The drama is too long to have investigative plot for 55 episodes. Dropping it.
Under the Power was recommended by my friend, so I started watching it, and I am dropping it after 13 episodes for the following reasons:1. It is too long, 55 episodes.
2. It is too long to watch the lead CP investigate corruption/mysterious murder for that long without any other twist.
3. I love Seven Tan but think Allen Ren is not good. He is a one-dimensional actor with the same facial expression for every emotional or non-emotional scene.
4. The pairing of them is not that great.
Nowadays, I have no patience for anything over 40 episodes unless it is split into two parts or has great plots and good pairing CP like Who Rules the World or Love like the Galaxy, or the Rebel Princess (which has 68 episodes, and the acting is good.)
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Just if you are interested in historical accuracy
I have started to watch this drama when it began to air in december 2019 and since then I rewatched it at least 3 times completely and several times just skipping to my favourite scenes.As there are already many reviews about the acting and the story line I am just going to add a few lines about historical accuracy.
As I have seen many historical/costume dramas over the years it can get somewhat annoying how nonsensical they are dealing with history (of course sometimes it's intended or just not important).
This drama, however, is different. I am far from saying that it is 100% accurate, but we have many things, characters and even lines that are true to their historical origin.
The story is after a book with the same name, for those who haven't read the book: the story line is pretty much the same. The biggest difference might be, that the drama story is set 20 years later then the book, but that doesn't change much about the story.
The actual main plot was the fight for power between the Yan family and the Lu family, which really happend. The Jiajing emperor is described as a cunning and manipulativ man who understood it to benefit from the powerstruggle. So the characters Emperor Jiajing, Head of the Embroiderd Guards Lu Ting and the first minister Yan Song all actually existed. Lu Ting really died because of Yan Song and just like in the drama Yan Song was banned to his hometown (in remembrance of the long time he had served the emperor), just to be executed by the emperor's son shortly after his death.
The emperor was very much into taoism, so even though our dear Lan Pianzi or Lan Qingxuan is not based on a real person he might as well have been.
So much for the characters.
Now, the embroiderd guards were a very powerful instance during the Ming Dynasty end especially towards the end of the dynasty they had achieved great power and were dreaded and feared for their ruthless conduct. The Liushanmen where Jin Xia works as an unimportant officer existed as well. So the embroidered guards were for the big cases and safety in the capital and the palace and smaller cases were first given to the Liushanmen or other similare authorities. As for the japanese pirates roaming around the coasts of Hangzhou, they too, existed. The late Ming Dynasty had a hugh problem with piracy and robbers. Even the fight for the city took place, not exactly as portraied in the drama, but it really happend.
Last but not least, the costumes. As propably known costumes in costume dramas are usually just made for the eye and, except for the recently popular Qing Dynasty palace dramas, not the least bit authentic.
This drama is slightly better. The uniform of the embroidered guards looked like that, with differing colours for different ranks, the length and the embroidery. But well, a drama that is named after the embroidered guards should at least get their costumes right. The rest of the costumes are at least not so off, that it would distract from watching the drama.
All in all very well produced!!
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Ren Jialun played as Lu Yi (LY) is so perfect. Even though he have like sour face for almost the entire drama, but i really feel his face even though sour but still likeable ^_^. His sour face can't make us hate or make our eyebrow flinch with not like :p. I really like the changing in his character. From really cold & strict to the book, he even not slightly soft with Yuan Jin Xia (JX) who is he know is a girl, to became soft and approachable, especially when he with JX we can see the face became so much softer. I also like how the writer show us LY struggle in the last episode where he have to protect JX but at the same time he didn't want to hurt JX.
This is the second time i watch Seven Tan, i really like her, will gonna see her other drama. I like her character JX, she is goofy, tomboy but also sensitive & a little bit sly sometimes ^_^. Like when she want to trick Lin Ling to treat LY with the gun.
Like ChineseDramaFan i also rarely to like an antagonist. The character Yan Shi Fan (SF) played by Han Dong is perfect. Even though he so vicious but somehow he didn't make me hate him like other antagonist character. SF himself really arrogant to the core, even until the last where LY arrest him, he still not show regret or fear, not even just a little bit.
