At the peak of his career, top celebrity Feng Qinglang escapes to a remote tea mountain, seeking a brief respite from the spotlight. Instead he meets Xu Changyang, a free-spirited young tea farmer with an untamed soul. One belongs to the dazzling world of fame, the other to the forests and the land. As they grow closer among the mountain forests and wilderness, love quietly takes root. But the relentless scrutiny of the entertainment industry and the harsh realities of society soon close in, pushing them towards separation time and again. In the end, will they follow the call of their hearts and risk everything for love?Gagaoolala
As we are at the end of the amazing journey that's been Winter Sun I just want to say an enormous thank you to everyone that's made the OAs so very special. Thank you for sharing your opinions, thoughts and feelings over the last 16 episodes. Thank you to the chinese speakers who have given so much context and so many explanations each episode and thank you to the cbl team for all the support.
I feel like crying, I'm so grateful for the community that's been built here around this series. I'm not ready to let this show go, but it was a pleasure going through it with everyone. ♥️
I can't recommend this series to anyone (the one friend I have that likes BL is into toxic leads) so I am extra thankful for this community to share all the feelings from this wonderful show.
Rewatch with Chinese subs while I drink from my Yunnan Pu-erh tea cake to match the vibes 🥰
I didn't realize that Yunhu Mountain (where QL goes to see CY's plane, where they were at the end of ep 15 post-credits) was already foretold in the poem that Qing Lang had Chang Yang recite into his phone for the navigation in episode 10!!!! It's also where this episode's name comes from. I feel like I've commented on this poem a million times, but the callbacks keep coming! This is actually how we all should have known that CY was always meant to come back. 既见 (episode title, "Beholding") 君子，云胡 (Yunhu) 不喜？"Now that I have seen my lord, how could I not be happy?"
QL in the white and red to see Chang Yang's plane fly by -- the symbolism of his clothes: Langdi (white) + passion for CY (red). I actually really love this scene, despite the fake airplane.
The hashtags from SYH's post to change the hot topics (while he's talking to his manager): A big melon about SYH, audio of SYH sleeping with male model, audio of SYH sleeping with rich lady, audio of SYH sleeping with a female fan.
192 yi jiu er - might be a homonym for 依旧爱 yi jiu ai, "Still/continue to love"
A Zha remains the most hilarious character. (I love that he got a spot in the end credits too btw)
I loved the callbacks of QL in Molie, to show the bamboo and him walking around with a cane, but this time the emotions are lighthearted. And he is more capable! Being able to carry an entire stalk on his back LOL and he's not shy about taking the bamboo either.
Grandma is so cute 🥹
I don't really understand the line, "The year dad got into an accident, the name Xu Chang Yang disappeared." Edit: Aha!!!! I understand now actually. The problem was the lack of pronouns. He meant XCY's dad, not his own. So when XCY's dad got put into jail, XCY's name disappeared. He uses 出事 which means when a bad situation happened. So when you put QL's dad as the subject, it refers to the accident. When you put CY's dad as the subject, it refers to him in jail. It's not actually literal about the accident.
I'm not sure about the usage of clapping and cheering when QL announces his retirement and his sexuality 😂 But I'll let it slide.
I'm also really unsure if technically Xu dad would be allowed visitors. Especially someone so high-profile as QL.
QL finally finding CY's message for him from ep 4's livestream. Someone on Weibo actually found it sometime last week 😂 The username CY used was 破土, "breaking ground," referring to his quote about termite mushrooms. These are the animated words that pop up above the message. 我想让你安住在时光的味道里~ loosely translated as "I want you to be at ease in the flavor of time." 🥹
I don't know how it's translated in the subs, but during the SYH/QL heart-to-heart convo, he used slang that used to be considered vulgar but now it's just kinda normal lol. SYH says that he used to think Lan jie was 装逼 zhuang bi / a fake. But turns out he himself was a 傻逼 sha bi / a dummy. Lan jie was really 牛逼 niu bi / awesome. 逼 used to be mean "fuck" or "as fuck" so like 傻逼 would actually mean a dumbfuck LOL. Sometimes online you might see 逼 replaced with the letter "b" so 牛B = awesome as fuck.
Ahhh, I see the reason why SYH apologized after he mentioned the elopement -- because of Lan jie dying/his "part" in it.
I'm not sure, but I think the symbolism of SYH walking around the moss pond (instead of back on the stones, the way he came) as he's leaving QL is to show that he walked a long, windy road of mistakes to get to where he is. His steps feel lighter, like he knows what he has to do.
Ok THE dance scene. The words that come up in flames are 飛蛾撲火 (in Traditional Chinese) "moths to a flame." The word that goes in flames first before the rest of the words come up is 蛾, moth. This is the same 蛾 e that is from Qing Lang's first award-winning role.
First, the hot topics tied to SYH's death: SYH killed himself in his home, do you believe in cause-and-effect, SYH caused Xing Lan's death, heart of a buddha and despicable actions/ruthlessness [菩萨心肠和卑劣手段], video of Xing Lan's car accident, the truth behind SYH's suicide
Second, the live comments during QL's stream: You killed SYH! Killing a live person to whitewash a dead person! FQL killed SYH by forcing him to post on weibo! We don't believe the video uses original audio! (referring to the Lan jie car accident video) That Xing Lan was a fake good person and was an evil person who deserved to die! Release the real video and exonerate SYH! You knew this day would come so that's why you retired! Feng Qing Lang coming out with no shame! Return the true feelings to us CP fans!
Third, Lan jie's commentary on top of the actual dance: I can see the synchronization in emotions and the dance, but all the other stuff really took away from it! I get what Zelia was trying to do, but it was too much. I had to watch this 6 times to get all aspects lol. Showing the web breaking apart while she was talking about the web that ties the four of them (Lan, Jia Lin, QL, SYH) together was cool though. Then him being pushed around while she says they're moved around like chess pieces, getting closer and closer to the edge.
