The first three episodes of the crime-comedy drama series with elements of fiction “Frozen” caused me radically different feelings. On the one hand, this is good for the completeness of the picture of the emotional palette, but on the other hand, it raises many questions to which, unfortunately, even in subsequent series, the authors do not give answers.
I didn’t like the first episode because it was bad. It's just empty. At first, we are introduced to a loving family man named Phil, a wild romantic Chuck, a glutton Massa and a small hacker Vzhik. For the first three characters, everything is clear, but the fourth for some reason was deprived not only in the pilot, but in the whole history. For 17 episodes, there was no personal drama for Vzhik, although the character is interesting. Viewers are introduced to the personal life of the heroes, but there is no word about professional activity. In my opinion, at the very beginning of the series, it is necessary to show the heroes in action in order to understand their level of position in the criminal world, where they are either respected bandits or simpletons-losers. But let’s say thanks to the second series, which frankly saves the situation. The series has good humor and terrible tragedy. But already in the third from a given rhythm of emotional swings there is not a trace, since the unreasonable aggression of the heroes and hard humor, manifested in boorish behavior and unreasonable beating of people, comes to the fore. It is clear that we have typical bandits, though pleasant appearance, and the name of the series has a dual meaning - physically frostbitten from the ice and frostbitten to the full head guys, personifying the wild generation of the 90s. Although for the most part they are just lost souls who mistakenly chose the wrong side. Fortunately, in the subsequent series, the authors partially smooth out the sharp corners of unnecessary violence, and gradually the process of rapprochement between the characters and the viewer begins thanks to the theme of love, which inspires some to bold deeds, and drives others crazy because of jealousy. Love becomes a stumbling block for the antagonist.
The most intelligent and educated member of the group is Phil. He could have become a big man with a college degree and no problems, but in the series the authors do not explain the reasons why he chose the slippery path. Of course, friends need it, and without it, the guys probably either rested at the bottom of the river with a bullet in their head, or ate behind bars in a dungeon raw. For friends, he is the personification of common sense and a compass in life. But in any case, the series needed reinforced concrete reasons why Phil chose friends and crime, rather than an honest life with the woman he loved. The series clearly lacked flashbacks from the boys' childhoods to show their strong bond, as was the case in The Brigade, to which the authors made repeated references. The most striking character was a Chuck poem. The writers and the actor and the director worked perfectly on this character, making him a truly living person. On the network, many fans of the series sang praise to the hero for his unstoppable passion in the fight for love. But no one noticed his disgusting attitude towards his mother, so this is a failure. Although the storyline of Chuck and his mother could become the most powerful story in the series. Plus, Chuck has a problem with anger management. And in the series it would be interesting to see his efforts in this matter, but alas. As for the fat man Massa, everything is as simple and clear as possible. The line with the mother is shown through humor, and it's a great solution not to repeat itself. But there is a good dramatic story with a brother-policeman, who for the sake of saving a bad bandit goes against his principles. What did Massa do for his brother? Nothing. What have heroes done for others? In fact, the main characters did nothing for loved ones, except for the fact that they got into their lives and stirred up everything there.
In general, the series caused contradictory impressions. Despite the obvious plot potential and bright characters (thanks to the actors), a more detailed examination of the project shows a lot of shortcomings and voids. In addition, the first season ends badly, or rather not at all. Without actually closing any line, the authors cut off the series in the middle of a word. I’m not a big fan of such tricks, but here the choice is for the authors, so there is nothing you can do. In any case, judging by the high scores on the KP, the series found its viewer, which means the creators got what they wanted.