The Double (2024)

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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Revenge 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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