Platinum Fox

You and many others have felt that way and it is intentional by the writers. They want the audience to think about the age gap when she is 14 and he is 19 and then again when she is 17 and he is 22. There are very real differences between these ages in height and maturity level. I don't know if you know this, but the age of consent in China is 14. People have been working to get it changed to 16, but no luck. This drama is a social commentary on the age of consent law. If you can't change a law, change the people's mindset about the law. jmo

Thanks for the friend request. I'm glad you are enjoying this. I did enjoy the modern romance You Are My Destiny the newer version.

Thank you for the information about Sang Zhi and Yi Fan. That scene was not in Hidden Love (it didn't need to be), but it does explain why Sang Yan was mad at Sang Zhi for going to Yihe. Also, Sang Zhi wouldn't mention DJX at all during that conversation because she was already ghosting him at the time (this was the second temporal node of Hidden Love).

I think why people are getting hung up on why Sang Yan is not Sang Yan is because in this drama he has a different role than in Hidden Love. In Hidden Love he was a brother to Sang Zhi and a friend to DJX. Sang Yan and DJX are foils for each other. In The First Frost, Sang Yan's main role is that of a romantic. His foil must be the Su guy. This is where BJT makes the Sang Yan character his own as we do not know very much about Sang Yan's romantic side as it is never discussed in Hidden Love. The difficulty in this, is that we still have to believe that he is the brother of Sang Zhi from Hidden Love, and this needs to be done right away within the first few episodes and throughout the entire drama, especially for viewers who watched Hidden Love first. If you watch Hidden Love second, it would be the same story. Who is the real Sang Yan? Both of them, he is just playing a different role in two different stories.

Just from the comments, it seems BJT pulled it off. For me, it wasn't the acting that kept me from watching the rest, it was the story. This story is generic. The Sang Yan character could have been named anything, unlike Hidden Love which had something deeper going on than just the simple story of a young girl's crush on an older guy.

I watched the scenes with Sang Yan and Sang Zhi when they are standing in line again. As they are talking you get a hint of the narcissistic Sang Yan when he talks about getting into Nanwu without really studying and saying she is not as good as him and could still study abroad. This is something Sang Yan would say, but Victor Ma's Sang Yan would have cocked his head back and been charmingly grumpy about it, not this quiet, serious, reserved, mousy guy BJT played. This is more DJX's style. We also get a hint of Sang Yan's comedic side when he holds the phone up out of reach to make fun of her height. This is something that Victor Ma's Sang Yan would have done, but in a more comedic way to make people understand that this is what he is doing. I am betting most people probably didn't realize why he was holding the phone so high. It didn't dawn on me either until I watched it again. The audience can explain this difference in personality by saying they are in public, he has just reconnected with his old flame, he has matured, or DJX rubbed off on him, but his character still lacks that fun, confident character that we knew and loved from Hidden Love.

But thinking about it some more there is one other thing we know about Sang Yan from Hidden Love. He doesn't really know how to handle serious conversations. These were passed off to DJX. Which is why he seems to ask remorsefully about DJX being her real brother.

For me, it was almost like the writer, director, and actor were trying to help the audience transition from Victor Ma's interpretation of Sang Yan to BJT's interpretation of Sang Yan which is fine. But, I am betting there are not too many scenes with his sister and parents in the drama.

Please don't let my interpretation spoil your enjoyment of the drama. Realize that Hidden Love and The First Frost have very different purposes for the role of Sang Yan. If you enjoyed his serious, romantic side that is all that matters.

Again, thank you for the discussion. Someday I may watch it, but I am not a big fan of modern romance dramas (to childish for me). I just watched what I needed to get my answers from Hidden Love.

Don't force yourself. I only suggested it because the romance is along the same theme as a girl falling in love with her brother's friend, and she is 14/15 with him being 21-24. It is a very different perspective than Hidden Love.

Zhao Lu Si always plays a character who speaks out against a social norm in any of her dramas. Love Like the Galaxy is full of tropes that are turned upside down from parenting styles to what is love. Hidden Love is the age of consent.

Thank you for the friend request.

Yes, he is also in A Dream of Splendor as the emperor, but not as funny.

Since you loved Zhao Lu Si in Hidden Love, try her historical version of the same theme in A Female Student Arrives at the Imperial College. Write back to me what you think of the perspective in that one as compared to Hidden Love.

You may also like The Story of Yan Xi Palace, Dawn Amidst the Hidden Clouds, Royal Rumors, The Story of Ming Lan, Miss Truth, and Truth or Dare.

The age gap when they meet is her at 15 and he 21. However, this is the normal age gap for ancient times. With that being said, this drama, while supporting that custom, actually puts off her marriage until she is 21 and he is 27. Mom is very concerned about her marrying at the age of 15/16 because she feels that Shao Shang doesn't really understand what marriage entails. However, Shao Shang just wants to get out the house because she thinks her mom doesn't love her as much as she likes Yang Yang her cousin.

This drama, while keeping with tradition, actually challenges the notion that females are ready for marriage at 15/16 years old. In the end, the female lead and male lead do not get married until she is 21 and he 26/27. So if you can just be patient, the age gap doesn't really matter in the long run. Also, the maturity level of romance for both of them is equal (even though he is older). He has never dated and neither has she. However, she will have a fiance before the male lead proposes marriage to her.

Hope this helps. If you don't end up watching it, it is not the end of the world.

2busywatching, since my last post to you, I watched to episode 5 and dropped it. However, I have been thinking more about the character of Sang Yan and the differences between him in HL and TFF. I am strictly talking about the two dramas, not his character in the novels. I have not read either of those. So if the screenwriter has changed his character to fit more with the novel, I wouldn't know, but also might explain as to why we don't see the personality from Hidden Love in TFF.

