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I recommend Story of Yan Xi Palace. It is based on real historical characters. The same actress who plays XFF is the main female lead in Yan Xi Palace.

In this season they focus on Niao Niao's experiences in the palace which mirrors exactly what happened to LBY when he came to the palace. She starts her journey to understand who LBY is and falls in love with him. Yes, she does become disappointed with ML, but for good reason. I don't want to spoil it too much for you. We also start to understand why General Ling wants revenge so badly for his family.

You're right. He does not appear at any time during the story and has no bearing on the plot. Just like we never see first or second sisters.

You're right. An interpretation with comedy is not necessarily a parody, but when direct scenes from the drama are taken and turned into comedy, this makes it a parody. Remember a parody is a humorous or mocking imitation of something, using the same form as the original. During this entire drama, the writers are humorously mocking all the themes and tropes of historical fiction. They use different types of comedic elements to do it. They particularly mock LLtG.

Again, I understand the difference between comic effect and comic relief. This drama is a mixture of parody with dark comedy. The Chinese people did not find this drama as wonderful as all of you. Even though I enjoyed the literal interpretation of Love Like the Galaxy for the love story arc, the Princess Wan Ning story was too heart breaking, but even she was a comedic character.

Thank you for the discussion. I understand what all you are saying, I just don't agree. I am glad that you enjoyed the drama. I enjoyed certain elements of it, the parody on LLtG being one of them.

There are more dramas that the drama is poking fun at. It seems to go by a certain character's story arc. Shen Yu Rong's story arc is based on the second male lead in A Female Student Arrives at the Imperial College. There are also several scenes taken from the above drama as well when we are first shown Duke Su's face (he raises his umbrella slowly to meet the people in the shed) and where Duke Su's bodyguard dives into the room through the window. Both male leads (who both of course love our female lead) slowly raise their umbrella as they meet the love of their life. The main male leads "servant" dives into a room repeatedly through a window.

The Story of Ming Lan is also parodied with squabbling maids and a gullible father. None of these scenes are in the novel.

You wrote to me, but I am unable to find your post, so I thought I would write to you under here.

Defying Destiny, you are too funny. You have given the example that Scary Movie is a parody of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. How do they this? They take the story line and turn it into comedy.

The writers of The Double have done the same thing to LLtG and other historical fiction dramas. Whether you want to see it or not, this drama is comedic on the surface with a very dark undertone which reflects the mood of most historical fiction cdramas. They have taken the tropes of how both sexes treated women of all ranks. It all started when our heroine (an educated, talented, married, 19-year-old girl "dies" and begins to portray an innocent, uneducated, not so talented dead 15 year old girl in a nunnery filled with kindness and virtue. Irony anyone.

A parody can poke fun at an individual work or a whole genre. This is what The Double is doing. You can agree or disagree with me, but others are seeing it as well.

Had a hard time finding this post to respond and was busy. My mistake I meant the Scary Movie franchise which is parodying the horror genre of Scream and others. Sorry to say that this story does the same thing with the historical fiction tropes. The writers have intentionally made this story lighthearted in appearance, but in reality it is portraying the atrocities women did to each other to gain power and the reasons they did it. For me, let's use DefyingDestiny's definition of satire "comedic elements that clash with the main theme of a genre". Historical fiction works most often are dark and not comedic in any way. This story has used many comedic elements to lighten the dark undertone of the drama and novel. Parodying LLtG and other dramas is just part of this comedic element. So maybe this is satire instead, but I think it is makjang or dark comedy.

I am glad that you enjoyed it and thank you for the discussion.

A parody is an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect. Watch Scary Movie 1-4. They are parodies on the horror genre. For shorter parodies watch Saturday Night Live sketches. They do many fake commercials. Spoofing is a way to create comic effect.

