caroldilse

IGNORE THE AWFUL RATINGS BLITZ! I love this slow-burn drama, and I have already rewatched it multiple times. The subtle reactions-especially with his expressive eyes-of the male lead are so evocative.

Thus, when I visited IMDB you can imagine my shock at seeing the awful ratings score. Even if this type of drama isn't one's favorite cup of tea, the ratings generally don't fall off a cliff like this.

So, shame on everyone who has some type of irrational vendetta against a member of the cast. You are abusing the purpose of a review venue!

I am so glad I didn't consult IMDB before I decided to give Flourished Peony a try. It exceeded my expectations many times over. I can guarantee that even if you don't end up falling in love with the drama as I did, you will find it worth the watch.

Viewers must be willing to put aside any expectations that every element of a c-drama is plausible. If a person can do that, then this period drama is worthy of your attention. The chemistry between the ML and FL is mesmerizing at times and always fascinating. There are no intrusive second or third couples taking away from the main story arc. That happens to be one of my biggest peeves with c-dramas: spending time introducing new couples to the story rather than developing the main couple's relationship.

The quality of The Double has made it one of my favorite Chinese period dramas, along with The Story of Yanxi Palace. It is no coincidence that the same actress stars in both dramas: Wu Jinyan. She helps make both dramas soar. In The Double, she and her male costar, Wang Xingyue, convincingly portray a woman and a man who develop a strong connection based on mutual respect.

I like happy endings and not ambiguous ones, so this is the one aspect of The Double that I will 'knock.'. I will say no more, other than to encourage to give this drama a try.

I so much wanted to love this series. I found the ML (first time seeing him in anything) extremely appealing, and the FL was good as well. However, by the time the credits rolled at the end of Episode 6, I felt like screaming at the writer. I had expected that at least in the final episode, the emphasis would be on the present day, but no, we were subjected to more repetitive flashbacks. I always feel cheated when this happens. Writers seem to use excessive flashbacks as fillers for content rather than provide more development of the storyline and/or main leads.

I will try to find other series or movies in which this ML appears after feeling shortchanged by this production!