DramaAjumma

This is a show where the parts were better than the sum total.
I knew after the first couple of episodes that this would require a great deal of suspension of disbelief. I didn't mind it as much of it was entertaining but some time after Episode 8, the show made less and less sense. And the pacing was off. It was also asking something of me the viewer that I couldn't accept. It's one of my least favourite plot devices -- characters refusing to 'fess up about their identity so as to prolong the big reveal. It's a delaying tactic which is used by a lot of Tik-Tok short dramas ad nauseum. To see it done in a high quality production like this is frustrating. For me the cracks that were evident in the first half were exacerbated in the second. The lack of cohesion being the biggest issue.
This would have been better as a 10-12 episode. And someone should give Lee Jung-eun a medal for being the consummate professional.

15 episodes in and I'm enjoying Part 2 as much as Part 1. All's good and I don't even really notice the lack of fight scenes. It might be because I enjoy the notion of politics as theatre, the role of optics in governance and what makes for good leadership. What's also come under scrutiny is the purview of intelligence agencies -- who watches the watchmen, what are the checks and balances lest they become a law unto themselves. These are contemporaneous issues. I particularly enjoy Fan Xian relationships with his "fathers" -- that's always been the highlight of the series for me. I like what he brings out in each of them as much as what each bring out in him. The dynamics are unerringly fascinating. I am missing male centred shows so much and this one hits the spot.

That said I enjoyed Episode 12 for its humour but also for the layers of subtext as it pertains to marriage by decree. I also find the oldest prince and the Bei Qi princess quite adorable.

Awww... Rachel Mao. Didn't know she was in this.
Nice to see the entire gang again.

"There are two options" Heh. I imagine that will be his signature line.
Although the spotlight is on the auditors it is really like a police procedural. The first two episodes were more about quality control rather than forensic accounting. And of course, since it's a K drama there's a power struggle in the background. Shin Ha-kyun plays a Sherlock Holmes type of investigator that's brought in to clean things up in a chaebol construction company. I'm somewhat reminded of Hot Stove League in that regard. I really liked what I saw in the first two episodes and SHK's decisions generally don't disappoint.

A good police procedural is difficult to write but a police procedural with an array of great layered characters with competing motivations is even harder to do well. This show succeeds on multiple levels while being a very effective cautionary tale about corrupted desires. Aspects of it remind me of Justified, one of my favourite tv shows ever made.

I don't understand the comment that there was nothing. 🧐 There was a lot going on and people died as a result.

My first impressions review
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/connection-2024-early-impressions

The plotting of this show is excellent. Character motivations are well integrated into the overarching storyline.

I'm slowly catching up
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/the-double-2024-episodes-15-17
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/the-double-2024-episodes-19-25
Happy reading.

Wang Xingye is born to do period shows.
He really needs to take on some classic wuxia roles.

Joe Chen's character is too reckless. She's constantly in over her head. Plus she really has no clue about anything. That bracelet incident was just the worst.
Glad I watched the condensed/abridged version on YT. I'm not sure if I could handle 40 episodes of a lot of unnecessary melodrama. At the end of the day I only liked Huang Xiaoming's character Zuo Zhen and the Xiang Hanchuan character -- absolute rocks. Exemplifying stoicism in the best way possible.

More of my inconsequential ramblings...
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/the-double-2024-episodes-12-14

It's interesting how we see things so differently. I think he's actually very good here and does some good eye acting.

More of my ramblings -- Episodes 9-11
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/the-double-2024-episodes-9-11
Happy reading.

Thank you. :)

My first impressions of the show Episodes 1-9. I'm just a bit behind. :P
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/the-double-2024-first-impressions

What are you talking about? There are at least two women who like him. :D The Scorpion Doctor and the dancing girl at the start of Episode 9. It's more the case that he's not interested in them.

Thank you for the reply.

Is there a difference between the novel and the screen adaptation re: the husband's motivation for killing the FL? Because my impression from the show is that he did it under duress. He sounded like he was being held hostage by the Princess Royal or was being blackmailed. But I just read something rather different further down the thread. He also doesn't seem to like the princess all that much and resists her ideas.

It's not exactly at the depth of the Count of Monte Cristo but the set-up has me thinking of Princess Weiyoung. The female protagonist is the sort of character that Wu Jinyan has made a career of playing (intelligent, tactical and ambitious) but I'm probably more intrigued by Duke Su or Xiao Heng played by the talented Wang Xingyue who at the tender age of 22 exudes the kind of gravitas one expects only from someone much older. At this point the show positions him as the show's dispassionate observer looking on from the fringes with the critical eye of a sleuth. He has an inkling or two about the dubious homophonous A'Li (Jasmine or Fox) but is content to be an eager spectator of the game she's spinning. I don't take much stock in C drama trailers so I'm inclined to think that romance is a very minor part of the story and the slowburn will undoubtedly be an agony to watch.

Surprisingly (or perhaps not) with such a young cast there's a serious undertone not just because of the revenge factor but the power plays involving the children of court officials. Why does the Li family need so much money? It usually means one of two things. The fact that the sister of the emperor is abusing her power with crazed abandon adds to the impression that some people who have more than most aren't satisfied with their lot in life.