My Wife's Double Life (2024)

Interesting Story

This was a pretty good drama. Was it 10/10? No, but it's not horrible either. The acting was fine. There could've been better acting direction from the Director in a couple of the scenes, but for the most part, it was decent. The cast was good as far as I'm concerned. Didn't have a problem with any of them. The story could've been fleshed out a bit more. The basic foundation was there, but the further on it went, the more flatline it got. Could've done with a bit more fleshing out. Fight scenes were great, though the rope work could've used a bit more discipline in a couple of the scenes. All in all, they weren't too bad though. There were a few scenes that something happened that should've been addressed, but wasn't. Her knowing how to turn off the arrow mechanisms in Watermill should've been addressed by her husband, but was never mentioned. Things like that.

Now as for the chemistry between the leads, it was good. I think people had a problem with it cause the love was such a slow burn. Very slow burn. But I enjoyed watching them slowly come to love and understand and cherish each other. It made the latter scenes more emotional and poignant when the villainous plots finally hit. I cried during those scenes. They were very moving. I especially enjoyed watching them fight together. Absolutely loved those scenes. Also, I'm not the type of person who likes it when the characters trip and fall in love. For me there needs to be a catalyst to cause the emotion to spark between them. My personal taste. This drama delivered on that for me. Now as for the maid, I can understand why people had a problem with her, but it doesn't last very long. Though the writer probably could've cut it off after the second or third time. It didn't make or break the drama for me though. Overall, if you're looking for a fast paced story action adventure, this is not for you. If, however, like myself, you're looking for something that's slow with a slow burn romance with some decent fight scenes when they happen, this is for you. I was looking for something that was a nice break from the emotional roller coaster of some of the more intense dramas. This fit the bill nicely. So, if you need an emotional and mental break from the more intense dramas and just want to chill out and relax, this drama will do it for you.

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Cliche plot. Amateur flying scene. Bad acting from the cast.

Plot [-]

The whole plot is predictable. At first, I only tuned in for the cast, esp. the FL.

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Character Design [-]

The FL character is getting more annoying as time passes. The character starts off as a professional and capable thief, but then becomes unprofessional and less competent later on. She's supposed to be a thief, but she's easily caught and lacks subtlety. Her actions are too obvious, like turning her body to glance at someone following her when she's trying to be discreet.

Gongyang Maocai (the guy who like the FL's senior sister) is self-contradictory and his temper is irritating. At the beginning, he seems very serious about his job, and his sense of justice is high. But later in the show, when he discovers that the girl he loves and her master are wanted criminals, he simply resigns himself to live with them without maintaining any sense of justice anymore. Throughout most of the series, he competes with the ML in their work, displaying falsely high confidence and refusing to listen to others, which leads him to be unable to judge situations objectively without bias, but he's demonstrated as a highly competent official from Ministry of Justice. He also consistently displays a bad temper, which I find it irrational.

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CG & Flying Scenes of Main Characters [-]

The flying scenes are far from flawless. A particularly cringe scene is the one where the ML and FL, dressed in red wedding attire, fly in the sky while staring directly at the camera (that is supposed to be the other party), which also appears on the opening song of each episode. Their flying gestures are awkward, the choreography is also awkward, and the CG background makes it seem more like a joke than a touching moment. I felt second-handedly embarrassed watching it instead of being touched.

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Performance [-]

It feels like both the cast and director didn't put much effort into their roles. I didn't sense any real commitment from either the ML or FL. They seemed to just recite their lines without much passion. I've seen the FL in "I Don't Want to Be Friends With You," and I thought she did a great job there, but maybe she's more suited to playing a troubled teenager in contemporary setting rather than a young wife in ancient time.

One thing is her pronunciation is that of the modern teenagers who don't voice out the full sound of words but just half of them. And she doesn't seem fully prepared for her role. For example, in scenes where she's supposed to be an expert at running on rooftops, she looks visibly arduous and tired. Plus, her weapon handling looks amateurish, esp. in one scene of the last episode where she's supposed to intimidate her enemy by drawing her sword from its sheath. It just comes off as ridiculous and unconvincing. No one's going to be scared from the way she pull her sword like she doesn't know how to use it. Her interpretation of her role comes across as shallow; I don't sense any immersion. The feeling she conveys seems only surface-level, quite superficial. Overall, I was disappointed by her performance in this series despite liking her in her previous role. I think she has potential, but she has to put more effort into crafting her acting skills.

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The Cop and His Semi Competent Thief?

Rated= 7.5 ~ 21.5/50 ~ 4.3
RPG Scene // Mages passing over Mountain Pass. Only a basic sword. Newbies.

At one point as a viewer, do we say, ok, this character is a little too good. Are we too used to leads who can just do everything?

