Single’s Inferno 5: The last word on the final couples – and why this season is the best

Memes, parodies, hate comments and apologies. The ongoing chaos that has spilled into the real world has cemented Single’s Inferno Season 5 as the best season of the popular South Korean dating show.

The season is so good that even its lacklustre final two episodes, which aired on Netflix on Tuesday (Feb 10), can’t dull its impact.

Following weeks of gruelling physical challenges, emotionally draining conversations and loads of Choi Mina Sue, five couples ultimately emerged from the 15 contestants – most of them predictable, with one currently fuelling intense online debate.

Before we get into the final couples, here’s your chance to exit the article if you haven’t caught up with the show, because spoilers ahead.

THE FINAL COUPLES

1. KIM MIN-GEE & SONG SEUNG-IL

Star athlete Kim Min-gee, 29, and fashion marketer Song Seung-il, 24, are undoubtedly the power couple of Single’s Inferno Season 5.

Despite Min-gee’s surprising chemistry with former baseballer (and Song Joong-ki lookalike) Lim Su-been and Seung-il’s disastrous date with Mina Sue, the two found their way to each other in the end – within the first few minutes of the penultimate episode, if we’re being honest.

In the finale, we see Min-gee beaming ear to ear as she shyly states: “I’m actually the type that doesn’t believe in destiny. But I feel like I found mine here.”

Min-gee then delivers a heartfelt acrostic poem to Seung-il, before declaring out loud: “I have feelings for you. I like you.”

She chooses Seung-il as her final choice, and the two exit Inferno exactly as they’ve been all season: Bickering, with Min-gee piggybacking on her man.

That said, maybe the panellists were right when they said the demon possessing Mina Sue had jumped into Min-gee and Seung-il. 

Because those two were messy towards the finale.

In an act that led to one of the final dramatic arcs of the season, Seung-il revealed to Carnegie Mellon University undergraduate Park Hee-sun that the object of her affections, Lim Su-been, had slept on the same bed as Min-gee during the latter two’s date in Paradise.

Shaken by the news, Hee-sun started doubting her relationship with Su-been, admitting in a confessional: “The way I see it, you can only share a bed with someone if you have mutual feelings…I even felt this dread that maybe his feelings for me weren’t genuine.”

So did the two manage to patch things up?

2. PARK HEE-SUN & LIM SU-BEEN

The answer is yes.

Through some clever editing, we are led to believe that Hee-sun, 22, is unhappy with Su-been, 23, throughout the final two episodes.

There’s even a scene of Hee-sun confiding in her Paradise buddy and newfound friend, Lee Sung-hoon, that she “isn’t so certain” about Su-been and is worried she might be misreading the signs – only for Sung-hoon to reassure her that Su-been did like her, he’s just bad at showing it.

Come the finale, it appears that things between Hee-sun and Su-been are still “unstable”, as panellist Hanhae puts it, with the other panellists debating if Hee-sun will reject him.

After much anticipation, we see Hee-sun saying: “I think you were the first person I ever actively pursued and showed my feelings to. Thank you for bringing out that honest side of me and thanks to you, Inferno also felt like Paradise.”

She finally declares, “Let’s eat something delicious. Let’s go,” officially selecting Su-been as her partner to escape Inferno.

The rug is then pulled out from under the viewers as it is revealed that Su-been had already approached Hee-sun early on to clarify the sleeping incident.

“[Min-gee and I] didn’t sleep on the same bed because we had agreed to,” says Su-been. “It wasn’t like that.”

He then apologises for his actions and we later see the pair drinking together, with Su-been promising her that he will be more open with his feelings from now on.

Following scenes of their date in Inferno, we cut to the present, where we finally see Hee-sun leaving Inferno, hand-in-hand, with Su-been.

3. CHOI MINA SUE & LEE SUNG-HOON

They say patience is a virtue. Well, you can now call Lee Sung-hoon, 27, a virtuous man.

After spending a majority of the season watching her chase after others, Sung-hoon won the heart of Choi Mina Sue, 26, who had realised her feelings for him. Some might argue that Mina Sue arrived at her decision by process of elimination, having torpedoed her other options – but a win is a win.

