I honestly don’t know why this drama has such a high rating other than it’s based on e-sports/gaming, but I wasn’t crazy about Go Go Squid either so maybe it’s just me. Other than a lot of time spent on showing gaming action, this plot is the same ole plot you get with a lot of other C-dramas. All the same old tropes/cliches and plot devices are used – FL tripping and being caught by ML, ridiculous social media scandals, mom forcing ML on blind date, obsessed blind date (although thankfully brief), corporation buckling under pressure by ‘fans’, etc. There’s nothing new here, and in some ways, it’s a lot worse than I’ve seen in other similar C-dramas. So, let’s get into the details.

1) Lu Yue who is the younger brother of ML. He explodes into the drama in episode 7-8, and geez, this boy is incredibly annoying. At first, two team members don’t want to accept him back, and then, ‘oh, he was protecting us’, and now, we’re all good and we’re sorry that we thought you were unprofessional (which he definitely was - I don't care if another team threatens your team, you don't break a whiskey bottle over their heads, ok?), and yeah, go ahead and compete with FL for her starter position even though she’s only lost one game and she has a signed contract. Ridiculous and not a good message re: assault. Fortunately, the director/screenwriter muzzled this character in following episodes, making him slightly less irritating.

2) The way in which FL is constantly being singled out and targeted by 1) a player who just wants to humiliate her because she’s a newbie; 2) a player who’s got a crush on her; and 3) a player who wants revenge because she didn’t help him cover up his cheating with a fan. All these players are on opposing teams, and they all just happen to be Korean. Do the Chinese have something against Koreans? At least, two are portrayed as womanizers.

3) The social media scandal plot device is far worse than anything I’ve seen in other C-dramas because it goes on and on. Just a question – why does FL keep reading fan comments if they bother her? Just put down your phone, girl, ok? First of all, in the general population, how many people actually know who these gamers are? But the screenwriter/director makes it seem like everyone in the country is paying attention to this nonsense. Second of all, I’m tired of these corporations buckling under ‘fan’ pressure when we all know that most of this outrage is caused by a minority of loud trolls. Thirdly, these fans are lunatics, ok? They have no right to dictate a player's (or celeb or CEO) private life. I suppose it comes from the same mentality that says a parent has the right to interfere and dictate their adult child’s life. Ridiculous, and I’m frankly sick and tired of this plot device of public ‘outrage’. Social media is a scrounge on society and has caused unimaginable damage to people’s lives so we need to take away it’s power and stop paying attention to it.

4) I wasn’t impressed with FL. The more I saw her, the less I liked her. I’ll give her credit for not looking like the typical Chinese actress – long hair, high heels and bright red lipstick (that persona was saved for the blind date). She wasn’t overly ‘cutesy’, but she was still immature (she wore a mask in the workplace because she was ashamed of her drunken behavior – what is she? Ten years old?), and I got tired of that pouting expression on her face. Maybe this role would have been more likeable if played by a different actress.

5) In my opinion, Xu Cai’s acting abilities were wasted on this drama. He plays the rascal role much better than the tsundere. His best role, in my opinion, was in Arsenal Military Academy where he played the rascal and was given the opportunity to display his ability to show tender and heart-wrenching emotion. Nevertheless, I liked his character’s attitude towards fans, especially when he refused to settle with the parents of the psycho fan who sent razor blades to FL. But, why do these MLs always have to be rich? C-dramas insult capitalists whenever they get the chance, yet they sure do like wealthy, successful MLs.

6) The best part of this drama? The supporting cast, especially the trio of Fatty, Old K and Old Cat. They helped me make it through this social media scandal nightmare. It was nice to see the actor who plays Old Cat acting in a light-hearted role although his performance in By My Cat was amusing and cute. If I were FL, I would have gotten back together with the ex-boyfriend – I found this actor very cute. Sorry, Xu Cai, I loved you in Arsenal, but I found Jian Yang damn good-looking. Also, the secondary romance of FL’s bestie and Ai Jie was - thankfully - kept at the minimum.

If you like gaming, then I guess you’ll like this drama. For me, I don’t think it lived up to it's rating.