The 5th season of Single’s Inferno is finally out, and though I haven’t seen all the seasons, I feel like this might be the hottest one yet? Not only are the outfits more revealing, but the skinship is crazy high, and the new games and new rules seem to be quite shocking. At least to someone who is so used to watching simple Korean ajumma dramas (I’m half kidding). The 5th season introduces what seems like way more people than usual for Single’s Inferno in the first episode. Of course, there is one extra man, because what’s the fun in having equality? Having said that, though, I feel like the men this season aren’t as memorable as some of the guys from previous seasons yet. On the other hand, there are already a couple of women who have made a mark, and I wonder if Mina Sue is going to turn into the Lee Si-An of season 5. It’s also really funny to see everyone dressed in summer clothing when Korea is probably really cold right now. I wonder how long ago this season was filmed, and how long the contestants have had to keep this whole thing a secret.
I’m not going to lie, initially, I hated the concept of Single’s Inferno, mainly because I had no interest in watching dating shows. However, as I’ve had to watch more seasons for work, I feel like I’ve come to adopt an anthropological viewpoint on this one specifically, and I love to see the cultural shift of the dating scene in Korea based on this show. But, with that said, let’s dive into the first 4 episodes of season 5.
Who Goes To Paradise First?
Single’s Inferno season 5 begins with the introductions of all the cast members. As usual, it’s quite a tease, these introductions until we get to see all the members, and the game changers haven’t even been announced yet. This season is already out for blood, it seems. Youn Hyun-Jae is the first person to be introduced, followed by other participants that include Kim Min-Gee, Song Seung-Il, Woo Sung-Min, Kim Go-Eun, Park Hee-Sun, Ham Ye-Jin, Shin Hyeon-Woo, and Kim Jae-Jin. The first person to really grab your attention in this lot is Go-Eun, but when Min-Gee shows up, she absolutely steals the show. On the other hand, for the men, despite all of them being physically very fit, Jae-Jin is the one who grabs everybody’s attention because of how laid back he is. Their first meal is, of course, carrots and canned tuna. Some of the men immediately take charge, but Jae-Jin steps away from the counter because he apparently has allergies. But ironically, he doesn’t even help with setting the table or anything, but when it comes time to vote, he’s the first to be chosen by a lot of the girls, hence getting the highest votes. On the other hand, with the girls, it’s Min-Gee who gets the most votes.
It’s adorable how Min-Gee has literally no expectations of being chosen, but Jae-Jin is super confident, I love the range. They each have to choose a partner to go to Paradise with. Min-Gee immediately goes with the cutest guy in the group, Sung-Min, who looks like a baby in comparison to the rest of the boys. On the other hand, Jae-Jin chooses Ham Ye-Jin. Jae-Jin is actually quite laid back but funny. At the same time, Min-Gee is an independent woman who likes to take charge. Turns out, Min-Gee and Sung-Min are the same age, born in 1996. Sung-Min is an optician, whereas Min-Gee is a famous track athlete. But between these two, Sung-Min doesn’t seem fully into it, because Min-Gee is not really his type. She seems to be too straightforward and honest for him, in my opinion. Meanwhile, Jae-Jin says he’s 1998 born, and Ye-Jin is super surprised, because she’s older, born in 1996. He seems to appreciate that, though. Ye-Jin is a freelance announcer, and Jae-Jin is a contemporary dancer, which I found really surprising and super cool, because I feel like we’ve not seen one of those in a show like this one.
How Many New Contestants Are There?
Shockingly, after the two couples leave for Paradise, a bunch of new members are introduced in the cast. An unexpected change of routine to keep the show exciting, I guess. First to come is Lim Su-Been (who immediately impresses Da-Hee by saying he’d like a woman like her, I mean, I don’t blame him), followed by Lee Sung-Hun (an American guy), next, very confident Lee Joo-Young, and finally, Choi Mina Sue, who clearly has something different about her (apart from her height). Like, even the judges are thoroughly smitten by her natural beauty. With the new kids in town, the Inferno group has the challenge of doing a treasure hunt to find the ingredients to make decent food in the Inferno, after a full day of not eating anything apart from carrots and canned tuna.
The group splits into pairs, and the two English speakers, Mina and Sung-Hun, get together, and there’s some chemistry, but I don’t think just speaking the same language is enough to make a good pairing. So we’ll see how that goes. On the other hand, the rest of the pairings are sweet enough, and they all try to get along, but as soon as they’re all together, it looks like Mina and Seung-Il have more chemistry with each other than they did with the partners they went with for the challenge. Interestingly, Go-Eun’s “type” happens to be left-handed men, and there is one in the group, Hyeon-Woo. Now comes the time for another likability game; this time they have to write on postcards and then put the postcards into the boxes with the names of the person they find most likeable. Seung-Il has the most votes among the men, and for women, it’s Mina.
