Go Ahead

Favorite C-Drama

When I was in high school (over a decade ago), I was a big fan of Rainie Yang, then as I grow up, I preferred Kdramas and a splash of Jdoramas.

Chinese dramas observations/comparisons: It can go over 30 episodes, and it is a norm. Also, you cannot deny that they have big budgets for a single drama. Another is, that they are not fond of using different actors/actresses for the younger version (at least since High School).

Along the years of watching dramas/movies, I am proud to say that I have found my favorite genre - slice of life. Although I still watch tons of rom-coms, but SoL just hits me differently during and after finishing a certain drama.

Go Ahead is one of those dramas that hit me in a special way. This has been my favorite Chinese drama series so far. I get curious what will happen to each characters. The balance of giving focus to each person were enough (character development is the name of my game), at least for me. 40 episodes are honestly a bit overwhelming for me, but as the show went on, I did not mind and was enjoying how the story unfolds. Although there were a lot of fantasy-only-in-dramas scenes, but it talks about life. You can easily relate to the characters.

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I like how the relationships have been shown specially with the younger generation:

Read at your own risk: The trio. They did not serve us the cliché of love triangle but rather a wonderful bond and distinction between love interest (Gēgē 1) and brother (Gēgē 2). You don’t always need a love triangle to spice things up (and if ever there is, a prolonged one is never enjoyable). I really appreciate that they gave us an early, clear relationship with the main couple to also let us journey with them as they transition from siblings to lovers.

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Read at your own risk: Not only that, the relationship between Tang Can X Zhuang Bei and also Mingyue X Zhuang Bei at the end. Although I thought that it would be TangCanXZhuangBei and ZiQuiXMingyue. Hihihi but it would also be hilarious if it will be ZiQUiXlittleorange (just kidding) :P

This is truly a coming of age drama. As a 25 year old myself, I appreciate all the character developments that they have portrayed. I will really miss this drama, this family 😭😭😭

Thank you Go Ahead!

P.S: I just realized why I love to watch dramas: to save me from heartaches and discomfort of growing up specially get entangled with complicated relationships/friendships. 😅 waiting for the time on when I can finally grow up and be in the world of adults. Late bloomer here!

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A drama that hits close to the heartstrings and put me in a lot of thoughts

This drama made me shed lots of tears. I did not remember when was the last time i cried this much. A drama that hits home like this is my absolute ABSOLUTE weakness.

1. Ling Xiao's Instant Maturity Stage Theory that has been living rent free in my head.

"I heard that people can grow up in a flash, you would be 18 y.o but doesn't mean you have grown up.
You actually grow up in a flash, no one knows when, but you.
Your mind will change, and you will feel the weight of life.
At that moment, you'll grow up without anyone noticing"

This is beautiful, deep and scary at the same time. This scene completely put me so deep in thought.

2. Growing apart when life happens, this part hits the most home to me.
Li jianjian's monologue was just so relatable and accurate, it brought out so many memories. Particularly the highschool memories, parting with your best friends to pursue life.. :')
You all know, the first year being away with your friends, your chatroom is still active and crowded. The second year we still talk but only the important stuff. Third year everyone is busy with university life and after that, we only send holiday greetings message. Now, even holiday greetings are hardly seen :")

Distance is really terrifying.

3. That moment where Li jianjian realized that she has entered the complicated life that is the adult hood where she can not be and act the same anymore.

"the key to the adult hood world is.. patience, patience, patience."

3. Lastly, this drama made it clear to us that just because you plant your seed, you gave birth to someone, that doesn't automatically make you a parent. It's when you actually raise them and care for their well being.

Also the wisdom in Li jianjian's father is so out of this world. I wonder if there is someone as kind, as hardworking, as loving, as wise as him, in this world?

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Of course, as anyone else, I also have many complaints about how the story turned out, how it lost its focus in the middle, the love triangle between Ling xiao Jianjian Zi qiu were so unnecessary and they even added jianjian's friends to mess around with it- it's so upsetting lol. And on top of it, they gave LX mom a good ending like it was so easy for her to be forgiven.... i feel like flying to china and fight the screenwriter.

Maybe if we can rate the drama based on episodes, it would be:
10/10 for ep 1-10
6/10 for 11-40

but even so,
The first 10 episodes were just so precious to me, i hold them so SO dear to my heart, that no matter how the story turned out in the end, my heart does not allow me to hate this drama- not to mention how much i love the osts? the melody and the lyrics. I cried the first time i learned the lyrics to the one that sung by Mao Buyi.