I found myself at times wondering why the FL Rong, who is supposed to be this famous, elite thief, seems pretty average throughout the show. At first I thought, ok, this is just plot device now because that's what creates drama. Then I realised that the ML is very competent at his job and is often one step ahead of the FL. So I considered, hey, maybe she just can't be better than the ML because masculinity and all that. And then I realised, you know what? Perhaps I'm asking too much here. She's not bad. She knows what she's doing. She can fight her way out of situations. Heck the opening scene, she's taking on a several squads of police to escape. And escapes/out runs the ML 3 times. So I wonder am I being a little harsh? Thieves get caught. Ninjas and assassins eventually meet their doom because that's the nature of their job. And when you have 2 separate groups of people, lead by very intelligent and ambitious men, constantly on your tail, you're going to run into some problems.

I think it's one of those things that is really up to the viewer. For me personally, I think it's a little of everything I've mentioned. She has to be good enough for you to believe she's the best, but not too good in order to create problems and tension throughout the plot. This is not meant to be a super intelligent cat and mouse show ( which would have been awesome) but it's not. It's just a fun and fluffy show about a police detective from a ruined family, the ML, at first on the trail of the famous silver willow thief, our FL.

The set up is that our ML's father was accused of embellishment of funds for flood relief, and I assume executed, and the family has since been disgraced. It is mentioned later that the Emperor showed leniency which is why the rest of the family weren't hanging from the walls as well. They were reduced to the status of commoner although have kept their house and a few servants. Our ML is under the constant watch of his career rival who leads the Ministry of Justice, who from start, is ready and willing to have any reason to get him sacked out of sheer spite.

Our FL is a waifish little rogue belonging to a secret sect who's original purpose is never mentioned or I missed it.
The story begins with the ML getting an edict of an engagement to a Lady Su, the daughter of the Duke who over saw his father's trial. Yeaah. He's delighted. He immediately goes to the Duke's house in order to break the engagement only to be led to our FL by some sort of golden bug, who covers for the real Lady Su, hiding in the wardrobe.

As the marriage was ordered by the Emperor and the leads had seen each other, this is what leads to their forced marriage. Our FL is told to steal a jade pendent and once everything had settled, the Duke, who is the secret sect's benefactor, would see to a divorce. And thus the plot begins of unravelling what actually happened to the ML's father and the event that disgraced the family.

Overall, it's really nothing complicated. It's pretty A to B. Trauma and underhanded deeds went down, ruined a family, and is slowly resolved throughout the plot.
We never find out who the FL parents are. We're just told she was orphaned and begging on the streets before being caught in the flood and hauled out our drowning ML.

It's a pretty average but enjoyable drama of resolving a scandal while falling in love. I didn't feel overly tense or waiting to see the FL identity uncovered. It just slowly happens.

One annoyance I will mention was the maid. How embarrassing for two adults who are being pressured into making as many babies as possible only to have a maid walking, merrily, in and out of their room at will. I guess that was the writer's attempt at humour but I just found it annoying and silly.

On the bright side, when the leads eventually kiss, it is an actual lip pulling kiss, or at least for the ML because that's what I seen. So there's that. The FL wasn't too annoying. She was quite passive aggressive at times which, again, I guess was meant to be funny but it just seemed childish because she was forced to marry some random guy who offended her at first sight.
The ML seemed genuinely decent though and I did feel sorry for him at times.

I didn't find the sets or music too stand outish. The sets and clothing were pretty much what you see in these period shows and the music wasn't anything I'd listen to again.

Overall, I found it an enjoyable and short watch, if you're just looking for something cute to fill the time.

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Nice, but not a gem, nor even memorable

Good Romantic-Historical-Investigation series With Tan Xioa Tian as ML, with the plot: Marriage contract between 1 police chief & 1 fake wife (hidden thief, who thinks she is a vigilante).

+ Good actors
+ Story coherent or almost
+ Dynamic production, with well-maintained suspense.
+ Good OSTs

### 1st half a little annoying with extreme distrust in the CL and slower pace.
# Often clumsy fight choreography, with too obvious use of cables.

But the 2nd half is more rhythmic. Happy ending, but ridiculous final scene. The producer wanted to do too much!

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Bonne série Romantic-Historical-Investigation Avec Tan Xioa Tian as ML, sur le plot : Contrat de mariage entre 1 chef de police & 1 fake épouse (voleuse cachée, qui se prend pr 1 justicière).

+ Bons acteurs
+ Story cohérente ou presque
+ Réalis° dynamique, avec un suspense bien entretenu.
+ Bons OST

### 1e moitié un peu agaçante avec extrême méfiance dans le CL et rythme + lent.
# Chorégraphie de fight souvent maladroite, avec usage de câbles trop évidente.

