The First Frost

Overrated , so - so drama

speed- too much slow . lagging
Actors- good looking , but bland no expressions , awkward
Romance - didn't feel like real no butterflies , no aww moments
Story - was good biasedly not my type , shouldn't be compared to HL
Overall opinion - though it was not that bad and this is my fully biased opinion , this drama is not worth a rating of 10 . Everything felt unrealistic SY's character was something I absolutely loved in HL but here it was totally changed . His only motive in life was yifan here he was completely obsessed which is creepy actually , but since it is a drama and she didn't mind it , everything was fine . His character is potrayed as a full green flag but in just some cases he isn't . I mean he's great but it's over the limit . Also the drama leaves question marks in some scenes for the viewers who've already watched HL . The timing doesn't sync but guess that's okay not a big deal . It's just that it was a bother . as a HL fan . FL's character ....I don't know she was great but not my type , her acting was a bit obvious . Haoan was good though , I was kinda more invested in his story but it wasn't shown greatly .
Finally , it can be definitely watched (once) , and may seem and feel better if you haven't watched HL or don't compare this drama to HL while watching . and ofc all the actors are worth a applause and appreciation .

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The complexity and trauma hidden behind that stoic persona.

If only the show was shorter. It was such a good story, with a rather good message, extremely well delivered closure in all areas, so why don't I feel much when I think about it? Maybe, because it was all diluted too much in these 32 episodes.

Wen Yi Fan is one of the more refreshing and real female characters I have seen in quite some time. The detailed presentation of all the layers of the complexity and trauma hidden behind that stoic persona that Yi Fan was truly stunning. The way we slowly learned how much of an impact her past has on her current self. How hard it is to heal. How hard it is to believe in yourself and believe you are worth being loved and cared for. It’s a whole journey filled with reflection and development, building up strength and character. Learning how to protect yourself and people around you, how to set boundaries. How to move on. How to start anew.

What’s more, I loved how the romance was not its own separate thing - it was an integral part connected to other plotlines. It felt like a cohesive picture - a situation happening in one area affected other areas of Yi Fan’s life: be it friendship, work, relationship. If I were to name the love story presented here, rather than slow paced, I’d call it patient. Was it a bit one sided plot wise? Yes. I’m not saying Yi Fan did not love Sang Yan. It was extremely clear she did. Considering the story though - it was all about how Sang Yan can help her, protect her, keep her safe, and support her. Did I mind? Not really. Relationships are almost never 50-50. Sometimes they are 20-80, sometimes 70-30. It changes as the life situation changes. Relationships should not be about keeping a score, but wanting to thrive as a unit.

For the conclusions - huge props for the story to not fix the family relationships. Not even give a vague “maybe in the future”. The ties were cut as they should. There was no redemption arc for anyone. The aunt was awful till the end, the uncle was just a criminal who deserved the punishment he got, and the mother was selfish till the last moment they showed her up on screen. Finally we are not fed the bullshit idea that no matter how abused and neglected you are, you need to forgive and forget because “it’s family”.

I loved the last conversation Yi Fan had with her mother. I loved how she was not fooled by the tears. I loved how she understood she is worth the love. The mother was selfish, always prioritizing herself. Yi Fan did nothing wrong and that message was loud and clear.

Random thing I truly loved is the number of hugs we’ve got. Hugs are honestly so underrated in dramas. While kiss scenes might be the highlight or romance, hugs are for me the highlight of a love - the way Yi Fan literally melted in Sang Yan’s arm, the way it showed how safe she felt being with him.

What’s more to appreciate? The acting. Zhang Ruo Nan aced the role. She embodied Wen Yi Fan. It’s so hard to play a character that feels a lot of strong feelings, but also hides them from others. The emotions have to be obvious to the audience, but also subtle enough that we as viewers understand she does not want to show them, and other characters might miss them. The balance of how much to show is a skill not that many actors and actresses possess.

Big props to all the villains too - strong performances that made me hate them with passion.

All that said, I had mixed feelings about the “trauma” aspect of the show. On one hand they did a perfect job to show how trauma can and usually does impact every part of someone’s life, because it can literally change one’s personality, sense of self-worth. It’s not just about “reacting to triggering events” - it literally influences any and all decision making. On the other hand, why exactly did they add all the sexual assaults and harassment to the show? From what I heard from people who read the novel, some assault/harassment scenes did not even take place in the source material… and I fail to see why they were added. Was her being harassed and assaulted twice not enough?

To the things I disliked - more or less the show should have been shorter. I’d cut around 8 episodes if I had any say. There was quite a lot of repetition. Some plotlines were not only too long, but quite honestly, completely not needed (grandpa's story was cute, until it was just boring and ill fitting - why so much focus on it?) Stalker actor? Why was he there? Just to annoy the audience, since his presence brought close to nothing in terms of progression of the plot.

