Go Ahead

NOSTALGIC, WARM & SATISFYING

STORYWISE - Very relatable. The story itself truly captivated me. It keeps me occupied and entertained until the end. There is DEPTH& SUBSTANCE.

CASTING- Super love the FL & ML’s. I’ve watched most of their dramas and this drama proves how good they are with their craft. DAD LI is simply the best! The actor who played this character is so good that at the end I keep hoping for his happy ending and it did! The child actors did an awesome job connecting to their adult figure. I love also the side characters. MINYUE & TAN CAN are the best besties you can have. That’s what friends are for, tested thru the years.

MUSIC - LOVE IT!

All in all! I LOVE TO WATCH IT AGAIN. Totally WORTH IT, CAPTIVATING, ENTERTAINING & SATISFYING. After watching it, I was filled with warmth and happiness.

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AMAZING STORY

Hands down one of the most heartwarming stories about humans. HIGHLY recommended. This is the perfect medicine when you need to see a little bit of light and hope in the world. The characters are so wonderful and lovable. The most important part was that they were real. They made mistakes and they hurted too. This drama touches on the problem of mental health issues and the impact of parental neglect. It really shines a light on how kids are affected by their parents and how it could lead to a lot of mental damage and self doubt. Not only does it talk about parents abandonment, it also includes parents who care in the wrong way and push their way too much. Although it does have romance, it's very minimal. The focus is on familial love and it is showcased incredibly well in this drama. 100% would rewatch

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Heartwarming family drama with bonus super sweet friends to lovers like romance

9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 Chinese drama with 40, ~45 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis and then review.

Synopsis
Li Jianjian (Tan Songyun) lost her mother who died in child birth but has a dad, Li Haichow, (Tu Songyan) who loves people. He is the dad everyone wants and winds up taking in He Ziqiu (Zhang Xincheng) after making a comment to his single mom that if she doesn’t want her son he would take him. A police officer and his wife move in upstairs and their fights become the talk of the building as the thin walls allow everyone to overhear their conflicts. Ling Xiao (Song Weilong) spends a lot of his time quietly reading on the communal stairs to get out of the apartment when his parents are fighting. The Li’s are determined to invite the young boy into their warm apartment to share meals rather than sadly sitting on the stairs. It is not long before Xiao’s mother leaves the family and now it is just the boy and his dad. The two single fathers become close relying on each other to raise the three kids. This series follows this heartwarming family through many stages of life.

Review
The child actress who plays young Li Jianjian is cute like Shirley Temple. She is kind, courageous and a little mischievous and both boys wind up drawn to her energy. I love the two dads and especially Haichow who uses his culinary skills to feed those that need not only the meal but the human caring. The way it portrays the concept of family as not just those with blood ties, but those that take care of and love each other in a formed family unit is very touching.

I highly recommend this for a sweet, friends to lovers coming of age romance. It is a great family drama. There are many comedic moments that flow very naturally. I enjoyed it start to finish. It ended happily with all major plot points resolved.

Spoilers*

I read elsewhere and I have to agree her proudly declaring she is menustrating to the table of her all male family is funny. It does not even cross her mind that it might make them uncomfortable. But they do their best to help the only female in their midst mature even doing things like gifting her a bra in secret.

Some reviewers felt weird with both of her brothers liking her romantically. Her ”oldest brother”, Ling Xiao (Song Wei Long) was not a blood relative and did not even live in the same apartment. So them harboring romantic feelings was not weird to me at all. The younger brother, He Zi Qiu (Zhang Xin Chang) was thinking along those lines but it was more from his deep desire to be a part of the family officially than real romantic feelings for his ”sister”. They were not blood related either but they were close to being step siblings and, in the end, they were officially step siblings. But other than a brief encounter when he had some romantic feels for her when they were decorating pastry (he was sort of back hugging her to guide her hands) he was more like “ooh sister cooties“ when she jokingly suggested they kiss. I think he was briefly confused about the nature of his feelings for her and they sorted out as more brotherly.

