Go Back Lover

Go Back Lover (2024) – Where Misunderstandings Go to Reproduce

Go Back Lover sets out to be a sweet reunion romance between childhood acquaintances Shen Xing Ruo and Lu Xing Yan, but somewhere between the script and the screen, it took a sharp left turn into the Valley of Never-Ending Drama.
They meet again on a dating reality show, and you’d think sparks would fly. Oh, they fly alright—straight into a wildfire of miscommunication, overreactions, and "woe is me" monologues. It’s not time travel, but the emotional déjà vu? Relentless.
Every episode felt like a group therapy session where no one actually listens. The female leads are stuck in an endless loop of sad piano music and self-pity, and the men aren’t much better—throwing emotional curveballs like it’s their full-time job.
And the misunderstandings? At this point, they deserve their own opening credit. “Starring Shen Xing Ruo, Lu Xing Yan, and their good friend: Massive Miscommunication.”
That said... the ending isn’t half bad. In fact, it's quite sweet. It’s like the show remembered in the last two episodes that it was a love story, not a competitive crying contest.

Verdict: Watch if you enjoy yelling “JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER” at your screen and don’t mind taking the scenic route (through Drama Mountain and Angst River) to get to a happy ending. Bring snacks and possibly a support group.

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I think I’ve seen enough.

The majority of the weight of this drama lies in its plot and characters, while the acting and aesthetics play only a minor part.
We have six high school friends here (three couples):

1. Lead Couple – Dated for years, broke up on an ugly note, and are now back again as contestants on the show. 🤥


2. Couple 2 – High school sweethearts who got married and later divorced after years together.😩


3. Couple 3 – Shared a spark in the past but never confessed. Now, the girl is a divorcee and they’re giving themselves a real chance.🤫



Even though the plot is ridiculous (for me, since I don’t enjoy dating variety shows), I gave it a chance because the premise seemed promising. But 12 episodes later, I’m concluding that this crap is just the same thing going in loops.🥱🥱🥱

Characters:

Male Lead – Good-looking, loyal, not very smart but not dumb either. His priorities are set in stone, and he never compromises on them. He holds a high moral stance and never lies. He’s quite hyperactive and sometimes childish, but nothing in his character is unworkable. I’d give him a solid 9/10.🙃🙂

Female Lead – She felt very relatable to me in the first few episodes. I’ve had the same experience of watching my parents fight since childhood, and it’s led to various complexities in my relationships too. But what she did to him was straight-up manipulation followed by gaslighting.😔😔
When you’re broken, you seek someone who can heal you and help you out of your agony—but she wounded him and dragged him into the same hell she was living in. A hell full of self-doubt and rejection. I genuinely felt bad for that poor boy.😓😓

I’m not against a woman who wants to stay single. I’m not against a woman who prioritizes her career over love. I’m not against a woman who chooses herself first—because I’m pretty much the same.
But I am against a woman who plays a man like a Ken doll.
I’m against a woman who starts something emotionally consuming with a man while knowing she can’t live up to the promise.
She just kept him wound around her pinky finger.
Even after 12 episodes and sleeping with him, she said the same thing again. He is clearly the weaker one in this relationship, but that doesn’t mean he deserves this kind of emotional torture. In real life, emotionally unavailable individuals like her cause serious psychological damage to their partners.😩😩

Couple 2 – Male Partner: Childish, jealous, hyperactive, but loyal.
Who Female Partner: Honestly, she’s just the same. They say opposites attract, yet these two are quite similar. Still, they fell in love, got married, divorced, and now they’re re-experiencing the spark.💀💀

Couple 3 – The Mute Couple: Again, both partners are extremely introverted.🤐🤐🤐

And yeah, there’s also a low-budget vamp who keeps causing trouble, but no one ever holds her accountable. Why? Because the writer said so.😤😤

Then we have a man who could be considered either a side male lead or some sort of antihero. He’s after the FL, but she keeps rejecting him in her own savage style.
Like, come on—she doesn’t even give two Fs about the ML, who’s completely devoted to her, and we’re supposed to believe this guy stands a chance? Be serious.🙄🙄

