I know that for a lot of international viewers, the ending was a let down, however, I've been looking on xiaohongshu and seen some pretty good explanations for the ending that's made me change my mind about how it played out. Now, I think that the ending is pretty cinematic and fitting for the drama. I've linked the video I found most interesting, but if you don't understand Chinese, I've translated the video for you below!
Link: https://xhslink.com/m/AOqNXtZGzIi
Translation:
Not letting Madam Zhang and Lin Ran meet is actually Sword Rose's best ending. There are two reasons. One is prior to the finale, in Madam Zhang's mind, she has already found Lin Ran. For 31 episodes, Madam Zhang's illness has progressed and she already can't recognize anyone. She subconsciously mistook Deng Yan for Ranran, additionally, Deng Yan played along and called her "mom." In this moment, Madam Zhang's wish has been fulfilled. There's no need to shoot another mother-daughter reunion, especially because Sword Rose isn't a feel-good drama! It's core is "trafficking", just like when Caiyun saved Xiaochu, there wasn't much details about the process, as long as the result are good. This type of urgency is like the working pace of the anti-abduction office. For the sake of returning thousands of children to their homes, they can't stop for even a moment. Second, Lin Ran represents the abducted children in the drama. The "mother-child" reunion scene is actually something we've seen many times already. When Ranran was trafficked to the Tingchang Village, everyone in the village had lived there for generations. Even though Lin Ran has memories from her childhood and knows where her home is, the director uses a long sequence to show us that it was impossible for Lin Ran to escape. The endless mountains stretching as far as the eye can see and more mountains behind each one, and the Lin Ran that was just kidnapped was similar to the drama's Xiao Yangyu, She's weak and helpless, without the ability to care for herself, therefore unable to escape the endless mountains, and even more unable to escape the villager's "unity." Once she grows older, she will become like Xiaochu. Even though she has the ability to escape, every time she resists is met with a severe beating. Later, she will become like Caiyun, numb after day-after-day beatings. She no longer holds onto the unrealistic hope to escape, and possibly could even have had her own child. When she finally returns home, she will become Xiujing, or even become more tragic than Xiujing. Her father left not long after her abduction and her mother worked hard to run a small restaurant but in her long wait, she developed Alzheimer's disease and cannot recognize her own daughter anymore. Lin Ran and Madam Zhang's story looks as if there's not a proper ending, but in reality, every story beforehand is their ending. Their experiences [Zheng Weiwei, Xiujing, Caiyun, the mother who found her baby again, and Xiao Yangyu,] are like a "what if" scenario in Lin Ran's life. Jiang Feifei's appearance actually shows us the life Lin Ran could've lived if she hadn't been abducted. In addition to this, there are many heartbreaking contrasts in the drama. Take Yanlei and Xiaoguang for example. For both of them, after they were kidnapped, they were raised by their foster parents but Yan Lei's biological parents gave birth to another son so even if Yan Lei was found and returned home, he can never have his original family again, while even though Xiaoguang was also kidnapped, he met the kind-hearted Qi father [Qi Defu] and his biological father was even willing to accommodate him and live in the rural village together. Additionally, Xiaoguang and the other lawyer's child are also contrasts of each other. Under the police's help, Xiaoguang was found but another child was buried at the side of a road for being to noisy and their life was ended at that moment. There's also Zhen Ni. She's like Luoluo if she hadn't been saved and had been deceived by the traffickers sweet words and walked a path that she couldn't return from. Caiyun and Xiaochu are reflections of each other. Xiaochu's present is Caiyun's past. When we first saw Caiyun, there was no light in her eyes and was numb. When she returned to her hometown, not only did she not feel inferior because of her past, she even saved someone who was just like her in Xiaochu. Speaking truthfully, when Caiyun was looking into the window, I kept worrying for her, fearing that someone will come out from behind her. Madam Zhang and Xiaoyangyu's grandmother are both hospital workers. If Lin Ran hadn't been kidnapped in the past, Madam Zhang could definitely rely on her retirement funds and become a stylish and carefree old lady, and could even have a grandchild. There's also the 20,000 dollars that appeared in the drama. Qi Defu relied on picking up trash and saved 20,000 dollars but used that money to treat Xiaoguang's sickness and ended up not marrying anyone, but Liang Wei lives in a 2-story house but used 20,000 dollars to buy Caiyun, ruining her entire life. Lastly, the most realistic contrast in the drama is the difference between boy and girls being kidnapped. The drama's Xiao Yangyu, Xiaoguang, and Xiaoyu, although they were forced to leave their original family, but they were mostly sent to other familys to continue being a son, but for those girls who were kidnapped, their ultimate value was in sex or reproduction. Clearly, they used to be their family's treasure: Xiujing, Caiyun, and Zheng Weiwei. These names that are like paintings carries their family's deepest love, but in the traffickers eyes, they are only a product. Sword Rose is deserving of everyone watching it. It raises public awareness for abduction prevention. Let the world's traffickers have nowhere to hide!
