Under The Power Review

After getting on an emotional roller-coaster ride with the K-drama hit Crash Landing On You, it is time for me to go back to mainland dramas. Under The Power (锦衣之下) has been released for a while now and I finally have the time to watch all the 55 episodes. Sometimes, I really wish these dramas can be a bit shorter! Anyway, the central theme of this drama is investigation of crimes with romance thrown in to tie the main protagonists together. What is my take on this production? I would say that it is not bad at all. The Under The Power review below will give you a comprehensive look at this drama.

My rating: 7/10
Episodes: 55
Type: Crime, Costume
Aired: December 2019
Images Credit: IJQ TV

The Main Cast Of Under The Power

Allen Ren Jia Lun as Lu Yi

Lu Yi is the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who is tasked to investigate crimes and corruption on the orders of the Emperor. He is a stern young man of few words. Lu Yi is smart, capable, and upright but this causes him to clash with powerful figures in the royal court. His love interest is Jin Xia. His father is Lu Ting who is a powerful royal official and trusted aide to the Emperor.

Seven Tan Song Yun as Yuan Jin Xia

Jin Xia is a police constable in charge of investigating crimes in the city. She is an orphan who is adopted by a kind widower. Despite her tragic childhood, Jin Xia is a cheerful and witty girl. She is independent and has a rebellious streak that run contrary to societal norms expected of a female. Her wish is to make enough money to look for her biological parents.

Ethan Yao Yi Chen as Xie Xiao

Xie Xiao is the heir of the Wu An Gang, a major shipping and transportation organization. He hates the responsibility that comes with being the heir and likes to do as he pleases. Xie Xiao loves Jin Xia although he is engaged to his disciple sister on the orders of his father.

Julia Ye Qing as Shang Guan Xi

Shang Guan Xi is Xie Xiao’s fiancee. She loves him but it is a one-sided affair. Due to Xie Xiao’s immaturity, she ends up handling Wu An Gang on his behalf. Shang Guan Xi is loyal and responsible but suffers much in silence due to Xie Xiao’s rejection.

Lu Hong as Yang Yue

Yang Yue is Jin Xia’s colleague in the police department. He is also like a brother to her as they grow up together. Yang Yue can be shy and clueless but he is honest and kind. He falls in love with Shang Guan Xi although he knows that her heart lies with Xie Xiao.

Han Dong as Yan Shi Fan

Shi Fan comes from a powerful family that has the trust of the Emperor. He is in charge of the Works Ministry together with his father. However, Shi Fan is an evil man who engages in various illegal activities to enrich himself and cement his power in the royal court. His enemy is Lu Yi who often gives him trouble with all the investigations into his allies. Shi Fan’s love interest is Lin Ling.

The Supporting Cast

Xi Xue as Lin Ling

Lin Ling is a skillful doctor who has been secluding herself from the outside world. She has a grudge against government officials because they killed her sister’s family.

Li Ting Zhe as Uncle Gai

Uncle Gai is Lu Yi’s granduncle. He studied together with Lin Ling under the same master but parted ways with her due to a misunderstanding. However, he has feelings for Lin Ling. Uncle Gai’s specialty is in concocting poisons. Due to his skills, he has been imprisoned and forced to make poisons for the evil forces.

Wan Tong as Zhai Lan Ye

Lan Ye is Shang Guan Xi’s friend. She claims to be an innocent maiden raised to marry into a wealthy and powerful family but in actual fact, she is Shi Fan’s underling. She has feelings for Shi Fan and hopes that he will let her stay by his side.

Guo Xiao Feng as Yang Cheng Wan

Cheng Wan is the head of a constable unit of which Yang Yue and Jin Xia are a part of. Yang Yue is his son while Jin Xia is his protege. Cheng Wan treats Jin Xia like a daughter and has been looking after her since young. He is also an Embroidered Uniform Guard when he was younger but was imprisoned at one time. He becomes a lowly constable head upon release to escape attention.

Han Cheng Yu as Lan Qing Xuan

Lan is a Taoist fortune teller and alchemist. He uses his wits plus fortune telling knowledge to deceive others of impending disasters or blessings. Lan likes to joke and strikes up a close friendship with Lu Yi and Jin Xia.

