The First Frost

Since this was based on the character Sang Yan from Hidden Love, I couldn't wait to watch it. And I really wanted to like this more than I did. But, unfortunately, I felt something was missing.

Granted it started with a disadvantage because I was a fan of Victor Ma (the original Sang Yan in HL) but I came to like the actor Bai Jing Ting in the role, even though he still didn't quite ring true as Sang Yan.

What I had a hard time with was the character Wen Yi Fan's treatment of Sang Yan. Leaving him when she was in high school and breaking his heart might have been understandable but doing it again once they were adults and in a relationship. I had a hard time with it.

One can forgive someone once especially a teenager they do dumb stuff without warning all the time. But as an adult? She could have talked it over with him. At the very least she could have left a proper goodbye.

It did have a happy ending.

All in all not a bad watch but it definitely didn't live up to all the expectations.

Should you watch it? That depends. Are you a fan of Victor Ma? Did you love him as Sang Yan? If you did this one might just grate a bit, because no one can replace an original actor in a role. However if you can set aside that and watch this drama as a standalone unrelated to HL then by all means give it a shot, you just may enjoy it.

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A slow burn that is worth waiting for!!

The First Frost is a love story that sucks you right in. It is about two individuals who find their way back to each other after an arduous journey of many years. The story, the acting and the cinematography was perfect. The lead couple's chemistry was cackling and the second couple was very cute as well. The grandparents of the second male lead were a nice addition to the story. The dynamic of the female lead with her colleagues was very endearing to watch. Really liked the fact that towards the end of the story how the FL lead stood up against her mother and got rid of the unnecessary people in her life. Overall needless to say one of the best dramas I have ever watched!!

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His job is just Yifan

My biggest gripe with this show is how ML has absolutely no motivations, goals or personality aside from Wen Yifan. All his hobbies, jobs and interactions are motivated only by FL and getting close to her. He doesn’t seem to care about this family, even lies to Yifan at the beginning saying it’s them who don’t care about him. It’s very sad. And since it’s a modern drama it’s also rather concerning. If he wasn’t considered handsome (I think he’s ok looking but nothing too crazy), he would be called out for being a stalker. But since Yifan likes him, he gets a pass.

I can very easily see the show turning into a triller or horror if she didn’t like him. Maybe it would be more exciting then.

I like Wen Yifan and her backstory. Main actress did a good job in conveying her awkward and stoic personality. Sometimes her awkwardness made it hard to see any chemistry between the leads though. It was rather hard to watch them close when her eyes are shifting. I’ve only ever seen her in Everyone Wants to Meet You but she plays almost the same way there so maybe it’s just her?

First kiss, aka ML kissing FL while she’s sleepwalking is very concerning. Like please, you could have very easily avoided her lips. But it wouldn’t be a straight cdrama without some forced physical contact/borderline harassment presented as romantic.

Yifan’s relationship with her family was straight up heartbreaking, so kudos for trying to portraying such a difficult topic. It’s only a shame that her issues with physical contact never manifested into her relationship with Song Yan. He’s just this special I guess.

I really wish cdramas would stop putting dogs into shows, just to have them dying for some cheap emotional trauma to the characters that will be resolved almost immediately.

2FL was very cute but her plot was so underdeveloped, it’s a missed opportunity. I also liked the grandpa, I think he was very charming. And the music is pleasant enough, I even saved once track for my playlist!

Was ML paid extra for being wet? I swear he’s either sweating or out from shower every second episode. That would make a good drinking game while binge watching.
The poor cast forced to constantly drink all these yogurts and strawberry beer while eating Pizza Hut and fruit jellies, sponsors could be less obvious.

Overall you get what you would expect from a straight romance drama. It’s not bad, it’s not brilliant. Has some strong sides (FL’s backstory and her struggles of self acceptance and topic of sexual harassment) and some very weak ones (ML’s obsessive behavior and no personality outside of FL). It’s good enough for a background noise and Chinese language immersion.