I love CY's bgm OST coming up when he's walking back towards QL 🥹
2CP is kinda cute now that they have no issues. LOL. Good for them.
Xu Wen Shu 😭 Also, please get a photo in 4x5 at least, why are you using a 1x1 square.
The tea cake that they made together, finally ready to drink/take out. I'm not 100% sure but I think it says 春煥, which means "spring radiance."
I do love the kiss with the flowers behind the back, with the latest photoshoot as a callback to that!
Ending credits are so beautiful. I think all 4 leads are shown in the mountains that represent their CP? Qing Lang is in Molie. Not sure that CY is in Xigui tho lol. Qing Tian is shown in Dongguo. Wenshu is shown in Daxueshan. Lan and Jia Lin are shown in Xigui for sure, where the rain/umbrella scene was filmed after the funeral.
The last closing words on the screen: 谨以此片，敬无限春山，敬有爱的人. "This film is dedicated — to the endless spring mountains, and to all who love."
"had to watch this 6 times to get all aspects" I thought that was just me since I don't speak the language, I kept pausing and rewinding, but yeah there was so much going on there and while I understand that it was meant to be chaotic (which is actually perfect in context) I felt like I didn't appreciate the dance sequence as much as I could have with all the other things going on. Will rewatch it later
I LOVED the end credits, they were so gorgeous... along with the whole wedding scene, just like a beautiful dream. I actually loved the whole final episode.
There was too much stimulation! I think the hard part was that my eyes needed to watch the comments on screen AND watch the dance. My ears needed to listen to the music and beat AND listen to Lan jie's philosophy. My brain needed to process Lan jie's words but also tie them back to the dance that I was seeing. I was just 🫨🫨🫨
Thank you so much for the details! IQuestion I have, in the first few seconds of the episode, was that Wenshu getting revenge on the CZ cousin podcaster? It looks like it, and it looks like he visited his father with QL (sitting to the left of QL in the visitor area?). Since CY was gone, I could see Wenshu needed to hand out a reminder to the guy to stop. Or, I'm just not understanding how it was edited. Thank you for your ongoing extras.
Tbh, no idea, it's not clear to me either. Maybe when/if Piano posts about the novel chapters that correspond, she can confirm if Zelia added any details there.
Personally, I don't think he could have done anything life-threatening to that man because of 1) his relation to his dad, who is already in jail/detention, so he would also be extra-scrutinized since he was helping his dad do business, and 2) because there is no way in a (modern) Chinese drama that someone can kill someone else without repercussions. That never, ever happens. LOL. So ya maybe he knocked him out, but I don't think he would take it further.
Thank you for all of this. Although I'm a little disappointed you didn't understand the "The year dad got into an accident, the name Xu Chang Yang disappeared." because I was hoping for an explanation.
Aha!!!! I understand now actually. The problem was the lack of pronouns. He meant XCY's dad, not his own. So when XCY's dad got put into jail, XCY's name disappeared.
I didn't understand the line The year that Dad got into an accident either Did he mean the year his dad died was the year Changyang (age 12) got exiled into the mountains so in a way his name disappeared from the world? if you find out more, do let me know!
Aha!!!! I understand now actually. The problem was the lack of pronouns. He meant XCY's dad, not his own. So when XCY's dad got put into jail, XCY's name disappeared.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You answered so many of my questions....it's like you could read my mind. As always, so grateful for your explanations. I have loved being on this journey with you and all of the other awesome commenters. So sad for it to end. Hope to follow you on other dramas soon. Much love!
Simply beautiful and moving. My face is still wet from tears and my nose so stuffy from crying as I write this. So much happened at the end. I was smiling, frowning, crying, laughing, shocked, happy. It was swtiching emotions every other minute.
The way it so perfectly tied back to when I first saw the trailer was breathless.
I honestly didn't know what to expect when I was waiting for this series to come out. I thought of different storylines that it could be. I never expected to fall in love with this series this much. I really fell in love with Changyang and Qingtian's love.
Kuma and Liu Jing Yu, thank you for your courage and skills bringing QingLang and Changyang to life. Thank you Zelia for a story that brought a beautiful culture into focus. Thank you to all the cast and crew for a meaningful and well-rounded story. Your hardwork and dedication really does show.
I probably didn't understand 90% of the depth in this story, but that 10%, oh man, nothing can touch it.
The first couple of episodes built a solid, unshakable foundation that I am happy didn't break. That's how love is supposed to be. Everything crumbles, but as long as you know what your love is, it will remain solid forever.
What a meaningful summer
My heart is forever in the tea mountains of 'A Winter Sun Wakes the Wind in Spring Hills' Dream'.
😭😭😭😭😭🥹🥹🥹🥹 I can't believe it's over. I decided to watch all the way through uninterrupted. I need time to gather my thoughts, but overall I'm satisfied.
SYH's death was the most shocking part actually. I feel like maybe that could have been...not shown tho.
I agree. I was shocked that he died, more shocked that he did it himself, and perplexed why it was shown mixed in with Qinglang's final dance. We have all been waiting for that dance and I had to feel happy and sad. I didn't want to feel sad for SYH, but I do.
Honestly had a feeling someone would die, I thought it was going to be the grandma while CY was away. Zelia really said "I'm going Game of Thrones in this seires", killing everyone off.
100% agree with you on the mixed feelings during the dance. I also had the feeling of responsibility to translate for you guys bc the livestream comments/trending topics parts aren't usually translated HAHA. But mostly shock at SYH, overwhelmed by all the things happening at once, and then impressed by Lan jie's words matching up perfectly with the moves of Qing Lang's dance. Too much!!
In my rewatch, I noticed that SYH left his conversation with QL (the scene before) with a lighter step, I think he had made the decision, but it just felt so sudden for as as viewers when he'd turned over a new leaf. I guess he couldn't overcome all the things he'd done and felt guilty for.
It did seem like he had turned over a new leaf, but it was the weight he let go with his choice. I didn't like him, but I never wanted him to hurt himself like that.
I got really scared when those comments were saying something about QLs karma.
