The Double

Best Drama

This drama focus on human life. It is give sense of hope and never give up. As long as you keep living there always be hope.

Acting is pretty good. Story keep remind viewer to take care friendship and don't be friend with wrong person otherwise it would be down fall.

-Jiang li make friend with ji mother and ruin her life.
-Shen make friend with princess and ruin his mind,dignity.
-Xue make friend with shen family and she lose everything because mother in law and sister in law try to kill her.

So choose friend nicely like jiangli with tong and jiangli with duke su.

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Gosh..! I’m so obsessed with DUKE SU …❤️

I first saw Wang Xingyue in Amidst a Snowstorm of Love. Although he was quite good at acting he didn’t catch much of my attention there as I was busy focusing on the main lead as well as I didn’t think he was that handsome. But OMG! He got me hooked after this drama. 😍😍😍I’m totally obsessed with him and now i think he’s even better than Leo Wu…😅. There’s something about this character DUKE SU that makes you get obsessed over him. ❤️❤️❤️

And OMG! The storyline is amazing it keeps you guessing till the last moment. There were few episodes in the middle that I thought was not necessary matter to the main storyline but even them you cannot help watching because you do not wanna miss what DUKE SU is doing…😂. Trust me I refreshed the site multiple times a day to see whether the new episode is up yet. I’m glad it’s over now as I can finally focus on my studies…..❤️😆.
If I rank the recent drams I watched I would put this just after Hidden Love above the Amidst a Snowstorm of Love on the second place. But it would top the list if we only considered historical drama.

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Completes your 2024!! Drama is satisfying and worth the wait!

This should be one of my 2024's best drama! The act of revenge, the schemes and the mind blowing scenes will kept u hook up! Out of curiosity, I watched this and didn't expect it to get better and better each episodes and was forced to subscribe just so can watch the latest eps.
Not to mention I got obsessed w/ Duke Su/Xiao Heng!!!!
Besides, the drama reminds me of the novel 'The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage' by Qian Shan Cha Ke.. same slow-paced romance, same revenge theme, same clever FL and cunning protagonists. Duke Su reminds me so much of Xie Jing Xing in the novel!
I would very much recommend the novel (available in Wattpad/Boxnovel.com) if you're into this genre.

Back to the drama, undeniably the cast's acting and editing is superb! Overall, i give this a 10 and will definitely rewatch! Kudos to all actors and director!

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Not upto the expectations based on the book

I have reduced my rating just because of the last few episodes as I have thoroughly enjoyed the book.

I enjoyed OST, production, performance of mostly everyone in the series.. So many good things, but ending collapsed it all.

Many things have not been done reasonably (different from book),
1. Xue Fangfeng - Did not prove her innocence
2. Concubine Li - Did not have to be colored with goodness.
3. Relationship between Xiao Feng and Situye - no need to have been romanticized.
4. Princess Wanning - Not made pure Evil as in the book
5. Longwu Army - Did not have to be played like this
6. Shen Yurong - Need not have this much importance
7. Rebirth of Xue Fangfeng - not explained properly..
8. Subordinates of Xiao Feng / Jiang Lo - Unnecessary sad ending
9. Jiang Yuanbai - Need not have been uplifted from a Careless dad to caring dad

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The Most Satisfying Revenge Arc In C-Drama History

I have finished watching this months ago but thought I might write a review about it. When I started watching this, I completely had no idea who both the lead actors were, so I was a bit hesitant at first but pushed through with it because of the dramas trailer that caught me.

I started with zero expectations only to be met with so much greater. As someone who had been watching c-dramas for years now, the storyline for this has been a fresh breath of air for me despite it being not a fairly new revenge drama. I had completely become fond of both the leading actors, especially the female lead who was able to successfully bring her role to life. A strong and smart female lead. It is not everyday we get this type of female lead characters in c-dramas, as the norm would usually be damsel in distress or be it strong at the beginning then writers would usually tone them down towards the end, making the male lead's character knight in shining armor always. This drama proved to be different.

Despite the male leads character being there to save her at some point in the storyline, I really loved how the writer balanced them both out making them equal and making the female lead's character someone who can stand on her own two feet. The revenge arc in this drama perfectly proved how great the characters of both the leads were and despite all the angst and frustrations pent up at the beginning of the drama because of the evil doers, the plot for the revenge arc was so well written and very satisfying.

What I also loved about this drama is the chemistry between both the leads, even if, there weren't a lot of romantic scenes in this. I'd like to applaud both leading actors and rest of the actors (the evil doers too) for magnificently portraying their roles and bringing such a great storyline to life.

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Hands Down: the best Chinese drama ever??

