Surprisingly Little Go for a Drama About Go: Given the title Playing Go and the protagonist’s identity as a Go teacher, I expected the game to play a much more central role in the story—both thematically and strategically. While Go does appear in the early heists, it’s never fully explored as a tool that shapes Cui Ye’s criminal mind or worldview. We’re told he’s a brilliant player, but we’re rarely shown how that brilliance translates into his actions. There was one instance where the game’s strategic thinking was cleverly woven into a crime, but it felt like a missed opportunity not to build on that further. Instead of diving into the intricacies of Go or showing how it informs Cui Ye’s descent into villainy, we are shown him playing Go but not really explaining much. I guess I was expecting a mix of The Queen’s Gambit and Breaking Bad to showcase the game but we didn’t get much Go.

Unlikable and Unreliable Sidekick: Cui Ye reluctantly gains an accomplice in crime after the first robbery, Jin Xia Sheng, a young man dragged into this life due to his family’s crushing debt. Unfortunately, he’s a frustrating character and a terrible sidekick. More often than not, he bungles Cui Ye’s carefully laid plans and then celebrates the rare occasion he gets something right. He frequently relies on brute force instead of thinking things through, making it a wonder the two weren’t caught much sooner. Beyond being a liability, Jin Xia Sheng also feels underdeveloped as a character. While his background, a lost youth due to his family’s plight, is compelling, the execution falls flat. Rather than striving for self-improvement, he spends much of his time distracted by romance and personal whims, losing sight of the stakes he faces. His storyline lacks depth and urgency. When it was his turn to shine, his prior actions weakened the emotional weight of the moment. Here was another character that I didn’t connect with.

Minimally Developed Female Characters: One of the most disappointing aspects of the drama is its treatment of its female characters. Each of the four main women exists primarily in relation to the male leads as mothers, wives, or love interests. Each of their stories lacked depth, independence, or meaningful agency, making it a struggle to watch. Cui Ye and Cui Wei’s mother is reduced to a kindly grandmother figure doing her best for her grandson. Cui Wei’s wife is portrayed as a spoiled liability, nearly ruining his career in pursuit of elite schooling for their child and almost accepting bribes on his behalf. Jin Xia Sheng’s love interest, a kind factory girl, quickly becomes a damsel in distress, making careless choices and needing to be saved. But the most frustrating characterization is that of Gao Shu Hua, Cui Ye’s estranged wife. She begins as a strong, intelligent woman with a promising career, having left her husband to pursue a better life. Yet the story forces her back into his orbit through bullying and manipulation. He sabotages her job, weaponizes their son, and gaslights her into submission. Despite brief moments of protest, she never truly resists or reclaims her agency. The script fails her, never giving her the narrative space to push back or escape. In a story that explores the moral collapse of its male lead so thoroughly, it was disappointing that the women weren’t afforded the same exploration. I thought Gao Shu Hua’s actress Wang Zhi did the best with what she was given but it was ultimately disappointing to see.