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"The First Frost"
"Eternal Love"Some dramas entertain you, some stay with you, and then there are dramas like The First Frost that become a part of your life.
I started this drama in March 2025, when only four episodes had aired. I watched until episode 12, dropped it, returned to it, dropped it again, and eventually finished it on October 31, 2026. It is probably the longest I've ever delayed finishing a C-drama. I sometimes regret not watching it when the finale originally aired, but perhaps good things take time. There were certain scenes and aspects of the story that I wasn't ready to experience back then. I finally watched them when I felt more mature and ready.
What makes this drama so special to me is its writing. The yearning, the love, the problems, the family dynamics, the trauma and the awareness surrounding sexual assault and its lasting effects on survivors. Everything was portrayed with such care.
The yearning was beautifully and painfully portrayed. And the love? It was shown in its purest form.
Sang Yan is a character who genuinely changed how I look at love. His patience, loyalty and understanding of Wen Yifan made me admire him immensely. If I ever love someone in this life, I want to love them the way Sang Yan loved Wen Yifan.
Wen Yifan's character was equally remarkable. So much of her life was shaped by trauma. She experienced loss, abandonment, broken trust and repeated violations of her boundaries. Yet she continued to be strong. What touched me most was seeing her finally become vulnerable around Sang Yan. Someone she trusted enough to let her emotions out. Someone who made her feel safe.
Their relationship was never simply about one person saving another. They changed each other for the better. They grew together, and that is what made their love so meaningful.
The first half of the drama, particularly the living-together dynamic, was an absolute delight. The little moments, the hugs, the sleepwalking, the nights she found herself in his bed and his arms — everything made me giggle, blush and smile. The second half shifted towards healing, confronting the past and learning to move forward. It was deeply meaningful and, in many ways, helped me reflect on life.
The supporting characters and family dynamics also played a huge role. They weren't unnecessary additions; they gave the story context, depth and clarity. Without them, something significant would have been missing.
And then there's the production. Cinematography peak. Acting peak. Background music peak. Storytelling peak. Everything was peak.
What I particularly appreciate is that the drama never needed to overdo its romance or rely on exaggerated moments. It felt simple, natural and human. It wasn't sugar-coated. It allowed its characters to be complicated, vulnerable and imperfect.
I genuinely cannot think of anything negative to say about this drama. Even after taking so long to finish it, my feelings haven't changed.
A 10/10.
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a great random watch lol
I randomly started watching The First Frost after watching Hidden Love, without even realizing they were connected, so finding out that it was actually about Sang Yan, Duan Jiaxu’s brother, was such a nice surprise. I honestly had no idea going in, which made the connection even more special.What I really loved about it was getting to see Sang Yan’s story from a completely different perspective. In Hidden Love, we mostly knew him through Sang Zhi’s eyes, and even though he had a pretty big presence in her story, there was still so much we didn’t know about him. The First Frost finally gives him his own story and lets us understand what was actually going on behind that confident, annoying, and slightly chaotic personality.
I’ll admit, Sang Yan annoyed me a little at the beginning. 😭 He could be immature, stubborn, and way too confident for his own good, and sometimes I genuinely wanted to tell him to calm down. But I really liked how his character developed throughout the drama. As the story went on, you could see the more vulnerable and responsible side of him. He slowly became more mature and emotionally aware, and I especially liked seeing how much he cared about the people around him even when he wasn't very good at expressing it.
I also loved that the drama didn't just rely on the connection to *Hidden Love*. It actually managed to stand on its own and tell Sang Yan's story while still giving us those little connections that made me appreciate the original drama even more.
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SA survivor and her wholesome lover
So this drama is about an introvert girl who falls in love with an extrovert guy. It's pretty standard romantic story but they are cute together.My problem is that they take wayy too much time to develop some chemistry and the romance is too slow paced for me. The story could have been so much more nuanced but they missed that chance and kind of started running in circles after one point
The FL has past traumas and she is pretty much dealing with it on her own.
The ML desperately wants to be a part of her life and shine some light in her dark world but he is very careful about it because he doesn't want to violate her private space and get her creeped out.
She takes sooo much time to finally open up to her crush but the drama actually makes it worth it.
I have to appreciate the villain for giving me goosebumps and looking menacingly scary and predatory. He made the drama interesting .
I have seen the male lead before and I won't say it's his best work in acting. I have definitely seen better from him. The female lead was alright but I wouldn't call her performance stood out to me.
It's a decent watch for romance loving audience if they have the patience to finish the whole thing.
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The show is almost as good as the novel!
