Bad boys are not the poster boys for true love
Imagine this: the male lead grabs her wrist in a crowded hallway, yanks her close, leans in slowly to her ear, and with a deep voice, he says, “I’m territorial.” She breathes in sharply—not out of fear—but from intense admiration. The next moment, he ignores her again, leaving her confused and conflicted. Mixed signals, right?
With the rise of Wattpad adaptations like “Ang Mutya ng Section E” and “Seducing Drake Palma,” the classic bad boy trope makes its triumphant return. Countless scenes like the aforementioned example have begun dominating social media platforms, stirring kilig among fans in the comment sections.
And while the phenomenon fosters a community among the audiences, it also highlights different pictures of romantic ideals, often blurring the line between fiction and reality.
The adaptations are based on two hit Wattpad stories published during the height of bad boy and enemies-to-lovers trope romance. “Ang Mutya ng Section E” (AMNSE) by Lara Flores (Eat2bemorehappy), features Jay-Jay (Ashtine Olviga), a transferee high school student who finds herself in Section E, the section for notorious mischievous students. Being the only girl, she became the target of bullying and pranks, led by their class president, Kiefer (Andres Muhlach). Their rivalry turns into an unexpected romance as the story unfolds.
Meanwhile, “Seducing Drake Palma” by Ariesa Domingo (Beeyotch) follows the journey of Alys Perez (Angela Muji), who sets out on a mission to help her friend Sheen by seducing Drake Palma (Rabin Angeles), a campus heartthrob. What started as a fake relationship slowly unravels into something real, developing a deeper connection that complicates her plan.
Both have one thing in common: campus romance that deeply resonates with younger audiences. However, beyond those kilig moments lies an important question of how romantic relationships should be defined in reality.
The blueprint
Male leads with a cold and conceited demeanor aren’t new in television. The trope has been a staple for decades, evident in Asian classics like “Meteor Garden” and “Boys Over Flowers.” These feature jealous “bad boys” who are often possessive and abusive toward the female lead. While they don’t start out as agreeable individuals, they typically undergo a “redemption arc” that reveals their complicated backgrounds while setting them up to be “good guys” underneath.
From the Wattpad adaptations of “She’s Dating the Gangster,” “Diary ng Panget,” and “Talk Back and You’re Dead,” the familiarity of the bad boy archetype continues to dominate the scene through the lens of Kiefer and Drake.
It’s no surprise that Kiefer and Drake are far from heroes—they exist to frustrate and disturb the comfort by mirroring the “red flag” behaviors that, in real life, would harm someone’s well-being.
Kiefer’s approach toward Jay-Jay in the first episodes echoes toxic masculinity through bullying, threats, manipulation, physical abuse, and non-consensual advances, a disturbing and problematic trait that should neither be glorified nor celebrated by anyone, both on screen and beyond fiction. The same goes for Drake, often emotionally unavailable to Alys and sending mixed signals, while occasionally acting downright mean to her.
Despite these toxic traits, some still admire these characters since their redemption arcs change these flawed and morally gray leads into the ideal man. But in reality, not everyone has room for self-improvement, and doing the bare minimum should neither be celebrated nor rewarded. Redemption arcs shouldn’t be a default measure of character development because not everything is truly redeemable, particularly those who have inflicted deep trauma and dehumanized others.
The breaking point
Community members from the subreddit called r/AngMutyaNgSectionE have also expressed their hot takes over the scenes, tackling the bullying and problematic aspects of the series.
“In lots of areas, I truly believe people excuse red flags simply because a person is attractive—calling it ‘possessive’ or ‘he bullies you because he likes you,’” one Redditor comments, noting Kiefer’s red flags and behaviors.
“The ending might save Kiefer’s wrong actions, but it can’t change the fact that he bullied Jayjay and even encouraged his friends to join him with his plan,” another says.
On the other hand, X users have expressed admiration over Drake’s character despite recognizing the red flags by posting: “Lord, alam ko naman red flag si Drake Palma pero shet huhuhu i want”
“Compared sa book, ang tame ng Drake Palma sa adaptation. That’s why even if he’s STILL a red flag, makukuha mo parin na bumoto sa kanya, sa love story nila ni Alys,” another one writes.
Such mixed reactions reflect different takes on red flag behaviors among the viewers. While some have realizations after watching, others are still swayed by the character itself, drowned in the depths of emotional attachment and admiration.
What love should be
No matter how good the portrayal is, it is crucial for viewers not to glorify and normalize problematic traits in any films or adaptations.
Escapism through watching bad boy tropes is not intrinsically harmful, but it only becomes an issue when viewers mistake entertainment for emotional truth. There is a fine line that will always separate fiction and reality to avoid mistaking dominance for genuine romance.
The love that is worth advocating for should reflect respect, maturity, and sincerity—qualities that deepen our understanding of unconditional love rather than reinforcing misconceptions of true affection.
