Go Back Lover (2024)

Multi-Layered Characters

Originally this was added to the watchlist because I had heard that LYR was doing his first ML role and he'd done a good job playing supporting ones so was curious and I'd seen XRH once before though I wasn't very convinced back then; don't know why. Some of the supporting characters were familiar. But the story itself was interesting and all of the characters were multi-layered.

Pros: What set this show apart for me from others I've watched was the fact that this second chance romance brought in the past of the leads first to the episode, than present day including their and the other two couple's participation in the filming of the variety show, that way things were explained and you understood why certain things happened. It seemed to me that all three couples evolved both separately and together as the show wore on. At first you thought FL was a selfish brat because of her actions and in fact she did admit to most of the mistakes from the past as being hers but when you saw her layers of trauma, you understood that though this was a drama, she was still a human being. Favorite character was ML; I like how he was sure of himself, confident, independent and quite obvious that from the two of them he had grown and matured first.

The second couple was weird, toxic, and codependent and at the end she became pregnant and somehow you just prayed the child wouldn't become neurotic like his parents. They were my least favorite. The 3rd couple were called the healing couple in the comments and I agree; even though they were both ridiculously shy to the point of social anxiety; they were always a soothing balm to each other and their friends especially once they got together. I also liked that all 6 people even with all of their shortcomings, were such great friends and support systems to each other to the point that the show ended with the 6 traveling around together. Their friendship started in HS and progressed way into adulthood.

The 3.5 annoying people who played either rivals in love or just one completely unhinged chick all stayed as long as necessary and were then sent packing. Ironically even though YS seemed like the most annoying, when giving advice to the other two women during their "dates" set by production, gave the best advice. And really great way everyone took down the unhinged chick in the 2nd to last episode. Also how symbolic that it was SXR that proposed to LXY in the last episode as a close to the chapter; the marriage-phobe realized that's exactly what she wanted and that near death accident made her understand being next of kin is vital when you love someone.

Cons: Obviously this show was lower budget, but it didn't really hurt it. I do wish the SFL was less baby-voiced viper most of the series. Towards the end, I don't understand why the legal proceedings were published on screen. For starters this was fictional and secondly, the unhinged lawyer chick's crimes went beyond "intentional attempted vehicular homicide", yet she wasn't charged for those. Also none of the civil charges were made public. So either get all of the charges or none. Makes zero sense to do what they did. I think things could have been explained better about the show itself, as well as how SQ met her abusive ex husband. The show should have focused more proportionally on the third leads as we don't know much about TML's or TFL's backgrounds or their parents.

Would I recommend it? Yes. This was a different show that you had to watch to understand the multifaceted characters and how they got to where they were. It's a nice modern drama.

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Ex-lovers + complex relationships in a variety show setting

This drama focuses on the ex-lovers theme. The main leads are exes who join an ex-lovers variety show. While on the show, they navigate their conflicting emotions and through flashbacks, the audience explores their past relationship. Part of the variety show are also ex-spouses (second couple) and former-classmates (third couple). The structure of each episode is: school flashbacks (main leads only, 5 min max screen time) then present day (all couples) then variety show interviews (all couples, 2 min max screen time).

The centre stage of this drama is the main couple who gets the most amount of screen time. This couple is the epitome of #itscomplicated. I loved the subtle eye contact between the couple, which showed a mix of hurt, frustration, longing and hidden love. Both leads portrayed their characters so well that at times I almost forgot they were acting. Their love story at first glance appeared straight-forward (ex couple reconnecting). But the underlying issues of commitment, childhood trauma and conflicting desires, made the exploration of their relationship more complex. On the surface, some might quickly write off the male lead as a simp due to his deep devotion to the female lead. But what I saw was a man with emotional inner struggles, and a secret longing for his first love after many years apart. On the other hand, some might call the female lead selfish for stringing him along by not communicating her commitment issues. Although slow paced, what I saw was a woman’s journey of overcoming her childhood trauma by becoming self-aware due to a series of events. So yes, some viewers might get frustrated with the leads at certain parts of the drama but it’s good to remember that they’re written as flawed people. They are not robots or perfect humans. The writers did a great job showing how difficult relationships can be to navigate, just like in real life.

The second couple shared equal screen time with the third. The second couple featured a divorced couple who is the ultimate bickering-comedy relief type. For the big portion of the drama I felt like they were better off separated but towards the end, I was pleasantly surprised by the character development of both. For me, they were portrayed as one of those imperfect couples. I like that the writers showed us all relationships can work out if both people put an effort.

