just two girls being weird together, loved it! But sadly, Aya disappeared in the second half once they went to different universities.

Thank god they dropped the stepmom subplot quickly, because… what even was that?

On the bright side, the production value was solid, and the OST was pretty good. Overall, it was entertaining, but… meh. Would’ve easily rated it higher if only Alys had dumped Drake.

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When a drama suffers from Kdrama hangover...

I have to get it out of my system before anything else... Does anyone know how far this drama is following the original book? Because there is no way this could be an adaptation of a best selling book. It feels more like a story written by a teenager on Wat*pad. I mean we all grew up watching Tokyo Paradise/Paradise kiss series and after that we were all inundated with such type of dramas. So originality wise it is just...that!
If I could ignore all the messed up (forced) scenes, there is no way I could ignore all the scenes where everybody almost touches other person's nose even for a normal conversation, it just doesn't work well all the time. For the first time in the history of dramas I am only watching it- not for the story, not for the chemistry, not for any particular actor...it is only and only for FL and her bestie's scenes. I mean they have more chemistry than anybody. This show is waaaaaaay far from reality. It is like a dream school of a teenager. That dimly lit computer lab somehow setting the mood for everything but studying. That mean girl and her gang following ML for no reason whatsoever, (talk about being completely black or white characters), overdramatic teachers who just let you do whatever you want.
I genuinely need some outwardly powers to complete this drama with all my brain cells intact.

Watch it if you are into old fluffy kdramas/jdramas of early 2000s. Music is good, except for some weird cuts I really liked cinematography especially in the beginning. The dialogues will definitely give you cringe attack. Rest is...just...aah...up to your patience level.

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messy but addicting

Okay, I don’t usually write reviews, but...
I stumbled onto this show totally by accident. After reading some of the reviews, I was honestly just curious. I thought, “It can’t be that bad... right?”

Well... I’m almost embarrassed to admit this — but I actually liked it. I binged the whole thing and got way too emotionally invested. The plot? A mess. The characters? Questionable. But still… I couldn’t stop watching.
This show is a hot, dramatic, emotionally exhausting mess — and yet, I couldn’t stop watching. It gives 2000s K-drama energy in all the best and worst ways: emotional stares, love triangles, random plot twists, and absolutely no healthy communication.




SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!




I tend to focus on the negatives, so here you go:
The Best Friend – Aya
At first, she gave evil best friend energy — especially with the whole Sheen situation. She didn’t really do anything wrong, but something about her vibe was off. I never felt like she was a genuine best friend. She kind of faded out during the college storyline too, which made her feel more like a background character than the close friend she was supposed to be.

The Step-Mom Plot
Yeah… no. I’m still confused. Whatever THAT was, it didn’t work and made the whole thing feel unnecessarily awkward and uncomfortable. Could’ve cut that plot entirely.

The Whole Tripp/Shaira Plot
I liked the show before the college arc. But when Tripp and Shaira showed up? That’s when it got super messy. Suddenly we had Tripp and Alys, Shaira and Drake, and it turned into a game of who’s gonna cheat first?

And then they casually drop the fact that Tripp basically stole Shaira from Drake — and they never follow up on it? Hello?? That’s a whole subplot just begging to be explored. Instead, they tease it for five seconds and move on.
If you pay attention to that small hint, the entire show shifts — because it explains why Drake was so against Alys “exploring a friendship” with Tripp. Tripp had clearly always been jealous. And honestly? I never believed he genuinely liked Alys. It felt like a whole long-con to get back at Drake

The Female Lead – Alys
Let me be real: Alys frustrated me a lot.
One of the worst moments? Her debut scene — where she wears the necklace Tripp gave her while she’s literally supposed to walk out with Drake. Like… WHAT?? That was straight-up disrespectful.
Then when Drake doesn’t show up, she doesn’t ask Sheen, her best friend, or even consider any other option — she immediately runs to Tripp, who conveniently has a suit ready. Girl. Be for real.
She kept acting like the victim, but let’s be honest — Drake had every reason to be upset.
Don’t get me wrong — they were both the problem. They just didn’t f***ing communicate. Ever.