In Hidden Love (the drama), Sang Yan had two distinct characteristics his comedic narcissism and loud grumpy charm. His character was the foil for the quiet, reserved, introverted DJX. In order for BJT to establish himself as Sang Yan there are two lines very early in the drama that should have portrayed each of these characteristics, but for me fell flat. The first one is the one I mentioned in my last post "He is your real brother." First, this line is very out of place for the time line as at the time in Hidden Love Sang Zhi was ghosting DJX while preparing for her college entrance exams. So the video phone call seems to be the writers' inside joke to pay homage to Hidden Love (besides the song in the bar). This should have been comedic as we know that that was far from the truth as per DJX's response. Yet, the delivery of that line sounded more sorrowful and flat, something that Sang Yan was not in front of his sister. We can make an excuse for him by saying that he had just met WYF and was feeling depressed, but Sang Yan is very good at covering up his depression in front of his sister.

The second line is during a high school flashback when Sang Yan is saying something about him being the only guy worthy of WYF dating. This should have come off with that famous loud, comedic narcissistic personality, but instead again it was delivered in a flat, quiet voice. Again, we can only chalk that up to him not being very confident. But we know that he is the total opposite of that with his bravado facade.

However, for me, the delivery of these two lines did not make or break me from watching a little more. What made me drop it was two things. One, I had my answers from questions that I had from Hidden Love, and two, I felt they turned Sang Yan's character into more like DJX. He lacked his distinct personality that made him Sang Yan. Even though it is a darker drama, they should have allowed those two distinct personality traits to shine in how he dealt with WYF. Just my thoughts and opinion.

Thanks for the discussion.

Don't know if you continued this, but the female lead remains annoyingly naive. I see this recommended on so many websites, so had to give it try. But I am like you, I couldn't make it past episode 20. For me, the main characters were just too naive and unbelievable, especially the male lead. He was portrayed as being intelligent, but not once did he try to find out the truth behind his brother's death. He just accepted what was told him and then went out and slaughtered a bunch people in the name of revenge. This reminds me of Romeo and Juliet.

Yes, the child actors received counseling while filming this picture. The parents were also present during filming. The adults filmed their part and then the children filmed their part. They were not filmed together.

The actress who played 14-year-old Sang Zhi was actually 11 at the time of filming. This was intentional as they needed the actress for her height to show how much Sang Zhi had "grown up" during the 3 year temporal node. Her height was also needed for the scene in the doorway when they first met and the dad references throughout the rest of the drama. Your feeling of creepy at this was done intentionally by the writers.

Fun fact: the same actress played a younger version of Zhao Lu Si's characters in Who Rules the World and The Story of Pearl Girl.

I am glad you enjoyed the drama despite your dislike for the male lead and you never know, the male lead could grow on you.

Thank you for the discussion. Happy drama watching!

Again, you have the right to express your opinion about an actor's acting or how the actors look in their costumes, and you're right not everything needs to be positive. However, the way you expressed yourself came off as hatred towards the actor himself which is very different than critiquing the looks of the costumes and makeup on an actor. You may not have intended this, but from your first words,
I am making a great sacrifice.," it sounds like you hate the male lead which is fine, but you do not need to express it here. If you really feel the need to express your dislike for an actor on here, I suggest writing, "Even though I personally do not like the male lead, I love Yang ZI and am watching this drama for her."

Also, why is blocking the only solution on this forum. A forum that is a public space and should be treated like you are in public, not sitting at home in your bedroom (even though you probably are).

Does anyone else find it interesting that there is only one man for all those women disciples?

You have the right to your opinion about actors and actresses, but why do you feel the need to bring it to the forum. Just say you are here for your girl, Yang Zi. No need for the hatred towards the male actor.

I dropped this one after episode 4 as I had my answer from Hidden Love. What was Sang Yan hiding? For me, Hidden Love is the better of the two dramas because it is a social commentary on the age of consent in China. This one just seems to be a modern love story based on the brother from Hidden Love.

Also, it just seemed they took DJX's character and renamed him Sang Yan. jmo

I agree. He is a very green flag male, but he had a great role model DJX in Hidden Love (the sister drama). But if you can believe it, there is one even greener than these two and that is the Flower Envoy in Flourished Peony. jmo

Watched for the rave reviews, but skipped five episodes as it soon became apparent where it was headed and for me the slapstick comedy got old real quick. Enjoyed the message that women are strong and can do things for themselves, but when it comes to something dangerous (the knife at the brawl), then a man needs to take the hit. Isn't that why the CEO taught her the art of fighting was to show that she could deal with anything even dangerous weapons?

Also I felt the drama sent mixed messages when it came to her power. They made such a big deal about the mother losing her power even though she used them for good, but then it turned the mom into an entitled person and selfish. Isn't that what the whole soccer ball incident and the harassing by the co-worker were about Do Bong Soon?

If you are watching this for pure entertainment, it is cute overly done romance story. Enjoyable on the first watch, but no need to repeat. jmo

What a beautiful drama! This drama really brought out the importance of marrying the past with the future. Also, it made me understand the devotion Asian cultures have towards their ancestors.

See and that is where I find the flaw in the story. A good general like him would have done some kind of reconnaissance work before going back to the palace. He went back because his whole family was being held hostage by the king's advisor and the king. It was to insure that Shin didn't try to overthrow the king. Once he was there, there was no other way out but to die. He died to save his family (except his sister). This is why him becoming an immortal with a sword in his chest waiting for a "bride" to pull it out makes no sense (especially one who is 19).

Just my opinion. Thank you for the discussion and insights. I really am trying to understand why people thought this was a great drama.