GREAT DRAMA , HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.ALLEN REN & SEVEN TAN DID BEAUTIFUL IN THIS DRAMA
i just finished this drama two days ago, and this drama really gave me a very deep impression. AN AMAZING AND VERY BEAUTIFUL AND DEEP DRAMA FOR A LOVE STORY BETWEEN LUYI AND JINXIA. The perfect storytelling has brought this drama to be so exciting to watch and I spent it in just over a week.This drama has a very good story development from action, stories about how they work together to solve cases that have involved one of the sons of royal officials, to the deep feelings of love that are built between the Luyi royal guard and Jinxia as an assistant to the Liushanmen government office. Their struggles touched my heart and I cried very sadly in the episode towards the end, and I was very satisfied and happy that they were finally able to meet again and have a happy ending, even though I actually wanted the director to add a little more to the end by letting the enthusiastic audience like I can see that finally Luyi and Jinxia can get married and have children ... but well I am quite satisfied with the end of the story ....This drama has a lot of spices from sweet, funny, action, mystery case solving and there is also a very sad side that can make you cry deeply when enjoying this drama.
and ... of course this perfect drama does not escape the good acting of our main cast "ALLEN REN and SEVEN TAN" who brought their characters as "LUYI and JINXIA".
this was the first time I watched a drama that Allen Ren played, and to be honest the first time I was a little hesitant to watch it, but luckily I started, otherwise I would be very sorry for having missed such a good drama, and I have to admit Allen Ren is an actor who has very good acting skills, he portrays the figure of luyi very perfectly.
I was not a fan of Allen Ren at first but after this drama ... I really liked him, and became one of his big fans ..
I decided to start this drama because of Seven Tan at first, because I really like this actress, she is very clever, sweet and always successful in bringing her character very well in every drama that she carries. I also really like her acting which is very natural in every drama that she brings ... she is a very funny, cheerful and sweet artist.
Allen Ren as Luyi looks very handsome and dignified in this drama .. I am really fascinated and captivated by his character who is very cool here. especially when he wore his royal guard uniform, really very dignified and handsome ..
Besides that, the chant that is inserted into this drama is also very beautiful. I almost like the whole soundtrack in this drama, especially the one entitled "wish / yuan" the lyrics and rhythm of the song are very touching and it seems that it fits perfectly with the scene at that time. The soundtrack by Allen Ren "Heart Wall" is also very good.
the whole of this drama is very perfect and beautiful, and of course for the rewatch value and overall I also give 10/10 points.
for those who are about to start or are thinking about starting this drama .. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS DRAMA ..
At the end of the review I would like to thank all the producers, directors, writers, actors and actresses who have perfected this drama, and of course the crew too ....
excited for Allen Ren and Seven Tan, hope to see them play another drama. because their chemistry is very good and strong in this drama ...
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Amazing Female & Male Leads | Precious Romance
I almost missed this wonderful drama because Ren Jialun (aka. Allen Ren) was not on my favorite actor list. I watched him in "The Destiny of White Snake" but couldn't grow to like him. However, in this drama, he is simply fabulous! The Embroidered Uniform really makes him shine above all; he is so perfect in this amazing drama, as if the character Lu Yi is written for him.Ren Jialun has a face that fits exactly the face of the Lu Yi character to which Yuan Jin Xia has said, "the face of the Lord of the Netherworld" because his face is sour in its resting state. I normally don't like sour faces, but I find the sour face of Ren Jialun so cool and adorable that I don't even believe myself! I love him so much in this drama that he is definitely enlisted on my favorite actor list from now on.
The character Lu Yi has a no nonsense demeanor: ruthless, few words, authoritative (he's the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard), calm, strategic and smart. Ren Jialun simply looks so fabulous in this uniform that, together with his natural acting as an authoritative figure, he merges with Lu Yi as one.