That pretty much sums up the drama—plot and characters.🫡

Cast:

The cast is decent. The ML is a good actor; we’ve seen him in supporting roles before. His performance here was solid.✨✨
The FL is even more talented—I remember seeing her in a period drama, and honestly, she shines more in that genre.💕

As for their chemistry... sorry, I found it too flat. Whether it’s the plot or poor character development, their chemistry felt like a homework assignment nobody wanted to do.👎

The BGM is decent for a modern-themed drama. The wardrobe could’ve been better, but anyway.

I might give it a second shot after a few days, but as of now, it’s just not matching my vibe. So yeah, dropping it for now. 😮‍💨

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was really pleasantly surprised...??

I have watched many many modern cdramas before and in general most of them are super cliche and many have repetitive plots. So I usually only watch it when I want to watch something light and casual.

I started this drama with low expectations but surprisingly it surpassed them. First of all because it was rated as 7.7 i thought it must be really boring cause dramas which were more boring are rated much higher. I would say this drama deserves at least a 8~8.2/10.

Of course everyone knows and can easily predict the plot. But i felt the way it was executed was good which made me still want to continue and not skip like I usually do with a lot of modern cdramas. Firstly, the screentime distribution for all 3 couples was handled really well. It was not the case where one couple is given extremely long attention without moving on to the next couple. It was filmed in a way where all 3 couples might be facing different issues and they were trying to solve it together. So this helped to keep my attention on the episodes.

Next I liked how they first show the problem, let the individual reflect and then show how they resolve it. The misunderstandings are not just resolved by a simple "oh im sorry i love you" kind off statement but they actually reflect and try to compromise to resolve their issue and understand each other.

The leads were really good. Their acting really made it look quite natural! Loved that the female lead wasnt a damsel in distress but was actually fierce smart and strong. The male lead was extremely loyal to her as well so he was really cute to watch. Started by being annoyed by her but turned into the most golden retriever for her. Both of them had their issues, both were sometimes wrong hence the process of them realising that was nice to watch. Although one downside was when they were in an "ambiguous" relationship, it felt weird cause I couldnt really understand what the FL wanted to do moving forward. And I think the ML just decided to go with it thinking that one day eventually she would want to marry. But yea they eventually solve this as their last issue.

Overall it was unexpectedly a very cute drama to watch. Alot of sweet moments. There are some annoying villains but yea it wont be a drama without them so...in the end the last episode is really cute and a very happy ending.

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The urge for scheming lowered the score

This isn't a bad drama, but I do think it could have been better if they had not let the urge for scheming characters and insane plots take over.
The main storyline is interesting in itself, and I believe that story-arcs and development could have happened without the introduction of villainous, scheming characters.

The acting is not jaw-dropping good, but mostly decent enough. The FL and ML delivers (luckily enough) amongst the strongest performances.
They are also two interesting characters, but I kind of wish we had gotten a bit deeper connection with them.

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Needs more communication

I am not finished with this yet. The guy is a really good actor from what I can tell and can't wait to see him in other drama. I don't think the issues with the FL is her fault but her character and how she was written annoys me a little. Like she keeps not communicating with the male lead or they both don't communicate there issues with each other and just puts things past them without talking about it. And then move on happy and then agian of course issues come up. It is just annoying. Then the man is so sweet to her and she just rude and cold back. I don't like it, why would a guy like that. Idk if my taste have changed in dramas I don't think so but this is just annoying. It is cute but not overly cute. It is a one time watch nothing like admist a snowstorm of love, love me love my voice, lighter and princess and sunshine of my life which are some of my top top dramas.

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Ryan Ren only one resion I watch this love story drama

I like Ryan Ren is so ossam story is good but i wach this drama only Ryan Ren 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰💐🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰all actors are so good you must watch this drama is good story acting ☺️😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊 just watching i am and so far drama butterfly in my stomach I want please Ryan ren do main lead but future became new drama his do main lead please

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Chemistry in on another level...

