Hidden Agenda (2023)

Okay, but Not Incredible

There have been worse, there have been better. I feel like that sums up the story.

Overall, the story isn't bad. The cinematography is nice and JoongDunk do have nice chemistry with each other. Other than that, nothing to write home about. It wasn't overtly unique, but it was a decent watch.

I didn't regret watching it, but I think I would like to see how these MLs do with a more mature script. Maybe it's because the college/high school arc is getting old, but I'd love to see Thai dramas in general move forward out of the school era.

Overall: Decent watch, but not life-altering.

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Nice Concept but plot can be develop even more!

I was so skeptical at this series because of the last JoongDunk series that I watched doesn't reach my expectation AT ALL. But this one is much better than the last one. The story started with Zo having a crush on Nita and asking for Joke's help to help him to date her. Though, I like the way they stopped the dating help halfway because of Zo realising his actual feeling towards Joke, I wish they shouldn't stop that way. I wish they could put more conflict like Joke suddenly back to being Nita's boyfriend because of the stalker thing. The concept is good but I wish the plot could have more conflict. The conflict of the series is just love triangle, family issues and thats it. I wish there is more.

I have no complain about the characters BUT I just wish that when Zo confront his mom about his feelings of never feel enough, I wish there is more passion, there is more anger. Yes, Zo is a nice person but he has been bottling up his feelings for a long time. I really wanted to see how Dunk's acting with explosion of anger and regret but it seems like that is not going to happen in this series. And both of them facing the same issues are a little bit.. hm.. how do I say... sound like plot is rushed to finish. They could have create conflict of Joke's father is being bias with his siblings more wide range. Like I said, there are no rage and not enough passion in this series that it makes them a little bit boring.

Joke's whole family except for his grandma is A WHOLE FUCKING RED FLAG. I am so mad that no one seems to care about him like ????? How heartless can yall be? Anyway, I still feel that this series have a good concept, moderately develop plot, amazing actors but very little conflict.

JoongDunk deserves better. There, I said it.

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It was cute...I guess.

Hidden Agenda was cute and I enjoyed it, until the last three episodes. Zo took Whiny to a whole other level. So they won the competition but Zo lost the scholarship to Nita. This is where the wining starts. He pouts through Nita's B-day party and pushes Joke away. And then his father gets sick and goes to the hospital and this is where Zo informs Joke that he didn't have time for him because he had to focus on "more important things", like that's not a crappy thing to say to the boy who adores you. So Zo's mother has to tell him...Yeah, your boyfriend is kind of important. I rolled my eyes so hard they almost fell out of my head. And then the final episode, Joke is having dinner with his family and his father is being an ass...and of course, Zo shows up to give the dad a long speech, which makes Joke's dad "see the light" and then my eyes finally fell out of my head from rolling them so much. I love Joong and Dunk and they have great chemistry, but this show was not it.

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It did what it needed to do.

Honestly, al the low scores... I don't get it.
Was this the best show I've ever seen? No.
Will I rewatch it? Probably not, but then again, I don't easily rewatch a show.
Was the storyline the best thing ever written? No.
Does it have to be? Also no.
Did the actors have great chemistry? Yes, they did. Sure, there are couples with better chemistry, but I have also seen couples with zero chemistry. JoongDunk are solid, but I'm sure they'll improve the more they get to work together.
Are they absolutely adorable together? Yes, they are.
Did the show do what it needed to? Yes. It's a show you can watch and relax. You don't have to have to follow along every five seconds, otherwise you lose the plot. You can just sit down, enjoy it and breathe after a long day of work.
To me, this was a good show. Not perfect, but definitely not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

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Below a serve for a show in 2023, but had potential for a good show in 2021

I personally believed that the show wasn't that bad, but it could've been better. Joongs acting in my personal opinion really saved the show, and if Dunk got acting lessons the show would've been way better. The thing is Dunks acting isn't even as bad as a lot of 'unpopular' thai actors. (i put these in quotes because there are some actors who are popular but still have bad acting aka popular for their face) Plus, they could've organized the plot in a manner where we could tell the point of each detail and what it meant to the story. To me it seemed a bit all over the place, but it did have good potential. Thinking positively, the show wasn't as bad as what i've seen with your average low budget bl. It's cute for a show would be low budget.

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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.

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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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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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It's over for me!!!!

I don't think I'll watch this series until the end. I finished the episode 3 weeks ago and can't bring myself to continue. I need to tell this "I'm sorry, but it's boring".
When I saw the trailer, I was so excited, because it promised a lot. But the story isn't good for me. I expected things to happen differently. Joke even trying to help Zo with Nita and their feelings developing along the way. I would have liked to see Zo trying to win Nita over, not fall for Joke so quickly.
I like a soft love story with no big drama, but let's be serious, this isn't "My School President".
I like Dunk and Joong, but I don't see the chemistry between them. I didn't see it in their preview series "Star and Sky" either. I always get the feeling that Dunk can't get emotionally involved, that he can't convey the feelings to us, the viewers. When I see Zo, I see Dunk. They have the same behavior towards Joong/Joke.

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