I really liked the novel and the nuance of how some sensitive topics were handled.As for casting, I was really hoping for a Victor Ma comeback, I thought the casting overall was better in the other drama.
But, BJT pleasantly surprised me. It took me some time to warm up to him as Sang Yan but eventually I think he matched the vibe the director was going for. I still think Victor could have done an equally good job if not better though but I am happy with Sang Yan overall.
Cant say the same about Yifan. Her character is so complex in the novel and I dont think ZRN was the right choice. I was hoping she would grow on me like BJT did but she simply did not. Her range of expressions is limited, an issue I find with many Chinese actresses. But I have also seen improvement (Angela Baby, she isnt great but she is improving) and I dont feel that way about ZRN.
Regardless, I was overall pretty happy with the drama.
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Frosty Female lead
First frost is a slow and pretty, actually very pretty story about trauma, living without fully living, fear and different types of stalking.Stalkier number one, intense dangerous, scary, the type that takes away women's freedom and forces them in to hiding. A real monster that no one who knows parts of the story should be able to ignore unless they willingly turn a blind eye...
The other handsome, ex boyfriend with lingering feelings. Some would call him devoted, honarbel, a man whoo kept his promisee... Romantic green flag who loves and supports his object, sorry I mean subject of affection etc.... others would see this as a great red flag and be terrified. I am going to keep this in the I know this is bad but i am going to enjoy watching him anyway, but no matter your gender or amount of abs please do not try this at home. And all should be fine.
The female lead is so talented, her expressions, lack of expression, the way she conveys emotions is outstanding. I loved her character, and There is one line in this drama delivered by her that pretty much has me forgiving the bad. She is playful at times, has great come back lines and as clearly broken as she is she still manages to push on, not in the happy and if I can over come this so can you way many other dramas will show but more real and with nuance.
The friendships are sweet, the villains are awful in every single way but also come with a certain nuance as well. There is also a sweet, sweet cat and the usual dead parens replaced by amazing grandparents.
Predictability is pretty high at times but I dare say this drama stands out from other dramas in the story telling, however there are parts that do not add up at all, romanticised stalking and a bit to many filler episodes as well as older selfs talking to younger selvs (I hate that) making it impossible for me to rate this higher than an 8.
Still I would recommend this for the female leads story.
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This review may contain spoilers
At the start of the story it was interesting and the plot was really good. The main characters have chemistry and I could just feel the emotions. It was addicting to watch as the plot thickens and everyone unweaving their own issues. The reason why I dropped this is I feel like after episode 28, they are dragging the drama for too long. I feel like episode 29 onwards is just to add extra time for the drama with no plot. It's very repetitive and just lost the plot at this point.
Slight spoiler, after Wen Yifan saw her uncle (gonna get death sentenced) and aunt being in jail and Sang Yan is safe in the hospital, they should've ended there because its a good point to end but they just keep on dragging and dragging the story so it gets boring.
One thing that i would also like to comment is that i don't really feel the chemistry between the second couple. It just feels forced and there wasn't anything that was tying them together. Its just always about the guy's family and issues. The girl would always have to check up on the guys family and help to resolve it. So it kinda feels like every time they spend their time together its mostly like going to include the guys family problems.
I'm done ranting, Thank you for listening and reading :P
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Can i have a decent watch this year!? Jeez
So, it has been a long time since i wrote a review, but This time i need to do it.Since i am not a chinese person i can't get all the details about the leads poor mandarin , the rent and so many other details that may not be accurate..If i were, those details would have make me drop the drama asap lol.
I actually felt for the female lead , BUT then the story needs to move forward. I can't keep on watching the same flashback again and again, after 9 episodes i started to fast-forward and that was the moment i knew i had to drop it.
And then damn it ! can't they just have a TALK!? like come on! you guys are adults, and there again if they actually had a talk like normal people do, the drama would have been 10 episodes long ahahahahah. But no, they had to romanticise sleep walking in a bed guy (i get were the female lead comes from, but this is not something that needs to be promoted). Just the thought of getting through this draggy story and somehow boring and not moving forward, helped me made the final decision to drop it. Maybe i will watch and edit on youtube to see if the female lead will ever get out of the zoombie phase lol and confess to the male lead.
Would not recommend it, would not rewatch it lol , i couldn't even finish it in the first place hahah: 4.5/10 for me.
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Will your first love stay in your heart forever?
I know maybe it's too early to write a review here, but I've already fallen in love with this drama.I'll be writing about what I think and what my heart feels while watching this drama.
