The First Frost

First Love Forever

I like the male lead though he’s not the most dashing of actors around. He is an excellent actor and carries his roles well.

What I Liked:
- The song track was very good. Catchy songs.
- The female lead was very good-looking. I had total hair envy just looking at her gorgeous locks.
- The plot was decent and the supporting cast of people whom the FL worked with in the Nan Wu news company were nice and I liked that.
- The ML was a good guy and was truly so in love. I liked that they were devoted to each other.
- I liked that FL was feisty and courageous. She tried her best to protect herself and she was brave in the face of adversity. How difficult it must have been for her to be abandoned by her mother after her father’s death. How difficult it must have been for her to live with her awful relatives without pure hearts and intents. How awful it must feel to be thus unloved and abused,

What I did not like:
- I didn’t like all the bad characters. Duh? The FL’s uncle was disgusting and immoral. Such a lecherous scumbag.
- The FL’s relatives were generally disgusting too. Horrid characters. Exceedingly selfish and immoral.
- The second lead’s story with the grandparents and all that was quite unnecessary though the second FL was cute.

Overall, I think this is an easy kind of watch. The cinematography is beautiful. It’s a good show though some parts can be a little slow. I think the leads did a good job to carry the show and their roles. ;o)

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I didn’t expect The First Frost to hit me the way it did.

What looked like a simple second-chance romance ended up becoming a soul-stirring story about time, regret, and the love that lingers even after everything else moves on.

It’s slow. Purposefully slow. Like healing. Like thawing.

The story isn’t grand or full of dramatic twists—it's intimate. It's two people who used to be everything to each other… and then, nothing. And then, years later, something again. But now with all the weight of what they couldn’t say back then.

The cinematography is poetic—each frame feels like it holds its breath. The silences between characters say more than any dramatic dialogue ever could. And the snow... don’t even get me started. The snow in this drama doesn’t just fall—it feels.

The leads? Understated, but with a chemistry so thick you can feel it under the quiet. The ache in their eyes, the longing, the "what-ifs" that hang in every shared glance—it all made me pause and exhale slowly, like I was there too, carrying my own forgotten feelings.

What touched me most is how it doesn’t rush to fix what’s broken. It just sits with it. Like life does sometimes. It tells you that love isn’t always loud or timed right. Sometimes, love waits through years of frost—quietly, stubbornly, faithfully.

If you’ve ever loved someone in silence…
If you’ve ever wished life gave you one more honest moment to say what you couldn’t before…
Then The First Frost will find you—and stay with you long after the credits roll.

Rating: 9.8/10 and for Deep feelers, second-chance believers, snow-day dreamers, and those who like their dramas slow but soul-deep.

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A Strong Romance That Takes Its Time

I’ll start by saying that First Frost is a great drama overall, even if it occasionally goes in circles. The story sometimes lingers too long on repeated emotional beats, which can slow the pacing, but it still manages to deliver plenty of heartfelt moments.

Both leads have rather cold personalities, which can be frustrating at times, yet also surprisingly heartwarming once their vulnerabilities start to show. Their reserved nature adds tension to the romance, and the shy, softer moments between them are some of the most enjoyable parts of the show.

One of my biggest issues lies with the male lead. For much of the drama, he feels more like an accessory to the female lead rather than a fully realized character. His personal arcs are barely explored, making him feel somewhat shallow. The classic “cold, rich prince who can do everything” trope is pushed a bit too far here. While the story does attempt to give him more depth toward the end, it feels like it comes too late. I would have appreciated more focus on his life outside of the romance ~ especially his relationships with family and friends, where his behavior often comes across as unnecessarily harsh.

On the other hand, the supporting cast is a pleasant surprise. Many of them receive stronger and more complete character arcs, and in some cases, they are more compelling than the male lead. Their stories add variety and emotional depth to the overall narrative. They built a world and it does show.

There are also some lighter elements sprinkled throughout fun moments, romantic tension, and shy interactions that balance the heavier themes. However, the pushy rival character feels unnecessary and mostly serves as an annoyance rather than adding meaningful conflict.

It’s also worth noting that the drama touches on some darker themes, including sexual assault and other heavy themes. These elements add emotional weight to the story but may be difficult for some viewers.

Overall, First Frost delivers a strong romantic drama with memorable moments, even if certain characters ~ especially the male lead ~ could have been explored more deeply.

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Found my next comfort drama!

