Watch the double - Did Win Jin Yan give us another #cdrama hit ?

 

If you are not fan of  The Story of Yanxi Palace and Wu Jin Yan then you should leave this blog post and move on to the rest of your many open tabs. 

It has a special place in my  heart because it was the first #cdrama I watched and never looked back. 

Now I will honestly admit, except for  the Royal Feast, I have been unable to finish any #cdrama that she's stared in since then, so I was getting worried. 

Thankfully this year The Double was released, a #cdrama based on the novel Marriage of Di Daughter by Qian Shan Cha Ke

A period  revenge Chinese drama about Xue Fang Fei, a young woman whose life takes a dramatic turn when her father, a wealthy county magistrate, loses everything during  major upheaval and betrayal. 

Xue is saved by Jiang Li, the daughter of the Director of the Secretariat.  She adopts Jiang Li's identity and heads back to the capital  to seek justice. 

With the support of Duke Xiao Heng and a few good friends, she bravely faces various challenges, and works tirelessly to rescue her father and brother.

Apart from beautiful costume details and the usual majestic scenery, lets discuss what I liked about this drama... 

The chemistry between the leads.

What brings them together? They are both seeking justice for their wronged family members. Wang Xing Yue held his own. Our expectations were high. When I learnt about the age gap between them, I admired him more for being able to come across as wiser and more authoritative on the screen. He is 22 and she is 34.  They looked good together and I enjoyed all their witty flirtations. 

The saying in the King's office

Our evil characters have some depth and back story

I thought this was great! They took some time to tell  us what made our colouful antagonists who they are . Both  ladies ( Joe Chen and Li Meng) had a good story arc.... many dramas fail to do this. It was done extremely well because  I felt empathy and sadness for them. Bravo to the talented actresses! 

Men manipulated into submissive roles 

Now I am not saying I liked this, but it made the drama interesting. It was discomforting, a husband (Liang Yong Qi)  burying his innocent wife alive .... to a man forced to marry a princess to cover for her pregnancy when the baby did not belong to him... to a father (Su Ke) unable to recognize a stranger masquerading as his daughter. The men are manipulated not to believe that they are powerful but instead to know they are powerless. It all made for an a very intriguing story angle. 

When Su ke's character realizes how he failed his daughter by being unable able to recognize  her or honor her in death, I cried with him. Fantastic acting.

I never knew a fan could be such a masculine weapon!

 

There were some moments questionable moments in the plot line, for example I am still confused about the unnecessary deaths at the very end which I have decided to ignore.... still, an enjoyable watch...I highly recommend !!!

 Is it on the same level as Yanxi palace? I don't think so but it is worth your time.

 I watched it on Netflix but you can also find it on Viki as well. Comment below Did you enjoy watching it too?