The Double (2024)

Surprising Gem

Story
I have seen a number of ‘rebirth’ stories but this one is the most compelling and realistic of this genre IMO. In addition to the effort to inject realism the story creates a surprisingly human and well acted female lead. Although she does fall into the ‘bodhisattva’ category in her determination to seek justice for others she is not insufferable nor is she overly calculating to the point that one thinks ‘well of course she is going to win’. Her enemies are for the most part fair matches but for different reasons: some are physically strong, some are greedy, others are extremely selfish and bitter.

The male lead is well acted and supports the female lead, respecting her intelligence as their love blossoms slowly.

The story itself is not super unique but its execution is what I think makes it a great show: the good acting, attention to detail, effects, and chemistry with characters.

What I liked the most:
While some of the villains were a little flat I extremely liked the effort put into creating some of the more realistic villains for a costume drama. Princes Wanning especially had a very interesting backstory that is slowly revealed over the course of the show. Several characters are foils for other characters and showcase one of the major themes of the drama which is we are all responsible for our choices in spite of the hardships faced. Sometimes people are strong enough to make better choices and sometimes others are so scarred by what happened to them that they become terrible people and can never get away from the trauma.

Final thoughts:
Any person who researches China will understand that their media industry places several requirements on content creators that emphasizes morality, serving the nation, and evil doers never winning. That being said, I think the creators of this show did a great job of working around these rules. I have no clue if the version I watched in America is the same version that aired in China but the version I saw in America was pretty solid.

I did not give the show a perfect 10 because it isn’t the kind of show I would likely rewatch.

Read More

WAY OVERATED! 20 episodes too many. - GO claim 20 strokes/canes now!!!!

How is this rated higher than story of MINGLAN????
So upset to see it up there with the better ones that im giving it a big huge 1*


SUMMARY - KEEP IT SIMPLE or you'll fk it up
- they tried to do too much and killed a good one.
- A good base story and piece of art , destroyed by SCRIPTGPT fillers and nonsense unneccessary scenes.
- This piece is palatable i suppose, as i am doing a rewatch out of boredom.

1. Love most of the clothes
-//But whats with the fugly huge ACNE beads on the women?????

2. Love the showcase of Chinese Art, literature, Music
// But WTF with the flying fairy whatever woman and dragon to illustrate greatness in QIN playing???

3. If you want to be funny and show silly amazed audience faces, then show don't BLEED and CRY in the same qin playing scene!!!! Make up your minds ffs.

4. Plot was good bad good bad... ok.. then mehhhh BLAAAH
- Focus on the 'DOUBLE' and reduce focus the pointless cliche dead general revenge son, jealous sister shite.

OVER RATED, OVER DONE, OVER DESIGNED, OVER THOUGHT, OVER THE TOP - OVERCOMPENSATING
I mostly prefer period pieces as for architecture, landscapes, history, art & literature. 'The Double' started off with so much potential .. but flaws and cracks just started rolling it downhill. Good effort, i hope they learn from it and stop going down the rabbit hole of bad exaggerated cliches.

Read More

“As You Like iI”, its a double win!

Congratulations to Wu Jinyan on her comeback drama in her forte of revenge-driven FL and Wang, Xingyue to his breakout drama as ML.Their hot chemistry, acting from them as well as other supporting cast with a story telling in fast paced and suspence manner contriburted a lot Without a doubt, Yuzheng, a producer and showman with a flair for building buzz, had this double motivation. He also no doubt believed in the Law of Attraction since, a few weeks after the death of the NFL star turned actor who was charged with the double killing of his ex-wife and her male friend , he announced the show's premiere. That was sensational trial dubbed “the trial of the century” with overwhelming evidence which he succeeded with an acquital; for the drama opened with a husband killing his wife, the FL.However there is no doubt of the writer's opinion for he demonstrated that in the court trial when the FL's glib -tongued and quick wit which was comparable to Portia , from Shakespeare “A Merchant of Venice”, successfully defended her father against corruption.The scene mimicked the famous speech of Mark Anthony from “Julius Caesar”in distinguishing the fake and real honorouble man for the hard evidence was in the assets.Anybody can swear and say 10,000 words but action always belied the words between the false and the true. ( The FL's huband ,SYR, was like Brutus, one of "Julius Caesar's" closest friends, a seemly honorable man who betrayed and killed ,out of ambition. The antagonists SYR and the princess were the “Anthony and Cleopatra”of the drama,,a love relationship using each other for their own ends and ended up in nothing) )

