Jin yi zhi xia

What could possibly go wrong when you throw a fierce imperial officer and a tiny loud-mouth constable together to form the ultimate crime fighting team? Answer: An action-packed tale full of twists and turns, all stuffed inside a fluffy comedic basket full of nuts.

I picked up this series to help pass time while under voluntary house arrest, all thanks to the infamous COVID-19. Its trailer left me with pretty low expectations from the start: oft-reoccurring tropes of frenemy to lover, angsty love triangle, odd couple romcom, etc...etc.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by the excellent pacing of this odd little story, as well as the casts' ability to add more depths and dimensions to their otherwise stereotypical roles in wuxia series...all with the exception of the impish Constable Yuan, played by the adorable Tan Songyun. This boisterous little oddball is undoubtedly one of the goofiest and funniest female protagonists in Chinese costume dramas to date (although that conniving grandmaster from Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain is not far behind on the list).

You won't be disappointed if you're a sucker for romance. Both the female lead and her dark counter part, imperial officer Lu Yi played by Ren Jia Lun, had great onscreen chemistry that's truly endearing. As expected in a romcom, the two characters ended up falling for each other, but thankfully the script didn't drop the instant-love trope on this odd couple. Instead, there was a decent amount of character development before their slow-burn romance ignites. On the other hand, audiences looking for angsts will definitely not be disappointed in later episodes.

I think "Under the Power" is a drama that contained a variety of elements that will please most viewers; everything from mystery, crime, comedy, to romance...you name it. After all, we can certainly use a bit of mindless entertainment in times like this.

I hope everyone stays healthy!

I started to like the show but I'm getting annoyed with the leading actress. It started out good but as the show continues her overacting kills the mood. I find myself struggling to keep interested whenever she's in it Why does the writers make her out to be a whiny, gluttonous, clinging weak constable? It's not cute nor funny. It's annoying as heck. The question that pops in my head is "why the heck is she even a constable when everything about her isn't so great at anything other than whining & being scared about ghosts and evils. Then clinging onto to the leading actor like a monkey?? Was it even appropriate behavior for this time period??" .. ugh... every episode the leading actress says "sir" more times counting all my fingers and toes plus yours... but I must force myself to watch it to the end and see why the other reviewers think its so good...

In this special year, I spent more time at home and felt so bored. To kill my time, I found many movies and TV series to watch. One day, it occured to me that some Upers in Bilibili said this is a great one because of its fascinating acting, so I watched it at March. Three months have passed, but I am still crazy about Jialun Ren!!(Or we call his old name Guo Chao, hahaha)

I really enjoyed this drama. From the beginning to the end. It worth watching.100%

I almost passed up another good one cuz the title wasn't that interesting. I don't know who comes up with the English titles for Chinese shows/movies, but they need to work on creating better ones. This one turned out to be another binge-worthy series filled with comedy, romance, revenge, brotherhood friendship, family ties, camaraderie, power struggle, cat-and-mouse games, betrayals and double-crosses, mysteries and cases to solve, well choreographed fight scenes, and a ghost ship, to boot. Boasting a wonderful cast who had perfect chemistry with each other, there were no eyesores, even the villain is quite handsome. And the ending, though rushed, was very satisfying.

I took away a star for: 1) the typical unnecessary long drawn out scenes, 2) stupid acts by supposedly very smart people, aka female lead who winds up being a damsel in distress situations simply due to her impulsiveness, 3) repetitive dialogue ( I hate lazy script writing), and 4) the excessive use of closeup shot of eyes to convey emotions...throughout 55 episodes, it really got tiresome and annoying.

I've found another star to love! Ren Jialun, aka Allen Ren, whose portrayal of Lu Yi was simply divine! I can't wait for "Autumn Cicada" to be available. I enjoyed the performance of the female lead, too, but for some reason she didn't seem to embody much star power (although I'm sure she has a huge legion of fans). I just watched her in "Go Ahead" and felt the same. Perhaps, it's the fault of the script writers who made her out to be that way. She's quite effective in these cutsie impish roles, but I hope she'll get opportunities to showcase some more well-rounded acting.