I have always loved Tan Songyun (aka. Seven Tan) who plays the character Yuan Jin Xia. Tan Songyun is so cute and tom boyish with her cleft chin, making her a perfect gutsy police officer in this drama. She has a face that can look like a pre-teen, or a 20 something professional woman, affording her all the flexibility of a fantastic actor and fitting into any roles easily. Her acting is simply top notched.
It is rare for me to like an antagonist, and this drama provides one. The character Yan Shi Fan played by Han Dong is amazing. He's ruthless, deceitful, corrupt, scheming, and a mastermind behind all the evils. The actor Han Dong is tall and good looking. As Yan Shi Fan with a glass eye, devious and a double-faced demeanor, Han Dong's acting is simply immaculate.
The story itself is light and easy to understand and follow. The pace is perfect. There's no one moment that is boring or extra. The romance is adorable and precious. I don't have enough of the male and female leads together, going through all the adventures, solving crimes and mysteries. Every moment of them together is so beautiful, precious and sweet. Their chemistry is incredible! Their relationship has always been complementing and supplementing each other. Lu Yi is strategic and calm whereas Yuan Jin Xia is versatile and meticulous. When Jin Xia gets into trouble, Lu Yi is always there to help her escape unscathed. When Lu Yi faces danger, Jin Xia is always there to face danger with him and protect him. Both are willing to sacrifice their own lives to protect the other. Their love for each other is truthful and undying, and is of the highest level that nothing else can replace. It is this relationship that draws viewers to love the couple and shed tears for them.
This drama has all the adventures, mysteries and romance; a makes-you-feel-good kind of drama, and a great ending providing proper closure - perfect ingredients for a great drama.
This is a sweet and wonderful drama not to be missed. TWO THUMBS UP!
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Under the Power Review This is one of the best drama to start off the year with. If you’ve seen me in the comment, you would’ve known that I actually started drama because of Tan Songyun. Please do not be mislead by the synopsis or the summary of this drama, and give it a try. You’ll be surprise how amazing it is.
Short character detail:
Lu Yi – 22 years old cold, rude and obnoxious. He takes his work seriously, and abide by the rules. When he interrogates people he does not hesitate to use any type of force. At home, he rather loves music and spend most of his time reading. He is actually rather warm compared to what others view him as.
Jinxia – Obsessed with food and making money, and she is very calculated when it comes to earning and receiving money or bonus. She is good at fighting, and even though she has a buddy next to her, he always let her do the fighting and the interrogation. She is goofy around her close friends, mother and master but take her work seriously when she steps in the field.
Storyline Review:
This drama combined two things I love the most, historical and crime, plus a bonus romance. Even though, Lu Yi holds the higher position compared to Jinxia, and I like the fact that sometimes, Jinxia works faster than he does and solve things faster in certain case. She also has the ability to examine dead bodies and clues. Another good point is Lu Yi doesn’t abuse his authority power to make her struggle, although he talks rough to her, he always discusses to her about the cases and seeks her opinion toward them, this take away the cliché of the “liking the guy who ignored you” kind of thing. The story does not revolves just around them, there are doctors, gang members, and etc. I like that this drama does not have too much political issues, or forced marriage (just because they work for the emperor) which makes things even better, because I really hate those types of ideas.
The costumes in this drama seems very simple, but yet they are very beautiful. I mean the Lu Yi have most of the beautiful clothing, and I understand it because he has the high position plus money. Jinxia supposed to be poor so most of her clothing looks very similar, but there are times where they give her very beautiful and elegant dresses that was breathtaking.
The Romance:
The relationship between these two developed really well, and I like the fact that their relationship did not take 40 episodes to realized their feelings. There were small little things and detail from each episode that add up to their relationship, so it does not take long for the romance (no worries there). I like the innocent, naïve and sweet moments that they developed for and each other’s in this drama.
So What?
Overall, I highly recommended this drama to anyone who is interested in historical, crime and humor drama. The scenes, scripted and the novel was so well written, I honestly haven’t shed a tear for a drama in a long time, and they were able to make me cry, laughed and feel all squishy squishy. I like that they did not developed the lead female to be weak, and useless but instead they made a powerful young girl, who saves a lot of people. Each character was very well developed, and Han Dong played such a great role as a villain, and if you hate him, that mean he did a really job on his part. Even minor role as a bodyguard is essential to the story.
