This review may contain spoilers
Annoying parallel story of a good show
I'll start with what I liked., I like the actress playing the female lead (at least in other shows) and her acting was fine. I liked a couple of the songs.Now for the mess that was this show. It is neither a sequel nor a prequel but a parallel story. If I had not seen Go Go Squid, I may have rated this a 5 - basically no character development, and lots of scenes with the leads staring or flashing back to something that literally happened a minute ago. There was really not much, there were other characters in the show that basically ha no story and were just there - had I not seen Go Go Squid I would have no idea who they were and would not have cared about them, so it is hard to judge this as stand alone show and not compare to the FAR superior first show.
There are just so many things that made me scratch my head but I was giving the show the benefit of the doubt..... half the characters have new actors, which was jarring but I can manage that. The ML was the same and the grandpa, 97 and One where the same. They also brought back the same actors for Han Shangyan and Tong Nian, the leads of Go Go Squid.... I almost wish they hadn't since the story basically derailed everything. Next the competition changes from Cyber security to Robot battles, with no explanation. The sets changed, and K&K moved from Norway to Chicago, and the entire K&K team was like 3 people. While Han Shangyan was mentioned he was never there for ANY of the events and the absolutely perfect Wu Bai was the one managing the club and making all of the decisions - recruiting the team and Little Mi to be the manager. Half way through the show I started to hate it and what the did to the original. I get the parallel story but to undo everything.
Where the original was cute, had a less than perfect ML growing and developing, and actually spent time given us back story on a lot of characters so you knew who they were and understood them. This version is a perfect ML and an annoying second couple (FL leads sister and Grunt (different actor). Everyone else else was just background and never developed.
I cannot understand why they basically removed Han Shangyan from having any part (to the point of being neglectful of the club). I assume the actor was busy and didn't want to bother with a minor role, so he just showed up as a guest. What I do not get was the need to wipe him out of the Solo team back story, and his presence with the team and make the ML of this being the only person doing anything.
It is so frustrating for the first time ever I wrote a review before finishing and I am seriously debating dropping the show.
UPDATE.... I finished the show. I was going to update this every episode with what was annoying. It really didn't get better. I mean at the world championship Han Shangyan was not even around. I'm assuming the actor was not available but really???? They made everything about how perfect Wu Bai was.
As for the wedding - I feel it cheapened Han Shangyan and Tong Nian in a way they were an after thought. Would Little Mi who was Han Shangyan best friend, be with Wu Bai to pick up his bride? ugh. I will see it was great seeing Han Shangyan and Tong Nian and I felt they seemed sooo much happier (especiallyHan Shangyan) at the wedding. It just reminded me how much I liked them and that this show was a pale comparison,
Final thoughts, if there was no Go Go Squid, this was a middling effort with a bland love story and a lot of characters that were never fully developed but there (Little MI story is missing, Solo story and his daughter) so it was hard to understand any of the characters without knowing Go Go Squid. Which is the probably with this show.... Go Go Squid was better in story telling and acting. It was funnier and more serious at the same time, this parallel show was just bland. Although the FL actress was good in GGS2.
Was this review helpful to you?
Couldn't Stand Watching at Normal Speed
Not sure if it was because I'm holding a high expectation from Go Go Squid (GGS) or the story is really that boring, but I really couldn't watch this without fast forwarding. Even when I'm watching in 1.5 speed, it is still so slow.Sorry that I have to disappoint GGS fans, but this isn't the Season 2 you are anticipating. It is basically same story but focusing solely on the other couple (DT and Appledog). TBH, I enjoyed the songs, the casts, the interaction between K&K and how they tweaked the game into the robotic race, but besides the mentioned; the love story, the reenact of the Solo Team story was just boring, not just a little, but quite. I intend to finish the series until it all came out at once and I learnt that the main couple of GGS is only appearing on the last episode, I watched it and thereafter decided to not finish the rest.
GGS was a pretty successful series as they don't only have the story of the main couple but also the story of Solo Team, the kiddo of Solo with the mother, Xiao Mi couple, with a few of the K&K kids' side stories; the whole series became very comprehensive and lots of different chemistry within. BUT for this one, they had similar Solo Team story but a simplified version (plus all the flashback scenes are without Han Shang Yan, looks like a pretty dried out Solo Team story), also have Grunt's and a few opponent stories but still make it up to 38 episodes, turns out to be very draggy. Because they wanted to keep the main cast but they are not featured in most of the scenes, everything look so empty. When they were in competition, no boss, no tutor (captain), smaller team and most of the time only few of them, everything is just weird for me. Anyway, I would say the only good thing was the robot housekeeper which is super cute!
