Recap: Single’s Inferno Season 4, Episode 12 + Season Thoughts

Phew! We made it y’all!

Junseo peeks his head through the door and asks Sian “What’s up?” Sian and the other ladies laugh.

omg. They go from Sian looking so over the whole thing at the end of episode 11 and then start this episode with goofy music and her completely happy and flirty with Junseo. They’re joking around. Come on show. I think I’m more annoyed with the show at this point than Sian was annoyed at waiting for Junseo to come crawling to her when she got back lol

Sian says it is the first time he has come to fetch her. He wonders what’s gotten into him lately. Anyway, Junseo says he knew she wouldn’t pick him yesterday, but it still hurt when it actually happened.

He wishes he could’ve seen the sunset together with her yesterday here on Inferno. The butterflies flutter as Sian is pleasantly surprised by the sentiment.

It’s the last episode and the hosts finally do things that aren’t annoying. Strange! Lol

Junseo says he told Minseol about his mind being set after his second visit to Paradise with Sian. So he’s done all he could, tied up loose ends and can clearly express his feelings now. Sian says all he has to do is act sweeter to her now. Junseo says he will try to.

Sian asks him to call her “Sian” instead of “yah” and he does.

Sian says she was able to express the feelings she’s kept inside when she was with him. She appreciates the big hug he gave her when she was crying in the bathroom that time. She felt a lot better after letting all the tears and emotions out.

Dongho and Arin go to talk. He asks what she did yesterday and she says she just watched Junseo and Minseol all day.

I’d watch Junseo and Minseol all evening too, to be honest. lol

Dongho relates his dinner with Haelin, but he and Arin just enjoy spending time together and reminisce about their fun times together.

It’s Jeongsu’s turn to chat with Sian and they head to the kitchen where Jonghoon offers to take photos for them. They laugh at the polaroids before talking about how time has flown past while here.

Over in the room, Minseol says she thinks Sian will choose Junseo while Arin thinks it’ll be Jeongsu. Dongho agrees and the couple says Sian has been quite smitten with Jeongsu. Minseol wonders if Junseo will end up picking her instead.

Just then, Junseo comes walking in and Dongho and Arin leave them alone.

Minseol tells Junseo that he seemed upset yesterday, especially when he had to wash the dishes with her. But Junseo says that’s not the case at all. He was just trying to sort out his feelings which he’s already done now. He admits he’ll just follow his heart and Minseol says she’ll do the same, as they both should.

Junseo says they should drink a lot tonight and Minseol laughs that he really does see her as just a dongsaeng. Junseo asks to look at Minseol’s OOTD for tonight and he suggests she put on some accessories.

Minseol gets her jewelry and asks him to choose one out for her.

Junseo picks a necklace and she asks him to put it on for her because she has long nails.

Ahhhh! #Junseol rise!

Junseo carefully puts the necklace on her and he thinks she looks great.

Minseol tells us that he is 200% sure Junseo will pick Sian which is why she’s a bit annoyed he keeps flirting with her and giving her even the tiniest bit of hope.

Giving my delulu self some faint bit of hope as well lol

Elsewhere, Jiyeon and Tehwan go in the “secret room”. Jiyeon asks if he has any regrets this game. He says losing the first game was hard because he is usually a winner in everything he does in life. So it was hard for him to overcome losing on day one.

He also says he put three chocolates in the box that night even though he only wanted to put one in hers. She asks if he wants to guess who she gave chocolates to, but he says it doesn’t matter. He puts his emotions and thoughts before anything else.

Jiyeon mentions how she thought he wasn’t really interested in her. But he says he often comes across as indifferent to people. But he is so sure about himself that he doesn’t put importance on little things. That’s why it can lead to misunderstandings.

Jiyeon admits she’s been a bit unsure. But Tehwan doesn’t understand why when the other girls say he is always so sweet when it comes to Jiyeon. Jiyeon says she must have just been cautious.

She asks if he has any more questions for her and he says he already asked all the questions on the first two days together.

I said after Episode 11 that the other pairings were boring or whatever. And with Jiyeon and Tehwan, it’s interesting. Partly because Jiyeon was and still is my favorite single lady. But I feel like the two of them basically just settle on each other when everyone else was claimed by others, so to speak. And then not having a chance to meet anyone else, they just decided, sure why not.

After the chatting, the singles head out to swim and have fun in the ocean.

Junseo climbs up on the cliff and then jumps off, to the delight of the others.

He then swims over to Sian (and Youjin) when she floats too far out into the water, much to Jeongsu’s jealousy.

Everyone heads back to the beach to dry off and have some water. Jeongsu tells Youjin that he’s not feeling well now and probably shouldn’t have gone in the water. The hosts say he’s upset because Sian was looking for Jeonsu while she was with Jeongsu earlier.