Synopsis

It begins with the loss of a military map of the coastal areas where Japanese pirates have been active. Lu Yi is ordered by the Emperor to investigate. This leads him to cross path with Jin Xia and they start off disliking each other. However, Lu Yi needs the expertise and cooperation of Cheng Wan and his team.

As they investigate the various crimes that happen, things are not as simple as they seem. Lu Yi and Jin Xia also encounter danger with threats to their lives. Their feelings for each other deepen but Cheng Wan warns Jin Xia to stay away from Lu Yi due their different status.

So, where do all the investigations lead to? Why is Cheng Wan against Jin Xia’s relationship with Lu Yi? Will Xie Xiao realize Shang Guan Xi’s sacrifices and deep feelings for him?

Under The Power Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Does Under The Power have a happy ending? Yes! Lu Yi and Jin Xia end up together again after he is released from prison. Lu Yi is imprisoned because he requested the Emperor to clear Jin Xia’s grandfather’s name. Her late grandfather was Xia Ran who was wrongly accused of colluding with enemies and imprisoned on the Emperor’s order. The Emperor got angry with Lu Yi for pointing out his mistake and ordered for him to be executed.

Jin Xia begs Minister Xu who is close to Lu Yi to plead with the Emperor to spare Lu Yi’s life. Lu Yi’s sentence is then reduced to life imprisonment. He is released and reinstated to his position after a few seasons when the Emperor pardons everyone to take responsibility for the people’s hardship as a result of a drought. The Emperor has also dreamt of Lu Yi’s late father who once saved him from a fire. Jin Xia is seen waiting at the prison’s gate when Lu Yi is released and they walk back home together in snowy weather as the drama ends.

Why Did Lu Yi And Jin Xia Break Up?

Lu Yi breaks up with Jin Xia when he finds out that his father, Lu Ting, was partly responsible for framing Xia Ran for a crime. Shi Fan framed Xia Ran for colluding with state enemies which caused the whole Xia family to be massacred. This was aided by Lu Ting who extracted a false confession from another party. Lu Yi wants to minimize Jin Xia’s sufferings due to the feud between their families and purposely initiated the break up.

Jin Xia learns of Lu Ting’s role in the framing of her grandfather after being told by Shi Fan while being held captive by him. She then understands why Lu Yi wants a break up. Jin Xia escaped the massacre back then because she was at the Lantern Festival with a servant. She was eventually adopted by Madam Yuan who is a widow.

Cheng Wan knows of Jin Xia’s identity but hides it to keep her safe from Shi Fan. He and Jin Xia’s mother, Lin He, were friends. Cheng Wan tried to save Lin He during the massacre but failed. Lin He pleaded with him before she died to look out for Jin Xia which he did after his release from prison for going against orders.

What Happened To Lu Yi’s Father?

Lu Ting died of illness towards the end of the drama. But he tried to atone for his sins before he died by giving Jin Xia a document that could clear her grandfather’s name. Lu Ting’s hatred of Xia Ran stemmed from his humiliation for having to beg Xia Ran to let him off for a wrongdoing that he had committed years earlier. But he felt guilty in having a hand in framing Xia Ran which was why he had kept the document all these years.

Lu Ting’s advice to Jin Xia was for her to keep the document and clear her grandfather’s name only after the death of the Emperor. This is because the Emperor wouldn’t take kindly to being told of having made a mistake. However, Lu Yi secretly takes back the document from Jin Xia’s home and petitions the Emperor to right the wrong done to Xia Ran after the death of his father. He feels responsible for what his family had done towards the Xia family.

Jin Xia is heartbroken when she learns what Lu Yi has done. Despite their family fued, she still loves him and couldn’t bear to let him sacrifice his life just to clear her grandfather’s name. Luckily, everything ends well for them with the Emperor’s pardon.

Did Shi Fan Die In The End?

Shi Fan was beheaded on the Emperor’s order. His father is also stripped of his position and their wealth confiscated. Lan Ye who was dissatisfied with Shi Fan for giving her to the Japanese pirate, Mao Hai Feng, has a hand in his downfall. Mao Hai Feng is an important witness for being Shi Fan’s partner in various crimes. Lan Ye caught the pirate who is then handed over to Lu Yi.

