Go Go Squid! Review

Go Go Squid! (亲爱的, 热爱的) is an unexpected hit among viewers that it got my attention. The drama is adapted from the novel Stewed Squid With Honey by Mo Bao Fei Bao. When it was first released, I did notice it but gave it a miss because a love at first sight storyline isn’t really anything new. However, since it managed to garner so much attention, it piqued my curiosity and I have to give it a go. So, what is my overall verdict for this Chinese drama? Read on for my Go Go Squid! review below to find out more or head to the episode summary for a full recap.

Episodes: 41
Type: Romance, Friendship
Aired: July 2019
Images Credit: Tencent

The Cast

• Yang Zi as Tong Nian
• Li Xian as Han Shang Yan
• Hu Yi Tian as Wu Bai
• Li Ze Feng as Solo
• Lee Hong Chi as Mi Shao Fei
• Chen Xi Jun as Ou Qiang
• Wang Zhen Er as Ai Qing
• Paul Chun Pui as Grandpa Han
• Jiang Pei Yao as Sun Ya Ya
• Zhang Ge as Xiao Ai
• Wang Le Jun as Su Cheng
• Yu Cheng En as Demo
• Marcus Li Ming De as 97
• Wen Yi Fan as Grunt
• Xu Le Wei as One

The Main Characters

Tong Nian

Tong Nian is a 20-year-old graduate student specializing in artificial intelligence. Besides being a top student, she is also an online singer with a huge fan base. Tong Nian is well brought up and innocent. She is inexperienced when it comes to love. Her father is a doctor while her mother is a teacher. Tong Nian also helps out at her cousin’s internet cafe from time to time.

Han Shang Yan

Han is the 30-year-old owner of K&K Club, an e-sports company. He used to be a top CTF player known by his username Gun and is a legend in his field of cybersecurity gaming but has since retired. Together with 4 other partners, he used to be part of Team Solo. Currently, he oversees K&K’s China branch and CTF team. While Han is moody with a bad temper, he cares a lot about the youngsters who train under him. He can be hard to get along with his cold attitude and has little interest in anything else apart from his work.

Wu Bai

Wu Bai is Han’s cousin. He is the current top CTF player known as DT and part of the K&K team. Wu Bai is a very quiet guy who likes to be alone but highly dependable. He has a liking for Ai Qing since high school.

Solo

Solo is the representative of the China branch of SP Gaming. He is heavily involved in SP’s CTF team. Solo used to be the captain of Team Solo which had achieved good results nationally. He is a single father to a 10-year-old daughter, Xiao Ai.

Mi Shao Fei

Shao Fei is a retired CTF player who wants to make a comeback to gaming. He also used to be part of Team Solo and has a close relationship with Han as well as Solo.

Ou Qiang

Ou Qiang is the only one of the 5 partners in Team Solo who is still competing under the username All. He is part of Team SP and has a cheerful personality.

Ai Qing

Ai Qing also used to be part of Team Solo and is known as Appledog. Now, she is the team manager for Team SP. Ai Qing and Solo were lovers 10 years back before they broke up.

Grandpa Han

Grandpa Han is Wu Bai and Han’s grandfather. He often quarrels with Han but cares a lot about him. He likes to play matchmaker to his grandson because he wants to see him settle down happily.

Sun Ya Ya

Ya Ya is Tong Nian’s good friend as well as dormitory mate. She is also a CTF fan and loves Team Solo, especially Shao Fei.

Xiao Ai

Xiao Ai is Solo’s daughter. She has a hearing problem and uses a hearing aid. While Solo dotes on her, Xiao Ai is undergoing a rebellious streak as she grows up. She is cocky and hates her mother.

Su Cheng

Su Cheng is K&K’s team manager in China. Her husband is Nan Wei who helped Han to establish K&K Club and handles its operations in its Norway headquarters. Su Cheng and Solo used to be lovers and Xiao Ai is her daughter.

Demo, 97, Grunt & One

They are all young CTF gamers under K&K. While they are fun and mischievous, they are also very serious in their gaming career. All of them look up to Han as their boss and idol although they can also be fearful of him because of his stern demeanor.

Synopsis

Arguments among his team members on the bus after a defeat compels Han to get down and spend time in an internet cafe. Tong Nian is manning the cafe for his cousin and when Han steps in, it is love at first sight for her. When Tong Nian sees Han again in Guangzhou, she goes all out to try to meet him. He recognizes her and they exchange a few words. A misunderstanding prolongs their interaction with each other while his team mistakes Tong Nian as his girlfriend. Han tells Tong Nian that it isn’t necessary to correct the mistake as they would not meet again any way after they return to Shanghai.

Coincidentally, Han and Tong Nian’s grandfather were from the same village. Therefore, Grandpa Han and Tong Nian’s parents and aunt are old acquaintances. When Grandpa Han comes back to Shanghai for holiday, he arranges a meeting with Tong Nian’s parents and aunt. They are trying to matchmake Tong Nian’s aunt’s daughter with Han. Grandpa Han also thinks that Tong Nian would be a suitable match for Wu Bai. Things become awkward when Wu Bai reveals that Tong Nian is recognized as Han’s girlfriend among K&K team members. Thus, the situation forces them to be a couple.