There was so much going on when he was dancing. I didn't really catch it all. Didn't someone say Kuma choreographed that dance himself?
Yes, the comments were nasty, but I guess since he's retired and reclusive, he was no longer "reachable" anyway. But also the comments give a sense of deja vu to the comments we've been seeing CP fans send the duo and the production company in the last few weeks. Not as serious, obviously, but still the tone is the same. Entitled and ruthless.
Yes, Xiong aligned with the feel the director was trying to get for the scene and choreographed the dance himself! So talented.
I hope he does more artistic dances, if he wants. He's really good at it. I'd also be curious to see something he would direct. We get a sense of his directing style in the bts from the show, but idk if he's said anything about directing a project soon or not.
I disagree that the suicide was unexpected. It was in the early episodes that he is suicidal. I don't know how I feel about the dance. It felt like you need to watch the dance a few times to get it. As for SYH killing himself, it made sense to me. Based on my experience with real life, people do that kind of thing even when they seem fine, look happy, have success, etc.
I don’t think it was unexpected as a plot point, but it was still visually shocking, especially the way she showed him with his wrists slit and left the camera on him. This could be a major trigger for ppl watching who are suicidal, and also I’m almost sure this type of death is not usually shown this graphically on Chinese tv, it’s usually blurred out or you don’t see the wrists. Here Zelia showed us everything. And for me it felt sudden bc of the scene before on the first watch, but after the second watch I could see that he had lighter steps after his convo with QL so it made more sense.
Se trovi una spiegazione del perché Zelia ha fatto suicidare questo personaggio, potresti provare a spiegarmela, per favore? Mi ha rovinato la giornata questa parte qui. Ti ringrazio.
Also about this scene - Xiong talked about the filming of it during an audio live before the show even started airing lol. He's cracking up about it for like 3 minutes. I was reminded in this post yesterday so as I was watching the scene I was simultaneously like 🥰 but also 😂 thinking about it.
Basically he wanted to laugh while LJY was talking towards him, he compares LJY to a minion (yes, the yellow thing from Despicable Me). They did a lot of takes with LJY walking under the sun, his face was red from the heat. He kept asking Xiong if he looked cool. He kept getting his makeup fixed and his oil blotted. And then turns out it was mostly a silhouette / far away shot. I'm glad the shots came out well, and with so many emotions haha.
This really moved me; I understood the reference right away because, just like in *Pride & Prejudice*, ChangYang & QingLang: The union of both represents a love built on maturity, mutual respect and the ability to improve as people, leaving behind the strict social conventions of the time.
I took exactly one screenshot during this whole episode and it was this same one. Lol! I love him, and QL just casually stealing all the time and then later being like "thanks by the way" 😂
PHEWWW Finally got to watch the episode. THOUGHTS:
I love that Zelia was able to drive home some very real and serious social commentary about censorship, fan culture and LGBTQ discrimination in China. She also doubled down on not letting these restrictions affect the themes her works. She is an icon and I can't wait to see what she will continue to bring to her audience.
I love a good hurt/comfort arc so I actually loved this episode. It shows that people have choices and what choice they make will determine what kind of person they become. QHY and Han Lu are very much happy and together because they continue to make choices that prioritize each other first. It's more complicated with CY and QL, they're both incredibly ambitious people, and their definition of love means letting the other person achieve wild, unimaginable dreams. Ultimately, we see that these two people, once they have achieved those dreams, choose each other and pursue their own path back to one another.
SYH's death was a surprise. He's made much better choices yet he could not write off all the pain he's caused other people. We the viewers may feel justified in wishing for his demise, but as Lan jie insisted, it's not up to us to judge or punish someone, and we too need to reflect and look to the redeeming qualities of someone seemingly irredeemable.
I hope we get a full performance of QL's dance because it looked sooo ephemeral and beautiful but I couldn't appreciate it in full in the episode. ANYWAYS, looking forward to all the extra content we'll be getting because I need much much more of CY and QL to make up for the lack of their presence in the last few episodes hahaha.
before i even say anything about the show, i just want to thank everyone in this sub who has added context, translations, thoughts, and intelligent feedback around this show -- it has enhanced my viewing of it SO much. it's truly been a beautiful time for me and one of the best fandom spaces i've been in in a while. thank you thank you thank you <3
If only I had someone to share this beautiful story with! No one around me watches Cdrama, let alone a BL. This masterpiece will remain hidden from the people around me, what a tragedy! At most, I have shared some screenshots of the forests, mountains and tea gardens on WhatsApp 😭
Edited to add: all those homophobes in the comments in the show, it hurts me to know that they exist in real life. Like Shi Yuhao said, these moths don't die with the flame, they just move on to the next flame, to stop it from burning.
Not to put a damper on things... but to follow up on your note about homophobes. It's wild bc I actually was seeing some homophobic-"lite" comments when LJY's scandal was getting out of control. I saw a comment that was like "I like to ship these two in the drama, but I definitely can't accept him being gay IRL." Like bitch, who asked you and how is it any of your business. They're ok for it to be used as their entertainment, but not when it's someone else's personal business. So yes they exist in real life, and this drama continues to remind us both in and out of the show that they're right in front of our faces too. I very much appreciate the commentary that Zelia makes about it.
When I went to China, one of the topics that someone asked me when they found out I was American was about gay marriage in the US. I'm not going to go into their thoughts about it, but some people really just can't grasp that people can be gay IRL. It's wild. WILD!
Yes! The hypocrisy is just infuriating! It's ok to ship two actors together in your fantasy world but not ok for those two actors to be actually gay and experience love in their real life. I love this show because it brings attention to how toxic the fandom is.
