Go Ahead (2020)

Story Ended

I like very much for the music / original sound track. it looked like the director want the story ended in the last episode, it mixed all the conflict and the climax.
The emotional connection between the casts is very good …. It's real. I love it.
Actually I am very selected to watch Chinese drama that have long episode. This is the first drama I watched streaming, and I'm curious for the next episode in Hunan TV although there's no English title. I don't understand what they are talking about but I'm still love watching them.

We need special edition to get good ending story or maybe there will be session 2.

Citeste mai mult

What an endearing coming of age family drama!

Likes: All the different layers/dynamics that comes from being in a non traditional family. The acting was great from everyone from the younger versions to the old. Song Wei Long was incredibly handsome.

Dislikes: The chances the 2 MLs return on the same exact day is a bit of a stretch. The 2nd half had more draggy parts and I didn't like how they wrapped up the drama at the end. Also the eng subs weren't the greatest so sometimes I was confused during some of the conversations.

Let me preface to say, I normally don't enjoy family dramas that much, but this one was done really well esp during the first half. I went in for Song Wei Long, but wound up really enjoying the story. It's endearing. You watch the 3 friends grow from kids to adults and watch how their relationships and personalities form from all the love, hurt, and trauma that's happened to them. What really stood out to me were the multiple layers that every character had that made them relatable and actually interesting to watch. The dynamic between the parents and their kids was also interesting to see play out. This drama handled the complexity that comes with family really well. Sometimes the people who love you the most can cause you the most damage.

I did think there were too many side characters however and I wished there was a bit more romance, but overall it was a great watch and would recommend it!

Citeste mai mult

Mixed feelings after the drama

I saw a clip of Go Ahead on TikTok, which was when Jian Jian announced that she had gotten her first period. I was amused by the scene, and so i was already very eager to watch the Cdrama, but at that time I had never watched it before, so I added it to my list. I decided to start watching Cdramas after Hidden Love and remembered this drama. SWL is an extremely attractive man, and that pushed me to watch it even further. However, as much as I liked his show, I also hated it just as much. I was already aware that it was going to be an emotional rollercoaster, and it did bring out bowls of tears from me, but some things were just too annoying and overbearing for me too watch. I'm going to start off by saying what I enjoyed as I watched this show.

First off, I love Jian Jian's Dad. He is literally the best. The way he cares for the family even though he doesnt have a lot is just so comforting and heartwarming. I love the idea of the three of them being raised together and the whole idea of them being a family. It was also very fun to watch their interactions. It is unfortunate, though, that the bad things were more.

The characters all had mummy issues, with some being worse than the others. Whenever i watched Ling Xiao's scenes with his mom, i always cried. She was a terrible mother and, in my opinion, the most abhorred mother in both Cdramas and Kdramas. Her daughter died and she blames everyone in the family as if they also didn't lose their sister and daughter. I get that people go through loss and i understand what she was going through, but she never cared for Ling Xiao and it absolutely broke my heart. What also pissed me off was that Ling Xiao never expressed it properly to her. The woman literally abandons her son and walks back in expecting him to accept her with open arms. She hurt LX so much, and she never properly apologised for it, instead, she kept on playing the victim every single time. We saw ZQ let all his feelings out to his mom as well, but we just didnt get that for LX and it was very unfair.

After realising all the wrongs that she had done to LX, she tried to kill herself, abandoning them again. What was more annoying was that she had a daughter this time around, used her daughter to basically torment and force LX to relate with her and at the end of the day, didn't include her in her damned suicide letter. In all LX's moms role was over bearing and unrealistic and also very hypocritical.

The female lead was obviously older than them. Not saying that TSY didnt act well cause she did, but they could have picked someone cuter and younger. Many people may disagree with me, but Jian Jian didnt look good with Ling Xiao. It just looked very weird to me and as much as they tried to have chemistry, it was still very awkward to watch. Jian Jian also didnt really like Ling Xiao, we know this from when she tells her dad why she was going out with LX. It was so annoying cause eh genuinely loved her, but her feelings were so immature and shallow. When LX would want to touch her, she would shrug away and she also called him 'Older Brother' till the end which was so inappropriate. They just didnt feel like a couple to me at all.