In the CTF world, SP and K&K are rivals. Although Han used to be in Team Solo, he has a strained relationship with Solo and Ai Qing. He retired at the peak of his playing career which caused the team to be disbanded. Why did he retire and does not see eye to eye with Solo and Ai Qing? Would Han make a comeback and achieve his dream of becoming a world champion? What would happen to his fake relationship with Tong Nian?

Go Go Squid! Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

With a generally lighthearted storyline, a happy ending is to be expected for Go Go Squid! Han and Tong Nian register their marriage after getting consent from her parents. While she doesn’t know how to say yes to his proposal earlier, it is Tong Nian who suggests that they get married later on during K&K’s final match in the Asian Championship. The significance of it is that she will always support Han no matter if his team wins or loses each time.

The fact that his team wins the championship adds to the significance of the occasion when Han brings Tong Nian back to her house immediately after the match to ask for her parents permission to marry her. His expression of love for Tong Nian is touching and moves her parents as well that they just can’ say no despite their objection to their daughter’s relationship with him earlier. Shao Fei and Ya Ya also become a couple when he acknowledges that she is his girlfriend during a call home.

Why Han Hates Solo And Ai Qing

Han, Solo, Ai Qing, Shao Fei, and Ou Qiang used to be very close friends and team mates. They went through a lot of hardships to get to be China’s national champion. But it is also the day Han announced his retirement. This is because Solo was quitting the team which left Han feeling betrayed and angry. Solo broke up with Su Cheng 2 years before. But Su Cheng found out that she was pregnant after that and quietly gave birth to their daughter. 2 years later, Su Cheng came back and pleaded with Solo to raise Xiao Ai as she had no money to do so. She couldn’t give Xiao Ai the medical treatment needed.

Solo was in a relationship with Ai Qing then. Without discussing with Ai Qing, Solo accepted responsibility for Xiao Ai. Since it would be hard for him to face Ai Qing and he had to give attention to his daughter, Solo decided to quit. With that, their dream of being world champion was dashed. When Ai Qing also seemed forgiving of Solo, it also made Han frustrated of her since he saw her as a victim. With Han retiring, Shao Fei also followed suit and the whole team crumbled. It was an impulsive decision that led to deep regrets and much anger despite the close friendship because of unfulfilled dreams.

Did They Bury The Hatchet?

Yes, they did. The trip to Solo’s house with his stepmother brings back a lot of memories for Han. He can see that Solo still values the time that they have spent together as a team a decade earlier. The house that Solo is living in is the place that they moved in as a team when they arrived in Shanghai. Solo has maintained the place as it is and does not have the heart to sell due to its sentimental value.

This softens Han’s heart towards Solo. Eventually, Solo and Ai Qing apologize to Han and after releasing all the pent-up feelings that have been embedded in their hearts for 10 years, they reconcile and resume their friendship. They did care for each other all along but they just didn’t know how to deal with the hurt that have arose.

Did Han Make A Comeback?

No, he did not. Han accepts that his playing days are in the past. Although he still has many fans who want to see him play, his interest now is nurturing the next generation of players. His dream now is to have a Chinese team as the world champion which something Team Solo was unable to do in the past.

Go Go Squid! Review – Is It Really That Good?

Personally, I find Go Go Squid! to be an average drama. What it has going for it is the good-looking male lead and the chemistry between Han and Tong Nian. Li Xian fits the moody character of Han perfectly and his stares can be captivating. His coldness and more mature personality also stand in contrast to Tong Nian’s more bubbly and younger appearance to give their story a cute and fluffy feel. I think their sweet romance is what appeals to most viewers and make them swoon unlike a slow burn and heavy feel drama like Here To Heart.

But there is more than just romance in Go Go Squid! and I much prefer this side of the story than the relationship between Han and Tong Nian. This is because the friendship angle has more depth that evokes deeper feelings than the romance between the main leads which seems kind of superficial to me. As the drama progresses, their journey as a team is slowly flush out through flashbacks to make us understand why there is so much anger and hurt among them. Yes, the flashbacks can be annoying but they tell us a compelling story on friendship and team spirit that it feels good when they finally bury the hatchet.

What I would have liked to see more of in the drama is Wu Bai. I think they wasted his character as there is more that can be told, especially on his interest in Ai Qing.

My Overall Verdict

If you don’t mind a romance between an older man and a younger gal, then this is for you. There is a 10-year age gap between Han and Tong Nian. So, her actions can seem a bit childish at times compared to Han. While love at first sight is nothing new, Tong Nian goes all out to pursue our hero in this drama to the extent that she is very accommodating to his needs for the most part of their relationship. He did tell her not to lose herself towards the end but she is very innocent and naive when it comes to love.

Also, their relationship from meeting to 2 breakups to marriage happen within a few months. Hence, I think this is a love it or hate it kind of romance drama. Some will find it utterly sweet while others would not be able to stand the girl’s actions and childishness. Personally, I would prefer Love 020 when it comes to a sweet romance.

Nevertheless, I would still say give it a try for this Go Go Squid! review. It is overrated to me but if you don’t like the romance part, there is still the friendship part to follow up on and vice-versa. If you like both of these storylines, then it would be a bonus. Furthermore, Li Xian is an eye candy here and that is what helps me to keep going all the way to the end.

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