And now I will say something truly controversial - I think there was too much Sang Yan. Wild take, I know, but hear me out. This is by all means one woman story - Wen Yi Fan. She is the only one with real depth and development. The one who faces both external and internal struggles. The heart of the whole drama. Sang Yan was there, stagnant. He did not need development, because his existence centers around Yi Fan. Where he lives, what he does, where he works, how he behaves - all dictated by Yi Fan’s existence. I had no issue with that. I don’t think in every romance drama both main characters need to be equally developed. I just think their screen time should then be adequate of how much they bring to the drama. By all means, Sang Yan was not an interesting character and I never truly cared that much for him because of that. He is hot and a perfect boyfriend, and then what?

The production and editing was hit and miss for me at the same time. You know how at the end of the episodes of dramas they always add highly edited screenshots from the episode with 87545865406 filters on them? This is kind of how the whole drama felt. The screenshots came out amazing, but some scenes just felt exhausting for me to watch. There were moments when the distorted reflections and lens flares literally blurred the faces so much, I could not see them. I wish they were more selective when they want to turn up the aesthetic shots.

Soundtrack was perfect for the drama, but music wise not my style. Still, the songs are supposed to fit the show, not my own personal preferences, hence high score from me.

Overall, maybe I just expected more. Something about this drama just did not click well with me, even though I should love it. I still enjoyed it, but there were times when I played the episode out of obligation of wanting to finish the show, rather than excitement or seeing what will happen next.

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Understanding the story

I can't say that I love the series as much as it's feels very authentic. At least to me. Having a life almost parallel to the FL I can relate to her difficulties in life and how that impacts her relationship and interactions with people. Especially her ML. Her acting is spot on and his is absolutely beautiful to watch. Some scenes left me in tears. His love for her... it's like "I will love you enough for the both of us". Watching her gain her strength and voice is wonderful to watch. I am at 27 (a little agitated with Netflix because they keep changing the number of episodes). I didn't know there were 32 EP until I came to MDL.

It is definitely not a passionate romance on her part but that it part of her character's foundation. If you having any understanding of SA you would understand the wall she must climb over. I love that ML is a "kick the wall down" kind of lover.

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First Love Forever

I like the male lead though he’s not the most dashing of actors around. He is an excellent actor and carries his roles well.

What I Liked:
- The song track was very good. Catchy songs.
- The female lead was very good-looking. I had total hair envy just looking at her gorgeous locks.
- The plot was decent and the supporting cast of people whom the FL worked with in the Nan Wu news company were nice and I liked that.
- The ML was a good guy and was truly so in love. I liked that they were devoted to each other.
- I liked that FL was feisty and courageous. She tried her best to protect herself and she was brave in the face of adversity. How difficult it must have been for her to be abandoned by her mother after her father’s death. How difficult it must have been for her to live with her awful relatives without pure hearts and intents. How awful it must feel to be thus unloved and abused,

What I did not like:
- I didn’t like all the bad characters. Duh? The FL’s uncle was disgusting and immoral. Such a lecherous scumbag.
- The FL’s relatives were generally disgusting too. Horrid characters. Exceedingly selfish and immoral.
- The second lead’s story with the grandparents and all that was quite unnecessary though the second FL was cute.

Overall, I think this is an easy kind of watch. The cinematography is beautiful. It’s a good show though some parts can be a little slow. I think the leads did a good job to carry the show and their roles. ;o)

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I didn’t expect The First Frost to hit me the way it did.

What looked like a simple second-chance romance ended up becoming a soul-stirring story about time, regret, and the love that lingers even after everything else moves on.

It’s slow. Purposefully slow. Like healing. Like thawing.

The story isn’t grand or full of dramatic twists—it's intimate. It's two people who used to be everything to each other… and then, nothing. And then, years later, something again. But now with all the weight of what they couldn’t say back then.

The cinematography is poetic—each frame feels like it holds its breath. The silences between characters say more than any dramatic dialogue ever could. And the snow... don’t even get me started. The snow in this drama doesn’t just fall—it feels.

The leads? Understated, but with a chemistry so thick you can feel it under the quiet. The ache in their eyes, the longing, the "what-ifs" that hang in every shared glance—it all made me pause and exhale slowly, like I was there too, carrying my own forgotten feelings.

What touched me most is how it doesn’t rush to fix what’s broken. It just sits with it. Like life does sometimes. It tells you that love isn’t always loud or timed right. Sometimes, love waits through years of frost—quietly, stubbornly, faithfully.

