This Netflix Dating Show is Actually Pretty Good

Spoiler-Free Review of Single’s Inferno

Cowritten by Sable Wilson and Alyssa A. Wilson

Intro

My sister and I found this show on Netflix. From the trailer, we thought it would just be bad in a funny way. People made comments like what they want in a partner is for them to be sexy, which seemed unoriginal. They wanted specific body parts to be attractive, such as pretty noses and hands.

When we actually watched the show, we found it to be funny at times and we got more invested in the relationships than we had thought we would. There were barely any moments we got bored. By no means is this show great, but it was fun enough to deserve a review.

Review

In Single’s Inferno, contestants are brought to a “deserted” island described as like hell, even though from what we could see it seemed like a pretty fun place to spend a short vacation. They must vie for each other’s attention and love, and can only reach Paradise (a fancy hotel) if they go as couples.

They had many competitions to determine who would get certain luxuries on the island, or the order in which they picked partners. For example, games such as running from the water onto land and grabbing flags before their opponents or wrestling in muddy water.

One of the things we liked was that even though there was drama sometimes, all of the people on the island seemed like friends, and did not let temporary conflicts and competition get in the way of their budding friendships. Even when several guys struggled for the attention of a single girl, they did not let that ruin their relationships with each other.

The commentators were one of the best parts of the show, and yet they were also what made this a “bad” show. They were always telling us what to think, and sharing their sometimes very odd opinions. This may sound like we are just bashing the show, but the commentators had some of the worst and funniest lines in the whole show. And the fact that one of them wore a pink hoodie underneath a formal suit is just an atrocity.

One of them explained that since it was a deserted island, there was nothing to do but love. We disagree with this sentiment. We would spend all our time reading, and probably would play eenie-meenie-miney-mo to decide who to talk to if we ever got our noses out of the books. Or we would probably just chill out–there is a beach, after all!

Despite it being a deserted island, contestants were able to bring elaborate wardrobes and spend unholy amounts of time putting on makeup.

Another comment one of the commentators made was “Do women really gossip about men like that?” And then, they watched as the men did the exact same thing, and made no comment about it being unusual. I guess they took it for granted.

Another commentator said that two people looked like they would make a great couple because they were both slim. That makes no sense. Seriously, all of the contestants were slim and fit, so that comment literally could have applied to any random two contestants.

The commentators were absurdly impressed that one of the girls was both pretty AND smart. They emphasized this by saying that she was using fancy words like “neuroscience” and “Toronto.” How is Toronto fancy? But okay, whatever. I’ll give them neuroscience. I guess that sounds fancier than just plain science.

The contestants were so incredibly awkward around each other. A line that is indicative of this point is “Maybe you don’t remember it, but I think that we made eye contact once.” That seems like a low bar, honestly.

One thing we did not like was when they added more contestants, because these newcomers really did not get as much of a chance to build relationships. It did not seem fair.

Both of us were pretty satisfied with the ending and which contestants were paired up as couples after the eight days were over.

If you want a lighthearted show with humor and romance, we would recommend giving it a try. It just might win your heart.