Underrated Take: Drake Deserves Better
Okay, hear me out — Drake gets way too much hate. I’m no expert at reading people, but I honestly think he was more emotionally intelligent than Alys. He literally explains to her that he struggles with communication, and that he’s trying. And guess what? You can actually see the effort. He wasn’t perfect, but he was trying — and that’s more than can be said for some others in this show.
Final Thoughts
You’ll be annoyed. You’ll be screaming at your screen. You’ll question everyone’s choices.
And somehow? You’ll keep watching. And I'll probably watch it again, its a guilty pleasure.

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Surprisingly Entertaining

Adaptation: As someone who read the wattpad story, the drama was a very close to the book. They did change some topics/words that would have been inappropriate in today's times but overall it still kept to the story (which I like, I hate when shows steer too far from the original plotline).

Plotline: Bc I read the story, I wasn't surprised on how some people reacted to the characters' personalities cause .. same. I'm still team tripp, but after watching Drake's POVs at the end of each ep.. it ALMOST made me jump ship. Heavy on the almost. But plotline is very onpoint with the coming of age genre and teenage puppy love. We were all stupid teenagers in love at one point lol

Acting: This is my first watching any of the actors and I was very pleased esp with the FL. I was shocked to discover this was her first lead role (besides the web series?)! Her micro expressions were very on point, but the one thing I would fault is the heavy emotional scenes for her. She did fine, but there's always room for improvement. Overall, she still exceeded my expectations as her first lead role. As for the ML, I feel like because all his lines were in english it felt a little lacking. But taking in consideration that English is probably not his first language, he still did great as Drake. His eyes are intense, which apparently is what he is known for. SML.. damn, he's so good looking. On top of his looks, I enjoyed his acting too. Same for the rest of the cast.

Chemistry: I felt like everyone meshed well. The chemistry was there, at first I was meh about the main leads but towards the middle to end, I could see that they got more comfortable with acting with each other. Maybe bc I'm Tripp bias, I do enjoy her scenes with Tripp more.

Music: It's cute. But if I have to hear sugar sugar one more time... I'm going to rip my hair out LOL

Overall, I enjoyed it. The acting wasn't as cringe as a lot of other pinoy dramas I have watched, but there were still a little bit of secondhand embarrassment. I'm just going to take it for what it is because I would have ATE this up as a teenager. 8/10

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WHAT THE F* IS THIS?

🎬 Direction & Production
The pacing is unbelievably erratic — dragged-out scenes desperately trying to pass as “atmospheric,” followed by rushed transitions that feel like the editors tossed everything together at the last minute.

Lighting and set design are painfully cheap-looking. Scenes either feel like paradise or purgatory, with zero nuance. Feels like someone said “cheapest option, go!” and nobody pushed back.

🎭 Acting & Casting
Drake Palma: He tries—but each scene reads like he’s reading auto-generated dialogue instead of being in the moment. His emotions are flat, and when he does attempt intensity, it lands as a stock reaction.

Co-star: Her voice cracks under any emotional weight and she inflects every line like she’s trying to win a radio competition. Zero chemistry — they might as well be on different sets.

✨ Chemistry
Watching them “connect” is like witnessing two people stuck inside separate bubbles. No shared pulse or spark whatsoever — just obligatory close-ups and empty gazes.

📚 Script & Dialogue
The lines are so clumsily written they sound like fanfic from the ’90s — cheesy phrasing, cringe-worthy metaphors, and zero wit.

Plot points feel dropped halfway and forgotten — I kept waiting for revelations that never came and payoff that fizzling like a dead sparkler.

🧩 Overall
It’s painfully obvious the production was rushed — probably just aimed to tick “releasing something this year” off a studio checklist.

Instead of investing in talent or storytelling, they leaned on name recognition (looking at you, Palma) and cheap aesthetics.

Seducing Drake Palma ends up feeling like a bottom-shelf knockoff of better romantic dramas — all styleless, hollow, and regrettable.

If you’re craving a romance with heart, depth, or even passable tension, keep scrolling — this one’s a hard pass.

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Dropped at Episode 7 – Here’s My Rant (Review)

I haven’t written a review for a dropped show in a while, but this one pushed me over the edge.