Talking about love story, I had totally no issues with Li Yi Tong, I love her and find her pretty matching with Hu Yi Tian but their story doesn't seem to be appealing. Similar to GGS, they both started with one of the lead in love with the other one; but this series, they had a lot slow-motion scenes in the start featuring both looking into each other's eyes, also a lightbulb room to summarize their relationship in the epilogue, I find it pretty unnecessary, especially when you haven't even build up a deep relationship. Those came so random, to the extent I don't find it relatable and it doesn't touch the bottom of my heart.
But again, I believe some people still enjoy watching Hu Yi Tian and Li Yi Tong together on screen or maybe the K&K team as well (But I miss DEMO), you can still go ahead and try. But please don't have your hopes to high or else you will be as disappointed as I am...
Was this review helpful to you?
Watch season 1 first for small details.
Writing, story and actors is good .Season 1 is more about Han Shangyan /Gun's glory and dreams . While this season focuses on Ai Qing / Apple dog's dreams .It's awkward to see DT/Wu Bai talking more but his acting skills have improved. The producers were trying to create this squid universe it would have been better if they didn't changed some actors from first season like Mi Shaofei ,solo etc. They should have stick to CTF to make viewers more nostalgic to season 1 .New actors forT eam Solo are also nice but they look awkward with Han Shangyan with all those photoshop photos and even some of the flash backs Han Shangyan is missing. Still plot is faster then season1 and have done good job with small details. The timeline is little confusing as episode 1-10 focuses before tong nian and 11 after tong nian. I suggest to watch season1 and 2 separately.Was this review helpful to you?
One time watch
For starters I will say that if you guys have watched GGS 1 and you compare it with this drama you would be a little disappointed.Both the story have same timeline but the fields shown are different. Even the cast has been changed while characters are mostly the same.
DT Appledog’s time is more focused on love story of the leads which goes very smoothly without any third factor. The work and competition story has not been focused on.
Personally, I felt that in season 1 each and every character had a significance and was showcased beautifully. Their work was crisp and clear. In S2 the other characters have lost their track completely.
Mi Shoefai character mostly is quite disappointing in this season as we could say in S1 he had second lead love story.
Speaking of Han Shangyan and Tong Nian, if you think that they have a part then you will be disappointed as they just come for seconds literally.
I have watched S1 3-4 times but S2 is such a drag, The ML and FL acting skills are great. Both are talented even the other members especially SOLO looks great but the drawback is just the storyline.
The story could have been better if it could have continuation.
Do tell me if this was helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
Slow but satisfying watch- one of the best endings ever
I super happy I gave some time to this drama because it was worth it. No matter how different it was from Season 1, I'd still consider this Go Go Squid 2 although here the "Squid" has little to no importance. The story still has heart, the characters are incredibly nice, the cast fits well and the romance got even better.PLOT:
It's fairly simple. It was fairly refreshing to see Wu Bai chasing Ai Qing as S1 was all about Tong Nian pursuing Han Shangyan. I did skip some gaming sub plots but other than that the drama was pretty consistent. It was less comedy and more drawn-out, slow burn romance. But this version was undoubtedly more romantic in some ways and the main two couples complimented each other. My favourite part was the ending because it gave a good closure to S1 and 2 both and I was elated to see Tong Nian and Han Shangyan make appearances again (yes!).
ROMANCE:
It was both the best and also somewhat flawed part of the drama. The romance took me some to get into because it was very, very slow. The long stares and gazes were somewhat boring but because Wu Bai and Ai Qing were so serious about each other- they made it work. I wanted to drop this but glad I held on because they had a genuinely sweet relationship. At times I favoured the second couple more because their chemistry was more natural and the interactions were more fun. The romance wasn't what I usually like but the actors made it work.
ACTING:
Everyone did a decent job but for me the star was Li Yi Tong. She played her part with a lot of poise and made her character seem very chill and mature. Hu Yi Tian wasn't ever in my list of good actors but he did great here. I also want to mention Wang An Yu because this role suited him a lot. He seems youthful and playful and he got the perfect role here. I also like Ai Qing's sister- she was very likable too. I'll also mention Li Xian and Yang Zi doing their cameos well and still being as interesting as they were in S1.
