swear i can hear every heartbeat in this place

Woman on a Path of Revenge/Cold Male Love Interest Is a fave historical drama trope because it mixes ROMANCE and MURDER. The next three shows I'll talk abt will center around this trope.

Gonna start with...

The Double (YouTube)

A 2024 drama that was among the most popular last year. It most deffo goes off the rails HARD, and I still am not sure if it's in a good way or a bad one.

The premise

The drama begins with 30-something Fangfei (played by Wu Jinyan) waking up in her bed next to a random guy. It's the set-up of all set-ups cuz she's never been unfaithful in all the years of her marriage. When Shen Yurong (played by Liang Yongqi), her husband, gets home, he suggests they go elsewhere to have a frank conversation. Fangfei is all for that while claiming her innocence. Along the way, he offers her some tea.

And then Fangfei wakes up IN AN OPEN GRAVE (!!!) with Shen Yuron holding a shovel and looking down at her. Fangfei's hands are tied up; she's starts asking what's going on. Shen Yurong apologizes for how far things have gone BUT, given her infidelity, he's been ordered to get rid of her. The scandal would be horrible for HIS reputation. He hits her on the head with the shovel and starts throw dirt on her.

Somehow, Fangfei manages to dig her way out. Dazed, she wanders around the forest for a bit. Then she meets a young woman who had been wrongly accused of a crime she didn't commit. Due to PLOTTY REASONS, the young woman dies. Fangfei decides to steal the woman's identity so that she can return to society, clear the woman's name, AND also find out what prompted her husband to kill her.

The 2nd part of the plot is abt Fangfei bumping into and teaming up with Xiao Heng, a.k.a. Duke Su (Wang Xingyue), a general who is v. close with the Emperor...

This is a 40-episode drama I pretty much bingewatched. Revenge plots are my fave type of dramarama to follow along, so I knew I just had to check this show out.

IMO, Wu Jingyan has a knack for playing characters who, after being mistreated by Life, decide to correct all the wrongs done to them. This is something I first picked up during Yanxi Palace. FWIW, there are enough things to keep The Double from being an exact copy of that other drama. THAT SAID, if you liked that aspect in that other drama, then chances are you'll dig this one too.

Fangfei is a character I liked cheering on for most of the show. She's someone who cares deeply abt people and, despite what's happened to her, she manages to connect with all sorts of folks.

Let me be the first one to say that I did found Wang Xingyue as Duke Su super hot, LOL. He has a calculating, HIGH competence vibe that it's total catnip for me. His sense of humor is super dry--which I loved. I also liked his aesthetic--which includes lots of dark red and black, v. severe, and perfect fits. He tends to sit down in a lounge-type of way that made me think of a beautiful cat that's almost impossible to not to pet. However, as soon as the cat sense that someone wants to pet it, it'll scratch EVERYONE'S EYES out.

The two of them together are quite intense most of the time. What makes this CP attractive is the BANTER. They tend to tease each other as they're commenting on stuff that's happened or plan their next steps. Lots of sassy remarks and whatnot. Their chemistry (in that aspect at least) is solid. Additionally, they are v. softe with each other when they're alone--which is something that both characters need for different reasons.

As for the villains, well, one of them is a regular level while the Main Villain is a SUPREMELY EVIL CHARACTER. The regular villain is interesting up until the end when they kinda go flat. The Main Villain, tho. Oof!

I appreciated that the drama offers some meaty backstory that explains how and why that character became a real Big Bad. It's hard to not end up pitying the Main Villain. Not enough to excuse what they do for the entire series. However, knowing what the character has gone through adds depth and understanding to their behavior.

My bestest guess as why ppl flocked to this show is cuz there's something happening in EVERY. SINGLE. EPISODE.


Do I have any criticisms?

The flipside of having so much happening is that, after a while, it can get overwhelming. Because there's so much occurring, things that would normally take a while to get resolved, actually end within 2 episodes. You just gotta go with the flow.

