Heart Signal 5 (Chinese)

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2022 Chinese dating reality show with 21, 95-122 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

This is the Chinese version of the Korean reality dating show of the same name. The show starts with six singles, three men and three women who enter the chosen house location one at a time the first day. They cohabit the “signal house” (which changes each season) with the women sharing one bedroom and the men sharing two bedrooms. The overall goal of the show is for the singles to go about their daily lives while freely flirting/sending signals with the other occupants of the house. There are few organized activities, the main focus is on them living together and getting to know each other more naturally. At the end of each day they send a signal (an anonymous text) to the opposite sex single of their choosing and the detectives must determine who will send a signal/text to whom.

Signal House rules

>Singles must return to Signal House each night

>Singles cannot reveal their age or occupation until the 2nd day

>Singles cannot directly confess their like or love at any time during their stay

>At the end of the day, singles can send an anonymous text to one other house member

>Singles can go on one official date but each female picks a location without revealing her choice and the males choose the location they prefer.

Celebrity Panel/Detectives

Angelababy formerly known as Angela Yeung Wing. Hong Kong actress, businesswoman, investor, model, and singer. She was born as Yang Ying and later went under mostly her stage name. Her birth year us 1989. Meng Ziyi is an actress. She was born in actress. She was born in 1995.

Sikence Wang, Wang Sulong, is a Chinese pop singer-songwriter and record producer. He was birn in 1989..

Wu Xin also known as Orfila. She is an actress and television host. Born in 1983.

Lee Seung Hyun (English name: Nathan) is a Korean-American pop singer and actor. He is a former member of the disbanded group TAKE. He currently works in China as an actor. He is married to Chinese actress/singer Stephy Qi, and they have a daughter and a son. Born in 1984.

Seungri known more formally as Lee Seung-hyun is a South Korean singer, songwriter, actor, and former member of the South Korean boy band BigBang. His career took a nose dive when he was brought up on criminal charges and served time in prison..

Chen Linong (Nongnong) Guest panelist episodes 5 to 8. He is a Taiwanese actor born in 2000.

Du Hai Tao Guest panelist episodes 7 to 10. He is an actor born in 1987.

SINGLES

FEMALES

Li Nie Shuang Yu - Lena Bear.

Futures contracts. Researcher of Macro Aggregate of a financial institution. BA in accounting, Michigan State University. MBA in marketing strategy at Imperial College London. Born 1997. 25 years old.

Wang Qiuyi - Autumn Potato

Consulting in life sciences. Senior Consultant in Anyong China. Double degree in Financial Economics and Visual Arts from Columbia University. Born in 1995. 27 years old.

Li Wanqian - Secret

Media Blogger. BA in Mass Communications from Penn State. Master in Digital Marketing King’s College London. Born in 1996. 26 years old.

Jin JiaYue Graduated from communication University of China. Sports event host. Born in 1998. 24 years old.

MALES

Xue Zheyang - A Tall Sheep

Wealth Management Business Strategist in a European Bank. BA in Finance at Penn State. MBAs in Finance at John Hopkins University. Born in 1995. 27 years old.

Guo Haoran - Leo6

Musical Actor. BA in Opera at Central Academy of a Drama. Born 1998. 24 years old.

Zhang Genyuan - Eat More Vegetables/broccoli

Investment and Financing Consultant and Manager at a local bank. BA in economics at NYU. Born in 1999. 23 years old.

Chen Zonglun (Jolan) BS in German studies from Shanghai International studies University. Worked as a Customer Service Manager at a major accounting firm. Born in 1996.

Sun Xin (Xuao Pai). Patrick. Double degree in computer science and statistics from University of Waterloo. Product manager with a dot com company. MA in Information Systems Management from Hong Kong University. 26 years old.

Review

This is my favorite Heart Signal season so far out of both the Korean and Chinese version and my all time favorite couple from this one. The heartwarming romance between some of the singles is a joy to watch. It will confirm that love is alive and still one of the most beautiful human emotions. They all got along really well and there were tears among all when the show ended because they formed such a strong bond in such a short time. I highly recommend this show for anyone that likes romance and particularly reality dating shows. It is a must watch in that genre.

Spoilers

I skipped to this Season after watching all of the Korean seasons up to date and the Chinese versions up to Season 2. I could not find Season 3 or 4 in any easily accessible format. Some have suggested watching it where TenCent posts on You Tube and then having it auto translate but auto translate was turned off for me. It is hard to find anything about the Chinese version likely due to all the discussions would be on Chinese media platforms and not likely translated. What little I could find was that one of the singles had a criminal history so they had to edit their scenes out of the show. But that doesn’t explain why the other season is really hard to find. Maybe due to the pandemic? Maybe the CCP censored it for some reason? If anyone reading this knows why these two seasons are harder to find, pleas note in comments.

One of the panelists commented that cupid visited this season and I have to agree. There were 4 couples that formed during the show with just one single man left out as there was no one for him to pursue. That was one thing that made me slightly rate the season down, I thought having an odd number of males was unfair to the men. I thought I saw a new single woman in one of the advertisements the house members do, but it was a brief flash in one of the ads. Made me wonder if they planned to have another female and something happened where she was unable to participate.