The filial above all else was a problem for me with this one as they even largely encouraged forgiving and looking the other way on behaviors that were physically and emotionally abusive. Chen Ting (Yang Tong Shu), Ling Xiao’s mom, was awful, she was abusive to her husband, Ling He Ping (Zhang Xi Lin) and her son when tgey were married then abandoned her young son to let her now ex, He Ping and super dad, Li Hao Chao (Tu Song Yan) raise him. She returns later, remarried, with a step sister in tow and expects the son she abandoned to just pick up where she left off. And it was not just that expected it the adultsdid a bit by not putting an immediate full stop to it. I looked up the child abuse laws in China because I was curious about the adults lack of intervention. It doesn’t appear like there’s a lot they really could’ve done if they had chose to press the issue at least not legally. But I would have been a harpy so that it was in inconvenient enough that she just left him alone. In the end they try to make it out Chen ting finally saw the light but I still thought she was horrible as she was emotionally blackmailing them with suicide even then. Shenwas not even close to repairing any if the emotional damage she caused and would likely continue to cause. In my opinion someone that behaved like that has borderline personality disorder. She exhibited all the major traits which include: Unstable relationships, sense of self, and emotions, impulsivity, recurrent suicidal behavior and self-harm, fear of abandonment, chronic feelings of emptiness, inappropriate anger, feeling detached from reality. The disorder cannot be cured but can improve with therapy. She was not seeking help with her persiponality issues so she would continue to do things both emotionally and physically harmful.

Then there was Little Big Brother’s biological dad, Zhao Hua Guang (Liu Jin Long) and he was also awful and abusive. He, admittedly did not take care of his son when he was young, because he was too poor to afford taking care of a child so he let him be raised by others. Then he makes money and thinks he cannot have children with his new wife so he comes back and expects Zi Qui to just to turn his back on the people that care for him, and raised him all those years. Then rather than asking nicely and being so pleasant, his son would want to come with him he blackmailed him and threatened to harm the only family the son knew and loved if he did not do as he wished.

Then there was her friend and roommate Luo Hong (Mei Ling Zhen) whi had a crush in Big Brother, Ling Xiao, and was angry when she mistakingly thought he had romantic feelings for her but only saw her as a good friend. She was willing to give up her years long friendship with Jianjian out of a situation of her own making. Then she takes her mom’s side when her parents are going to divorce criticizing her father for not being there and her mom doing it all when she was a housewife and he was working to support the family. It was the same with Zi Qiu’s police officer father and his mom, also a housewife who could not cope with her young children so much she locks them up so she Can go play cards then blames her son (like an abuser) amd her husband for her daughter’s tragic death. I found Luo Hing an unlikable character.

#Zhang Xinchang
#TanSongyun
#GoAhead
#TuSongyan
#SongWeiLong

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Slightly Gross but Excellent Otherwise

I love Seven Tan and this is why I started to watch Go Ahead.

I love the first third of the drama (about their childhood). The second third was fast forward 9 years later when the three kids were in their mid 20s. To be honest, it was very hard for me to stomach the times when Ling Xiao kissed Jian Jian without first getting her consent. First time, Jian Jian was sleeping (so it was really creepy). Second time, because Jian Jian looked really uncomfortable (I can sympathize with her!). The last third of the drama was as good as the first.

The only reason I managed to "go ahead" (excuse the pun hehehe) and push through all those slightly gross moments was because I genuinely interested on the stories behind all the characters! Especially Zi Qiu. Man, that guy is an amazing actor.

The ending didn't disappoint. Everything came together perfectly.

This drama is such a tear jerker. I think I finished half a tissue box watching this.

I'm still giving this a 10 because I really enjoyed the storylines. The gross moments, I didn't like it but I can tolerate it.

They're not really brothers, so I don't get how some people think this is incestuous. One is her neighbour, the other one is a son of a lady her Dad almost married. I just disagree how Ling Xiao kept on forcing himself to Jian Jian after they met again 9 years later. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against him. In fact he's also one with the saddest storyline. I just disagree on his kissing scenes! I thought it was really cute when little Jian Jian and little Ling Xiao was bowing to each other (as if they're getting married, like in ancient Chinese tradition).

The story of Zhuang Bei was open ended, it didn't say whether he ended up with Can or Ming Yue. Maybe he didn't end up with any haha. But it's ok, because at the end, in my opinion, this is more of a family drama than a romance drama.

Would I watch it again? Maybe. No, I think I will! This is a must watch if you feel like crying out your sorrow. I'll just skip/fast forward those "gross moments" between Jian Jian and Ling Xiao!

