Single’s Inferno Season 2 Review (No Spoilers): “Hot Boys and Hot Girls” - Choi So-Eun 😂
Yay! The popular and mind-numbing Netflix reality TV show, Single’s Inferno, is back for season 2, now with more love triangles (and love squares?!) than ever before. I think this season was very entertaining and maybe even better than last season. What makes this season stand out more is that there wasn’t just one girl (Song Ji-Ya from season 1) who was super hot and got almost all of the attention. This time, it was a girl and a guy. It doesn’t sound like a major improvement, but trust me, when you watch, it will be 2x more dramatic. What’s also great about this season is that they brought in new participants earlier on in the week to mess with the dynamics on the island and incite more drama, which really worked. I don’t know if I’m mis-remembering this, but I also feel like I wasn’t too impressed with the commentary panel last season. But this season, I actually looked forward to their jokes and opinions. In particular, I thought Lee Da Hee was very perceptive in her commentary and was great at analyzing how the participants were feeling in a very accurate and humanizing way.
For returning fans, this is a must-watch because you will get all of the excitement and angst from season 1, just with a new cast of interesting characters and slightly different situations. And for new viewers, I highly recommend this show if you even moderately enjoy reality TV dating shows. Single’s Inferno is a Korean dating show where participants are brought to a deserted island to mingle, with the twist being that there are opportunities for participants to pair up and spend a night together at a fancy hotel to get to know one another more intimately. People try to actively date, woo each other, form friendships, and determine if there’s someone they would like to leave the island with at the end of the week. The main selling point of the show is the anticipation of seeing who’s going to end up with who. The participants are purposefully put in situations that may encourage them to explore different pairings that could sway their first impressions.
This show is also like a double-edged sword to watch, because it’s basically a free-for-all dating show and it’s inevitable that people will like people that do not like them back. As a viewer, sometimes you might want a couple to be together, but at the same time, you would be curious to see how a person’s dynamic with another would be like. I can only imagine how stressful it is to be on that island and feel the emotional turmoil of competing with others for affection. The people on this show are really beautiful and successful in the real world, so to feel rejection and feel unwanted is most likely very unusual and hurtful for them.
One thing I really hate about this show is the editing. As a reality TV show, it’s understandable that there will be dramatic pauses and replays, but I feel that Single’s Inferno takes this a step too far. For instance, whenever the participants play a physical game against one another, you can count on the fact that certain scenes will be played over and over again from different angles. The point is obviously to build up dramatic anticipation, but there’s only so many ways I want to see someone almost lose before I get really annoyed.
This show excels when it is being unpredictable and I think the finale episode of season 2 was shocking. All I can say is, I was sobbing alongside the commentators when a certain decision was made and it was an emotional rollercoaster for me. I really enjoy watching Single’s Inferno and I especially enjoy when I have friends who watch it together with me so that we can discuss after every weekly release.