The Double é, com certeza, um dos melhores c-dramas de 2024
No inicio, quando ouvir falar desse drama, fiquei bastante receosa para assistir, ele ainda estava em lançamento e, mesmo com todos os elogios, o medo de ser uma decepção se mantinha em mim. Decide dar uma chance quando ele já estava sendo finalizado e não me arrependi nem um pouco.A jornada da protagonista é realmente emocionante desde o começo, quando o marido a enterra viva, quando ela conhece as garotas que a salvam. Ela consegue se manter forte com sua sede de vingança e esperança para que a justiça seja feita com todas as pessoas que sofreram a sua volta. É completamente coerente e sabe exatamente como agir para conseguir atingir seu objetivo, mesmo que algo dê errado, ela consegue pensar em algo para resolver a situação, sempre um passo a frente do seu inimigo. A construção do ML foi realmente interessante, porque apesar de ele ter uma parte individual da sua vida, ela está lá mais para ser o apoio que a protagonista precisa. E a FL tem seus movimentos de vingança atrelados no ML, o que deixa tudo bem interessante.
As atuações são impressionantes, conseguiram transmitir toda dor, sofrimento, alegria, raiva e carinho em cada situação. A junção da atuação e as trilha sonora fez com que o público pudesse sentir a realidade da história e fazer com que se mergulhasse mais no enredo, fazendo com que se aproveitasse cada minuto de cada episódio.
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Uau. Desde a Longa Balada eu não tinha ficado tão apegada a um drama chinês de época como fiquei com The Double. E isso por si só já diz muito sobre a qualidade da história, pois Longa Balada é um dos meus dramas chineses favoritos da vida. The Double é uma história de vingança e reparação. Xue Fang Fei foi acusada falsamente de adultério, enterrada viva pelo marido e seus parentes foram difamados e "mortos". Após conseguir sobreviver a tentativa de assassinato, em um momento de desesperança ela acaba sendo resgatada por Jiang Li, uma jovem que também foi vítima de uma acusação falsa e agora vive confinada em um convento nas montanhas. Jiang Li a aconselha a viver para se vingar e restaurar seu nome. Porém por infortúnios do acaso, Jiang Li acaba sendo morta no convento e Xua Fang Fei assume a identidade dela para buscar vingança por si e por Jiang Li.
Durante os quarenta episódios do drama não senti em nenhum momento que a história perde o fôlego, nada parece embromação para preencher vazios, todos os subenredos têm um proposito para o enredo principal. A protagonista é forte, não no sentido físico e capaz com armas, mas mentalmente forte, com uma inteligência estratégica e muita eloquência e persuasão e graças a isso ela consegue alcançar seus propósitos e vê seus inimigos caírem um a um. Obviamente ela também conta com a ajuda preciosa do Duke Su, porém ela não é uma mocinha a ser resgata, mas uma parceira importante para o Duke e para o Imperador em seus assuntos políticos. Além disso, a química deles enquanto casal também é ótima. Um belo casal.
Quanto aos vilões, a princesa primogênita é uma criatura insana e desprezível, mas confesso que fiquei com pena dela na história do chá que simulava gravidez. Ela realmente teve uma experiência horrível enquanto "refém" nas Planícies Centrais e depois disso passei a simpatizar um pouco com ela. Na cena que ela vai confrontar a Xue Fang Fei e diz: "Você sabe o que é perder um filho? Como é doloroso ter suas esperanças destruídas?" e ao que a Fang Fei responde: "Não sei, mas sei como é ser enterrada viva por alguém que amava e confiava". E a princesa diz: "Xue Fang Fei, as vezes gosto muito de você. Se não fosse pelo Shen Yu Rong, poderíamos ter sido amigas". Absolute Cinema! Apesar da princesa ser desprezível, como a Xue Fang Fei pontua logo em seguida, as duas têm realmente muito em comum. Ambas estão "jogando xadrez" para vingar o trauma e a injustiça que cada uma viveu. Obviamente Xue Fang Fei só é cruel com quem merece e a princesa fez coisas horríveis com pessoas inocentes, mas compreendo o que ela diz quando as duas poderiam ser amigas. E é justamente pela Xue Fang Fei ser cruel quando necessário que torna ela uma protagonista interessante. Com ela não tem essa de poupar os inimigos.