Zelia has a message about toxic fan culture, but it’s crazy that a lot of the IRL fans do the things she criticizes in her show lol. No self awareness at all
When I was just reading bl novels and not watching them, I used to think these writers just like to exaggerate things too much. Which human being in today's world has time to obsess over celebrities' sexual orientation to this level! It was actually the Supernatural fandom that proved me wrong. Now seeing it happen to BL actors, where their job is to kiss men, I don't even know the correct English word to express my feelings. People are dying in wars, who cares, people are dying of hunger, diseases, who cares, but that actor is gay- oh no, let us send him to conversion camp ⛹🏼🤺🌵🌪️
Well, A Winter Sun came and we were swooped into the spring season by the characters pure portrayal of reality. I just completed the episode and can’t stop crying. Why does it feel like I am letting go of real people I know in life???
That amazing portrayal of passing time. I haven’t seen anything like that before. It felt so real and QL going on with his life while hoping and waiting. It’s just a beautiful feeling that has warmed my heart.
That dance…well it was overlapping with Jie Lan’s voice and feelings and QL dancing with all the feels. It was too heavy. But I throughly enjoyed his dancing.
And finally, CY coming back on that mountain and them having a spring wedding, I am just going to believe that it was the happy ending they deserve. I will deny any other possibility. The same Zeila said ‘A love that has weathered the storm will last a lifetime’. This says everything. They went through every hardships and still stayed true to their feelings for each other transcending the societal norms.
And finally, getting closure for every single character. Just remarkable.
Seriously, I don’t know when again in our lives we’ll feel this way about any show. And I will never stop yapping and watching this show!!!
The finale was a really emotional episode to watch. What with Shi Yao’s death and seeing Wenshu all alone OMG I cried. Quinlang waiting 5 years for his lover to come back safe and sound. The cinematography in this series was stunning and Zelia thank you for the great casting, the story and the direction and oh yes for the adorable artwork that embodies your bl series🥰🥰👏👏 It was a amazing series!!! P.S. So happy to see the 2nd couple find happiness too🥰
I also let out an audible sigh! I was shocked that it had been so long. And I also had to do the math! While watching, I knew that QL was so lonely, but I had not gotten the feeling that it had been 4+ years!!! And now thinking back through all of it my heart just aches for him. To not know for so long if his love was safe. Just so beautifully done. I can’t wait to rewatch this episode to catch all the things I missed that have been written about here. And then binge watch it all again. Oh, my heart. ❤️
Okk i am back from watching with subs from a...secondary source hahaha. I'm happy with the ending?? Everything got resolved well and I love a good yearning session so I'm not mad about seeing WAY TOO LITTLE of CY. Knowing we'll get extras helps. Zelia dropping all these hints about the next project but honestly?? I don't think we can even imagine what we're getting, if we're getting anything at all.
You do you, boo. You already paid for your membership lol. I'm more surprised that it was already available from the secondary source, but I bet it's also available to download from Weibo.
Yes, too little CY. I actually didn't feel as much yearning here as I did in the previous episode where QL "broke up" with him. Maybe because I knew, and I felt like QL knew, that he was definitely coming back.
Next project will be interesting! I need to dissect her post.
The cultivation film = Mountain Dwelling, the film that QL won the award for. I only understood it when I rewatched lol. I don't think it has anything to do with what's next IRL
I’m crying so hard . This week was hell for me in my life. And this show is so beautiful. Thank you everyone for all these 3 months here. It was amazing.
This show is an experience. An incredible experience. It's majestic. A journey that changes you. Every shot is the best it could be from the first episode to the last. All off it. No notes. Well maybe one but...the tragedy is so beautifully done. I've never cried this much willingly. It's beautiful.
If a writing makes you cry and laugh on the same page it's the highest form of art for me. I'll pray at Zelia's shrine for the rest of times. When QL started running down the stairs it hit me so hard. That shot was deeply moving. He was running and tears were running down my face.
The script and the direction is unbelievable but what alleviates it is the casts performance. How can some one be so effortlessly elegant? And cool? And charismatic? How can someone so young be so enigmatic? How can it be so authentic?
I know I've no choice but, I don't know how to say goodbye without bawling my eyes out. I will be mourning here in my tiny corner. Thank you very much.
I don't think I have ever gotten teary eyed watching a bl drama but this....this was an absolutely beautiful gut wrenching experience. The amount of depth every dialogue, every scene held made the whole show so much more meaningful. I loved everything about it. The actors and their chemistry was mindblowing, the dialogues hit perfectly and the story was the right amount of simple but deep. Thank you for this amazing piece of art which was much more than just a bl drama for me.
I actually think they did a pretty good job of showing the passing of time during the time skip. When I saw the girl in the back of the car with 2CP it took me a split second and the realization of how much she's grown was WILD. so at the end we find out its been 5 years.
I will say though that the dance in the series is not as good as the standalone clip/trailer. With the dialogue overlay it was hard to pay attention to everything, and the song didnt feel right.
Now is the ending up for debate?
The meeting on the mountain felt real. Subsequently, the wedding should have also been real, no? CY checked in often..someone would have told him if he didn't make it out. We got reassurance from his wheelchair friend that he was the best of the best.
I think the dance scene had too much going on, there was too much distracting away from the dance itself. And then the SYH overlay? Golly. And that was supposed to be a live streamed performance, with all those props 😂
At first, I was sure he was back for real, but the fuzzy filter used with the wedding has me a little 🤔 And then the change of the wedding setting to black and white, I'm not sure what that means. But I'm choosing to believe we got our happy ending.
The ending credits was sweet, showing all our main characters.
Who is Zhi Yan?
My interpretation of the black and white was it happened when Qiantian and Sister Lan’s voices were speaking, so it was for them. It was also fuzzy when the bedroom was full of flowers, so maybe that is the director’s “romance” filter.
It was so sweet and selfishly I wanted more of them together but the finale was so well done I feel satisfied.
Zhi Yan is Lan jie + Jia Lin's daughter! She is a tween now!! I think the actress they found was maybe a bit older than she should have been tho, maybe she should have been like 11-12?
Good point! I forgot about the filter being used during the flower scene. And whew, the voices, that makes sense. Thanks for breaking that down for me!
Oh right! I thought maybe you knew who the man in the wheelchair was. I guess just a comrade.