Uundoubtedly the writer like me admired Shakespeare for his abilities as a poet, playwright, and life coach who understood the value of effective communication. In "Romeo and Juliet," communication problems led to tragedy since he didn't realize the poison was phony. JL has miscommunication problems with her father .She didn't tell her father that she didn't PUSH her stepmom. .The father was also at fault for he didn't ask why did she push her stepmom? Specific asking will get you what you're looking for and specific answering will get you off the hook.

The value of support, whether it comes from friends, family, or immaterial possessions like money or power, is another lesson imparted by Shakespeare as life coach. Like Caliban in "The Tempest," support is the magic that will make everything work.Due to her lack of support from her family and the Ye family, her maternal family, JL was sent to ZennyHall.She mistook her stepmother and father for someone who loved her more, so she angrily shoved the Ye family away when they came for her. JL burned her bridges. The FL(/XFF) on the otherhand, when she took over the identity of the dead JL got the the help of Mdm. Liu, JL mother's friend and the ML (the emperor's strong right hand because he was modeled after the Black Prince, the formidable, extremely competent warrior heir to "Edward III"), she left Zenny Hall. Initially she make Tong,JL,'s maid her strong supporter whom she treated like a younger sister.She build bridges within the family with no outward display of hostility towards people who don't like her, the half sister, female cousin,and stepmother whist,getting in good books with the father, uncles,aunts, male cousin and grandmother.Sought out to the Ye. the estranged JL's maternal family and help with their problems,get assisstance of the ML when needed, build a circle of friends and not enemies for even her spurned blind date became her accomplice! For without support its walking through life on bare feet.

Interestingly, despite being a vengeance drama, this one will remain one of my favorites since I discovered the formulaic phrase "petty and pathetic," which I will use as a daily habit for forgiveness and letting go.When someone wrongs or anger you, you always want to be ahead of them like Octavius/Augustus Caesar of “Anthony and Cleapatra”.Hence when I read haters, antis or rude comments, they are wallowing in pettiness and being pathetic for I 'm moving forward as its difficult to help those who don't want to help themselves.

Read More

100% MUST watch. The thriller of watching their relationship go from estranged/calculating to caring/protecting is such a good ride. Their chemistry is out of this world. The visuals in this drama too. ughhh... they're all so good. The plot is very C-drama-like, although it does provide twists and turns that make it exciting and fresh to watch. Both lead actors did a phenomenal job, I could feel the tension between the main leads. Something new was the multiple rain scenes/fight scenes in this drama. Some parts did feel slightly rushed, but it is understandable since they are on a time crunch. This drama was filmed beautifully, and the chemistry was boiling!!! Definitely belongs in the top 5 C-dramas of this year. Highly recommend watching.

Read More

This is the kind of drama I will probably fall asleep thinking of.

I liked the slow burnt and that the female lead could Do anything for revenge. I like the cast, some of them are my favorite. Princess Wanning is not Who knows what villain but at least shes cruel, tho shes only broken.


The Main leads have chemistry and the clothing is nice.

Read More

Excellent adaptation with solid performance

Having read the source material, I think the show delivered the revenge extremely well. It was also refreshing to see the both main and supporting characters worked in tandem to deliver a stunning visual experience through out the show. Wu Jin Yan has delivered stellar performance in an intense, vengeful role as expected but the actors who played the princess and Ji Shuran matched the leads' energy (and in some scenes did much better). The only aspect I found misaligning was the whole replace reincarnation with substitution part (of course censorship rules) as it required extra scenes/work to convince audience and the the characters with the narration. However compared to many of its predecessors (such as Princess Wei Yong) this show handled those challenges extremely well and made sure that the FL stayed true to her vengeful character. Wang Xing Xue as cunning Duke Su was such a refreshing and intriguing watch as the actor clearly delivered such an unusual role compared to his otherwise mellow characters. Overall great one time watch.