Personally, the drama actually peaked at ep. 30, maybe ep. 34 if you want to stretch it a bit. And then, the plot switches lanes onto Imperial Court politics. My interest began to dip as the episodes went on. However, all I had left were 6 or so episodes, so I decided to stick with it til the end. *Hands*

Other criticisms:

- For all my yays abt the CP (including seeing them becoming acquainted to teaming up and eventually developing an emotional and psychologically strong bond), I never quite fully onboard with the romance. He's REALLY into her from the get go. Meanwhile, Fangfei's too focused on the revenge plot to even consider feeling attracted to anyone. Eventually, she does acknowledge her feelings, and then their affair goes on as expected.

However, the romance angle sort of fades away once they got together. Also the show does the most to keep things so G-rated that I wondered why they even bothered to have a CP in the first place.

Yes, it's a Chinese drama and I know that they had to keep things on a milder side of things in order to pass censorship. Fine. What puzzles me is that, even though the 2 characters click with each other, when it's time for all of the lovey-dovey stuff to BLOSSOM (including a degree of sexual attraction), it never quite reaches that level.

My two (unproven) theories as to why the love levels stay so low:

Theory A - IRL Wu Jiangyan was 32 at time of filming while Wang Xingyue was 21. I can see the production team and sponsors thinking that they'd avoid any controversy if they lowered the heat level. Funnily enough, some folks still complained abt the IRL age gap. IDEK.

Theory B - IMO, Wu Jiangyan doesn't seem to be super comfortable with romantic scenes. The only other thing I've ever watched her in has been Yanxi Palace, but I do recall all of the lovey-dovey scenes in Yanxi being a bit awkward.

- The director and production teams REALLY LIKE ZOOMING IN. It can be a bit disorienting at first. One thing that doesn't help is that Wu Jingyan (Fangfei) tends to have NO expression during any extreme close-ups. Which is odd cuz a lot of those close-ups happen whenever the character makes a monologue, tries to convince someone of something or has a flashback abt something. She's staring straight at the camera…but there's NOTHING there? All she gives is a v. strong 😶 expression. FWIW, I did get over it by, like, episode 7, but it IS odd. So, if you feel kinda weirded out abt that, trust that I had the same feeling, ahah.

- OK, so I HAVE TO TALK ABT THE ENDING. I didn't like it because there's a specific point (abt the hour or so mark in the episode) where, if you stop watching it there, then everything will be peachy. However, FOR SOME REASON, the story continues for another 15-20 mins and UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH In spoilers:

AGAIN, HERE BE SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING

The CP is married, everything is fine and dandy…until Duke Su is sent to fight some ppl elsewhere. He and Fangfei say good-bye followed by a combination of fighting scenes (which include some characters of the main cast dying) and Fangfei waiting for Duke Su to return. The waiting stretches thru seasons. It's kinda ambiguous whether he dies OR makes it back to Fangfei.

That ending was SO UNIVERSALLY HATED that the production team came up with a hastily patched up, 6-min ending "special episode" set years later where the CP is married and raising a kid. But the vibe was lost. 🤷🏾‍♀️

What's the FMC's plot armor level?

RIDICULOUSLY HIGH

I did come to resent the 20-inch/50.8cm thick plot armor that Fangfei wore. It's not that I wanted even more horrible things to happen to her. However, the way the show went out of its way in protecting her (to the point of breaking any and every logic that has ever existed) went past the point of ridiculousness.


How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?

Same old "fighting for the throne" bullshittery. Personally, I didn't feel one way or another abt the emperor and his problems. OTOH, the focus on the throne plot made everything v. dull to me. OTOH, it brings ALL OF THE PLAYERS together cuz everyone has to side with or against the emperor.


How does it address/work with the trope?

It's a pretty standard version with Fangfei out for revenge, Duke Su being the one to fall first, and the two of them working better together. I wouldn't exactly call them a Power Couple because the plot makes too many logic leaps in order to have the CP overcome all of the obstacles, IMO.

On a scale of Somewhat Threatening (1) to Having MURDER FACE 24/7/365 (10), Duke Su falls at "There's a strong AURA of DANGER that might make you want to cross the street (5)". He means business, but only if you mess with him. If you leave him be, he'll return in kind. He fulfilled his side of the trope pretty well.


