Hidden Agenda (2023)

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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Definitely a must watch for JoongDunk fans

Watched ir only because of JoongDunk, turned out to be better than expected.

Positive:

-Chemistry
-backgrounds chosen
-liked the JengPok end scene it was very cute!!
-not too dramatic, a simple romance
-Zo realising he was only admiring Nita
-lots of scenes were funny/cute/interesting to watch
-Joke‘s personality, he‘s taken so good of Zo
-love how you could watch the improvement between Joke‘s and Zo‘s relationship
-Joong‘s acting was sooo natural to me

Negative (room for improvement):
-last Episode - it was all rushed and all in one episode. You could see how down Zo was and I felt for him, but I definitely didn‘t like that his mother lied to him in 12th ep.
-Joke‘s character - I hate how they made him „the bad guy“, but fixed the problem in one episode, like at least give me some real drama.
-the thing were Jeng still gave his number out even tho he‘s taken.
-the music was sometimes off (espacially in ep 12)
-some scenes were a little dull so i skipped them (sorry)
-the scene were Joke and his father reconciled somehow didn’t make any sense to me 🤷🏻‍♂️

All in all:
was very cute, a must-watch for JoongDunk fans and worth the wait every Sunday. Could definitely be one of my favs!!
(Don‘t judge me, it‘s just my personal opinion. At least only think it in your mind if you feel upset abt anything I wrote. I also don‘t go around and judge people for their opinion, so let‘s respect e/o!)

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Would’ve Been A Favorite In 2016

Incredibly boring. I sat through four episodes wondering when it would get better but it never did.

I tried to give it a chance but the acting is very bad and I don’t mind cliche when it’s done right, but it is definitely not done right.

I have been following Joong for a while and he is a very decent actor. I cannot say the same about Dunk. For some reason I can’t bring myself to watch the two of them, I tried watching their other show Star In My Mind, but again, it was lackluster and boring. Their chemistry is extremely off and definitely not swoon worthy.

I would only recommend if you’re looking for something to pass time. Or if you’re a big fan of Jamie (Nita), she’s gorgeous.

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It's not a 10 but...

Well for sure it isn't a 10 rated BL series, but it's not a 3. Truth being that for me, as long as Joong smiles a few times an episode I'm satisfied! Also if he raises his eyebrows' and goes shirtless once an episode that really can forgive a lot of script weakness.
Yes the "Hidden Agenda" was not hidden for very long nor was it hidden very well at all. Therefore, this is for sure a "B" BL series...similar to B Movie. All the other stuff was acceptable, music was kind of generic for me. (yeah minus Joong singing.) Story was generic. School stuff Generic. Family was uneventful.
Joong was a good cast for Joke but I can't say the same for Dunk as Zo. I'll leave it at that. NIta and the Grandmother were good female characters.
My only other cast issues is what happened to Pat? Pok and Jeng are fine but Louis as Pat is the next most interesting actor in the entire series. It's like he fell off of the screen. (Did I forget something)
The Finale could have had a more secondary character involvement and I didn't really get Zo or the the fathers moment of realization: "oh I'm being a wanker and I should stop!" Not done well at all!

Yes it's watchable and yes it had some good entertaining spots, but yes it's time for Joong and DunK to grow up. No more school series for them please!

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Kisses and a bunch of people with hidden agendas

This drama has one good episode, a decent female something and a bunch of really well executed kisses... and well that is about it... As slightly annoying guy has a crush on an amazing girl but gets douped by a guy with a hidden agenda on their way though some misunderstandings and the feeling of trust no one as they may or may not have a hidden agenda but honestly they all just fall flat.

I was almost going to give this a 7,5 for the kisses, the good episode and the girl plus lack of issues to complain about but then a whole bunch of cringe happened and dragged down the score. Conversations with parents that had me gaging and just a whole lot of oh come on.... Seriously are they going to throw in that annoying trope. And well at that point I felt a 7 was a kind score.

So what can I say the romance has its good times and again great kisses... but honestly it is just not enough to make this a good or even a watch worthy of your time. But if you do not mind the lack of plot and cringe and have some time to kill go for it or just fast forward to the kisses and the scenes with the girl.

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Hidden gem?