I really do hope these actors have a chance to maybe be paired up with each other in the future project. To me, from the OST, story, characters and actors this drama is definitely my favourite drama for the starting of 2020.
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Female lead that is equal with the male lead in brain and brawn
I must admit I didn’t start watching Under the Power until I finished all other Cdramas because Allen Ren (Lu Yi) and Seven Tan (Jinxia) doesn’t fit my preferred look for Cdrama leads who are candy cuties, with fairy faces, and winsome smiles (ex. Jung Jin yi, Zhao Lusi, Zhang Zehan, Jing Boran, etc.).In terms of acting and chemistry, all I can say is that the actors gave their A game in this production. Though they might not win the most good looking award, Allen Ren and Seven Tan definitely deserve an award for their superb acting that made me fall in love with Lu Yi’s resting frowning face, and Jinxia’s impish character. The supporting actors also gave their best and I must commend Dong Han for giving us the sexiest, and most handsome villain (Yan Shifan) to date. He did a great job by giving us a villain that you love to hate with his smiling face while doing vile deeds that sometimes you get to question yourself if you’re a psycho for wanting to side with him.
For the plot and writing, I love that all the crime solving in the drama are just subplots to propel the story forward to resolve the overarching conspiracy plot. I also like that there are SEVERAL STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS in the story not just the main lead (ex. Ms Shengguan, Mrs. Qing, Zhai Lanye, etc). These female characters are just as strong, intelligent, cunning, and brave as the other male heroes in the story. I also felt that there were no filler scenes and that though this drama is 55 episodes long, it didn’t take 30+ episodes for the main romance to be established. Some dramas take the easy way out and give viewers a lot of kissing or sexy scenes, but the writer of this drama took the harder route by creating more logical scenes to establish the romance. Lu yi and Jinxia’s romance is not your cliched love at first sight or the martyr type romance. I fell in-love with Lu Yi and Jinxia’s romance, so much so that I didn’t care that they never had and never needed a full kiss to express their realistic love for each other. I also love the way the characters were written and that they remained consistent to their core until the end of the series. The main leads’ problems were never drawn out and was resolved in a satisfying manner that you don’t have to pray for their angst to end.
Lastly, only people who expect this drama to be either 100% crime solving or 100% rom com will be disappointed . Because this drama has the perfect blend of the elements for everyone. The breakdown of the drama elements are as follows:
40% crime solving
30% solving the main plot
30% romance between the leads
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Shaken and stirred.
Under the Power is the best historical c-drama romantic comedy I have seen recently. The romance centers on how two hilariously different people fall for each other unexpectedly and deal with differences in their backgrounds and obstacles from past wrongs. The internal romance plot plays out within an external investigative storyline around a series of linked investigations by the formidable jinyiwei or imperial brocade-clad spies/secret police aimed at exposing years of corruption perpetrated by the powerful noble Yan family. While the basic premise of the over-arching plot is interesting, the story-writing falls short and loses momentum in the second half. This drama's success is mostly due to sizzling chemistry and side-splitting performances by both main leads.Lu Yi, a highborn jinyiwei, incenses fiery young constable Yuan Jinxia when he takes over one of her cases from the local yamen. To add insult to injury, he commandeers her trusty pistol and extorts her collaboration in a very high-handed way. I cannot lie - I initially did not like the obnoxious, noisy, and immature Jinxia and dropped this show. But desperation in times of coronavirus made me pick it up again and like Lu Yi, I inexplicably found myself falling like a ton of bricks for Tan Songyun's gauche, money-loving, gluttonous, mischievous, shamelessly obsequious, irrepressible and utterly adorable little minx of a Yuan Jinxia. This is the first time I have watched Tan Songyun and I am floored by how comical she is without at all coming across as slapstick.
