Letter #54: Single's Inferno 1

Good morning, Erin.

Every time I think I’m out, they pull me bac—well, okay, it was really just the one time, and it didn’t pull me back in so much as you told me to watch it, but…

Point is: I watched Single’s Inferno 1, and I thought we should talk about that. (I mean, it is Valentine’s Day, right?)

1. I had a much easier time with this one, in terms of my second-hand embarrassment problem. Partially because I was more prepared for the kinds of things I’d have to deal with—and partially because I started this while in the middle of Change Days, which is SO SO SO much worse for my cringe-induced fight-or-flight response. 

2. Boy, having 8 episodes instead of 10 really made a difference. Pacing seemed a lot quicker, so it always felt like we were just about to send folks over to Paradise or do a game, which was great. But it also meant we didn’t spend time with the cast as much as we did in Season 2, which was less great. I suspect there’s a better middle ground somewhere. Which, hey, I can’t think of, but which I will be happy to criticize the producers for not finding (until they do).  

3. Having watched Season 2 first, it was interesting to evaluate Season 1 through that lens. And the thing I found most striking was that they were so similar, in terms of the dynamics of the shows. The “characters” were not a 1-for-1 match, but the archetypes were all there, just split up differently. And the overall end-choice stuff was awfully similar, as was the issue with screen time. I found myself saying, “Oh, this is just like with…” or “This dude is doing the same thing as…” pretty frequently. 

3A. …but you don’t care about that; you just want me to get to the “whatta ya think of the people???” part of the letter—and who am I to disappoint you? (Well aside from generally being a disappointing part of your day, when you’re at work. I always assume that’s a given.) Though, be forewarned: I did not find this cast nearly as charming as that on Season 2. And, as with my previous Inferno letter, I will start with the boys so that you’ll have plenty of time to guess which of the girls I’d pick.

3B. THE BOYS:

• Hyeon-joong: He, um, sure was fit. I guess. I didn’t particularly care about him, since his story was essentially resolved immediately by pairing off with Ji-a (despite the show trying to make it seem like that wasn’t the case). But I think he was a bro to Jin-taek, at one point, when So-yeon was asking for some help, which I thought was nice. 

• Se-hoon: I didn’t know it was possible to be both Han-bin and Jong-woo, but…here we are. I found him generally likable, I guess, and I mostly (mostly) didn’t mind his single-minded pursuit of Ji-yeon. At the same time, he had THREE OTHER OPTIONS, too, so…kinda f*** him, too. 

• Jun-sik: He was…definitely a contestant on the show. I think. I mean, he pretty early on coupled up with Yea-won, and then he all but completely faded from existence. Which…[shrug]

• Si-hun: Ugh. Just…ugh. This 1980s serial killer-lookin’ guy can jump in a lake. Nothing personal, of course, but I could barely stand the sight of him, and every time the show tried to make me care that he was feeling left out, I just wanted to flick him in the eye even more. 

• Jin-taek: Dude was my early fave, and (with the exception of a brief dip in the Ep 2 or 3 area) he stayed such for the duration. I thought he was pleasant, charming, and amusing. I think someone needed to work on that whole chest hair thing with him (the shape of it, I mean, not having it), but the rest of his whole deal was good with me. 

• Hyun-seung: Vapid, aging rockstar-looking dude who missed his chance to go to Paradise with Yea-won (ultimately because apparently Jun-sik told him he couldn’t ask her)—which is mostly aggravating because it meant I had to spend even more time with Ji-a. But whatever. He came late and didn’t really matter much. 

3C. THE GIRLS:

• Ji-yeon: My early fave (because, of the four starters, she was the one I thought was prettiest), but she dropped immediately when she gravitated to Si-hun, in the first couple of episodes. (Which…I just can’t.) She did manage to stay on my good side, though, by the end—though less because of her story with Se-hoon that you might think.

• So-yeon: I think she was my favorite member of the cast, overall, because I thought she was cool. Not my type, but I found her very likable. And her story with Jin-taek? Loved it. Not, like, to So-e x Se-jun levels, of course, but I was full-in on them the whole time, and she was a big part of why. (One might even suggest at least 50% of why.)

• Yea-won: The girl I thought was the most forgettable, of the starting four, who turned out to be absolutely frikkin’ awesome by the end—and it’s an absolute crime that we didn’t get more time with her. Energetic, fun, funny, empathetic, supportive, and more tuned-in to the situation on the island than literally anyone across both seasons. Easily my pick for #BestGirl.

• Ji-a: Good heavens, just…no. Across the board.

• Su-min: The scope of my anger at having to wait until half the show was over to meet Su-min was only matched by the wideness of my eyes as I blushed up at her on screen. Oh goodness, would she have been my focus, were I on that island. I mean, I don’t think we spent enough time with her to get a really good sense of her personality, but…hoo-boy, she was my kind of pretty. 

