It’s almost time to say goodbye to C-drama The Double and I am ready to finish this with a flourish without being sad to let it go. It’s already episode 36 of the run out of 40 episodes and the grand revenge plan has been satisfying along the way and prepped for the grand finale. In some ways, female lead Wu Jin Yan may have lived the life of her character Xue Fan Fei/turned as Jiang Li – after her mega hit Story of Yanxi Palace she didn’t have any other popular dramas and even the reunion project Royal Feast which was supposed to be a hit didn’t work so she was basically written off in C-ent as a has been much like Xue Fang Fei was killed, but Wu Jin Yan is back with a hit much like Fang Fei came back from the dead as Jiang Li and went “I’m back! Miss me bitches!” The Double started to feel like it was going through the beats since about 10 episodes ago, really since her asshole ex-husband Shen Yu Rong started to get a lot more scenes (ugh, he’s so grody and uninteresting to me), and the OTP has been tooooo slow burn so it’s become more of a procedural drama for me to see how Fang Fei continues to maneuver through unexpected changes and outsmart her enemies. But it’s still so well done with all the female antagonists (Princess and Stepmom especially) absolute perfection in the performance and character shading, in the end this drama was carried by ALL the ladies and the men are just there for show as personified in drama by the hot smexy Duke Su. Reportedly the ratings were insane around the middle of the run but has since dropped a bit and is expected to end around the level of Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red Moon Pact. But The Double had 1/6th the budget of Fox Spirit so it’s on pace to be a mega profitable drama for all investors and in the end that’s all industry insiders care about.
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To me, Shen Yurong is more interesting than Duke Su. Xiao Heng has never had to make actual uncomfortable decisions for Xue Fang Fei where he could lose EVERYTHING. His character is one-dimensional, and if it weren't for Wang Xingyue's good acting and presence, he would have gone almost unnoticed to me like Liu Yuning's character in A Journey To Love.
Duke Su has no emotional conflicts (internal or external), he's not tormented, and his plot armor is visible from space, so up to this point I haven't felt any danger for him.
I missed writing a few more points but that includes spoilers lol.
As a character, it's much more interesting to see Shen Yurong psychologically decline to madness as time wears on. I do feel he's very pitiful in this cat and mouse game, but he's playing his role very well so far.
A critique I have with this drama is that there's too many weird close up shots. Wu Jinyan is not very convincing as a beauty either (her sister is way prettier than her), but she can play an intense, logical revenge-driven character accurately.
OMG, thanks for mentioning those weird close up shots!! I stopped watching because of this. having the actors stare into the camera happened too often, it got really weird.
@Coralie It is just her acting that made me overlook her being described as one of the most beautiful in the capital when Wu Jin Yan certainly doesn't fit that description.
I also dislike all the close up shots because I can't ignore their white pastey make up that they cake on that doesn't match with their neck color. Yu Zheng has always liked the super pale look. I thought WJY was going to pass out any time in Royal Feast. In Scent of Time, I was getting annoyed by all the close up shots of their hands.
WJY is good in these type of revenge-driven roles, but I don't think she's good in anything else. The best actresses for me is definitely Li Meng (crazy princess) and Joe Chen (step mom). Ep 35 was really princess' time to shine.
I agree with you that SYR is a more complex character, but he would not be the best choice for a love interest. The story paints all the villains as complex characters, which I enjoy, but I do feel that they didn't spend enough time on Xiao Heng, who is supposed to have trauma (from his dad) and his own revenge plan. LLTG was a long slow burn and had a lot of it's own issues, but they told a better story for LBY than for XH here.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the drama, even with the lack of logic at times or lack of this and that. It was an enjoyable and satisfying watch. Thumbs up.
I am liking the evil princess so far, seeing her very dark past I see how she became a cruel and pitful person, hope that they dont make her lose her insanity in the end that would be boring and repetitive plot.
Agreed, the romance is too slow burned. It would have been more interesting with more scenes between the OTP although there was strong and sexy chemistry between them in almost each scene of them together.
The drama started off of more balanced vibes with more screen time for WXY whom I wish to watch more LOL. But the plot heavily gravitated towards female centric revenge latter on with ML's screen time much reduced and he was just there to be her help when needed. What about his story? He has to avenge himself too. So far his side of story was just brushed off after 30+ eps that I've watched.