The only one i really can't stand in this drama is the water scene. Oh that water scene really hurt my eyes. So so bad.... The other still ok.
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This review may contain spoilers
LU YI & JIN XIA FAMILY COMPLICATION
Love the comedy, action, social standing on background story of this drama. I love Allen Ren and Seven Tan, they're so cute together. One had OCD and the other one was free spirited - a girl whose appreciated the value of money. There were great interaction to get to know each other better, support and sacrifice and in love. Implacable Lu Yi was so gorgeous in his layer of robes, could't see speck of dirt. Being in uniform, Lu Yi was the best dressed officer as far as I am concern but when he's out of layers - he's not buffed at all - just a skinny lad. Seven Tan delivered her character very smoothly, I think Lu Yi fallen in love with her in how much Jin Xia always found reasons to touch him. Kind of the breath of fresh air after so many C-drama stories were about intrigue, greed, power, and jealousy. I love the dynamic relationship between Lu Yi and Jin Xia, not just the cuteness together but also professionalism when they're on the job. Besides 2 ML, Han Dong (Yan Shi Fan) and Li Qin Qin (Jin Xia's adopted mom) did amazing with their characters.It's dragging the whole Japanese pirates case or zombies, half of the drama was about it. Jin Xia found out Lu Yi's father was involved of the killing her entire family (& clan) based on the order of Emperor. Although their love affair were blooming and promised to love one another, Lu Yi felt guilt of his father's involvement so he voluntarily went for his execution. Emperor realized his wrongdoing by ordered execution of Jin Xia's family later and pardoned Lu Yi. Yeah, it's complected background causes but the end of story was very fulfilling. I think 55 episodes is way too long - 30 something episodes would be more proportion.....I skipped on not so interesting plots.
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Slow build up romance, but never dragging. Simply beautiful
I wasn't sure I wanted to watch this, because i thought it would have a lack of romance and too heavy of politics. But I'm soooo happy that I watch his drama, it was amazing.The costume in this drama was just gorgeous, everyone was dressed well.
The acting 10/10 for everyone, they did a great job, there were never any cringy moments.
ML he was my favourite character, he was dressed very well, his outfits were all amazing and very flattering on him, I loved how unique his uniform was. His acting was phenomenal, he didn't have to say anything for you to catch what he wanted to say with no words, his eyes and his body language had many words. What I loved most was that he was 100% into his character, there was never a moment where I felt like he wasn't. His character was cold/kind inside and even after falling in love etc, he still kept his personality and everything but was soooo sweet, he didn't have to become goofy and changed who he was from the beginning, to be sweet or show affection. He did it in his own way and I loved that a lot.
FL she did a great job, I'm so happy to find a female lead who is smart from beggining to the end, who is also funny but not annoying. She wasn't cringey either. The actress did a great job with her role, I truly admire her, acting was just great and not over the top like some other female leads, it felt so real and natural.
My favourite part of this drama was the chemistry between the lead. There interaction with each other was great, sweet even though they didn't get together until the second half of the drama, but I wasn't sad because it wasn't dragged at all, the pace was great. You can tell the moments where they started falling in love with each other, especially ML you saw how he was in the beginning and then you saw how he gradually started protecting the female lead without being over the top, still his cool aloof self but soooo sweet. They didn't have to do much and being around each other you can just tell the chemistry was there, I enjoyed everyone of their scenes. I loved every moment they were together! Best chemistry I have seen, no joke. I usually never say this, but i hope to see them acting together again, that's how gray the chemistry was.
Don't hesitate to watch this, i enjoyed everything about this drama, the only thing was... I didn't want it to end lool it was soo entertaining, if there is something worse than binging i did it, It was just very good, very entertaining with every episode. Truly a good watch! You really wouldn't be disappointed.
