#otherwise each recap would be v. short as i'm trying not to ramble on too much

[maychild]

CAPTURE LOVER #冰糖陷阱 eps 1-3 review/recap

So, Capture Lover aka China’s first BL drama since Addicted has started airing. So far eps 1-3 are already up on the site/app: https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/home (and will be available on viki too later this month--July, I mean, but i couldn’t wait and signed up for a GagaOOLaLa account, but the first ep is free on the GagaOOLaLa app and honestly it’s not too expensive--about 6.99USD for the rest of the episodes.)

One thing I wish is that this series had a bigger budget than it did, but, honestly, considering all the obstacles in TPTB’s way in *even* getting this much produced, I’m still excited to watch it and support it. (Like we know Taiwanese/Chinese dramas can all be very High Quality, and it makes me sad that CL had such a low budget to work with...so  just something to consider if or when ppl start watching this drama and complain about the quality...)

but let’s talk about the characters:

DING JUNJIE is the manager (at 25, apparently). a calm hard-worker. honestly, he comes off as one of those super up-tight, perfectionist a*holes. but he’s also extremely handsome, and loyal to fault. 

YING JIAMING is...look, he just wants to nap all the time. WHY WONT ANYONE LEAVE HIM ALONE TO SLEEP??? he’s always super tired, copies whole projects from the internet (loll), and generally has a very bad work ethic that Junjie wonders why HR hired him at all...(bc Jiaming’s the Chairman’s son and he’ll take over the company someday loll) 

Junjie’s & Jiaming’s relationship here at the very beginning is adversarial--Junjie is no-nonsense, serious, prim & proper, and Jiaming is of course the very opposite--he doesn’t take work seriously, just wants to nap and play videogames all day, and pranks Junjie. He shrugs off even the threat of bankruptcy. A very delicious beginning of the “enemies to lovers” trope. 

then there’s Manager Leng:

Manager Leng is Junjie’s boss--she ends up making him redo his work when she finds some mistakes. And by ep. 2 she’s gone, which makes me sad (i hope they at least transferred her to another good department..)

Because of Jiaming plagiarising stuff off the internet, Junjie forces Jiaming to work with him later that night, locking the door to his office so Jiaming won’t be able to escape (loolll cant Jiaming just unlock the door himself??) Jiaming tries to get a bathroom break, but Junjie just gives him a water bottle (ewwwww, so many things wrong with that, I sincerely hope it’s a joke...). Then he says he’s hungry, and Junjie offers him instant noodles he prepared, but Jiaming wants seafood. They bicker some more, and get in each other’s faces--like extremelyyyy close to each other. 

poor bb looks so overworked.

Junjie’s very depressing office--he does have a potted plant, but it’s in the corner, and I wonder why they cover up the one window he has.

Jiaming attempts to apologize for all his mistakes by bringing Junjie a drink of water. BUT THEN tells him it’s from the toilet, oh that child. (I mean...it’s not really from the toilet as Jiaming takes a sip himself, but considering how much teasing & joking around Jiaming does, is it any wonder Junjie can’t figure out when Jiaming is being earnest or not?? I sure as hell can’t.)

if ur boss finds u sleeping on company-hours, he will take a sharpie to your face

EP. 1 was pretty good in developing Junjie’s & Jiaming’s dynamic. And, I’ll be honest, the thing that drew me in...of course, there are a myriad of things that could be better with this series, but for the budget they’re working with, I’m not expecting a masterpiece.  

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EP. 2 THO is when things get really going--for one, Jiaming replaces Manager Leng as head of the company! And his attire makes me think he copied Junjie’s style--Junjie isn’t the only one who works in a suit (upper management are the only ones in business attire, while the underlinings seem to be allowed in casual wear), but lemme me think it’s bc of Junjie anyways.  

Junjie though is NOT at all impressed by this turn of events. 

After the meeting, these three voice their disbelief at the change in personnel, having doubts about why Jiaming is now head of the company considering how bad of an employee he was.

THEN this exchange happens wherein Jiaming vows to teach Junjie some “lessons” too...

they end up staring into each other’s eyes a lot considering they don’t like each other that much yet.

Jiang Zhihao comes by wondering what Junjie is doing working late again, and Junjie says to ask Ying Jiaming. Zhihao is astonished that Ying Jiaming  is making Junjie work on his birthday, and advises Junjie to complain to the Chairman about his son. Though Junjie wonders when a lowly worker such as himself would even get a chance to meet the Chairman.

Jiaming also comes by with dinner--not being able to leave Junjie alone since he’s working late. 

(these dumplings look soooo good.)