This drama isn't perfect. But I still think the directing is brilliant. The close up shots showing actors' micro-expressions make characters' stories more convincing when these actors did great jobs, nothing to do with they are pretty to stare at or not LOL. The fast pace and relevant connection from scene to scene to make plot flow smooth and intense are something other C dramas can learn about from this director. Although the screen time of WXY so far hasn't been as much as LYN in A Journey to Love, he's definitely hotter and more appealing to watch than LYN LOL. The Double is still one of very few interesting C dramas, which has the competitive qualities to be on par with many good K dramas.
@Somebody I agree with your observations. In addition, I expected more development/depth in their relationship considering that Xue Fang Fei is a person who, due to Shen Yu Rong's betrayal, should be particularly cautious with her feelings. Even in a dialogue with Duke Su she tells him that "a lover could kill her." Lol. Still, I enjoyed the chemistry and clever dialogue between the two.
Despite the flaws, The Double is still one of the best C-dramas China has produced. It is the best so far this year. The artistic values here are quite a lot.
LYN has sung many of my favorite OSTs, so I was interested in giving him a chance as an actor even though his looks are not up my alley. But I'm not pleased, he should keep taking supporting roles because he doesn't have the qualities to be a lead actor. Fang Yi Lun was more charismatic than him in AJTL.
Wang Xing Yue, Chen Chiao En and Li Meng are the ones who have generated the most discussion thanks to their performances. Both women already have a reputation for being good actresses, but no one expected Wang Xing Yue to shine. Lol.
@Drea, aw I totally agree with you about the actors whom I consider the best three in the drama. Other cast are decent doing solid jobs too. Prolly all this can be also attributed to the great directing that brought the best out of the cast. I have praised enough of WXY that a certain psycho has been going nuts. LOL. Joe Chen has been always a great actress since her hey days as a leading lady in great demand. I knew nothing about Li Meng though. She is so pathetically mesmerizing that I could even felt adrenaline rising the minute she stepped in sight on screen. LOL.
Agree, I was also impressed by the directing the most. It's like the director actually studied film, put what he learned into practice and actually had fun making this drama.
So far, I have spotted horror genre, slapstick genre, leveling up powers manga genre (Qin competition) and a whimsical Amelie (2001 movie) European genre.
Yes, the director did a great job. I wish Cdramas were more entertaining like TD. I find most long winded and boring. Also the actors can be so bland and cookie cutter like. Maybe dubbing is partly to blame for this. The casting director did a great job assembling a bunch of very likable and talented actors. The only actor that didn’t convince me was the emperor with his Bollywood style eye make up.
The extreme close ups reminded me very much of WKW’s close ups of Faye Wong and Tony Leung in CE. This director seems to be interested in using the camera angles to tell his story. I also noticed the influence of the great Korean auteur Park Chan Wook and his use of western style classical music as bgm. Also the main female lead very much echoes Park Chan Wook’s fierce Geum Ja in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. And that scene of her repeatedly stabbing her father’s tormentor is classic Park Chan WooK. Her eye make up also reminded me of Lady Vengeance.
One of my fav episode was of Governor Tong and his love of fine things and Peking Opera. It was such a nice tribute to Hong Kong classics especially Tsui Hark’s Peking Opera Blues. I am looking forward to this director’s next because like you said he seemed to love his craft.
@Jana, nice you mentioned Governor Tong. That actor did an amazing job as one of the most disgusting villains in C drama history. LOL. Great acting. I should not leave him out in my compliment of impressive acting in the Double.
Oh yes I forgot about the Chinese opera parts I loved those parts as well, the part they showed how they used big mirrors to adjust the lighting then was also interesting.
Also the male lead constantly says he wants to watch a good show/play, isn't that all the audience wants, to be entertained.
The directors love for film (from many different countries), opera and theatre and other types of media like manga/ webtoons does come across really well in this drama.
I will also be keeping an eye out on this director, I want to see a fantasy movie/drama from him I loved the Qin competition in episode 11 it was so over the top but emotionally very effective.
