1
Purple Wisteria
Singapore
I couldn't stop smiling the minute I clicked play
This review is written from the perspective of someone who has watched Go Ahead, the C-Drama from which Family by Choice is adapted. It is an ongoing review, the rating is not final***
If you look at my watchlist you can see that I am very stingy in giving 10/10 because that is the value I want to give to the score. Only dramas that I truly love will receive the rating and Go Ahead was one of them. Go Ahead had such a chokehold of my life back then because of the many parallels I shared with the drama in my own life that I relate to. This was why I was so excited when I heard the news that it would be adapted into a K-Drama and directed by the same director for Twenty-Five Twenty-One; another one of my 10/10 dramas.
I couldn't stop smiling the minute I clicked play. Do you know how happy I was when I saw the 3 kiddos again?! Everything that they adapted over was done so perfectly and I can't help noticing the similarities done in a different, Korean style. I think so far the director has been spot on with carrying over the "key events" of the story that were pivotal and giving a small touch of his take on it. Aesthetically, it was very pleasing too. I am having a good time noticing things like the walk-up apartment, the long uphill road from the noodle store to their home, the staircase(!), and even the house layout is the same, omg! The casting so far has been absolutely on point too. The two fathers; I am so glad they got Choi Won Young and Choi Moo Sung to play the two fathers which are the most important characters of the story. CWY exudes the same warmth as Hai Chao and CMS has the same nonchalance as He Ping! The little girl who plays Ju Won is killing it!! She captured the same cheeky, feisty but cheerful and adorable little girl as the C-Drama counterpart so well! How can someone so young act so well?! I am a little bummed already that I won't get to see her so often seeing how everything is accelerated to fit the 16 episode's timeline. The rest of the cast does carry similar vibes as the original and I can't wait to see more of the characters being portrayed!
Everything so far has felt familiar yet different in its own colours and I am glad that I get to relive this beautiful story again in a different manner. From what I have seen from the direction in the first two episodes, it is giving me more confidence than not that this will turn out better than not. I know it's not going to be the same without 40 episodes but it won't matter if they are going to continue preserving the core like they showed in the first two episodes. Excited!
Moving forward I just want to say to all Go Ahead fans that it is going to be different judging by some events in episode 2 but I think it should not just be a comparison with the original as this is a work on its own too. New viewers if you do find yourself enjoying, you can always tune into the C-Drama version to see a more "extended" work; damn I'm jealous!
"Every family has a story to tell"
If you look at my watchlist you can see that I am very stingy in giving 10/10 because that is the value I want to give to the score. Only dramas that I truly love will receive the rating and Go Ahead was one of them. Go Ahead had such a chokehold of my life back then because of the many parallels I shared with the drama in my own life that I relate to. This was why I was so excited when I heard the news that it would be adapted into a K-Drama and directed by the same director for Twenty-Five Twenty-One; another one of my 10/10 dramas.
I couldn't stop smiling the minute I clicked play. Do you know how happy I was when I saw the 3 kiddos again?! Everything that they adapted over was done so perfectly and I can't help noticing the similarities done in a different, Korean style. I think so far the director has been spot on with carrying over the "key events" of the story that were pivotal and giving a small touch of his take on it. Aesthetically, it was very pleasing too. I am having a good time noticing things like the walk-up apartment, the long uphill road from the noodle store to their home, the staircase(!), and even the house layout is the same, omg! The casting so far has been absolutely on point too. The two fathers; I am so glad they got Choi Won Young and Choi Moo Sung to play the two fathers which are the most important characters of the story. CWY exudes the same warmth as Hai Chao and CMS has the same nonchalance as He Ping! The little girl who plays Ju Won is killing it!! She captured the same cheeky, feisty but cheerful and adorable little girl as the C-Drama counterpart so well! How can someone so young act so well?! I am a little bummed already that I won't get to see her so often seeing how everything is accelerated to fit the 16 episode's timeline. The rest of the cast does carry similar vibes as the original and I can't wait to see more of the characters being portrayed!
Everything so far has felt familiar yet different in its own colours and I am glad that I get to relive this beautiful story again in a different manner. From what I have seen from the direction in the first two episodes, it is giving me more confidence than not that this will turn out better than not. I know it's not going to be the same without 40 episodes but it won't matter if they are going to continue preserving the core like they showed in the first two episodes. Excited!
Moving forward I just want to say to all Go Ahead fans that it is going to be different judging by some events in episode 2 but I think it should not just be a comparison with the original as this is a work on its own too. New viewers if you do find yourself enjoying, you can always tune into the C-Drama version to see a more "extended" work; damn I'm jealous!
"Every family has a story to tell"
Was this review helpful to you?