OVERALL:
I did skip some boring game talk but it was handled better than some other sports/e-sports dramas I have seen. This drama could have been shorter but in a way the slow burn is satisfying to watch. Maybe it would have been best for a 24-28 episode drama but since we get the perfect happy ending for our main couples for S1 and S2, I cannot complain.
I recommend this to people who have time because it is a very slow-ass drama and even seems draggy and pointless at times. But if you like the leads, it's probably worth it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Too sweet to handle
After watching the 1st part, I was excited for this because GGS 1 was pretty amazing. But this for me was a disappointment. From changing the sport to everything, even the cast, felt heartbreaking. Should be watched as a stand alone. It was good to watch the last scene of the series but other than that, it was a disappointment for me. All the moments were all too sweet for me, no growth or something. It was like a fairytale romance without any villain.Was this review helpful to you?
A parallel universe of GGS1 instead of a sequel/prequel
You have to treat this as a separate universe from GGS1 which was all about capture the flag/ctf competitions. In terms of romance, I liked this much better. The chase and relationship growth is more reasonable here than in GGS1 where I was so embarrassed for Tong Nian that I almost dropped it. There is none of that here, just straightforward courtship. Ai Qing and Wu Bai are really sweet together. However, this falls short on the feeling of fight for pride, camaraderie and friendship especially of team solo that was so evident in GGS1.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
a good fluff after a sad drama
This is good but also slow. If you need a fluff after a sad drama this is for u because there's a bunch of sweet scene! I love season 1 as that's one my earliest cdrama, they have special place on my heart so I try to not think about it so much and just separated them. So I really love it when Han Shangyan and Tong Nian showww up hehe ^^This is slow for me especially during the first half since a lot of "slowed eye-contact staring" between them. One of the main reason this is so draggy. I used speed button A LOT if not I can't finish this one. They can actually end this within 24eps :)
Anyway, Wu Bai is a best boy. Although, my personality might not match with him as he love to do so much for people he love. I'm not that person who easily accept others giving. The only time I don't like him was when he used too much force to Ai Qing when he was jealous. I do hope he apologized to Ai Qing for that. I love how he talk more this season, that was the development from ep1 till ep38 we can totally see!
Ai Qing was totally loveable. She think mostly on logic side that it's so cute because Wu Bai tend to just go for it if Ai Qing want it. I miss to see her in her "Appledog's" shirt tho huhuhu.
Chemistry I like it, there are cute, adorable and sweet together. Really suitable for each other although some said she don't look like a jiejie to him but I guess because I know she's older than she look so it's doesn't bother me. But the sweet scene was a little bit too much tho. (this is my first time I wish to see less sweet scene hahahaha)
My rant will be we see so little scene of K&K's member. Only more during the second half of the drama and for me, I feel more excited here. The cast of S1 are still more memorable than this one except for Grunt and Slide for me.
Also, this bother me so much how K&K club to Ai Qing's house was supposed to be 3/4hrs drive away but for some magical reason, it's got shorter and shorter as the drama goes on. One time, they're fighting, Ai Jing went out to go to K&K for Wu Bai and few mins after she went out, Slide come to chat with Ai Qing which don't take much time but then Wu Bai as always he come from there and somehow end up in front of Ai Qing house at the same time as when Ai Qing want to go to him (right after Slide go back) like WHATTTTT
Also the central park and SP at first Wu Bai need to drive from SP to the central park but eh during the ice-cream scene it's as if Central Park was just walking distance from SP. It's bother me sm :3
Was this review helpful to you?
Does not really follow on from Go Go Squid (GGS)
The title of this drama is misleading as although there are a sprinkling of characters from the first GGS, only about 4 of them are played by the original actors and the plot line follows the one from that drama a lot of the time.If you ignore the original, then this drama stands ok on its own but if you are expecting a story that weaves into and is intertwined with GGS then you will be disappointed.
Wu Bai is still played by Hu Yitian (Li Xian is still Han Shanghai and Yang Zi plays Squid) but both Solo and Appledog are played by different actors so the feel of the plot is very different even though the characters they play have similar traits to GGS (but they ARE played by different actors so no matter how hard you squint they’re not the same). Additionally, K&K and SP compete in a very different arena - that of robot wars. Additionally the buildings they operate out of are completely different so again this highlights the difference.
