Sugar Baby’s Review Corner: Sword Snow Stride

Sword Snow Stride

Xu Xiao has risen to become the King of Northern Liang at a time of great upheaval in China. Steppe kingdoms have risen with deadly intent, and rebellious uprisings threaten to destabilize the realm in the south. Against all odds, Xu Xiao has managed to defeat them all. Meanwhile, his unconventional, free-spirited son and heir Xu Feng Nian has spent years on the road, honing his horse skills and fighting prowess. Along the way, he meets the double sword-wielding martial arts expert Nan Gong Pu She, a woman who becomes his confidante. Also joining the royal household is a woman named Jiang Ni. At age 12, she joined the court of the Northern Liang. However, she is actually the princess of a rival kingdom, and could be harboring deep sentiments of revenge. When Xu Feng Nian has to take to the throne, some at court worry that he will not be able to follow in the footsteps of his father. But things come to a head when the party has to travel to another province to fight a decisive campaign, the outcome of which could determine the very future of the realm.

mydramalist

I always have such a hard time reviewing Chinese historicals mainly because I feel like I can never truly go in depth with what happens or discuss certain plot points. This drama is no exception as there’s so much that happens throughout this story. Like so so much. I would like to thank this drama though, for helping me through my slump. I guess that’s just the excellence of Zhang Ruo Yan.. When he’s in a historical drama, I’m never disappointed. 

The story here started off very slowly yet I was immediately into it? I didn’t even particularly care about this description, I just found that Ruoyan was so charismatic in portraying Xu Feng Nian and y’all know there’s nothing I love more than a character who plays dumb to catch wise. Granted Feng Nian was actually not the martial arts expert at this point in time and there’s something super sexy about having women bodyguards being pure excellence. I liked the way the story progressed and how things were slowly revealed. At one point, I thought that damn Xu Xiao has no business adopting every damn male he sees as his family cause look how many times they try to kill his actual child? Lmfao. Tbh, I laughed everytime Feng Nian told then that their beef was not with him and to take it up with his father. Hu Jun and Ruo Yan have excellent chemistry. The politics, the intrigue, the scandal!

My major complaint with this drama would be the way the women lacked in a clear sense of direction. I recognize this drama as one where the focus is on the main lead but I think they needed to give us more substance with the women and especially Jiang Ni because that love story was hanging by a thread. In general I don’t like the harem take because the person with the most chemistry is usually not the endgame.

All of that aside, this drama had so much going for it and listen, Wang Juan, is an automatic watch from now on because his historicals that I’ve seen have not been a miss at all. Sword Snow Stride comes highly recommended by me especially if you’re searching for a Joy of Life feel. 

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