There are other things that i also didnt like, but these are the most important. These things are also what maked the show even more interesting to watch. But it isnt something that i would rewatch. There arent any heart fluttering scenes imo. However, it ahs an amazing Plot and should be added to your watchlist as a cdrama watcher.

Citeste mai mult

You've heard of daddy-issues as tragic backstories now get ready for...MOMMY ISSUES!

*The characters are a metaphor for bad parenting!*
This show didn't leave a huge impression on me but it gets a 9/10 for being the first Chinese modern drama that I watched all the way through and that deserves recognition if anything does. It's also not a bad show.
You should check this show out if you like:
1. Found family trope
2.Second-hand embarrassment
3.Slice of life
4.Food
5.Watching other people eat food while you're not
6.Food as a love language
7.Extensive and blatant verbal abuse of children throughout childhood and well into adulthood
8.Barely-there romance
9.Friendship and girls-supporting-girls
10.Easily resolved misunderstandings that don't stress the viewer out at all
11.Half-assed, there-only-for-laughs love triangles
12.Stories that handle concepts of trauma
13.Barely hidden implications about non-traditional family units (aka families with same-gender parents) being healthier than forced traditional family units.
14. Mothers having weird things for their kids...it's...complicated!

Summary: The story follows a widowed man named Li Hai Chao who runs a small noodle shop and takes care of his daughter on his own. He ends up becoming the primary caretaker for two neglected boys in the neighborhood and together with the upstairs neighbor dude, they make up a sweet, unconventional family unit. Then years later, the abusive parents show up and take the boys away just to prove that it's never too late to deeply traumatize and scar your children if you are determined enough!

So this show...is so comforting and cozy while also giving the viewers terrible anxiety. It's truly awe-inspiring how much drama they fit into a show that essentially has no central plot. Like I mentioned, the show is a "slice of life" type of show so for the most part it's about these people dealing with the banal difficulties of real-life but the circumstances of the characters are so dramatized and heightened that their daily issues involve weirdly high stakes.

Story: I really appreciate the time the show takes to really drive home the level of abuse and trauma parents can unpack on their children, intentionally or not. The whole concept of this show as I see it is challenging parenting norms of China, revealing the dark side of filial piety and asking real questions about what a true family consists of, and if blood really is thicker than water, or more importantly...should it be?!
Every one of the younger members of the cast (That is the main three kids, Jian Jian, Ling Xiao, and He ZiQiu as well as Ming Yue and Tang Can) are each different manifestations of traumatized children who grow up with some form of parental deficiency.
Jian Jian: Motherless, great dad. she is the least f*cked up one of the bunch. Her thing is that she was pampered because her dad didn't have the heart to be hard on her and she ends up rather demanding and unruly. She's very normal. She has almost no drama going on a personal level (just romantic bs). Although I did find her lack of sexual identity a bit odd given that she is the main "romantic" lead of the show. But I'm just gonna assume that's a cultural thing since "cute" girls seem to outweigh "mature" girls in terms of likability.
Next comes, Ling Xiao: Abusive mother, absent-ish father. He's just SO traumatized. He is the result of the most uncomplicated form of abuse. Depressed, with anxiety disorder. (He has little sense of preservation because he thinks he is unworthy of love and deserves the abuse he gets.)
He ZiQiu: He is the result of abandonment. He is emotionally suppressed and a perfectionist. (because he thinks he has to prove he deserves love)
Ming Yue: Is the result of a controlling mother and an absent father. She is childish and helpless as an adult. She is incapable of making any decisions. Utterly paralyzed between pleasing her mother and resenting her.
Tang Can: Commodified child star, burnt out. She is the example of a child who was used by her parents and praised when she brought in a profit and then later beaten down and ridiculed when she lost her benefits.
The story takes such good care of showing how damaged each of these characters are as adults because of everything that happened to them as children. The big event of the plot comes around episode 10 when Ling Xiao and He ZiQiu who had gotten away with moderate trauma, end up getting dragged back into really terrible family situations, suffer a form of arrested development, get traumatized even worse than before. The show is so good at showing their frozen mental and emotional state once they return to the story.
Then there's a lot of random plots at every turn with each revealing a new level of awful things that have happened to these kids. There are unnecessary love triangles but they seem to mostly be there for humor and they are all resolved quite fast and easily.
My main issue with the plot is that it ends up debunking its own hypothesis. By the end of the show, every single bad mother (and OH they were all bad!) gets redeemed one way or another and the children just resume their filial piety. Sure, there are important conversations that come up but it feels a little pointless. Plots are either undone or swiped under a rug to make a happy ending possible. There's no real statement made about bad parenting patterns.
There is also the fact that the healthiest family unit in the story consists of two men raising three kids together which says a lot about the argument that families must look a certain way for children to grow up mentally stable and healthy but then three fourth of the way into the show, it has to make up a romance for one of the men, in a very meh performance of "no homo".

