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This review may contain spoilers
Dramatic and Suspenseful
It was clear from the structure and casting that this show was going to be more about the drama than trying to generate any deep lasting romantic relationships, and it that, it was quite effective.
The way the lies were handled certainly added to the drama by creating considerable suspense. The fact that some of the lies were much more serious than others was part of this, as viewers could never be sure if any particular lie was going to be a dealbreaker. It’s true most of these lies would not have been much an issue in my country (perhaps only Taeyang’s and Hanui’s). But I understand that South Korea is a much more conservative (and paternalistic) society and things like being a divorced mother are seen much more negatively.
It was clever of the show to end with a montage illustrating how most of the contestants ended up gravitating towards people who were the opposite of what they said they were looking for at the beginning.
It's true that many of the participants do not come off looking particularly good. I wasn’t much of a fan of Daon, but Taeyang, and particularly Hanu, were such complete jerks that in the end I couldn’t help but sympathize with her. Besides, she was just playing the game the way it was supposed to be played. Meanwhile, those two are the kind of smug stuck-up players who give guys a bad name. I’m glad the woman eventually figured this out.
The exception was of course Hanui, but I had to sympathise with her anyway, even if I question her insistence on chasing Hanu even after he made it more than clear (and quite rudely) that he didn’t consider her up to his standards. Perhaps she was trying to prove something to herself?
I didn’t particularly like the panel. There have been better panels on other shows.
Overall, when it comes to reality dating shows, I would rate Pink Lie a step above Single’s Inferno and both the Korean and Chinese versions of Heart Signal, but well below Nineteen to Twenty, EXchange/Transit (S1 and S2), and My Sibling’s Romance.
The way the lies were handled certainly added to the drama by creating considerable suspense. The fact that some of the lies were much more serious than others was part of this, as viewers could never be sure if any particular lie was going to be a dealbreaker. It’s true most of these lies would not have been much an issue in my country (perhaps only Taeyang’s and Hanui’s). But I understand that South Korea is a much more conservative (and paternalistic) society and things like being a divorced mother are seen much more negatively.
It was clever of the show to end with a montage illustrating how most of the contestants ended up gravitating towards people who were the opposite of what they said they were looking for at the beginning.
It's true that many of the participants do not come off looking particularly good. I wasn’t much of a fan of Daon, but Taeyang, and particularly Hanu, were such complete jerks that in the end I couldn’t help but sympathize with her. Besides, she was just playing the game the way it was supposed to be played. Meanwhile, those two are the kind of smug stuck-up players who give guys a bad name. I’m glad the woman eventually figured this out.
The exception was of course Hanui, but I had to sympathise with her anyway, even if I question her insistence on chasing Hanu even after he made it more than clear (and quite rudely) that he didn’t consider her up to his standards. Perhaps she was trying to prove something to herself?
I didn’t particularly like the panel. There have been better panels on other shows.
Overall, when it comes to reality dating shows, I would rate Pink Lie a step above Single’s Inferno and both the Korean and Chinese versions of Heart Signal, but well below Nineteen to Twenty, EXchange/Transit (S1 and S2), and My Sibling’s Romance.
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