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?‍?‍??‍?Best Family drama

I don't know where to start on the things I like about this drama😭

First, the cast is too good. Srly everyone nails there part I don't remember any awkward acting.

Second, the plot has a lot of twists. And alot of the problems they faced are also relatable which a lot of broken families faces. I thought that with the title "Go ahead" someone will die and they'll need to face the acceptance of reality phase but its not lmao. I keep on thinking while watching the drama that father Li might die *my hearteu* but fortunately didn't, he is the best character in the whole drama

Third, the child actor for Ziqui is so cuuute😭 I just can't with his backstory especially when he was always helping father Li and when he called him dad. He needs to mature early because of circumstances which is so sad.

Before this I think I'm not much into family dramas because its too long, too dramatic and too draggy. But this one thooooo

The romance part I'm not sure how to feel. Tho it's good but honestly not that necessary for this to be a good drama. So, I liked it very much that it's not just the focus of the whole drama. They did good with the characters development. Even though I think that father Ling until the end didn't do much for his son(but I still think his character was really written that way, someone who doesn't like confrontations/mediation lol).

The only part where I did not like is the mother Chenting. I think they still need more to that story of redemption lmao. Just think about it Ling Xiao has "trauma" abt his mom, I don't think its that easy to remove trauma yk. You can't just say sorry and everything's ok.

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Do Yourself a Solid.

I wrote this progressively, as I motored my way through the series. Go Ahead invites you into a narrative and slams the door shut behind you. I was enamoured by all of the story arcs. At times I was mentally adopting children and next, I was smacking adults into next Tuesday. The humour and subtle character development was so skilfully layered, yet very relatable. The complex family dramas portrayed were honest, though the full spectrum of ‘mother’ and filial piety will rattle around my head space for a while. Both of my young adult daughters and I connected with this drama, particularly the Li Dad character.
I want one. Clone him.
The mere idea of Li Dad dying…stop!
Don’t even, you can take some of my extensive freedoms but hands off Li Dad.
I watch a lot of Asian dramas, this one is a cracker!

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A Drama You Would Come Back for More!

It is the kind of drama that you will be keen to watch by just watching the trailer itself. Initial episodes were more towards a comedy style, describing their happy childhood moment. It is until they start to stay apart, i couldn't control myself shedding tear for every single episode; it became so dramatic. But the best part of Cdrama is the ending always ends happily =)
It was also a little surprise that besides the young adults ML and FL, the mid-aged daddies and mummies playing lead roles too, occupying quite a no of episodes. The OST for this drama is also worth a mention, not only a song but a few of them are pretty good and powerful to illustrate the feeling of the leads. Overall love the blend of the story of this family drama. Do not miss the chance watching this drama if you are a Cdrama lover, it is really worth a watch! Btw, the young ML, SWL is so charming; Ling Xiao role suits him well !

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Super Dad and Deadbeat mom

A lot of stories are told of deadbeat dads, it's very refreshing to see Dads who do the best they can to raise their kids. The actual main character in this is Li Hai Chao, Noodle Dad. He’s the dad that holds everyone together. It was extremely heart breaking when he broke down when drunk expelling his thoughts of unwelcomed teachings from unconcerned individuals while defending his love for his son.

The two dads built a perfect non-marriage marriage. They communicate with each other, keeping the other abreast of news of the children. They love and spoil the kids all equally, and the kids all call both of them Dad. Cop dad isn't without fault, but he does come around to acknowledging his shortcomings. They prove that Dads can raise good kids too.

The female lead is kind, cheerful, thoughtful etc. She channeled her sadness and heartache into something positive instead wallowing in self-pity like any other drama. I liked that she is the most successful in her career in their circle of friends and exert her authority as boss when she feels it requires it. The relationships in this is well built and told. There isn't any throw away characters. All the characters in this drama all serve a purpose (except Feng Xixi). The story telling pacing was good and flowed well from the first episode to the last.

The abandonment issues the 2 male leads has to deal with is really heartbreaking. The pain can be felt by the audience when Zhi Siew asks "Why is it that I'm the one who's always being abandoned?"

The actors were all very good in bringing their characters to life. I felt every pain, sadness, and the very realistic fights.

