Currently rewatching and I have a question šāāļø I know the backstory with Jiang Yingās dad and Duan Jia Xuās dad. I know that Duan Jia Xu was repaying the compensation for several years to Jiang Ying directly. My question is - why was she acting like she had a crush on him one minute (sending him gifts, asking to meet up etc) and then the next minute berating him for being a murdererās son and being hostile towards him?
Is it that she took his debt toward to mean that he was not only compensating financially but also with himself? I think that was my understanding initially but now that I am rewatching, I just donāt find it that clear.
If you watched The First Frost and needed a healing balm, this is the drama to watch! Especially if you were disturbed…
On another note: - super surprised we never had a reappearance of his ex who went abroad to study. I was so sure sheād turn up at the end somehow to disrupt the relationship! - Ngl, when he used the medical centre records to get her number, that raised all the red flags for me. As a doctor, thatās an abuse of his authority and I really dislike that he was interested in her while she was still under his care. I get that these relationships happen but the ethical thing would have been to wait until she was no longer under his medical care before pursuing her. Heās otherwise a green flag but the initial set up is not good.
If you watched The First Frost and needed a healing balm, this is the drama to watch! Especially if you were disturbed by the horrendous FLās family in The First Frost. I adore our FLās family in The Best Thing - they love, care and spoil Shen Xifan in the way that Wen Yifan deserved.
Overall, this was a cute love story to watch unfold.
So I was so obsessed with this drama that I read the entire novel over a night and a morning with 5 hours of sleep in between.
However! The plot of the drama is totally different so far to the novel. Theyāve used the names and official status (legitimate daughter, concubine etc) but not much else - see below for a non spoiler introduction to the novel.
If I had to summarise the 219 chapters of the translated novel without giving all of the plot away:
Zhuang Han Yan is the unfavoured legitimate daughter of Zhuang Shi Yang. In her previous life, she was naive, trusting those who only sought to harm her. In her first lifeās ending, she was betrayed and made to drink a cup of poisoned wine by a person she considered a sister, who plotted to steal her position as a noble manās wife. Her mother and brother had been unjustly murdered and now she was to follow their fate. Zhuang Han Yan deeply regrets - but, rebirth plot: she wakes up 3 years prior to those terrible events.
Armed with knowledge from her previous life, she cleverly outmanoeuvres those who would plot her downfall from her unloving father to his scheming concubines and concubine born sister, Zhuang Yu Shan, while Han Yan protects her younger brother. She attracts the attention of the imperial family, in particular, the cold but attractive younger brother to the emperor, Prince Xuanqing, Fu Yunxi.
Several deeper plots are afoot - the mysterious circumstances surrounding Zhuang Han Yanās birth, an invading enemy country, political ploys, and many schemes against Han Yan that she must solve.
Itās a very satisfying read with misunderstandings being quickly solved and Han Yan is wickedly smart!
Content warning - Han Yan is underaged and is referred to as 12 or 13 for much of the book. However, there is no underage sexual content but she does have several people who plot to ruin her innocence (and she outwits them all). There are no descriptive sex scenes but there is mention of intercourse (eg. āembracingā) between consenting adults.
I really enjoyed it. I look forward to see whether the drama becomes more similar in plot later on but certainly the first few episodes Iāve seen really donāt resemble the book.
The first 4 episodes were very promising and I love the similar vibe to The Double which was my favorite drama last year. My only regret is that I didnāt wait for it to finish airing so I could binge it because I know waiting for episodes is going to kill me ;-;
Cannot wait for their upcoming love story, I can tell it will be very fun.
This was a quick and cute binge watch! Green flags for the male leads and her family. At one point, I found myself shipping the male leads, they were such nice guys. I really appreciate the main lesson is learning to accept yourself, flaws and all, and that neither plastic surgery or makeup were seen as quick fixes but rather tools to use if so desired.
At this point, Kim Soo Hyun needs to speak up directly for this situation. He needs to apologise for his actions that have contributed to the death of someone he was allegedly so close with. This is not how you treat your colleague, let alone your ex-girlfriend. No matter how his lawyers or company try to explain, there is no improving his tarnished character without him speaking up.
I hope Kim Sae Ron is finally getting her peace because these villains surely did not let her have any while she was alive.
The Sang family is shown. Sang Zhi has several appearances. Jiaxu has a few. But they are played by different…
@twinty I know that much but I meant - do any other characters of First Frost have a mention in Hidden Love? For example, are Wen Yifan or Su Haoan ever mentioned?
(I do know the obvious crossover characters like Sang Zhi, her parents, Duan Jiaxu and Qian Fei and I recognize some of the events from Hidden Love like Qian Feiās wedding, Sang Yanās trip to Yihe when Sang Zhi stayed for summer break (when he found out they were dating) and about her parentsā hesitation to accept Duan Jiaxu at first. Just wanted to know if anyone noticed any other mentions of HL events.)
I mean they share the same characters. Sang Yan has a pretty big role in Hidden Love, more than Sang Zhi and Jia…
@jtyu I know that much but I meant - do any other characters of First Frost have a mention in Hidden Love? For example, are Wen Yifan or Su Haoan ever mentioned?
(I do know the obvious crossover characters like Sang Zhi, her parents, Duan Jiaxu and Qian Fei and I recognize some of the events from Hidden Love like Qian Feiās wedding, Sang Yanās trip to Yihe when Sang Zhi stayed for summer break (when he found out they were dating) and about her parentsā hesitation to accept Duan Jiaxu at first. Just wanted to know if anyone noticed any other mentions of HL events.)