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bland ml, bland fl, what else....

Before starting this review: It's been two months since I last watched this, so it could be that I forgot some things

The main problem with this drama is that it suffers from bad writing, especially bad character writing. This man just follows her around like he's unemployed. Like girl, don't you have obligations besides making your personality being in love with the main character? And another thing, this felt like a one person romance if that makes sense. The whole drama was about the female lead trying to overcome her trauma and find happiness with a man coming to fix her obviously. Hello?? This is a romance. It's supposed to be centered around TWO people, not one, TWO. And the fact that this was supposed to be the brother's (from Hidden Love) love story makes it worse. Except that's the only part I get, because they wanted this drama to be catered towards women, and female gaze dramas are generally preferred.

Now to the ONLY main character according to the storytelling. She went through a lot of things and as a result of that she began to sleepwalk. It first happened a few years back, but then it stopped, but it happened again while she's living with her love interest. First thing I want to say is that I know sleepwalking is a real thing, but it's honestly such a weird plot point to put into your story solely for the purpose to advance the romance. Maybe that's a me thing, I don't know, but I would personally think of a different way to let the leads get closer to each other, and not write a scene where the female lead accidentally gets in her love interest's bed when she's sleepwalking. And then they wake up and they're like 'why are we in the same bed? This wasn't consensual? Blame the sleepwalking.' Anyway, I personally think that when it comes to being there for someone when they're suffering friends should play a part in that, too. Not just your partner. This story didn't have that. The main character's friend is just... there, and not doing much. Their relationship doesn't really feel genuine in my opinion. She's just a way to expand the cast, and add a side couple.

Not to say the acting was bad. I think both leads are great actors and I like the cinematography.

Bottom line: I'm starting to dislike (straight) romance (but I do still love melodramas)

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The screenwriter and director did a bad interpretation of this drama. A bad sequel of Hidden Love

The First Frost is one of the trilogy novels written by Zhu Yi. This drama follows the life of Sang Yan's character. He was an older brother of Sang Zhi from Hidden Love.

I did not enjoy this drama, and the acting of Bai Jing Ting and Zhan Rou Nan was not up to par based on the characters they portrayed. They are talented actors/actresses; however, this story's script and direction were not good. I am disappointed with the director and screenwriter, Chu Yu Ning. I felt that his interpretation of the story was not good; it was too draggy, too long (it would have been better if it was 24 or 25 episodes instead of 32), had too many repetitive flashbacks, and the timeline scale at the beginning and how it was presented was confusing.

In addition, Victor Ma played Sang Yan better than Bai Jing Ting (in my opinion). Sang Yan's character in Hidden Love is outspoken and mischievous with his friends and his sister; I see none of it in this drama; their interactions were more cordial than bickering, as I saw in Hidden Love (which is fun to watch).

Furthermore, the dynamic of Sang Yan's college buddies was not as funny as in Hidden Love, and the actors portrayed were not good. Sang Yan's character in this drama is completely different from Hidden Love, a 180-character change; if it is part of a well-written trilogy, the personality of its character should not be altered.

A relative sexually harassed Wen Yi Fan; it should not take that long and too many flashbacks to solve and bring justice to the guilty uncle. The sleepwalking is stupid and lame, Zhan Rou Nan did not act well in this drama, and her onscreen chemistry with Bai Jing Ting was mediocre.

I did not like this drama; hence, I gave it a low rating.

Synopsis: Wen Yi Fan, a reporter, went to a bar called Overtime to meet with her best friend, Zhong Si Qiao. While at the bar, she met Sang Yan, a department manager and one of the owners of Overtime. He was Yi Fan's high school deskmate and the guy she once fell in love with. The two bumps into each other, and as Yi Fan pretends that she does not know who Sang Yan is, Sang Yan does the same. After some problems, the two accidentally become housemates and get a second chance.