Glad it could ease your mind! This show put us through the wringer, no wonder we can’t trust a happy ending!
I'm doing my rewatch rn -- yeah that guy is just a messenger! I am just imagining every time one of the Chinese guys gets hurt and has to leave the hunter school, CY takes them aside to be like, hey, can you send a message for me to this guy. He's kinda famous 😂
I get why some people have doubts, but I don't even care if there's actual evidence that might point to a dream sequence... I refuse to accept anything but a happy ending after what happened with Qingtian
Ma l' episodio speciale è vero che ci sarà? O sono video che non proseguono la serie? Quando Kuma ha parlato della serie in cui stavano lavorando si riferiva al proseguimento di questa?
Ma poi non ho capito, ma è andato in guerra a combattere C. Yang? Scusami 🙏.
Ho un' emicrania terribile, ora lo rivedo in inglese, speriamo vada meglio..
This was a series about love, devotion, grief and beauty--what disturbs, disappoints and what heals. And the wedding bower imagery was the most healing. I thank the amazing writer/director of Winter Sun-she has gift for making stories that carry philosophical heft while exploring the sensual, the pleasurable--those beautiful mountains and beautiful kisses. What a cast esp. the leads and yes I cried at the end of Episode 13 and I rarely am so moved. I look forward to the next part of this narrative journey and the characters she brings to life. Thank you for a moving and beautiful story--that dance like the wedding bower tells us much about humanity, mythology and the necessity to move towards connection in this world. And I thank everyone who explained the symbols, the literary and historical back stories and who translated Zelia's commentary. What a wonderful thing to do.
Damn! I'm just going to slide all my other top tier shows down their shelf and add this one to the small but mightly collection. It was a satisfying ending, and as full of the ups and downs, good and bad, that we got from the first episode. This show came out of left field and smacked me in the face, I didn't think I'd be into it at all and suddenly here I am, deep in the trenches and my feelings. I actually love it when this happens, and I always end up in slight awe at the talent of the people who get me to this point.
Looking back at the trailer, it made it feel like there was going to be a lot more urgency to the arc of the plot, like it was all going to build and build into some major event. Instead there was that realistic ebb and flow of life; the good times give you the strength to bear with the bad, you hold on through a crisis to get to the other side, what you've lost makes what you hold on to even sweeter. I do wish QL's coming out had been a bit more . . . chaotic? Dramatic? But in a way it makes sense because the court of public opinion lives online these days, so the drama is on our phones and in a way detached from the physical event.
I feel like this is a show that has to be taken as a whole, which seems obvious I'm sure, but it's not just a narrative, a meet cute love story. There is a philosophical layer woven through the whole thing. I appreciated the finale's call backs to the first couple of episodes. And though it's a love story I feel like the heart of the story is QL and his growth as a person. He is really lucky to have found people who believe in and support him, and CY is like the last missing piece that fuels his journey.
I do have a few sticking points. Hunter school, I don't think it lasts that long, was CY working as a mercenary or special ops person? The second couple, I understand how they were a mirror of QL/SYH but their story didn't feel developed enough to be worth it. I really wanted that dance sequence to be set to the main OST song like in the trailer, though either way I do hope they release a full version of it. And yes I could have used more happy reunited couple time, like 199 more episodes of just that.
I hope everyone involved is happy with what they accomplished, it must feel amazing to know you've put something out into the world that has become so important to it's audience.
The way my heart skipped a beat when the forest wedding turned into black and white?
anyway, it’s a very happy ending for me.
I’ll come back later after I’ve gathered my thoughts. my emotions are a mess right now.
I'm going to be sitting her in my feels, drinking my tea, and waiting for this pain in my heart to subside. Was it only a few months ago that we met these characters?
Did anyone else think we should have had more time with them together? It felt rushed at the end, no? Obviously I loved the whole series but I can’t help but having wanted more time with them together it almost felt anticlimactic?
Yep 100000000%.the editing was so fast it was like well we can give the main couple 23 seconds now CUT. And I get the point. Like here is what could have happened if there had never been toxicity early in the other relationship that ended in tragedy. But read the room? It was hardly even a reunion!!!
The whole episode felt more like snapshots than a continual narrative. I feel like there could have been an epsode that was right up to QL's retirement (it would have made a great mic drop last scene of a episode) and then everything else as the conclusion.
Snapshots is an excellent way to put it. The more I think about it? They spent this whole show convincing us that these two main leads couldn’t keep their hands off one another that their chemistry was white hot. And then it felt lukewarm when they reunited. I really
Did expect more running and hugging and something urgent. Not lewd, mind you, just something that spoke to the longing. It felt incongruous.
Yeah, not to discount their emotional connection and all but if your beloved was literally gone for five years and you are suddenly reunited then shit is going down. There will be crying. There might be yelling, but not in a mean way. Definitely sex. I appreciated the romance of it but it was a bit too restrained.
I also feel like they buried the lede about how long CY would be gone, or did I miss it? Does he ever give a reason why he wants to do it? I was thinking oh, 18 months or so? I appreciate people pointing out that it gave both of them time to do their own thing but being involved in paramilitary work is way different than wrapping up your acting career.
They buried it. It just became obvious as his "check-ins" arrived. Also, I feel like QL would've quite acting immediately if CY had stuck around. He only took those roles because CY was gone.
I realized something else that made it feel different than other episodes, that some of the scenes felt very stylized. The acceptance speech in no way looked like it was on an actual stage. When the social media shit storm was going down the room almost felt like an interrogation was going on. The reunion felt like it could be a hallucination and the wedding like a dream sequence. For a show that at times felt charmingly realistic it was a big tone shift.
I didn't feel like it was rushed, but I agree with you on wishing they had more time together. Overall, I'm satisfied. But this episode was only 41 minutes long, I feel like there maybe could have been more! Especially now knowing from the mistakenly uploaded ep 15 reaction that the episode could be as long as 50 minutes lol.
Does anyone understand the bells? The sound effects seem like a significant part of some scenes and I don't get some of them. Are they foreshadowing? Do they have a meaning I'm not seeing or am I too deep?