Yet another to be added to my 'comfort drama' list! Yet another masterpiece by Zhu Yi. The moment this drama started, I knew it couldn't go below 8 or 8.5. It did not disappoint me at all. Can't wait to read the book!

Ok, let's be honest - Sang Yan is way too good to belong to this world. He makes this drama so..comforting. It's the feeling of security as a viewer that no matter what truth, what twist comes up or whatever anybody says about Wen Yifan, his image of her would never change. If it did, it just gets better, never worse. And that keeps us grounded. He keeps Wen Yifan and all of us anchored. Making him feel that she isn't the best person he has ever met is as hard as making the Sun rise from the west, period. And realistically speaking, that makes him way more otherworldly than earthly 😂 And I know you're going to say it's the most basic way treating a girl - your girl - but let's be real. To indefinitely wait for someone for all these years and revolving your whole life around a single person takes a lot more than you think. And the vast majority of us can neither be it nor experience it. But I feel that's what makes stories like these divine. It's paradise. Loved that human, Sang Yan. I have officially become a Bai Jingting fan!

Wen Yifan, one of the bravest characters I've seen. Not in a 'warrior of the ancient times' sense but the real world version without an armour or sword. They called Sang Yan the knight and her the princess. But honestly, she is the knight herself. I usually don't like the idea of running away or escaping, leaving everything and everyone behind (as much as I wish I could myself ㅠㅠ). Maybe because it's not always possible. But she made me realise that maybe, running off isn't cowardice. It's a way of survival. And anything you do for survival is valid. She could have given up on her life entirely. But she didn't. That makes her a really brave person. She deserves every happiness in the world. Even at the end, their wedding wishes were filled with 'Sang Yan take care of her', 'Sang Yan protect her' as if it wasn't his wedding too. But it didn't feel out of place or overly highlighting Wen Yifan. It just FELT right! Again Zhang Ruonan fan here! The night when the incident happened was so well done by her, I was crying.

The two of them? One of the best onscreen couple. They look like real life couples tbh. Their acting was phenomenal! So natural; tears fell like it was happening to them, smiles came as if they had waited for this moment in real life. All the while making us feel the myriad of emotions. The way he called her name - Wen Shuangjiang..uhh! I was lovestruck 😫😫😭😭😭

Also liked Qiaoqiao and Haoan. They made a very cute couple. Love Zhang Miaoyi from WIFTY. It took me sometime to adjust to her new character 😫😂 I didn't realise Edward Chen is the one from 'Your Name engraved herein'. That movie's been on my watchlist for a long time. Have to watch that now for sure! Another notable character was Wen Yifan's mother. One of the most ridiculous people I've seen. EVER! Just cannot justify her in any way. Uh!

The OSTs grow on you. I liked 任性(Willful), 倔强(Stubborn) and 看着我(Look at me). But my favorites would be 像晴天像雨天 (Like sunny days, like rainy days) by Silence Wang and 雨滴中有你 (There is you amidst raindrops) by Crispy Band. Loved those!

This drama is not without problems though. First and foremost, Sang Yan's character as person was a bit far fetched. I mean, we're talking about a 16, 17 year old flying or taking train whatever so many times and his parents don't seem to care. Where did he get all the money from? Why aren't his parents the least concerned? Again, the level of freedom he had was a bit too much for an Asian family 😂 And if he didn't have a heart of gold, I swear he's one of the brattiest people I've seen 😂 Sang Zhi is right, he is very proud and arrogant 😶 So the green flag is for 'the way he treats her' than him as an individual. Then the storyline of the second couple felt a bit incomplete. I wish there was more. More interaction, more lovely moments and a more decisive ending. It felt loose. And the grandparents story as well. It felt like there wasn't a need for it. They were on track in the beginning, the entire memory loss and all. But they didn't use the room they had. All of a sudden it just wrapped up and became background stuff. Also, I thought there'll be more bits that parallelled with Hidden Love timeline but that disappointed me too. Finally, somewhere in the middle I did feel the drama dragged a bit. Not in a way that makes you want to fast forward the episode. But in a way that doesn't give you the urge to watch the next episode soon after, ya.

So the conclusion? This drama shows you what it is like to be loved unconditionally without any strings attached. What it is like to have someone to rely on- quoting "Trusting you in weakness, chosen by you firmly". This drama is not for binge watching over the weekend. It exists for you to watch an episode per day over an entire month! ❄️🍃

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Since this was based on the character Sang Yan from Hidden Love, I couldn't wait to watch it. And I really wanted to like this more than I did. But, unfortunately, I felt something was missing.