Who Hasn’t Gone To Paradise Yet?
The first game on this show literally requires the men to be shirtless, while the women wear swimwear with cute denim shorts, because it’s most important to look cute while slaying, obviously. The winning team gets some coffee. Sung-Hun, unfortunately, picks the pink ball, which means no partner for him. In this game, the most obvious pairing is Su-Been and Mina, because she can’t stop talking about how fit he is, which is fair because he was a baseball player. She did mention she wanted broad shoulders on her man, so. Now, all the couples who paired up for the game get to have one-on-one dates, and again, it seems there’s a spark between Mina and Su-Been. Go-Eun and Sung-Min are quite cute, too. But soon after, the pairs have to split up to do a round of speed dating. Min-Gee immediately goes for Seung-Il because it seems she’s got her eyes set on him.
Now it comes time for Paradise again, and the ladies get to choose. Go-Eun chooses Sung-Min, Joo-Young chooses Jae-Jin, and then finally, it’s Mina’s turn to choose, and she has 3 people to choose from, and somehow chooses Su-Been. It appears the game really worked. Hee-Sun feels really bad about this one. Min-Gee obviously chooses Seung-Il. Hee-Sun is the only girl who hasn’t gone to Paradise yet, and she feels really low about it. She did seem really overconfident to begin with, though.
We learn the shocking news that Seun-Il was born in 2001. Go-Eun is 2000-born and a model, which makes complete sense. After the two couples have their swimming pool dates, they seem to get closer, which also seems like a fair thing to happen. Lee Joo-Young was born in 2000 as well, and she makes vases, so there’s the whole artist connection between her and Jae-Jin. Su-Been says he’s a model now, following the conclusion of his baseball career, and Mina is a student in the US. Su-Been was born in 2002, and Mina says he’s the first 2002-born she’s ever met, and she also happens to be older, born in 1999. Mina doesn’t seem to be the kind of person who cares if her makeup is not quite right or if she looks weird, because she jumps into the pool, hair and all. When they’re back, all the girls have their discussions and boys have their own.
What Is The Most Shocking Game Of This Season?
I know the season just began, but I’m already super shocked by this one contest in the show, which involves them doing a photoshoot together. Now, on a regular basis, you wouldn’t think there was something super intense and scandalous about some photos, but when you see the skinship between these pairs, who don’t really know each other, you’re left completely in awe and also in utter disbelief. Honestly, between Go-Eun and Jae-Jin’s photo and Mina and Sung-Hun’s photo, I might’ve picked the latter, but that might just be personal preference. They were all pretty great. Also, it was kind of sad that Mina got so nervous; she forgot the boys’ names. But also, she’s so jealous of Hee-Sun because she’s so close to Su-Been, and this is a real turn-off for Mina, though she manages to take even more scandalous pictures with her two partners. Go-Eun and Jae-Jin win this contest, and it’s no shock to anybody, but they get a massive advantage. Go-Eun and Jae-Jin can check their first, second, and third place preference rankings. Which means they will know who likes them the most and can decide what they want to do accordingly.
In the ending of episode 4, the group has to play a game of “Truth.” This time around, there’s a rule that doesn’t allow you to drink just to skip your turn, and instead, with each truth that you answer, you also have to do a task. Such as linking arms and drinking, or holding hands, or whispering in someone’s ear. Now, this game seems like it’s going well, because everyone is a bit drunk and happy and embarrassed. However, when it comes to Mina, she is very confused about who she’s most attracted to. Now, she’s had a chance to be around 3 men on the show, and she does say that her preference has changed to Sung-Hun after the photoshoot because she thinks he looks really hot. But then, when the truths start coming out, Seung-Il says he’s interested in going to Paradise with her, in a similar situation to Si-An from last year, Mina is immediately swayed, so she decides to change her mind, and even openly admit it, choosing to say she’d like to go on a date with Seung-Il, even though she had just said she really likes Su-Been (yikes). Now, I can understand why this would feel weird or like it’s too much to some people, but she has the advantage and disadvantage of being liked by loads of people. I say this because she has too many options now, and it’s getting her confused, just like Si-An. But, we’ll have to wait and see how things turn out.
To be honest, I like her a lot with Su-Been, but after this, from the promos of the next episodes, it’s quite clear she’s made him upset. I also really like Min-Gee’s confidence with Seung-Il, and I hope she doesn’t feel too intimidated by Mina, because she’s just as cool and popular. Who do you think is going to pair up at the end of the show? Do you already have favorites? For me, it seems like Mina and Min-Gee are quite likable amongst the women, because they’re both charismatic as well as straightforward and honest about their thoughts. But this could bite them in the back later. On the other hand, I find Jae-Jin to be the most likable amongst the dudes, but Seung-Il also seems to be quite a fun character to study.