In any case, following his Paradise date with Hee-sun, Sung-hoon meets up with Mina Sue, who admits that she was worried that Sung-hoon had fallen for “Hee-sun’s charms”.

After learning that Sung-hoon’s feelings for her haven’t wavered, Mina Sue tells him that if she had to choose one person, it would be him.

“For some reason, I felt shy,” says Mina Sue in a confessional. “From the moment I realised I actually had feelings for Sung-hoon, I can’t seem to talk to him comfortably.”

Because the couple never went on a Paradise date, they only learnt each other’s ages and jobs at the final campfire with the other contestants. Mina Sue smirks upon learning that Sung-hoon once worked at Google and is now a hedge fund trader, while Sung-hoon jumps for joy upon learning that Mina Sue is younger than him.

Come the finale, Sung-hoon boldly declares to Mina Sue: “Be it Korea or America, I’ll come and see you anywhere.”

She responds, in English: “Out of all the people here, I think you brought out the version of myself that I liked. I can’t imagine leaving this place [without] Sam (Sung-hoon’s English name).”

The two then finally leave Inferno while bantering and holding hands.

If there’s one thing that these final two episodes proved, it’s that Choi Mina Sue carried this season on her back. While her growth was nothing short of amazing to behold, it also meant her character arc ended within the first six minutes of Episode 11.

No Mina Sue drama equals no Mina Sue screentime, one of the major factors that, in my opinion, made the finale a slogfest. 

4. LEE JOO-YOUNG & KIM JAE-JIN

Artist Lee Joo-young, 25, was the first contestant to have two men gunning for her at the final selection: IT company employee Youn Hyun-jae, 26, and contemporary dancer Kim Jae-jin, 27.

But let’s be honest: We all knew Jae-jin would come out on top.

The two had the strongest chemistry this season, with a healthy balance of banter, humour and flirtation.

Even their exit from Inferno was steeped in their signature dorky humour, with Jae-jin shouting “You, come out” at the very last moment – finally fulfilling Joo-young’s request from days earlier.

This couple was such a given that it would have taken a major, major fumble for them to not end up together…which brings us to our final couple.

5. KIM GO-EUN & WOO SUNG-MIN

Behold, the couple that currently has fans battling it out online. 

The finale of Single's Inferno 5 became The Kim Go-eun Show because producers somehow concluded that we wanted to see more of Go-eun’s love quadrangle with Sung-min, I-geon and Hyeon-woo, as opposed to the other contestants’ bonds and friendships.

I mean, an entire game was left on the cutting room floor despite Episodes 11 and 12 being two of the shortest episodes in the entire season.

Surely, The Kim Go-eun Show was going to be a viewing experience that transcended the gift of Mina Sue and her antics.

Wrong.

First off, Jo I-geon, what the heck was that? You had it in the bag. Like really had it. You and Go-eun were electric together. There was absolutely no reason to keep bringing up Lee Ha-eun like that, especially when Go-eun made it clear multiple times that she wasn’t okay with it.

Was it an attempt to make Go-eun jealous? Were you that uncomfortable with showing off your feelings?

The world needs answers.

Next up, Go-eun, I sincerely hope that you didn’t choose Sung-min out of spite, because that was probably the least convincing confession in the history of this franchise.

Not saying that you should have chosen I-geon either, because, honestly, given the cards you were dealt, it would have made more sense for you to choose no one.

Sung-min, congratulations on getting chosen. 

For your sake, I hope Netflix releases the entire four-hour cut of your conversation with Go-eun because 90 per cent of Single’s Inferno viewers are dying to see what Go-eun saw in you.

And finally, Shin Hyeon-woo: You did your best, I guess.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Clocking in at one hour, 15 minutes and 54 minutes respectively, the final two episodes of Single’s Inferno Season 5 cut out much of what made the show so compelling – footage of contestants bonding, the long-awaited age and job reveals, and couples simply being couples.

Fortunately, the strength of the season’s earlier episodes outweighs the finale’s missteps, securing Season 5’s place as the best season of Single’s Inferno, ahead of Season 2.

The only thing left to do now is for the producers to bring in Mina Sue as a panellist for Season 6.