Read More

Probably one of the best drama I've seen

There are so many good things about this drama. Like every drama, there are some flaws, but this drama is still amazing.

1) The acting :
- The leads were amazing, their acting was top notch and we could feel the emotions.
- I think the acting was awesome from everyone, the side characters and the villains did a really good job. Shen Yu Rong, as much as we hate this guy, the actor was great, the princess too.

2) The leads :
- The chemistry was fire, we could feel it from their first encounter
- One of my favorites leads ever : Strong, intelligent and bad ass. I love them so much
- ML was handsome as hell, I love his character and his charisma. He was a cold character, but never an asshole to FL. I love how he was being proud and watching her when she was being badass. He helped her when needed.
- FL : Beautiful, smart, she deserved the world after what she went through.
- Their relationship : I absolutely loved the evolution of their relationship and the romance. I'm not a fan of slow burn, so I would have liked more scenes of them and maybe them getting together a few eps sooner, but it was done well. And we still knew they already liked each other. All their scenes were so good, the chemistry, the tension, the love. All the little details too and symbolism with some of the scenes. I love how they slowly opened up to each other, trusting each other, helping each other and working together. They are truly soulmate and perfect for each other. I also liked how they can be themself when they are for each other. Also, as much as ML was wiped, he didn't become a stupid guy in love. At some point, I wish we would see more ML, he wasn't that present in the first half, but I get it the story is more centered on FL and we got to see more of him later. We didn't get much kiss and skinship, but the handholding and hugs made me giggle and happy. Their hugs always looks so comforting. They loved each other very much and we could feel like with every looks and moments. The wedding made me smile, I wish it was longer and that we could have really scene the wedding and not just the wedding night. I would have loved to see her family, his grandpa, friends, etc... But anyway, we can't get everything. No misunderstanding, no annoying conflicts between them too. A mature relationship.

3) The friendship :
we saw a few friendship through the drama and I enjoyed it.
- The group of 4 with FL + Ye Shi Jie + Jiang Jing Rui + Liu Xu : I loved their friendship at the academy and that it stayed till the end. They help and supported each other, a true friendship that also brought us laughs.
- ML and the emperor : I really loved this friendship. It was good that they also showed us flashbacks of them as kids to understand more their backgrounds and the foundation of their friendship. Trust, loyalty and working together till the end. The little like handshake made me emotional. They love each other like brothers. The emperor was truly lucky to have him.
- FL and Tong Er : Tong Er was so sweet and kind, she deserved better :( I loved this duo and how they became friends and then like sisters. She gave up her life saving FL, we saw in that scene how much they loved each other and they were like sisters.
- FL and Jiang Li : we didn't see much, but we could still see the care they had for each other, how she helped FL and how FL dedicated herself to avenged her
ML and his 2 sidekicks : I'm sill sad that they both died at the end. I loved this trio, they gave us funny moments, bad ass moments, I loved how they worked together.

