The First Frost

stunning cinematography and great acting

first of all, this drama’s cinematography was stunning—dare i say, the best aspect of the show after the acting. special kudos to BJT and ZRN; without these two, the drama wouldn’t have been the same. however, some questionable decisions were made about writing. firstly, WYF’s past took too long to be revealed. secondly, the side couple’s storyline became overwhelming. at first, i wasn’t annoyed by them, but after SHA’s father was diagnosed with alzheimer’s, it felt like they became the main couple instead of WYF and SY. i would have preferred five fewer episodes rather than watching these two dragged-out storylines.
that being said, i recommend this drama to anyone who enjoys stories about men longing.

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I didn’t exepect to like this show a lot

It starts off interesting we see Wen yifan reject Sang yan. “Wen Yifan was I really just your back up” from just the start I thought “ oh wow did she break his heart, did she cheat on him, what exactly happened” just this scene alone made me keep watching. I just think the second couple deserved more screen time than giving up their screen time for the second lead’s grand parents .After a few episodes it gets revealed slowly why the show started off the way it did. We get to know why she left for Yihe University instead of Nanwu University with Sang yan like they promised each other. I felt so bad for Sang yan because he was really there for her. But then again I can see why Wen yifan rejected Sang yan at first going through all she did there was really no time for her to date. She had to mature early because her mother, uncle, and aunt weren’t being an adult figure for her after her father passed. We don’t get to see many scenes between Wen yifan and her father but her father explains Wen yifan’s birthday, she was born on a day where the weather is the coldest which is why It is called “The First Frost”. At first I wondered why she was so distant with her mom but after the flashbacks it’s reasonable because I hate hate I mean loathe her mother but mainly her aunt because she knew what her cousin was capable of and kept covering for him. It’s the fact her mom knew her Wen yifan’s Uncle Che was weird and still sent her daughter to live with her uncle and aunt. I didn’t expect a plot twist in this show. Wen yifan’s Uncle Che ended not only being a sexual assault offender but also a murder??? I’m glad he was locked up in the end but the justice was far too late in my opinion. I really really hate her mom that’s how good the acting is though I won’t forgive her if I was Wen yifan. Back then she called her mom many times crying that she wanted to go home. Her mom just told her to stop crying and she’ll talk with her Uncle Wen and her aunt ??? Then by episode 24 her mom comes crawling back to her saying her new family that she left Wen yifan for left her lmao the irony. Wen yifan finally got her closure but I felt so scared that she would now think it’s the time to have her mom back in her life and forgive her. Wen yifan thankfully didn’t because her mom honestly failed as a mom and a person too. I’m really upset that her dreams as a ballerina ended because of her creep Uncle Che kept trying to sexually assault her. He continues to even when Sang yan protects Wen yifan. Uncle Che is very disgusting props to the actor he acted so got it made my blood boil. I honestly thought Sang yan was gonna kill Uncle Che when they fought the 2nd time. Overall, thankfully Uncle Che is jailed and We get to see Wen yifan dance again and see Wen yifan and Sang yan reconcile after she leaves for Hong Kong because of Uncle Che. Seeing her dance again made me so happy like I just watched their jounery together.

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okay, just a few things im picky about

a good show, done well by the director so far (24 eps in, basically the hong kong scene) honestly i might js be picky about a fwe things. other than that, this show is a good show , i love the acting. visuals are there, i dont skip anything much and overall it's a good show.

i might js be picky but honestly it pissed me off when BJT, instead of waking Wen Yi Fan up when she's sleepwalking like Wen Yi Fan asked for he freaking kept getting in her way?? like ik you're trying to help her not get hurt and all that but like you can not make up fantasies about her kissing you n stuff after she asks you about what she did during her sleepwalking (first time she sleepwalked in front of him) when you're literally setting her up for it?? like you're literally in her way of course shes going to interact with you and do things she cant control? dont blame it on her like oh my gosh just wake her up or lock your door like she said??

also, it was cute that he followed her around but the more i looked into it the more it looked like an obession... like the amount of tickets he had to go to Yi He? honestly kind of scary like at high school it was cute but after high school it was lowk getting annoying..

overall a good show. BJT just pisses me off sometimes.

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Yearning, check! Rage-inducing, check! A man devoted, check!

This was slow-burn and emotional and even rage-inducing at times. I thought it started strong and ended strong. It got a little rocky for me in the middle there, not gonna lie, only because I felt like we're going in circles at times, I tend to feel that way in cdramas because of the amount of the episodes honestly. Still, the payoff was good. The characters are loveable and definitely ones I ended up rooting for. Both Sang Yan and Wen Yifan had quiet strength and intensity in them which I liked.