Lu Yi is not a colorful character - he is rather aloof and wears a fierce, sour, still-faced expression; has no hobbies or evident vices or quirks... except for his x-rated eyes. Initially, he looks at Jinxia with ill-concealed disdain and annoyance at her crass, venal, and nosy antics. He is quite nasty to her. Ren Jialun's facial expressions were so spot on in terms of conveying how Lu Yi's feelings for Jinxia evolved over time that I was with him the whole way. As he comes to appreciate her intelligence, resourceful and unconventional methods as well as her innate loyalty and honor, there is both horrified revulsion and wry acceptance in his expression as it dawns upon him that he may be falling for her. This progresses into a very amorous, caressing gaze that is accompanied by a slow and sexy crooked smile that shouts out that under the embroidered robe, this imperial spy is both shaken and stirred. This is brilliantly written and portrayed OTP whose interactions move seamlessly between comic relief and searing, heart-stopping intimacy. This had me alternating between laughing so hard I was gasping for breath to fanning myself down frantically. Be warned that such moments can result in paranoid coronavirus self-diagnosis.
This drama is pretty much carried by the OTP - the rest of it is quite messy. There are just too many flamboyant side characters that make a grand entrance and then just fizzle out or worse, get dumbed down into a tedious unrequited love daisy chain. You would think they could have done so much with a Robin Hood of the high seas, a tough-as-nails female head gangster, a master poisoner, a trickster Taoist priest, a doctor that can almost rise the dead, a brave general's wife etc. Instead, all we got were boring couples trapped in cliche romantic tropes who were so much more interesting when they were still single.
The critical mistake that wrecked the latter half of the drama was the unnecessary angst in the romance - they threw the very tired "your family wiped out my family" obstacle at the OTP. Without serious suspension of disbelief, this is THE kiss of death - I have never seen any OTP survive this obstacle in a good and convincing way. They only barely made it work here by pretty much sacrificing the entire external plot. This is a pity because the most interesting character in the drama was actually our villain Yan Shifan, who is diabolical, despicable, vicious, humorous, and curiously likable. We know who he is from the beginning and most of the cases that Lu Yi and Jinxia expose are built toward eventually taking him down. He is in a position of strength and can afford to toy with them most wickedly (which he does) but ultimately it is a race to see who can bring the other down first. I was really looking forward to the final showdown. Which never happened. The internal (romantic) plot needed a grand gesture of atonement and reparation so no, none of his victims got the satisfaction of outmaneuvering him and taking him down in a final epic confrontation. His downfall had practically nothing to do with any of the main characters even though a well-loved character dies gratuitously for the cause! Worse, Lu Yi makes a really pointless and out-of-character sacrifice that subjects the final outcome for our lovers to the whim of a capricious emperor. The ending was so lame it should have the position of honor in the Lame Drama Ending Hall of Fame.
So is this worth watching? Absolutely, the OTP is a complete riot and their relationship is perfectly balanced between touching and uproarious moments. As for the rest of it, you just have to suspend disbelief and ignore a few plot holes and annoying characters. No one will judge you for fast-forwarding. To me, this should be an 8.0 but I gave it an 8.5 to recognize the main leads for making me laugh so hard.
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Amazing action by Allen Ren ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
For all those who came for Allen Ren after watching Ms.Crow with Mr. Lizard: don't worry , you won't regret.First of all I am that kind of person who doesn't like to watch traditional costume dramas and dramas with many episodes. But this drama is absolutely very wonderful and I wished it had even more episodes.
The pacing of story is good.
Let's talk about main leads.
Allen Ren: He is the best actor ever. I don't know why everyone calls him a sour face. He portrayed every emotion perfectly whether it is cruelness , sadness and especially his look of admiration and love towards female lead is awesome. You will fall in love with him.
Tan Song Yun: I have watched many of her dramas , but never had a deep impression of her. But her performance is very great in this drama. I became a fan of her.