That evening, the singles get some delicious bbq and alcohol for their final night on Inferno.

They start by letting each other know their occupations and ages.

They are impressed by Dongho being a CPA and they joke about Youjin actually being the oldest when she would jokingly be annoyed by them calling her unnie.

Youjin asks Hyejin when was a moment her heart skipped a beat. She says when Jonghoon gave her a firm answer earlier today.

Hyejin asks the same of Jeongsu. He says on the first day when Sian was standing there for him to choose.

Minseol asks Sian if she’s sorted out her feelings.

lol Minseol! What a question to ruin the mood. But I like it though! lol

Sian says yes she has.

Dongho asks Junseo if he’s set on his decision and he says he made up his mind yesterday.

Minseol calls on Junseo and takes a bit to compose herself before asking if he at least had fun with her in Paradise. Junseo says of course he has so much fun. They never had a dull moment and in fact she is the most comfortable to talk to.

*sniff* #Junseol. You’ll be together in another life huhu

Theo says Junseo’s told the guys that too. Minseol tries to hold back her tears.

Minseol tells us that she was trying to say “Don’t forget about me.” She’s had so much fun and believes this is an experience of a lifetime. And she wants to thank Junseo for being a part of it.

I’m glad this moment was solely focused on Junseo and Minseol. No unneeded cuts to Sian’s reaction.

Speaking of Sian, she says she originally wondered if she could fall in love in ten days. “It was nice,” she adds and she doesn’t want to go home.

Junseo says since he was discharged from the military, he always felt like an outsider. But here, he is happy to have found a family.

Jeongsu says it’s been physically and mentally tough here, but it’s been an unforgettable experience and he’s happy to have met them all. He tells us, with tears, that he will cherish this memory for the rest of his life.

It’s now the final day. The Voice comes on to say that the singles will now make their final decisions. The women have moved to their final spots waiting for the men. The men will proceed to the woman they have chosen.

If the man who arrives is the person the woman has chosen, they will become a final couple. If the man who arrives is not the person the woman has chosen, they will remain on Inferno.

Theo is the first to go and Youjin cheers him on as he walks straight to Sian.

Tehwan walks to Jiyeon and tells us he chose her the first moment he saw her.

Jonghoon walks over to Hyejin after pretending not to.

Dongho is next and walks past Youjin and Haelin over to Arin.

Junseo is next. He walks over and tells us that “she” is the first one who made him dedicate himself to this experience and make him want to protect her. The hosts are shocked and wonder if he’s referring to Minseol.

The others gasp as he approaches Minseol. But he just asks her if it’s hot and she says yup.

Nooo! I would’ve liked if he had said something nice to her at that moment. I don’t think he would’ve been able to walk past her without saying anything. But I wish it would’ve been something other than that! lol Darn.

Junseo goes to stand next to Theo next to Sian.

Jeongsu is last. Youjin wishes him luck, Jeongsu gives Haelin a “Fighting!”. And he notice Hyejin wore her favorite dress. But it has always been Sian from day one for him. He admits to us that he fell in love at first sight.

Jiyeon and Tehwan face each other. Tehwan says he has enjoyed their time together on the island and says they leave now and get some coffee. Jiyeon says he was able to make their time here on Inferno more enjoyable. She is grateful for making her happy.

Jiyeon tells us that she feels like she’ll go through hard times. But in the end, she does choose Tehwan.

Jiyeon tells us that not everything is a perfect match between them and she does have doubts, but she was drawn to him nonetheless. They hold hands and walk down the path.

Tehwan asks Jiyeon why she had a face like she was forced to choose him. She laughs.

They joke around as they walk away.

Next is Dongho and Arin. And they obviously chose each other. They believe it was fate.

Hyejin and Jonghoon also choose each other and leave.

And now for the main event. Theo goes first and says he has no regrets as they both shared their honest feelings with each other. He enjoyed every moment with her and wishes her all the happiness.

Junseo says nothing went as he expected the entire time here. But she was able to help him discover a new side of himself and is happy and thankful to have made so many memories.

Jeongsu says he fell for her the first moment she smiled at him. He hopes that whatever choice she makes will be a good one.

Sian tells Theo that she laughed the most with him and could feel his sincerity. She wishes them both to be happy.

With Junseo, Sian says she has felt so many emotions like sadness, happiness and excitement.

Sian thanks Jeongsu for taking her to Paradise on day 1 and is happy she was able to spend the last night in Paradise with him as well. She tells him his hair looks good down.

Sian announces her decision. And it is Junseo.