You're right LLtG is not a parody. It was not meant to be. The reason comedy is used in it is for comic relief. This drama, on the other hand, is comedic throughout it's entire drama. It is meant to be funny, Now, you could call it a makjang because of all the topics discussed in it, but because they have spoofed (I will use your word) scenes of other dramas in it, it now becomes a parody because they have done it for comic effect.

Please read what I wrote to DefyingDestiny two posts down.

Parodying someone's work doesn't necessarily have to degrade the work of either work, it can actually enhance them both if done well.

You're right not every lighthearted drama is a parody, and it's okay if you don't see this as a parody. Many people don't. I didn't at first, but the more I watched and looked at what was going on, I realized that the screenwriters were poking fun at the tropes of historical fiction dramas, especially LLtG. At first, I thought it was using the comedy element makjang as many of the topics found in a makjang are present in The Double. In addition, I read the novel that The Double is based on. It is extremely dark and serious. There is very little humor in it unlike The Double. I also found that none of the scenes between XFF and Duke Su from the nunnery to the exam banquet are in there. Even how XFF becomes Jiang Li is different from the novel. A parody is an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect. How does this work in The Double? Let's explore this concept.

First, in the novel Marriage of Di Daughter Jiang Li is sent to the nunnery for 8 years and after finding out that her marriage to Zhou Yan Bang has been given to her sister, Jiang Li commits suicide in the river. Xue Feng Fai has just been murdered by Princess Wan Ning (not her husband) and her body is buried in the mountains. XFF wakes up in the body of Jiang Li. Transmigration of the soul is not a trope of historical fiction dramas of those like LLtG, so now the writers need to change how XFF comes to be Jiang Li that fits the tropes of the genre. Identity swapping is a very standard trope in historical fiction dramas and is used quite frequently in Shakespearean comedies for comic effect.

How does this work in the story to create a parody? The comic element of appearance vs. reality comes into play. XFF becomes Jiang Li in a nunnery a place of kindness and virtue. The camera purposefully shows the sign that says this multiple times because it is important to the story. One night Jiang Li goes out to help XFF (something nunneries were known for)and is caught by the head nun (who is having a tryst with a monk). Jiang Li is beaten to death because everyone thinks she is going out to meet her lover (appearance). In reality, she went out to help XFF. Enter XFF who feels responsible for Jiang Li's death, but has an agenda of her own, switches places with her and dresses in her clothes. XFF is now under the protective clothing of Jiang Li. Remember Jiang Li is sent to the nunnery at the age of 5 because she supposedly tried to hurt her step mother and killed her brother. No one believed her when she tried to tell them she didn't. This is funny because nunneries are supposed to be places where women go to pray, worship, and stay pure. Nunneries helped people. However, this nunnery was not so kind a place nor virtuous. It killed an official's daughter, and the head nun was having a tryst. This drama pokes fun at the nunnery trope of the genre (parody). If a woman doesn't get married, she either becomes a nun or commits suicide (think Princess Yu Chung in LLtG). However, This also leaves XFF with two missions: get revenge for Jiang Li and herself. This is reminiscent of Princess Wei Young (from a girl's perspective).

How does this reflect LLtG? General Ling Bu Yi also has a secret identity. He was saved because he switched clothes with his cousin. Neither his mother nor him feel they will be believed because of the power the perpetrator has, and they are among the powerless: women and children. LBY says, "I had many people to avenge for Ling Bu Yi, the people of Lone City, and his family."

Yes, the writers do create their own story, but it follows closely to that of LBY and SS. When people like AiNong come here to ask if this is a remake of Love Like the Galaxy, you know that people are seeing the similarities. What I wrote about was just the beginning. In the end, Duke Su's grandfather says, "Who dares to hurt my granddaughter-in-law?" Niao Niao's father says in the end, " Who dares to hurt my Niao Niao?). This not a coincidence.