Acting: The older actors were amazing. The younger ones were good too. Particularly Steven Zhang whose fans will not let anyone forget just how great he was in the show! lol. Seven Tan is praised a lot for this show but except for a couple of scenes here and there, I didn't love the choices made for the character so I didn't love her performance even though I think she did great with what she was given. Song Weilong is the one member of the main cast I am hesitant to pass judgment on. He plays a deeply depressed character and his character comes across as extremely depressed and introverted, so I think he did do an amazing job portraying that but that also means his character is significantly less flashy than Steven Zhang's so he can seem like he didn't do a good job and was just awkward. Didn't love the supporting casts' acting much. But again. similar to Seven Tan, their childish and exaggerated performances do add up with their characters' personalities so maybe they didn't have bad performances so much as their characters were just exaggerated and irritating!

The music was fine. Except for when that one song keeps repeating a million times over every time something emotional happens. A lot of cdrama/kdramas do this. Much to my displeasure...

The production was good. Especially compared to all the modern cdramas I have dropped. The audio was good, set design, cinematography and etc. were good in the way that good things go unnoticed because they are natural.

Negatives: There is a romance between two of the main kids. I think it's best to know this and go into the show because some people tried to make a "this is incest" argument which, no it's not. Stop trying to make a mockery of a serious issue. It's like, people love the childhood friends to lovers trope until they actually get to see that transition and suddenly it's gross and "how can you fall for someone you played with when you were kids?!" well that's what friends to lovers looks like in practice, Karen. It's literally in the name! Don't like it, don't watch! Knowing what to expect, you can notice all the tiny easter eggs the creators put in the childhood era about a possible future romance. It's also decidedly melodramatic. Some would say the childhood era was better than the adult era. I think everyone needs to accept that people can't stay kids forever and it's weird to love watching grown-ass people acting like 15-year-olds.

I would not personally rewatch it. It's not really something that I was super wowed by. It was good but just for one watch.

Citeste mai mult

A Thought Provoking Drama Gem

An unexpected thought provoking Gem of a drama ... this drama explores the sad sometimes frustrating and helplessness of family conflicts, the physical and mental anguish immature parents can inflict and damage on their children, told thorough laughter, tears and love in comic relief style can often be soul wrenching

Surprisingly enjoyable and touchingly funny reflecting lives ups and downs, with poignant references to "Humanist" theorists, Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs" Model, the need for physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem before striving for self-actualisation ... as well as references to wider literature that supports and add weight to this drama

"Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans." (Saunders1957)

Citeste mai mult

Very entertaining and realistic feel-good drama

First of all this drama felt soo good. I dont know how but it just felt really good to watch. It had a nice vibe while watching. I must say I did think that it was gonna be another one of those stupid, over dramatic and complicated love triangle dramas but this drama felt very natural. The romance in this drama is also very light and has a ton of comedy in it. The screenplay's really well done. I avoided this drama for a very long time because I thought it would just be dragged long condiering how many episodes there was but it rteally wasn't dragged at all. From how they met as kids to how they grew such a close bond, it all felt wholesome. I genuinnely recommend watching this drama. Although I did feel that the story felt a little boring and maybe a little too 'not-dramatic'. It was great watching them grow through the ages and overcome their differences, changes and grow closer together. I loved every aspect of this drama and it also had a very wholesome ending! The acting of the cast too was just as amazing! I could feel great chemistry between the three leads and I very very very much loved the character of Dad Li. He was such a strong and compassionate character, he melts my heart. Overall great entertaining drama about what makes a family and the struggles within a marital household. And about how the people hurt learn to heal. ??????????‍???‍???‍⚕️?

