PUBLISHED ONJanuary 12, 2023 12:46 PMByJolynn ChiaNetflix's reality dating series Singles' Inferno 2 ended on Tuesday (Jan 10) and left many of us reeling from the surprises.
Viewers may be left with some lingering questions: How did the cast make their final choices? What did they really think about each other? How did they feel during moments of tension?
The Swoon subsequently released on YouTube two videos of the contestants reuniting to watch the series, providing glimpses into what really happened. There are scenes that contestants were not privy to, like the others' Paradise dates, as they weren't involved.
Warning: spoilers ahead.
Kim Jin-young, arguably the most popular guy in the season, revealed a strange habit of his, one that he was initially unaware of.
He said: "I cursed in my sleep. Sometimes when I am really tired, I can't distinguish dreams from reality. I woke up cursing, and I was surprised too. 'Oh, I'm on Singles' Inferno.'
"I thought no one heard me, but it turns out everybody did. I was really surprised at that time."
Then we have Nadine Lee, who was one of the most popular female contestants among viewers based on Twitter comments. Many gushed over her Harvard neuroscience credentials, medical aspirations, fluent English and unpretentious demeanour.
One of the things she admitted putting in effort into doing, is mustering the courage to approach people whom she was interested in. She claimed that it was something she had never done prior to joining the show.
In one memorable scene where she approached Shin Dong-woo for a talk before they made their selections for Paradise again, they two had an honest conversation.
Dong-woo said: "I saw you from afar, you looked pretty. So I thought, 'Who was that?'"
Nadine replied: "For me, I am just not focused on going to Paradise… I am not interested in other people while I am looking at one person," to which Dong-woo replied: "We will be able to talk more in Paradise, right?"
Nadine commented in the YouTube reunion clip: "He tricked me here. He tricked me." She joked that Dong-woo had given her the impression he was seriously interested in her and was picking her for Paradise.
For the Paradise dates, each pair would have to pick each other — if their choices were not mutual, they would have to remain in Inferno.
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Kim Han-bin told Dong-woo in the reunion video: "You were flirting. You flirted too much."
In his own defence, Dong-woo explained: "I had known her for a few days, we were getting to know each other. I had to stay open to all possibilities."
Dong-woo was not the only one who 'tricked' Nadine, however.
In the last episode, the women stood alone in their tents while the men were made their final choice. In return, the women would have to pick among the suitors at their tents as well.
Jin-young stopped by Nadine's tent only to tell her that he would support her dreams. He then left for Shin Seul-ki's tent.
Many on Twitter were annoyed by Jin-young's confusing move. One said: "It really felt like this was a d**k move from Jin-young. It felt like he played with Nadine's expectations."
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Another wrote: "You (Jin-young) did not have to do that."
Many also felt that she was too good for the men on the show, with fans tweeting: ""Babe had no one in the end? It's okay, she's too much for those men anyway."
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"Who needs a man when you're Nadine Lee?"
[embed]https://twitter.com/choyeongs/status/1612796099257053186[/embed]
"Nadine Lee is an example of how men feel inferior when an intelligent woman is around".
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The contestants also shared their first impressions of each other in the YouTube videos. When asked who had the most unexpected charm, Jin-young was Dong-woo's immediate choice.
Dong-woo said: "At first he was quiet and gentle. After a while, it turns out that he was a moodmaker."
When shown the scene where Jin-young first sauntered into the set, everybody was gushing over how confident he looked.
The first thing Jin-young had to do after joining the show was a physical contest and he revealed that he was incredibly nervous about winning it.
"If I had lost, then it would have been pointless for me to be on the show," he confessed in the review video, stating that he was under huge amounts of pressure as a newcomer.
When asked what he thought would have happened if he had joined earlier, he joked: "I would have gotten many votes. I was thinking, 'Everyone was into me.' It probably wasn't true… I was just delusional."
Another popular guy was Kim Se-jun, with most of the other men and women choosing him for his goofy sense of humour.
However, Nadine confessed that she was intimidated at first: "I was scared of him, so scared (at first). But he was so funny."
There were more revelations from the men. When asked who gave the best first impression, most of them had the same answer.
Jin-young confessed: "In terms of vibe, Jo Yoong-jae was the most attractive. He looks laidback. That's what I like.
"The one whom I was afraid of yet must admit was good-looking was Choi Jong-woo. He looks like an idol."
His choice resonated with Dong-woo and Jong-woo. Dong-woo quipped: "At first, Yoong-jae looked very reliable. He gave me the impression that I can trust him."
Jong-woo chimed in: "When Yoong-jae walked in after me, I was worried about him in terms of appearance. Han-bin looks like a character from a romance comic."
It was the first time that the rest of the cast watched Young-jae's first proper onscreen conversation with Choi Seo-eun, and they commented whether they had matched their outfits on purpose.
Everybody also realised Yoong-jae and Seo-eun slept in the same room and stayed up for six hours chatting on their first trip to Paradise.
Seo-eun commented: "I'm surprised to hear the exact number (of hours we spoke for)... We talked about how we lived. We talked about everything, including our hobbies… It felt exciting yet comfortable at the same time. We lost track of time and focused on getting to know each other. It wasn't boring, it was meaningful."
Yoong-jae expressed similar sentiments: "When you first get to know someone, you have a lot of questions and you're curious. And eventually you lose track of time when you are together. That was what it was for me, we lost track of time."
It was no surprise then that Yoong-jae and Seo-eun chose each other in the end.
While the reunion revealed more of what the cast really thought about each other, it was bittersweet for some of them, as it was for many of us.
ALSO READ: Are Single's Inferno 2 contestants Nadine Lee and Kim Han-bin dating? Netizens believe so
jolynn.chia@asiaone.com
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