The second couple and second male lead (?) are a bit annoying, but trust me , this drama gives such a rollercoaster ride of emotions.
Finally, do watch this drama and you will love it too.
Love Allen Ren ❤️❤️❤️❤️
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Great main couple and highly bingable
I had almost given up on c-historicals when Lakshmi s fanguide to Ren Jia Lun (Alen Ren) combined with it being the longest drama on my ptw for the watch challenge gave me the push to give them another try and oh what a great try it was!The story itself is not really anything amazing but it flows on well and has quite a few entertaining, nail biting parts but also some boring bits in between that are highly skippable. There is one very persistent third wheel that tends to get on ones nerves and the story it self gives way to a whole range of emotions from "Come on WTF, not that trope" , to oooooh they are so cute I just want to hug them all and well everything in between,
The leads are AMAZING; yes I amy be bias when it comes to Seven Tan, but still she is this bursting bubble of energy that can show a whole range of emotions and is just an appifanny of talent that is definitely not wasted in this drama. Her chemistry with the ever evolving Alen Ren is great, he made this role really well going from a cold cruel icicle to a caring icicle... he is really good as an icicle and both are a feast for the eye...
The production speared no cost on blood packets, I hope they opted for some good tasting ones because people where spitting blood left and right, but it was not only blood from the mouth but also from other parts that looked more like cranberry juice than blood, but hey considering the amount of blood they had to produce I guess cranberry juice is not a bad choice...
The highlight of this production was the use of umbrellas, and the adorable cat, that even though the cat only had few scenes, it was so well used that no one could forget it, so hats of to the cat!
All in all a highly ningable fun c.historical, it may not be very realistic and convincingly made but the cat, umbrellas, chemistry and entertainment value make up for it!
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“Under the Power” is under the radar no more
"Under the Power" had been under the radar for me until recently, when I saw a FB recommendation, which brought it to my attention again (have known about this drama before). It helps that the story's male lead is an Imperial Brocaded Guard (锦衣卫), the female lead is a detective from the Police's 6th Division (六扇門), and it's set during the Ming dynasty, which would make it an interesting watch for me. I admit, the 55 episodes were a bit daunting, but as I continued watching, it didn't seem that long since there are many things happening in the story.What I Like:
1) It's my first time to watch the main leads, Allen Ren and Seven Tan, in a drama, and they are amazing! It's so much fun to watch them here. In my opinion, they carried the drama in large part, and they have great chemistry. Seven Tan is such a revelation to me. She's good in both the funny and serious/emotional scenes, and I find her acting to be natural. Now I understand why she is so well liked and has many projects. She is a very good actress.
2) I like how the romance between Lu Yi (Allen Ren) and Yuan Jin Xia (Seven Tan) developed. They rubbed each other the wrong way at the start, but as they solved cases and experienced ups and downs together, they learned to care, respect and eventually love each other.
3) Ding Yong Dai as Emperor Jia Jing - This is the nth time that I've seen this man play the role of emperor, and he never disappoints! He has this aura that makes him convincing as emperor.
4) For the first half or so, I didn’t care much about the second couple, Yang Yue (Lu Hong) and Shangguan Xi (Ye Qing), and I was not looking forward to their scenes. But somewhere along the way, they grew on me, and I came to appreciate their relationship.
5) Han Dong’s portrayal of Yan Shi Fan is subtle yet convincing. He seems easy-going and nonchalant, yet behind this façade, you can feel there is something more sinister.
6) As I mentioned, there were many happenings in the drama – different cases, realistic and unrealistic events, infiltrating pirates, seemingly supernatural stuff, court intrigue and whatnot, such that you might forget some of the details if you skip a few days of watching (as opposed to binge-watching it) – but they were able to connect these together and tie things up in the story.
Other Comments:
1) We know more or less who the main villains are early on, so there is little surprise factor here. It's a matter of unraveling the connecting pieces.