Having skipped two seasons it made some things a bit awkward and confusing in the beginning of the series. For one, there were all new celebrity panelists. I really liked the continuity of having at least one panelist from prior seasons. When Du Hai Tao showed up I was happy to see him as he was a panelist in earlier seasons. I think they gain insight when they have viewed interactions in past seasons, and I miss that perspective when there are new panels. This panel was very emotional. They seemed to like and “ship” whatever couple formed at that time. They joked around a little but not as much as other panels and I missed more of the comedic element. This season also completely changed how the show began. They were able to see an online page of the singles and make a phone call before going to the house. They also met at a picnic prior to living in the house. I did not like that format as well as they just show up at the house and start to know each other that way.

My favorite couple not only of this show but of all the Heart Signals (both Chinese and Korean) I have seen so far? Zhang Genyuan and Li Nei Shuang are by far the couple I am rooting for the most. I loved that he picked her from the beginning and never had eyes for anyone else. I thought, at first, he was the young guy no one would choose just because of his age. At first that did seem to be the case. But he deployed a mini date masterfully. During that date he was able to show Lena Bear that he was handsome, charming and engaging. He won her over with one mini date. Then she started paying attention to him at the house and realized he was always there. When she was sad because her pursuit of Xue Zheyang was not working out, Genyuan was always there to cheer her up. You could tell they had a lot of fun and were in their own little world when they were together. She had a bit of a Princess attitude and he would get her out of it by teasingly flicking her earring. “Oh, you are bragging again?” By calling her on her attitude and behavior in such a teasing yet genuine way, he actually drew her out and had her showing more of her true self. When he lost the glasses he revealed he was the most handsome single male in the house. Once they coupled up he said the sweetest things to her. They were the most natural together and I had the sense they would be together for a long time as they were so well suited for each other. It is really hard to find anything on these couples but there were some discussions and fans indicated, a year out, these two were still going on dates every weekend. I hope they continue to grow as a couple as they are definitely hope for romance level.

Guo Haoran and Li Wanquian were the other solid couple that developed. Wanquian was interested Xue Zhenyang in the earliest episodes, but then she solidified her interest in Haoran early on and did not look seriously at anyone else from that point forward. When Jin Jia Yue first entered the house Haoran had a moment of waver when he played basketball with her and ignored Wanquian a bit. But Wanquian set him straight and told him she didn’t like it and he refocused on her. There was a brief time, when Haoran and Wanquian just weren’t clicking that he looked back to Jia Yue but Jia Yue had already clearly moved on and didn’t give him the time of day. One of the times Wanquian was jealous she was very close to Jolan during skateboard instructions and I didn’t feel anyone gave her grief over that waver but were really harsh when Haoran wavered. I wish Jia Yue had shown interest and Haoran had a change of heart that way as it didn’t feel like as clear of a choice when he went back to Wanquian but hadn’t made the decision based on he had a chance with Ji Yue but chose Wanquian. It felt more like Jia Yue did not pay attention to him at all so he went back to Wanquian. They get along so well now though all of that must have been resolved. The after shows them co parenting her dogs and spending a lot of time together. He moved to be closer to her while they were dating so they seem like they will make it as a couple.

Jia Yue and Jolan chose each other in the end but, even at that point, I sensed a cooling in her behavior toward him. It wasn’t clear why that happened, and I wonder sometimes if there are things that happened on camera that were edited out, or off camera, that drives a couple apart and we just didn’t see it. She definitely had one of the most unusual statements to indicate she liked someone. It was something like how I feel about you is like a rabbit experiencing a shower of carrots. When it showed them after she definitely had more Princess like behavior than she exhibited in the house. I don’t know if she expected him to find a way to be closer to her after, like move physically closer, or what the deal was but she had almost completely cooled in the encounters it showed after. What little can be found on the web it seems they did not make it as a couple. They were trying a distance relationship and that only works when a couple is super solid to begin with.

Zue Zheyang and Wang Qiuyi were the fourth couple. In no particular order. I could tell Qiuyi’s feelings had changed toward Zheyang by the last episodes. She started making comments about how shy he was and how he didn’t express his feelings. His behavior and mannerism reminded me of someone with slight autism. Obviously a brilliant person and very high functioning but I thought his struggles in the social realm had a little to do with that. People misunderstood him and I think Qiuyi may have because of that. Qiuyi also mentioned, in a conversation with the other housemates, that it had only been 6 months since she dated. That indicates he was either a rebound or she is not in a stage in her life where she is ready to settle down. What little I could find about these two it seems like they may have moved on. I think their relationship was good for them both at the time but moving on made sense as I could not see it being a good relationship over the long term. He needs someone who can really get him emotionally and she needs someone with a very high degree of emotional intelligence to keep up with her fast paced emotional style. They were definitely a good for now couple and I enjoyed seeing them get to know each other and hope they stayed good friends.

If you have run across updates on any of the singles please note in comments.