Utimately, I like that Sang Yan and Yifan brought out the best in each other. When they're together, both of their personalities shine which was also what I was missing during the middle parts of the drama. I just wanted that oomph from both of them, you know?! Anyway, Sang Yan's love was truly admirable. He was so patient and selfless and it was unconditional. I think he was emotionally intelligent and for the most part, he understand Yifan and him are on different journeys that's why he just checked in on her quietly through the years. I guess there's some negative reaction about their dynamics but I don't know, I'll buy this one, seeing the whole picture and all. I am proud of Yifan's growth in here overall. It was slow and there was a push and pull there but in the end, she took back her life.

The last scene between Yifan and her mom was probably my favorite because it was just so rewarding. I'd be mad if we didn't get that scene. Her monologue was everything and again, I'm so proud of her for putting her mom in her place. Yes, of course, that abusive man and his sister was rage-inducing but Yifan's mom? [screams]. Her daughter was literally begging and telling her that her life was in danger! And when something did happen (girl literally jumped off the window to get away from that man!), she still didn't believe her. And for what?! Just because Yifan, her teenage grieving daughter didn't get along with her step-daughter who is also a teenager?! I'm glad Yifan brought out this fact too, that she can afford to take her in, she just chose not to.

I also adored the second leads here. They're just so cute and interesting and their storyline has also kept me engaged. So nice to see Zhang Miao Yi in an adult role. I've only seen her play the sunshine-y high school girl so. (But then again, if someone was going to get a pass for playing a high school girl multiple times, it's probably her lol).

Great proposal scene too by the way! It was so personal and intimate which I loved. (well, their two best friends are also there lol but they're all happy about it so it's just really a sweet, happy, emotional moment)

Overall, I thought this was well done. Visually beautiful too! Both Zhang Ruo Nan and Bai Jing Ting portrayed the roles of two young people in love, including the awkwardness of it all, really well. Then in adulthood, oh the yearning was delivered! We love yearning here lol. I thought they're also really good with the emotional scenes. So yeah, this was a great watch.

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I was disappointed

I might be too attached to Hidden Love, so I was very disappointed with this drama. Though I will say that I liked the story idea, I just found the show very slow and boring. Sure, there were parts where it got exciting, but I found the FL annoying because she kept refusing to open up to the ML, even after everything he did for her. I felt like the ML deserved better.

I was especially frustrated because it felt like the FL wasn't developing as a character at all and was actually getting worse as the story went on. I kept waiting for the FL to grow from her experiences, but each time it seemed like she was about to open up, she pulled away again.

I also found the side characters boring and lacking personality. I'm not saying they were terrible—there were some really funny and cute moments between them. I just found their storylines confusing and boring, and they felt too slow for me. I really love shows with strong side characters, but this drama just wasn't doing it for me.

Of course, this is only my opinion, but I found this drama boring, lacking in character development, and ultimately disappointing. I can understand why some people enjoy this drama, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

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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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Perfect Combination from All Department

It's just as the title said, i believe this drama has such a strong of hype in terms of popularity (reach 9K heat index on the 2nd day of airing and this day doesnt even ended yet) with tons of ads, and high points everywhere be it yunhe is because of how strong and amazing the delivery of this drama is.

When mentioned about this drama, things that left strong impression to me is:
1. The iconic scene of fireworks during new year - God....can anything even beat that???? The adaptation is CHEF KISS. The acting? Amazing! The OST? PERFECT! The cinematography? PHENOMENAL.
2. Colour grading aka the cinematography - Throughout watching the entire eps till now, i believe the director has done such an amazing job in directing this drama, every part, every scene felt carefully crafted, its so visible the directors and production team had a clear vision on how they wanted to deliver this drama. And they did. 👏👏 Absolutely love how the titles at the beginning completed at the ending, the format change, the filtering used, woah woah woah. Lunatic!
3. OST - Crazy line up after crazy line up. You could guess that this is an S project based on the lineup alone lmao. Perfectly included during scenes gahhh OSTs are always the best! The OST played during the 'white moonlight' part and during at the school track, deeeeeply left a very strong impression to make the story better.
4. THEE CASTING - ZHANG RUONAN AS WENYIFAN. I cannot see anybody as her tbh. They changed and added few more scenes that wasnt included from the novels such as she didnt get SA that much in that novels but here she's been through a lott. Thats scary even when theyre acting and i think it shows. That screaming was truly real, that crying....i just knew this is her niche area....also...she's so gorgeous here?!?!?????? Like ??????? Bajingting also did such a great job too his eyes are literally always on wyf. Might be the most perfect cast for sangyan i said what i said. Also that father....yeah he has such a tear jearking voice and face i did suggest yall to buy more tissues when that scenes arrive.

