Single’s Inferno Reunion turned out to be the real finale – who’s still together and what really went down

Single’s Inferno Reunion dropped on Netflix on Saturday (Feb 14), turning Valentine’s Day into an emotional rollercoaster for ardent fans of Single’s Inferno 5 aka the best season of the hit South Korean dating show. After binge-watching all six episodes, I have just one thing to say: Netflix is more than welcome to charge me twice this month – that was peak entertainment.

The mini-series reunited the cast members of Season 5 six months after filming wrapped, as they rewatched pivotal scenes and revisited unresolved tensions, while also answering the big question: "Who's still together after Single’s Inferno 5?"

The final two episodes then saw the gang going on a group getaway, giving viewers one (hopefully not) last look at the dynamics that made this season so great.

Of course, the reunion wasn’t flawless.

The finale’s editing, just like the original Season 5, was atrocious. But the highs soared so spectacularly that they eclipsed the missteps.

This is the true finale of Single’s Inferno 5.

Unless, of course, Netflix decides to squeeze out more content from this cast. And if they do? I’ll be first in line.

HOW TO WATCH SINGLE'S INFERNO REUNION ON NETFLIX

Before we dive into spoiler territory, just note that Single’s Inferno Reunion isn't under the main Single's Inferno series on Netflix – it is its own separate title.

Also, viewers in certain regions have reported that they can't find the show on Netflix. To fix this issue, simply set the language of your Netflix account to English, and you're good to go.

Now, let's get into the spoilers.

WHAT HAPPENED ON SINGLE'S INFERNO REUNION?

Here's your last chance to exit the article if you haven't watched Single’s Inferno Reunion because, once again, this mini-series is now a required viewing since it reshapes what we know about the finale of the original Single’s Inferno 5.

1. The real final couples of Single's Inferno Season 5 are...

Sixty per cent of everything I said in this article is now fake news because, as it turns out, only two out of the final five couples this season are still standing.

The power couple of Kim Min-gee and Song Seung-il is no more.

It was always obvious that Min-gee loved Seung-il more than he loved her, but learning that she was the only one who kept reaching out after the show and was ghosted by him was heartbreaking.

"The person I liked is still stuck in Inferno" is pretty much the most devastating thing uttered in this franchise.

For many fans of Single’s Inferno 5, Seung-il is now public enemy number one – he's losing Instagram followers by the thousands, as of writing.

Even the production team appears to be on Min-gee's side, as Seung-il's solo screentime in all six episodes is pretty much non-existent.

Something definitely happened between Lee Sung-hoon and Choi Mina Sue during these last six months because these two practically acted as if they only learnt each other's names five minutes before the cameras started rolling on Single’s Inferno Reunion.

According to Sung-hoon, they kept in touch but were too busy to meet up, given how they were in different states in the US. 

An eyebrow-raising statement for sure, since New York and Chicago are just a two-hour flight apart and separated by only a single hour in time difference. Especially so, when you consider that another couple this season made it work despite being literal continents apart.

Mina Sue, being Mina Sue, probably gave the more honest assessment: Her time in Single's Inferno "wasn't very smooth" and "comfortable" and that looking at Sung-hoon brought out all those memories.

And you know what? Given the chaos she brought forth, this was an understandable take.

Fair play to Kim Go-eun and Woo Sung-min.

They actually tried to make it work by going out on dates before calling it quits. Go-eun admitted that while they clicked because they’re so alike, those very similarities could just as easily lead to arguments.

Sung-min, on the other hand, offered a more practical explanation: Work got in the way and their schedules did not align.

Still, of the three couples who didn’t make it, Go-eun and Sung-min easily had the healthiest conclusion, with the two still being close friends.

This leaves Park Hee-sun and Lim Su-been, along with Kim Jae-jin and Lee Joo-young, as the two couples still standing.

No, they didn’t slap official labels on their relationships – at least publicly. But between the relentless hand-holding, lingering eye contact and earnest heart-to-hearts throughout Single’s Inferno Reunion, the subtext might as well have been flashing in neon.