The main female lead is not just well-written; she's a force to be reckoned with. The chemistry between the male and female leads is electric, often speaking volumes with just a glance. The characters are consistent in their motives, and the story is well-paced. The supporting cast, from the ex-husband to the stepmother, is perfectly chosen, adding layers of depth to the storyline. It's rare to find a show where you're genuinely invested in the characters' next moves, but this one nails it. The fate of Jiang Li's and Xue Fangefei’s fathers and the journey of her stepsister, Jiang Ruo, are compelling as well. The entire soundtrack, including the waltz-like piano instrumental, is a cherry on top.

One of the character's deaths was also pretty emotional; I can't remember the last time I felt so many emotions in a drama.

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A drama ruined by troll YuZheng

My first time writting a review.
I went into the drama not expecting perfectly designed drama but at least enjoying the vibe. Soon enough it was obvious that biggest traction of it except for the revenge storyline was the ML character gloriously incarnated by a WXY on fire. Unfortunately, during the time of the making of the drama YuZheng most probably had zero trust in his actor and underestimated the collaboration between Wang Xing Yue and Wu Jin Yan. As a result the ML's screetime and importance were dramatically reduced in the drama and the ending (The novel had a clear HE) was a joke. The romance and its development between the leads was sacrificed as a result -the intimate scenes between the leads were a joke.
At the end of the day what could have been an unperfect but highly entertaining show has become a frustrating experience for me.
The acting all around is good. OST is fine. I have no issue with the close-ups and I liked the color of the drama.

The Double or the case of producer that is a troll.

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Raise your glasses to the black bellied couple!

A drama I never had in my PTW list, never anticipated, never even heard of, and solely joined because the trailer looked dark, and some random familiar faces. Yeah, the drama drought brought me here.

Summing up 'The Double'

➣ 5 episodes of Anti- Mary Sue in her identity crisis era. Girly walks calm, eats collected and sleeps black bellied.

➣ 5 episodes of utter childish comedy that I am still sure we did not need.

➣ 5 episodes of queen bee attracting other bees (ohh!? The enchanting beauty with talent mess. huh~!?)

➣ 5 episodes of fl and ml screaming through the screen, " Yes, we are the hottest creatures on this planet. Our singles shots are steamier than your average steamy dramas."

➣ 5 episodes of " Girlies, Duke gege is on break. So no point waiting in a long line." (The audacity!? All we needed was some Duke gege scenes)

➣ 5 episodes of " Duke gege is back from break, but still in recovering phase" aka Duke gege flying in and out of house like Doraemon. Zoom

➣ 5 episodes of " Who turned over the vinegar factory? It smells sour!!"

Listing out the good and bad points.

✅
↬ Going on a serious note, the cinematography, ohh aesthetics were top notch. Number of screenshot you would find yourself saving.
↬Camera angles pretty well done.
↬ The script, yes exactly the troupe we all vye for, blackbellied couple, with their cunning idea aka the villainous couple. Going forth, it was a good example of 'out of Wattpad acting'. The charming Duke, the free looking, beautiful hairstyle of fl. The exact delulu costume drama dream, that you would imagine to script for.
↬The stage was well set up, the pacing was good. Hats off to the actors for carrying it well. Yes, WXY and WJY both did great job engaging to my delulu dream script.

❌
↬The repetitive arc of reputation ruining conspiracies by antagonists, fl escapes narrowly, and finally the face slap at antagonist that we all hope to see. It was interesting for long. But 27 episodes forward, this repetitive mess made the story draggy and tiresome.
↬Who the hell put those out of nowhere childish comedy!? The genre was supposed to be dark and political intrigue. A circumstances forced mature fl with her dark and cunning personality bowling down antagonists. Why did you bring up those dumb cheering fighting school kids scene for a 18+ year old girl(ofc if I am not deluding myself in a big misunderstanding), when we did not showcase that dumbness even in our 13+ ages.
↬How did the drama start dark and mature but ended fairytale? What went wrong'? Why are we back to the era of antagonist has been strong all along, but since it's time to end the story, let's feed the main leads a 'Luck inducing potion' to make it an easy peasy kill? I expected more of their endings considering the cunningness they shouldered throughout the drama.

Last but not the least 𝐿𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑛, 𝑊𝑋𝑌 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒! And so yes, despite all the mess, I would still recommend, naah! BLACKMAIL you to watch this drama, cause yes, it's worth it! The ride throughout is gonna remind of thousands of times, about what you might have missed if you did not click on the play button.
Happy watching! ^^

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You have seen my love, It's time for my vengeance and justice to be served..

The Double is a fantastic drama to watch in the first half of 2024. It's entertaining enough to keep you hooked to it. It did justice to the thriller and revenge genre.

🍁OVERVIEW OF PLOT:-

The Double tells the tale of the lady who was betrayed by her love and buried alive with a ruined reputation, Xue Fangfei. The man she gave her all betrayed her in the hard times for some despicable excuses. She crawled out her grave and assumed the identity of second daughter of Jiang Family to take her revenge and seek justice for herself and the real Jiang Li.