• Min-ji: She likes bowling, video games, and seems like she’s an easy conversationalist. If we were robbed of Su-min time, we were absolutely pillaged of our time with Min-ji. Sure, part of that is (I assume) Se-hoon’s fault for not wanting to spend time with her (or Su-min), but I also suspect that there was a chunk of runtime that we could have given to her (and Su-min) that was…allocated elsewhere. To my very great and seething disappointment. 

4. Speaking of the ladies, though: they really, really wanted to let us know how nice their butts were, in those introduction packages. Which…I mean, fair enough. It’s not anything that Yea-won wasn’t taking every opportunity to do on her own. 

5. When the hosts were discussing the Ji-yeon/Si-hun match on the first round of Paradise dates, one of them mentioned that he was so attentive with all these little details about her. To which I shouted at the screen: “Yeah—just like a serial killer!”

5A. The hosts didn’t respond to me directly, but I feel like they disagreed.

6. Speaking of the hosts, though: I was right there with the short-haired woman in my bitterness over Ji-yeon not getting a postcard, that first night. Total nonsense. 

7. Speaking of postcards: I figured out that “it’s cold out” is code for “I didn’t get any postcards.”

8. LOL the other girls trying to beat So-yeon in a foot race. 

9. The cast in Season 1 is more direct and upfront with their thoughts and feelings in conversation with each other than the cast of Season 2. And I wonder how much of that is down to personality and how much is down to the producers telling the Season 2 cast to keep things more mysterious than the folks in Season 1. 

10. One of my favorite moments in the season was when the girls made their way over to the cafeteria to meet Su-min for the first time, after the boys had been chatting with her for a little while: “Oh, here come the girls, Su-min. They’re all really nice. And…really, really dressed up, for some reason.” (I mean, Yea-won all but says, “I f***ing told you they’d be buzzing around the new girl. Now everyone roll up your skirts or so help me I will slap you.”)

11. Relatedly: I laughed so hard when Yea-won whispered to So-yeon that they should slip away to “freshen up” at that first breakfast after a much, much more dolled up Ji-yeon and Ji-a finally made their way to the cafeteria. 

12. Se-hoon is unintentionally hilarious. I’ve never seen someone so athletic also move casually like a totally uncoordinated nerd before. 

13. I love that (we’re told) So-yeon was literally timing the girls when they did their round-robin chatting with the new guy. 

13A. Speaking of: it was hilarious that he couldn’t get over Yea-won and was still giddy over her not just when Ji-yeon took her place but even when it was So-yeon’s turn after that. (Especially funny, in that, was that So-yeon was wearing the shortest skirt she’d ever worn in the whole of the season. And…got her nothing.)

13B. …and then he’s still giddy when he gets back to the tent—and earns a dirty look from Jun-sik, who’s like, “...the f*** you mean you like Yea-won?”

14. Speaking of So-yeon and Yea-won, though: I loved their camaraderie. In particular, I liked how Yea-won instinctively knew when to act like her support animal, cuddling up to her whenever she was unsettled. 

15. I really enjoyed how everyone was so keen to share intel from their conversations, when they’d get back to the tents. 

15A. …or, in the case of Se-hoon asking the boys what a “tier” is in Overwatch (or maybe games in general), keen to benignly chuckle at his inability to score a gimme with A GIRL WHO LIKES VIDEO GAMES. (Because of course he’s not a gamer.)

16. Why’d everyone stop having to carry their own bags off to the helicopter, after the first trip? Everyone had to carry them every time in Season 2. I mean, it doesn’t matter, really, I just…noticed it. 

17. I laughed at the advice session So-yeon sought out from Hyeon-joong, because everything he said was designed to A) protect Jin-taek and B) get him out of the conversation so that he could get back to fawning over Ji-a. 

18. Relatedly: Ji-a is no fun. There, I said it.

19. Shoutout to bedtime-sweats-and-glasses Su-min, who might well be my favorite Su-min. 

20. Speaking of outfits: the look on Ji-yeon’s face when Min-ji turns up for the first time and is wearing the same top as she is. Priceless. 

21. I was always pulling for the So-yeon x Jin-taek ship, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I quite liked how giggly-flirty Ji-yeon and Jin-taek were. They couldn’t talk quite as smoothly as he and So-yeon could, but they were cute together. (And, as Jin-taek points out to So-yeon in their frank porch chat, Ji-yeon was doing all those little things when they were out and about to show that she was interested in him.) If So-yeon had not warmed to Jin-taek’s pursuit, I would absolutely have been on this ship instead. 

22. Sidebar: Jin-taek was pretty much the only guy I actually liked, in the end, I was different shades of neutral towards pretty everyone else. Except Si-hun. Who can jump in a lake. 

23. Ji-yeon and Ji-a, at the “special meal” with Se-hoon after he wins the boy’s challenge, both bring floppy beach hats with them but carry them rather than wear them. Which is…infuriating. This is the covering-up-Hyundai-logos of beach attire. 

23A. But Ji-yeon does eventually put her hat on, so it’s not the worst thing ever. But she could have had it on THE ENTIRE TIME, which I can’t forgive her for. Mostly because I’m still grossed out by her picking Si-hun for the first Paradise trip. (Just...what were you thinking, Ji-yeon?!)