Do I recommend it?

IDK???

FTR, I started watching this drama during the end of January of this year. I was NOT in a good mood due to the US Inauguration Day garbage. Can't deny that made it easier for me to accept the drama's logic fails without much fuss.

Mind you, I kinda had to get with it early cuz something happens in either episode 8 or 9 and it kinda broke my brain in a good way? It allowed me to LET GO and just follow along even when the story was random and nonsensical. IDC.

So, what happens is that Fangfei is in a competition against someone else. Then something occurs that *I* initially thought was a type of metaphor. HOWEVAH, based on the reactions from all of the characters in the scene, the thing was REALLY HAPPENING in front of everyone. It left me speechless then and it still leaves me 🙃 now.

OK, here's the scene in question.

Under a cut cuz even the thumbnail is a LOT.

Watch on YouTube

Now you get why I was like O____o? LOOOOOL FOR INFINITY.

IF you continue watching this after accepting that the drama will go off the rails, sideways, will twirl away, etc, THEN, maybe you'll enjoy it. Again, back when I watched this, I was feeling super low and wanted a break, so I gave it a chance. I had a good time then. Looking back, though, THIS IS ONE OF THE WORST SHOWS I'VE EVER SAT THROUGH, HAHAHAHAHAHAH. After a while, I was like *HANDS*. And then it had that terrible ending followed by the fix-it episode…

I'm giving it a 1.8 out of 5. It's a watchable but v. disposable. You can find the first 22 eps on YouTube (on the Youku channel) and then search for the remaining 18 (ppl have uploaded it). The full series is on the Viki app as well as on Netflix.


Queerness level

There are a couple of characters that I kinda, low-key gave a raised eyebrow. But nothing that would make me suggest watching for those characters.


Le Trailer

Watch on YouTube

Imperial Coroner (YouTube)

The premise

First airing in 2021, this is abt Chu Chu (played by Su Xiaotong), who comes from a family of coroners in her small hometown. She wants to be a coroner. In order to do that, she's got to take an exam so that she can secure a license to practice alongside her father and older brother. From what I can remember (it's been some 3 yrs since I watched this?), it wasn't exactly forbidden for women to want to be a coroner, but it's deffo looked down upon. Chu Chu doesn't care, though. She's READY.

On her way to take the exam, something happens that has her meeting Prince Xiao (played by Wang Ziqi), who is the head of a criminal investigation department within the Imperial Court. Unfortch for the prince, his unit is way understaffed (in part cuz it's considered lesser than other investigative departments.) Regardless, Prince Xiao picks up on Chu Chu's smarts, so he strikes a bargain. He hires her to help him investigate some odd cases and she will get more experience AND some backing to help her become a true/officiall coroner. From there, they team up and investigate all kinds of cases (usually murders).

Along the way, there are two larger storyarcs: one focusing on Chu Chu's background and one abt the Prince's history…


I have to admit that I almost gave on this show after the first 2 episodes, LOL. The way I go abt watching shows is to give the first three eps a chance JUST IN CASE. Sometimes, the pilot might not be good enough, the second episode might be wobbly, etc. USUALLY, by ep 3, I've made up my mind as to how I'm clicking with whatever's on the screen.

Two episodes in, I did find a lot of things I liked BUT there were other things that really, really annoyed me. Regarding the first, I liked the cinematography, most of the characters, and the acting. Unfortch, the one (1) character that kept annoying me was Chu Chu herself. :(

IMO, Su Xiaotong was playing her a little too peppy for my taste. On top of that, her outfits in the first 5 or so eps skew toward a younger (think pre-teen girl) look that was discordant with the whole murder cases thing. IJS.

ANYWAYS, I was abt to DNF the show when I said "well, let me sit thru one more ep just for completion's sake"...and I ENDED UP FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE DRAMA, HAHAHAH. JOKE'S ON ME!!! FWIW, I've got zero idea as to shifted for me to go 😍 and yet!