My Reviews:
1. Acting: 7
2, Script: 6
3, Music/OST: 7
4, Production Quality:7
5. Cinematography: 6
6. Rewatchable: 6
7. Onscreen Chemistry: 6.5

Overall Rating: 7.5

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Too Depressing

I really wanted to love this show but the FL was just too bland. She’s cute, but her character was just… Idk. Draining? There were funny moments, but that’s about it. I watched it because I did enjoy Bai Jing Ting in Destined. It has lots of bullying scenes which can be triggering for most people. I enjoyed watching the ML do a lot of things for the FL. The FL remained close in her shell. She’s so naive. Like how can you not know that he has feelings for you?? Some scenes were just repetitive. It’s like going around in circles. No development at all. It was just so boring after a while. I started this in February on Netflix and it’s already April. I’m not sure if I’m going to continue or to just DNF it.

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the kind of love that finds you no matter what

although i was unsure of enjoying this drama as much as others when i started it, i ended up loving it as much as the story progressed. the slow burn was my favourite part of the show, the angst was definately worth it. i smiled, laughed, and even got emotional as i binged these 32 episodes consisting of an emotional rollercoaster ride.

centering around yifan’s ptsd and suffering while dealing with her family, i loved how this drama showed that healing wasn’t linear. yifan’s sudden disappearance without a word showed a pattern she couldn't break until she eventually realized that running away wasn’t the solution. the love she received from sang yan gave her power to fight back, and she realised that she wasn’t really alone. always being neglected by her family, belonging to no one, she ended up finding her own people, who chased after her even after she disappeared from their world without a word. this drama showed that familial bond wasn’t everything; you don’t always have to forgive the people who did you wrong, never stood by your side, and abandoned you. yifan’s relationship with her mom concludes on the same note– instead of choosing forgiveness, she chooses herself.

the way sang yan loves yifan deserves it’s own appreciation paragraph. he loved her through thick and thin; both as a young boy and as an adult. his character is the resemblance of the kind of love that waits, and is worth the wait– even if it’s years.

the ending episode was really beautiful– the awkwardness during the proposal scene, sang yan’s overwhelming emotions, the gesture on wen yifan’s face as if she had been dying to hear those words, and most importantly– the ring. it was all beautiful.

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The First Frost: A Slow Burn That Doesn't Fully Ignite

The First Frost has been a highly anticipated show that I’ve been waiting to release ever since I finished Hidden Love. At first, I was bummed that Victor Ma wasn’t playing Sang Yan, but I’m actually really glad Bai Jingting landed the role. This drama is definitely a slow burn between the leads, with their love rekindling ever so slowly as life pushes Sang Yan and Wen Yifan together.

The First Frost touches on sensitive themes that are typically not mentioned in Chinese media, and I think its representation was well done in the way the characters react to the world around them. The OSTs were beautifully crafted and purposefully included throughout the scenes. Bai Jingting absolutely nailed his role with his facial expressions—I honestly don’t think anyone could have done a better job. He truly embodies the character Sang Yan was meant to be. Zhang Ruonan was good for the most part, but I found her a bit bland, and I think her acting could have been better.

To be honest, I found the chemistry a bit forced, and their relationship lacked depth. There is absolutely no context as to why Sang Yan has obsessed over Wen Yifan for years, even to the point of traveling to another city just to catch a glimpse of her. That is weird, and Sang Yan doesn’t really have much of a personality besides "I love Wen Yifan." She has already pushed him away multiple times due to her trauma and circumstances, and I think Sang Yan should have packed his bags a long time ago.

I did enjoy the appearances of Yuan Ye as Mu Chengyun and Zhai Xiaowen as Xiang Liang—they were refreshing additions to the show. I also would have liked to see more of Duan Jiaxu and Sang Zhi. In Hidden Love, they seemed to have a very close relationship with Sang Yan, but they were only sparsely mentioned in The First Frost.

Overall, it’s a good show, and I rate it 7.5/10.

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