Thank you for the discussion and some other drama recommendations. I have watched 11 episodes of Go Princess Go and found it quite ridiculous. I don't know if it is a parody or not as I don't know all the dramas that were made around that time. I have not seen The Princess Royal, so I can't say whether it is or not, but it could be. As for Ming Lan, I have watched it, but don't remember it. Is she torturing anyone?

Defying Destiny, you're right, LBY is all those things. His character requires him to be like that to create the serious mood of the drama and topics. Duke Su is the exact opposite because his drama requires him to be funny and sweet, but we can still see LBY through Duke Su's mannerisms, dress, dialogue, behaviors, and actions as Duke Su is Ling Bu Yi's double. I have only seen nine episodes of Kunning Palace, so I cannot judge on that character. For me analyzing the difference between the characters is second as to how the characters contribute to the overall mood of the drama. The Double is lighthearted and full of comedy. LLtG is serious with a splash of comic relief. The characters help portray that.

As for the first time LBY drinks tea while he is violently "disciplining" the fathers and brothers of the girls who harmed SS, you're right it is a extrajudicial punishment. But it is a scene that is full of comedy even though they are talking about a serious topic. Later on in the drama, there are other tea and torture scenes as well, but these are not comedic in nature as by this time LBY has come to the end of revenge journey and is full of anger. The Double uses these "tea and torture" scenes to poke fun at LBY's character.

If you would like to know more, please read what I wrote to Talia Too under Eleison two posts down or go to Love Like the Galaxy Part 1 under MikaM.

Thank you for the discussion.

Talia Too, I love your post. You have done an excellent character analysis of our lovely couples from both dramas, but what you have yet to do is figure out what effect each character has on the over all mood of the drama. Love Like the Galaxy's overall mood is serious as it looks at some very serious topics, love being one of them. General Ling's mood is mostly serious and angry. He is driven by his agenda for revenge to the point that it ruins his relationship with SS. His character helps create the seriousness of the drama. Shao Shang, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of him. She helps create the comedy in the drama, but in the end she is also very serious. She portrays the various moods of love whereas LBY only exudes the seriousness of love. He does attempt to be tender, but it falls flat. In LLtG, there is a great deal of character growth in both SS and LBY as they examine what love means to them and their relationship.

However, The Double casts a very different overall mood. Many reviewers have noticed this and don't know what to say except that it is absurd. Yours and others' giggly, lighthearted posts reinforce that this drama is to be taken lightheartedly. Duke Su's goofy grin and laughing eyes, outfit, twirls to get on a chair, fan, dialogue, etc. are all meant to create a comedic mood. He does not grow or change too much in character throughout the entire drama. He is there to represent the flaws LBY has when it comes to love. He is LBY's double. XFF her comedic part is mainly through appearance vs. reality, but she does not grow or change during the drama. As you said in one of your posts, she hides herself when she is married to Shen Yu Rong, but after she dies her true self comes back. That's because her character serves a different purpose in the drama. She is the more serious character, but even she is a comedic character within the drama.

I respect that you have watched far more Asian dramas and movies and know more about the tropes of each genre than I do. But as you said tropes are meant to be expanded and changed to give viewers a different viewing experience. Has there ever been a parody done on the historical fiction genre? With your vast knowledge of Asian dramas/movies, I think you would know. The fact that people do not know what to say about the absurdity of this drama tells me that they do not have much experience in this area. I, on the other hand, have no fear calling this a parody and can provide evidence to the fact in much more detail than I did under my post on LLtG Part 1.

Let's look at the tea and torture scenes. Yes, you have probably seen many scenes where the general is torturing someone and drinking tea to stay hydrated. But what is the mood surrounding that scene. It is probably one of urgency. The music probably reflected this. In LLtG with the torturing of the uncle, who is not even tied to a post, the Black guard drag bloody bodies across the floor in front him, screams are heard in the background, and metal clangs loudly. This frightens the uncle so much that he confesses on the spot. A commenter wrote of this scene, "I wonder if the Black Guard fight over who gets to play what part." Can't remember if LBY has tea or not. It doesn't matter. He does have tea, however, when he "disciplines" the eight officials. Commenters went crazy over this scene. These scenes though comic in nature lighten the seriousness of the scene they are in. LBY's other "tea and torture" scenes are much more serious. He is in full revenge mode. They are not funny in any way. LLtG expanded on the use of the torture trope by using them for comic relief.