E de todos os vilões o mais desprezível é mesmo o tal do erudito Shen Yu Rong. Ele fica o tempo tentando justificar as ações cruéis dele como resultado de manipulação da princesa primogênita, mas no fundo é tudo ambição dele mesmo. Ele só usou a princesa para justificar a natureza cruel das ações dele como fica bastante claro no final com o que ele faz com ela e como ele tenta reaver a Xue Fang Fei de volta.
Sobre os minutos finais do drama. O que as roteiristas queriam? Um vale de lágrimas? Não podia ter terminado ali com a cena do casamento? Para que esse final ambíguo? Minha única ressalva com relação ao drama são os minutos finais do último episódio. Não sei se foi sonho, se foi real, ou o desejo de ambos depois do final trágico. Apesar do final ambíguo achei o drama épico! Não consegui expressar aqui o porquê de ser tão bom, mas eu realmente recomendo!
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Esse é facilmente um dos melhores dramas que já vi!
A história se desenvolve de maneira linear, o que facilita o entendimento do que tá acontecendo. Mesmo que tivessem flashbacks para explicar alguma situação ou sentimentos dos personagens, não me deixaram confusa em momento nenhum, dando facilmente para identificar o que era passado (flashback) e o que estava acontecendo no presente.O desenvolvimento dos personagens e o arco de redenção de alguns foi INCRÍVEL, eu não poderia esperar mais. O casal principal foi muito bem construído e de maneira bastante fluída e natural, quase não dando pra notar em que momento o jogo de interesses realmente se tornou amor. Só senti falta, durante a história, de alguns personagens e do desenvolvimento do que eu acredito ser o casal secundário (só deu a entender que eles estavam juntos no fim, mas nada realmente confirmado).
Minha única crítica a esse drama é que o final foi corrido... Se houvesse uma cena a mais, não seria tão em aberto quanto realmente foi (mas eles se redimiram um pouco com o episódio extra).
Enfim, amei e recomendo demais.
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Que cdrama fantástico!
No começo, eu olhava para esse drama e não dava nada por ele até que peguei pra assistir, meus amigos… que dorama maravilhoso!! Poucos dramas com 40 eps consegue manter minha atenção e curiosidade até o fim, mas esse aqui pegou minha atenção do início ao final, simplesmente madruguei assistindo ele e sempre ansiosa pelo o que viria à frente. Chorei com algumas mortes, rir bastante, me emocionei também.Amei o fato da protagonista sempre estar um passo à frente dos vilões, me deu segurança e fiquei satisfeita de ver que eles sempre se davam mal. O casal principal é a pura química exalada, acertaram em cheio neles dois, mesmo com quase nada de beijo, eles conseguiram manter uma combinação perfeita, só os olhares em si já valiam demais.
A história é algo super envolvente também, a gente sente o que a prota sente, o desejo de vingança, e saber que todos que foram horríveis pagaram traz uma satisfação imensa. Só um cdrama bom mesmo pra fazer eu vir aqui e escrever um textão sobre KKKKKKK, mas é isso gente, cada eps te prende de uma forma e sempre tem uma tensão envolvida que te faz querer mais e mais! Um dos melhores doramas que eu assisti esse ano, ainda bem que eu decidi ver ele porque agora vejo o que ia perder. Uma grande trama!!🪭❤️❤️
me apaixonei no Xiao Heng e na Fangfei🪭❤️
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Que C-drama incrível! Com certeza é um dos melhores deste ano. A história de vingança dos personagens é indescritível. Em meio à vingança e aos jogos de poder, o amor dos personagens vai surgindo gradativamente. Apesar de sentir que houve poucas cenas de romance, especialmente no início, onde o duque não apareceu muito, a partir da metade ele começou a ter mais destaque, o que, na minha opinião, tornou a história mais emocionante. Fiquei muito comovido pela atuação do elenco, que foi realmente excelente. O estilo de luta dos personagens era muito bom, tornando tudo ainda mais emocionante. O final quase me deu um susto; fiquei muito triste pela morte dos dois companheiros do duque que morreram em batalha. O episódio especial foi ótimo, mostrando que, no meio de tanto conflito, eles terminaram felizes juntos. Eu não sei vocês, mas sempre gosto quando os protagonistas têm um filho no final da história, mostrando que o amor deles perdurará. Esta resenha foi útil para você?
