Go Go Squid!
Go Go Squid! is a 41-episode Chinese modern romance drama from Dragon TV. It aired from July 9, 2019 to July 31, 2019, and all episodes are out. In the US it streams officially on Viki (free with ads) and iQIYI (VIP, episodes 1-5 free), checked October 25, 2026. It is adapted from the novel Stewed Squid with Honey by Mo Bao Fei Bao.
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Viewers who want a bright, sugary romance with a team-competition backdrop and a grumpy-sunshine couple
The story, without spoilers
What to Expect
We haven't watched this one. This section is based on the official episode synopses, the production's own descriptions and Chinese and English coverage, and we'll replace it with a verdict once we have one.
Go Go Squid! is a bright, sugary romance built on a grumpy-sunshine pairing. Tong Nian is all enthusiasm and persistence; Han Shangyan is blunt, proud and allergic to talking about his feelings. The drama splits its time between the romance and the team: training camps, rivalries with other teams, the history of Han's old team Solo, and a run at an Asia-Pacific title. The conflicts are mostly emotional ones, from a breakup by text message to a mother's opposition, rather than villains.
What viewers praised. Chinese coverage credited Yang Zi and Li Xian's chemistry, and it is widely credited with turning Li Xian into one of the most talked-about actors of 2019. It was a ratings and streaming hit: the Dragon TV finale reached a CSM59 rating of 1.785 and was the top show of its night, and English Wikipedia reports that it was the most-streamed series of 2019 across iQIYI, Tencent and Youku. Yang Zi won Best Actress at the Huading Awards for the role, the drama was named iQIYI's TV series of the year, and it won Weibo's hot drama of the year. Its ending song, sung by Yang Zi, reached number two on Billboard China's social chart.
What viewers complained about. Some viewers found Tong Nian too cute and childlike for a graduate student, and some found Han Shangyan's temper and the age gap hard to like. Others felt the middle episodes recycled breakups and reconciliations. The show was hit by two controversies in its first summer: an episode 39 scene showed an incorrect map of China, which led to a fine of 100,000 yuan for the production and the episode being pulled; and unaired episodes leaked online with watermarks meant for broadcaster review. English Wikipedia reports a Douban score of 6.6, and says it fell after the map controversy. We haven't confirmed the date of that figure.
Pacing. At 41 episodes of about 45 minutes, it's a long drama. The couple gets together relatively early, and much of the rest is about keeping them together.
Content notes. There is very little that's explicit. The drama deals with betrayal between friends, the breakup of a team, a parent's opposition and some shouting matches. Han Shangyan's rough manner with his team is part of the character.
The Story
Tong Nian is a cheerful, slightly naive computer-science student who skipped several grades, and in her spare time she is a popular online singer called Little Squid. When she's mistaken for the girlfriend of Han Shangyan, the gruff, demanding boss of a cybersecurity competition team called K&K, she ends up spending a lot of time at his team's base, and she decides she wants the job for real. He is several years older, short-tempered, haunted by the collapse of his old team, and determined to win a world title. Go Go Squid! (亲爱的，热爱的) is a 41-episode drama starring Yang Zi and Li Xian, with Hu Yitian as Han's cousin and teammate Wu Bai. It is adapted from Mo Bao Fei Bao's JJWXC novel Mi Zhi Dun You Yu (蜜汁炖鱿鱼), usually translated as Stewed Squid with Honey. It aired on Dragon TV and Zhejiang TV in China in 2019, streamed on Tencent Video and iQIYI, and became the most-streamed series of the year in China.
Despite the gaming feel, the competitions are CTF ("capture the flag") cybersecurity contests, where teams race to hack into and defend systems, rather than video games. The drama's English-language fans often call it an esports romance anyway.
Release Notes
Go Go Squid! premiered on July 9, 2019, on Dragon TV and Zhejiang TV, with Tencent Video and iQIYI streaming it at the same time, and finished on July 31, 2019. It was filmed between April and July 2018 in Sanya, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing and Suzhou. The credited directors are Li Qingrong (Lee Ching Jung) and Xiang Xujing, and English Wikipedia notes that Chu Yu-ning (瞿友宁) did much of the actual directing.
In August 2019 the production was fined 100,000 yuan after an episode 39 scene showed an incorrect map of China, and the episode was pulled from Chinese platforms and the official YouTube uploads at the time. Viki's US listing includes episode 39; we haven't checked whether every other international version does.
Internationally, English Wikipedia lists Netflix, which added it in February 2020, along with Viki, WeTV in Southeast Asia and India, and YouTube. The US Apple TV app labels it a Viki Original. From the US on October 25, 2026, Viki had all 41 episodes free with ads, and iQ.com had episodes 1 to 5 free and the rest for VIP members. A WeTV search from the US didn't find it, and we couldn't confirm a current Netflix title. It also aired in Japan on U-NEXT, in Taiwan on GTV and in Hong Kong on J2.