4) Family :
- Jiang family : even though it wasn't her real family, FL still found a family in them I would say. Like in the last ep, when she was talking with him when they talked about her not being Jiang Li or when she called him father at the end with teary eyes and told him to dress up not to catch a cold. I feel like she actually considered him as a father figure. And with grandma, I loved their relationship and grandma in general. The cousin was the best. After his first appearance, I thought he was annoying, but he became such a good character. It was great how he was always on her side and defending her. Just like his parents actually, I loved them too. Like during the exorcism episode, the 3 of them stayed on FL's side, tried to help her and save her. They were never bad to her. It was nice the last greeting from FL at the end. The father, he did bad Jiang Li because he was blind by his love for the step mom and a bad father, kinda weak but he had his moments. I loved him in the last episodes, I loved his loyalty to the emperor and how he stepped up to help him. Also, even though he probably knew long ago she wasn't his daughter (we could say it was not to lose face and for the family's reputation), he still helped her and I actually think he cared for her for real. It was hilarious his face after she was saved by ML grandfather, ML getting her out of the horse and them hugging. I watched that scenes multiples times. I almost cried with his reaction in the last ep when he was talking to FL about the real Jiang Li. His reaction was sad, he wronged her, but he truly loved her and he will regret it for the rest of his life. The step sister, she was annoying, but she got some character development, I was glad when she finally stepped up to her mom and now that she's free from her, I think she will probably be a better person. Also from the little comments at the end about her, I have hope.
- Ye family : I loved this family, they were the best. I loved how they were kind and they didn't hesitate to help FL. Their dynamic was funny and we could see they love each other. Ye Shi Jie was a good friend and ''brother''. I liked how he didn't become the obsessed and annoying SML, he loved FL, but he didn't forced her or become over the top or chasing her. He helped her and supported her. He knew he had no chance to, it was good at the end when he said he would be like an older brother. 8 years later, they are working together and their friendship must still be strong.
- ML's family : It was tragic to see his parents fate, I felt that. I loved grandpa and I was really happy when they reconciled and I enjoyed their scenes together, the one with FL too. I giggle so bad when she said to him that she was ML's lover ;) he was good and he accepted her instantly as his granddaughter-in-law, he also knew they were a perfect match ;) it was awesome when he appeared and said he would save her. Adding his character at the end was a good chose for me.
- FL's family : They suffered so much, her brother and father are such good people, I'm glad they got justice and that they were alive. The little reunions were emotional. I loved every little scenes, but I wish we would have seen more. The number of eps is limited, but I would have definitely loved to see at least one scene of ML with them (like the 4 of them) or just him talking with her father. But it was good at the end when he said she chose a good man and he was happy for her. It was also funny that one scene with ML and FL's brother. When the father said she had a good eye for choosing a man, I'm sorry but I laughed, I just kept thinking how she chose Shen Yu rong in the past.

5) The plot :
- I think the plot was well written. The plot was engaging.
- Not going to lie, at some point I fast-forwards a little some scenes when it was just talking, I don't think I missed anything important.
- I feel like maybe it dragged a bit too long the revenge against the step mom for Jiang Li.
- The last few episodes were keeping me on the edge of my seat. When I binge watched like the last 4 eps, I was stressing and totally attentive.
- The fighting scenes were well done
- The final battle : I think it was good, it happened a bit fast, but I loved it. The strategies to save the emperor, the fighting scenes, FL speech, everyone doing their parts. Princess coming to help. I was satisfied when ML finally killed the Chen guy.
- I loved that ML recognized her at the very beginning
- I think it's a good change from the novel the fact that she didn't had Jiang Li's face.
- It was good that we could see both of the leads getting their revenge.
- Everything happened fast at the end and feel like it could have had more eps for this plot, but probably because of the regulation of max 40 eps, the plot had to happened more fast.
- I respected the consort at the end. She really cared about the emperor, I was proud of her courage and sacrificed. She didn't hesitated to stay at the banquet and to killed herself for the emperor.
- Revenge : I would say I'm satisfied. The Li family and Shen family got what they deserved. The step mom, okay. Chen guy, the death he deserved. The princess, she was bad, selfish and did many bad things. I think her ending was good, I even felt a bit bad for her, she loved Shen Yu Rong so much, but it brought her to her dismissed. I feel her, she was assaulted and suffered a lot, but that's no excuse for what she did. But I would say, I feel like it was interesting when they showed that she killed their father. Shen Yu rong, I think his death was too easy and ''peaceful'', but anyway at least he's dead.
- The maids were annoying, but it added some comedy and they weren't there long.
- The princess from the other country annoyed me for most of her screentime, but she was useful at the end. She was pretty childish, like girl he doesn't like you, move on and be mature about the situation.