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So Addictive
My feel-good drama, a heartwarming drama with a never-ending suspense. So underrated, although reviews are high, I never really see many people referring to this drama on online forums and comments sections which is so surprising. I have grown up watching Chinese dramas with my family and this drama turned over a new leaf and inspired me to enjoy dramas alone as well.Story 10/10 - This drama is so original although having used the common historical detective trope. With a mix of slow-burn romance and mystery/suspense, this story was addictive and I never wanted it to end. The drama is set out in a very light-hearted way, perfect for those who may be new to C-dramas or look for something light but meaning-full and worth watching.
Acting/Cast 10/10 - Perfect acting, roles played as well as i could have imagined, especially the memorable acting of the ML. I loved the interactions between many of the characters and their different personalities which I found very entertaining. It is interesting to see the main leads be casted in many different dramas following Under the Power due to their flawless acting.
Music 9.5/10 - Any music sung by Zhou Shen ensures the music is beautiful which was wonderfully presented in the Main OST. I appreciate how one of the OSTs of this series are sung by Ren Jia Lun, the ML as he is not only well known for his brilliant acting, but his music career as well.
Rewatch Value 10/10 - When i was watching with my family, 1 episode each day, as I got past the halfway mark I could not contain myself and watched the drama beginning to end alone. I have watched Under the Power 5 times all throughout 2019 and could see myself watching it again if i were to run out of new dramas to watch.
Overall - 9.5/10 - A must watch for all C-drama fans, especially new watchers who enjoy detailed but light hearted stories. The storyline was fast paced but detailed and I can see myself watching this drama more times in the future
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A slow burner in romance.
The title of this review speaks for itself, although I don't have a problem w the storyline, I don't like how the fl's aunt keeps opposing her ang the ml being together, like his dad was the one doing wrong, not him, why do you have to make things hard for your niece??? Just let her be w whoever she wants. Another minus is that the romance develops really sloooow, so those who want to see lots of kissing scenes or the couple getting together quickly, I'm sorry to disappoint but this finna take a while, but overall the drama is great!Was this review helpful to you?
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A Very Engrossing, Attention-grabbing Wuxia Drama
I usually distance myself from any wuxia drama which is not any of Jin Yong’s adaptations. No reason in particular, it’s just I cannot imagine there’s a good wuxia drama with exciting jianghu conflicts and a complicated love story and revenge usually resulted from it. Moreover, there are not many wuxia dramas (good or not) in this xianxia era so I’ve generally been stuck to historical/palace/mystery/crime/political genres. And to be honest, I was just planning to watch Dear Mayang Street (merely because I’m a fan of Xu Weizhou) but I‘ve never seen Tan Songyun in any drama before (I don’t watch Go Ahead, sorry! >_<) so I thought I’d just watch this drama to get a glimpse of her acting.And here I am now, a month later, crazy over it. And falling so hard for Ren Jialun, too.
One particular factor that made me choose this drama over any other of Tan Songyun’s to try is the theme and the background setting. Yes, it’s about jinyiwei―those (in)famous Imperial Guards of China’s Ming Dynasty. Brotherhood of Blades I & II are my favorite Chinese wuxia movies and this drama is set in the same dynasty with the same jinyiwei background and pretty much the same vibe (even the same style of directing and fighting choreography, if you ask me). So the first time I dived into it I was already hooked up, though the two main leads really provided me with so much laughter. But honestly, the thing that I initially thought was sort of weird about it was its soundtracks. Zhou Shen’s opening song and Heart Wall sang by Ren Jialun himself got me thinking, “why so sad? it’s a mystery wuxia drama, anyway.” But of course, this drama is NOT really about mystery, if you just put aside the female lead’s family background.
It indeed starts with a mystery, though, where the Palace loses an important beachline defense map and the Imperial Guards are investigating it (oh, I so LOVE the opening scene where Lu Yi is doing his job so ruthlessly, and that’s when I fell in love with RJL’s acting at the first sight! >_<). But then the one instigating the theft is reported dead at his home, so the Imperial Police Department takes the case. This is when Lu Yi and our female lead Yuan Jinxia meet for the first time and, of course, do not have good opinions about each other. But then the two (different) security departments under the Emperor have to work together to solve the case, which brings them to even bigger and more mysterious and treacherous cases leading up to the political conspiracy of the higher-ups.