I liked the show.. and you can feel many emotions when watching.
Kisses are top notch not typical chinese dead fish kisses.
There are some segs scenes also 😅😅 and something new.
I liked the fl attitude and also there was a big valid reason of not getting beck together what is very rare in dramas.. as a girl who thinks big , watch big dreams can feel why she broken up with him...
Ml was actually did great justice of his role i liked him in LLTG and i was hoping to see him in ml what is come true...
Ml's parents were so funny😁😁. Especially his mom 👩 😍 ❤️ i liked her ...
Support leads also did best..

What I hate...
I hate her dad part it wasn't necessary... and also i didn't like that villain lawyer girl's nonsense... she was a totally psycho.. and that divorced friend of fl and her love life was unnecessary... otherwise it was ok ok ... you can watch only one time
.

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Young couples need to grow up

In a reality TV show, 6 high school friends meet: 1 couple of ex lovers, 1 divorcing couple and 2 "shy people" (FL3 divorced from a toxic husband and very introverted ML). 2 challengers are joining the cast, rivals in love.

+++ A great CL, (Li Yun Rui in his first role as Main Lead & Xu Ruo Han) very cute, with great chemistry (and lots of kisses :)
+++ 2 very cute 2ndary romances
+++ Really appropriate and enjoyable OST.
+++ Unusual production (very standardized format of episodes: flashbacks / past; current period; interviews)

### A little “dramaland” at times
### repetitive episode format
### FL's behavior (reluctance) sometimes irrational
### unfriendly challengers.

=> Pleasant series, which demonstrates the talent of Li Yun Rui (˘ ³˘)❤
*********************************************************************
Ds 1 émission de télé-réalité, 6 camarades de lycée se retrouvent : 1 couple d'ex lovers, 1 couple divorcé et 2 "shy" (FL3 divorcée d'1 mari toxique et ML très introverti),. S'adjoindront au casting, 2 challengers, rivaux amoureux.

+++ Un great CL, (Li Yun Rui dans son 1er rôle de Main Lead & Xu Ruo Han) très cute, avec une belle alchimie (et bcp de kisses :)
+++ 2 romances 2aires très mignonnes
+++ OST vraiment appropriées et agréables.
+++ Réalis° inhabituelle (format très standardisé des épisodes : flashbacks / passé ; période actuelle ; interviews)

### Un peu "dramaland" par moments
### format des épisodes répétitif à la longue
### comportement de la FL (réticences) parfois irrationnel
### challengers peu sympathiques.

=> Série agréable, qui démontre tout le talent de Li Yun Rui ( ˘ ³˘)❤

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A new view of Love in a different kind of romcom

8.25

I was really cautious coming into this drama. I saw the 7.7, but it was Xu Ruo Han that made me want to watch this drama. More on that later.

Story:
-most of the character development are of the fls (in the mcp, 2cp, 3cp, old couple)
-cute sismance
-pretty funny in places, but could also bring you close to tears as well
-taught many lessons
-many over arching themes (I wish they would send it home just a bit more)
-surprisingly very good dialogues
-slight pacing issues. First 10 ep weren't that interesting
-not too easy to binge, but still watchable
-gotta a tad boring at times

Main CP:
-they were together for half the drama (which I like)
-no break up (during our point in the time line) as of 2024 drama time
-plenty of skinship
-not afraid of getting into bed

Shen Xing Ruo
-surprising well written
-some people said she was being irrational when it comes to breaking up. I was kinda offended by that statement. Maybe because I have divorced biological parents, or maybe because I also have trust issues, or maybe because I also have a mentally ill parent (but she has 2), I feel like she was completely rational.
-she follows her brain, not her heart because she doesn’t trust her heart (similar to myself)

Lu Xing Yan
-has a funny mom and dad 😂
-hopeless romantic but tries to hide it
-slightly 2 dimensional

