Go Ahead (2020)

Absolutely the best Family Melodrama Romance series I've watched!

Absolutely the best Family Melodrama Romance series I've watched! Really enjoyed and loved every moment even though I cried numerous times, as there were laughs and happy moments too.

Many different life experiences seen through multiple families which just shows us that we, the viewer are not the only ones going through hardships, life, family 'drama', love experiences, friendship, work life, etcetera etcetera. So many things were covered in this series which also showed how wounds can heal or how life can become better if we work towards it or try to make things work and not just ignore the problems that do exist.

The story was really compelling and the writer clearly put in a lot of effort to bring everything together. Can't fault anything and also won't change anything as everything was necessary in each arc, which is interlinked in some way. The writer really did well with character building and all the intricate relationships which made everything so believable and let us, the viewer, be drawn in and routing for the character and be sad, happy, frustrated, depressed with them . I will definitely look for other series's with same writer, director and or scriptwriter.

The actors really did very well portraying their respective characters. I honestly enjoyed each and everyone's acting as they brought the characters to life. And that is exactly what actors should do as it really gets the viewer drawn into 'their' lives. I will miss all the actors but not all the characters!

Production and Visual FX were also great and all the more brought everything to life and brought everything together in the best possible way.

Ost was very good, not that good that I want to download each and every song but were played at the right time. Sound effects were not overly used and were appropriate at the right time.

Rewatch value is very high, will definitely Rewatch in future.

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Keep tissues on hand!

This one tugs on the heartstrings .. hard!

The romance you can see blooming from day one, so there's no real surprise there.

It felt awkward when the adopted brother tried to have feelings for her.

I think that was just more of a comfort thing, not actual romantic feelings he had.

The dad .. ah man .. the dad.

What a gem of a character.

He truly was the core of it all.

His insight and wisdom at times was breathtaking.

Often the floodgates would open on up after one of his scenes.

Simple thoughts from a simple man who loved his family.

It's not one I would re-watch; I feel it's one of those shows that will shine best the first time around.

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Recommended for Good Reasons!

At first I watched solely knowing SWL was in it but after finishing, wow it became one of my favourite dramas of all time.

The storyline is insanely realistic, it portrays interpersonal conflicts phenomenally. The stories built on the main trio are amazing enough on their own, but the added details for the supporting female characters was a great touch - personally one of my favorite aspects of the show as its a common occurence in asian households.

The 40 episodes (online ver) was amazingly paced. The actors/actresses did fantastic job showcasing the emotion for each climatic scene ; with SWL and ZXC doing phenomenal for their character.

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One of the Best!

I just finished my 2nd watch of this show and it was just as good as I remember it. The acting is incredible.

All of the actors are amazing but I particularly want to mention probably my two very favourite in this drama. Now usually I only have eyes for Song Wei Long, however in this case, Steven Zhang absolutely killed his role. I was 100% sold on every emotional nuance he gave. He was sensational in this role. This doesn’t mean I was rooting for him to be ML. He was perfect just as he was and clearly the brother role of the two of them.

And my favourite character of this whole show: The Dad. Omg. He was incredible. I was bawling so many times because of his amazing acting. He was just so disarming, so sweet, the love and kindness he exuded for his children was amazing to watch. I loved every scene with him. He was so cute like a mother hen with those kids. And his cooking! OMG the food porn. This director is absolutely magic with the food scenes. I noticed he also directed Meet Yourself which had a ton of similar food vibes in it. Being able to express the care and love he was feeling for his family thru attentive cooking was masterfully done.

As a mom myself I was dismayed that basically every mother in this show is an absolute witch. In terms of acting, they really sold that. So again, kudos for making me hate a character with a fiery passion. ??

This is a show I will come back to again and again.

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Go Ahead and watch and be filled with love and warmyh

Go Ahead is a tricky drama to review because i felt i need a million adjectives to describe it. Warm, thats how i feel when watching every episode. And Special, special cause it touches a special place in my heart. It is perhaps one of the best multi-facetted story I have the pleasure to watch in awhile. The ability to achieve such a balance of poignant but heart-warming, painful yet sweet, serious issues yet funny moments is really kudos to great writing and directing.
PLOT/STORY
The plot centres on 3 families, 2 more broken then the core (FL and her dad) coming together and bonded through love that had nothing to do with blood in their veins but rather the openness of heart to accept, cherish and protect. Theres that juxtaposition of an unusual family from the norm. Theres that interesting difference and similarities between both elder brothers in character and treatment of their lil sister. Social pressures, parental pressure, trauma from loss, abandonment and depression were all touched upon but the story is delivered in a measurably soothingly acceptable way that pains you but does not suffocate you. Hence viewers who usually steer clear of heavy dramas could still be able to watch and digest this. Many scenes were presented in a well thought out manner in such ways I appreciate nuances and subtlety they convey.
CAST/ACTING
Casting team deserves a medal. I cant imagine another actress as Li Jian Jian. Tan Song Yun really shines in bringing the youth and brightness into her character as well as the ability to create believable atmosphere and great chemistry with the male leads and the rest of the casts. JianJian is optimistic and bright illuminating the darkness in her brothers’ lives. Shes really the family’s fuel station. Ling Xiao is the quieter elder brother but observant, intelligent and thoughtful. Hes closed off emotionally with the exception of the trusted realm he allows. He only truly shares with JianJian, the beacon in his life. Song Wei Long delivered his personal best and gave us a Ling Xiao that appears perfect and mature but have hidden cracks and scars from his trauma. He Zi Qiu is the most sensitive, and insecure from having been abandon and constantly thinking of his self worth and afraid to be pitied. He holds Li ba and Jiajian as the people he is most grateful for and promised to love and protect them with his whole being for the rest of his life.
Li Ba is one of the best characters ever created and he’s the core of the family. He represents the exemplary parent that gives unconditionally and only expects his loved ones to be happy. He provides shelter and pure love but never smothering. There are many other parents depicted in these drama that provided many contrast and real struggles in thwir parenting style and relationships with their children and how they affected the child’s disposition and attitude in life.