2) The character of Xie Xiao (Ethan Yao) – He is chivalrous, can be charming at times (especially in his unkempt look – beard and all), and full of good intentions, but he is also one of the most emotionally dense characters I've seen in a drama, to the point of being insensitive and clueless. More than once, I wanted to knock some sense out of him.
3) This drama has a lot of flashbacks. While these enhance the watch experience, too much of them can sometimes feel redundant. However, it's not a big deal for me, but I just want to point it out here.
4) Despite it being 55 episodes long, the last few episodes felt rushed and anti-climactic. Some important events were not even shown, just mentioned, like they’re not significant.
Final Verdict: Despite some cons, I like and enjoyed watching "Under the Power". If you like costume romance drama combined with action, humor, mystery, and some court intrigue, and don't mind the 55-episode length, then go watch this!
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Also... the villain. A GREAT Villain is not as 2D as the Villain in UNDER THE POWER. While I liked the actor and how he looked and acted, I felt the writers could have fleshed him out to have more depth of character. A flat villain equals a flat show in general.
And... one other thing I hated about the show was the side character, Xie Xiao. His character singlehandedly nearly ruined the entire watching experience. I haven't cringed and hated a character as much as his in a loooong time. When we FIRST see him, I thought he was going to be an intriguing new character, but the 2nd time we see him (just a bit later) he's an annoying twat for the rest of the show.
WHAT I DID LOVE about the show was the acting, the ML's for sure and how WELL the FL is written. She's a FABULOUS character. Strong, Intelligent, Great with her pistol and martial arts, and multifaceted. She needed help sometimes, she needed to be saved sometimes, but a LOT of the time SHE was the one helping and doing the saving. She was a wonderfully rounded heroine, and that alone made the show worth watching!
So... if you like to be entertained with a GREAT FL & ML, and decent plot, great chemistry between leads, tons of action, etc., then you'll enjoy this show. I personally won't watch it a 2nd time, but I don't feel like I wasted my time either. It was entertaining and fun to watch. :)
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Let's get this straight first, Under the Power is a RomCom focused on the characters rather than story. There are more negatives than positives, but the drama was alright to the end. I have re-edit my review having completed the series, so check out my thoughts below!Story/Plot
Story is about Lu Yi and Yuan Jin Xia solving crime/mystery cases with friends in a case by case arc format. In summary, everything before the Japanese Pirate Arc was good as the drama seemed like it was following a storyboard. Once the Japanese Pirate Arc/ Poison Plant Arc started, I suggest letting go any sort of expectation of a story (Literally watch the drama with a grain of salt). The story was a mess; obvious missing scenes which causes the audience to literally guess "something here" happened, scene jumps and cliche chinese 'drama' ideas (e.g. villian will take the characters away rather than killing them where the characters will just easily escape by untieing their ropes)
Completion Evaluation: No coherent story all the way to the end. Everything 'just happens' on the spot. *Shakes head*
Acting/Cast/Characters
- Lu Yi is the Oppa.
- Jin Xia is the cheeky girl who everyone loves and gets away with anything with her smooth talks & detective skills.
- Yan Shi Fan is the big hidden villian/ antagonist that everyone knows. Usually, his underlings start the problem for each arc and everything eventually relates back to him. He is evil because he has fetishes and is greedy, so very cliche.
- Shangguan Xi and Yang Yue are very frustrating to watch. Shangguan Xi at least has more depth to her character where the audience can empathise with her suffering and feelings. Yang Yue falls in love with Shangguan Xi at first sight so he must protect and love her at all cost now at the cost of his life??? (Very Cliche)
- Nothing against the actor Ethan Yao, but the character Xie Xiao is a brain-dead kid. If you are reading my review right now, IGNORE THIS CHARACTER, pretend he does not exist, this will save you brain cells and a million eye rolls.
Music
Due to the drama still airing, many scenes where the OST should be playing have been muted (maybe due to copyright reasons). This is not the drama/ production fault. So I went back and listened to the OST/ music individually and they were not bad.
Completion Evaluation: A few of the OSTs were out of place for a few of the scenes, had to lower score.