Now let's look at The Double's "tea and torture" scenes. The person is tied to the post. There is very little blood. Everything is quiet and still. It is just Duke Su and his two bodyguards. The bodyguards are burning money. The torture is more cerebral rather than physical. But that is what makes it so funny. The same with XFF and her "tea and torture" scene. She is sitting across from Duke Su on a chair and behind her are chains that bind prisoners. She is not even chained up. She is drinking tea along with Duke Su as they banter back and forth. What Is her torture, drink tea with Duke Su? These scenes help create the overall mood of frivolity and lightheartedness of the drama. They are not what we think of when we think of torture. Even though Princess Wan Ning's "torture" scenes are more painful, breaking the brother's leg, we do not see her do it. All she does is pull a knife and threatens to cut the brother's face, and XFF recants her statement. It is a tense situation, but again there is hardly any blood and no noise. The brother's broken leg becomes a comic scene in itself.

The Double's "tea and torture" scenes are parodies on LLtG's tea and torture scenes because the characters in these give up their information or cave in very quickly. In LLtG the characters refuse to give up any information thus leading to the more violent torture. LLtG used the "tea and torture" as comic relief. Here it is done to poke fun at LBY who can't get his prisoners to confess without violent torture.

There are other dramas that are parodied in this as well. The Story of Kunning Palace. They do poke fun at the scene where the couple put flowers in each other's hair. Many characters say, "You are my savior," which could also be implied with LBY. These all done in a comedic way.

If you have questions about how parodies work, just ask. They do not have to be satirical in nature. Parodies imitate an author, a work, or whole genres for comic effect. The Double does this. By the end though, a good parody does teach us something using comedy.

You can watch this drama and treat it as its own drama. That is what you have done and it is okay. I, however, can't see it that way and many other people feel the same way.

Funny, I did too.

Love Like the Galaxy is a wonderful complex, very serious romance. The romance is the main plot line with the revenge as a side arc. The revenge enhances the romance. The Double is quite the opposite. The romance in this drama is a simple, lighthearted side arc that enhances the revenge. Happy watching!

Nanoush, there are more "similarities" than Talia Too is letting on. For starters, from his clothes, dialogue, mannerisms, and behavior, Duke Su is modeled on General Ling Bu Yi (GLBY) the main male lead in LLtG. Duke Su, in the novel, is known for wearing red clothes every time he goes out, but in drama he is only seen in red on the outside three times. The other times he is dressed in black with a red undergarment. The only distinct thing that makes him Duke Su is his fan, but his fan could be compared to GLBY's sword or other weaponry. Also, a couple of scenes where Duke Su tells his bodyguard to go get 20 lashes for some minuscule thing is practically word for word what GLBY says to one of his bodyguards. What makes that dialogue unique though is that it is not found in the novel or any other drama that I have watched in this genre. There is a reason for it in LLtG. In this drama, it is to poke fun at LLtG. There are other characters modeled on characters from LLtG as well, but I will let you discover these little gems yourself.

Another "similarity" is the entire romance plot line, It follows that of LLtG to a T. This could be said to be one the tropes of the genre. However, LLtG's romance is the center of the drama and the revenge is a side arc that enhances the romance. The romance plot line is very serious and complex. In The Double, the romance is a side arc that enhances the revenge story because that is how it is in the novel. The scenes between Duke Su and XFF from the nunnery to the exam banquet are not found in the novel at all. These are purely made up by the screenwriters to follow that of LLtG. There are other plot lines from LLtG that are in this drama as well, but again I will let you discover those on your own.