2cp:
-hilarious
-I didn’t have much hope for them in the beginning, but a lot of dramas only show the part they fall in love, not 7 years later, so I found it really interesting
-they ended up being adorable

3cp:
-2 socially awkward people together!
-they are soooo cute
-surprisingly a lot of drama in their relationship
-grew and learned together

Shi Qin (Female in 3cp)
-talked a bit about divorced women and their struggle
-found her ex-husband scary, liked how they showed that

2nd lead people who wanted to get with people who they weren't supposed to be with
-I'll try not to spoil, but...
-"villains" were humanized. They had issues and common sense. One of them was actually going to therapy (you don't see that in Dramas too much. One of them, as soon as they realized that the CP was happy together only when they can actually be a couple, they backed off because they have common sense.

Note: from reviews, people say there was a lot of scheming in this drama. To be honest, I didn't mind it (and I'm the kind of person that really hates that sort of thing). Like the scheming made sense and were eventually dealt with in an extremely good way. They were also plot pushers, so without those bumps in the road, the cps might not have gotten together,

Acting/Casting
-Xu Ruo Han's acting has improved a lot. Since Perfect and Casual, instead of just sweet and cute, she can now act a far bigger and complex range of emotions
-Li Yun Rui didn't impress me. Like his gazes were nice, but I felt like I didn't get to see much emotion.
-there chemistry was acceptable, but it wasn't that fiery. When you'd see them, you'd just think of how cute they are (which isn't a bad thing)
-rest of the cast did pretty well
-3cp can't really kiss tho...
-decent chemistry in 2cp

-the mcp's styling is fire. They looked so good!
-wish they drew the eyebrows a bit darker tho
-flashbacks were done really well. They did it at the start of each episode, so it didn't feel random. There was also a little interview (as part of the TV show) at the end of each episode, so you were able to understand what was going through the character's mind

Music:
-ost was pretty good, but it just by itself would be an 8.5.
-I don't really like English music in Dramas, but they were seriously good
-the instrumental music throughout the drama was really good, which was piano -says the pianist aka me
-the ending theme song was so good.

-You and Falling in Love (especially the latter) gave serious Taylor Swift vibes. As a retired swifty, I thought that was pretty cool and brought on such a mood.
-Stupid Us is really emotional and just a really good song
-从开始到最后 was really cute and emotional. "习惯你的习惯！"

Rewatch:
-this drama is the kind that you watch once
-but if I had time 6 months to a year from now, I'd still watch it

Overall:
Pretty good drama. I recommend you watch this drama as if it was made in 2022 or 2023 (it gives those time's vibe). If you're used to 2024-2025 dramas and dislike dramas from 2019-2023, I would watch this if I were you. I feel like this drama could have gotten at least 8.3 if it was released in 2022 or 2023. So, don't trust the 7.7 and watch!

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Sloppy

This is a pretty mediocre drama, despite having a decent plot, a good mix of drama, depth and fluff it still falls flat due to annoying elements, sloppy badly handled predictable twists, a whole lot of boring scenes. Taking away focus important scenes in favour of cheap twists.

A bit like being served fast food in a 5 star hotel, or gourmet dishes served on paper plates in a crowded stadium it just feels wrong and sloppy. The flavours are there, the ingredients are top but while some parts are overcooked or even burnt it is still frozen in the middle....

As I love the leads, I love one of the second couples, I even loved the second female lead in the beginning.

There are a few scenes that are pure gold where they talk about family, divorce, and obsession. Where they actually show a slightly different angle of the broken family then I am used to seeing on screen, with scenes that reminded me of the less happy moments of my childhood, and while I almost started ot get my hopes up by the end of the twist/plotline all had been ruined... Or at leas I found it hard to relate.

The intimate scenes between the leads are top, top, tastefully made and delt with really well, however the introverted couple definitely stole the show, and honestly the third couple came in with a bang and while I love the bickering trope this was done so badly and annoyingly that I had to skip their scenes just to be able to finish this.

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