Actually still had a lot to say but this is wayyy long enough, my conclusion is if you wonder whether this is worth you watch? If you're into youthful romance, heartbreak, trauma, angst and painful scenes, I did say hell yeah it sure does worth your watch!

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Why director why?

Why does this drama seem to favor the female lead so much? I just don’t get it—like, the male lead has been chasing her since their school days all the way to adulthood. At first, I understood why she ran away—because he couldn’t really protect her back then since he was still immature, and she probably thought he wouldn’t be able to accept the truth.

But after they started working, why did she still have to run from him? The male lead already has power, he’s grown up, and he can protect himself. Why does the female lead just run whenever she wants and come back whenever she pleases? This isn’t a "green flag" guy situation—this feels more like she’s playing with him. I’m sorry, but I just can’t be as patient as the male lead.

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A good love story. That’s it.

The first credit I would like to give to this story, is that it relatively feels real. Usually dramas are too fictional to relate to (ceo/yn, rich/poor), obviously this had a few aspects like that, but they didn’t take over the plot. The story is real, that’s what it was that attracted me to it. I actually felt the character growth in a way (a bit lacking) but still the ml especially deserved an honorable mention. By the end, the ml didn’t blame her, or anybody else, he knew that he saw some signs and he ignored them, and that he shouldn’t have done that. For the fl, the steps she had taken, are inspiring. Having gone through such traumatic events, she managed to slowly find herself and even got to her own conclusion by herself, that running away won’t get her anywhere. HOWEVER, one thing that bothered me till the end, is their relationship with their best friends. I know that this is a romance story, I know that the result is supposed to be « Now they can be together happily ever after forever », but at the end it felt like the fl genuinely did not care about anybody but the ml, she created a dependency which in real life would be too frightening. And even putting that aside, they were both bad friends, not once did they value their best friends enough to prioritize them. The ml outright skimmed through the dog passing away part and the fl never cared about her best friend’s feelings when she disappeared or even just when it’s obvious that she’s upset. Keeping in mind that their best friends both respectively prioritized them at so many other occasions.
So overall, if we’re just focusing on the romance, it was a nice story, but the best friends aspect was genuinely disappointing.

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The Drama that Started My Love for CDramas

I don’t say this lightly when I say that “The First Frost” was my favourite piece of media of 2025, meaning it trumps over all the other books, movies, shows, and art pieces I’ve witnessed in that year (that’s a lot considering I’ve watched around 50 shows and 80 movies, and I’ve read 70 books.) This show deserves an infinity rating. I have not seen anything quite like it since.

Additionally, “The First Frost” was my very first introduction to C-dramas. After watching this my first ever C-drama I was hooked and never looked back. (A year later, I hardly watch or care for American shows anymore.)

In this dual timeline drama, we follow the restorative love story between Wen Yi Fan (played by Zhang Ruo Nan) and Sang Yan (played by Bai Jing Ting), their current day reencounter is interspersed with their past as deskmates that went their separate ways in high school. In the current timeline, Wen Yi Fan is a reporter while Sang Yan is a game developer and bar owner. It’s actually at his bar, Overtime, where the pair meet again.

At first, Wen Yi Fan pretends not to know him but the jig is up once Sang Yan becomes her roommate, offering the pair a second chance at their connection. Wen Yi Fan, due to her trauma and the manner in which she left and hurt Sang Yan is determined to keep her distance. That’s until her sleepwalking episodes unconsciously carry her to seek comfort in Sang Yan.

There’s so much that I love about this drama.

Here’s a very brief list:
- Showing the realistic portrayal of trauma and its aftermath, Wen Yi Fan flees (disappearing in the past timeline when she didn’t attend Nanwu University with Sang Yan and the present one when she runs off to Hong Kong), suppresses her pain (to the point when the stress causes her to sleepwalk), is hyper independent (shuts even the people that love her out), etc.
- I absolutely love Wen Yi Fan’s childhood nickname Wen Shuangjiang which means the “Warm First Frost” since she’s born during the time of the year when the first frost appears
- The drunk scenes of Wen Yi Fan and Sang Yan (they were so funny and cute, and provided great respite from the heavier scene)
- The satisfaction I got and the pride I felt when Wen Yi Fan finally cut contact with her mother for good
- The OSTs absolutely enhanced the emotions in every scene
- Sang Yan’s proposal scene and being shown how he devised getting Wen Yi Fan’s attention first during the first day of school

There’s so much to note and so much to love about this drama. I will be rewatching this and one day I hope to watch it again without English subtitles. This story truly transformed me and made me feel seen at the same time.

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