obra de arte.
vamos lá... eu comecei a assistir sem esperar nada, já que era a primeira vez que eu estava assistindo um drama histórico! e meu deus, esse drama me fez ficar obcecada com dramas chineses desse tipo, foi uma experiencia incrível assistir!o visual, o roteiro e o desenvolvimento é todo perfeito, há muitos plot twins e cenas chocantes, você passa uma parte rindo como boba e desejando como tudo desse certo, depois você chora e depois você grita, é uma montanha russa de sentimentos. eu adorei demais a personagem principal! ela é decidida e independente, não é o tipo de personagem que se faz de tola, o romance não é o foco principal desse drama, mas mesmo assim temos alguns momentos que fazem surtar e querer cada vez mais episódios para assistir como se os quarenta episódios não fossem o bastante para assistir e precisávamos de mais para poder admirar cada detalhe como se fosse a última vez.
gostaria de esquecer tudo e assistir tudo de novo, não sei descrever o quanto eu amei... estou ansiosa para ver os trabalhos futuros do protagonista masculino também e da feminina também, espero achar mais dramas desse estilo no futuro.
é uma obra de arte apresentada para nós, meros mortais, em quarenta capítulos. ❤️
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Uma obra de arte!
Se alguém discordar que esse C-drama é uma obra de arte! Teremos que ter uma bela de uma conversa.Simplesmente foi o C-drama de 2024. História perfeita, elenco fabuloso a atuações de milhões. Isso resume um pouco The Double.
A pessoa pode até ver, nossa, 40 capítulos? Mas eu assistiria uns 100 com muito prazer, kkk. Pois, teve história, teve um desenvolvimento em cada capítulo, não achei arrastado (o que vemos muito em produções chinesas), não tinha enrolação. A protagonista era uma mulher forte, a química do casal era surreal, eles nem precisavam se beijar, apenas um olhar já transmitia várias emoções.
Foi a primeira vez que assisti um trabalho da Wu Jin Yan, e que mulher! Ela atuava com os olhos, e quando a câmera focava exclusivamente nela, era surreal. Ela conseguia transmitir todos os tipos de sentimentos com apenas um olhar. Seu personagem era forte, e inteligente, e como ela conduzia tudo, sem hesitar, era o que deixava tudo mais fascinante. Uma mulher forte, numa época que elas não tinham tanto poder. E como ela tentava conduzir sua vingança foi o que deixou o enredo perfeito.
E o que falar de Wang Xing Yue? Como não se apaixonar pelo Duke Su? Sua inteligência, seu sentido de lealdade e aquele sorriso? O sorriso dele era a cereja do bolo, kkk. O modo como ele a ajudava, mesmo no começo sob a justificativa de utilizá-la apenas como um peão, tornava a história perfeita. Os dois trabalhando juntos foi o que me deixou mais apaixonada por esse C-drama. Um casal com uma química de milhões. E o desenvolver do amor deles, foi tão lindo. E ele com ciúmes dela, era a coisa mais fofa. Eu surtava a todo momento que esse homem sorria, kkk. Já vou assistir mais produções com ele.
Agora se teve um personagem que me tirou do sério foi o marido da protagonista. Pra mim o cúmulo foi ele dizer que não teve escolha e que por conta disso tinha que matar ela. Era melhor dizer que era um medroso, de quinta categoria, e não tinha cunhoes pra lidar com a situação. Precisava defender a família. Oi? E a mulher dele não era família dele? Me poupe. E a todo momento ele não se redimia, sempre com essa desculpa. E quando ele poderia se desculpar com ela, vê que ela está amando outro, decide que precisa acabar com esse romance, pois ela é sua mulher. Isso ele não pensou quando não tinha escolhas, senão matar ela, né? E no final ele sim era esperto, e conseguiu superar a princesa, mas antes não podia? Me poupe. Ele tinha era que ser decapitado, o final dele foi até fácil.
No mais temos vários personagens apaixonantes. O primo da Prota mesmo era fenomenal, kkkk. E momentos que você se acaba de chorar. Achei muito linda a cena do pai da Jiang Li, quando ele percebe que nunca poderia mais se desculpar com a filha, mas aceita que a protagonista continue com a farsa.