Finally, many scenes are copied from LLtG. The tea and torture scenes are taken straight from LLtG and not found in any other drama that I have seen or read. Yes, torture is a part of this genre, but the concept of drinking tea along with the torture is something original to LLtG. Again, there are more, but I will let you discover these for yourself.

AiNong has done a good job of finding others and many other people have found other similarities as well. I'm sure if you watch LLtG, you find some as well and then add your own here. Happy watching!

After watching those scenes again, I will offer a different perspective. We know that Duke Su loves Xue Fang Fei and has already claimed her as his wife in episode 2. Yet because of her experience with Yu Rong, she is resistant to love Duke Su because to her love and hate are both bitter (the tea). The abuse from her husband has made her leery of falling in love again, especially with Duke Su as he is using her as a pawn in his own game. She knows she is being used without her consent and tells him that she has just repaid one his favors. Plus, she is just not ready for that type of relationship yet.

AiNong, Talia Too is right. It is not a remake of Love Like the Galaxy (LLtG). The Double and LLtG fall into the same genre (historical fiction) because they portray the tropes of the genre. However, a novel and drama are two very different works of art. This is why a drama is called an adaptation of or based on a novel. It is similar, but is not the same. In this situation it does not matter that the novel the drama is based on came out before Love Like the Galaxy. What matters is that the drama LLtG came out before The Double. I do not want to spoil anything for you, but if you want to understand what you are seeing and why, I wrote about it under Love Like the Galaxy Part 1. By the way, you are not the only person to recognize the many "similarities" between these two dramas.

Love Like the Galaxy is my favorite of Zhao Lu Si's dramas. But I do have to admire the screenwriters literal interpretation of it in The Double. After reading the novel The Double is based on, I can say they picked a good one to parody the genre.

I have heard about YZ and his plagiarism cases. Don't know the laws in China when it comes to this kind of thing. In the United States you can parody anything without permission from the people of the original work. However, it would be hard to make a plagiarism case for The Double because they are parodying the genre using certain dramas within that genre to do it. So I have to admire his clever way of stealing wonderful scenes, characters, and plot lines and adding the comic effect to them . In this case, I think he will have the last laugh.

I did enjoy The Double. Is it a masterpiece, no. Is it something different for the genre, yes! Parodies are there to remind us not to take ourselves so seriously.

MikaM, it's funny because I have been wanting to write a full article on this point, but haven't really had the time. First, The Double is a makjang historical fiction drama based on the makjang book Marriage of Di Daughter. Yes, I read the novel. It is extremely dark and not at all humorous. Many of the scenes between Duke Su and Xue Fang Fei were added to the drama just so they could poke fun at LLtG and other historical fiction dramas (The Story of Kunning Palace and A Female Student Arrives at the Imperial College, Nirvana in Fire).

A parody is an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect. So yes there will be some common themes within both dramas, but the main difference is the comic effect piece. If the screenwriters of The Double had stuck to the novel, it would not be a parody, just a makjang. However, by taking scenes from other dramas and turning them into comedy, they have created a parody on the historical fiction genre. You noticed this when you mentioned one in your post above to Leslyanne. The multiple scenes of Duke Su telling one of his bodyguards to get 20 paddles is definitely straight out of LLtG. Notice we never see the bodyguard get paddled in either LLtG or TD. Both of them are used for comic effect as neither guard does anything worth being paddled over. Another scene is the "tea and torture scene". I have never seen this in other historical fiction drama except LLtG. However, in The Double no one gets tortured, and Duke Su is there drinking tea. Even XFF does it to her stepmother when she brings in the little white cup we all think is poison and instead it is tea that XFF drinks. Another character, Princess Wan Ning doesn't torture people or make them bleed, she just breaks a leg (XFF's brother). Yet, she is supposed to be an evil person. All of these scenes are parodying the torture scenes of LBY in the second season. Another scene is when XFF is drunk and starts pinching Duke Su's cheeks saying, "You're so handsome." This is reminiscent of a drunk CSS pinching LBY'S face and saying to QiQi, "I see LBY does that mean I like him?" For me, the best one is the emperor. Because the emperor in LLtG is overly enthusiastic about getting LBY hitched and is already funny, how do you parody him? You give the emperor in The Double a comedic hat (one that looks like dog ears which no emperor would wear), have him speak with a dead pan face and voice and have him joke with Duke Su about how he loves XFF. The emperor also has a mommy complex with his consort.