The acting is believable and you feel for them as they go through the ups and downs of their relationships. For example, Appledog’s manager (before she joins SP) is brilliantly flaky and slimy so for me his is a stand out performance as he brown noses anyone that he thinks will earn him brownie points and/or a promotion. Hu Yitian as Wu Bai conveys so much with just his facial expressions as, just like in GGS he says very little, but you really know what he is thinking just from his body language etc.
I first found Li Yitong in Dream within a Dream and in this story she doesn’t disappoint either. She has great chemistry with Wu Bai and still has to deal with conflicts created when Team Solo splits up (though for different reasons).
Would I watch this again? Probably not as for me GGS had so much more to offer and I found this plot lacking as on the whole the wonderfully funny antics of the original Team K&K weren’t there to pick up the tempo (probably a budget constraint lead to this much smaller team) That said the way the boys keep tabs on their captain’s burgeoning romance and subsequent proposal fails are funny and endearing but with less characters it all felt a bit lonely somehow.
Was this review helpful to you?
Some of you might be mad but…
Some of y’all might disagree with my opinion but oh well. For me, this season is WAY better than season 1. It’s weird that some people in the comments in some of the episodes were saying that “season 1 was better”. lol first of all, it’s disrespectful and it’s weird to comment that. I think we all have opinions and have a right to stick to them. But seeing comments like that is frustrating for fans of season 2 to see. If y’all think season 1 is better than keep it to yourself or comment HERE not under the episodes 🤨Anways, this couple were so so cute. The chemistry was everything. For me, the friendships were also good in this season. For people who want to watch this but aren’t sure if they should because the comments saying “season 1 was better”. Please give it chance.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This is a new story and you would be confused if you hadn’t watched the original at some points
This is a really strange one because I quite enjoyed go-go squid but this story is kind of baffling.Firstly, it’s not a sequel. It’s not a continuation of the story. It’s not even the same story from a different perspective of Appledog and DT.
It’s a totally new story and though the players are mostly the same, it’s like we’re in a parallel universe from the original go-go squid.
Secondly,, this is all about combat robots. At least I understood what game they were playing because I still don’t have a clue what they were doing in the original..
Finally, they recast Appledog which was a terrible choice.
I don’t know what it is about this female lead, but I saw her in ‘warm on a cold night’ and she was completely outshone by the second female lead and I feel she was outshone by her sister in this and not to mention the stunning original Appledog from the first one. Such a shame they didn’t keep her and recast DT like they did for grunt, which elevated his role in my opinion.
I just don’t think she has main character energy.
Anyway, the story was quite boring and I didn’t feel the chemistry between the leads. It annoyed me that she joined team SP when DT set up the whole K&K team for her in the first place.
Anyway, easily forgettable.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This is NOT Go Go Squid!
I had higher expectations. I enjoyed Go Go Squid! It was sweet to watch a girl break down the walls of a cold, angry man. Squid 2 had some good things going for it. I enjoy Hu Yi Tian and Wang An Yu on screen. The group blind date was original and had me laughing out loud. The family and friends' relationships were warm. The OST was enjoyable and featured some of Go Go Squid's music; listening felt like meeting an old friend, and it made me smile.But that's pretty much where the good stuff ended. There was little conflict or growth. The drama was basically two people soulfully staring at one another, interspersed with a few scenes of battle robots. Seriously! If you'd edited down the cringy eye contact between the ML and FL, the drama would have been cut in half and not dragged as hard.
For being so sugary, Squid 2 left a bad taste in my mouth. The ML was the greenest flag of all time—to the point of not having a personality. The FL took advantage of him in numerous ways. The one that was unforgiveable to me was that she willingly became his opponent. When a couple is dedicated to one another, they're loyal. They support one another. They don't join the enemy (which was the company of her ex!). They don't undermine one another. They build a life together.
I admit I probably have defective romance genes. If you like romance, this may be your cup of tea. Just don't expect anything much other than insipid romance. I took lots of breaks in the last episodes, as the romance was painfully dull to me.
I awarded an extra half star for the blind date scene, the music, and Wang An Yu's portrayal of an immature Shen Zhe.
Was this review helpful to you?