Citeste mai mult

Totally awesome series

WOW

I absolutely loved this series and am sorry there is no more to watch. Loved it so much, I am compelled to write a review.

Music: One of the few series where I watched the Intro and Credits because of the songs. Just wished there would have been some upbeat songs.
Acting: I have to read the subtitles, but the acting was still so top level performances. The tone, intonation, expressions all rang true to keep me engrossed. I had to playback several times to keep up with the reading because I was so busy watching the acting.
Story/Script: Definitely made me cry in some episodes but there was enough laughter to avoid total sadness. One of the best I have seen so far.

I will definitely re-watch in the future.

Citeste mai mult

This drama is a very nice. I have already rewatched it 5 times already. I just can't get bored of it. Can't lie, its my favourite chinese drama.
The acting of all the characters are very good and realistic. Great chemistry from seven tan and her two brother. Loves the ost and it fits well with every scene.
Great story line and it has wide range of emotions in a good way.
From this drama, the only thing that I hate is Ling Xiao's mother. She is just untolerable. She think that the world just evolve around her and everyone is talking bad about her. She doesn't really love Ling Xiao but just want to use him. But in the end she also come around, so thats end well.
Overall, its really worth it to watch Go ahead.

Citeste mai mult

Found Families Forever

I love a good found families drama, which this does exceptionally well. The two fathers navigating raising their respective families and leaning on each other is absolutely adorable. You can feel the love and friendship they build over the years. Quite frankly, it's their relationship and the relationship they build with the kids that resonate with me the most. That, and the overall love of food that is intrinsically tied to the story. Some of the best food cinematography I've ever seen, even in cooking shows.

The relationships between the three main leads, particularly their romance(s), was less interesting to me. I didn't dislike the characters themselves and I liked the moments of connection between them, but I felt the various romantic entanglements derailed parts of the story. The side characters also took up too much screen time (although I do have a special place in my heart for Tang Can). That said, the parts that didn't work for me never detracted from the heart of the story. All of the actors did an amazing job with their role and I overall enjoyed all of their performances.

Citeste mai mult

Go Ahead and watch it.

I really enjoyed this series from beginning to mostly the end. Not that I didn't like the end, it was just a little drawn out. I liked all the characters. Everyone thinks the Ling Dad is the stronger one because he is a police officer but he is continuously bullied by Li Dad. Their arguments are so funny.
The plot was predictable but I still liked watching it.
I think Ling Xiao has PTSD from his sister's death and the subsequent imploding of his mother. I don't like the fact that it was never resolved and he sort of uses JianJian as a crutch or a lifesaver for when he goes through episodes.
I hated his mother from the very first episode and I hated her to the end. She was so selfish.

Citeste mai mult

Lovely show, worth watching

This is probably the best C-drama I have seen so far. The story is touching and you can't help but love it. There were only a few aspects I disliked (spoilers)





--- spoilers below --




I thought the could've done at least without the second brother forming a love triangle, since he really was adopted by her dad and really did grow up as her brother.
The secondary characters - the friends were kinda meh, and not very interesting or funny. They could've been a lot better.
Ling Xiao's mother story line was too long, too much and too annoying. She was the worst, and then it was resolved as if by magic. Bad writing there.
Ling Xiao's character as an adult was... kind of terrible? He was moody and depressed, and loved Jian Jian in a pretty unhealthy way. I also thought their relationship was pretty underdeveloped as adults and wish we'd spent some of the time that was wasted on his mom on this aspect instead.

Citeste mai mult