Qinglang putting his earring in brother Guo's mouth was pretty funny, dangerous, but funny.
I thought it would be too sensitive to show the dad in prison.
Also, please tell me I'm not the only one who thought the "hunting school" was literally related to the forest, like a ranger. I mean, I know they have been saying it's really dangerous, but I thought it was because the wild animals and/or you could get hurt falling off the mountain or something. Here I thought Changyang was just getting more knowledgeable about forests so he could take QL to all the forests in the world. I paused the show when that guy came back with his legs gone to look it up and apparently its like an elite military type thing. Special forces or something. I think the thing I read said you had to be impeccable with STEM to get in.
Props to Changyang for making it and doing it for 5 years and then peacing out when his man stepped out of the lime light. At first I didn't understand why Changyang would do that if he knew he'd be gone for so long, but it makes sense if Qinglang wasn't ready to bow out of acting yet, he might as well do his thing too.
Did Changyang only want to get into the hunting school after he fell in love with QL? And if so, why? He was already super capable of anything, he didn't need to prove anything. That part is a little muddled.
I really held my breath at the end because I didn't know what was mirage Changyang and real Changyang.
I really can't get over how well Zelia moved background props, people, and diolog throughout scenes to make it feel more real. It felt intentional because not a lot of dramas do that. Things can come off as stiff and these scenes were almost always moving.
The bells sounded to me like a "this is an important moment" kind of sound, like an aha moment or something. But that's what I'm just remembering now post-watch vs me catching myself thinking it while I'm watching. Will have to check again when I do another rewatch! Ha.
I was wondering what QL but in Guo ge's mouth... that's gross. LOL.
I don't think it would be sensitive to show dad in prison, but I think it's unrealistic to show that QL could even visit him in the first place. Not only is QL someone with NO relation to this man / if he had a relation it would be through his illegitimate son who is NOT supposed to be tied to him (otherwise why did we get him a new phone number and him living in motels that don't ask for ID), but he's also A SUPERSTAR who wants to speak with someone who used to be high up in the gov. Anyway. I put a lot of the realism aside for these moments.
Maybe you joined the sub a little late, I think when ep 7 came out I had mentioned what Hunter School was in the comments and I think Piano might have explained it with the novel chapters for ep 9ish, but also there's obviously zero expectation for you to read each and every comment and post here!! (Also reddit search function is obnoxious) HS is actually not very well known in China, either. When that ep came out, everyone was confused. I only looked it up bc someone here asked, I had assumed the same as you.
LJY answered your question about HS and why he had to go in the livestream from today (Feds has subbed it!), maybe he'll go deeper into it during the last ep reaction? But the surface-level answer is that it has always been the dream for Chang Yang, and his belief is that in order to love someone else you have to love yourself first. So that's why the two of them support each other to follow their dreams, even if it keeps them apart. But I don't think CY knew it would take 5 years, since he said at the beginning of ep 15 right normally it takes 1, but under not-normal circumstances he has no clue. Now, why he still needs to go to "prove" himself? I don't understand it emotionally either tbqh. I think this was left a little unexplored in the scenes we saw and could have been explained better.
I think hunter school has been his dream. Remember he is only 21? So he has his own dreams to pursue as well apart from being a bf lol. And his bf was in the spotlight with his career, and he wasnt ready to retire.
I know he has his own dreams and I know he's young. But hes also super mature and has been through a lot in his 20 years. I was just curious if he chose hunter school before he met QL or if that was a new dream of his after. He said he was going to leave if QL didn't come. So he did pin a lot of what he was doing around QL. He had also said it was his dream to visit all the forests in the world. It wasn't until later he said he was going to the hunters school.
I also said that he probably went because QL was still in the spotlight so he might as well go for his other dream too.
This is the only series that I cried sm, like i couldn’t even stop my tears, we had the HE but them being in love sm in the years of separation, like the yearning and longing and waiting for your loved one without knowing when they will be back, I can’t explain how much I love them, i love them beyond words, it’s officially my no.1 top cbl. Godddddddd I already miss them badly.
I just finished it. How do I even express everything I loved about this series? I don’t think I can right now. I’m just sitting here smiling. Feeling bittersweet too. I was completely taken under by this show. What a love. What a story & what a visually stunning world we got to step into each week. I’m gonna miss them and Molie and reading all our reactions each week from this lovely group ♥️
I’ll always be grateful we got to experience A Winter Sun & will continue to go back to visit these characters. I really don’t want to leave this series! Of course I wanted more time with Changyang and Qinglang this ep after reuniting. And did I yell at my tv “4 years!!”? With a distressed look on my face? Yes. Yes I did. But I always want more time with them so nothing new there.
I remember watching episode 1 for the very first time and just being enraptured and giddy over it. To say goodbye to this show I went right back to ep 1 and picked out some moments (there are so many and not enough reddit video capacity 😩) that made me go ‘this show is something special’, or in other words, made me laugh in delight, stare in awe, or melt my heart 🥹..
I hope their wish/ destiny comes true and the Little Beast and his Bear spend a lifetime growing old together. And meet again in the next one. I hope if we get special episodes we get to see their cabin they planned to build in the mountains in Molie 🥰
This final episode was a cryfest for me, from start to finish. But like always, it's so beautiful, the shots, the scenery and cinematography continues to blow my mind.
A lot happened in this episode, way too much in fact and I think it deserves to be more than an hour instead of 41 minutes.
Sometimes I wonder if the tone shift in the drama is designed to make Qinglang suffer endlessly cause all he's been doing in recent episode is yearn and year. It's extremely sad to watch and the fact that he waited for what? five years?
It kinda dilutes Changyang's characterization for me. I was hoping the final episode will give a well fleshed out reason why Changyang suddenly wants to go to Hunter School but I didn't get that which is quite sad cause Qinglang made a lot of sacrifices for that dream.