The sequel, Go Go Squid 2: Dt.Appledog's Time (我的时代，你的时代), aired in 2021. It follows Wu Bai, again played by Hu Yitian, with Li Yitong as his love interest, and is a separate story rather than a continuation of Tong Nian and Han's romance.
The opening song is "Nobody" (无名之辈) by Chen Xueran, and the ending song is "Milk Bread" (牛奶面包), sung by Yang Zi. Li Xian sings the insert song "To the Future" (给未来), and the soundtrack also features Kimberley Chen, Dimash and Beyond's classic "Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies" (海阔天空).
Does Go Go Squid! have a happy ending?
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We have not finished this one ourselves; this is based on outside sources.
In Brief
Ending spoilerShow the ending in brief
Go Go Squid! has a happy ending. K&K wins the Asia-Pacific title, Tong Nian's mother gives her blessing, and Tong Nian and Han Shangyan register their marriage in the final episode. Han puts his championship ring on her finger, and his grandfather starts planning two weddings.
Full Ending Explained
Full spoilersShow the full ending
This account comes from the episode synopses on English Wikipedia and Chinese coverage, not from watching.
The breakups. The couple's road is bumpy. In episode 13, Han ends things by message; they reconcile in episode 15. In episodes 21 to 24, Tong Nian's mother, who sees a much older man with no stable career, asks Han to break up with her daughter. He agrees and goes to Norway, leaving Tong Nian his savings, which she returns. They reconcile in episode 26.
The old team. The drama's other long thread is Solo, Han's old team with Wang Hao and Ai Qing, who took him in when he had nothing in Beijing. Solo lost its sponsor and fell apart, and Han held it against Wang Hao for years. In episode 27, Han forgives Wang Hao and Ai Qing. In episode 29, his former rival Mi Shaofei joins K&K as a team leader.
Winning over her family. After a trip to Suzhou in episode 28, the two families meet in episode 34, and her mother finally approves. In episode 37, Han proposes at Beijing Railway Station with his championship ring; Tong Nian hesitates, and he withdraws it. There is a family dinner at her home in episode 38.
Grandpa Han. Han's grandfather returns from Norway in episodes 7 and 8. His wish to see Han settled gives the last episodes much of their comedy.
The final. In episode 40, K&K beats the Australian team VIPO to take the Asia-Pacific title. Afterward Tong Nian tells Han she wants to marry him, and he promises to take her to the world finals.
The last episode. In episode 41, Tong Nian's mother, still a little reluctant, hands over the household register booklet, which the couple need to marry. They wait outside the Civil Affairs Bureau so they can be the first to register that day. Grandpa Han is overjoyed and wants weddings in both Shanghai and Norway, and Han slides the championship ring onto Tong Nian's finger. Based on the synopses we have read, the drama does not show the result of the world finals.
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Cast and characters
Also starring
- Tong Nian (Yang Zi): a sunny, determined computer-science prodigy and online singer who falls for Han and won't let him push her away. Her own technical talent is part of why the team takes her seriously.
- Han Shangyan (Li Xian): known as Gun, the founder of K&K. Proud and short-tempered, with a complicated family and a long grudge against his old teammates, he is softer with Tong Nian than with anyone.
- Wu Bai (Hu Yitian): known as DT, Han's cousin and K&K's captain, more relaxed than Han and a good deal kinder to newcomers.
- Mi Shaofei (Li Hongqi): Xiao Mi, an ex-Solo player and Han's rival, who eventually joins K&K.
- Wang Hao and Ai Qing (Li Zefeng and Wang Zhener): Han's old Solo teammates, whose falling-out with him is the drama's backstory.
- Sun Yaya (Jiang Peiyao): Tong Nian's roommate and best friend.
- Grandpa Han (Qin Pei): Han's grandfather, who lives in Norway and wants nothing more than to see his grandson married.
Identity Reveals
Ending spoilerShow identity reveals
There are no hidden identities, but there are two slow reveals. The first is the drama's opening mix-up: K&K's members believe Tong Nian is Han's girlfriend, and she plays along long before it's true. The second is Han's past, revealed in flashbacks around episode 6: how Wang Hao and Ai Qing took him in at a Beijing courtyard home, and how Solo lost its sponsorship and broke up, which explains his grudge against them.
The novel behind it
The drama adapts Mi Zhi Dun You Yu (蜜汁炖鱿鱼) by Mo Bao Fei Bao (墨宝非宝), first published on JJWXC. Its title is a pun on Tong Nian's online name, Little Squid. Mo Bao Fei Bao also wrote the screenplay, according to English Wikipedia, which may explain why fans see the drama as close to the book in spirit. As far as we know, there is no official English translation.