Acho que se fosse encontrar uma falha, seria que fiquei decepcionada com o final dos ajudantes do Prota. Bem nos últimos segundos? Eles não mereciam isso. E o episódio especial poderia ser maior, kkk.
The Double é simplesmente uma obra de arte!
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Her Second Chance - a fight for justice
The Double (in my opinion) has rightfully earned a top spot among the recently aired historical/periodical Cdramas (on par with Love Like the Galaxy and Kunning Palace). It is a suspenseful story that follows the female lead on her journey towards revenge as she makes friends and finds the true love of her life. Both the female and male leads make intelligent decisions (for the most part) as the story progresses, hooking the audience from start to finish.Adapted from the Chinese novel “Marriage of the Di Daughter”, The Double stars Wu Jinyan and Wang Xingyue, both of whom have starred in many successful dramas. Firstly, please allow me to say that their age gap was not a problem. In fact, after watching The Double, I can’t imagine anyone else as Xue Fangfei and Xiao Heng. Their chemistry was simply this strong and is reflected in the satisfaction of nearly all viewers.
The Double was not on my Plan-to-Watch list. In fact, I was skeptical to even begin the drama. What’s so special about some revenge/identity change drama? But there is just so much to talk about, from the plot and production to the acting and characters. After the female lead, Xue Fangfei grasps this second chance to live, she grips it firmly and doesn’t let go, determined to find justice for all who were wronged. We follow XFF on her journey towards justice for her family and powerless civilians as she gains support from those around her. She takes on Jiang Li’s identity, seeking revenge for both herself and the girl who should’ve lived a carefree life as a daughter of the Jiang family, hence the name of the drama. XFF shows us that there is hope in anything we do, as long as we are still alive and hold the motivation and strong belief. She suffers tremendously but fights for her eventual happiness.
What I particularly like about this drama are the complexities of many of the characters. There’s really much more than meets the eye, and we get to see the backstories of a few of the villains. While I do wish that the director/producer allocated more screen time to the main couple, it was quite interesting to learn more about Princess Wanning and Ji Shuran, though I still think that some scenes were unnecessary, such as some between Wanning and Shen Yurong. (it’s also important to know that Chinese regulations have set a max number of eps to 40, so scenes should be chosen carefully). Some were disappointed with the ending, as it seemed a bit rushed and unfinished. However, the ending scene in Episode 40 makes it much more memorable, with XFF’s billowing red gown and XH riding on his horse to his wife. And be sure to watch the extra episodes that the leads just filmed a few days ago! It wraps everything up nicely. (ugh, I just wish dramas could go over 40 eps…)
Compared to other historical dramas, The Double’s romance is much more slow-burning. However, there’s a lot of flirting between the leads and I find myself always forward to their dialogues, no matter how brief they are. The leads’ interactions in the first half of the drama were also quite amusing to watch. XFF constantly asks Xiao Heng for favors, to which he easily agrees. Xiao Heng is known throughout the capital as a ruthless duke who should not be meddled with, but XFF treats him differently. Throughout the drama, there are numerous details (faint but noticeable) that suggest Xiao Heng’s increasing interest in Xue Fangfei. She is originally regarded as a pawn who puts on amusing shows for Xiao Heng to watch but soon becomes so much more important to him.
Another special aspect between the leads is the mutual trust and respect. Xue Fangfei knows that she can trust Xiao Heng no matter what, and he thinks the same about her. While there are supporting characters who are attracted to the leads, they aren’t a roadblock in the leads’ relationship and actually become more loveable. I loved watching the strong friendships form between Xue Fangfei, Ye Shijie, Jiang Jingrui, and Liu Xu. They have such different personalities yet end up becoming each other’s greatest supporters. The bromance between the emperor and Xiao Heng also remains strong from start to finish. The emperor was thoughtful and warmhearted but also remained alert; he is a ruler I would support. So many supporting characters made the drama fun to watch: On top of Tong’er and XFF’s new friends, Lu Ji and Wen Ji were Xiao Heng’s most loyal subordinates and Wen Ji was especially funny. And we don’t want to forget about the villains, who are people that can easily be hated to the bone (especially Shen Yurong, ew). Actors embodied their characters to the fullest extent. Liang Yongqi as SYR really gave off lifeless vibes to the point that I was questioning if his eyes were this lifeless irl. (In reality, he’s a funny boy who enjoys his iced coffees, lol!) Wang Xingyue told stories with his eyes (and bless the eyeliner) and Wu Jinyan completely stepped up into her role as a girl determined to help the righteous. The way WJY runs in her outfit is absolutely stunning as well. She’s received so many hateful comments over the years regarding her acting but has proven the haters wrong with this drama.
