The first teaser for the series was exciting. I really liked how the vibe and the characters seemed different from those in Star in Your Mind. I was excited about it and was really looking forward to seeing Joong and Dunk in something a bit more angsty. And then the second trailer dropped. And then the series. And all my hopes went down the drain.

The plot ended up being kind of messy and confusing with quite a few plot holes and inconsistencies. There was no reasoning behind a lot of the things, including some very crucial aspects – like why Joke likes Zo. They just went from arguing to Joke looking at Zo with hearts in his eyes. I was expecting the whole Joke – Nita – Zo triangle to take longer to both develop and solve, especially as it was shown as the biggest part of the plot in the trailer. And yet it was done and over so soon. The whole idea of the hidden agenda was also not explored enough. It was hinted at and glossed over so quickly, it’s like it has never happened. Generally speaking, problems were not given enough time to properly develop and to have some sort of reasoning behind them.

And as much as I hate to do this, the whole series felt like Star in Your Mind part two or an alternative universe version of it. Not only did the characters played by Joong and Dunk appear to be pretty much the same in both series, but there was also the whole thing with Joong’s characters having a (ex)girlfriend and pinning after Dunk’s character. I found the series to be quite boring most of the time. It was just Joong and Dunk being cute. It was sweet the first time we saw it, the second time around was just boring.

Don’t get me started on the debates. It’s like they have done no research on how a debate actually goes. I tried to see if this is the Thai structure, but I couldn’t find anything online. But I can tell you that it is definitely not the NOVA structure of a debate. I have seen my fair share of debates in real life (even participated in one or two), and the Hidden Agenda version of a debate is very far from the reality of it.

Joke & Zo: they were cute together; I’ll give them that. Joke appears to be more closed off and quite awkward at times. His relationship with family seems to be quite strained as well, but it’s not really explained why. It just is. Zo also has a strained relationship with his mom, but that is something that is addressed in the series. And it makes sense. Zo seems to be kind of naïve at times, but there is more to him than that. The way their relationship happens, and progresses is very strange. It goes from nothing to everything very quickly. Almost too quickly. I have already mentioned how Joke’s feelings for Zo are never really explained. At least Zo’s feelings make sense. And while the two of them talk about some important things – yay for communication and setting boundaries – they also tend to either forget or ignore what they talked about. Joong and Dunk have great chemistry, there was definitely a lot of improvement when it comes to their kissing scenes. But there is something about Dunk’s acting that just doesn’t sit right with me. I don’t know what it is exactly, but it just feels off at times

Jeng & Pok: I like the fact that they were an already established couple dealing with realistic problems. Pok is such a cutie! He might seem adorable and naïve only, but he can be very mature and can stand up for himself when it’s needed. Jeng is struggling with who he is and who he shows to others, he fears rejection and judgment from his friends. And that is something that leads to a lot of tension between the two. Aou and Boom both did great and had an amazing chemistry. I wish we could have seen more of them.