I’ve never seen Go Ahead but I was immediately drawn to this show after seeing the previews. Starting from the first episode I loved the characters and their little family. The main dad is so precious and he had such a great dynamic with each of the kids and the other dad as well. I think I liked the first half of this show better, which starts off when they are little kids and then focuses on them in high school. The three younger leads, San-ha, Ju-won, and Hae-jun were all such well-written characters and the actors had amazing performances. Between San-ha and Hae-Jun’s backstories I think I was crying every episode.

The first half of the show did a good job showing the connections between all of the characters and highlighting each person’s personality and backstory. When they had the two boys leave home and then the show did the time jump, it didn’t feel quite the same after. I always loved San-ha and I thought that he had good chemistry with Ju-won, but their courtship felt so extremely rushed. I didn’t have an issue with them getting together but it seemed that Ju-won had no time to process his feelings about her and then think about her own. The show was running out of episodes and needed to have them get together, so it didn’t feel organic. The show could’ve benefitted from another couple episodes. Similarly, I loved Dal and was rooting for her to get Hae-jun, but it felt like another case of not having enough time for Hae-jun to reflect on his feelings and then decide to pursue her. I did really love that couple but I would’ve liked their romance to be built up a little more.

San-ha’s mom was truly diabolical and it killed me that the show and the characters never gave her what she deserved. I know the actress did a great job because I wanted to slap her every time she appeared on the screen.

The heart of the show truly was Ju-won’s dad. His and Hae-jun’s relationship was the source of most of my tears from this show; there were so many heartwarming moments showing how much he loved his son. One of the reasons I think the show worked better for me at the beginning is that I think the strength is the portrayal of their family dynamic. Even just the scenes where they were eating dinner together were fun to watch. Even with my few issues with the last few episodes, I still really loved this show and can see a rewatch in my future!