The third couple was the fluffiest of the fluffiest couples I’ve ever seen. Both shy and introverted, I like that the writers put them through difficult situations in order for them to find their voices and speak up when it really mattered.

POSITIVE:
- Complex relationships with flawed characters that’s portrayed in a realistic and modern way.
- Ex-lovers theme (second chance romance). Main couple is ex-lovers. Second couple is ex-spouses. Third couple is former-classmates. All three couples are very different and provide a nice variety of romance.
- Variety show setting. The couples are filming ex-lovers show.
- Good character development for all six characters.
- Lots of kiss scenes and skinship.
- Nice cinematography with lovely OST. The blend of visuals and music was done really well and a lot of the romantic scenes looked like music videos.
- Sweet friendship girl group.
- High school flashbacks (short screen time).
- Mix of light-hearted, very serious and romantic-sadness undertones.
- Lots of shirtless scenes (male lead).

NEGATIVE:
- Annoying side characters. The male friend of the female lead at the start of the drama is extremely arrogant, know-it-all and frustrating to watch. But he gets sidelined later on. There is also a very annoying investor’s daughter but she disappears half-way through.
- Ep 16-18 felt draggy as each episode was dedicated to guest characters. Ep 21 was too cliche for my taste. But these characters and situations were crucial for the character development of the female lead. So although a bit boring, they served a big purpose and were neither useless nor fillers.

OVERALL:
I felt like this drama portrayed well the complex relationships of ex-lovers while the variety show format added a fresh take on the trope. All three couples had different personalities and emotional issues which brought a nice variety of romance. The relationships dynamics felt realistic, with a modern approach and had good character development towards the end of the drama. In conclusion, despite some small frustrating parts, this was a very enjoyable second chance romance drama that I recommend.

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DEF A ONE TIME WATCH!!

Lemma be honest..
WHAT BROUGHT THE DRAMA DOWN:
At the very beginning, the storyline seemed interesting to me cuz it seemed kinda new.. Its been so long since we've had a dating show kinda drama but, THEY COULD HAVE DONE IT BETTER.. The scriptwriting was BAD (not HORRIBLE but a little better than HORRIBLE). The cast was great which made me start this drama in the first place.. And the flow.. Ahh.. TOOOOOOOOOO PREDICTABLE and veryyyyyy DRAGGY at places where its not even necessary. TOO MANY MISUNDERSTANDINGS. Very little character development towards THE END which made the story quite boring. And annoying AF FL... I get that she's seen her mom suffer in marriage a lot but throughout the story it seemed as if she was using the ML just for fun. She always seemed so self-righteous and extremely stubborn in my pov.
Second couple (Chen and Xu):
Ok, the gurl was annoying, overreacting and showed some signs of red flag behavior which was not okay. And she especially has FRAGILE EGO!! She was a crybaby at some scenes which was at first okay but was not as the same continued in the others eps too..
The man.. He was literally the best.. One of the people I loved throughout the drama.. He was kind, patient and sincere at the right moments although he seemed childish and very goofy. The way he was ready to do anything for his wife was just.. and yeah I'd say he deserved better.
WHAT I LOVED THE MOST ABOUT THEM: Def the part where she apologizes to him after he wanted to divorce her putting aside her ego. And the parts where he was ready to become a better husband which he already was..
Third couple (Shi and He):
The cutest couple ever.. They dont have much scrrentime but they are just cute and shy.. I'm not usually into shy couples but you'll just love them.. But I just wished they just opened up before to clear the misunderstandings that they had.. I swear you'll love them.. The gurl is so good at acting lol. She just expressed every emotion perfectly and I just hope she gets more recognition.
FINALLY:
I loved how Gurls always stood up for each other. They were smart and just loved their friendship.. All of the characters did their best and just showed the emotion of their own roles nothing less or nothing more.. The reason why this drama went down the hill after climbing all the way up was because of the poor character development towards the end and the way the script did not feel right.

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Only Watch If You Are A Fan Of The Leads Otherwise You Can Skip It

Story:
It is decent to say the best with nothing new or out of the box. The story is quite similar to many other past lover reunion tropes you have seen in many Chinese dramas before.

Pace:
The pacing of the drama is a little draggy as this entire drama could have been done in 16 eps had they not added some unnecessary story arcs.