In terms of production, the costumes and sets were gorgeous. Duke Su was [perfectly] fierce and handsome wearing his red wardrobe, while Xue Fangfei’s lighter-colored attire matched her elegance and intelligence at the Gu Zheng and chessboard. The women’s hairstyles were intricately decorated with beautiful hairpins and other ornaments, and it was my first time seeing the pearl makeup look (inspired by the Song Dynasty). Camera angles were chosen masterfully and the blossom scenes were particularly memorable. It was fun to watch Duke Su fight the majority of his battles with his fan, and his constant “A’Li’s” (definitely not fangirling).
All in all, The Double may just be the drama of this summer (there always seems to be one or two summer dramas that captivate viewers, and I’m certain this is the one for 2024). On top of the beautiful costumes, loveable/hateable supporting characters, and swoon-worthy moments between the leads, the drama emphasizes the fight for justice. It is an intriguing revenge drama with a slow yet strong love story.
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2Revenge drama done right, thrilling and satisfying
Revenge is one of the most common genres used in dramas, but The Double stood out because it never lost focus and strayed from its main revenge theme. Too many revenge shows started off strong but lost their way when romance became the central point. To add salt to injury, smart leads suddenly became love brain and lost all common sense, or even worse, any ounce of intelligence that they used to have.Not this show.
Oh, there was definite romance, one so tantalizing and the build up of our lead couple's relationship so engaging that it set my heart aflutter even when there were no kisses for most of the show. However, the plot stayed on course, showing how our female lead, Xue Fang Fei slowly but surely got revenge for herself and her family, and also for her savior, Jiang Li whose identity she assumed after getting a second chance at life. Furthermore, the crew and cast, from the director, the screenwriters to the leads and supporting actors, they owned this show, expressing the story with their own unique voices and perpectives.
Revenge is visceral, evoking deep feelings and grabbing our attention. Viewers hate to see a grave injustice go unpunished and most of us can get behind a little vigilante action in our dramas, especially when we get to watch the deeply wronged victim avenged. In this show, the injustices were montrous and I find it completely justifiable for Xue Fang Fei to seek out the people who so badly betrayed her and wronged Jiang Li. The drama unfolded well, ensuring that the viewers formed an emotional bond with the characters, getting outraged, wanting revenge as much as Xue Fang Fei did.
What is great about Xue Fang Fei was that she was truly likable, a protagonist who had most viewers firmly in her corner, rooting for her. She was of course full of rage but she was not one-dimensional, driven only by revenge. I would not have been surprised if Xue Fang Fei felt the desire to overstep moral boundaries, not caring about others, but she almost always exercised a degree of restraint, trying not to harm the innocent as she carried out her elaborate plans of punishment. She reflected on everything including seeking justice for Jiang Li, even prioritizing Jiang Li's retribution first. Even when she had a love interest as enigmatic and attractive as Duke Su, she stayed on the revenge course. There were moments when she wavered, foiled by the villains' scheming but she always managed to recover and retaliate beautifully. Even better was how she considered the interests of Duke Su, protecting and helping him in her own way. Xue Fang Fei was a female lead worthy of respect.
Duke Su or Xiao Heng, now he was a drool-worthy male lead. Powerful, skilled, intimidating while being gorgeously green flag. What I love about this character was his interesting dualities. Xiao Heng will tease, and be all assertive and domineering but also be so attentive via his acts of services and care. I enjoyed watching this cocky, confident and composed man stay consistently that way and yet was also clearly a great partner to Xue Fang Fei under all that so called posturing. The thing is that he was really all that, but he made sure that Xue Fang Fei knew that they were equals, that she owed him nothing and most importantly, she should live her own life for herself, and no one else. Not even him.