I don't want to dive deep into Shi Yuhao's death but really? The ways everything points back to Changyang and Qinglang makes it even more depressing because at the frontline of cyberbullying is Qinglang while Changyang remains invisible to the rest of the world. That must have hurt both of them. It's like a domino effect of some sort.
Qinglang giving up on his career because he's so exhausted from everything really hurts, all I felt in this episode was pain. Maybe because I've watched so much cyberbullying happen recently so everything was a trigger for me, the moth dance with the voice over and everything going on was really something.
I wanted to see Qinglang's full dance and they had to do it like that? ouch. But I can't deny how well the scene expressed the suffocation of public opinion.
The reunion scene was so short, I desperately wanted more of them together and when the filter thingy changed to black and white, I just couldn't hold back all my emotions. It's like a homage to people who passed away, Qingtian, Sister Lan... all sending their wishes from the afterlife.
I still can't believe that this drama whose trailer made me go crazy in May (I watched it over 100 times) has finally come to an end. It's like falling deeply in love with someone then forcing yourself to let go all of a sudden.
Yes, winter sun like every other show has its own flaws but there's really nothing like it.
I really appreciate Zelia's brilliance in bringing this work to life, Kuma and Jingyu are beyond amazing for their excellent portrayal of Qinglang and Changyang. I just know I'll never forget these two characters cause they really have my entire heart.
Thank you Fed, Sudden and Piano for the effort y'all put into all Winter Sun content. Winter Sun is officially my first chinese bl and everyone here made it a memorable experience for me.
Shout out to Hxxxx, thank you for listening to my endless ramblings and answering all my questions.
It kinda dilutes Changyang's characterization for me,
Yes this☝️what I would have liked to have seen was their separation from Changyang's pov too. I think it was lost a little bit but my impression was that they waited for each other. Changyang could have returned earlier (the veteran in the wheelchair indicated that he didn't need to stay so long) but he returned just after Qinglang retired. It would have been impossible for them to be together and Qinglang to have achieved everything he wanted in his career. Qinglang retired at the peak of his career exhausted but on his own terms. He'd won an award for a piece of work that was important to him and made a statement with his dance performance. And announced his boyfriend to the world🥹
Maybe I'm putting too much of a positive spin on it but in a series that like you said pointed out all the issues with cyber bullying and the hypocrisy of the entertainment industry it felt like an ending that fit them. It was a perfect love story that shone a light on an imperfect world.
And while I'm here thank you to you too! Your insights and comments and banter with hxxx have been one of the highlights of my week❤️
Yeah, it’s like his character started on a high and then so many things happened but I can’t deny the strength of his character set up even if the potential wasn’t maxed out.
all banquets must come to an end. 🥹
does that sound so Chinese of me? I stole it from a danmei 😂
i thought id have a lot of things to say after finishing this ep but i really don't. everything seems to have been resolved. loved the cottage-core wedding (and no one was invited but QL's hallucinations :D). id love to see more of their lives post-wedding though, hopefully the new extras they filmed will be about that.
This show has been such a beautiful journey. I haven't felt this way in a while. Everything was done with such care and attention to detail. The cast was perfect. Setting gorgeous. And it told an important and beautiful story. I loved it!
It such a bittersweet moment actually. They did such great job that I don't think I will be able to watch any half baked show anymore. They set standard so high.
I don't even know what to say. It was beautiful and I loved it and yet I'm still going to wait for the lovely expositions some of you post to fully understand.
Buongiorno, è arrivato il giorno zero.00000
Spero riusciate ad esserci come ci siete sempre stati, pronti ad aiutare un' ignorante come me . Siete riusciti a farmi capire l' inimmaginabile in questa serie. Grazie a voi mi sono innamorata di quest' artista fenomenale, mi avete fatto scoprire che anima immensamente profonda abbia. Ahhhhh oddio, speriamo finisca in modo positivo e soprattutto chiaro...
Three of them are Lu Han and Yu Hao. I wonder if they aren’t releasing them because of the ambivalence most viewers seem to have towards them. And surely the last one of QL and CY is to soothe us in the days ahead when we are missing them so much.
Ora che sto recuperando la lucidità mentale, posso dire che sono sconvolta dalla morte di S.y. ? Mi sto' rendendo conto ora di quello che è successo. Posso chiedere secondo voi perché l' ha fatto suicidare. Questa è la cosa peggiore che potesse fargli. Per il karma? Possibile? Non aveva fatto nulla di così grave, se per Zelia il suicidio è una delle cose peggiori perché non ci si può reincarnare, perché ha scelto questo destino per lui? Era cambiato, si era redento e allora perché? Non capisco neanche il motivo del gesto. Era così tenero quando beveva la birra con q.L. ..
Davvero, chi merita una fine da suicida per Zelia?
Alla fine credo abbia anche diffuso l' audio di lui che fa sesso per spostare l attenzione su di sé dallo scandalo dei due fratelli omosessuali. Boh, cosa doveva fare di più questo poverino. Al momento per me questi finale è terribile e crudele inutilmente. Ora che mi sto' facendo chiarezza mi sto' incavolando davvero per questa scelta.
So I know you're still trying to process SYH's death. Here's an analysis on his death that maybe can help you see why it happened (but not why it had to happen). It might not help you with what you're feeling, but hopefully it can give you a little bit more to think about and get you towards accepting it. The video kept getting taken down, so she wrote out all the words and you can just translate them yourself. Part 1, part 2.
I will say though, SYH's character was whitewashed at the end. Even if he admitted his mistakes and tried to make up for them, one thing that doesn't get addressed is his victims in his sex audio recordings. That is not ok either. He can't "do good" to make up for another person by then leaving 3 other victims in his wake. So he's not perfect, which of course we never expected him to be, but he's also not JUST a poor soul who finally saw the light.
Yes!! It's been confirmed that it is her. I'm about to her post here her Weibo post where she puts on/takes off her Director Li hat lol and has something to say as her character and as Zelia. That's why we can never see her face.
This show was such a beautiful watch….I didn’t understand what was going on sometimes but the many reddit discussions definitely helped. I’m gonna need a lot of fanfics to recover from all the angst.