Did Hee-sun and Su-been get too much screentime? Yes. Frustratingly so in the last episode.

But after seasons of sparks fizzling out post-filming, it’s refreshing to see more than one Single’s Inferno couple make it beyond the island.

Besides, who am I to judge about copious amounts of screentime dedicated to one couple when I'm gushing out over this next point?

2. The Go-eun x I-geon ship sails again

Episodes 3 and 4 of Single’s Inferno Reunion deserve to be carved into the Mount Rushmore of reality TV. Even Jane Austen couldn't have scripted a romance this full of longing.

In just 69 minutes, nearly every romantic trope unfolded on screen, with Go-eun and I-geon once again exuding the strongest chemistry in the franchise’s history, despite this being their first meeting in six months.

Seeing I-geon's icy exterior slowly thaw as he rewatched his scenes with Go-eun, memories flowing back, was – in the words of Martin Scorsese – absolute cinema.

Go-eun, on the other hand, finally witnessed what millions of viewers around the world saw as they screamed at their screens: her enchanted smile whenever she was alone with I-geon.

Even Sung-min himself echoed what viewers were thinking when he asked why Go-eun chose him instead of I-geon.

With the entirety of Episode 4 focusing on Go-eun and I-geon's dinner date, a decision by the production team that makes them deserving of all the industry awards this year, the two finally tie up all loose ends and set another meeting.

Will Go-eun and I-geon become the season's third true couple? We probably won't know, but if they do, I want a full season with 12 episodes of their exploits – lip-biting and all.

3. The redemption of Choi Mina Sue

Although her chaotic actions made Choi Mina Sue the MVP of Single's Inferno 5, it also made her this season's villain, with many viewers still leaving hateful comments on her Instagram page to this day.

During Single's Inferno Reunion, which was shot before the premiere of Single's Inferno 5 on Netflix, Mina Sue finally gets to watch her indecisiveness and careless remarks play out before an audience, cementing what she already knew: She messed up big time in the early episodes.

And thus begins the Mina Sue Apology Tour, which sees her making amends and apologising multiple times throughout Single's Inferno Reunion.

Still, the road to redemption isn't an easy path.

During a rewatch of Mina Sue’s infamous rant at Sung-hoon, it’s revealed that Min-gee was the person Mina Sue had lent her bikini to, prompting Min-gee to retort that Mina Sue shouldn’t have loaned it out if she was going to badmouth her afterward. 

Paired with a replay of Min-gee’s fiery confrontation in Episode 9, the tension between the two reignites once again.

Season 5’s two breakout icons finally confront their lingering issues head-on, trading long-overdue apologies and clearing the air.

To their credit, Mina Sue and Min-gee's reconciliation comes swiftly, capped off by a second, more heartfelt apology from the former at the bungalow retreat, where the pair celebrate their newly minted friendship by recreating Mina Sue's now-famous twirl.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Single's Inferno Reunion reiterated what many have already known: Season 5 is the best season of Single's Inferno. Its intoxicating blend of chaos and chemistry didn't just deliver good television – it gave the production team a blueprint for everything that should follow.

That's not to say that it couldn't have been improved.

The reunion could have devoted more time to the friendships forged on the island. Anyone who follows the cast on social media will know just how tight they are in real life.

In Single's Inferno Reunion, we get a glimpse of it in quiet yet brilliant moments, from Jae-jin sagely consoling Mina Sue over her campfire fallout in Season 5 to Sung-hoon casually revealing that he had spent time with Hee-sun in the US, even if much of it involved drinking large amounts of alcohol.

These snippets hint at a richer ensemble story waiting to be told. Had the production team leaned into those bonds a little more, instead of a finale of mostly Hee-sun and Su-been, we could have gotten an all-time masterpiece.

Still, what we got was more than satisfying. If this is the final curtain call for this cast, it’s a triumphant one. But here’s hoping Netflix realises it has struck gold with Season 5 and isn’t done mining just yet.