Characters:
Frankly I found almost every female lead annoying and overbearing other than Duan Yu (Shi Qin) especially the female lead. Each lead character has their own flaws but their growth is shown while FL for most of the drama is still the same she was in the start. Male lead on other hand is a guy who is ready to do anything even screw his dreams if it means to stay with FL while she doesn't want to compromise even the slightest. It is only in the last few eps, you start seeing signs of improvement after she starts to heal from her scars.

Other lead characters especially the third couple has a cute story and makes you want to root for them alot.

Actors:
Each actor did their job fairly well whether it is the leads or side. LYR and XRH have really good chemistry and both suite each other well. Even the antagonists have done a good job in looking annoying.

Overall it is a one time watch. If you are a fan of the cast and past lover tropes, then go ahead and watch it but if you are looking for something much interesting then you can skip it.

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the best modern dráma this years !

this drama is the best I've seen this year ... very entertaining and exactly what I needed to see where the two break up and come back after years I love dramas like this again .. in the very first episode what about the divorce wedding? ??? it looked like a disastrous wedding, so the pillow fight I couldn't stop laughing ... they immediately returned mine to the men .. I love it I saw 6 parts and it's terrible it gives me butterflies in my stomach .. the second couple is very crazy ? I love them... the main actress is very underrated for me, she deserves more attention! her acting is great also her role I love her in THE FORBIDEN FLOWER, PERFECT AND CASUAL .. she is great! .. the main man is very similar to me with his coolness NA YANG YANG reminds me of his character in (you are my glory) I love it definitely 10/10 watch it

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Nonsensical

This drama started out extremely promising but by the end...it made little to no sense.

The idea of exes being brought together by a dating show is really interesting, and I was really excited for the drama to build on the tension that our leads established in the first episode. Instead, the "dating show" wasn't at all interesting or relevant to any of the subplots that we ran through, and most, if not all, of the characters became very irritating.

The first issue that arose for me was just that the drama didn't take advantage of its "dating show" premise at all. I think it would've been interesting if we'd actually gotten a broad cast of characters that we'd be able to see become friends. Instead, the show changed the dating show to some sort of "throwback" theme where it was the FL and her two friends, plus the ML and his two friends. Six people who were from the same high school. And most importantly, it is NOT a dating show if it's obvious from the very first second what the three pairings are. I don't mind this in general (since all pairings in dramaland are pre-ordained) but every time the characters called it a "dating show" or talked about how it was trending and getting super popular...I just did not believe it at all. I felt like there was zero drama, competition, or anticipation — which is what usually makes a dating show fun. I am a master of suspending my disbelief but I can only go so far.

The "dating show" is also barely a plot point at all, other than serving as an excuse for our main leads to spend time together, and having those little interviews at the end. Instead, the drama rolls through different subplots that take place OUTSIDE of the show, and then every once in a while they say something like "we have to film" and then one of the expected couples goes to a restaurant or something. The show seems to make little sense — inserting stories like a wedding for an elderly rural couple.

When the dating show is relevant to outside subplots, it also just...doesn't make sense. I can overlook the weird situation that forced our female lead from being a producer role to starring in the show and still being behind-the-scenes because that was such a big part of the premise, but when a character becomes the lawyer for someone trying to sue the dating show she's currently on, or any of the second female lead's shenanigans, the conflicts of interest render the dating show setting even less believable.

With that issue aside, however, I just think the plots aren't interesting or well written. It uses tropes like "car accident" and of course the evil second female lead to trigger plots, and with all of these things it just feels like the writing is from a drama that aired in 2010.

I often just find myself thinking that these two main characters...these two people just shouldn't be together.

Beyond the first few episodes, there's very little tension between the pairings. Our main leads get back together extremely fast without ever sitting down and having a mature conversation. Both of them have very valid perspectives — both of them were selfish and either cold or pushy in the past — but in the end it feels like the drama went for a "we just love each other" approach. They say the right things by the end, but it doesn't quite feel earned.

They are both bad at different points in the drama; the FL constantly puts down the ML when he has concerns about a SML who is rude, petty, and very obvious insulting towards him because he wants the FL. It's played off like a "misunderstanding" because she didn't think the SML liked her, but the lack of respect towards the ML and her refusal to listen to his concerns should've been a much bigger deal.