Ost
The opening theme is one of the most hauntingfly beautiful song. Written in very simple lyrics but delivered so powerfully. Mamy of the ost were awesome and they added the oomph everytime its played on eventful scenes.

Conclusion
Watch this drama and be filled with warmth, be touched by the spirit of family, love and friendship. Laugh and cry with our leads. Its a drama that has that something special and returns you to the thing that matters most- being with the people you love. I treasure all the days watching Go ahead and sad to have reached the finale. But the image of our 3 leads happily going ahead towards their future and the familiarity of family togetherness makes me really satisfied. And i will rewatch this series again. I will also look forward to future works from this scriptwriter, this director and of course, more dramas from Tan Song Yun and Steven Zhang.

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Great realistic family-focused drama!

Story:
Hats off the the storywriter of this drama. Such a touching and realistic way of portraying the goods, but also not so-goods of life. Really like the different types of dynamics between the lead characters and also how each have their own flaws that are highlighted very well. The ¨evil¨ characters are also not evil for no reason. However, the pacing off some sections of the drama is really off, especially the episodes towards the end is so rushed. I wish they resolved the final problem in prior episodes, so the ending did not feel so rushed. I also did not care about the ¨main romance¨, as i did not feel the romantic chemistry, nor did it attribute anything to the story.

Acting/Cast:
Almost perfect, no one was ¨really bad¨. The actors/actress of the characters ZQ, CT and HC were excellent, with HC(Tu Song Yan) performance being one of the best i have ever seen in a drama. The really lacking actress of the important characters was JJ´ actress. In most scenes she was fine, but in more emotional/intimate scenes, she often looks like a deer in the headlights: just no suitable expressions with just open wide eyes.

Overall:
As the title says, just a solid all around family-focused drama that will make the cry, laugh within the same episode. The chemistry of the main family is amazing and so realistic. I would probably not rewatch this (only would rewatch the episodes prior to time jump), as it does has it notable flaws in the second half. Despite the flaws, every episode ending make me really anticipate the next, as i also watched every episode on release.

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BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN

This drama will have you pulled into its own world. (This will only be a brief review yet I can assure you that it is from my heart)
•Would recommend this to people who likes heartwarming, simple, touching, soft, and chill dramas.

STORY/PLOT:
Though simple, it can still surely captivate one's heart, and somehow melt it in a lovely way. It is not a unique drama when it comes to the story, since it was just all about youth, hardships and family, but it is indeed unique in delivering emotions to the viewers— it did really well especially because it has the ability to touch one's heart, and to feel relatable with the relationships of characters and what their going through, it also has its messages clear on the way. Everything was just perfect

ACTING/CASTING:
All actors were great. I'ma just put a highlight on the young versions of the leads— they were so good in their own characters and harmonizes well with others. Everything was on point— everyone did good at making the characters's personality known, it's just like as you watch further in the drama you just get to know them more and more and understand everything about them, which is exactly how you'll know that they have good actors. (The two leads could probably enhance their chemistry more in the drama, since I think it kinda lacks a little)

MUSIC:
It was alright, and I think I'll add some to my OST playlist.

REWATCH VALUE:
Would watch it again if I have time, and everytime I remember it I'll probably smile in awe with how beautifully made it was.

OVERALL:
It was on top— everything was. This will probably be my favourite Chinese Drama.
You know it's good when you just can't stop waiting for the next episode with excitement and thrill.

P.S. I actually want to watch more of it eeeeeeehsjajanwjwjabnajajahabajauahva....

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WOW! JUST WOW!

This drama is a slice of life, family type of drama and I've never watched a story like this, it really is so unique and touching. Even they go on their separate ways during their teenage years when their own families have troubles, they look forward to go home. To Li Haichao and Li Jianjian. It just shows that your status in life does not indicate how happy you are and you'll go back to the place that makes you feel like home.

I've also had a crush for Song Weilong since 2020 and I must say, he nailed his role here. The emotions that his character must portray is deep and wanting to come back desperately for Jianjian since he likes her even before they got separated.

Ziqiu and He Mei's story is really so good as well, you can see he is secretly longing for his mother and he wants to ask her why did she abandoned him, and the story of her past comes out.

All scenes are so good and there's no part that you'll get bored. I would rewatch this again for sure!!! ??

LING XIAO AND JIANJIAN???

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You should watch this I guarantee you'll love it

My my my my
First 10 episod got me crying like fool

Little Xiqiu was really good in acting, I couldn't help to feel so sad seeing him, he's such a kind little boy, even grew up to a much more kind teenager. Despite of everything that happened to him, he still had so much heart and kindness to give to others.
I had to say Ziqiu is my favorite character in this movie and my heart goes to him a lot.
(Personal Note : when I saw that scene when little xiqiu secretly washed the laundry at night I really couldn't help but cry, poor little boy, but he's so kind I can't with him)

Can't forget Dad Li whose kindness is really extraordinary. I mean, how come a person be this kind???? I really live for this story

Jianjian character is so nice, they're all so realistic.
LingXiao also perfectly portray that big brother that we all long for.

The only char I hate is Ling Xiao mom, I hate hate hate her.

Anyway you should watch this drama, I guarantee you'll love it

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