Justine

This is my interpretation of the ending based on things that happened. The ending is considered to be open & disappointed many watchers for good reason. Painting it as a simple happy ending would be misleading to new watchers.

I am totally willing to believe XH survived, if they had a proper happy ending in the end (e.g., ep 40.5 but with proper editing and voiceacting at the end of the "main drama" rather than the rushed episode we got that looks like a high school skit)
Or have the ML return with scars, or at least with bandages, rather than looking perfect... like straight out of an illusion. (remember how the FL hallucinated the ML combing her hair?)

"Also he clearly killed their commander, which already means defeat for the opposite army"
An army isn't going to just disperse or surrender to 1 man just because they have no commander. We clearly see them on horsebacks charging at the ML (despite their commander being on the ground)

"Her hair are loose in the wind and she is looking at the man on horseback galloping toward her."

She has received 0 (zero) news of the duke. Why would she tie her hair to be a widow if she doesn't know if he's alive or dead?
The man/Duke galloping towards her could just be a hallucination. Remember how the FL also hallucinated the duke combing her hair earlier? That's a more likely explanation than the Duke surviving, unscathed, against an army alone.

"Crews always film several ending to protect the secrecy about the real ending of the show."

Filming is one thing. Editing it THIS well, to the point it can just be inserted into the drama, is another.

https://youtu.be/CRkyeae4h3Q?si=um7anfcMcMAjenpj&t=587 (trigger warning: you might not like it if you're satisfied with the ending)

It's just hard to believe the team originally wanted a happy ending. They probably wanted a sad ending at first, then settled on an open ending to not make fans mad. Then, seeing how much love the show & the main couple got, they rushed to do episode 40.5 (evident by the FL not even having a VA) to appease the fans.
But to anyone who doesn't get blinded by their love for the show, it's very obvious it's an open/sad ending. How the heck does the ML even survive alone against so many people? He doesn't! The above clip shows what they were originally planning.

I enjoyed OWGM a lot, lot more.
Their chemistry is off the charts in this 1. I didn't quite feel it as much in TLYGM.
Just remember to skip the 2nd couple scenes, unless you enjoy them (doubt)

The special episode was just something they rushed to put out last minute to prevent fans from rioting. Poor production quality, no FL voice actress, and the leads talk to "us", the viewers. It's just unconvincing fanservice to me.

(warning!) This is something they filmed but didn't add. https://youtu.be/CRkyeae4h3Q?si=dlwbiUAa5gJ9Cd7R&t=588

I'm going to say my honest opinion about that in a different comment. If you don't want your experience to be potentially soured by what I'm gonna say, do not read.

The Double

It was an okay watch. Nothing really memorable or praiseworthy about it, but nothing offensively bad either. I do appreciate the happy ending. Doesn't matter if something entertains me for 39 episodes if it leaves me with a garbage open ending like a certain other drama that finished airing before this one cough cough.

I think 8.3 is a fair rating for this drama.

I quite enjoy the "flawed leads" aspect of this drama & seeing them get character development, but it seems like many people here don't... which is odd because it was obvious from Ep1 that the leads would be far from perfect.

Some people complain that the FL still seems to have affection for the SML & looks at him with "those eyes" and doesn't draw the line... well of course, she was with him in her past life for many, many years and was quarrelling with the ML for just about as long. No normal person can completely lose all affection they had for someone that quickly especially when, up until the recent episode, the SML has been mostly supportive of her.

Some complain the ML is useless. He was entangled in politics for decades in his past life. Now he finally experiences happiness and what it's like to be in love. It's understandable for him to be a little "distracted" right now. I'm expecting him to fight back in the coming episodes once he realizes what SYQ is doing.

I went into ep24 expecting hell after reading the comments here, turns out people were just overreacting lol.

If The Double is the standard, then I hope the ending for this drama deviates from the standard lmao

Had I known all the cute interactions they had would culminate with just a wedding scene + an open ending, I wouldn't be as interested in their romance as I was for the first 39 episodes.

Then they should've had Duke Su's assistants die during Lord Cheng's palace siege. After all, the conflict with Lord Cheng has been built up for 30+ episodes. It would make sense for some "good" people to lose their lives there.
Instead, Lord Cheng's palace siege was a nonevent and the 2 assistants died to a random country that was hardly ever mentioned previously.
Awful, awful storytelling at the end.

I would've given it a 10 if it weren't for the ending. 8.5 for me.

Let's consider 2 things though:
- Every time we've seen him riding a horse, it was a black/brown horse. This time it's white.
- He somehow happened to be wearing a red outfit that matches perfectly with what the FL was wearing.
It feels like just the FL's illusion to me, especially since she just had an illusion of him combing her hair.

There was no explanation.

I'm gonna recommend Once We Get Married. It's not a high-quality drama but the chemistry between the 2 leads alone makes it a very fun watch imo (as long as you skip the 2nd couple scenes). Just give Ep 1 a watch and see if you like it.

There are some cute moments here and there between the 2 leads, but there is very little romance even towards the end. I would not watch it if you're looking for romance.

The special episode was rushed out last minute to prevent viewers from getting angry over what seems like a bad ending. Notice how the FL didn't even have her voice actress?
40.5 just feels fake and hard to believe. Like an "alternate ending".