And then the ML does something that is even crazier and unforgivable; the FL's father, who she is no-contact with because he is a horrible person who keeps dating women much younger than him, hosts a FAKE FUNERAL FOR HIMSELF so that the FL will come and give a nice speech about him and he can see her. The ML learns about this event and SAYS NOTHING?? AND JUST LETS THE FL GO TO IT AND GIVE HER SPEECH UNTIL THE FATHER HOPS OUT OF THE BUSHES AND SAYS "GOTCHA"????? The idea that because he did it because he thought it would "be good for her" is absolutely insane to me. If someone ever did that to me I would cut them off right then and there forever; I don't care if they thought it was for my own good or if my parent was on their deathbed — this is a decision that the person needs to make for themselves, especially considering how much trauma the FL had around her father. But the drama just...moves on. The ML says he didn't know about the extent of it, and the FL just insists that she won't love anyone else, despite this pushiness being the exact reason why they'd broken up in the first place, and despite this behavior being just insane in general.

The other two couples are fine, but pretty unmemorable. I think three couples might've been too much and diluted the emotional impact of each. If it were up to me I would cut out the divorced couple, since they're mostly there for comedic relief anyways.

I could go on, but you get the gist. This is a drama that starts out promising but quickly devolves into nonsense. Even the ending scenes where we got mini interviews started out very insightful and revealing in the first few episodes, but ended up feeling out of place because of the "dating show" theme not being clear.

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Generic

This drama started out with plenty of potential but somewhere down the line I just lost interest.

Potential:
1. I feel like if they chose something less generic regarding the FL's past and misunderstandings that ensue it would have been much more enjoyable
2. Side characters could have had much more intense and engaging backstory
3. They could have incorporated something idk, unique?

Pros:
1. Cute Happy ending drama
2. Good looking cast
3. (more skinship than the general c-drama? but I have noticed this in many of Xu ruohan's dramas) this could be a pro/con
4. FL that takes no bs from others
5. ML and FL who (atleast in the beginning) are very open and talk about all their issues

Cons:
1. The most confusing part for me was the flashbacks, both the ml and fl look quite young (and the actors are very young!) they resemble college students and it honestly took me longer than I'd like to admit to figure out if it was a flashback or not (only the uniforms were a give away)

2. This is an issue i have in general but recently I have noticed that some c-dramas have a lot of whitewashing in the dramas and for me its a huge con because some characters look fake because of it and it takes away my viewing experience since i focus on their skin instead

3. Maturity. This is the biggest issue, since highschool the 2 haven't matured or reflected on the past and they are still as clueless as before

4. the producer's daughter that is out to get the FL...What did she even do? like her character was just entitled and liked the ML because she got screamed at by the FL..pftt no way

5. No depth to any characters...other than the one person i mentioned earlier everyone (leads) are 2 dimensional, their reason for falling for one another and staying together are just as vague to me

6. Using skinship to compensate for lack of originality. Xu Ruohan's previous drama "Forbidden Flower" also had its fair share of skinship but in that genre it felt right (if ykyk) but in this drama it just felt like a cheap attempt to make a fluffy basic drama into a "mature" one

All in all I think some will like this some will not, I found myself skipping a lot of scenes but that could just be attributed to the fact that I have seen quite a lot of shows with similar plots. So, if you have a lot of time but nothing to watch, watch this..I would recommend binge watching since you might forget it exists if you don't watch it for long?

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before you watch

I don't understand why people are saying the female lead has ego or like attitude and she is the actual childish one. but what do you expect from a child who saw her parent's marriage falling off which was a happy relationship at the first? as the mother said in one ep that her husband promised her to love her for the rest of the life but he still cheated on her and hurt her to the point that she has to take her own life. seeing all of these how can the female lead not act like that??

I understand in some cases she was the wrong one, when she broke up with him just because he lost his control over Yu Si.

and about the male lead I think he is quite understanding but was a little bit more possessive in their early phase of their life.

And tbh my favourite is the DIVORCE COUPLE ??? they are the cutest

so yeah, it's a drama ofc it has SO MANY DRAMAS otherwise why would it be named as drama right? if you're looking for drama then watch it otherwise take a step back ?

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Unrealistic storyline and so cheesey with mediocre acting, but watchable.