Differences from the Novel
Ending spoilerShow the differences
We haven't found detailed Chinese coverage comparing the two, so treat this section as provisional. Fan discussion suggests the drama expands the team storyline, the history of Solo and the supporting characters, including Wu Bai and Mi Shaofei, to fill 41 episodes, and its success led to a sequel built around Wu Bai. We'll update this section when we can confirm specific changes.
Novel Ending
Full spoilersShow how the novel ends
As far as we know, the novel also ends with Tong Nian and Han Shangyan together and married. We haven't confirmed the details of its final chapters or any epilogue, and we'll update this when we have.
- Original title
- 蜜汁炖鱿鱼 · Stewed Squid with Honey
- Author
- Mo Bao Fei Bao 墨宝非宝
- First published
- JJWXC
- In English
- No official translation that we know of
Words and customs you'll hear
CTF, not video games
CTF (capture the flag) competitions are real cybersecurity contests, where teams find and exploit vulnerabilities in systems to capture digital "flags" while defending their own. China takes them seriously, and university and corporate teams compete internationally. The drama dramatizes these competitions with an esports-style presentation, so some international viewers assume it is about gaming.
The household register and registering a marriage
To marry in China, a couple goes to the local Civil Affairs Bureau with their identity cards and their hukou booklets, the household registration documents usually kept by parents. That's why Tong Nian's mother handing over the booklet in the final episode is the real blessing, and why the couple waits outside the bureau to be first in line.
Grandpa wants a wedding
Older relatives pressing grandchildren to marry is a standard feature of Chinese family life and of Chinese dramas. Grandpa Han's eagerness, and his plan for two weddings in two countries, is played for comedy but reflects a real expectation that a family's elders will see their grandchildren settled.
Go Go Squid! FAQ
How many episodes does Go Go Squid! have?
Go Go Squid! has 41 episodes, each about 45 minutes long. It aired in China from July 9 to July 31, 2019, on Dragon TV and Zhejiang TV, with Tencent Video and iQIYI streaming it. Episode 39 was briefly pulled over a map error, so some platforms' lists have had gaps.
Where can I watch Go Go Squid!?
From the US on October 25, 2026, Viki had all 41 episodes free with ads, and iQIYI's international site had episodes 1 to 5 free and the rest for VIP members. English Wikipedia says Netflix added it in February 2020. In China it streams on Tencent Video and iQIYI.
Is there a Go Go Squid! season 2?
Yes, in a sense. Go Go Squid 2: Dt.Appledog's Time (2021) is a sequel that follows Wu Bai, again played by Hu Yitian, with Li Yitong as the female lead. Yang Zi and Li Xian's story is not continued, and the sequel has its own new romance and team storyline.
Does Go Go Squid! have a happy ending?
SpoilerShow the answer
Minor spoilerReveal whether it ends happily
Yes. K&K wins the Asia-Pacific title, Tong Nian's mother gives her approval, and in the final episode Tong Nian and Han Shangyan register their marriage at the Civil Affairs Bureau. Han puts his championship ring on her finger, and his grandfather starts planning weddings in Shanghai and Norway.
Do Tong Nian and Han Shangyan get married?
SpoilerShow the answer
Minor spoilerReveal whether they marry
Yes. After a failed proposal at Beijing Railway Station in episode 37, Tong Nian tells Han she wants to marry him after K&K's win in episode 40. In episode 41 her mother hands over the household register, and the couple are first in line to register their marriage.
Why do Tong Nian and Han Shangyan break up?
SpoilerShow the answer
Ending spoilerReveal why they break up
They split twice. In episode 13 Han ends things by message and they reconcile two episodes later. Around episodes 21 to 24, Tong Nian's mother asks him to give her up; he agrees and leaves for Norway. They get back together in episode 26, and her mother approves by episode 34.
Is Go Go Squid! about esports or gaming?
Not exactly. K&K competes in CTF (capture the flag) cybersecurity contests, where teams race to break into and defend computer systems. The drama stages them like esports tournaments, with rival teams, sponsors and an Asia-Pacific final, which is why many English-language fans file it next to gaming dramas such as Love O2O.
Is Go Go Squid! based on a novel?
Yes. It adapts Mi Zhi Dun You Yu (蜜汁炖鱿鱼) by Mo Bao Fei Bao, a romance first published on the Chinese site JJWXC and often translated as Stewed Squid with Honey. As far as we know, there is no official English translation, and we don't link to unofficial ones.
Who sings the Go Go Squid! theme songs?
The opening song, "Nobody" (无名之辈), is by Chen Xueran, and Yang Zi sings the ending song, "Milk Bread" (牛奶面包), which reached number two on Billboard China's social chart. Li Xian sings the insert song "To the Future" (给未来), and Beyond's "Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies" also appears.
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