But it is not just scene stealing that the screenwriters parody. They parody whole characters. Duke Su is the comedic version of Ling Bu Yi from the way he walks, dresses, and behaves. His fan is the equivalent of LBY's sword and other weaponry. In the novel, Duke Su is known for his red outfits and his red fan with a gold peony on it. LBY is always dressed in black and has his sword. Duke Su only wears a red outfit three times during the whole show. Otherwise, he is in black. Duke Su is also a parody on CSS. XFF doubles as a parody for both CSS and LBY. I'll let you figure that one out.

Last but not least, the screenwriters have parodied the entire plot line of LLtG. None of the scenes between Duke Su and XFF from the nunnery to the exam banquet are in the novel. These were all created by the screen writers. So let's look at this. First, how do LBY and CSS meet. SS gets revenge on her grandmother by turning in her great uncle to LBY. How does Duke Su and XFF meet, XFF claims that she is part of the illegal salt trading group, and they banter back and forth about how nuns can and can't be salt traffickers. This is like LBY and CSS bantering back and forth about why girls should be able to get revenge themselves and not wait for a man to do it. The next big thing is LBY staking his claim on CSS regardless of her feeling for him. Ling Bu Yi stakes his claim during the lantern festival (the twirl), solidifies it when he escorts her into the city, and tops it off when he "asks" her to marry him. Once he's done this he says that what is his is hers and as husband and wife they are one body. When XFF enters the Jiang household Duke Su gives her half of his possessions. He is saying to the world she is mine and I'm just waiting for her to love me in return (exactly like LBY who waits for CSS to love him). All of this is done in the first two episodes of the drama. Yet, the biggest plot line parody of LLtG is LBY using CSS as a pawn in many of his schemes. Sometimes she knows she is being used, but the most important time she doesn't (second season). XFF says to Duke Su in a giggly, happy voice (which in a serious drama no heroine would do) says, "Use me, use me as a pawn." If I remember correctly, I don't think he ever does use her as a pawn. He just lets her be herself, whereas LBY asks CSS to change herself for him. Again, I could go on and on with how The Double parodies LLtG and other popular dramas, but I will let you discover these gems for yourself. I hinted at them in the beginning.

The sad part is when people think of a parody they think of something bad. Actually a good parody teaches us something in a comedic way. The Double does. All historical dramas contain the same message, whether you like the situation or not and no matter what your status in life is, you still have free will and a choice. It is how you decide that determines the consequences. LLtG has this same message.

Thank you for the discussion.

In a makjang drama, which this is, incest is hinted at. This is a part of the appearance vs. reality element found in this drama. In appearance she is a first cousin, but in reality she is not even related to him. Notice that the step mother tries to get them together to disgrace both of them. She does this in the drama and the novel.

Incest is also hinted at with the emperor whose favorite consort was a friend of his mother and was his father's consort. The actress who plays the role is 42 while the actor who plays the emperor is 27.

Thank you for the correction. I have the wrong name for what I thought is the slice of life genre. Then this is a parody on historical costume dramas, specifically of the makjang style. The book is makjang, but it is extremely dark and much of the storyline with Duke Su in the drama is made up.

I am not the only one who has noticed this. Other people have as well. They just don't know what to call it.

Thank you for the discussion and setting me straight on what to call these types of stories.