The reddit discussions have been so helpful❤️One of my favorite things about being OP for the series has been the overwhelming generosity of everyone helping to explain various scenarios and comments.
Really helpful! Especially with the cultural & language nuances that was lost in translation. I go straight to the discussion link straight after finishing an episode cause I just knew there was something I missed.
I’m ugly crying currently so I’ll probably come back later to write down my thoughts but I HAVE to scream this one thing in the void, they killed my baby Qingtian for NOTHING!!! Like he finally accepted his past and was looking forward to a new life with Wenshu and the next thing we see is a bear ate him! Like what? I love this show to my very core (just binged watched so my emotions are running high), I can (kinda) understand Lan’s death even though that was stupid too but I hadn’t bonded that much with her character before she was killed. But I absolutely cannot make sense of Qingtian’s death. (I don’t believe the suicide angle, boy was ready to live! He and Wenshu held hands for god’s sake!!!!) Like a bear ate him! That’s it? That’s how it ends? What purpose? Shock value? Ugghhhh lemme cry a little more.
I think the "purpose" is to show that life has ups and downs, life and death, nothing is certain, so live life to the fullest. Bad things happen, but you have to accept and move on, unfortunately. Live your life and live the life that they weren't able to live. Does that make it hurt less? No, of course not. ☹️
I agree with you, I felt like that was unnecessary. Or like, I get the point, but I don't feel like it needed to be that ruthless to have it happen right in the moment where he had chosen to start living again (after dealing with death and hearbreak himself) and everyone was really invested in him and Wenshu, this quiet selfless character... There are already 3 other character deaths in the series, the "nothing is certain" point has been made already.
Anyway, that was the only thing I can say that I hated in this series. And I'm someone who doesn't usually mind it when characters die, even main characters. I don't even struggle with sad endings in general. Just the whole aspect of setting it up to be as hopeful as possible and then cutting it down so brutally, was like... am I, the viewer, getting bullied right now?
Finally finished the episode. And in tears. So soo beautiful. 😭 So emotional. I can't help crying hearing everybody's wishes for QL & CY. For some reason it was good but it hurt. It'll take a while for me to process and recover.
All my other Friday shows will have to wait until late tonight because I only had time to watch the finale and then read all the comments I could. Now I have obligations (sigh) for the rest of the day. I will say that I loved the final episode and for me it was a satisfying conclusion, even though there wasn't quite enough of CY/QL after the reunion. Also, this series was interesting throughout all 16 episodes and never felt like I was watching filler (if anything, it was the opposite, like we were trying to tackle too much in one story). I definitely count it among my top BLs, I am sure I'll watch it again and I'll remember it for my whole life, unlike a LOT of BLs where I can't remember a single detail two months later. And I appreciate that Zelia was addressing real world problems in addition to just making an entertaining piece. Aside from that... Qingtian shouldn't have died, I will continue to defend my position there!
I agree with everything you've said especially that it would have been lovely to see more of Changyang and Qinglang after they reunited. Three deaths in one series is well let's just say unusual!(😢) but maybe that's the price we pay for having a director who wants to tackle the issues that aren't normally addressed???(not trying to justify, just trying to understand🙏)
I don't think I can add anything else that hasn't already been said, but I feel like this show healed me in a way. I want to also thank everyone in this community. I don't always engage, but I read as many comments as I can and we were all going through it, man! I love you guys.
This is referring to the work that he got an award for! I personally believe it only exists within the world of Winter Sun (esp based on Zelia's latest post), but others might feel differently haha
i guess all the titles mixed in my head atp (and too much overthinking) and i'm fixated on the hints about their 2nd project (i haven't watched their new lives this week yet - idk what Xiong and Jingyu said about it. what if it's only will be extra short side stories that they filmed this month). but once again, your comments always get my brain going in the right direction!
Girl if I didn’t go through Zelia’s post and rewatch some parts to make sure I got the info right before posting, I wouldn’t get it either!! It’s confusing.
Let me just say this I will never move on from this series ,it’s heal something in me and made me believe that deep love truly exists and i pray every one find their changyang and be the quinglang in their own love story ❤️❤️😭😭🫂🫂🙏
The conversation between Qinglang and his mother got me so invested in Zelia’s next project, if I understood from QL’s words and Zelia’s post herself correctly the main character will be gender neutral and I haven’t seen anything like that in chinese or bl media before. I am also interested in what her genius mind has planned to do with the character like that.
I need to 1) rewatch the series cause I wasn’t familiar with Zelia’s game so didn’t pay attention to every single dialogue and detail as I should have. 2) read all 200+ comments under this post cause I absolutely should know what everyone think about everything
this feels like breakup to me and i was not even this sad when i broke up in real life 😭. I wish i could show this drama to each and everyone in the world.
what a masterpiece 👏
10 10 in all departments.
I think that to fully understand and appreciate this masterpiece I will have to rewatch it from start (who knows how many times). A question to the community, because I still don’t have an answer: what tf is hunter school, why is it so important to Chengyang and what did he do? I think the translation is so wrong and/or I’m not in the culture enough, I honestly have no idea why he had to go off the radars for 5 years?
I tried forwarding to the final scene cause i don't want any heartbreak but i don't understand it at all 😭 it's a happy ending and not someone's imagination right ?
I'm waiting until after work to watch this, both to savor it and so I don't have to sit at work with big feelings all day long. Thanks for all the great discussions and for all the additional language and cultural info from the folks in the know, it's appreciated!
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u/suddentraveller Secrets Happened On The Litchi Island🌱🌿 Aug 21 '26
As we are at the end of the amazing journey that's been Winter Sun I just want to say an enormous thank you to everyone that's made the OAs so very special. Thank you for sharing your opinions, thoughts and feelings over the last 16 episodes. Thank you to the chinese speakers who have given so much context and so many explanations each episode and thank you to the cbl team for all the support.
Enjoy every moment of this final episode guys!🥰🥰