The First Frost

Good, but Feel Off About Sang Yan's Devotion

I guess I'll just start off with some problems?
Sang Yan is just way too obsessed with Wen Yifan. I would've understood more if she actually did something incredible for him but she didn't. All they show is that Sang Yan falls in love with her at first sight which is just underwhelming. I mean seriously, you follow a girl around everywhere she goes and care about everything she does and for what? It's just desperate and borderline creepy. Even after she said all those horrible things to him, he was still willing to do everything for her. I just wish the guy had more self respect. His obsession with her ends up ruining him as a character. His entire world and personality is just her and nothing else.
As for the second leads' story, idk i don't really care.
I loved the production and thought it was very high quality. It gives the drama a nice atmosphere. I realized just how good it was when I started watching hidden love and I just didn't like how empty the drama felt. Maybe the production for the drama was cheaper? Anyway, I'd rather watch this drama than hidden love.
Even with the problematic relationship, I still liked their chemistry and I thought the story itself wasn't too bad. There were some boring moments with the second lead and Su Haoan's grandparents. But I did get frustrated with the Hong Kong arc and thought it wasn't necessary when Sang Yan, the best boyfriend in the world, was literally right there and could help her out. Did she seriously think that writing a letter "Don't look for me and don't miss me" will prevent him from becoming super depressed over her being gone? And there was one moment that sort of pissed me off when Che Xingde showed up at her work. I mean, if your sexual abuser is "coincidentally" showing up at the same places your at and ends up getting a job at your work place, do you A. quit your job, B. make sure you always are around people that can keep you safe, C. go to the police to get a restraining order or D. leave for work as late as possible so that no one else could possibly be around to help you, allowing your abuser to easily confront you and threaten your safety. Such a stupid, unrealistic choice that pissed me off so bad and I think that was just a lazy writing moment honestly but it didn't turn out to be that big of a deal.
The acting is good despite a few awkward moments.
The music? I thought it was generally good. My favorite songs were Stubborn and There is You Amidst Raindrops.
I wouldn't rewatch this because of the one-sided relationship dynamic but it's definitely one of the better dramas I've watched.

Edit: I'm also concerned by the amount of girls saying that they need a man like Sang Yan because it encourages this idea that a man exists to serve you when men have their own interests, hobbies, and problems and you shouldn't need to depend on a woman for your own happiness and well being. For me, I want a man who is his own person, not a servant.

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"More Than Just a Sequel — The First Frost Stands on Its Own"

I first came across this drama through Instagram reels, and when I was in the right mood, I finally decided to watch it. One of the comments mentioned that it was available on YouTube, so I searched for it and found a 10-episode drama titled The First Frost. I watched it till the end, only to realize that it wasn’t actually the one I had been looking for. Instead, I had just finished Reset—which, to my surprise, turned out to be an incredible drama as well. That was the moment I started to take notice of Bai Jingting. Intrigued by his performance, I searched for more of his dramas and eventually found the real The First Frost that I had initially wanted to watch.

What can I say? This drama was absolutely worth it. Despite being a slow-burn romance, I found myself completely hooked, episode after episode. The storytelling and character development were beautifully executed, drawing me into their world effortlessly. The actors delivered outstanding performances, making every moment feel authentic and emotionally resonant.

After watching, I explored other reviews and noticed a mix of opinions. Some viewers felt the drama was overhyped, possibly because it’s a sequel to HL, while others were disappointed with the change in cast. However, from my point of view, The First Frost stands strong on its own. While it shares a similar coming-of-age setting—depicting high school life and its aftermath—its storyline remains unique and engaging. Interestingly, I didn’t even realize at first that it was connected to HL. Yet, even after knowing that, I still believe that this drama holds its own value and is not solely dependent on the popularity of HL.

As for the cast change, I personally didn’t find it to be a major issue. The actors in The First Frost portrayed their characters remarkably well, bringing depth and sincerity to their roles. Overall, I genuinely believe this drama is worth watching, whether or not you’ve seen HL. It’s an emotionally rich and well-crafted story that leaves a lasting impression.

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The fire of the frost, the soul of the sun

A news reporter reunites with her first love when they accidentally share an apartment and their sunny present and rainy past mash into a prismatic love story.