^That glare from Minseol though! lol

Sian asks Junseo if he prepared a celebration and suggests he carry her. So he obliges and carries her over her shoulder.

lol! That’s a very Junseo thing to do! Lol

Junseo runs back for her shoe that fell off and they walk off. Sian says they didn’t have feelings for each other in the beginning. But it started on day two and they never looked back.

Sian tells us that her time with Junseo was like a whirlwind. But with him she feels so many emotions instead of just comfort. And that decided it for her.

Minseol tells us that to the very end, Junseo was her choice and the one who always kept her on her toes.

Haelin chose Dongho and laughs that he must have wavered for a moment.

Youjin says she gave up on Dongho when they never got a chance to go to Paradise together. So she chose Jeongsu since she had the deepest convos with him and they respected each other.

And that is the end of season four!

Episode Thoughts

So no surprises with these final picks. And the episode itself didn’t hold any new surprises. It’s actually a wonder they were still able to fill this long of an episode when they even cut out most of the final campfire.

But anyway, since there’s not much to say about the episode, let’s get to…

Season Thoughts

I think I have the same criticisms now as I had last year and the year before that, to be honest. So let me start with a new criticism first.

There’s something screwy with Netflix’s translations. Like I mentioned in a previous week, I discovered that the subtitles translating the original Korean dialogue differed from the dialogue presented in the English dub. Many times, the discrepancy between the two was so stark that meanings would change between them depending on which you decided on watching/hearing.

In one translation, someone comes across as too brash or even offensive. In the other, their line at that moment comes off as completely harmless. How the same line can be conveyed in two contrasting ways is crazy to me!

Obviously, the best solution to that is to be someone who can speak and understand Korean. (I’m working on it! lol)

But there’s definitely something lost in translation with Netflix. And now I start to wonder if I’ve lost other meanings and emotions with translations of other Korean Netflix series.

Anyway, I guess I’ll mention some positives first. And there are some positives for me this season. One of them is that the singles this time around were actually not annoying, unlike the first three seasons where at times, to be very honest, I wished a few singles would just not come on screen. Lol

This time though, the 13 singles were all fine. Maybe because they were kind of boring? But maybe it’s more because many of them were quite honest this time around. In the first three seasons, I feel like many singles played up to the camera too much or were more concerned with their social media following and post-show influencer status.

And while this season’s cast was filled with the most showbiz-connected and influencer-adjacent singles of the four seasons, I actually felt like they were the most honest and sincere. Not only to us, but especially to each other. They were not afraid to express their feelings, even knowing they were playing a losing game. But they were also not afraid to express their doubts and questions either.

I think they were all sincere with the emotions they shared this season. And I appreciate that a lot.

Especially! When the show still can’t figure out its own format.

You can’t specifically cast people you think will end up together. But you can give them opportunities to at least try.

The biggest criticism, again is the limited interaction between the singles. Again, some singles barely even talked to each other. So most of the singles had no chance to explore their options.

The show has also removed the need for them to actually cook or do chores and stuff. So that’s even less opportunity for them to mingle.

The show apparently actively controls when the singles can even interact with each other, limiting the opportunities when they should be expanding the opportunities or giving them the freedom to do so. Don’t box them in. Let them mingle with each other. Plant cameras in places where they can talk and just hit record. No need to have crews follow them around. Just let them talk! Simple as that!

Another repeat criticism is the over-reliance on Paradise. Too many! I’ve said before that they should spend more time together on Inferno. The entire group. Part of encouraging mingling and interactions is to actually have them all in the same place for more than an hour a day. Make Paradise only every other day. Make it be a special treat and not an expected routine.

The repeated visits to Paradise have diluted the experience and luxury. And especially with Inferno becoming more glamping than roughing it, there’s really no reason to make Paradise a nightly thing.

The lack of interaction and opportunities for the singles to get to know each other make the finale predictable and obviously less exciting.

I think maybe it has something to do with being seen as too much of a flirt or a player if someone has feelings for more than one person. But hello! This is a dating show filmed across 10 days. Of course their feelings are going to waver and change and go back and forth. That’s not something to be frowned upon. It’s just a dating reality show. And someone might be attracted to someone else today and then feel differently tomorrow. That’s fine!

Netflix has already picked up the series for a fifth season. And the biggest thing they need to do is prioritize increased interaction amongst the singles on Inferno. Give them more activities. Have the whole group together more. Mix and match singles in games so they are even forced to meet new people!

And finally with the hosts, I must say, my viewing experienced was greatly improved this season as I decided to just fast forward through their scenes! So there’s that.

Overall, Single’s Inferno is still a fun, guilty pleasure-type of show. But it can be even more fun and enjoyable with some very simple tweaks. We’ll see how the next season goes. But I won’t hold my breath for those simple changes, that’s for sure.