Just finished First Frost and I am back for a rewatch! Just because Iāve missed this couple, plus I wanna see if I can spot any First Frost references.
Are there any First Frost character references in Hidden Love? Itās been so long that I am now tempted to rewatch Hidden Love and spy any crossover references, hehe.
To clarify, I meant - is there any mention of Wen Yifan or Su Haoan?
Why do they never show us beyond the proposal?! In both this and Hidden Love. Donāt get me wrong, I LOVED IT but Iād also love a wedding, a honeymoon, a married life montage and even a kiddo or two.
If anyone else is an absolute wuss with horror films like me (and Sang Yan), trigger warning for episode 9 when they watch the same horror film twice. I hate jump scares šµāš« had to watch the scenes with my eyes half closed to read subtitles and still got scared!
This was super easy to watch. I love a drama where everything is resolved so quickly. The emperor here made me miss the supportive emperor from Love Like The Galaxy.
Genuinely surprises me that it took me an entire month to watch this. I adore all three lead actors, especially Wang Duo, but while I appreciate a happy (but abrupt) ending, the storyās pacing was off.
Also, I just went over to the discussion section to see a novel excerpt where they had kids and lots of (ahem) skinship. I feel robbed! Give me some time with them living their happily ever after ;-;
Feels like weāre āholding spaceā for season 3. I know Gi Hun isnāt innately that smart but he seemed extra dumb this season. Maybe season 3 will improve on the series but as of now, season 2 greatly lacks the momentum and high stakes feel of the first season.
I know the backstory with Jiang Yingās dad and Duan Jia Xuās dad. I know that Duan Jia Xu was repaying the compensation for several years to Jiang Ying directly. My question is - why was she acting like she had a crush on him one minute (sending him gifts, asking to meet up etc) and then the next minute berating him for being a murdererās son and being hostile towards him?
Is it that she took his debt toward to mean that he was not only compensating financially but also with himself? I think that was my understanding initially but now that I am rewatching, I just donāt find it that clear.
Grateful to anyone who can clarify!
- super surprised we never had a reappearance of his ex who went abroad to study. I was so sure sheād turn up at the end somehow to disrupt the relationship!
- Ngl, when he used the medical centre records to get her number, that raised all the red flags for me. As a doctor, thatās an abuse of his authority and I really dislike that he was interested in her while she was still under his care. I get that these relationships happen but the ethical thing would have been to wait until she was no longer under his medical care before pursuing her. Heās otherwise a green flag but the initial set up is not good.
Overall, this was a cute love story to watch unfold.
However! The plot of the drama is totally different so far to the novel. Theyāve used the names and official status (legitimate daughter, concubine etc) but not much else - see below for a non spoiler introduction to the novel.
If I had to summarise the 219 chapters of the translated novel without giving all of the plot away:
Zhuang Han Yan is the unfavoured legitimate daughter of Zhuang Shi Yang. In her previous life, she was naive, trusting those who only sought to harm her. In her first lifeās ending, she was betrayed and made to drink a cup of poisoned wine by a person she considered a sister, who plotted to steal her position as a noble manās wife. Her mother and brother had been unjustly murdered and now she was to follow their fate. Zhuang Han Yan deeply regrets - but, rebirth plot: she wakes up 3 years prior to those terrible events.
Armed with knowledge from her previous life, she cleverly outmanoeuvres those who would plot her downfall from her unloving father to his scheming concubines and concubine born sister, Zhuang Yu Shan, while Han Yan protects her younger brother. She attracts the attention of the imperial family, in particular, the cold but attractive younger brother to the emperor, Prince Xuanqing, Fu Yunxi.
Several deeper plots are afoot - the mysterious circumstances surrounding Zhuang Han Yanās birth, an invading enemy country, political ploys, and many schemes against Han Yan that she must solve.
Itās a very satisfying read with misunderstandings being quickly solved and Han Yan is wickedly smart!
Content warning - Han Yan is underaged and is referred to as 12 or 13 for much of the book. However, there is no underage sexual content but she does have several people who plot to ruin her innocence (and she outwits them all). There are no descriptive sex scenes but there is mention of intercourse (eg. āembracingā) between consenting adults.
I really enjoyed it. I look forward to see whether the drama becomes more similar in plot later on but certainly the first few episodes Iāve seen really donāt resemble the book.
Cannot wait for their upcoming love story, I can tell it will be very fun.
I hope Kim Sae Ron is finally getting her peace because these villains surely did not let her have any while she was alive.
(I do know the obvious crossover characters like Sang Zhi, her parents, Duan Jiaxu and Qian Fei and I recognize some of the events from Hidden Love like Qian Feiās wedding, Sang Yanās trip to Yihe when Sang Zhi stayed for summer break (when he found out they were dating) and about her parentsā hesitation to accept Duan Jiaxu at first. Just wanted to know if anyone noticed any other mentions of HL events.)
(I do know the obvious crossover characters like Sang Zhi, her parents, Duan Jiaxu and Qian Fei and I recognize some of the events from Hidden Love like Qian Feiās wedding, Sang Yanās trip to Yihe when Sang Zhi stayed for summer break (when he found out they were dating) and about her parentsā hesitation to accept Duan Jiaxu at first. Just wanted to know if anyone noticed any other mentions of HL events.)
To clarify, I meant - is there any mention of Wen Yifan or Su Haoan?
The emperor here made me miss the supportive emperor from Love Like The Galaxy.
Also, I just went over to the discussion section to see a novel excerpt where they had kids and lots of (ahem) skinship. I feel robbed! Give me some time with them living their happily ever after ;-;