🍁KEY CHARACTERS:-

🌿Xue Fangfei/Jiang Li (Wu Jin Yan) :- The daughter of Magistrate Xue, Xue Fangfei renowned as the most talented lady in the capital. She is also known with two other names, Xue Li and A'Li. She fell in love and married a poor scholar Shen Yu Rong. She loved him wholeheartedly and supported him with all she has. Yet, her love was betrayed, her reputation was ruined, she was tortured and her hope was scattered. Despite her innocence she was buried alive, abandoned in that cold place alone by her beloved husband without giving her the reason for not trusting her, without giving her the reason of all her sufferings, without giving her the reason of the betrayal of her unconditional love.

🌿Xiao Heng/Duke Su (Wang Xing Yue) :- Duke Su, the right hand man of Emperor of Great Yan, an incredible chess master who plots and never let his enemy upper hand. An adaptive strategist and never failed to hit the bull's eye.

🌿Shen Yu Rong (Liang Yong Qi) :- The ex-husband of Xue Fangfei and the lover of Princess Wan Ning. A poor scholar who pave his path of becoming an official in court with his hardwork to prevail justice. However, he couldn't be untouched by the temptation of power. He is a person who never take responsibility for his own actions and loves to play victim card.

🌿Princess Wan Ning (Li Meng) :- A psycho lady whose obsession is Shen Yu Rong, the husband of another lady. She loves to toy with people, torture them for fun and take advantage of her position.

🍁MY IMPRESSIONS:-

The captivating plot of 'The Double' made me to not blink while I was watching. It's one of the favourite genre of mine. However, I was skeptical at first because I was not familiar with the cast, except one or two, but decided to give it a try because I have faith in Youku. The first few episodes made me to binge watch 25 episodes in just 3 days. The drama starts with dark theme, and switching between the dark and light. The suspenseful and emotional rollercoaster plot mainly revolves around the female lead. The Double is focused on the revenge and it wouldn't be wrong to say that this is one of the few dramas which is more focused on females be it female lead or other female characters. The drama conveys the struggle and pain of women and their cruelty, their desire of love and wrath of hatred, their wish to live a peaceful life and obsession.

The drama is paced well, neither slow nor fast. The plot is fantastic however it is not free from holes. Sometimes there are loopholes that are visible even with eyes closed and made me question the logic. I won't get into details about it, you'll know when you watch it.

Xue Fangfei, our female lead, is smart and capable of holding the sky if any trouble befalls her or her loved ones with her unparalleled intelligence. Not the typical female lead who always needs a man to get her out of trouble. She can be a pawn or the chess master to get her way. She can be a part of other's game and can even play her own game making the chess masters into her own pawn. In this journey of revenge and justice A'Li found her soulmate. The title of the drama suits her the best. Duke Su offers his support only when A'Li is unable to play her game because of her not holding some high position in the court.

The drama falls in the category of slow-burn romance but the chemistry hits the top. Duke Su and A'Li are a match made in heaven. Though it's a slow-burn but it doesn't feel like one, except there is less skinship. I can even watch 20 more episodes with that chemistry. Both are intelligent and responsible. With their smartness they continuosly tried to outsmart eachother, supported eachother and they didn't realise among this all, they started to fell for each other. Duke Su didn't know exactly when A'Li started to become the special one in his heart from the pawn in his chess. Similarly, A'Li didn't get the clue since when Duke Su started to heal the wound of her heart. I loved how their love progressed. Finding a man like Duke Su after being betrayed by Shen Yurong is such a blessing for A'Li. Likewise, finding a true match in opposite gender whose intelligence is at par with him is fate for Xiao Heng.

Let's talk about the villains. Their backstory is quite pitiful but still they all are despicable that I have no sympathy for them. The karma served them right. Among them the most despicable one is Shen Yurong. He is sleek and coward person, never takes responsibility for his deeds and shifts blame on others. He is pretty good at self-pity and playing the victim card. He gets the love of two women but he chose to betray both of them for one another, thereby losing them both at the end of the day. Princess Wanning did everything for her obsession with Shen Yurong but still in the end she lost him and the worst was being betrayed by him. She got the taste of her own medicine. She wanted to make Shen Yurong like her and he succeeded in becoming like her, obsessed with power and person whom he claims to love. They also are a good match for each other. Now coming to the stepmom of Jiang Li, Ji Shuran. I think she had it easy, her retribution wasn't that well done. The people died because of her must still be feeling injustice.