Granted it started with a disadvantage because I was a fan of Victor Ma (the original Sang Yan in HL) but I came to like the actor Bai Jing Ting in the role, even though he still didn't quite ring true as Sang Yan.

What I had a hard time with was the character Wen Yi Fan's treatment of Sang Yan. Leaving him when she was in high school and breaking his heart might have been understandable but doing it again once they were adults and in a relationship. I had a hard time with it.

One can forgive someone once especially a teenager they do dumb stuff without warning all the time. But as an adult? She could have talked it over with him. At the very least she could have left a proper goodbye.

It did have a happy ending.

All in all not a bad watch but it definitely didn't live up to all the expectations.

Should you watch it? That depends. Are you a fan of Victor Ma? Did you love him as Sang Yan? If you did this one might just grate a bit, because no one can replace an original actor in a role. However if you can set aside that and watch this drama as a standalone unrelated to HL then by all means give it a shot, you just may enjoy it.

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Great but too many flashbacks

I like that this drama showed that life isnt a fairytale,but they did get their happily ever after. But for me the male actor carried the show, female was beautiful but was very cringe and awkward to watch on some scenes but it could have been the writers vision and he told her to act like that idk. Another negative besides the cringe moments from the FL is how many FLASHBACKS they put in the show. I swear 40% of the show is flashbacks. They even do a flashback of something that just happened in that very episode...like its not like we forgot what happened 15 minutes ago writers... if you add all the flashbacks it would equal atleast 8 episodes 🤣. I know a lot of shows do the flashback thing but this show is way too excessive in that aspect. Also did anyone actually care about the grandpa sideplot? Because i found it boring and fast forwarded and it seems most other people did the same. Not sure why the writers felt the need to add that in and it really took up a lot of scenes too so its not like it was a small side plot. Anyway ive already rewatched 3 times and i dont really re-watch shows,i did fast forward all the flashbacks and grandpa scenes though 🤣 This show did make me cry of happiness and fullfilled what a love story should really be like though i will give it that! Now if only real life could be like the way he loved her :(

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Worth to wait a year!!

I have checked this page probably every day for the last 3 months, but I have been waiting at least a year for it to come out. Absolutely worth it! I love a good slow burn, and this delivered more than a slow burn! It has a great story, amazing acting, amazing visuals and amazing stories. Even with my favorite show, I am known to skip forward a lot and I never start a show before it is finished. I have never skipped one scene, not even the old grandparents, more than that I watched many scened a few times. This was so warm and heartwarming.
Sang Yan is one of the greenest flags I have ever seen, and Wen Yifan has one of the best character developments ever. At first, I was skeptical about Bai JinTing. I love the man in comedies, he delivers so well, even with his eyes... However, he played the cold-faceted yet golden-hearted, silly goose in love so well! His looks made it even better. I am so glad he was chosen to act as Sang Yan.
FL has displayed the scared and scarred little teenager to the brim. She reflected the emotions and love so well. I was about to get annoyed with the character right around the ending but, no, quick saves!!! And as characters, they were both super understanding and willing to grow out of it. Although I believe he needs the comfort of having her trust and safe harbor, he was there for her without judgment.
I appreciate this drama so much. I think it will go down as my all time favorite show in the history.

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Incredibly dreamy & beautiful ❄️and

Never thought that I would be loving a spin off of Hidden love more than Hidden Love but here we are. The leads are INCREDIBLE and Extremely good while portraying complex characters of Sang Yan & Wen Yifan - A beautifully melancholic story of pain, trauma & endless wait to say it what they feel about each other & life.

He literally drew stars over her scars & she became a warrior beating her traumas. The use of lights, mirrors, glass and reflections & transparent umbrellas in this drama is CINEMA.

Cool tonned & hazy frames until episode 16 & warm tonned and glossy frames from Episode 18 hinting at the thawing frost ❄️ by the ☀️ was so beautifully done.

It's an adaptation for decades to love. Definitely worth a rewatch every season when the first frost descends. Sang Yan is the Amazon Forest of mankind & deserves to be loved by every living being.

My pet peeve would be the plot change but it's understandable for adaptations sake. The scene of her opening up about SA trauma to Sang Yan was followed by a bed scene which is a little inappropriate but maybe comforting for their story but still, I'd rate is equal to Hidden love & Lighter and Princess - My roman Empire trio of Cdramas.

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