Several months after its airing, here I am writing a review about it. Sword Snow stride is one of few dramas of 2021 that are still receiving praises from fans. In the beginning I wanted to watch this drama but I decided to ignore it, months later I find a comment from a fan talking about the drama’s ending and I thought “what would I lose if I watched it? it’s not like I have a long list of dramas I’m currently watching.” Let’s go straight to the full review of Sword snow stride!
First impressions.
On this section, I’m only focusing on the first episode and everything else will be discussed after this. First time watching this drama, I made sure that I watch the first episode at night to avoid interruptions because I wanted to put my focus on the drama. I told myself that if the first episode doesn’t convince me, I’ll not watch the second episode… I really meant it. So I pressed play and then the music isn’t what I expected but as opening theme was playing, I figured out that this drama will revolve around politics and war, and it’s been a long time since I watched a drama like that.
I can’t judge the contents of the drama through the opening theme and song but one episode is enough. One episode taking 45 minutes felt like 25 minutes. The first episodes is only about a young man from a military family being hunted down on his way home, you can ask yourself how did they manage to fit such a small plot into a 45 minutes episode but even I’m surprised. The episode wasn’t boring at all, it’s just like downloading a game just because you’re bored but you end up enjoying it and you don’t know how you fell in love with it.
Then there’s this mysterious kung fu girl in white with two swords, you begin to ask yourself what’s her mission? is she a good person? and yes, I think I already saw where the writers are going with her. Note that I didn’t check the main leads, drama synopsis… things like that, I only watched the drama and checked the synopsis after watching it😂 I’m not clear about the storyline yet but something tells me to prepare popcorns as I continue with this drama.
Overall.
Xu Xiao is the King of China’s Northern Liang in an era of great upheaval. Steppe kingdoms have materialized with deadly intent, as rebellious uprisings threatened to destabilize the Southern realm. Against all odds, Xu Xiao managed to defeat them all. During this period, his unconventional, free-spirited heir, Xu Feng Nian been on the road, honing his equestrian skills and bolstering his fighting prowess. On his journey, he encounters the double sword-wielding martial artist Nan Gong Pu She, who’s soon to become his confidante.
In the court of Northern Liang is Jiang Ni, a twelve-year-old girl who is actually a princess from a rival kingdom, with a mind for revenge. As Xu Feng Nian ascends the throne, concerns arise fearing him incapable of following in his father’s footsteps. Xu Feng Nian, despite having mounted a decisive campaign, encounters a crisis while en route to a neighboring province. Its outcome could very well determine the entire realm’s future.
The Good.
1. A different vibe from characters.
If I mention “Historical drama”, you’d think of a drama where the son bows to his father. Court officials/Generals respecting the palace, servants respecting their masters…you probably get what I mean by respect. In this drama we are talking about respect but in a unique way. First episode it was just about Xu Feng Nian and Huang returning back home, so we didn’t get to see his father and the rest of the character but he kept calling his father (Xu Qiao) by his name but I avoided it.
I only thought it was because he’s not at home but I was surprised when his father finally got to see him. Imagine a feared general being chased around by his son, smacking him with his shoe! Totally unusual relationship, Xu Feng Nian never bowed to pay respect to his father, he kept saying Xu Qiao all the time. It was really a shock to me but it was fun to watch this kind of father and son relationship.
They tease each other all the time but you can sense the respect they have for each other. While you’re still on this weird father and son relationship, Xu Qiao is attacking someone in front of the imperial court and he left without a scratch! This drama is unlike the usual dramas with same old boring traditions, etiquette etc… it’s on another level.
2. The storyline.
This drama has a storyline similar to Legend of Fei and Legend of Fuyao to name a few. It should’ve been named Legend of Xu Feng Nian because everything revolves around him as he’s preparing to be crown the Lord of Beilang. He goes from one city to another and encounters different challenges, oops, I already mentioned the synopsis. To cut the long story short, I didn’t find any negative about the story itself and I’m sure book lovers already managed to read the original novel of the drama even though it has over one million Chinese characters.
The Bad.
1. Bad fighting scenes!
You know, in the beginning I thought I will get to witness jaw dropping fighting scenes but I was wrong. The storylines that pushed the fights were flawless, they had perfect characters for the fights but they didn’t invest more in the fights. They kept avoiding a lot of fight scenes, one minute they’re both striking their poses for the fight then they shift to another scene and when they go back to the fight, guess what?… they’ve already finished fighting!
You never saw them fight but the fight happened and they talk about how they struggled to defeat one another. This experience is like those moments when you’re watching WWE fight between Cena and HHH, Cena throws HHH out of the ring and then they go for a commercial break. When they return from the commercial break, HHH is on top of Cena in the ring, you don’t know what the hell happened… they fought but you don’t know how!
Even when they focused only on the fights, they don’t exchange blows like you’d expect them to. They just jump on top of the roof and start moving the sword around with their inner strength, some use drops of water as weapons… it’s just a slow boring fight, nothing interesting. Xu Feng Nian as the main character has the worst martial art choreography, his stance is too weak… every time he draws his sword I’ll he like ‘not this again!’
Conclusion.
This drama is recommendable but there should be a second season because there are some questions that are unanswered. I’m not hating on the female lead but I wish the mysterious girl with two swords was the female lead just the way she was, she doesn’t even have to take Jiang Ni’s role and be a princess. The way she entered the scene was awesome and it would’ve been great if she held on to the character while Xu Feng Nian chased her… it could’ve been an awesome storyline and they look like a perfect match every time they’re together, how I wish they become a couple but hey… I’m not the original writer of the novel. I believe I said what I had to say and I still hope they can improve their fighting scenes if there’s another season.
Ratings.
8/10
