Kim MC
This review may contain spoilers
Could not stop watching
I'm a sucker for revenge plots but most fall short in pacing, storyline and execution towards the ending arc of the story. Not this one. At all.
The beginning of this drama shows Xue Li being held against her will in a setup by her mother-in-law. Later, her husband walks in and carries her away to finish the deed of killing her under the guise of "I'm forced to do it". From that point on, the female protagonist takes on another identity and, step by step, rights the wrongs of the parties involved.
Where other revenge plots fall short in pacing and character identity, "The Double" fleshes out each persona in a believable way and shows the good characters as imperfect, and the bad ones with reasoned motives. A special mention goes to actress Li Meng for her portrayal of Princess Wan Ning and actor Liang Yong Qi as the ex-husband Shen Yu Rong. I have never despised a princess as much as Wan Ning, and the mindset of Shen Yu Rong is displayed with such subtle eye emotions that I actually found myself trying to figure out if he had any good qualities left in his soul or if his cruel actions had snuffed out all of the qualities that had once believed in justice.
The main actors Wu Jin Yan and Wang Xing Yue deserve the top award for blazing chemistry and nuanced portrayals. In American TV dramas, they spend ten minutes on character development and then WHAM, here comes the bed scene. What these actors, writers, and directors created was cinema magic. The characters were paced at a slow and believable burn, which led me to a believable definition of what a love story consisted of.
To the rest of the cast, there were notable and affluent actors in small parts throughout and this added a rich texture to the story. I cannot say enough about how interesting the narrative was, the plot twists, and how satisfying and believable the justified demise of those who committed wrongs. My one (and very small) pet peeve was the makeup. I love natural skin tones and the whitening in the makeup took me a minute to get used to. I know there is a beauty standard for pale in some Asian cultures, but the exceedingly beautiful actress looked off with the cosmetics used.
Definitely, definitely, check this drama out. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
The beginning of this drama shows Xue Li being held against her will in a setup by her mother-in-law. Later, her husband walks in and carries her away to finish the deed of killing her under the guise of "I'm forced to do it". From that point on, the female protagonist takes on another identity and, step by step, rights the wrongs of the parties involved.
Where other revenge plots fall short in pacing and character identity, "The Double" fleshes out each persona in a believable way and shows the good characters as imperfect, and the bad ones with reasoned motives. A special mention goes to actress Li Meng for her portrayal of Princess Wan Ning and actor Liang Yong Qi as the ex-husband Shen Yu Rong. I have never despised a princess as much as Wan Ning, and the mindset of Shen Yu Rong is displayed with such subtle eye emotions that I actually found myself trying to figure out if he had any good qualities left in his soul or if his cruel actions had snuffed out all of the qualities that had once believed in justice.
The main actors Wu Jin Yan and Wang Xing Yue deserve the top award for blazing chemistry and nuanced portrayals. In American TV dramas, they spend ten minutes on character development and then WHAM, here comes the bed scene. What these actors, writers, and directors created was cinema magic. The characters were paced at a slow and believable burn, which led me to a believable definition of what a love story consisted of.
To the rest of the cast, there were notable and affluent actors in small parts throughout and this added a rich texture to the story. I cannot say enough about how interesting the narrative was, the plot twists, and how satisfying and believable the justified demise of those who committed wrongs. My one (and very small) pet peeve was the makeup. I love natural skin tones and the whitening in the makeup took me a minute to get used to. I know there is a beauty standard for pale in some Asian cultures, but the exceedingly beautiful actress looked off with the cosmetics used.
Definitely, definitely, check this drama out. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Was this review helpful to you?