From the intro alone, you can probably tell—I’ve dropped this show. I just couldn’t do it anymore. To make it through, you’d have to lock both your brain and emotions in a box and bury it in the basement. It got me so pissed off, it actually became funny. At some point, I started wondering if this was a satire.

I’ll try my best to write this without spoilers, but fair warning—strong feelings ahead.

I don’t even know where to begin, because everything was just bad.


The Main Couple? Toxic.

Let’s talk about the relationship between the main leads. Toxic doesn’t even begin to describe it. And don’t get me started on the “love confession.” Never in my life have I heard a more obnoxious, emotionally manipulative confession.

I know I said I would avoid spoilers, but let me just give you a snippet of what I mean:

“I can’t promise to catch you when you fall, but I assure you that I‘ll be here while you’re falling.”

I kid you not—this is a direct quote from the confession. It might not sound that terrible alone, but on top of everything else, it’s just sad. Teenagers these days might find this cute—I don’t know—but I couldn’t stomach it. And my teenage years weren’t that long ago, mind you.


The Male Lead? Not It.

I started this show with hope, even though I already had my reservations. I personally hate the “cool guy” trope—the kind where rudeness is supposed to equal mystery. I was hoping he’d drop the act as they got closer, but nope. I kept making excuses for his behavior until I couldn’t anymore. It wasn’t cute. It was insufferable.


The Female Lead? No Better.

She has the brain of a squirrel, I’m sorry. She just kept letting the men around her derail her entire life. First Sheen—don’t tell me he didn’t know she liked him—and then Drake. It was like going from the frying pan to fire.


The Friendships? Not Real.

Her friendship with Aya? I don’t even know how that qualifies as a friendship. They were constantly fighting and hitting each other. Lowkey, I think they actually hate each other. In fact, most of the relationships in this show were borderline abusive. Even Sheen’s relationship with his ex was just plain unhealthy.


Supporting Couple? Nope.

I thought the supporting lead’s romance would be a breath of fresh air. I was wrong. It was creepy and stalkerish. I’ll just leave it at that.


The Plot? A Mess.

The side plot was weird and disturbing. I think it was meant to be the author’s hook or something—it just came across as bizarre to me. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but I didn’t like it. Honestly, I think that’s what finally broke the camel’s back for me. That was my last straw. And then, as if I wasn’t already suffering enough, they tried to add a love triangle. NO. Just no.

To Be Fair…

Nothing against the actors. I think they did their best. The plot is the main problem. And before anyone says, “Just wait till the college arc!”—no thank you. I don’t think any amount of character development could save either the ML or FL at this point.

And yes, I know some people say the original story was written when the author was in high school. Nothing against the author personally, but honestly, I find that more disturbing than endearing. I didn’t find this kind of behavior cute in high school, and I sure as hell don’t now!

I’ve said my piece. This is more of a rant than a review, but I still can’t believe I sat through 7 episodes of this.

Anyway, I now pass the baton to you, the reader. Give the show a try and let me know what you think.

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Olha… me deixou dividida..

Eu gostei da trama em si, os personagens são cativantes, mas ao mesmo tempo muita coisa me incomodou, principalmente o relacionamento do Drake com a Alys, que foi extremamente tóxico.

O drama mostra bem como segredos e falta de comunicação podem gerar dores absurdas em um relacionamento. Grande parte das brigas e inseguranças de Alys não existiria se o Drake tivesse sido sincero, presente e aberto com ela. Em vez disso, ele a deixou insegura, muitas vezes humilhada, e ainda jogava a responsabilidade nela quando ele mesmo era o causador da maioria dos problemas. Até o final, para mim, ele continuou sendo um namorado bem problemático. (Dessa vez o personagem frio e rude que se apaixona não me cativou nadinha).

Por outro lado, o Tripp foi o personagem que mais me conquistou. Mesmo com o erro inicial de se aproximar da Alys enquanto ela ainda namorava, ele foi muito mais presente, paciente e preocupado com a felicidade dela do que o próprio namorado. Eu sinceramente achei que ele seria o par perfeito para nossa prota.

