Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
This review of His Man Season 4 is spoiler-free
Almost seven out of eleven contestants in Korea’s gay dating reality show His Man Season 4 are introverts, which means several dates were dominated by painfully awkward pauses, even when both sides were interested in each other. That’s not to say the show didn’t have its amusing moments, or fun dates, there were some entertaining encounters, and of course, there wasn’t any lack of dating drama either.
One of the biggest changes in His Man Season 4 is the cast size. With 11 participants, it’s the largest group the show has had so far. Previous seasons like His Man Season 3 featured only eight men living under the same roof and going on dates in hopes of finding love. Apart from that, the format remains largely unchanged: 14 episodes, a luxurious house with a pool, and just seven days for the contestants to build romantic connections.
Several participants themselves pointed out that seven days is hardly enough time to find a boyfriend. On top of that, the production introduced a new elimination twist this season, which felt more stressful than necessary. Something feels slightly off in the very first episode of His Man Season 4, and the atmosphere between the participants appears heavier than usual. Early conversations quickly reveal that the season had to be completely re-shot after the producers encountered issues with a “problematic” contestant who ultimately does not appear in the final cut.
The re-shoot features eight contestants who had already taken part in the earlier filming and were therefore familiar with each other, along with three new participants who were not involved in the original shoot. For the first on-camera meeting, however, the returning contestants were asked to act as if they had never met. Soon after, they were allowed to acknowledge their previous experience, so the whole situation wasn’t entirely “pretend”.
This also means some of them already had some sort of connection with each other, although again, they only knew each other for seven days during the first shoot, which isn’t really that long. To keep this spoiler-free, I won’t write about what transpired between some of the men, you can watch the dating show for yourself. What was slightly disappointing was the lack of diversity in the professions of the members, with many of them having to do something with the entertaining or content creating industry.
But if you’re wondering whether the show is watchable, and almost all contestants are very attractive if you must score them on outward appearances. Although, honestly, some parts of it are kind of boring. Many of the men struggle to articulate themselves, and it borders on weird (and sometimes comical) how bad some of them are at making conversation. You might just suffer from second-hand embarrassment watching parts of His Man Season 4.
The producers should really introduce a speed dating concept, something like what happens in ‘Love is Blind’, where everybody gets to go on a date with everybody, so that do not miss a possible connection. Some of the members hit it off too late, others simply do not get a chance to go on a date where they can really get to know each other. For instance, on of the episodes features an extremely awkward ‘couples yoga’ date for two member who were meeting each other one-on-one for the second time, and instead of bringing them together, the stressful session made them feel uncomfortable and totally killed the romantic vibe.
Interestingly, His Man Season 4 was airing at the same time as Netflix’s Japanese gay dating show The Boyfriend, and both shows introduce a “catfish” in the later episodes. For those unfamiliar with the term, a catfish is an attractive newcomer who joins the dating show midway to shake up the already established dynamics between the contestants. And yes, the His Man Season 4 catfish definitely stirs things up!
In the end, some of them men walk away with great new friends, and two couples do walk hand in hand. Whether viewers would root for any of the pairs depends entirely on what they find entertaining, but the sparks are definitely there between some of them. Except for the overtly long episodes, overall, the show continues to be watch-worthy for fans of the dating show, even though it requires some sorely needed changes.
Watch His Man Season 4 on Wavve.
Read Next: His Man Season 4 Re-shoot Drama Explained (Audio Version Below)