The show hit the jackpot with our lead couple! As individual characters, they were endearing and as a couple, they were a force of nature. I appreciate the consistent portrayal of both leads, who did not suddenly lose brain cells or rationality just because they fell in love. They were sensible and intelligent enough to come to the right conclusions about each other's actions. Gotta love a show where there were no tropey prolonged misunderstandings.
While some may think the romance too slow-burn and lacked passionate acts of love, I find it tantalizing and meaningful. It reminded me of myself experiencing the thrill of a love interest, getting to know the person, developing feelings, finally falling in love and wanting to protect. The interactions between the leads was packed with chemistry and emotions, showing how from enemies, they've become friends and finally lovers. There were no official moment of when they finally got together. Even when Xiao Heng confessed with just two lines, it was more of an acknowledgement of how they were already one. This is one show when waiting for the full culmination of the leads' love will be worth it. The last and special episodes nailed that.
Wu Jin Yan as Xue Fang Fei and Wang Xin Yue as Xiao Heng were excellent. The directors' use of close up shots was very effective and all I can say is that these two can really act with their eyes and facial expressions. I am so impressed with the lead actors and also the supporting cast. There were so many times when I thought that the directors must be amazing to inspire and draw out so much emotion from the individual actors. Speaking of the cast, it was a very attractive set of actors who can act including the villains.
The array of villains was an interesting mix. At first I thought the earlier ones were caricaturish, almost one dimensional but as the plot developed and revealed more of the backgrounds, I understood that there were a lot more angles and aspects to these antagonists. They were shown in different lights, evoking sympathy and at times doubt. All the female ones were victims of circumstances in the beginning but ultimately decided to take control of their fates by choosing the paths of self-interest that made them into villains in some form or another. Joe Chen deserved a shout-out. She clearly had the female lead aura which drew eyes to her when she was on the screen. Not so much the actress playing Princess Wanning, there was just something off about her expressions.
The best part though is that who we thought were the worst villains turned out to be victims and the ones who perhaps evoked sympathy in the beginning ended up being the ultimate evil ones. I enjoyed the twists introduced in this drama.
Another aspect that the show did well was its pacing. The show did not end up dragging on way too long or climaxing too soon. The revenge and romance kept me invested until the end. Watching karma do its thing provided a nice catharsis, the final release of tension that led to satisfaction. With the great OST, beautiful costumes and setting, excellent cinematography, this show is worthy of its excellent rating if not higher.
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All the world's a stage.
The Double is a dark and melodramatic soap opera about revenge and regret. It is a soap opera to end all soap operas in terms of high theatrics, spinning hussies, piercing death glares, shocking twists and the sweet, savage satisfaction of retribution. To best enjoy this, don't look too hard at it as the narrative is littered with logic and plot holes and absurdly dramatic, historically impossible scenes. The male lead Duke Su flirts with breaking the fourth wall repeatedly to urge us to just watch the play, a reminder that all the world's a stage and we should just suspend disbelief.Xue Fangfei, the most elegant and cultured lady in the capital, is cruelly betrayed and dumped in a shallow grave. She is rescued by Jiang Li, the Chancellor's daughter who is wrongly condemned and banished by her family to a convent. Fangfei assumes Jiang Li's identity and returns to the capital; vowing to clear both their names and make their enemies pay. She is aided by the enigmatic and powerful Duke Su who helps her because she intrigues him and could prove useful to him down the road. The romance that develops between them unfolds at a leisurely pace as they each have high stakes agendas that predictably converge.
Duke Su must be be every scorned woman's ultimate fantasy "consolation" prize. This magnificent specimen of manhood is highly born, tall, dark, handsome, powerful, and with a diabolical mind to match Xue Fangfei's. The icing on the cake is this sexy beast that wields a fan more effectively than a sword does not come saddled with nasty in-laws. Wang Xingyue's potent portrayal of Duke Su is spot on from the tinge of humor that belies his stern expression, his double entendre laced dialogues to how in unguarded moments his eyes devour Xue Fangfei with almost indecent longing. Despite the seductive build up and combustive chemistry between the main leads, the ultimate pay-off to their slow burn courtship falls far short of wild and wicked and only delivers a chaste candle-gate moment.