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É BEM LEGALZINHO O DRAMA EM SI E FAZ VC REFLETIR COM DIVERSAS COISAS

Terminei de assistir a esse drama e decidi dar a ele uma nota 7. No início, estava tudo ótimo, me prendeu bastante, mas lá pela metade ele começou a perder o encanto. Quase larguei o drama no meio do caminho, mas tenho essa mania de não gostar de abandonar as coisas pela metade, prefiro sempre levar até o final, mesmo que seja um pouco difícil ou decepcionante. Enfim, foi uma experiência mista, com altos e baixos, mas acho que a nota 7 reflete bem como me senti em relação a ele. Talvez eu devesse ser mais flexível em relação a largar dramas que não me cativam tanto, afinal, o entretenimento deve ser algo prazeroso e não uma obrigação. Cada um tem suas preferências e é importante buscar aquilo que realmente nos faz bem.

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I really enjoyed watching this series. I liked how the characters were created—none of them felt one-dimensional, and each had their own personality. It showed a difficult childhood and its effects on adult life. I also liked the relationship of the main couple—there were no pointless arguments, and they were not just partners, but also best friends.

Spoiler !!!!!

On the downside, definitely the fact that the main character didn’t go to therapy. F*ck, seriously, it was obvious he was struggling, and they’re trying to convince me he cured his depression and anxiety with herbs? I was also waiting to see the relationships of the main character’s friends, but unfortunately, in vain—which is a shame, because I think it could have been interesting. And the main character’s mother… I haven’t hated a character this much in a long time. I couldn’t stand her from start to finish.

I’m also not fully convinced by the fact that there was no official moment where they defined the relationship. They just naturally started being together—which is fine, I guess—but at the same time, it didn’t bring me much joy.

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One of the best

I’ve sometimes been critical of certain popular Korean or Chinese dramas. But I’m having a hard time finding anything negative to say about GO AHEAD, a 40-episode Chinese family drama made in 2020. It’s certainly not a perfect production. Still, it’s entertaining, interesting, and touching. And it dodges so many of the common traps that these kinds of series fall into, that all I can say is: Bravo!

Most of the actors were impressive, especially the three male leads: Weilong Song who plays the older brother (and also the young actor who plays him as a child), Steven Zhang/ Zhang Xin Cheng who plays the younger brother, and especially Tu Song Yan the Dad, the owner of the noodle restaurant, where so much of the action takes place.

Whenever one of these three incredible actors was on screen, I was totally immersed in the drama, and emotionally convinced that I was watching a slice of reality and not a fictional work. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Yi Sun who plays the best friend of the FL. She’s convincing as a kind, generous, but inhibited young woman who’s oppressed by her overly-dominant mother.

I did have some problems with Songyun Tan, an actress in her 30s who plays the FL, Li Jianjian. For half the series this character is supposed to be sixteen years old. When playing a teenager, the actress seemed to be working too hard to make the character spunky, cute, and childlike. She came across as childishly petulant and performative way too much of the time. Also (as is often the case in older Chinese productions) she seemed more like a twelve-year-old than a sixteen-year-old, throwing whiny tantrums and hitting her brothers in fits of pique.

But I really can’t blame the actress. Because this is such a common problem in older Chinese dramas, I suspect it’s due to other considerations. Perhaps she was given instructions to play it that way from the director.

In the second half, when the same character is in her late twenties, Songun Tan is much more appropriate and believable in the role–more relaxed and also more likable–although still a fun-loving, cheerful tease.

The series got a little too sentimental for me in the end. “Emotions aren’t like a faucet where you can turn them on and off at will.” Too many bromides along with the schmaltzy music...but by and large the skillful acting sold it–so it was OK.

A winner.

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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!

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Rated No 1 in my Cdrama in 2024

Beginning of the year, was my No 1 Cdrama. The closeness of the family was undescribable. 3 different children from different families grew up to forge a strong bond. I like the 2 brothers. The actress is cute but I am a bit uncomfortable of her age and Song Wei Long's. Especially kissing an older sister. She is also very tomboy and not pretty. I dislike the fact that the 2 became lovers. Same opionion from my friends whom I recommended this drama. One of the likeable actor is the father, very generous and taking care of all 3 children and even his neighbour. I also regretted that the children upon returning home, did not stay with their own families. Look empty nested.

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