@Rrrt, yes, a fantasy drama sounds interesting. The guqin competition gave viewers a stroke of inspiration for what his fantasy drama may like. LOL
@somebody
For people who didn't get that guqin scene it literally gave them a stroke with how OTT it was lol
@Rrrt, lol. Your OTT comment cracks me up. OTT is perhaps part of the most criticism of the Double I've read online. The guqin competition is dramatic but I took it as an artistic metaphor the director was using to translate from very typical Chinese literary expressions in classical literature. One would definitely get lost without much knowledge of classical Chinese writing rich of superlatives about poetry, music, and dancing etc.. It's very hard to translate those superlatives into something visual on screen. The director tried his innovative ways to execute that kind of music feast. LOL.
@somebody
Scenes such as the guqin scene are quite common in webtoons and anime to show leveling up martial arts/some skill such as in cooking master boy. Visually it can get very OTT but very imaginative.
@Rrrt, lol again. Yup! The guqin competition did give some anime feel. So, the director may be an anime fan and borrowed concepts from something like cooking master boy. LMAO.
Agree SR is a much harder character to play and the actor is doing a great job. The Duke is quite one dimensional so far. I was expecting more angst for the duke but so far (ep 20) he just has to preen and pose and recline around drinking tea which is fine with me because he does it with so much style. I would like a poster of that beautiful shot where he takes a power nap!
From what I read, Wang Xing Yue was picked last minute to play the role of Su Xiao Heng. YuZheng did not have faith in the Wu Jin Yan and Wang Xing Yue collab because of their age-gap. Therefore he most probably thought the romance would have been the weakest link of the show and decided to neglect it and its growth to give more importance to the FL revenge story and the villains. Then the drama aired and as we can all see the strongest point of the show that attracted the viewers was actually the loveline between the main leads and their chemistry plus WXY as XH ended up being the show stealer no matter the ridicilously low amount of screentime he had.
From the data I am seeing now especially Yunhe (drama market share and viewers number per episode) drama is doing much much better than what Red moon did during its running time. Still I agree that the number were insane when Duke Su and Jiang Li were outside the capital : episode 17 with the iconic rain scene was peaktime
I didn't continue after episode 13. I don't know... Maybe their romance (or lack of?) didn't do much for me and I feel like the drama wasn't sure if it wanted to go for dark vibes or a be comedy. Didn't feel the pull to find out what happen next.
I did find out the ML was the cousin brother in Amidst a Snowstorm of Love and he was very likeable there. Did thought he looked familiar but couldn't quite placed him before that. Haha He kind of remind me of Luo Yun Xi but better looking.
I did enjoyed the acting of the 2 maids at the beginning, her ex husband, the stepmother and the princess.
The Double is a story of justice and revenge in the first place. Due to the natures of the characters, there is not supposed to be a rushed romance: She was betrayed, and he only cares about the future of of the Great Yan. But I can't write more because I don't want to make a spoiler. Lol.
I can see that from the beginning. Maybe I just don't feel it or it's just lackluster.
@Shi If you can see it from the beginning, how come you don't know which route the drama wanted to take? Lol. Why would you expect a romance less than halfway through the series? I'm curious.
@Drea, I can see it's a drama about revenge but it doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to the romance. I find the romance lackluster. Different strokes for different folks.
Glad people like it.
@Shi
Oh no, don't get me wrong. You've made it clear that you expected a strong romance but why did you think it was already going to be well defined in less than half? In episode 13, the characters still treat themselves as if they were chess pieces.
If you're looking for an explosive romance, then this is not your drama.
I don't need explosive romance but yeah, it doesn't vibe with me after a while.
A scene in the drama made me realized I may have read the novel at one point but don't know if I finished because I don't recall anything else. 😂
The FL is being so abused by the ML's fans, or rather the actor's fans, that I sure hope her popularity has soared to counteract the vileness they are raining on her. Poor woman.
In English forums I have hardly read a couple of comments that are not happy about the age gap, or that she is not pretty enough to be described as one of the capital's beauties. What else has happened?
This was in China. His fans want all the glory only for him so they got nasty, quickly. It's terrible to see.
@Somebody there's a user named QueenArya acting just like @SCHI on Wu Jinyan's MyDramaList page. The user is comparing her to random names and picking on Taiwan too. She seems to be uncomfortable with The Double's popularity, she even wished it to be banned. Lol.
LOL. Trolls everywhere. It's hard to tame them. I'm glad I only visit Koala's blogs mostly, not much of other drama fan sites. That greatly reduces my encounters with trolls although there're already enough on this site too. LOL.