This review may contain spoilers
Loved the novel...but definitely not this drama. Huge Letdown :(
I came in with lots of high expectations because I love Sang Yan & I read the novels of both Hidden Love and First Frost...so imagine my surprise that I would dislike this drama this much. I may prefer Hidden Love's drama & novel more because of the sweetness, but I also loved the First Frost novel for its own charms-- none of which met my expectations, to be honest. I went in not comparing Hidden Love with First Frost because I really wanted to love this drama for what it was, Sang Yan & Wen Yifan's story (which I also adore). I know that First Frost is from Wen YiFan & Sang Yan's point of view, so he isn't going to be as silly as he was in his big brother role, but in First Frost, he is still supposed to have a realistic goofy side to him besides his fake nonchalant/charmingly narcissistic persona. I have lots of respect for Bai Jingting's other works, but I didn't feel like he suited Sang Yan, nor could he connect with this character enough for it to feel genuine. As for Zhang Ruonan, I don't usually enjoy her dramas, but I love her in real life. However, I do think that this was the first drama of hers that I liked the best out of the rest.
First Frost is supposed to be more serious because the themes involving the FL are traumatic to her directly, so obviously, she would be more guarded against opening up...but dang, they really made her look flighty with that Hong Kong plot. She never did this in the novel but instead followed Sang Yan to Yihe when he discovered Sang Zhi dating Duan Jiaxu. It was more romantic because it wasn't just Sang Yan doing all the chasing, but her finally taking steps to join him in the fight for their love. The drama's version of their reunion in Hong Kong was also...stale. They really dulled down the love in the drama adaptation to make it seem like Sang Yan loves her so one-sidedly that his whole life decisions creepily revolve around Wen Yifan because of how he constantly follows her without her knowing over the years, & they never really portrayed why he fell for Wen Yifan well either. It makes his feelings look shallow, like puppy love for her appearance at first sight, which became obsessive. Wen Yifan didn't really do much to show how much she loves Sang Yan in return besides standing up for him a few times & since she was in a vulnerable state in their youth, she never showed much interest in Sang Yan (understandably), so I can't understand how Sang Yan fell that deeply with how they made it seem in the drama. Many of the men in the drama were either creeps or obsessed with Wen Yifan, and as hard as it was, she really should have opened up about her problems to her friends/Sang Yan to avoid so many unnecessary misunderstandings. One of the best things about Hidden Love was how open the main couple communicated despite having misunderstandings as well, but their misunderstandings were never big because the second one of them had doubts, they talked it out clearly.
I also couldn't feel any chemistry between the main couple in this drama. The acting felt very robotic, like they were simply going through the motions rather than the micro-movements that make all the difference. It felt like Sang Yan did all the heavy lifting in the relationship, but even with him, I couldn't see much emotion beyond just through his actions (like I felt there was a disconnect with how much he did for her vs how much emotion he showed in his eyes/face, but that may just be the acting). Sang Yan is more emotional than the drama gives him credit for & so is Wen Yifan. Her love is supposed to be more cautious but warm, not silent/non-existent. I initially tried to watch this drama but didn't like what I saw from skimming it while it was airing, so I dropped it...I felt like I should at least get through it once fully, just so I could give a proper review. Thus, I finally watched it fully this time. And my oh gosh, it was torture. They added things that made the story boring, like the 2nd couple's story & the grandpa...like what was the point. This drama needed to cut out lots of scenes or replace them to show more relationship buildup, but even then, no more than 25 episodes. Some stories need a longer run, but this drama didn't, so it didn't feel like a slow-burn-- it was a letdown.
It honestly felt like every slow-burn ever, but without any refreshing elements to help it be even remotely engaging. I typically love slow-burn dramas, but this drama made it look painfully one-sided till the very end so the slow pace & long episodes didn't feel worth it. In conclusion, I will say that this may be for people who like dramatic darker stories with a ML who is obsessively in love with the FL (ML falls first and harder), but for those who like more of a balanced relationship, Hidden Love may be more your cup of tea (FL falls first, but ML falls harder) even if the first 8 episodes are a bit boring since it's about FL's innocent teen crush on ML before they meet as adults which is when he finally falls for her. Just because I didn't like the drama version of First Frost doesn't mean it's still not good for other people since we all have different opinions/preferences. :)
First Frost is supposed to be more serious because the themes involving the FL are traumatic to her directly, so obviously, she would be more guarded against opening up...but dang, they really made her look flighty with that Hong Kong plot. She never did this in the novel but instead followed Sang Yan to Yihe when he discovered Sang Zhi dating Duan Jiaxu. It was more romantic because it wasn't just Sang Yan doing all the chasing, but her finally taking steps to join him in the fight for their love. The drama's version of their reunion in Hong Kong was also...stale. They really dulled down the love in the drama adaptation to make it seem like Sang Yan loves her so one-sidedly that his whole life decisions creepily revolve around Wen Yifan because of how he constantly follows her without her knowing over the years, & they never really portrayed why he fell for Wen Yifan well either. It makes his feelings look shallow, like puppy love for her appearance at first sight, which became obsessive. Wen Yifan didn't really do much to show how much she loves Sang Yan in return besides standing up for him a few times & since she was in a vulnerable state in their youth, she never showed much interest in Sang Yan (understandably), so I can't understand how Sang Yan fell that deeply with how they made it seem in the drama. Many of the men in the drama were either creeps or obsessed with Wen Yifan, and as hard as it was, she really should have opened up about her problems to her friends/Sang Yan to avoid so many unnecessary misunderstandings. One of the best things about Hidden Love was how open the main couple communicated despite having misunderstandings as well, but their misunderstandings were never big because the second one of them had doubts, they talked it out clearly.
I also couldn't feel any chemistry between the main couple in this drama. The acting felt very robotic, like they were simply going through the motions rather than the micro-movements that make all the difference. It felt like Sang Yan did all the heavy lifting in the relationship, but even with him, I couldn't see much emotion beyond just through his actions (like I felt there was a disconnect with how much he did for her vs how much emotion he showed in his eyes/face, but that may just be the acting). Sang Yan is more emotional than the drama gives him credit for & so is Wen Yifan. Her love is supposed to be more cautious but warm, not silent/non-existent. I initially tried to watch this drama but didn't like what I saw from skimming it while it was airing, so I dropped it...I felt like I should at least get through it once fully, just so I could give a proper review. Thus, I finally watched it fully this time. And my oh gosh, it was torture. They added things that made the story boring, like the 2nd couple's story & the grandpa...like what was the point. This drama needed to cut out lots of scenes or replace them to show more relationship buildup, but even then, no more than 25 episodes. Some stories need a longer run, but this drama didn't, so it didn't feel like a slow-burn-- it was a letdown.
It honestly felt like every slow-burn ever, but without any refreshing elements to help it be even remotely engaging. I typically love slow-burn dramas, but this drama made it look painfully one-sided till the very end so the slow pace & long episodes didn't feel worth it. In conclusion, I will say that this may be for people who like dramatic darker stories with a ML who is obsessively in love with the FL (ML falls first and harder), but for those who like more of a balanced relationship, Hidden Love may be more your cup of tea (FL falls first, but ML falls harder) even if the first 8 episodes are a bit boring since it's about FL's innocent teen crush on ML before they meet as adults which is when he finally falls for her. Just because I didn't like the drama version of First Frost doesn't mean it's still not good for other people since we all have different opinions/preferences. :)
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