I really, really thought it’s a mystery wuxia drama until later on I realized that there is so much romance and where the entire narrative leads us. But even then I wasn’t sure if I should call it a romance wuxia drama or something, because even if it’s all about Lu Yi and Yuan Jinxia gradually realizing and revealing their feelings for each other and blatantly caring for each other in front of others (poor Cen Fu! :DDD), I sensed that romance is not what this drama is about. And it is proven once we get into what Yan Shifan is doing in Hangzhou―Lu Yi-Jinxia’s romance is all what we see on screen, yes, but deep under the surface it’s about corruption and court politics and rotten officials and revenge and all that. And their love story is entangled in this huge mess, and that’s what makes this drama so much interesting to me.
Truth to be told, the court political conflict here is actually so much more complicated and engrossing than that in Nirvana in Fire. The problem is it’s not as well-written, and pretty badly directed, and very badly edited that sometimes I had to pause and thought, “oh, wait...” because I felt that some parts of certain scenes were missing. But thankfully, the acting of almost the entire cast is just amazing. I already know what Ren Jialun actually is like as a person after watching Back to Field S4 (once again, I watched that show for Xu Weizhou―who was a guest in two eps―but he was there, too, with Tan Songyun), but I’ve never seen his acting before. And that opening scene when Lu Yi is torturing the prisoner has truly caught my heart. I remember being shocked and thinking, “oh, WOW! Ren Jialun!”, because when you can be a very different person on screen and in real life, then you are a good actor. That’s it.
And of course I have to applaud Tan Songyun’s performance. We all know there are just so many dramas with cross-dressing female characters recently, but I can say that TSY is the only actress who can do it really, really well. You want a tomboyish girl, she gives you a tomboyish girl. Almost no make-up, absolutely no pretence, just naturally doing what she needs to do. And, oh yes, please don’t forget about Ye Qing. Her character is not exceptional, but her acting is really good. And even the actress who plays Zhai Lanye has done a very good job! Love her :).
And now, can we talk about Yan Shifan? Yes? Okay. We all know he’s the main villain in this drama, surely nothing good can be said about him. A corrupt official? Yes. A cunning politician? Yes. A man with a BDSM sexual preference? Yes. BUT, he only loves one woman in his entire life. This side of him, I think, is very interesting. It makes him more human than what we can see from the outside. And Han Dong does his character very, very, very well. I just LOVE his acting as Yan Shifan. It makes him very eccentric, makes the audience “oh I hate you so much but you are so charismatic just how can I deal with this?!” And his triangle love story with Zhai Lanye and Lin Ling is so much more engaging than that moronic, cliche, annoying one between Lu Yi-Jinxia-Xie Xiao. No joke, really.
I just wish this drama could be better made: better written, better directed, better edited, with better CGI and overall setting (coz seriously, one fake house for almost ALL the officials’ family home setting? one place for both the Imperial Guards Office and Wu Shuoxu’s residence?). And I surely wish they didn’t end the story that way. I mean, it’s not rushed (or, too rushed), it’s just a little bit awkward. Why don’t they show it when Lu Yi confronts the Emperor about the Xia family’s case―the way Mei Changsu confronts the Emperor (played by the same actor, by the way) to clear his family’s name, I mean, that’s pretty much the same thing, right?―and only having Yang Yue tell Jinxia about it in the middle of the street? WHY? And some time after that, the Emperor just pardons everyone like nothing really happens -___-
All in all, however, it’s still a pretty good drama with good premise and good acting and I enjoyed it very very much. It really is a pleasant surprise for me.
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Two different person belonged two different status having common moto brought them together and slowly slowly they fall for each other .Everything went well but their past become the reason of their separation but slowly understanding each other emotion towards each other brought them together and in this way the drama end .
Something I expect from the drama is their marriage because he told her that he wants his children mother was to be her . Indirect proposal how cute . Lovely drama
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