What I liked:
• Marvelous performance. I absolutely loved Bai Jing Ting and Zhang Ruonan's performance. It was enthralling to see them act.
• Good cinematography. The shots with mirrored sequences were good and explorative to the story.
• I particularly like the episode titles and how they give the essence of the episode and a little bit of epilogue scenes to boot.
• Excellent music, conveying their story.

What I disliked:
• The secondary characters and their stories felt out of place with the main story. It could have been minimized because it felt like the creators just used it in their story to increase the episode length.
• Certain plotlines could have been handled better without exaggerated scenes in earlier episodes.
• Some character arcs felt out of place and disturbed the flow of the story.

Overall, a good watch. Recommended if you like angsty love stories, and watch out for the trigger warnings.

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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 while 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 didn'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.

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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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Ghost You Almost Lost

For the obvious reason I sticked to this for Bai Jing Ting. I'd definitely wouldn't miss how good looking BJT is in this drama. But, the truth is, I almost dropped this drama midway.

My honest opinion, first, I didn't watch Hidden Love, so, I have totally no clue about the cast and how was this correlated to HL. Only a friend here in MDL explained to me the correlation and should I say was able to convince me to complete this drama.

Sang Yan, His character would be every womans dream to have as a partner. Very Loyal, Extremely Persevering, Well-off, Truly Caring, Absolutely good looking, Deliciously Hot and yes, the most important thing, A very good kisser. 😍His character is very interesting. You would feel from the beginning episodes how he was emotionally hurt from a HS breakup, searching, longing for the only woman he loved for more than 6 years and counting.

On the other hand, Yifan, the woman that our ML longed for. Suffered from a dark past, continuously healing from pains physically, emotionally from being abandoned, letting go of the man she loves and for every dark moments in her life may it be from family or work. And part of her healing process was experiencing sleepwalking resulting from her PTSD. Yes, she had no choice but to work on her own at a young age after losing her dad from sickness and having a selfish mom who puts her own welfare first than her children.

So, the story basically evolved with these two main characters. Having their friends on the side that added to the gist of the story. I won't dig in further to the story but will just point out things that didn't made this drama fit in to my cup of tea. The first half of the drama I think got me hooked. Though, I'm a bit confused with the flashbacks as it began immediately with a breakup. But, it deemed necessary to understand the entire plot. So, the meet up after 6 years or so got me hooked. You already know that the ML wouldn't let such opportunity pass and will never let go after finding what he longed for. Ok, here's the thing, first, FL chose to reside in a slum area given her financial capability, I guess that's the only kind of residence she can afford. But, even if you're in a dire strait situation, I believe it's necessary to prioritize safety. she has friends and co workers who can help her find a safer place to live in, but she did not. So, she had to experience again another dark encounter which she could have avoided. And so, the cohabitation with ML happened. the most interesting part I guess. Of course, this is where the romance should build up again between the two. Btw, SY being a hero, physically beating those bad guys to save his beloved FL is one of the notable scenes of his character. Everything was going into its right track and yes, the MC made it to the point of being officially together despite the trials they encounter along the way. And so, after being officially together, the FL decides to shut off everyone once again including her beloved SY. Simply because she wants to save everyone from her criminally violent Uncle who resurfaced and continuously doing act of violence to every people around her. This was the make or break for me of this drama. Like, WTH? you left your man and decide to let go. Now you found him again and decided to give it a go, then now you decide to go again without leaving any trace. Like, you even surpassed the level of a high profile criminal at large.
Yes, I did try to understand what she have went thru as I described earlier. Still, for someone who's partly healed and was able to start a relationship already, why do you need to ghost the people who truly care for you? They don't deserve that. Guess what, after they met again in 6 months, No apologies from her. Why? because everyone thinks she's a victim. She doesn't need to apologize. ML embraced her with open arms. No questions asked simply because he learned what she has went thru. Sorry, but, not for me. It is still rude to ghost anyone. Specially when people are kind to you. They deserve an apology from being ghosted.