So Hidden Agenda is one of those stories where we are waiting to figure out what the agenda is. It quickly becomes apparent that Joke is not what he appears and has some secrets. But Zo wants Nita and accepts his help. Let the misunderstandings etc ensue. There's some family angst and we have a side couple, over involved friends and a stalker so lots going on.

Honestly, this should have been 8 to 10 episodes as some of the themes in the last few episodes feel rushed and not really deep enough. Joong is carrying this and their chemistry is still strong. Dung has improved somewhat although he still does that bobbly head thing too much. And someone give Joong some decent jeans!

If you're into Joong as a singer then you will enjoy some of the earlier episodes.

I've rewatched some of the scenes which highlight their chemistry but overall, this is a cute Sunday evening watch. Glad to see some improvement from JoongDunk but, we need a stronger script to really test this ship.

OK last episode was weak but still worth it for JoongDunk fans

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Your Expectations Are Accurate

I'm one of the few people that isn't tired of university dramas. I know that we've seen similar love dynamics thousands of times, that we can predict every single move these boys will make. I'm okay with that because just because it plays into common tropes doesn't necessarily mean it'll be bad. What determines quality is how the show executes those tropes.

Unfortunately, Hidden Agenda doesn't do anything revolutionary, and having seen so many GMMTV shows, I don't know why I expected any different.

My main issue with Hidden Agenda, and many other BLs in general, is that the plot is nonexistent. Even if a show has so much potential, the writers complete the entire plot in the first three or four episodes and then drag out the characters actually getting together for far too long. It's fine to have scenes where characters are being lovey-dovey for the safe of being lovey-dovey, but that can't drive a plot.

And it seemed like the writers understood that because then they started throwing plot points at the show hoping one would stick -- an evil ex-friend, a stalker, disappointed parents, a debate competition! But all of those would be resolved fairly anticlimactically in an episode and a half each plot point. So what was the point? To show that their love can withstand all? I'm not really believing it.

There was a surprising amount of depth and complexity to Jeng and Pok's relationship - hiding their relationship when one clearly longs to be public. It was actually so much more interesting than Joke and Zo's plot, and because the writers were taking their time in building out their exposition, I had hope that Jeng and Pok's relationship would be the redeeming factor of the show.

But of course, like all plots in Hidden Agenda, it was completed too soon, too hastily that I was left to wonder if I was imagining the potential their story had.

And then in the last three episodes, the show decided to finally show its worth with an actually substantive plot. Zo is stressing over the upcoming debate competition as he believes it's his one opportunity to make his mom proud, and we find out in the last episode that Joke is the black sheep of the family and he struggles with gaining their acceptance. The latter is criminally underdeveloped and cobbled together and concluded in just two scenes, and sadly this is where we see the best performance by Joong. Despite horrifically awkward writing where we get whiplash by the grandpa who in basically less than five minutes both cuts Joke down a few notches by practically calling him a degenerate in front of the whole family AND THEN asks Joke for a hug and tells him he's proud of him, Joong manages to move my heart with his tears.

I knew going into this show, I probably would be disappointed. And I was, but not nearly as much as other shows, and in fact, it almost became fun since I was hate-writing pages full of notes. You get what you expect and nothing more. I need to stop expecting GMMTV to blow me away with an underrated gem because that hasn't happened in a long, long time.

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A feel-good university romance with a lot of fluff

Hidden Agenda is a good BL with an interesting plot and a great cast.

The plot starts out strong and we are immediately swept up into getting to know the characters for around two episodes whilst the groundwork is set for the rest of the plot. I thought the pursuit was fun to watch and had some cute moments. The main couple is sweet, and I personally enjoy university plots with angsty and confused feelings.

Watch this drama if you enjoy the following genres: university, romance, fluff, sweet, pining, confused feelings, slight angst and a few steamy kiss scenes.

I’ve seen many other reviews of people hating on this drama for no reason. I’ve mainly seen people insult Dunk’s acting skills which are perfectly fine. Whilst I agree that Joong is slightly better, I do not think that Dunk’s acting skills are bad (or as bad as some people claim). Some people said the plot was boring which I disagree, I think they just prefer action-thrillers with heavy stakes and a fleshed-out plot rather than a simple watch with a lot of fluff.

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