Even though I shipped Duke Su and Xue Fangfei immediately, I appreciate how Fangfei takes the time to rage, to mourn her loss and to get closure so that she can properly move on. To me, Wu Jinyan obviously looks older than Wang Xingyue, butI think this casting makes sense. Xue Fangfei is a woman who lost everything; her reputation, her lover, her entire family. That kind of shocking devastation would age anyone tremendously and Wu Jinyan's ravaged, strained and wild wide-eyed expression in the early episodes is brilliantly in character. The narrative does not shy away from presenting her marriage as one that had depth and substance. Thus they are still in perfect unison when they play their haunting duet; a song of profound loss, resentment and regret. Wu Jinyan plays the avenging angel so perfectly I got unholy enjoyment out of watching Shen Yurong squirm knowing that Xue Fangfei, who knows him better than he knows himself, is coming for him.
Shen Yurong is a character that I find hard to be that angry with because as it turns out, his perfidy results in such a massive upgrade for Xue Fangfei. Liang Yongqi really slays in this complex role of a promising, rising young official who catches the eye of the wrong woman and ends up betraying his ideals. He is quite a pitiful creature who trades in domestic bliss for living dangerously at the beck and call of an abusive, insecure and bat-shit crazy spinning shrew that his own dear mother pimps him out to. I can't decide if I pity him or despise him more. Because in truth, he already lost the moment he chose to betray his muse and the love of his life. The moment of peak retribution is when it dawns upon him what a prize he lost and is forced to face the limits of his own character. I thoroughly enjoyed how the narrative peels away the many layers of hypocrisy, ambition, sophistry and duplicity to reveal a weak, impotent coward who lacked the courage of his convictions. To me, this is the most complex and best acted role in this drama.
Even though I have high praise for Li Meng's portrayal of the deranged Wanning, I have little sympathy for this character or her shocking villain origin story. Victimhood does not entitle her to help herself to someone else's husband or kill with such impunity. When she had power and free will, she chose to be King Cheng's pawn, no one forced her. Likewise, I have no sympathy for Ji Shuran or her choices. In general, I dislike these attempts to whitewash villains or somehow rationalize their wicked ways. Bad stuff happened to Xue Fangfei and Jiang Li as well. But they looked for justice without turning into monsters as a result. While Xue Fangfei's revenge, if you can even call it that is very satisfying, Jiang Li's left me feeling bereft. Ultimately Xue Fangfei is a character that lost nothing and gained everything. It is Jiang Li who is truly the injured party and even though she is vindicated, all the king's horses and all the king's men can't put her together again.
Despite the addictive start, this drama loses momentum by episode 30. The storytelling lingers too long on weakest Jiang family plots arcs. They are boring and unoriginal, borrowing heavily from what were also weak arcs in Princess Weiyoung. Jiang Li's cousins are archetypal characters that were not complicit in Jiang Shuran's treachery. I find it unfathomable the drama chose to focus on their tawdry squabble over a callow rogue instead of uncovering the many layers of the far more fascinating Duke Su. As a result, this character with so much early promise ends up not as well developed as Shen Yurong and Wanning. To add insult to the injury, almost as an after thought, he is featured front and center in a baffling truncated half episode final arc that serves up gratuitous angst and some unearned and unjustified pin-cushioning of good characters. It is nothing short of a grift to squeeze money from viewers for a mundane glimpse of domestic bliss. As far as I am concerned this drama ends where it should a bit past the halfway point of the final episode. All the rest is dross.
This is a super addictive soap opera that doesn't hold up under close scrutiny. Where it excels is in serving up high drama and angst with super cool and satisfying but absurd vignettes that don't necessarily advance the plot. Nonetheless I was happy to rate this better than 8.5 until it started to sag and waffled into a lame and wishy washy ending that leaves me no choice but to call it an 8.0/10.0.
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A Shakespearean Genius of a Drama
Shakespeare wrote these lines:"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts."
"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em."
"O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!"
"My brain more busy than the labouring spider. Weaves tedious snares to trap mine enemies."
And these words are apt to describe the world of The Double, a drama about betrayal, intrigue and revenge. The forty episodes go by fast. Everyone is acting a part or is a part of a scheme. There are movers and shakers (or they think they are) and there are pawns. By the end of the drama, each main character has fulfilled their version of the Shakespearean quotes I gave above.
The characters started simple enough--a wife, a cowardly husband, a debonair high-ranking duke, intrusive and selfish family members, royal bickering, evil princess. However, as the story moved forward, each layer was peeled off and the characters became Shakespearean in their clever verbal sparring, motives, and for some, a slow descension into madness.