If you’ve ever loved someone in silence…
If you’ve ever wished life gave you one more honest moment to say what you couldn’t before…
Then The First Frost will find you—and stay with you long after the credits roll.

Rating: 9.8/10 and for Deep feelers, second-chance believers, snow-day dreamers, and those who like their dramas slow but soul-deep.

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Worth to wait a year!!

I have checked this page probably every day for the last 3 months, but I have been waiting at least a year for it to come out. Absolutely worth it! I love a good slow burn, and this delivered more than a slow burn! It has a great story, amazing acting, amazing visuals and amazing stories. Even with my favorite show, I am known to skip forward a lot and I never start a show before it is finished. I have never skipped one scene, not even the old grandparents, more than that I watched many scened a few times. This was so warm and heartwarming.
Sang Yan is one of the greenest flags I have ever seen, and Wen Yifan has one of the best character developments ever. At first, I was skeptical about Bai JinTing. I love the man in comedies, he delivers so well, even with his eyes... However, he played the cold-faceted yet golden-hearted, silly goose in love so well! His looks made it even better. I am so glad he was chosen to act as Sang Yan.
FL has displayed the scared and scarred little teenager to the brim. She reflected the emotions and love so well. I was about to get annoyed with the character right around the ending but, no, quick saves!!! And as characters, they were both super understanding and willing to grow out of it. Although I believe he needs the comfort of having her trust and safe harbor, he was there for her without judgment.
I appreciate this drama so much. I think it will go down as my all time favorite show in the history.

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Incredibly dreamy & beautiful ❄️and

Never thought that I would be loving a spin off of Hidden love more than Hidden Love but here we are. The leads are INCREDIBLE and Extremely good while portraying complex characters of Sang Yan & Wen Yifan - A beautifully melancholic story of pain, trauma & endless wait to say it what they feel about each other & life.

He literally drew stars over her scars & she became a warrior beating her traumas. The use of lights, mirrors, glass and reflections & transparent umbrellas in this drama is CINEMA.

Cool tonned & hazy frames until episode 16 & warm tonned and glossy frames from Episode 18 hinting at the thawing frost ❄️ by the ☀️ was so beautifully done.

It's an adaptation for decades to love. Definitely worth a rewatch every season when the first frost descends. Sang Yan is the Amazon Forest of mankind & deserves to be loved by every living being.

My pet peeve would be the plot change but it's understandable for adaptations sake. The scene of her opening up about SA trauma to Sang Yan was followed by a bed scene which is a little inappropriate but maybe comforting for their story but still, I'd rate is equal to Hidden love & Lighter and Princess - My roman Empire trio of Cdramas.

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Beautiful and captivating drama

This is just a beautiful drama.


There are not so many dramas in recent years that have me smiling , giggling and excited for the couple. This is one of the few. I loved this so much, I gave a review after the 10th episode and the review stayed consistent till the end.

The chemistry was through the roof and the acting was superb. Very big kudos to the actress for portraying her character so well. I felt the depression, trauma , tears through the smiles. She really did a very good job.

Now the ML has caught my attention in previous dramas like reset and you are my hero (both amazing dramas). He is such a natural and didn’t disappoint at all. His character here is the greenest flag I have ever watched in a ML. His love and gestures towards the FL is very reminiscent of the kind of love in older k dramas. I can’t even explain it but I was hooked lol .

The OST/ music wow….., let me just say my Shazam was working overtime. The music captured the emotions in the scenes and made them more impactful. I don’t remember liking any Chinese drama ost but this one , every song was perfect.

The Side characters were also very good. I loved the bromance and the friendships. The toxic Family dynamics were portrayed well. I felt bad for the FL mum until I didn’t feel bad for her anymore lol. I am glad there was no unnecessary redemption arc.

What I didn’t care too much for:

- Grandpa and grandmas story , it was cute at first then they started getting more screen time, I had to skip a lot of their scenes.

- The second ghosting arc was unnecessary and the reunion after that was also too forgiving and quick.

- The flash backs became redundant at some point towards the end.

Overall
Highly recommend this drama, especially if you are in a drama slump. It’s just a great watch. I wish I didn’t watch it yet so I could watch it for the first time again 😅

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Best modern Drama of 2025 so far

I went into this drama a little scared cos I knew how heavy it was going to be,and I was scared of how it would turn out bcs not many actors know how to potray grief,depression etc but ruonan literally devoured like she’s amazing. the way she potrays her pain is so beautiful,and let’s not even talk about BJT he never disappoints and he definitely wouldn’t start now,Sang Yan is on my top 3 characters played by him. He embodies this role so well. BJT and Rounan’s chemistry are really of the charts,they make me giggle and blush so hard. So far out of the modern drama’s of 2025 this is the best.

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