Aside from the lack of emotions I get from the FL, I've lost my interest to the entire drama after what she did for the second time to ML.I skipped most scenes till the end just to know how it ended for them. Everyone was touched with that proposal but, I was glad that ML didn't went down on his knees as I think it's not well deserved. I agree this is anothe double standard drama. Oh yes, I'd like to point out too that at least, the culprit admitted his crime and the victims got their justice. The mother deserved to be disowned.

As a romance freak, BJT nailed the kisses but the FL wasn't able to execute it well. Even the intimate scene should have been spicy. But, when you look at the FL given the back kisses, you'll find no emotions at all.

I won't delve in further with the side characters but the SC had their own fair share of romance which was cute too. Only the downside was the grandfather issue which ate unnecessary time. Oh yeah, I liked the support guys as well like Xiang Lang, Mu ChengYun and Duan JiaXu. Definitely hot looking guys too.

Overall, SY as they say is totally a green forest for this drama. Good thing he's definitely hot and good looking. As some say, His stalking FL for several years could have given a wrong impression and might cause misinterpretation of obssession. But, of course, with such hot looking guy, who would think he is obssessed and stalking the woman he loves. Honestly, the FL's character failed for me. I don't remember any positive thing she did for ML. And that line of living 6 yrs more than the ML just to cover the suffering ML has encountered, it's like she's trying to look more pitiful. I just don't by that. Sadly, she doesn't want people she loves leave her, but, she has a habit of leaving them behind.

Definitely this is not the drama for me, but BJT nailed again his role. Hope he gets a green FL on his next drama.

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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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Ten out of Ten

The First Frost is a beautifully crafted drama that stands out with its compelling storytelling, emotional depth, and unforgettable characters. Even from the start, the series delivers a perfect balance of romance, humor, and heartfelt moments, making it one of the most memorable love dramas of recent years.

Bai Jingting shines as Sang Yan, effortlessly bringing charm, wit, and emotional nuance to the character. Unlike the typical cold male lead, Sang Yan is warm, humorous, and deeply loyal, making him my instant favorite. His character development is outstanding—showcasing his journey from a mischievous older brother to a mature deeply caring partner. Bai Jingting’s natural acting style makes every scene feel authentic, and his chemistry with the zhang rounan is electric.

The cinematography is breathtaking, with stunning visuals that enhance the emotions of each scene.

Overall, The First Frost is a must-watch, especially for those who appreciate well-written characters and a romance that feels both real and deeply touching. Bai Jingting’s portrayal of Sang Yan is one of the drama’s biggest highlights, solidifying his status as one of the best actors in the industry today.

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It's so slow, I just can't . . .

In Episode 8, Wen Yifan sleepwalks for the first time, at episode 14 she is still sleepwalking with the same results. Each time, nothing new is revealed. No character development, no insight no progression. Wen Yifan may be very very slowly opening up just a teensy bit to her friends, but with Sang Yan they are still in their same old pattern.

I really do appreciate explorations of trauma, abuse and its effects on the ability to form a contented, thriving adult life and form adult romantic relationships.

But it's just too slow and with no other real themes or storylines besides Wen Yifan learning to trust other human beings and love again, it just isn't holding my interest.

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Disappointed - drama plot differs from the book

I want to start by saying I read the novel and I was really excited for this drama. Unfortunately, while it is still not a bad watch, I wish they stuck to the original plot of the book. to be completely objective, I'm giving a lower review because they didn't stick to the plot of the book.

SPOILER ALERT!
They changed the plot where WYF runs away a second time when her uncle comes back to intimidate and taunt her. Complete opposite of the book where she faced him head on. The writers also made her abusive uncle a security guard in her work place, but in the book he was waiting for her outside of her work.

I wished the writers followed the plot of the book, since WYF had a character growth and she was now able to stand up to her abusers. I feel like the drama took that away from her and made her kind of damsel in distress and SY is her prince charming/knight. I'm sorry if i keep repeating myself, but she was beautifully written in the book imo. I'm extremely disappointed by the change.

SPOILER END

BUT

Other than the plot change, I loved the acting! I think both BJT and ZRN did a fantastic job. If you didn't read the novel like I did, I do think you will enjoy this drama. All characters are likeable, well written script with no plot holes, very nice cinematography, good music, amazing acting from the cast.

Yes, I would recommend this drama objectively. I just personally feel like they could have done better with the drama.

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