6) Beautiful cinematography

7) Beautiful costume and makeup
- I think it was really pretty the pearls

8) Beautiful ost, I love it so much

9) Ending :
- I was pissed at first when I learned about the ending scene without having watched it, but It wasn't bad after all. After some thinking, we still had some moment in ep 40, the wedding and some scenes of them happy before him going to war. So I accepted it. I would have loved to see them hug, don't know why they didn't give us that, but we know they reunited and that he is still alive. I love how he said he would come back when flowers blooms and he did. Cdramas writers love these ending, the leads reunited for a few secs or just looking at each other from afar. Don't know why, it's such shitty endings ahah. Also it's Youku, I wasn't really hopeful, even if with Blossom in Adversity I did they did pretty good to give a satisfying ending that wasn't too short.
- The extra 5 min after marriage, that was cute. Their daughter is adorable
- I think it was pretty good the closure at the end. ML with his grandfather. FL with the Jiang family and her talk with the father. It was cute to see that they got together after all, the cousin and their friend.
- They could have not done the other battle at the end, not have ML leave and just show us happy moment. All of that seems a bit rushed also. But after some thinking again, it makes sense... Like of course after the Chen guy is gone (he was guarding with the army for years the border) the enemies would attack, I think plot wise it make sense. But again, since the plot had to end at ep 40, the rushness was inevitable

So, to conclude, I recommend this drama. It's a good watch, with awesome characters and story that get you hook.

Read More

actually not bad ,i still enjoy the cut scene until ep 8 , but after that little by little cutting scenes, important scenes are not shown, unimportant scenes are showing,and the the last eps really really unnecessary, and rush , there is still a lot of duration left, but it is spent with unimportant scenes, shooting the scenery, and the ending makes in extra eps, I so hate that style of c drama

the number of episodes is 40+ extra eps, with different durations, some episode is only 46 minutes with opening and ending, but there are also 55 57 59 minutes, if divided into an average of ±50 minutes per eps


for the ost is good, i once hear music of "镜花水月" from dramamaiden holmes" because the singer also sing the ost in this drama


and about the acting, not bad that i think, WJY in this drama her acting not all is feel disgusting (sorry) ，It's OK when she cry silently, but not when she's crying + screaming or ,There are times when her smile is very fake, not natural that just feels very fake and a bit cheesy

and about WXY acting ,its ok and cool but the last eps his giggle is really over for her cool character, especially at that time the conditions were not very suitable for giggling like that. a little stupid smile + stunned is enough.

about princess wanning hmm ,from From the first i thought she is so so so bad ,but after that i feel bad for her , from the start he was just a victim who became a mental victim and became a victim again,



Also, I really don't understand their plans and conversations. They used metaphors, and I knew the meaning of each word, but I couldn't understand the sentence of their conversations, drain my brain,,and he said she do what he want she do ,but what i see is ,she do what she want to do ,he just help her to do that?! and he said its his plan? she never do anything for his plan at first ,she just do what she want and he want it too...

Read More

GO WATCH THIS DRAMA!!!!

I do really really love this ancient drama.
I'm not a fan of a ancient drama but the production team, the writer made it soooooo beautifully.
Cast acting is superb..the plot is so wonderfull.
In the first episode, i thought it a little bit cliche when the female lead borrow her life saviour identity..but thats why this drama title is The Double right?!
After that, i love all of the plot.
I love how FL well planned her revenge, and how she very determined with her goal.
I like when she knows that she wouldn't make it alone, she go for a help..and ofc she ask the duke.
The Duke as like all ML, always came when it needed. As a ML, he has a childhood trauma,.but he really annoying yet playfull ML.
A mild yet beautifully romance between FL and The Duke was well written, how they banter, how they flirt, when to holding hand, when to kiss..its well prepared.
And the ending..although in the last episode we only saw a man bring a fox pendant, meet with the FL, a little OE..but i read in china's forum that there's special episode when FL and ML talk with their daughter about their story.
The most annoying thing in this drama is FL's right hand maiden and ML's right and left hand man all died!!
Why you killed them writernim?!!

Read More

Solid Story, strong FL with determined goal and ML who supports her from the side.

The story is very well written, loved the details about every character, villain, support or leads they were all 3dimensional. The story focuses on the Female lead and her revenge mostly therefore there arent any side romances except for snippets of the cousin and a friend. The cast is verrrry very talented truly I felt every emotion everything was very well delivered the villains managed to steal a lot of scenes which shows how well they embodied their roles. I'm just a little disappointed with the osts because besides Chenle ending song the others weren't prominent enough. Anyways I also don't like the ending much but since we got a special ep I will forgive the director.

Read More