The Opening and Ending songs were perfect. The moment the song "Fearless" starts to play, Pavlovian's Conditioning kicks in and tears will start to roll. This drama gets you crying from very early on.
The only thing I did not like was that ML Ling Xiao is almost always dressed in clothes that look like pajamas. No guy in their non-metrosexual life would wear out of the house.

This drama reminds me of my all time favorite manga/anime Fruits Basket. The same premise of kids with very painful past trying to forge their own happiness.

I will definitely watch this drama again.

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An exploration of what it means to be family

One of the best character-driven stories I've had the pleasure to watch, and a fantastic longform essay about family and love in Chinese culture. Legit recognized my relatives and parents in the characters and I really felt like I was seeing my own growing up experiences mirrored here.

I absolutely love how focused on character development this story was. It was very rewarding witnessing their growth, and I loved having hunches about a character's behavior and having it turn out to be true.

Originally, I felt that the female characters were quite poorly written because almost all the moms are major assholes, but that was a bit premature. I'm still in disagreement with the scriptwriters about Mingyue's mom and Chen Ting. I think they hadn't done enough to make up for the selfishness and hurt that they'd caused. But then again, their kids are fine with it. So maybe I'm judging too harshly because of my own parental baggage? Anyway. A bit draggy at the end and lots of unbelievable plot twists but overall I really loved this 😭😭😭

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Well-written

The rating is based on my personal enjoyment, not on the intrinsic value of the drama. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so please be kind. If you disagree (and you probably will), please just move on.

Are you one of the C-drama fans that has actually not watched this show, and you are wondering if you should watch it? You definitely should. It is a standout in the C-drama genre. I watched it a couple of years ago and rated it lower. Who knows, if I watch it a couple of years from now, I may enjoy it even more! There is no question that it is, overall, very well-written. The cast was excellent. I especially loved the father/father figure. There was laughter, there were tears. The music helped draw out the emotions of certain scenes.

This drama is, for the most part, about what makes a family. It explores blood relationships, found relationships, and the strength of true friendship. It addresses actions and their consequences. It also speaks to the results of those consequences on others. We don't live in a vacuum, and what we do affects others, whether we like to think so or not. Then, there is the issue of anger/trauma and forgiveness.

The only reasons I couldn't rate it any higher for myself:
1) Too many episodes and some storylines that could have been cut - for example, the woman that kept trying to set the dad up with someone. Also, the constant back and forth of the two girls and their mothers' disapproval of their career choices.
2) Too much changing of who likes who, especially among the friends.
3) Romance fell flat. It wasn't supposed to be the focus, I know, but they never seemed to be more than friends. Even at the end, she still called him Brother. There was an episode or two that tried to develop this, but once they were together, they didn't act any differently than before.
4) I realize that this is a cultural thing, but letting your parents walk all over you for your entire life leaves a sour taste in my mouth. There's a difference between respecting your elders and being a doormat.
5) The parents' actions traumatized their kids enough that they were having nightmares, insomnia, etc., but, with a word, all was forgiven.
6) Regarding above-mentioned trauma - resolved too easily. Counseling wouldn't have gone amiss.
7) Both brothers thinking they like her, but one gets over it in a couple of days. Personally, with their closeness while growing up, I couldn't understand either of them liking her in a romantic way.
8) The ending was flat for me. Especially after sitting through 40 episodes.

Bottom line? I am definitely in the minority here, and I will still recommend this drama to others.

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Nice family drama, has everything in it..

After a long time a beautiful drama, which has everything in it.. all genre..
Very interesting, nice family, love, friendship, brotherhood, not much tragedy story, daily life, career, everything depicted in a fascinating manner..
Enjoyed a lot..

PS: This is my first time writing a review in MDL.. this drama is so good that it triggered me to write something nice.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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One of the most relatable, heart-warming, and touching shows ever!!!

This was the first Chinese modern-day drama that I've ever watched because I typically only watch historical dramas. I gave it a try because I'm a big fan of Song Weilong and it exceeded my expectations in every single way. Overall, the plot is beautifully written and executed perfectly by all of the characters. I love all of the main leads and enjoyed watching them mature and evolve into decent adults. The problems/issues in the show are also very relatable. Lastly, the show has a perfect blend of everything. While there are many comedic and silly scenes, there are just as many serious and heart-breaking scenes. This is a MUST watch!

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