One of them is working hard and the other is stuffing his face lol (i mean jiaming did offer his food to the workaholic, but the workaholic refused the free food...)

Jiaming finds out that it’s Junjie‘s birthday and runs out to buy a cake. And that’s the end of the second episode.

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EP. 3 starts with Jiaming waiting for the cake at the bakery. And of course he rushes the poor pastry lady. 

BUT he finds he was too late because, a lady--Meng Yao, aka Junjie’s only female friend--beats him to Junjie’s office with her own cake, and asks Junjie to make a wish. I find this so adorable. Meng Yao is super pretty and cute though.

While he’s thinking of what to wish for, Jiaming literally rushes into the room--sees the cake on the table, and tries to scold Junjie for not working. Hahahahaha. Now he acts like the cold, harsh boss that he isn’t.

Junjie walks Meng Yao home, and it’s obvious that she feels something for him as she hugs him and asks him not to push her away. She admits that she has been with him ever since elementary school, and i’m like, lady, that is utter devotion right there. 

Though she says she’s tired (presumably of this utter devotion), she hopes he’ll allow her to love him for a few more years. (Like, whuuuut?? Meng Yao is also utterly loyal, and I wish she could move on.)

Junjie gets home, and his mother fusses over him. Initially, he refuses her food--saying he had some cake that Meng Yao brought over at the office, and of course Mama Ding starts singing Meng Yao’s praises. 

Mama Ding also tries to snoop around some and figure out if there’s anything going on between them, but Junjie is pretty firm that they’re just good friends, and you can tell he hates disappointing both his mother & Meng Yao. 

(“I don’t have plans to fall in love yet” hahahahaha famous last words, dear Junjie.)

Junjie is a good son, working so hard so his mother isn’t the one suffering, and I like his mom (what we’ve seen of her so far), but she’s also pretty much counting on Junjie marrying a girl & having children, so I wonder if she’s going to be a roadblock to Junjie’s & Jiaming’s relationship later on. Or at least one of them...

As Junjie eats his mother’s dumplings that she prepared for his birthday, he flashes back to Jiaming’s offerings of his own dumplings in the office. 

The next morning Junjie gets to work and finds Jiaming’s cake on his desk with a post-it note wishing him happy birthday. Awww. It’s sweet, and the adorablest. Until we see the cake, that is. 

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.

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Yeppp, that is a cake with a giant penis. But it makes Junjie smile the cutest smile. (Dare we think he likes all the joking and pranks that Jiaming pulls on him???)

While Junjie’s smirking to himself in his office, a commotion outside draws his attention--Zhang Fengxia has arrived with her two bodyguards (she’s Jiaming’s ex-girlfriend), and is trying to push her way into the office, but the office workers can’t allow her admittance.

Zhang Fengxia yells for Ying Jiaming, but Junjie informs her he’s not at work yet.

Zhang Fengxia (aka “please call me Lucy. Lucy Zhang”) asks who he is that he would know when Jiaming gets into work or not (which is also what I was thinking, NGL, seeing as Junjie isn’t his boss anymore).

Ying Jiaming announces behind everyone that Junjie is his boyfriend (!!!!!) and this is the start of them fake-dating to keep Zhang Fengxia away, lolll.

While Jiaming tries to beg Junjie for his help, the three underlinings have a gross conversation about this romantic development being a dream come true for the female office workers. AND then this guy opens his mouth. (We don’t know any of the underlinings’ names yet, so he’ll just be “this guy” for now.) I know there’s a serious problem of gay fetishization that needs to be addressed, but 15-20 min dramas usually don’t address them beyond making cringy characters, so like what’s the point?? And it should go without saying that writing gay fiction about your co-workers is gross and not okay! *hands*

But then we get to the skinship. They look so cozy while cuddling together. 😅

This does the trick though! And Lucy dramatically exits, saying how heartbroken she is, and Jiang Zhihao is left utterly baffled as well. 

And that’s the end of ep. 3. (also, junjie runs away, almost gagging, i guess?? but i hope it’s just him pretending he’s grossed out because, otherwise...)

And eps. 4-6 will be aired next thursday! so see u then, i hope!

#capture lover #冰糖陷阱 #capture lover: 冰糖陷阱 #chinese dramas #chinese BL #ding junjie #ying jiaming #...i apologize for this recap/review #i am not a recapper/reviewer #but i love this drama so much #and i want to share that awesomeness with others #i also thought about doing separate entries for each episode instead of grouping them together... #but honestly they're short episodes #that i think it's okay to do three recaps in one entry #otherwise each recap would be v. short as i'm trying not to ramble on too much #but we'll see with future episodes