Um ponto cultural que chamou minha atenção foi o nível de proximidade física entre amigos, abraços, carinhos, toques constantes, algo que pode parecer namoro para quem não está acostumado, e isso também alimentou muitas confusões.

No fundo, acho que a mensagem mais importante do drama é a de que a comunicação verdadeira é a base de qualquer relacionamento saudável. Sem ela, sobra espaço para insegurança, mal-entendidos e brigas desnecessárias. Como era INCÔMODO gente, a Alys sofrendo por coisas que poderiam ter sido evitadas pelo Drake.

Se tivesse sido mais curto (uns 12 episódios) e com menos intrigas de terceiros, teria sido bem mais leve. Para mim, foi um drama adolescente com altos e baixos, que pode agradar por ter personagens carismáticos, mas o romance central acaba sendo mais desgastante do que inspirador. Não diria que indico para todo mundo, porque o relacionamento principal é muito tóxico, o tanto que a prota releva coisas é cansativo, mas como experiência, é “legalzinho”.

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Tenía mucha curiosidad por ver este drama, especialmente por la actuación de Rabin Angeles y Ethan David de Ang Mutya ng Section E, pero la verdadera sorpresa fue la FL, con su carisma mostró a su personaje de manera muy natural.

Hubo demasiado drama innecesario por parte de Drake. Para mí, su personaje era una bandera roja andante, muy inmaduro y egoísta. Él sabía que lastimaba a la FL con su silencio y continuaba guardándole secretos todo el tiempo. También sabía que ella lo entendería, pero aun así no decía nada… Eso fue frustrante.

En cuanto al otro chico, el SML , realmente merecía tener una oportunidad con la protagonista, pero en los sentimientos nadie manda. La química entre ellos era bonita.

Luego de ver el drama, leí la novela1 y sinceramente sentí que Rabin recitaba las líneas sin transmitir emoción ni interiorizarlas. Talvez solo talvez trataron de adaptarlo un poco mas exagerado al personaje de la novela. De todas formas, seguiré apoyando a los actores en sus próximos dramas.

Ps; Acabo de terminar el libro 2 y hay mucho mas de la FL llorando por el ML y aceptando todo por su amor por él, y el SML dándolo todo por ella. Bueno, leer es una cosa y verlo en drama es otra, espero que cambien algo porque el ML decepciona bastante.

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PEOR ML QUE VI EN MI VIDA

No hace falta mucho para que yo apoye a una pareja, ni siquiera tengo la vara muy alta para perdonar a los protagonistas y ni a eso llego Drake. Los últimos capítulos ya los veia con desgana, el es un acosador!!!!! que no entiende lo que es un no.
La pobre de Alys tampoco tiene ideas muy brillantes que digamos, y cuando las tiene después se retracta. Pero yo a ella la perdono por qué salir con un chico así te debe dejar loca y sin sentido de lo que está bien y lo que está mal, sobre todo si después de terminar una relación te sihuen persiguiendo y tocando el timbre a las 12 de la noche!!!!
Que fue ese desarrollo que le dieron a Drake al final, como que se levantó ese día y dijo "por primera vez en meses voy a ser una persona normal y mostrar interés por la chica que amo y no voy a permitir que haya malentendidos entre nosotros" pero esa media hora de redención no fue suficiente para perdonarlo por el trauma que me causó verlo.
La parte de la secundaria no me enojó tanto, para que vean que no era muy complicado lo que pedía, pero ya la parte de Shaira diciéndole esposo y que él no le diga nada y se deje!!!!! por dios, un poco de respeto a tu novia. Son incontables los errores de Drake y muy pocos los lindos momentos de la pareja.
Tripp tenés todo mí corazón, no soy de apoyar a las segundas opciones y normalmente me gusta la elección final, pero en esta serie él se merecia quedarse con Alys. El le dio mas regalos y momentos felices en los 4 meses que duró el semestre que Drake en todo un año de relación.
No sé si quiero ver la segunda temporada, ya bastante disgusto tengo con esta y no lo puedo perdonar a Drake por todo lo malo que hizo (como vas a estar con tu madrastra!!!!).
Yo sabía en lo que me metía viendo un drama Filipino pero esto es demasiado.
Las 5 estrellas es por la parte de la secundaria y Tripp.

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