Rewatch Value
I won't bother watching the drama again apart from some memorable clips. As stated in the plot section, the story is a mess half way through so don't go through the pain again.
Why I gave the drama my current rating? (8 -> 7)
The max I could give this drama is a 7, however I still enjoy the drama for the Lu Yi and Yuan Jin Xia interaction. Since this is a RomCom, of course we watch for the cute relationship between the two main leads which is still very engaging and fun. We watch for the bickering, the caring, the protecting of one another and the cheeky one liners that get all of us swooning. However the major downside of this drama IMO is the story which ruined this IP. At the end everything was rushed, made no sense and was just boring to watch. The last episode was a total joke just to create a happy ending bahahaha.
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Love or Hate, That is The Question
Under The Power a.k.a. Beneath the Brocade Robes refers to the brocade-clad secret police during the Ming Dynasty. The series has a total amount of 55 episodes based on a historical thriller by Lan Se Shi and can be seen on YouTube.Story
Our heroine is the tomboyish Yuan Jinxia (Song Yun Tan) an orphan who’s brought up by a detective policeman. She works as a private detective with her foster brother, both can get along very well. During a chase Jinxia clashes with an officer from the secret police, the cold and ruthless Lu Yi (Allen Ren). Once again she meets him by chance when searching for imperial funds that has gone missing. Lu Yi is also set on the case, and reluctantly they begin working together. Gradually they develop feelings for each other, until Jinxia discovers the secret police has been responsible for the demise of her family. Question is what will prevail, love or hate? Will she be able to love a man who wears the brocade robe or should she go on the path of revenge?
Acting/Cast
Series are made or broken by the cast. In this case the leading actors, and their chemistry, are on point. Allen Ren (Glory of Tang Dynasty) and Tan Song Yun (The Fox 's Summer) both have a unique screen presence despite not being mainstream handsome. She has this spunky tomboyish attitude, with underneath a bright observant mind. He has this imposing personality, quiet but vicious. They start off in a clearly servant-boss relationship but soon they complement each other so well, they can't do without. Also jealousy enters whenever one of them interacts with a potential lover. It's a pleasure to see both can act, their facial expressions are priceless. Last but not least, kudos to Han Dong who plays a villain you love to hate.
Music
The opening theme is beautiful but a bit on the melancholy side, and there's the usual music at the back ground, but nothing special. They've faded out a lot of tunes during the episodes, especially when there's a lovey-dovey scene. Perhaps this is a license issue? IDK.
Rewatch Value
Both the music in the background and the CGI effects are badly done. Still I like to rewatch this drama. There are clues to the mysterious past of the leading couple, interesting side stories, and slow burn romance. You better not miss it.
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Despite average story, the romance and the main couple will make you fall in love with this drama
I just finished watching the series and could not wait to share with you my thoughts.First I will start with what I do not like about the drama.
Under the power comprises four genres: mystery, romance, historical and palace politics. The producers wanted to focus on too many themes at once and therefore failed to do most of them justice.
The genre that was extremely well-adapted is romance. The remaining three can be pretty much ignored. Though this drama supposed to be set in the Ming Dynasty, it does not have any correct historical representations in there. It even had some fantasy elements: such as a mystical deer or wind chimes that create 4D illusions. In terms of mystery, most cases are unrealistic and quite silly sometimes. I found out that the scriptwriters came up with some original cases that were not in the original novel but - I mean really, a ghost ship?! How many Pirates of the Carribean movies did the makers watch? Or crazy cavemen who attack people based on their smells... And finally, the palace politics: the villain family Yan had trust from the emperor and supporters in the palace. The way the main characters/family Lu are trying to bring the family Yan down is rather predictable and nothing spectacular. The emperor was a puppet who had little own thoughts. It was a bit anti-climax at the end as the last "fight" between Yan and family Lu was kind of off-screen.
