The First Frost

A Levelled Up Cinderella Story

This is a Love Story drenched in Deep, Heavy Sadness.

The female lead, Yi Fan, is Extremely Unlucky. She was born into a happy family, but after her father's death, her life took a hard turn from Joyful to full of Suffering. Still, in the middle of all her struggles, she's Deeply Loved by the male lead, Sang Yan, a guy who’s Incredebly patient, kind, and has a heart of gold. 😍

Bai Jing Ting (Sang Yan) and Zhang Ruo Nan (Yi Fan) totally nailed their roles. The chemistry between them? Off the charts. The emotional scenes hit hard, and yes, the kiss scenes are the real deal, no awkward lip-pressing here. ❤️

If you’re a hopeless romantic who watches with your Heart, this is a "Must Watch". You’ll fall hard for this series. Yi Fan, despite being kinda immature and selfish, is basically a Cinderella blessed with a perfect Prince Charming in Sang Yan. 👩‍❤️‍👨

I’m seriously impressed by the original writer, Zhu Yi. The script is full of poetic and touching lines. One moment that got me was in Episode 30, when Sang Yan piggybacks Yi Fan after she says goodbye to her toxic mom. She breaks down and says, “No one loves me anymore. Only you.” And he replies, “I only love you.”
WHEW!!! That hit me right in the feels. 💘

If you’re the rational type, you can give it a try, but no promises you’ll love it. There are a few things that just don’t make sense logically:
First: Sang Yan isn’t just a green flag guy, he’s a whole green forest. Guys like him don’t exist in real life. I mean, sure, kind and loving guys are out there. But one who sticks around and still loves you even after you’ve hurt him for no good reason? Yeah, not likely. 🤔
Second: After Yi Fan left Sang Yan before college, Sang Yan kept quietly visiting and watching Yi Fan from afar. If you look at it romantically, it’s sweet. But from a logical angle? Kinda stalker-ish, not gonna lie. 😅

Anyway, that’s my review. I’m not a big fan of Cinderella-style stories, but for me this one is REALLY SWEET! 🥰🥰🥰

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supercifial & over-hyped

Let’s start with the fact that the male lead is one of the most flat characters I have watch so far.

Male character was created to be just marely a decoration or an objection of fantasy for it’s audience, like those male characters from games that females would have variety to choose from, a male character who’s sole purpose in the story was to cater to the female lead.

Hi dreams, his job, his every action all revolves around the female lead and lacks agency.

not to mention, the male character falls for female lead bec of her physical appearance, yes because she is beautiful, follows her around, and if he is not handsome, people would be calling him creepy, but hey he is gorgeous so it’s okay, but the same audience are annoyed when an intern on her job does the same, following her like a puppy.

female lead rejects him and what did he do? ahh yes he kept visiting and watching her without her knowledge, talk about romanticizing a stalker, but hey again he is gorgeous.

female lead at least has substance, she is someone who experience trauma and made bad decisions during her youth as she is powerless (which i appauld for making it realistic), but the writer made a creative decisions that doesn’t make sense in the context of the story or the character, a journalist who has a trauma, during first episode, her body initial reaction is to help someone, but when face with her own villian, she left everything and decided strangers are better to be around than her love ones (boyfriend & best friend), a journalist is someone who had a knowledge of how the law works (could have filed an harrasment as she has receipts of his threats) but hey blame it on trauma - okay, but then she got back with ml, talk about the traumatic past and slept with him the same night, very contradictory.

it’s like being diagnose with a condition of depression and you see some random dramatic ones who claim to be depressed just for being sad without really knowing the feeling of having one.

but hey most viewers could careless about logic and realistic characters and just want a fictional character they could fantasize for their own.

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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 was 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 for not trying to 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 kissing scenes might be the highlight of the romance, hugs are for me the highlight of the 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. On one hand they did a perfect job at showing 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 - 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. 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.

The 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 drama, 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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The most Anticipated drama, BUT also the most Disappointing drama...

I'm really looking forward to this drama because it's a spin off of "Hidden Love", and people who have read the novel say that this series is better than hidden love. While waiting for the drama , I finally started reading the novel "The First Frost" (the story is good, although I think "Hidden Love" is still better)

After a long wait... The wait turned into DISAPPOINTMENT!

The main reason is the Film DIRECTOR who also turned out to be the Screenwriter.
Although he did not change the main core of the story, he almost changed all the important details of the main story, such as changing Wen Yi Fan's life to be more miserable, changing the story of Zhong Si Qiao and Xiang Lang, making Wen Yi Fan cry from the beginning of her sleepwalking, and many more.

The second reason is the overall ACTING of the cast.
Almost all of their acting is just so-so like the actors of short duration chinese dramas, even Zhang Ruo Nan & Bai Jing Ting who are already experienced, for some reason both main lead seem unable to play their characters well, especially the one who plays Sang Yan.

The last reason is CHEMISTRY & CINEMATOGRAPHY.
Honestly, I didn't feel any chemistry between Shuang Jiang & Sang Yan, their romantic and touching scenes didn't make me blush, smile or warm my heart, very different from the novel where I could feel the strong feelings between the two characters who have liked each other since high school.
Almost throughout the drama we are presented with a very gloomy & dark background, making the drama seem like a low-cost production.

I was very surprised by the number of people who gave reviews with a rating of 9 and above, even a perfect score of 10.
I don't know where their ratings came from, maybe just by looking at the visuals of the main characters? or maybe just blinded by the popularity of the drama hidden love? (What is clear is that this drama cannot be compared to "Hidden Love" which is perfect in all aspects.)

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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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