#sorry to my mutuals for the dating show rant krkrkr

[wouriqueen]

Single's Inferno 2 was entertaining. It still had some of S1's obvious flaws, but I'm note sure I understand some of the commentary I've seen here and on other platforms?

Like, why is Seulgi getting hate? That girl has been nothing but appropriate and as honest as possible this whole show. Her behavior being different depending on how attracted by a guy she is, or how comfortable she is with him, is 100% normal and human. She hasn't pretended to like Jongwoo as much as he likes her either - giving a chance to someone who's interested and whom you think you might like back after getting to know them is a real thing people do in real life lol. Jongwoo himself knew that. Tbh I did think she'd choose Jinyoung, as she obviously was very attracted to him, but I think he scared her off with his "stability" talk. She's still a student, she's younger, I don't think she wanted something complicated. In any case, it's actually impossible to truly fall for someone in such a short time, so it's okay for people to evaluate their options - especially that it's literally the show's point.

Also not getting why Jinyoung is being accused of disparaging Soe's looks, he simply noted Sejun's ideal type was the "charismatic" type (or sophisticated, or whatever other word they use) as opposed to Soe being the "sweet" type. I totally get being uncomfy with how Korean people so easily label people in general and categorize women by "type" in particular (sexy-cute, cute, sexy, charismatic, party girl...) but he didn't make that up.

And why are people resenting the men for going for the girls who fit more the Korean beauty and dating standard on a show where they only have 9 days to make a choice and much fewer days to even decide who they're going to pursue, and where the importance of initial physical attraction is that much bigger given there's a lot of personal stories and subjects they can't discuss for fear of disclosing age and profession ? The person you go for in that context would not be the same as the one you'd go for after really getting to know everyone and getting to witness their charms. The show exploits the first urge, not actual connections, despite it's claims. It's also different when you have several "options" which you'll then inevitably compare, as opposed to a chance encounter in real life with one (1) person. The fact that the Korean beauty and dating ideal is much stricter than in other countries can be felt, obviously, but all the factors above heavily influence those decisions as well.

Now don't get me wrong : I 100% agree that the man gravitating around the same girls makes the show extremely predictable. That is it's main flaw. But if anything, it's the casting team choices that should be criticized - they knew what they were doing when they cast Soeun and Seulgi, just like Jia and Jiyeon in season 1. The show might be more interesting if they didn't cast those kind of girls (not derogatory at all, to be clear) .... but there also would be less competition (which they want to keep the drama high) and maybe a higher number of people not remotely interested in anybody (though some of the connections on the show are already clearly exaggerated).

Anyway I liked this season more than the first one. None of the guys were annoying or too pushy, I really really liked every single one of the girls, and everyone expressed themselves pretty maturely (Yoong Jae took his time but he got there lol). Thrilled Soe had some positive development, she deserves it (shocked at how mature she was for her age). Bummed that Sejeong couldn't go to paradise at least once, but more pissed at the producing team for casting her while knowing she'd probably be in that position (like Yewon last season).