Go-Back-Lover is a rom-com that starts with Xu Ruo Han and Li Yun Rui as high school lovers who fell out of love during their university days. They got back together on a reality show where the ML is one of the investors, and the FL is the producer of its reality show. The story is unrealistic, and the 2nd and 3rd couples were annoying and unnecessary; their storylines were ridiculous. The acting of the entire cast was mediocre.

It is lame and cliche. If you want to kill time, engage in this drama. Else, don't do it.

Synopsis: Upon returning to her old high school, Shen Xing Ruo moved into her father's friend's home, where she met his son Lu Xing Yan. While the two didn't initially get along, they became closer as they spent more time together, eventually deciding to date. However, the relationship didn't last, and they broke up during university. Years later, now both adults with their own lives, they reunite - on a dating reality show. Despite the passage of time and their rocky past, they can't ignore the sparks that still fly between them. Will Xing Ruo and Xing Yan manage to make things work this time? Or is their romance best left behind?

My Reviews:
1. Mediocre acting and a bad script
2. The plot is unrealistic. All 3 CPs must be on a reality show to Go Back as lovers.
3. It was not funny, and so cheesy and cliche, and the acting of the entire ensemble was so-so.
4. I give it a 5.0 rating.

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A topsy-turvy show splashed with frustrating yet shitty characters

(Disclaimer: This rant is purely based on my opinion, so please don’t take it wholeheartedly and come bashing at me, okay?)

As we can see very well, Go Back Lover’s title is hinting on second chance romance trope, which is no stranger to C-drama veterans. To be honest, I’m not a great fan of this trope because in my principle, if you’re having a relationship, there’s no turning back. So, I’m quite surprised by this theme and wonder how these ex-lovers are going to reunite and resolve their past misunderstandings.

In addition, to make the show more unique, the writer decides to introduce a romance/dating variety show as the catalyst for the plot development. In fact, a dating variety show is somehow rare in C-dramas nowadays and I must say it’s such an interesting premise. However, it quickly goes downhill and becomes a mere plot device to fill in the draggy episodes. I don’t know why, but there’s a lot of things happening outside the variety show too, with some of them being irrelevant or unrelated to the show itself.

And don’t get me started at the horrible dumbass characters! Some people say that they’re not without flaws (yes, I do agree with that), but at least they have to realize their own mistake and being unaware of it makes them look like a bunch of 10-year-old-kid especially main leads and second couple (the SFL, to be precise).

(Note: I'm not going to mention the acting since my review has become an endless rant. However, I still appreciate their acting skills for embodying such characters, so kudos for all of you.)

The first couple is a pair of ex-lovers who broke up after ML had a private brawl with FML (fourth male lead), which the FL didn’t appreciate very much. They accidentally encounter each other again in the airport when FL is attempting to find a male guest for her variety show. Rumors later spark out of nowhere and many people obviously want them to be together once again after ML’s failed proposal in Race Against Time (another variety show which was produced before FL went to German). The ML was indeed thrilled when he saw FL again, but his feelings wasn’t reciprocated at all. The FL keeps repeating that she is forced to do so because she wants her variety show to gain more popularity, while the ML begins to behave like a simp out of nowhere, even loses his self-respect for FL. This push-pull dynamic drags out for the whole 18 episodes until the elderly rural couple manage to convince the FL of marriage. I understand that FL has suffered from PTSD because of her parents’ failed marriage, but as the saying goes,' You won’t know unless you try.' So, she should’ve taken the initiative instead of letting the ML hanging on the thread. She’s also a horrible hypocrite (today she says she wants to be together with the ML, and the other day she pushes him away) and keeps dilly dallying for time (in a very harsh way, she regards ML as her plaything and will dump him whenever she feels necessary) when all they need is a proper communication or heart-to-heart talk instead of doing everything in a roundabout way. It’s just so, so frustrating to watch them and I just keep sighing exasperatedly whenever they pop out of my screen. By the way, they also remind me of Binary Love's main couple which is more or less similar as them.

Same goes for the second (divorced) couple – however, SML still knows his boundaries well and only wants to treat his wife better, but his so-called wife never gives him the chance to redeem himself. Throughout the show, they just keep yelling and shouting at each other (a perfect example of a bickering couple), which is not a very good option. By the way, SFL always acts like a pouty selfish girl who wants better treatment from SML yet never telling him what she wants exactly, which often leaves the SML baffled and confused (they also need proper communication so it relieves me when SFL apologizes to him and they ultimately fix their ruined relationship and become more tolerant towards each other). Since the second couple isn’t the main focus on the show, I think I can skip my rant about them right now.