24. You know who else rocked a nice beach hat? Yea-won. Because Yea-won is awesome. 

25. …yes, Ji-a rocked a big floppy beach hat, too. I’m not blind. 

26. Okay—so I was not a fan of Ji-a. BUT…that doesn’t mean I hated every little thing about her, even if she did seem incapable of acting like a real human being. For example:

• the “oppa?” postcard she left for Hyeun-joong was both adorable and clever. 

• she majored in traditional Korean dance, which, if you remember anything about my love of big flowy sleeves or the rhythmic gymnastics ribbon means I think this is pretty frikkin’ cool. 

• that face she made when Si-hun loudly implied to everyone that she was his one and only. 

• the way she was absolutely sure that, despite obvious evidence to the contrary, Se-hoon was going to pick Ji-yeon and not either Su-min or Min-ji for Paradise oh wait that was Yea-won because Yea-won is AWESOME. 

• how she isn’t Si-hun, which counts for a lot. 

There, see? 

26A. “Your notes say ‘f*** Ji-a’ about 10 separate times, Daryl.”  Yeah, well, that’s still fewer times than I wrote it for the 100-Day Prince, so…take the W any way you can.

27. SIDEBAR: Actually, speaking of traditional Korean dance, YouTube just recommended a clip of Jung So-min doing a bit of traditional Korean dance, and now this is the best Valentine’s Day ever. 

28. I didn’t mind the boy’s fight pit, this time. I mean, I didn’t particularly like it, but I didn’t have anything against it. It was a little rough, because of course it would be, but it was much more of a playful tussle than the all-out brawl of Season 2. 

29. And it was sillier than the Korean wrestling challenge, but I thought the girls’ hat-stealing chicken fight thing was a way better game for them. In that it was much more entertaining. (So-yeon’s incredible block/parry of all of Yea-won’s attempts to grab her hat were only slightly less amusing than Yea-won’s repeated shouts of “NO—YOU STAY BACK!” anytime it looked like So-yeon was going to move.)

30. At the beginning of the first episode, the short-haired host says she thinks the intro video about what the show is going to be like has a very “Michigan” feel. I assume she means it feels more like an American show, but that she would pull Michigan (of all places) for her point was…so weird. And clearly betrays her ignorance of what Michigan actually is. 

31. Suck it, Yoong-jae and Seo-eun—So-yeon and Jin-taek went to Paradise three times!

31A. And slept IN THE SAME BED!

31B. And exchanged a light peck on the cheek!

31C. And, um, there was some light straddling. 

31D. …point is they were cute together, we got to see them be cute together in a way where we understood why they were into each other, and also they weren’t afraid to…well, not get to first base, but certainly take a step or two down the first base line! So…yeah! 

31E. Oh, and (heh) So-yeon trolling Jin-taek with that fake-out Paradise pick was great. 

32. Okay, one more Yea-won being awesome point: I loved when she pushed Su-min from the tent to the fire pit and shoved her in between Ji-yeon and Se-hoon. She just shouts, “Hey, we’re here,” plops Su-min down, and walks off, not even pretending that it was anything but a way to get Su-min an opportunity to talk to Se-hoon. (Though, at that point, she may also have been doing Ji-yeon a solid by putting something in between her and Se-hoon.) There’s being a wingman, and then there’s getting s*** done. Yea-won gets s*** done. Because Yea-won is awesome. 

33. Speaking of Su-min: serial killer Si-hun sucks, but did you see the look on her face when he didn’t pick her, at the end? Oof. I mean, dodged a bullet, as far as I’m concerned, but…still. Oof. 

34. I genuinely can’t believe the show tried to make us think Ji-a was going to pick anyone but Hyeon-joong. I mean, we literally saw her tell him—more than once—that he was the only guy for her. Sure, she always left the door open when speaking to Hyun-seung, but only in the sense that she never gave him a clear yes or no. She was only ever very concrete with Hyeon-joong. I just…am I wrong? I thought it was pretty obvious that she was going to pick him the whole time.

34A. Relatedly: I’m torn on her “Let’s go, puppy” line. I think it’s kinda cute because he always refers to himself as a puppy who’s waiting for his master to come home when she has to chat (or take trips) with the other guys, so it’s her being a little tease-y/flirty while also acknowledging his efforts in steadfastly waiting for her. But with one or two exceptions early on (when she’s chatting with the girls in the tent), she doesn’t seem to have real human emotions, so this comes across as sort of demeaning. 

35. But whatever—we got So-yeon x Jin-taek, which is all I wanted. 

And that’s what I have to say about that. (Well, aside from how I’m obviously not going to need to be coerced into watching the inevitable third season.)

I still like the second season more, whether that’s because of first-come bias, my undying love for So-e, or that I genuinely just thought it was better, but I definitely had a good time with this. Which…I mean, I clearly don’t know who I am, anymore. And that’s fine.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

—Daryl