Mais la 2nde moitié est plus rythmée. Happy End, mais scène finale ridicule. Le producteur a voulu en faire trop !

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My first and last impressions of this show

While I have dropped the show, I don't want to label it as unwatchable. This is a first impression after all but not a good one.

The way I see it is that the show is done on the cheap and cobbled together to meet some contractual obligation. It is functional but does not hold up to scrutiny.

For instance, the setting is generic ancient China because the costumes and architectures are a bit of a hotchpotch.

The ML is the Chief Constable of the city police force. His father, a high ranking official, was accused of embezzling a huge sum of money that was earmarked for disaster relief. He is dead by the time the show started. I'm not sure if he was executed or passed due to natural causes. My bad.

The FL is an orphan who was rescued during that disastrous flood and bought up by a shadowy figure who trained her to be a master thief/spy. She can pull off amazing heists with aplomb. The police is baffled. That is until our ML gets on the case.

So far so good, you might say. However, once you get past the heavily staged meet-cute you will realise that the foundation of the plot is somewhat shaky.

To wit, no matter what era in ancient history you pick, the "sin of the father" is very real especially when it comes to political matters. Consider the magnitude of his alleged crime, it would be enough to condemn his family if not his whole clan to slavery and exile if not worse. How did his family managed to hang onto his mansion and servants while the ML rises up the rank in the gendarmerie? Even the King commended him.

Moving on, the FL pretended to marry the ML so that she can search for a MacGuffin in his manor house. She is shockingly ham-fisted. Instead of leaving no trace, she was manhandling and breaking things. She might as well leave calling cards with "I WAS HERE!!" on them.

On top of that, her portrayal just feels stiff. She is supposed to be street smart and quick-witted, but she was put on the spot time and again. I assume the script calls for a minx, but we got a pale imitation. I'd understand if she was a farm girl pretending to be a high born lady but a highly trained operative? She is certainly ill equipped for the task.

To cap this off, we meet the envoy of a neighbouring state on an official visit. The ML is tasked with ensuring his safety. Standard political intrigue stuff. However, the envoy arrived in a common cart, all by himself, with zero fanfare. No servants, no retinue, nada. This is Ryanair before planes were invented. He then sneaks out of his heavily guarded lodgings to sell off some of the official tributes. Serious? You can hear the gear turning in the writer’s mind. It basically comes down to making up situations that fits into the loose plot. Logic and backstory be damned. Maybe it will make more sense a few eps from now, but it is testing my credulity.

I can even overlook all this shenanigans if the leads have oodles of chemistry. I just don't feel it. Sure, the wedding is nice but I can't say that they are attracted to each other. Even the frenemy option is a bit tenuous.

Oh, just in case you think the rest of the story will be complex and inteiguing. The intro and outro basically gave much of the plot away. BTW, they have already played the amor fati card so . . yes, they will fall in love in due course. I won't even call that a spoiler. ;)

Consider my (gut) reaction after 4 eps, I don't think I can last 20 more. It is not horrible, nor unwatchable but it is a predictable, low rent, low effort production. I didn't rage quit. I Sloth Quit™️. ;)

You might enjoy this. Caveat emptor.

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Keren banget dramanya tidak membosankan. Akting kedua pemeran utamanya juga sangat bagus. Saya jarang nonton drama kolosal tapi menurut saya drama ini adalah yang terbaik dari drama-drama kolosal yang saya tonton sebelumnya meskipun ya pasti ada saja kekurangannya seperti teknis saat terbang, latar belakang yang kurang mendukung, dan sebagainya. Namun menurut saya tidak ada masalah yang terlalu besar pada drama inj. Selain itu saya percaya mereka pasti juga menemukan masalah mereka sendiri saat proses produksi namun mereka sudah berusaha memberikan yang terbaik.

Saya menyukai karakter liu rong dan xu muchen yang sangat pemberani. Saya juga menyukai akting zhuang dafei saat menjadi pencuri liuye karena begitu lincah dan energic apalagi saat adegan bela diri karena ini drama kolosal pertama dafei yang dimana dia diharuskan melakukan adegan bela diri. Drama ini sangat direkomendasikan untuk ditonton. Alurnya tidak berbelit-belit sehingga tidak membosankan. Dalam dramanya juga mengandung unsur komedi sehingga kita tidak akan terlalu tegang.

Untuk chemistry kedua peran utama sudah bagus. Walaupun saya yakin mereka pasti merasa canggung saat proses perekaman drama tapi mereka bisa menutupi kecanggungan itu dengan baik dalam memerankan pasangan suami istri. Saya berharap mereka dapat bekerja bersama lagi dalam drama lain dan dapat menunjukkan chemistry yang lebih baik.

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