Together with other evidence collected over the years by his father and the gradual erosion of the Emperor’s trust towards the Yan family with the help of Lan, Lu Yi manages to bring Shi Fan to book.

Who Did Shang Guan Xi End Up With?

Shang Guan Xi ends up with Yang Yue. With Yang Yue being so persistent and willingly sacrificing his life to protect her, her heart finally melted. She realizes how much she misses Yang Yue when he goes missing after a fall off a cliff. In the last episode, they are already a married couple and Shang Guan Xi is pregnant.

Xie Xiao has always treated Shang Guan Xi as a sister and their relationship retains their sibling nature. Xie Xiao also accepts that Jin Xia’s heart lies with Lu Yi. He can only treat her as a good friend and leaves her to join the army in the last episode.

Under The Power Review – Good But A Tad Draggy

Personally, I feel that Under The Power would be more exciting if the drama has fewer episodes. Once I hit around episode 30 plus, I wish for it to end sooner because the cases start to become boring. You know that they all lead back to the main antagonist and it is just that Lu Yi and Jin Xia don’t have the evidence to put him away for good. Jin Xia’s identity is also predictable once Lin Ling comes into the picture. So, in that sense, the chase factor for this costume drama isn’t that strong compared to a more compelling storyline in other productions such as Love And Destiny and The Untamed. Once I have sat through 2 or 3 episodes of Under The Power, I would get easily distracted rather than be tempted to plough ahead.

Great Chemistry Between The Leads

Despite the average storyline though, Under The Power is still good to watch due to the great dynamics of the 2 lead characters. Lu Yi and Jin Xia complement each other very well with their different personalities. One is stern with an aura of a high-ranking official while the other is cheerful with a street-wise persona. Hence, the couple becomes very sweet to watch when the stern-faced imperial guard falls in love and shows his tender side to the bubbly female constable.

I dare say that without the great chemistry, this drama would be a bore especially with the draggy parts in the middle. Allen Ren looks commanding as an imperial guard with his frowns, serious demeanor, and smirks. The last costume drama that I have watched which has a stern-faced general is Dr. Cutie played by Huang Jun Jie. His performance lags far behind Allen Ren’s portrayal of a no-nonsense imperial official. Somehow, Allen Ren managed to make the serious Lu Yi look authoritative and cool at the same time.

Seven Tan’s character is gutsy and she knows how to portray Jin Xia to make her seem tomboyish and rebellious. But she also knows how to project the sweetness of a girl when required. Her smiles and facial expressions can easily switch from pretentious to genuine and back depending on the scenes. This makes her interactions with Lu Yi a pleasure to watch as they bicker in the beginning before gradually becoming lovers. Her big eyes and young-looking face also makes her highly suited as Jin Xia.

My Verdict

I would give Under The Power a rating of 7/10 because the romance and chemistry between the leads have made it watchable despite its central theme as a crime drama. The romance is simply more eye-catching overall. So, if you are watching it for the investigative aspects, you will be disappointed because some details are glossed over while other parts can be draggy. As for the romance, it is a slow-burn type of innocent love unlike the flirting that goes on in Legend Of Fuyao.

Also, there are only 2 kisses on the lips in the whole drama, if you can even call it that. One is when Jin Xia needs to feed Lu Yi medicine while the other is when she is drunk. Well, you don’t always need to have steamy kisses to sell a drama and this is the case with Under The Power because their interactions are sweet enough as it is. But just be aware that kisses are severely lacking here compared to dramas like The Love By Hypnotic which is on the other extreme to avoid disappointment.

Anyway, with a 7/10 rating for this Under The Power review, it is definitely a watchable drama. I have deducted marks for being a little draggy, having an uninspiring secondary couple, and the less than stellar storyline about the crimes that take place. But the crimes are all related to the corrupted doings of the antagonist which means the story doesn’t stray far away from the main plot either despite the drama being 55-episode long. In conclusion, I would say watch it for its strong female character and the relationship development of the main couple. It is easy to root for them and that is already a win for Under The Power.

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