Chinese Heart Signal Season 3 – Finished! ‘心动的信号’ 第三季

First off, I will reveal the ‘answer’ to the little ‘psychology test’ I mentioned in my last post. For those of you who haven’t read it, I asked you guys to come up with a sentence containing the words, ‘I,’ ‘rabbit,’ ‘bridge’ and ‘key,’ to reveal something about you. According to the show, in this sentence, the word ‘I,’ unsurprisingly refers to yourself, ‘rabbit’ refers to the person you like/will like, ‘bridge’ represents your life, and ‘key’ refers to money/wealth. How you interpret your sentence is then down to you! Can you make anything out of it that seems to refer to your life?

Back to the review…

When I had a look at online reviews of Season 3, I found that there seems to be a lot of people who weren’t as keen on this season, and preferred the second season. I haven’t actually watched the second season, so I can’t compare them, but I quite liked this Season 3. I think one of the main reasons why people didn’t like this season was because of the fourth male participant. From what I gathered, it seems that there was a scandal relating to him, which meant that he was later cut out from the show and some people said that it made it strange. However, I actually didn’t notice anything strange and I’m amazed how well it was edited. The only time I noticed was when they showed a preview for the fourth guy, in the preview for one of the episodes, but we never saw him later on. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have felt like that there should have been a fourth person. In fact, this was more comfortable to watch because I wasn’t thinking how unfair it was for the last two participants to join so late.

Do I recommend?

Yes, I would recommend this season because I found it really exciting. They only had two organised dates (maybe the other date had to be cut out because of the fourth participant), but I quite liked how it up to the participants to organise meet ups, leaving less to chance and luck.

*Spoilers*

The dates

Now that I think about it, I’m quite curious as to whether the girls did ask the guys out on a date in the end and whether it was edited out because of the fourth guy. Anyway, I though the date between Ah Xing and Qin Xin was nice, as she was a bit unhappy and lacking confidence, but then he took her gaming, which was something she enjoyed. The date was a big improvement from his date with Xixi, so there was definitely growth for him. I also really liked his date with Zhong Zhong, when they went to Xiamen. It felt very relaxed and fun, and it was nice to see both of them shine.

Did I guess correctly?

I didn’t have a proper prediction at the beginning of the show, and throughout the show, there were definitely times that I guessed incorrectly, but when the panellists were guessing for the final time, I was successful. I think something to remember when guessing who the participants were going to text is that they don’t always text the person they like – they also text to someone they’re thankful to, or text someone out of politeness, for example, when they go out on a date with that person.

I was happy to see Zhong Zhong and Ah Xing together, as after they went to Xiamen together, I felt like they were a good match. They seemed really comfortable together and have a similar personality. Previously, I was worried that Zhong Zhong wouldn’t end up with anyone, since she started to get less and less screen time (although she was very bright and bubbly whenever she did appear), and she rarely received texts. However, it worked out in the end.

Although in the special episode Zhong Zhong and Ah Xing said that they’re still friends, rather than a couple, I don’t see this as a bad thing. (This season was from last year, and I don’t know if there has been any new updates.) It’s more realistic that they are friends, and it feels like they are making the effort to get to know each other first. I like the idea that choosing each other at the end of the show doesn’t necessarily mean choosing to be a couple, but feeling that the person who chose is the best match and has the most potential to become more.

On the topic of the special episode, I was really happy that they decided to do this, as I always feel it’s a pity how the show just ends on the final confession, with the successful couple and the people walking away sadly. I would’ve liked to see them all the participants together at the end, maybe them leaving the house etc. Thinking about it, I felt like this season didn’t show the participants being altogether as much as the first season, and the second season of the Korean ‘Heart Signal.’ Obviously, as it’s a dating show, the participants will try to create more one-to-one time, and the editors will want to show that more too, but I think group interactions also provide opportunities for the audience to learn more about participants and do more ‘detective work.’ It’s also nice to see people make friends from this experience.

I also really like the special episode because we were able to see the participants from the previous seasons. I think this would feel especially nice for those who watched all three seasons. I am a little curious how they chose who to appear on this final episode. Maybe it was simply based on who was able to attend, especially taking into consideration that this was during the pandemic. I might do a separate review of the special episode later, as this review would otherwise become too long!

Returning to the final episode, as usual, it was really sad for those who weren’t chosen, but sometimes it just can’t be helped. Whilst the first season felt like a matter of lost opportunities, I felt like it was less the case for this season – people just weren’t a fit for one another. However, they all seem like nice people, so I wish them the best.

Interaction between the panellists

I think there was good interaction between the panellists, and the show proceeded smoothly even when the main host was temporarily replaced by his wife. The panellists are very entertaining and willing to go along with the teasing and forfeits. And of course, I have to mention Han Ge’s neat little phrases although, to be fair, the other panellists also had some wise words, but they just focused more on the things he said to tease him. The panellists had really great chemistry and created lively discussions.

Unlike last time, I watched ‘Heart Signal 3’ on my own, and I have to say, I really miss having someone to discuss the show with. It’s a lot more fun that way, so I can see why they have a panel that watches the participants with us. For the next season, I am tempted to actually have a notebook with me, like they do, to make predictions too and note down interesting sayings like they did with Han Ge’s ‘wise words.’ I had already been noting down new Chinese words as I watched and learnt quite a few colloquial phrases.

Advertising

Like Season 1, there was a lot of advertising in this season, including little clips partway through the episode, where the participants literally film an advert. They mostly advertised a phone and this drink, which I didn’t think was too bad – when the participants commented on how nice the photos looked it felt fairly natural. It’s actually quite funny how the panellists acknowledge how they have to advertise the products – there’s an instance where someone literally says, ‘Let me just read this first’ – as in they need to read the set lines to advertise it.

Pets

I think every season of ‘Heart Signal’ has one of the participants bring their pets to the house. Is this actually a ‘thing’ ? If so, what’s the reason that they do this and is this something they have to fill out on the form: ‘Do you have a pet that you’re willing to take to the house?’ 😄

Have you watched ‘Heart Signal 3′?