Also, many supporting characters could have been written better: Xie Xiao (male lead 2), Yang Yue (best friend of female lead) and Shang Guan Xi (female lead 2). Their characters are just not at all convincing in terms of behavior. Xie Xiao seems to be a joke and was only installed to make the main male lead looking better (though that was no need, cause he was outstanding on his own). Yang Yue's character just is way too into Shang Guan Xi so that he is willing to risk his own life multiple times though Shan Guan Xi does not care for him at all the entire time. Her love for Xie Xiao is also not convincing and does not fit her character. Though the actors themselves have done a pretty decent job it was just hard to care about their fate due to their unrealistic behavior.
Finally, the CG was pretty poor. You clearly can notice the CG part vs. the real part. Esp. the water and ship scenes were full of CG and looked just laughable. I will just blame this to the the production’s little budget. But if the production knows that the budget was little, why did they opt to produce so many water scenes?
Already early on, I started to fast forward most scenes about 1.25x or 1.5x except for the romantic scenes between the main leads and the few last episodes. With a total of 55 episodes, I would recommend you to watch to the end, fast-forward it is the best way to save some time but not to miss the overarching plot.
Now the reason why I actually really like this drama: the romance and acting. I have been always the opinion that no one can produce better romance dramas besides the Korean. But I was mistaken. I was literally blown away by the sweetness of the two main leads.
Lu Yi, son of the commander of the emperor's guard organization Jing Yi Wei, appears to be authoritarian, strong, self-focused, cold-blood at the start. Throughout the drama, he started to develop feelings for Jin Xia, the police girl who became his subordinate. Slowly one begins to see the caring, empathetic, righteous and even cute side of him (esp. when he gets jealous). Allen Ren depicts Lu Yi most perfectly, esp. impressive is that he is able to keep the serious face of Lu Yi but at the same act out all the emotions with eye glances and small facial expressions. If you are like me, you will melt into his glances and fall helplessly for him. However, later into the drama, you will realize that someone like him does not exist in the real world. :) A shout needs to made to the voice actor Zhang Jie, who made Lu Yi more manly and therefore irresistible. With Allen Ren's original voice, the character would have appeared less mature.
The female lead actress Tan Songyun is so far the best young female actress I have seen in all Chinese drama land - though I haven't watched this many Chinese dramas I have seen the work of many top-rated Chinese actresses. Tan Song Yun really impressed me with her natural acting. Jin Xia is a very likable character: boyish, righteous, strong-willed, smart and cute. Song Yun does a tremendous job of becoming one with Jin Xia so that she makes the audience feeling hurt, happy, anxious, angry and loved... And isn't this what marks an excellent actor?
The chemistry between Allen Ren and her is excellent. The two leads soon overcame their prejudices and started to express signs of likings of each other, therefore, the audience is able to enjoy sugar-coated scenes already early in the drama. And of course, some scenes are beautifully heartbreaking as well. This is quite different than most romantic Korean dramas, in which the writers almost abuse the leads throughout the drama and only "allowed them to become happy" towards the end, which is often too suffocating for the audience. Thus the balance between romance and heartache is just right. I have started making a list of my favorite romantic scenes of this drama - it came down to almost 40 of them!
In the beginning, you might need to get used to the fact that whenever there is a romantic scene, it goes into slow-motion and the title song will play as BGM. Also, there will be quiet a few playbacks as well. However, because the romantic scenes of the drama are really sweet, all these will not bother you. In fact, you end up winding back and watching the scenes again.
A big shout to the supporting character Lan Dao Heng, played by Han Cheng Yu and the antagonist Yan Shi Fan, played by Han Dong. They have done a fantastic job playing the roles. Though Yan Shi Fan was the evilest person you can imagine, you somehow have felt empathy towards him.
Finally, the costumes are really gorgeous and the songs are very beautiful. The ending song is sung by Allen Ren himself. I will be looking forward to seeing him performing on stage with this song.
All in all, I was amazed by myself how much I enjoyed this drama. Despite its many shortcomings in terms of the story I still very much recommend this drama if you like romance.
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