I've binge watched Go Ahead in two days recovering from an operation in bed and yes, it really healed me. I laughed, I cried, the day-to-day meals in this series made my mouth water, regaining my appetite for food and living.
Summary
Go Ahead tells the story of a recent widower who's running a local noodle bar. His life is focused on cooking and making his little daughter happy, in spite of the attempts of older ladies in the neighborhood to find him a new wife.
One candidate, a beautiful single mother with a son, seems to his liking. Alas, she is forced to leave by urgent family matters, taking his money and leaving her little son in his care. At the same time the neighborhood is disturbed by the arrival of new inhabitants, a police officer with his wife and son. The woman turns out to be a drunk who's terrorizing her family out of grief from a freaking accident that caused the death of their former baby girl. The drunken quarrels are so fierce the son prefers to spend his evenings reading comic books at the stair well . The widower and his daughter take pity on him, inviting him to stay with them whenever he likes, and before they know it, the silent, moody boy stays permanently at their home. Finally the woman leaves, the police officer follows the habit of his son including eating the home made meals from the widower and within a year both male neighbors have formed a functional, modern household. Their son and daughter are living in harmony, together with the fresh adopted son from the widower. Papa Li and Papa Ling form a real power couple. They encourage the children to move forward as good as it gets. At work, at school, with their friends, at university. Question is: will they go ahead in spite of their mental scars and the trouble on their doorstep caused by far away family members who come to claim their support mainly based on Chinese family traditions.
The Pros
Both the child and adult actors are so good, their emotions so real, it made my heart swell and melt. I love the interaction between the papas so much, I even thought this based on a censored original work about two homosexuals forming a family life. Themes like group pressure, status in life, keeping up appearances, marriage, divorce, midlife crisis, they are all there. The cast is superb, not only the leading actors gave me the feels. I also could relate to the other characters.
The Cons
The first ten episodes put me on a roller coaster of emotions, the mental issues of the children were that gripping. The following episodes however inflated a bit with minor issues about school and friends. And is it just me, or were most female characters portrayed in an inferior way to the male characters? I found them all insecure, ignorant, silly, troublesome, or downright evil. The leading couple, the widower's daughter and the police officer's son, seem too good to be true by contrast. It wouldn't have hurt to see more realistic growing pains between them. Also the many eating scenes with sweet cakes, water melons and other food, made me wish for product placements that make me feel less hungry.
Verdict
Nevertheless I was hooked for 40 episodes, I loved the ending that left me smiling for hours. Go Ahead is a warm and sweet opinion on humans and theirs struggles in life. Go See It!