The Plot in a Nutshell
The story begins with a woman, Xue Fang Fei, a woman of Talent (cai nue), who loved her scholar husband so deeply, she had suppressed the whole personality to be just a wife, supporting his scholarly ambition with many sacrifices, including pawning her personal property. However, after he became an Imperial Scholar, he (and his family) betrayed her with rape, humiliation (loss of reputation) and finally, the man who professed to love her, whacked her on the head and buried her alive.
Xue Fang Fei survived and was saved by Jiang Li, the daughter of a minister who had been sent to a nunnery-like place for troubled women, also by her own family. Jiang Li had also been suffered from injustice and was bullied. Shortly after, Jiang Li died and Xue Fang Fei assumed her identity and started her journey to avenge Jiang Li and herself.
The Characters
This is the best part of the drama. Every character was memorable and unique. Our heroine, XFF/JiangLi played everyone like a chess game, yet she was also a pawn piece for Duke Su, who had been playing a long political game with various court family factions. XFF/JL first intrigued him, then his interest grew as he realized the dangerous game she herself was playing. Duke Su loved watching plays and this "Jiang Li" was fast becoming his favorite play. So he interfered (and aided) with her plans over and over and through much verbal sparring, the two started the world's slowest burning romance. The chemistry between the two were SIZZLING HOT--the way their eyes met, the puns with words like Qi (chess) with Qi (wife), the progression from sharing of cups to intimate clothing without ever once any actual romantic moment had this viewer laughing and squeeing like a young girl reading her first romance.
KUDOS to WJY and WXY for their portrayal of the amazingly resilient and smart XFF/JiangLi and the crafty and deliciously debonair (every entrance he made was grand) Duke Su and his fan (oh, that fan). WJY as the sincere, eloquent, determined and vengeful, yet at the same time vulnerable XFF/JiangLi was a master class of acting. WXY had such stage presence that, even though his scenes were limited, he commanded everyone's attention and totally owned all the ladies' hearts. Every move he made was perfect , from the narrowing his eyes to the micro-expressions, to the callouses on his hands when he caressed Jiang Li's hand.
The two characters who ultimately stole the show were Shen Yu Rong (the ex? husband) and the Evil Crazy Princess who had corrupted him. I'm going to warn you that the Director had a hard-on for SYR. He had given this villain so much depth, one could end up caught in his web of self-deception. Shen was a villain and also a tragic figure, blinded by power and a need to prove himself the stronger man. Through that one act of ridding his wife, he lost all the happiness he had before becoming the Princess' dog. His final descension into total self-absorbed power-madness was mesmerizing on the screen. Like, I said, the Director had it bad for SYR.
The Evil Princess was also another revelation. She was totally villainous and just as blind to the fact that she wasn't as in control as she had thought. She remained a pawn for all the men around her and her final realization of how she'd lost the game to XFF (she took the latter's man but couldn't make him love her) was tragic to watch.
KUDOS to the two actors' portrayal of these two villains.
BIG SPOILER
If you just want the best ending to this slow-burn romance, watch Episode 40 and stop at Minute 31:16 (or thereabouts). The events after that are stupid and unnecessary. Click Off at that point and just go to the extra half an episode, 40.5, that they shot as fan service of the two lovers. I took off .5 because of the way it ended after Minute 31:16.
I highly recommend this drama if you enjoy twists and turns, clever manipulations and characters with layers. The acting is superb. The script is great. The director wanted to be artsy and framed many scenes like a stage (curtain on top, side panels/pillars, railing at bottom). An example is the Evil Princess room/hallway scenes. The zoom-ins can be very distracting as the characters look straight at the camera, breaking the fourth wall. The closeups are too close, cutting off the top of heads in MANY shots. I'm not sure why the director decided to do this. Eh. Stupid choice, in my opinion, because the shots were jarring. Overall, the cinematography was gorgeous when needed, but not overly expansive. The costumes (esp on Duke Su!) was really beautiful.
If nothing else, watch Duke Su, Duke Su, Duke Su. His fan. His eyeliner. His voice when he says "A'Li," his whipped-puppy expression when his lady love called him "Xiao Heng." That is all.
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