The acting delivered by the cast is truly spectacular specially from Wu Jin Yan and Liang Yong Qi then comes our Wang Xing Yue and Li Meng not much behind them. Wu Jin Yan made me cry with her many times. She delivered top notch emotions when confronting Shen Yu Rong every time and chemistry with Xiao Heng. Liang Yong Qi portrayed the conflicted emotions of Shen Yurong perfectly. The regret of hurting A'Li but never admitting his choice, the obsession with her yet claiming to be innocent, all are greatly portrayed by him. Wang Xing Yue played Xiao Heng with that dark and dangerous vibes which goes perfectly with this character. The stepmother (Chen Chiao An) also did amazing.

The most useless character was Jiang Yuan Bai, the man can't even handle his own family matters justly yet he is prime minister and handling country affairs. Indeed, he was a good prime minister but he failed as a husband and father. His retribution served him right, living his rest of life in regret and grief.

I loved the friendship of Emperor Zhao Ye and Duke Su Xiao Heng. It's s rare to see an emperor to have a best friend. Apart from A'Li and Xiao Heng, Wen Ji and Lu Ji remained my favourites from starting to end.

Though the story is well paced and well developed but still there is the Ye family arc which I feel like dragged for too long and the drama tried to shift towards the lightness and characters became overly righteous which I don't like much. I loved the dark heavy theme. There are also some unnecessary deaths (I won't spoil who died but I bawled my eyes out for them) and plots which doesn't make sense but I watched it for the entertainment's sake without getting into logic. Duke Su get quite less screen time which is also a complain from me. We mostly saw him plotting behind the scenes and being told that it's done by Duke Su and all. It would been better if his screen time was increased and we get to see him more.

🍁CONCLUSION:-

This drama unexpectedly did beautiful job by making audience not to take their eyes off the screen. The acting to chemistry was all great. OSTs are good and costumes are beautiful for females. In males only our male lead got a good wardrobe. If we ignore the plotholes and go with the flow it's definitely fabulous. There is happy ending with a special episode so I'm not disappointed with the ending but yes not really satisfied.
A must watch from me.
Highly recommend.

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Revenge, dragged through the mud, Xiao Heng, potentially 2024's hottest stud--

First of all, I deeply apologize for the little piece of poetry that you had to read just now. I promise I'm sober as I'm writing this.

Right when I thought (personal opinion) 2024 is turning up a bit dry compared to last year in terms of c-dramas, The Double came blazing though that barren field (personal opinion) with smoke and mirrors because I didn't even know about its existence until people began to talk about it upon its premiere.

Truthfully, for the first 20 episodes, I treated this drama like my topmost obsession. Equally clever (and sexy af) main leads with explosive chemistry and slow-burn romance? Check. A boiling hot yet calculative revenge against tremendously evil individuals? Check. Goosebumps-inducing soundtracks with gorgeous cinematography? Also, check. It seemed like the drama had pretty much everything going well for it. I loved the atmosphere, the revenge that was brewing slowly but surely and most of all-- I was all knee-deep and beyond thrilled for the romance to ACTUALLY happen because the sexual tension between the leads, in contrary to what prejudices and biased thoughts people tend to have towards actors who have a 5+ years age-gap, was nothing short of HAWT.

But, all of that was-- like I'd mentioned-- were my thoughts for the first 20-30 episodes. Although I knew it was still heavily flawed with moments of unnecessary off-putting humor that didn't exactly do what it was probably supposed to do, a filler-y story arc or two on which a good number of episodes were wasted on and a bunch of nonsensical stuff-- I still enjoyed it mostly for what it was. Until after episode 30, when I began to become a bit... tired of it?

By the moment they reached the climax of the long-planned revenge, I guess I'd lost my patience. I couldn't care less about how it would end for the antagonists because when you push the suspense too hard, it tends to crack. In this case, it definitely cracked. At least, for me. Plot becoming dry and draggy due to too many episodes is a common issue among Chinese dramas, and unfortunately, The Double is no exception. I feel like it would've benefitted greatly if they excluded a couple parts of the whole show that didn't necessarily need to be there.

Fine. Besides my faltering enjoyment for this drama towards the end of its run, I still think this drama was pure mindless entertainment. Very over-the-top, very soap opera, too convenient. If you pull out your brain plug by a bit, you'll find it entertaining too. Also, a quick little appreciation for the acting from pretty much the entire cast of this drama. Like, I can't even bring out a particular actor's name to praise them separately because I thought everyone equally gave their all into this. They served like their rent was DUE. The fantastic OSTs gave each scene that extra impact and spice, while the visually pleasing cinematography that well-utilized the characters' clothing, hair, accessories and the set designs brought everything together. The budget of production wasn't high, but they don't let you notice that. Kudos to that.

IN CONCLUSION, despite of the heavy flaws that make this drama far FAR from being the masterpiece it was actually never supposed to be, it's still highly entertaining for most of it. Imperfect drama, but PERFECT for a one-time watch ^^

Last but not least... You and your stylish array of hand fans will always be famous, Xiao Heng/Duke Su.

*SPOILER SPOILER*
That last episode was full of shit lmaoooo

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