At first, I started watching it just out of curiosity because I had nothing else to watch. I haven’t seen the parent story or read the novel, so I had no expectations at all. But it turns out, from the very first episode, I completely fell in love with this drama. 😻
As a regular viewer, I can truly feel the pain in Yifan’s gaze—how she faces life and carries her burdens alone. Meanwhile, for Sang Yan, his lingering love is so obvious, yet his sadness is also deeply conveyed.
My heart feels so heavy watching this. Their first meeting after years apart felt awkward yet natural. I also realized that this drama has a very realistic depiction of everyday life. For example, Yifan’s best friend’s family lives in a large household in a public housing complex, which is different from most dramas where characters often live in modern apartments.
The transitions between scenes are incredibly smooth. As someone who appreciates visuals, I really enjoy how the cinematography is presented in this drama—the color tones are perfect and easy on the eyes. And let’s not forget the OSTs—they're absolutely amazing! I immediately searched for the songs to add to my playlist.
I’m adding this drama to my list of favorites, and I’ll definitely rewatch it in the future.
I’ll update the story rating if it goes well until this drama finish. ✨
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how are people giving 10 stars to this sorry excuse of a romance drama ....
firstly, plot. fl has absolutely no backbone whatsoever and solely relies on the oh-so powerful and handsome ml to save her from trouble. for someone who has had such a past with men and then willingly moving in with an individual of the male species is beyond me. i'm sorry but the characters actually made my blood boil the entire time.then, acting. did they not pay their electricity bills because i did not see nor feel a single spark between the main leads. ml is trying too hard to act nonchalant and mysterious and cold but instead just looks like a robot. fl, as mentioned earlier, gives me the impression of having no backbone nor the agency to figure out things on her own which in today's society of cdramas is quite infuriating to see and so 2000s-2010s. all she does is stare at the ml with her big round bunny eyes to convey every type of emotion.
oh and one last thing, as a chinese i needed to rely on subtitles because i had trouble understanding what the ml was saying at multiple instances. aka his enunciation was very muffled. next time please just hire a voice actor to dub him.
anyways all the hype just for this?? just read the manhua or smth it actually pains me to sit through and watch this
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This review may contain spoilers
Too slow
The feeling I had with Hidden Love is not the same feeling I have for this drama. Its too slow and MCs has no chemistry. If according to other reviews outside this app, the main actor is famous, but he has no chemistry w the main actress. Sang Yan in Hidden love is not the serious type. His character complete changed in this spin off. The lovable by all Sang Yan is a totally different person. Although this is suppose to be the view of the main actress about his feeling for Sang Yan but hmmmmm...... Sang Yan is not Sang Yan. If they incorporated the humor Sang Yan had in Hidden Love with this new Sang Yan character it would have made sense.The feeling I have watching this is not a spin off but I am trying to program myself to watch a totally different character and story.
Time line is not accurate either they tried to put Sang Chi in this but the relationship of the 2 siblings is not even close to the relationship they had in Hidden Love. I wish when making script, the write should try to interconnect this script with the original even if using different actors.
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The first frost delivers it all : My top cdrama in 2025
My most anticipated C-drama since last year.For 4eps, it's perfect. Everything is perfect.
I read the novel so I know the story.
Opening scene, transition, dialogue, chemistry, sadness, comedy, cinematography, ost, plot are 10/10.
Visual sangyan x wen yifan are top notch.
For now, I am satisfy with this drama, I hope until eps32 it serves the best.
Oh I also like the ending, how they inserted the slight throwback for each eps and also giving each eps the title.
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I can not stand.
At first I watched it because it was highly recommended and very popular. The actors also had a good impression and good acting. But.....After watching 6-7 episodes I still haven't found anything interesting.This drama is basically helped by 1. The actor's visuals 2. The relevance of HL if this is a drama that aired before hl without the hl tail, would it be popular I don't think so. 3. The actress is on the rise Zhang Ruonan.
To be honest, the story is monotonous and very confusing, I don't know if the novel is too. The deep romantic impression and sadness are even very thin. The dialogue is very bad, b Really can't describe the characters any more. If it weren't for the smart actors and actresses, this drama would probably fail.
The background music is totally inappropriate for the conditions and scenes in the drama, come on, lately there are many dramas with quality music and momentum atmosphere. I don't know anymore.
Epilogue and the plot that is made forward and backward, at least if you want to make a plot like that, it can be tidied up a bit so that it is not messy and damages the story of the scene, prioritize the main focus. The acting of some supporting actors is really stiff, except for the second couple Zhang miaoyi who steals the show a bit. The couple looks interesting and funnier.
Sorry but finally I can express it, because previously I was afraid that everyone would give 10 stars and not have the same thoughts, but finally there were some people who also realized and Also feel the same way. Not fixated on existing trends.
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