I kinda feel like Chu Chu, as a character, DID calmed down a little bit w/r/t some of the OTT quirkiness that was rubbing me off so wrongly in the first two episodes? As the show went on, I appreciated her dedication to her work and how much she loved her family. It was ALSO neat to see her world expand as she met more ppl and… (THIS IS NOT A SPOILER, Y'ALL), eventually having a romance with Prince Xiao.

Meanwhile, Wang Ziqi's approach to Prince Xiao was really interesting. He's considered to be aloof..but not in the usual OMG, HE'S SO SWOOONY type of way that Chinese historical dramas tend to do. He's much more of a cerebral character (although he can deffo fight when necessary).

As a couple, the two of them are ADORABLE. They're one of my fave types of couples: FREAK4FREAK. Both are v. unconventional people (Chu Chu is not grossed out by gore (having grown up in a coroner family) and Prince Xiao tends to suss out people and situations (but he's a bit of a socially awkward failboat at times). I love their vibe because they see each other for who they ARE and fully accept each other. So, when he starts to woo her, he does it in a totally unexpected way and she does the same.

SPOILER

there's a handkerchief Chu Chu embroidered a v. specific rib bone cuz it's the rib that's anatomically closest to the heart

ON TOP OF THAT, there are two other AWESOMECAKES characters that I LURVE. One is Len Yue (played by Zhao Yaoke) who is a badass lady that Chu Chu proposes to when they first meet and Jing Yi (played by Yang Tingdong), Prince Xiao's bestie and a bit of a brawler AND a goofball.

Had this been another kind of drama, there would've been some messy stuff happening of Chu Chu being jealous or Len Yue OR Jing Yi and Prince Xiao fighting for Chu Chu's heart. Instead of that BULLSHIT, WE GET EVERYONE CONNECTING WITH EVERYONE TO THE POINT THAT IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO NOT GO OT4. All four have amazing chemistry with each other (and, IMO, I feel like the show DOES PUSH for OT4 in every which way?) This deffo elevated the delightful experience that it's watching this show.

Most of the cases are pretty cool and interesting in terms of the crimes and how the team went abt solving them. I remember being kinda eh abt two cases, but I also didn't mind them much cuz I was having a good time watching Chu Chu, the Prince, and everyone else doing their thing.

ANOTHER COOL THING is that, if you're squeamish, all of the autopsies and the crimes are depicted via animation. So, even though Chu Chu and co deal with a lot of death, there's v. little actual gore onscreen. IJS

Sometimes, though, the way that Chu Chu and Prince Xiao discuss the cases can be a bit too much? (which includes the level of decomposition of the bodies, how deep/bad injuries were, etc.)


Do I have any criticisms?

I didn't care abt the whole drama with the emperor, LOL. IMO, things got unnecessarily convoluted, YMMV.


What's the FMC's plot armor level?

MEDIUM

Chu Chu's bad experiences in the show have to do with past emotional trauma and moments of grief (regarding her mother, who passed on before the show began.) By ep. 10, I knew that she was gonna make it out okay out of dangerous situations. Which was fine with me cuz I didn't need that stress, really.


How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?

It's a plot that began in a clever manner, but then it got dull as the show went on. I was not into it at all. *Hands*


Do I recommend it?

HELL YEAH! You get (mostly) intricate cases featuring two people who are FREAK4FREAK, their besties/paramours, and a whole lotta fun stuff in 36 episodes! I'm giving it a 4 out of 5. Watched it on YouTube; I know it's also on Viki.

Even better was hearing the news (late last year) that filming's already started for SEASON TWO featuring with the ENTIRE CREW AND ACTORS FROM SEASON 1!!!

(So now I'm thinking of rewatching it later this year, i.e. before Season 2 drops.)

Queerness level

HIGH.

You've got F/F, M/M, F/F/M/M, M/M/F, etc. The OT4 works in every. single. way. There are a lot of shippy moments for every combo. If you like polyam ships, this might be the C drama for you! (You'd think I'm overselling, but nope, I'm truly not.)

Le Trailer

Watch on YouTube

FWIW, I feel that this trailer makes the drama look goofier than it actually is. Even though I understand it as a way for ppl to tune in, it does miss the mark when it comes to encapsulating what this drama is really like. IJS.