Third couple is the healthiest couple in this show. As someone who is a shy and introverted person, I can understand what does it feels like to have your daily lives exposed to the public. At first, they’re uncomfortable of it, but they manage to overcome their fears together and become a couple while strengthening their trusts between each other.

Unofficial fourth couple must be the worst out of the couples in this show. FML is FL’s snobbish know-it-all male friend and the biggest rival of ML. He has a secret crush on FL so he deliberately provokes ML which doesn’t succeed, anyway. FFL is the bitchy lawyer and former arch-rival of FL since their high school time (as the saying goes, she's a wolf in the sheep clothing). Feeling resentful of being the third to best (don't forget, there's TML in the second place), FFL resorts to underhanded tactics to ruin FL’s career (what a baffling and cliche execution lol).

I have no idea whether inputting past events with the present one is good idea, but the writer seems to have change the entire script and doesn’t put much emphasize on the former, which is quite disappointing because I love that part better than their present lives.

The sets and backgrounds are quite pleasant while the costumes are sort of… weird? Do people nowadays have to wear baggy coats and professional suits to shoot variety shows, huh?

OSTs are meh and I won’t be bothered to give them second chance.

Overall, it’s a 6.5 out of 10. Unless you’re a fan of ML or FL or perhaps you need some brainless watch after days of working out, you can give this a shot. However, if you don't want to waste your precious brain cells, NEVER watch this HOT MESS even if the world is turning upside down. Goodbye and good luck!

Side note:
Does funeral and divorce need a ceremonial party? WTF are they thinking about? It's beyond common logic, isn't it?

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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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3 second-chance romances recommended only to those who like this trope

Subjective Gut Rating: 7.75

After finishing this drama, I wasn’t quite sure if I liked it or not. In the end, it’s a decent, modern drama about second-chance romances. I was also unsure of Xu Ruo Han’s acting. Coupled with how she spoke her lines, I find her acting inconsistent. It’s my first time seeing Li Yun Rui as the main male lead, and I think he did pretty well and fit in the modern rom-com category.

Second-chance romance is the main reason why I decided to watch “Go Back Lover”. The drama did a good job in showcasing three different second-chance romance couples using a reality tv format. All 6 leads are flawed in their own way, and have to overcome certain challenges. In the end, I like who they have become.

Our main couple, Sheng Xing Ruo (FL) and Lu Xing Yan (ML), have the most complicated relationship. I enjoy following their relationship from high school to reuniting after a 5-year separation. There are frustrating moments when I feel that Sheng Xing Ruo is giving off mixed signals, or Lu Xing Yan is too smitten and acts like a lovesick puppy (OK, I do like his loving and longing looks). I think the chemistry is decent and I’m glad to see quite a bit of skinship and kisses.

The second couple is the bickering ex-es who started off the show with a dramatic divorce ceremony. Their chaotic energy could be too much to handle, but they also lighten up the show with their hilarious and silly moments. Because of how over-the-top they are, I think their screen time is just enough.

The third couple has the least screen time but they are also the sweetest and most adorable. But you have to endure how shy they are with each other in the beginning, in order to enjoy the end result. Xia Hao Ran (as He Si Yue) has the cutest puppy look with a little pout, but at times he looks a little emotionless. I’m most pleased to see Chen Zhu grow to become a more confident woman.

Despite enjoying these couples and the reality tv show format, there are moments when the pacing slows even for a 24-episode drama. The taping of the show is interesting, but the content is not. They have the most boring dates! How can they mix and match the couples with unexpected guests, yet there’s no excitement? They need better producers for the TV show to drum up some fun twists and turns.

There are a few annoying characters to stir up trouble. For the most part, they aren’t too bad. The ‘villain’ in the end seems a little over-the-top. This drama also is less fluffy/rom-com than I initially thought. “Go Back Lover” actually covers a few serious topics not listed in the tags. Without diving deep into who suffers what, the drama talks about domestic violence, suicide, childhood trauma, parent disapproval, and mental health. None of these topics are discussed in detail but if you are sensitive you should be aware of them.

Overall, this is a decent, somewhat short modern drama. Nothing jumps out to say this is the best, or the worst. It’s very average and I will only recommend “Go Back Lover” to those who love second-chance romances.


Completed: 10/25/2024 - Review #503

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